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

"But I don't know where to begin." Her voice was low, but it was different from the previous "I don't know."

The previous "I don't know" was giving up; the current "I don't know" is saying "I don't know, but I want to know."

"Let's start with her name," Lin Bei said. "What's her name?"

Su Wantang thought for a moment: "Zhao Yumei."

Lin Bei nodded: "Okay. I'll help you check."

Su Wantang looked at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only said one word softly: "Okay."

The first class in the afternoon is physical education.

As the sports committee member, Zhang Mingyuan stood at the front of the team and shouted commands, his voice as loud as a military training instructor.

"At ease! Attention! Count off!"

After the class of fifty-one students sparsely finished counting off, the PE teacher arrived. His surname was Liu, and he was in his early thirties, wearing a tracksuit that stretched taut over his muscles. Those muscle dimensions were probably the result of his daily weightlifting sessions in the gym. His daily routine likely consisted of squats, bench presses, taking selfies, and then posting them on QQ with the caption, "Discipline gives me freedom."

"We won't do any strenuous exercise today. Let's start with an 800-meter run to get a feel for your abilities," said Teacher Liu.

A chorus of groans erupted from the ranks.

The wails were so synchronized, as if they had been rehearsed beforehand: "Ah..." "No..." "Teacher, my foot hurts..." "Teacher, I'm on my period..."

Teacher Liu looked at the group of drama queens without changing his expression: "What are you wailing about? It's only 800 meters, it won't kill you. This class is the one I've taught before... okay, I just came to this school, this is my first class, so your current performance is the 'worst ever'. But don't be discouraged, because the next class might be even worse."

[System Interruption: Teacher Liu's "worst ever" opening line is one of the standard lines for physical education teachers. It is on par with "I'll talk for two more minutes and then get out of class will be over" as one of the two major "white lies" in the teaching profession.]

Lin Bei: How do you even know this?

[The system has reviewed countless teachers' quotes, including but not limited to: "This question is a free point," "You're the worst class I've ever taught," and "The PE teacher is sick today." In reality, the PE teacher is standing on the playground.]

Teacher Liu blew a whistle, "Girls run first, boys wait."

The girls stood on the starting line. Su Wantang was among them, standing in the middle of the line, her school uniform tucked into her waistband, making her waist look very thin. That waist was probably only the circumference of Lin Bei's thigh. Of course, Lin Bei wouldn't joke about this, because he was afraid the system would jump out and add insult to injury again.

The whistle blew, and the girls ran out.

The moment the race started, a dozen or so girls shot off like a group of rabbits released from their cages. Some ran briskly, some stumbled and almost fell, and some only started tying their shoelaces after taking a couple of steps... Why wait until the whistle blows to think about tying your shoelaces?

After the girl finished running, the boy ran.

Lin Bei stood on the starting line and took a deep breath. His 200-pound weight on the track made him look like a small truck stopped at the starting line of a race car.

Teacher Liu glanced at him, her lips twitching slightly: "Hey, chubby student, know your limits. If you can't run, just walk. Don't push yourself."

The whistle blew.

Lin Bei ran out.

The first 200 meters were alright; although slow, he was still running. At 300 meters, his heart started pounding. At 500 meters, his legs started to feel weak.

He gritted his teeth and kept running.

He ran another fifty meters, and the system popped up a notification:

[Host detected engaging in strenuous exercise. Current heart rate: 178. Slowing down is recommended, otherwise you may become the first freshman in the entire school to die suddenly during a physical education class. The system can't afford that kind of embarrassment.]

Lin Bei cursed inwardly.

No, "fuck" isn't strong enough; you need to use Chinese.

He cursed inwardly: Damn it.

Then keep running.

When he reached the 600-meter mark, he felt like his lungs were going to explode. That feeling was probably similar to the frustration you feel when you're singing "I'll Love You Till I Die" at a karaoke bar and realize you can't reach the high notes, but you refuse to change the song. You're clearly at your limit, but your voice is still stubbornly holding on.

He had to slow down, switching from running to brisk walking.

