Reborn as a high school freshman with an awakened system, a fat boy transforms into a male god.

[Check-in area!]

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"Ring ring... Ring ring..."

Lin Bei was awakened by a jarring alarm clock. He instinctively reached for his phone, but instead touched a round, old-fashioned alarm clock.

Wait, this alarm clock should have been broken a long time ago!

He opened his eyes abruptly, and the first thing he saw was a bedroom of moderate size. A poster of Jay Chou's "The Era" adorned the pale blue walls, and several well-worn copies of "Dragon Ball" lay piled on the desk. The curtains were beige, and sunlight filtered through the thin fabric, casting dappled patterns on the floor.

This room...

Lin Bei suddenly sat up.

No, no, no, no.

He clearly remembered that just a second ago he was working overtime at the company, around one or two in the morning, revising the fifth version of the proposal based on data in an Excel spreadsheet. Yes, the fifth version; the first four versions had all been rejected by the client because "the client's wife said she didn't like them."

He yawned, and suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart. Then everything went black, and he knew nothing more.

Based on this, it seems he died suddenly.

A 996 office worker, whose hair had thinned to just the back of his head, had a herniated disc that made him have to stand up and move around after sitting for ten minutes, had been single for thirty years and had never even held a girl's hand, and finally died at his workstation while working overtime revising plans.

So what if I die? I'll be a hero again in eighteen years.

But why is he lying in this familiar bedroom now?

Something's wrong, something's very wrong.

Lin Bei looked down at his hands; they were fair, tender, and plump.

He lifted the covers and saw his round belly stretching his pajamas tightly.

He paused for a moment, then scrambled out of bed and rushed into the bathroom without even putting on his slippers.

I looked up and saw myself in the mirror.

A round face, the features squeezed together by the flesh, making her already small eyes appear even smaller, as if she were squinting. Her nose bridge was fairly straight, but the dense acne covering her face made it look like someone had sprinkled a handful of red beans on her cheeks. However, her hair was incredibly thick and black, arguably the most presentable feature of her entire body.

Lin Bei stared at his face in the mirror for a full ten seconds.

Then, use your right hand to pinch the flesh on your left hand.

It doesn't hurt enough.

Squeeze harder.

It still doesn't hurt enough.

Next, pinch with your fingernails...

"Ouch!!! Holy crap, that really hurts!"

When he shouted, his voice still carried the clear, youthful quality.

"Lin Bei! What are you yelling about so early in the morning?!"

A familiar voice came from the kitchen.

Lin Bei was taken aback.

That was... Mom's voice.

He turned around abruptly, and without even putting on slippers, ran out barefoot onto the cold floor.

The living room is still the same as I remember. The cushions on the old-fashioned fabric sofa have sagged a bit, the TV is one of those old-fashioned Konka models, and the hands of the quartz clock on the wall point exactly to seven o'clock.

The kitchen door was open, and the air was filled with the aroma of scallions and hot oil—the unique smell of my mother making fried rice.

A woman who looked to be in her early forties was wearing a faded floral apron and was stirring the fried rice in the pan with a spatula.

Lin Bei stood at the kitchen door, his eyes instantly reddening.

He remembered his previous life. The year after he graduated from university, his mother was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer and passed away only three months later.

"Mom," Lin Bei called out, his voice trembling slightly.

Wang Xiulan turned to look at him: "What's wrong? You haven't even washed your face or put on your shoes. Go put on your shoes, dinner will be ready soon."

Lin Bei stood still, watching his mother. His gaze was like that of someone looking at a lost treasure that had been found again, or like that of a lost child who had finally found his way home.

Wang Xiulan was taken aback by his gaze, and reached up to touch her face: "Is there something on my face?"

"No," Lin Bei sniffed, "It's just... I missed you."

Wang Xiulan paused for a moment, then smiled, the fine crow's feet at the corners of her eyes smoothing out: "You silly child, did you stay up late reading novels again last night and go crazy? Hurry up and put on your shoes and wash up, the fried rice won't taste good if it gets cold."

