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

In the evening, Lin Bei sat at his desk doing his math homework.

My phone vibrated.

It was his father calling. He answered, "Dad."

"Xiao Bei." Lin Jianhua's voice came from the other end of the phone, hoarse from driving for a long time. In the background noise were the roar of an engine and radio static; his father must have just entered a service area and hadn't had time to turn off the engine yet.

"Liu Ping's investigation has revealed that Zhao Yumei is indeed problematic." Lin Jianhua lowered his voice, as if speaking from the driver's seat, as if afraid of being overheard. "She has been married twice before."

"The first time, my husband's name was Zhang Mingqiang, and he lived in Cuihu Community in the western development zone of the city. The two were married for a year and a half. When they divorced, Zhao Yumei took more than 300,000 yuan. Zhang Mingqiang reported the case, but there was insufficient evidence, so it was not filed."

Lin Bei wrote down "Zhang Mingqiang" and "Cuihu Community" on the draft paper.

"The second time, my husband's name was Li Dong. He lived in Liuhe Town in the north of the city and ran a car repair shop. Ten months into their marriage, Zhao Yumei took 150,000 yuan from him. Li Dong didn't even report it to the police."

Lin Bei frowned: "Why didn't you report it?"

"Liu Ping said that Li Dong himself said, 'It's no use reporting it; the lawyer said I can't get it back, and it'll only be embarrassing.'" Lin Jianhua paused, "He saved up eight years' worth of money, and it's all gone in an instant. After the divorce, he became completely dejected."

Lin Bei was silent for a moment. "Anything else?"

"Liu Ping also described Zhao Yumei's methods," Lin Jianhua said, her voice lower. "She said she wanted to buy a house and open a shop, and asked the man to 'hand over his money to her for safekeeping' or 'invest together.' Once the money was in her name, it became 'marital property' or 'a voluntary gift.' During the divorce, she claimed it was her money, and since the man couldn't produce any IOUs or contracts, the court couldn't rule on it."

The sound of a lighter came from the other end of the phone, and Lin Jianhua lit a cigarette.

"At least Zhang Mingqiang had transfer records, but because it was a transfer within the marriage, the court determined it to be 'family asset transactions,' not a loan. Li Dong was in an even worse situation; he gave cash without even a receipt. Liu Ping said that these kinds of cases are the most difficult to handle. It's not that there are no facts, it's that there is no evidence."

Lin Bei wrote a few words on the draft paper: voluntary gift, joint property of husband and wife, no IOU.

"Liu Ping also said something else," Lin Jianhua said, exhaling smoke. "He said that if only one person comes to report that they were deceived by Zhao Yumei, it's an 'isolated case,' with insufficient evidence to file a case. But if three people come together and corroborate each other's statements—Zhang Mingqiang testifies that Zhao Yumei has 'marriage fraud' methods, Li Dong testifies that this isn't her first time, Su Yuan testifies that she's currently committing it… then the nature of the case is different. This is called 'multiple cases being linked,' turning a 'civil dispute' into a 'criminal offense.'"

Lin Bei's fingers tightened slightly.

"So Dad, you mean...?"

"What I mean is, you have to get those two willing to come," Lin Jianhua said. "It's no use just the two of you going; Zhang Mingqiang and Li Dong have to go together. Only when the three of them are standing together will the police take it seriously."

Lin Bei took a deep breath. "I understand, Dad."

"Also," Lin Jianhua's voice suddenly turned serious, "Liu Ping said that Zhao Yumei is a dangerous person. The reason she was able to escape unscathed twice wasn't because she was lucky, but because she calculated every step perfectly, and the law can't touch her. Don't let her know that you went to see her ex-husband."

"I'll be careful."

"It's not about being careful," Lin Jianhua corrected, "it's about not letting her know. Those are two different things."

"Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Bei stared at the two names and address on the draft paper for a long time.

Then he picked up his phone and sent Su Wantang a message: "Are you asleep?"