People around him had already overtaken him, running past him one by one, like a school of fish swimming past a stranded whale.

"Brother Bei! Keep it up!" Zhou Ziheng ran past him, turned around and shouted back, then sped up and ran, his small figure quickly disappearing into the crowd ahead.

Lin Bei gritted his teeth and started running again.

He ran the last 100 meters almost with his eyes closed. When he reached the finish line, he bent over, supporting himself on his knees, sweat streaming down his face, dripping onto the track.

The system displayed a notification:

Today's exercise: 800 meters (supplementary)

[System Evaluation: Although the speed was appalling, you didn't stop. The system barely gives you a passing grade. Remember to wear athletic shoes next time for PE class; you've practically worn out those sneakers.]

Lin Bei took a while to catch his breath before straightening up.

He glanced at the time: 4 minutes and 58 seconds.

The passing time was 4 minutes and 30 seconds, and he failed.

But he doesn't care.

[System update: 4 minutes and 58 seconds. This time would place you roughly... last in the class. And by a significant margin.]

Lin Bei: Can you go back and finish him off?

The system is already patching it. I'll leave once it's finished.

He glanced at Su Wantang, who was sitting on the steps by the playground. She was drinking the water that Li Xiaoyu had handed her; her lips were a little pale, but her complexion was better than when she was running.

She glanced at him.

The moment their eyes met, she nodded slightly.

It's not a thank you, nor is it recognition; it's a signal that "I know you're running."

Lin Bei nodded, walked to the shade of a tree, and plopped down on the grass. At that moment, the grass must have been thinking, "I have borne a weight that I should not have to bear."

Zhou Ziheng ran over and plopped down next to him, panting heavily: "Brother Bei, I ran for 3 minutes and 50 seconds, how was that?"

"good."

"What's so great about that? The passing grade is 4 minutes and 30 seconds, and I ran it in 3 minutes and 50 seconds. That's excellent." Zhou Ziheng pushed up his glasses smugly. "Although I'm not very fast, I'm still more than a minute faster than you."

Lin Bei glanced at him: "You, a 100-pound person, running 800 meters, are trying to compete with me, a 200-pound person? How dare you?"

Zhou Ziheng thought about it and felt that it was indeed not very kind: "Then next time I'll run with my schoolbag on my back, to give you a fair chance to compete."

"No need, I'll compete with you when I've lost weight to 150 pounds."

"When will that be?"

Lin Bei didn't answer, because he didn't know either.

After physical education class, everyone returned to the classroom to continue their lessons. Math covered set operations, physics covered velocity and acceleration, and chemistry covered the amount of matter.

Lin Bei listened quite attentively. He had learned all of this in his previous life, but had forgotten most of it. Now, picking it up again, he found it easier to understand than in his previous life.

Perhaps it's because his thirty-year-old soul is sitting in a sixteen-year-old classroom, and his mindset is different. In his previous life, he thought this knowledge was a tool for passing exams, and in this life, he thinks this knowledge is... still a tool for passing exams, but at least he knows that he will be able to use these tools in the future.

When the school bell rang, Lin Bei didn't rush to leave.

He walked over to Su Wantang's seat.

"I'll take you home today," Lin Bei said. "I'll ride my bike, and you can sit on the back."

Su Wantang hesitated for a moment.

"Can your car... carry passengers?"

Lin Bei thought about the back seat of that old-fashioned bicycle. It was a hard, metal frame covered with a velvet cover sewn by his mother. The only person who had ever sat in that back seat was his maternal grandfather, and after his grandfather passed away, that seat had remained empty.

"Yes," he said. "My grandfather weighs 160 pounds and can sit on it, how much do you weigh?"

Su Wantang didn't say anything, and lowered her head to continue packing her schoolbag.

Lin Bei took this as agreement.

They walked out of the school gate together. Lin Bei went to the bicycle shed to get the old-fashioned bicycle and pushed it to the school gate. Su Wantang stood under the sycamore tree, carrying her schoolbag. The setting sun shone from behind her, casting a long shadow.

Lin Bei stepped onto the car, braced himself with his feet, and patted the back seat: "Get in."