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

Su Wantang walked over and sat sideways on the back seat. She sat quite far back, gripping the springs under the seat cushion with both hands, leaning back slightly, about ten centimeters away from Lin Bei.

"Help me up." Lin Bei didn't turn around.

Su Wantang hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently pinched the back of his school uniform.

It's not the waist, it's the back hem.

It's not "supporting," it's "pinching."

[System observation: Su Wantang's finger strength is approximately 0.3 Newtons. It is recommended that the host maintain a steady pace, otherwise she might not even be able to hold onto the back of the garment.]

Lin Bei: You even figured out Newton?

The system has a built-in force sensor. Although I didn't know its purpose before, it's working now.

Lin Bei: ...

He stepped on the pedal, and the bike started moving wobbly.

The chain creaked and rattled, the handlebars were still slightly tilted to the right, and the pedals were still uneven. But with an extra person on the back, it was actually a bit more stable than before, probably because the weight of over 100 pounds on the rear wheel increased the friction.

The evenings in early September are very pleasant. The wind blows through the gaps in the sycamore trees, carrying the sweet scent of osmanthus and the dry fragrance of fallen leaves.

Lin Bei rode very slowly, not because he couldn't ride fast, but because he was afraid of bumping the people behind him.

This was the first time in his two lifetimes that he had ever ridden a bicycle with a girl on the back.

【系统插播：宿主的「第一次载女生」成就已解锁。解锁时间：2012年9月5日，18:12。成就评级：青铜。】

Lin Bei: Could the rating be higher?

[No. The achievement rating is based on a combination of "sugar content" and "heart rate index." The host's heart rate is indeed fast, but the "sugar content" is too low. She only pinched the hem of her clothes, not even wrapping her arms around her waist. If she had wrapped her arms around her waist, it would be at least a gold rating.]

"Lin Bei." Su Wantang's voice drifted from behind, somewhat scattered by the wind.

"Um?"

Why did you help me investigate her?

Lin Bei thought for a moment.

"Because I don't want to see you bullied," he said. "Your mom helped my mom, now it's my turn to help you."

Su Wantang didn't say anything more.

Just then, the heavy-duty scooter rolled over a crater.

The crater wasn't too big or too small, just enough to create a perfect resonance for an old, worn-out bicycle. The bike lurched violently, and Su Wantang was thrown forward by the momentum...

It crashed solidly into Lin Bei's back.

Time seemed to stand still.

Lin Bei's face underwent a complete transformation from normal skin tone to tomato red within three seconds.

Holy crap.

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap.

Is the world beneath the school uniform really that big?

His palms started to sweat, and he almost dropped the handlebars.

Calm down, calm down, calm down.

If he turned around now, he would find that Su Wantang's face was even redder than his.

She quickly jumped away, then grabbed the back of his school uniform again, her fingers trembling slightly.

Neither of them spoke after that.

The wind is still blowing, the osmanthus is still fragrant, and the sycamore leaves are still falling. But there's something strange in the air now, something you can't quite put your finger on, something like... the kind of silence that's often depicted in youth dramas but rarely encountered in real life, a silence that makes your heart race.

[System Summary: This silence lasted approximately 3 minutes and 28 seconds. During this time, the host kicked about 200 times, Su Wantang shifted the position of her hand gripping the back of her school uniform three times, and both of them replayed "that moment" in their minds at least five times. This is youth.]

Lin Bei: ...

I rode the bike downstairs in the residential area.

Lin Bei parked the car, and Su Wantang got out of the back seat and stood at the entrance of the building.

Her hair was a little messy from the wind, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks. There was a small crease on the back of her school uniform, evidence of the collision.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning," Lin Bei said, his tone as natural as if he'd said it many times before, but in reality, this was the first time. "7:10, wait downstairs."

Su Wantang glanced at him and nodded slightly.

The two went upstairs together.

She went into 502, and he turned around and opened the door to 501.

Lin Bei changed his shoes, went into the kitchen, took out the food storage container from the refrigerator, and then walked to the door of apartment 502 and placed it on the doormat.

I knocked on the door.