Lin Bei hummed in agreement and turned to walk towards the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror, he looked at himself for a long time, and then confirmed one thing.

Good news, he was reborn.

The bad news was, he sighed silently.

"A fat person is still a fat person even after being reborn!"

As a reborn individual who had read countless online novels, a thought suddenly flashed through Lin Bei's mind.

Goldfinger.

Isn't that how it's always written in rebirth novels? After being reborn, there's always some kind of cheat code, like a system, a spatial ability, or a superpower, right?

He tentatively called out in his mind, "System?"

no respond.

"A cheat code?"

Still no response.

"An old man? A personal space? Superpowers? X-ray vision? Anything will do! I'm not picky! I'll use whatever you give me!"

He called out to himself seven or eight times, but there was still no response.

He tried again: "Ding? Sign in? Check-in? Panel? Unlock? Activate? Start? Log in? Load? Initialize?"

There was nothing there.

Lin Bei stood silently in front of the mirror.

Okay, so maybe I'm a reincarnated person without a system. No problem, I can still get rich through my own efforts. Anyway, the protagonists in those system novels ultimately rely on themselves; the system is just there to be cute and give out tasks.

Wash your face, brush your teeth, put on your slippers, and return to the dining table.

On the table was a bowl of fried rice with an egg on top, golden brown on both sides with slightly crispy edges—his favorite texture.

Lin Bei sat down and took a bite, his eyes reddening again. This was the taste.

With his mouth stuffed full, he mumbled, "Mom, your fried rice is the best in the world."

Wang Xiulan was amused by him: "Stop flattering me, hurry up and finish eating so you can go to school. Today is your first day of high school, don't be late. Your dad specifically told you before he left that you should make a good impression on your teacher on your first day."

Lin Bei said "Oh," thinking to himself: Dad's still here.

His father, Lin Jianhua, was a long-haul truck driver, always on the road, only coming home once or twice a month. In his previous life, his father was in a car accident when he was a sophomore in college. He was unharmed, but his leg was injured, and he couldn't drive anymore. He stayed at home for several years, and his whole life became listless.

First day of high school.

Lin Bei suddenly remembered. In 2012, he had just been admitted to Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School. His middle school entrance exam scores weren't great, but they weren't bad either; he just barely made it into the school's cutoff score. His homeroom teacher called him a "narrow-minded student." He was someone who barely made it into the school; scoring one more point would be a waste, and scoring one less point would mean failing.

He is sixteen years old, 1.78 meters tall, weighs about 200 kilograms, and has a standard oval body shape.

As Lin Bei ate, he quickly went through the timeline of his past life in his mind. From 2012 to 2026, a span of fourteen years, was enough time for him to do a lot of things.

Although he doesn't remember the college entrance exam questions for the next ten years or so... who can remember that kind of stuff! But he remembers when housing prices will rise, when Bitcoin will take off, which stocks will double, and which companies will become the next giants.

This is all money!

No, it wasn't just about money. He remembered many other things, some of which... if not stopped, would become his lifelong regret.

After breakfast, Lin Bei went back to his bedroom to change into his "new" school uniform. It was called a "new" uniform, but it was actually a knock-off his mother had bought online. It wasn't because his family was too poor to afford the real thing; it was because even the largest size (XXXL) of the official uniform was too small for him.

The school uniform was blue and white, and it made him look particularly chubby. Of course, with his build, he would look chubby no matter what he wore.

Lin Bei put on his school uniform and managed to fasten the top button. His stomach area was taut, and it felt like the button could pop off with the slightest force.

"Let's go, Mom!" Lin Bei slung his backpack over his shoulder, changed into his sneakers, and went out the door.

As he stepped out the door, he subconsciously glanced at the door of room 502 across the street.

The door to 502 was a dark brown security door with a faded Chinese knot hanging on the doorknob. The doormat had the words "Welcome" printed on it, and the edges were worn and frayed.

Lin Bei stopped in his tracks.

He remembered something.

In my previous life, on the first night of my first year of high school, the girl named Su Wantang from apartment 502 across the street committed suicide in her home.

She must have been sixteen years old that year, the same age as him.