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

"Mom, aren't you upset?" Lin Bei asked.

Wang Xiulan paused for a moment.

"I'm excited," she said, her voice lower, "but I don't want you to see it."

Lin Bei leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching his mother's back. She was wearing a faded floral apron, her hair casually tied back, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears. The fish in the pot was bubbling away, the steam blurring her features.

"Why?" he asked.

Wang Xiulan didn't answer immediately. She picked up the spatula, then put it down and turned to look at him.

"Because it's your money," she said, her voice low but each word clear. "You saved someone, and they gave you three million. You used that three million to buy a house, and then the house was demolished and became worth over five million. From beginning to end, Mom didn't contribute a single penny or any effort whatsoever."

She paused.

"If I act too excited, as if the money were mine, that's not right."

Lin Bei looked at her, and a feeling he couldn't quite describe suddenly welled up inside him.

"Mom, this house was bought in both your and Dad's names."

"That's what you asked me to do," Wang Xiulan said. "You insisted on putting my name and your father's name on it, saying it was to spread the risk. Mom knows the truth."

She turned around, picked up the spatula again, and stirred the pot a couple of times.

"Alright, stop standing here. Go wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon."

Lin Bei did not move.

"mom."

"Um."

"This money belongs to our family. No matter whose name is on it, it's still our family's money."

Wang Xiulan paused for a moment, then remained silent.

But Lin Bei noticed that she turned the fish over more gently than before, as if she was afraid of breaking it.

Lin Bei turned around and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

When he dried his hands and came out, Lin Jianhua had already returned and was sitting at the dining table. He was wearing a dark blue long-sleeved T-shirt today, the collar of which was a little loose. In front of him was a glass of liquor, white wine, about a third of which had been poured.

"Dad, were you drinking today?"

"I'm happy." Lin Jianhua picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said, "I'll have a little."

Lin Bei sat down opposite him. Wang Xiulan brought the fish out of the kitchen and placed it in the middle of the table. The fish was covered with shredded green and red peppers and scallions, and the broth was thick and still steaming.

"Chopsticks." Wang Xiulan handed the chopsticks to Lin Jianhua, then to Lin Bei, before sitting down in her own seat.

Lin Jianhua didn't touch his chopsticks. He picked up his wine glass, took another sip, and put it down.

"Beibei".

"Um."

"Regarding the compensation, your Uncle Chen said it should arrive in the account within about a month."

Lin Bei nodded.

"What are your plans for this money?" Lin Jianhua looked at him, his tone calm, but his eyes serious.

Lin Bei thought for a moment.

"I'll keep a portion as emergency funds. As for the rest, I'd like to see if there are any good investment opportunities."

"Investment?" Lin Jianhua picked up his wine glass, then put it down again. "You also want to buy a house?"

"Not necessarily. It depends on the situation."

Lin Jianhua was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. You decide what to do."

He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of meat from the belly of the fish, and put it in Lin Bei's bowl.

"Eat fish."

Lin Bei looked down at the piece of fish in the bowl. The fish skin was fried until golden brown, and the fish meat was white and tender, soaking in a dark brown broth, with a few peppercorns still clinging to it.

He picked it up and took a bite.

The fish was very tender, the saltiness was just right, and the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns slowly spread on the tip of the tongue.

"It's delicious," he said.

Wang Xiulan smiled slightly, but didn't say anything and lowered her head to start eating.

Lin Jianhua picked up another piece of fish, put it in his bowl, and then picked up his wine glass and slowly drank it.

The living room was quiet. The TV was on, the volume low, showing some kind of news program. Occasionally, the sound of a car passing by could be heard outside the window, the tires whirring over the pavement, then quickly fading into silence.

"dad."

"Um."

What are your plans for the future?

Lin Jianhua was stunned for a moment, his chopsticks hanging in mid-air.

"What are your plans?"

"Work," Lin Bei said. "You've been driving long distances for over ten years, and your body can't keep up. Now that the family has enough money, have you ever thought about... doing something else?"

Lin Jianhua put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair.

He didn't answer immediately. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice, his gaze fixed on a corner of the ceiling, as if he were thinking about something.

"I can't do anything except drive," he finally spoke, his voice lower than usual. "I started driving cars after graduating from junior high school, and I've been doing it for twenty years. If you ask me to do anything else, I don't know how either."

"You can learn it," Lin Bei said.

Lin Jianhua glanced at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"You're asking someone in their forties to learn something new?"

"So what if he's over forty?" Wang Xiulan interjected. "Old Zhang next door is over fifty and he's still learning computers. Even though he's only learned how to turn it on and off after six months, his spirit is admirable."

Lin Jianhua's lips twitched: "Do I need to learn how to turn it on and off? Just plug it in and press that big button, isn't that enough?"

"Then why don't you learn something else?" Wang Xiulan rolled her eyes at him. "You're always driving long distances, your back is ruined, your stomach is ruined. Now that we're not short of money, can't you take a break?"

Lin Jianhua fell silent.

He picked up his glass, downed the wine in one gulp, then placed the glass on the table and ran his fingers along the rim a few times.

"Let me think about it some more," he said.

Lin Bei looked at him but didn't say anything more.

But he noticed that when his father said "I'll think about it some more," his tone was different from before. Before, when he said "I'll think about it some more," it meant he didn't want to think about it anymore. Today, when he said "I'll think about it some more," there was a seriousness in his tone, as if he was really thinking about it.

After finishing the meal, Lin Bei helped his mother clear away the dishes.

Wang Xiulan was washing dishes in the kitchen, the tap running. Lin Bei stood beside her, drying each dish with a cloth and stacking them in the cupboard.

"mom."

"Um."

"Is something on my dad's mind?"

Wang Xiulan paused for a moment.

"Him," she said, turning off the tap and handing the last bowl to Lin Bei, "he just feels useless."

Lin Bei took the bowl, wiped it dry, and put it in the cupboard.

"He's been driving for twenty years, and he doesn't know anything else besides driving. Now you're telling him the family has enough money and he should quit. He might not say it, but he's probably thinking: 'If I don't drive, what else can I do?'"

She turned around, leaned against the stove, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Your dad seems carefree, but he's actually quite thoughtful. He's afraid of becoming a useless person in the family."

Lin Bei draped the rag over the faucet.

"He's not an idle person."

"I know. But he doesn't know himself." Wang Xiulan sighed. "Never mind, let him figure it out himself."

After she finished speaking, she patted the water off her hands and walked out of the kitchen.

Lin Bei returned to his bedroom.

I sat down at my desk and picked up my math homework.

Suddenly I remembered something. I haven't used the 1 attribute point the system rewarded me with.

Without hesitation, he silently recited in his mind: "Increase my IQ by 1 point."

The panel has been refreshed.

IQ score: 78/100.

Available attribute points: 0.

He felt it for a moment, and it was like a gear in his brain that had been turning slowly had suddenly gained a drop of lubricant and started turning a little faster.

He found the math problem he hadn't figured out during the day and looked at it again. His thinking became clearer than before.

After finishing his homework, Lin Bei wrote the latest chapter of today's book, did push-ups, and then took a shower.

He lay down on the bed.

The light in apartment 502 across the street is still on.

Lin Bei closed his eyes.

The scene from this afternoon flashed through his mind. Su Wantang stood by the playground, holding that white towel, looking at him. Sunlight shone from behind her, turning her hair a light brown. She handed him the towel, saying, "Wipe your sweat."

He added a star to this image in his memory palace.

【…】

Lin Bei: System, if you want to talk, just talk. Why did you type six dots?

[See through it but don't say it]

Lin Bei: ...