About half a minute later, the other end replied: "Not yet."

Lin Bei hesitated for a moment, typed a line, then deleted it. He didn't know how to start the conversation.

Finally, he sent it out: "My dad found out. Zhao Yumei has been married twice before."

Su Wantang replied almost instantly: "Really?"

"It's true. The first one was named Zhang Mingqiang, who lived in the west of the city. The second one was named Li Dong, who lived in the north of the city. In both divorces, she took a share of the other party's money. Zhang Mingqiang was taken more than 300,000 yuan, and Li Dong was taken 150,000 yuan."

Su Wantang didn't ask, "Are you sure?" or "Could there be a mistake?" She only replied, "Then what should we do?"

Lin Bei typed a message: "I want to find those two people. I want them to talk to your dad in person. The police will only take it seriously if all three of them go to report the case together."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then a message popped up: "I'll go with you."

Lin Bei looked at the message and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"Come with me to buy an electric scooter tomorrow at noon. We'll leave early Saturday morning. First to the west of the city, then to the north."

"it is good."

Go to bed early.

"The same to you."

Lin Bei put his phone on the table and leaned back in his chair.

The system panel flashed before his eyes; the life countdown and mind-reading ability had only 2 days left.

Outside the window, the lights in apartment 502 across the street were still on.

He didn't know what she was thinking. But he knew that from tonight onwards, she was no longer that little girl who knew nothing and could only passively accept things.

She learned the truth and chose to face it.

Before going to bed, Lin Bei did dozens of sets of push-ups. Although there were only two or three in each set, he was at least slowly developing the habit of exercising.

The next day, Friday, September 7, 2012.

Early in the morning, Lin Bei went for a brisk walk as usual, but this time he combined brisk walking with running. He was faster than the previous few days and made quite a bit of progress, so he ran one kilometer more than yesterday.

At noon, as soon as the school bell rang, Lin Bei walked to Su Wantang's seat.

The two ate lunch together as usual, but this time they weren't having English lessons; they were going to buy an electric scooter.

Su Wantang wore a white short-sleeved shirt and jeans today, her hair tied in a high ponytail. The bluish tinge around her eyes was still there, but lighter than a few days ago. Perhaps knowing there was a solution, she was able to fall asleep.

They went out of the school through the back gate and walked along the road for about ten minutes until they arrived at an electric vehicle dealership.

A dozen brand-new electric vehicles, all brightly colored, were parked in front of the store, gleaming in the sunlight.

The shop owner, a man in his forties with a beer belly, was squatting on the ground inflating tires on a car. Seeing them enter, he stood up, dusted his hands, and asked, "Students? Buying an electric scooter?"

"Hmm." Lin Bei glanced at the cars in the store.

"I recommend this one to you," the shopkeeper patted a white one next to him, "lightweight, energy-saving, and suitable for students."

Lin Bei glanced at the white car, then at himself, and pointed to a dark blue one in the corner: "Where's that one?"

The shopkeeper paused for a moment, looked Lin Bei up and down, his gaze lingering on Lin Bei's round face and chubby belly, then smiled: "That one has a good load-bearing capacity and a wide back seat. Which one suits you best."

[System Interruption: What the boss meant by "good load-bearing capacity" is, in other words, "You're too fat; the little car can't support you." It's recommended that the host carve this phrase above their bed and read it aloud twice a day, morning and evening, as motivation for weight loss.]

Lin Bei ignored the system and paid the money expressionlessly.

The shopkeeper took a receipt from the counter, filled in the amount, tore it off, and handed it to him. He then took out a red bow from the drawer and tied it to the front of the car, saying, "A blessing for the new car, for good luck."

As they stepped out of the store, Su Wantang suddenly spoke, "Lin Bei."

"Um."

"Those two people your dad found out about, Zhang Mingqiang and Li Dong... will they be unwilling to see us?"

"I don't know," he said, "but we have to try."

Su Wantang nodded and didn't ask any more questions.