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

The dining table was rectangular. Lin Jianhua sat at the head of the table, Su Yuan sat opposite him, Wang Xiulan sat at one end, and there were two seats side by side at the other end. Lin Bei sat at the innermost seat, and when Su Wantang sat down on the outermost seat, their arms were less than a fist's width apart.

The table was already laden with dishes: braised fish, sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, cucumber salad, a plate of braised beef, a dish of peanuts, and in the center a large bowl of radish and pork rib soup. When Wang Xiulan brought out the last dish from the kitchen, her apron was still on, and her hands were still wet. She wiped them on the apron before sitting down.

"There's not much food, please make do with it." She added, "Brother Su, this is your first time here, please don't be shy."

"Okay." Su Yuan smiled. "Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law."

He raised his glass and gestured towards Lin Jianhua, saying, "Xiao Lin has helped my family so much these past few months. I've been wanting to come and thank you in person for a long time, but I haven't found the right opportunity. Now that we've met, it's the perfect time to toast you in person."

Lin Jianhua also picked up his glass, and the two raised their glasses in a gesture of greeting, each taking a sip. After setting down his glass, he picked up the bottle and poured half a glass for Su Yuan.

"Old Su, what are you saying?" Lin Jianhua picked up a peanut and popped it into his mouth. "Kids should help each other out."

"That's true." Su Yuan nodded, then picked up his wine glass and took a sip. "I used to be... too foolish."

He spoke without looking at anyone, his gaze fixed on the translucent liquid in his glass. A brief silence fell over the table.

"There are plenty of confused people," Wang Xiulan said, picking up a soup ladle to serve Su Yuan a bowl of soup and placing it in front of him. "Not many people can come to their senses. You're one of the few who have."

Su Yuan looked down at the bowl of soup without saying a word. He picked up the bowl, took a sip, and as he put it down, he let out a soft breath, as if he had put down something heavy.

Lin Bei sat to the side, not saying much. He picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in his mouth, chewing it while glancing at Su Wantang next to him out of the corner of his eye.

She picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks and ate slowly, as if she wasn't quite used to eating at someone else's house. But she sat very steadily, with her back straight.

"Wantang, eat more meat." Wang Xiulan picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in Su Wantang's bowl. "You're too thin. You've lost even more weight since the last time I saw you."

Su Wantang was taken aback for a moment: "Auntie, I..."

"Girls look better when they're thin, but if they're too thin, they won't be able to withstand the cold in winter. Our Beibei has been working out abs lately and eats chicken breast every day; it breaks my heart to see that. You should eat more ribs and gain some weight to stay warm."

Su Wantang looked down at the piece of pork rib in her bowl, then looked up at Wang Xiulan, a slight smile curving her lips: "Thank you, Auntie."

She picked up the rib and took a bite, chewing very slowly. Lin Bei noticed that after she finished eating, the smile on her lips didn't disappear immediately; it lingered for about two or three seconds before slowly fading away.

Lin Jianhua poured Su Yuan another half glass of wine, and the two clinked glasses. The conversation went from the children to vegetable prices, from vegetable prices to the recent weather, and then from the weather to the ring road under construction in Jiangcheng.

"That road has been under construction for several years, hasn't it?" Su Yuan picked up a peanut.

"It's been more than just a few years," Lin Jianhua said. "I've been saying it needs to be repaired since I was driving long-distance trucks, and it's still not open. I was once stuck on that road for four hours. I was carrying fresh fish, and by the end of the traffic jam, the fish weren't fresh anymore. I lost most of the truckload when I got to the market."

"And then what happened?"

"After that, I stopped hauling fresh fish. From then on, I only hauled dried goods. Dried goods don't cause blockages."

Su Yuan chuckled, "That's true."

The two chatted back and forth, clinking their glasses several times. Wang Xiulan occasionally chimed in, but mostly she was putting food on Su Wantang's plate, muttering things like, "This fish has few bones," "These ribs are so tender," and "Have another bowl of this soup."

A small mountain quickly piled up in Su Wantang's bowl. She looked down at the mountain, then looked up at Wang Xiulan, her throat bobbing.

Lin Bei sat beside her, looking at the small mountain, without saying anything. He simply used his chopsticks to take a piece of pork rib from her bowl, put it in his mouth, and chewed it a couple of times.

"Don't just keep putting food on their plates," he said. "Their bowls are already full."

Wang Xiulan glanced at him and said, "Then why don't you help them share the burden?"

Lin Bei lowered his head and chewed on the pork rib without saying a word. Su Wantang glanced at him sideways, then turned back, picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks, and put it in her mouth. The tips of her ears were slightly red, which was particularly noticeable under the warm yellow light.

"Eat more," Wang Xiulan added from the side, her tone tinged with barely suppressed laughter. "Yes, ribs are protein."

Su Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled, his wrinkles crinkling together under the light: "Yes, eat more."

The atmosphere at the dinner table reached a delicate climax at that moment. Lin Jianhua picked up his wine glass and took another sip, Wang Xiulan bent down to add a bowl of soup to Su Wantang's bowl, and Su Yuan turned his head to continue talking to Lin Jianhua about the road that hadn't been repaired yet.

But Lin Bei noticed that Su Wantang took a couple of sips of soup and picked up a piece of green vegetable. Her movements were lighter than before, and she seemed less reserved.

Lin Bei finished the piece of pork rib in his bowl and then picked up a piece of fish. The sounds of talking, laughter, and the soft clinking of chopsticks against the rim of bowls mingled together under the warm yellow light, creating a sound he had never heard in this house before.

[The system detected that the host's heart rate is about 15% faster than usual. The reason isn't that Su Wantang is sitting next to you, but rather that this is the first time your two families are eating at the same table. This analysis is free; consider it a small gift.]

Lin Bei ignored the system and took another bite of rice. The rice was hot, mixed with the savory aroma of the pork ribs and the freshness of the fish, slowly melting in his mouth. He chewed twice and swallowed, glancing sideways at Su Wantang beside him.

She happened to turn her head as well, and their eyes met. But when she turned back, her movement of picking up food was a beat slower than usual.

After a few rounds of drinks, Su Yuan's face was slightly flushed, but he was still sober. He leaned back in his chair, holding the last half glass of wine in his hand, his gaze falling on the empty plates and leftover food on the table. He remained silent for a while before slowly speaking, "Sister-in-law, thank you for this meal."

"No need to thank me," Wang Xiulan stood up and started clearing away the empty bowls. "Just come often from now on. Anyway, my Beibei eats at your house every day, we can't just keep coming in and not coming out."