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

"Back then, I had just given birth to Beibei and was taking care of the baby alone at home. Your mother often came to visit, and seeing that I was idle all day, she said, 'Let me teach you how to knit sweaters to pass the time.' I didn't even know how to cast on a stitch, but she taught me step by step several times. The neckline of the first finished product was crooked, so I took it to her to show her, and she said, 'You can knit this well on your first try, much better than me.'"

As Wang Xiulan spoke, the needle in her hand slowed down, and the smile on her lips deepened.

"Your mom is incredibly patient when she's teaching people. I would unravel and re-knit when I made mistakes, but she never got annoyed. She would just sit next to me, knitting and saying, 'Take your time, you can't rush knitting a sweater.' Sometimes I would unravel and re-knit three or four times and still not get it right, and I would get frustrated myself, but she would still say the same thing, without changing her tone."

As Wang Xiulan spoke, she looked down at the dark blue sweater in her hand. The stitches were even and the lines were neat, a far cry from her crooked "first attempt" back then. Her fingers paused on the yarn for a moment, as if she were identifying the stitches, or as if she were looking through the dense threads and remembering the person who sat beside her and taught her back then.

Su Wantang remained seated on the low stool. She watched Wang Xiulan's hands moving skillfully and steadily through the yarn, and suddenly felt that every stitch she made bore the shadow of her mother.

Wang Xiulan raised her head, the smile on her lips deepening slightly: "So, when you mentioned the sweater your mother knitted, with those two white stripes on the cuffs and the round neck... I knew it as soon as you mentioned it. That's the pattern she taught me back then, I remember it."

She lowered her head, her gaze falling on the needle tip. "I want to knit you a sweater for your mother."

Su Yuan paused in mid-air, holding the teacup. When he put the teacup down, the bottom of the cup touched the coffee table with a soft "tap".

"Sister-in-law..." he began, his voice a little hoarse.

"Alright," Wang Xiulan waved her hand, her tone returning to its usual unhurried manner, "It's just a sweater, it's not a big deal. Wan Tang's mother taught me how to knit, so it's only natural for me to knit one for her daughter now."

Su Yuan didn't speak again. He picked up his teacup and took another sip, as if using this action to cover up some emotion.

Su Wantang sat on a low stool, listening quietly.

Lin Bei sat in the single chair opposite him, holding the empty teacup, without saying a word from beginning to end.

Wang Xiulan knitted a few more stitches, then stopped, held the dark blue sweater up to the light, as if checking for any missed stitches. The light shone through the gaps between the stitches, casting a fine layer of light and shadow on the yarn.

She finished reading and put it down, then turned her gaze to Su Wantang, adding casually, "Once yours is finished, I'll knit you a scarf to go with it. It's getting cold, a scarf will come in handy."

Su Wantang looked at Wang Xiulan. Her eyes were a little red and shimmered slightly under the light, but she didn't shed any tears. When she spoke, her voice was soft, but the ending was steady.

"Thank you, Auntie."

"No need to thank me," Wang Xiulan lowered her head and started knitting again. "The sweater isn't knitted yet. You can thank me after it's finished."

Su Wantang didn't say anything more. She sat on the low stool, watching Wang Xiulan's needle and thread pass through the dark blue wool yarn, stitch by stitch.

Lin Bei watched this scene. His gaze lingered on his mother's fingers for a moment, then moved to Su Wantang's lowered eyelashes, before returning to his own.

Su Yuan sat on the sofa, his cup of tea empty. He held the cup, neither putting it down nor refilling it, and sat there for a while.

Then he put down his cup, his voice a little deeper than before: "Sister-in-law, it's getting late. Let's head back now."

Wang Xiulan paused for a moment, looked up at the quartz clock on the wall. The hands were almost pointing to 9:30. "It's quite late."

She put the sweater and needles and thread into a light blue cloth bag, stood up, and said, "That's all for today. Come and visit often."

"Okay." Su Yuan stood up, turned to look at Lin Jianhua, and said, "Brother Jianhua, we'll head back now."

Su Wantang and Lin Bei also stood up.

"Okay." Lin Jianhua stood up and saw him to the entrance. "I'll talk to Old Chen. Wait for my news."

Su Yuan changed his shoes and stood up, pausing at the door without turning around, but said, "Brother Jianhua, thank you for your trouble." Then he stepped out the door.

Su Wantang followed behind him, pausing at the doorway. She turned around, her gaze sweeping across the living room before finally settling on Wang Xiulan.

"Auntie, thank you for dinner tonight."

"No need to thank me," Wang Xiulan waved her hand, "Just come often from now on."

Su Wantang didn't reply immediately. She stood there, as if she wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back. In the end, she simply nodded slightly, then turned and stepped out the door. The door closed softly behind her.

The living room fell silent. Lin Jianhua stood in the entryway, staring at the closed door, for a moment before turning and walking back to the sofa.

When he sat down, he picked up the teacup, which had gone cold, only to find it was empty, so he put it down again.

"Old Su..." he began, but stopped halfway through his sentence.

Wang Xiulan sat back on the sofa, held the knitting needles in her hand, and gently rubbed the tips of the needles with her fingertips.

"He's changed a lot," she said, "compared to when he first started school."

Lin Jianhua leaned back on the sofa, his hands clasped in front of his abdomen: "People always change."

Wang Xiulan didn't reply. She lowered her head, unfolded the dark blue sweater again, checked the size, and then began to finish stitching. The stitches moved faster than before, as if she were in a hurry.

After she finished knitting a round, she looked up and glanced at Lin Bei.

"When you go to eat across the street tomorrow morning, tell Wan Tang to come over and take your measurements when she has time."

Lin Bei was standing next to the coffee table when he heard this and paused for a moment: "Taking measurements?"

"Don't you need to take measurements when knitting a sweater?" Wang Xiulan didn't even look up, continuing to work with her needle and thread. "I don't know her shoulder width or arm length, how can I knit without taking measurements? Have her come over here, I'll get a soft measuring tape to measure her."

Lin Bei stood there, paused for two or three seconds, and then nodded: "Okay."

He turned and walked toward the bedroom, but stopped after a couple of steps and glanced back at his mother. She was knitting with her head down, and the light from the side shone on her, making a few strands of white hair at her temples shine.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he only said, "Mom, you should get some rest too."

"Um."