No one answered.

"The food is at the door," he said loudly.

Then he went back inside.

After showering and eating, Lin Bei sat at his desk. The desk lamp was on, and he copied the fifteen new words in his English textbook twice, memorizing three of them. His efficiency was much lower than yesterday because his mind was preoccupied with something else... well, not about Su Wantang bumping into his back, although that image would occasionally flash back.

Zhao Yumei.

He remembered the name. Su Yuan's new wife, who claimed to be unemployed and had been married to Su Yuan for six months, was slowly pushing him into an abyss.

How do I check?

The most direct way to investigate someone's background is to go to the civil affairs bureau, the court, or the police station. But he's a sixteen-year-old high school student, whose ID card still indicates he's a minor—who would bother with him?

unless……

Lin Bei picked up his phone and scrolled to a name in his contacts—Liu Ping.

His father, Lin Jianhua, had a friend who was the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau. Lin Bei had met him a few times in his previous life and remembered him as a man of few words but very reliable. He would come to their house for a couple of drinks every year during the Spring Festival.

But Lin Bei wasn't very familiar with him. It didn't seem right for a high school student to suddenly run up to him and ask, "Uncle, can you help me look up someone?"

Unless his father intervenes.

Lin Bei glanced at the time; it was 9:30 PM. His dad should still be driving on the road at this hour, or perhaps he had just stopped at a service area to rest.

He dialed his father's number.

The phone rang several times before being answered. There was a lot of background noise on the other end, including the roar of an engine, radio static, and the whooshing sound of wind rushing through the car window.

"Hey? Beibei?" Lin Jianhua's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding tired from a long drive, but he perked up when he heard his son's voice. "What's wrong? Is everything alright at home?"

"It's okay, Dad. Are you driving?"

"Just pulled into a service area for a short rest. Your mom said you've been losing weight lately? And you're running every morning?"

"Yes, I reduced it a little."

"That's great! Dad supports you! Once you lose weight, Dad will take you out for a nice meal!"

"...Dad, people who are trying to lose weight shouldn't listen to this kind of talk."

Lin Jianhua chuckled a few times on the other end of the phone, his laughter a little hoarse from the fatigue of the long drive.

"Sure, what's the matter with the phone call?"

Lin Bei took a deep breath.

"Dad, do you know Uncle Liu Ping?"

"Yes, we know each other. What's up?"

"I want to ask him for a favor," Lin Bei said. "To investigate someone."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Looking for someone?" Lin Jianhua's voice rose slightly. "Who are you looking for? Did they cause trouble?"

"She didn't cause any trouble," Lin Bei said, speaking at a very calm pace. "She's the stepmother of one of my classmates, and I think there's something wrong with her. She's been married twice before, and both times she divorced in less than a year, splitting the assets each time. My classmate's father just got married to her six months ago, and now he wants to sell their house. I feel like something's not right."

There was another silence on the other end of the phone.

This silence was even longer. So long that Lin Bei thought the call had ended. He glanced at his phone screen; the call was still going on.

"You silly child," Lin Jianhua's voice carried a complex emotion, "aren't you meddling a bit too much in other people's business?"

"Dad, that classmate of mine lives across the hall from us, Su Wantang in 502. Her mother passed away, her father remarried, and now he's going to sell the house her mother left behind. She's only sixteen years old, and she's almost homeless."

Lin Jianhua remained silent for a long time.

"About your Uncle Liu," he began, his voice lower than before, "I'll ask him for you. But it might not work out. You know their rules there; they can't just check people's names like that."

"I know," Lin Bei said. "It would be best if we could find out, but we'll see if we can't."

"Alright. You kid..." Lin Jianhua said again, but this time his tone was different, carrying an indescribable meaning, "You're just like me."

Lin Bei hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

He did everything he could. He brought food to Su Wantang, helped her investigate Zhao Yumei, and ran every morning to lose weight. It seemed like he did a lot, but in reality, each step was just the beginning, far from solving the fundamental problem. It was like digging a well, only to find damp soil, with no water yet bubbling up.

But he dared not stop, nor could he stop.