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

The corridor fell silent.

The woman in the red dress stood up, neatly folded the scattered floor plans on the coffee table, and stuffed them into her bag. Her movements were quick and efficient, and a slight smile even played on her lips as she did so. It was a faint smile, but Lin Bei saw it clearly.

She was very happy.

Because people came to see the house today, because the woman who bought the house seemed very sincere, and because everything was going according to her plan.

"Old Su, let's go." She picked up her bag and said to Su Yuan.

Su Yuan stood up and walked to the door. He glanced back at the room, his gaze lingering for a second on the closed bedroom door.

What was in that glance? Guilt? Reluctance? Or resignation, a "whatever" attitude?

Lin Bei couldn't tell the difference. Perhaps Su Yuan himself couldn't tell the difference either.

Then he closed the door.

Click.

Su Yuan and the woman went downstairs, their high heels and leather shoes making a mixed sound on the stairs, growing farther and farther away until they disappeared into the stairwell.

The corridor fell silent again, the motion-activated lights went out, leaving only the dim twilight streaming in through the window at the end of the corridor.

Lin Bei turned around, opened the door, and went inside.

No one was home; my mother hadn't come home from get off work yet.

Lin Bei tossed his schoolbag onto the sofa and went into the kitchen. On the second shelf of the refrigerator was a food storage container filled with braised pork ribs, stir-fried vegetables, and rice, all neatly arranged.

He carried the food container to the door of apartment 502.

Raise your hand and knock on the door.

Boom, boom, boom.

no respond.

"Su Wantang," he called out to the door, his voice loud enough for the person inside to hear, "The food's at the door. Remember to eat."

No one answered.

Lin Bei placed the food container on the doormat, next to a pair of chopsticks wrapped in a tissue.

He turned and went back into the house.

After showering, eating, and washing the dishes, Lin Bei sat at his desk. The desk lamp was on, and he turned to the first unit of his English textbook. He copied the ten new words three times and memorized six. He just couldn't remember the remaining four: abandon, abandon, abandon… He remembered the last one very well, though, because it was the first word in many English books, as if advising you to give up as soon as possible.

He copied it twice more, but still couldn't remember the remaining four.

My phone vibrated.

Zhou Ziheng: "Brother Bei, guess who I ran into at the internet cafe today?"

Lin Bei wasn't in the mood to guess, and replied with a punctuation mark: "?".

Zhou Ziheng sent a photo, which was very blurry, but you could make out the words on the screen: "The Strongest Academic in History by Fish Who Loves to Eat Cats".

"This guy's sitting right next to me, typing away. He says he's written over three million words and earns several thousand a month! Brother Bei, didn't you say you also write online? You're not writing novels, are you?"

Lin Bei's heart stirred as he looked at the message.

Writing novels?

In his previous life, he was a copywriter, writing advertorials for clients, such as "After using this face mask, my ex-boyfriend actually came back." Although the content was a bit far-fetched, he was quite skilled at manipulating readers' psychology.

What about online novels? He's read quite a few.

But he never wrote it.

[System Interruption: In 2012, the host's online novel reading volume would place them at the "veteran bookworm" level. However, the difference between "reading" and "writing" is roughly equivalent to the difference between "I've watched 'A Bite of China'" and "I can make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."]

Lin Bei: System, say some encouraging words.

[Alright! At least the host has seen "A Bite of China" and knows what Buddha Jumps Over the Wall looks like, which is better than those who haven't even seen it.]

Lin Bei's finger paused on the screen for a moment. This era, for online novels, is just beginning.

In 2012, mobile internet had not yet taken off, and many people were still using feature phones to read novels, where only a few dozen words could be displayed per page, making page turning a painful experience. The habit of paying for reading was just beginning to take shape, but the market size was already considerable.

More importantly, he knows the trends for the next few years. He knows what types of books readers like, what themes will be popular, and what writing styles will be sought after.

If he writes a book...

My phone vibrated again.

Zhou Ziheng: "Brother Bei? Why aren't you replying to me? Are you secretly typing away? What are you writing? Let me see!"

Lin Bei: "No. I'm memorizing English."

Zhou Ziheng replied instantly: "...You have a fever?"

Lin Bei ignored him and put her phone face down on the table.

The most important thing right now isn't writing the novel, it's the number above Su Wantang's head.

6 days.

He didn't know what would happen in six days. But he knew he had to do one thing within those six days: reassure her that the sky wouldn't fall.

Even if the house is sold, even if her father abandons her here, the sky won't fall.

Because there are people there.

[The host may not be very attractive, but at least they're not mentally impaired.]

Lin Bei: If you're going to compliment someone, just compliment them. Why do you have to mention their looks?

[When the system praises someone, it usually comes with a condition; otherwise, the system feels uncomfortable. This is a flaw in the system's character. Since the host has been reborn, please be more tolerant of this system.]

and many more.

Rebirth.

I am a reborn person.

A thought suddenly popped into his head.

Write a book about rebirth, a book about a fat man who changes his fate after being reborn.

It wasn't for fame, it wasn't for money... well, making money was part of it, after all, he needed money to do many things, but most importantly...

Su Wantang.

A story, a story about "even if the whole world abandons you, you can start over."

A sixteen-year-old girl sat in an empty room. She felt like the whole world had forgotten her. She didn't know what to do tomorrow, or what to eat for her next meal.

But if she saw a story about a fat man who was just as lost, just as desperate, just as being crushed by life... but that fat man didn't give up. He crawled forward step by step, very slowly, stumbling and falling, getting up after falling down, falling down again and getting up again, but he never stopped.

Does she think she can hold on for another day?

Lin Bei didn't know. But he wanted to give it a try.

This idea is called "writing therapy" in literature, "target audience positioning" in business, and "what you keep in mind will eventually resonate" in metaphysics. The system doesn't judge whether this idea is good or bad; the system only says one thing: just write. Don't overthink it, or you won't be able to write.

Lin Bei: When did you become so inspirational?

[The system occasionally speaks human language. Don't be alarmed if it does.]

He opened his phone's notes app, created a new document, and typed a line in the title bar:

Rebirth of the Strongest Male God.

I stared at that line of text for five seconds.

Not good enough. The term "male god" is too greasy, like those short video titles that say "Teach you to be handsome in five minutes," but when you click on them, you find out they're selling hair growth products.

But I can't think of anything better right now, so let's leave it at that for now.

He wrote a line below:

Synopsis: Fatty Lin is reborn, back to when he was sixteen. He weighs 200 pounds, and his looks… are downright unattractive. But he knows what will happen in the next decade or so, and he's determined to walk a path that no one can predict…

After he finished writing it, he read it twice.

The first time I read it, I thought it was alright. The second time, I thought... it was still alright, at least it wasn't some cliché like "starting as a pig, getting all your equipment through gameplay." The ellipsis at the end of the description was well-chosen, giving the impression of "to be continued, to find out what happens next," even though he just didn't know how to write the rest.