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

Zhang Mingqiang looked at Lin Bei and remained silent for a long time.

"Is your dad a policeman?"

"My dad's friend. He's in the criminal investigation unit."

Zhang Mingqiang remained silent for a while, then stood up and went into the bedroom.

After a while, he came out wearing a clean shirt.

He carried the plastic bag in his hand.

"Have you made contact with Li Dong?"

"Not yet. I'm planning to go today."

"Let's go." Zhang Mingqiang walked to the door, took a set of keys from the shoe cabinet, and said, "I'll follow you on my motorcycle."

He paused, then turned to look at Su Wantang.

"Daughter."

Su Wantang raised her head.

"You're better than your dad."

The second stop was Liuhe Town in the north of the city.

It takes almost an hour to ride an electric bike from the west to the north of the city.

After leaving the city, the road conditions became increasingly worse, and the electric scooter bounced along the bumpy road. Unconsciously, Su Wantang's hand on his waist tightened into a grip.

On the main street of Liuhe Town, the sign for "Dongzi Auto Repair" is a piece of sheet metal, with most of the red paint already peeled off.

A man in his forties was squatting on the ground removing a tire. He was wearing work clothes stained with oil, and his hands were covered in black engine oil. Hearing someone come in, he looked up and squinted at Lin Bei and Su Wantang.

"Car repair?"

"We don't repair cars," Lin Bei said. "Are you Uncle Li Dong? We're from Jiangcheng. This is Su Wantang, the daughter of Zhao Yumei's current husband."

Li Dong's hand stopped.

He slowly stood up, wiped the oil off his hands on a rag, and stared at Su Wantang for several seconds.

"Zhao Yumei." When he pronounced this name, his voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"What do you want from me?"

Lin Bei recounted the events.

Li Dong listened without saying a word.

He tossed the rag aside, pulled over a plastic stool, and sat down. The stool was missing a leg and was propped up with bricks; it wobbled a bit when he sat on it, but he didn't pay it any mind.

He pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and lit it.

"What does this have to do with me?" He took a drag of his cigarette, smoke billowing from his nostrils, and squinted at Su Wantang.

"Go talk to her dad, why are you talking to me?"

He turned his head, put a cigarette in his mouth, and began to remove the other tire. The wrench got stuck on the screw, and he pressed down with his full weight, his face turning red. The screw didn't budge.

"Uncle Li," Lin Bei said.

"Don't call me uncle." Li Dong didn't even look up. "I don't know you guys. She... Zhao Yumei, that's her business. I finally got over that period, and you bring it up again. What do you want me to do? Confront her? Report her to the police?"

He threw the wrench on the ground, the metal hitting the concrete with a screeching sound.

"Will I get my money back?"

Lin Bei paused for a moment, then said, "He might not be able to come back."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Li Dong stood up, looking at Lin Bei, his eyes reddening. "Go tell the police, 'She cheated me out of 150,000 yuan'? And then the police ask me, 'Where's the evidence?' And I say, 'Nothing.' I don't even have an IOU. What am I supposed to use to report this?"

His voice echoed through the repair shop.

Su Wantang took a step forward.

Uncle Li.

Li Dong looked at her.

"Although the money may be gone," Su Wantang said softly, but she didn't back down. "But you can make sure she can't lie to a fourth person."

Li Dong looked into her eyes.

"My dad is the third. If you don't go now, there will be a fourth, a fifth. No one told you the truth back then, which is why you ended up where you are today. But now someone is becoming the next you, and that person is my dad."

The repair shop was quiet.

The sputtering sound of a tractor came from afar, growing closer and then fading into the distance.

Li Dong stood there, motionless.

A long time passed, so long that Lin Bei thought he wouldn't answer. He bent down, picked up the wrench from the ground, and placed it on the workbench.

"Is Zhang Mingqiang going too?" His voice was hoarse.

"Go. Wait outside," Lin Bei said.

Li Dong nodded. He went into the shop and came out a while later wearing a clean white shirt. The collar was frayed, but it was very clean.

"Let's go. I'll follow you in my car."

……

Three cars, four people.

Lin Bei rode his electric scooter at the front, with Su Wantang on the back. Zhang Mingqiang followed behind on his motorcycle, the engine sounding deep and steady. Li Dong brought up the rear in a dilapidated van, making a clanging sound as it drove.

Lin Bei glanced at himself in the rearview mirror.

Su Wantang's hair was blown by the wind. She squinted, her expression calm.

But her hand remained on his waist the whole time, from the west of the city to the north, and then back to Jiangcheng, never letting go.

When Lin Bei arrived at the apartment building, he parked his car.

He glanced at his phone and sent a message to Su Yuan: "Uncle Su, is it convenient for you to come to 502 now? We're waiting for you at the old house. Two people want to talk to you about Aunt Zhao. Remember to come alone."

He deliberately used the words "502" and "old house" to make Su Yuan realize that this was not Cuipingyuan, not Zhao Yumei's territory, but the house left by Su Wantang's mother.

Su Yuan replied quickly: "Okay. I'll be there in half an hour."

Lin Bei put his phone away and led Zhang Mingqiang and Li Dong upstairs.

The door to room 502 was open. Su Wantang stood in the doorway, waiting for them to go in.

Zhang Mingqiang stood in the middle of the living room, looked around, and asked, "This house...was it left by your mother?"

Su Wantang nodded.

Zhang Mingqiang didn't ask any more questions. He sat down on the sofa and placed the plastic bag containing the evidence on the coffee table.

Li Dong sat next to him without saying a word.

Lin Bei stood by the window, looking down. About twenty minutes later, a taxi pulled up downstairs. Su Yuan got out of the car, stood downstairs, and glanced up at the fifth-floor window.

Then he walked into the stairwell.

Lin Bei heard footsteps on the stairs. Slowly, step by step, as if each step required effort. The door was open, and Su Yuan stood in the doorway, pausing for a moment upon seeing Zhang Mingqiang and Li Dong in the living room.

Su Wantang came out of the kitchen, holding a glass of water. "Dad, come in."

Su Yuan took the water glass and walked in.

He sat on the sofa, opposite Zhang Mingqiang. Li Dong sat next to Zhang Mingqiang. The three of them faced each other, like three wooden stakes tied together by the same rope.

Lin Bei pulled up a chair and sat in the corner. Su Wantang stood next to her father, one hand resting on the back of the sofa.

Zhang Mingqiang didn't waste any words. He emptied the contents of the plastic bag onto the coffee table: a contract, bank transfer records, and a court judgment.

"I was with Zhao Yumei for a year and a half. She took more than 300,000 yuan from me. This is the evidence."

He spread out the papers one by one.

Su Yuan lowered his head and looked at the papers. His hands began to tremble.

Li Dong pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table. "I don't have as much evidence as him. But this note says that she took 150,000 yuan from me. I've recorded every single transaction, including the date and amount, all in cash."

He looked up at Su Yuan.

"Brother Su, you're the third one."