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

The living room was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Su Yuan closed his eyes.

Six months ago, Zhao Yumei said, "Let's buy an apartment together and put both our names on it." He transferred 200,000 yuan, which he had saved up for many years, to her, with the transfer note saying "for the purchase of a house," exactly the same as Zhang Mingqiang's.

Last month, Zhao Yumei said, "There's no use keeping that old house. Sell it to pay off the loan, and the pressure on us will be less." He said, "That was left to me by my daughter's mother." Zhao Yumei said, "I know, but you have to look forward." He hesitated for a few days, but finally agreed.

Further back, at her wedding, Zhao Yumei said, "I've only been divorced once before. My ex-husband treated me badly, and I left without taking anything." He believed her.

Looking back now, I realize that every single word was read from the script.

Zhang Mingqiang is a thing of the past, Li Dong is a thing of the past, but he is in the present. The house hasn't been sold yet, and the money is still in his account, at least most of it.

But the word "not yet" sent a chill down his spine.

If he hadn't come today, if Lin Bei hadn't brought those two people, if his daughter hadn't gone to see him time and time again...

He dared not think any further.

It took him a while to open his eyes. His eyes were red, his lips trembled, and his voice sounded like it was being squeezed from deep in his throat:

"She told me... she'd only been divorced once... her ex-husband treated her badly, and she didn't want anything..."

"She said the same thing to Li Dong." Zhang Mingqiang's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

Su Yuan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Brother Su," Li Dong spoke up, "I'll tell you the truth."

Su Yuan looked at him.

"I'm here today not because I'm so noble. It's because I don't want to see a fourth person. I know how I've lived these past eight years. Your daughter is only sixteen; don't let her have to live like this in the future."

Su Yuan's fingers clenched tightly around the knees of his pants.

"What about the house?" Zhang Mingqiang asked. "Is she going to sell your house?"

Su Yuan remained silent.

Su Wantang spoke for him, "It's the house my mother left me. This one."

Zhang Mingqiang paused for a moment, then turned to look at Su Yuan.

"You want to sell this house?"

Su Yuan looked at his daughter.

"Wantang, Dad is so sorry..."

"Dad," Su Wantang's voice wasn't loud, but she looked into her father's eyes, "Now you know. Are you still going to sell it?"

Su Yuan did not answer immediately.

He lowered his head. His shoulders were trembling slightly.

After a few seconds, maybe ten seconds, he shook his head.

"I'm not selling it anymore."

His voice was very low, so low that it was almost inaudible.

Su Wantang's tears fell. She didn't speak, but simply held her father's hand in her own.

Su Yuan held his daughter's hand tightly.

Zhang Mingqiang stood up. "Brother Su, let's go report this to the police."

Su Yuan raised his head.

"Now?"

"Before she reacts," Li Dong stood up, his voice soft but steady. "If I go alone, the police won't listen to me. Without evidence, they can't file a case. Brother Zhang has evidence, but one person isn't enough. But if the three of us go together, things will be different. You're dealing with what's happening now, he's dealing with what's in the past, and I'm in the middle. With all three things combined, she can't escape."

Su Yuan looked at Zhang Mingqiang, then at Li Dong.

"You...are you willing to come with me?"

"Otherwise, why did we come all this way?" Li Dong said. "We can't let her scam a fourth person."

Zhang Mingqiang slowly put the evidence on the coffee table back into the plastic bag, one by one. He moved very slowly, as if he were packing something very important.

"Brother Su, let's go today. Before she realizes what's happening."

Su Yuan nodded.

He stood up.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Lin Bei.

"Xiao Lin."

Lin Bei stood up. "Uncle Su."

"Thank you," Su Yuan said hoarsely. "If it weren't for you, I might never have known."

Lin Bei looked into Su Yuan's eyes. There were many things in those eyes: guilt, lingering fear, gratitude, and an indescribable weariness.

He thought for a moment, then said, "Uncle Su, you don't need to thank me. Going to report it to the police is the best way to thank me."

Su Yuan looked at him, her eyes reddening again. But she didn't say thank you again, she just nodded.

Then he turned around and led Zhang Mingqiang and Li Dong downstairs.

The footsteps on the stairs grew fainter and fainter. Li Dong's footsteps had a slight dragging quality, but each step was steady.

He didn't stop.

Su Wantang stood at the door, watching her father's figure disappear around the corner of the corridor.

Then she turned around and looked at Lin Bei.

She had wiped away her tears. Her eyes were still red, but there was a light in them.

That light wasn't excitement or exhilaration; it was the light of someone who had been pulled out of deep water and was seeing the sky again.

"Lin Bei".

"Um."

"Thank you for bringing them here."

Lin Bei looked at her. He wanted to say something, but opened his mouth and then closed it again. In the end, he just nodded.

Then he remembered something. He silently recited in his mind: Life countdown, target Su Wantang.

A string of numbers came into view.

65年3个月7天12小时52分41秒。

65年3个月7天12小时52分40秒。

……

65 years. Adding her current age of 16, she will live to be 81.

normal now.

"What's wrong?" Su Wantang looked at him, probably because his expression was too strange.

"It's nothing," he smiled.

After saying goodbye to Su Wantang, Lin Bei opened the door to room 501.

There was no one in the living room. The kitchen light was on, and Mother was busy at the stove, the sound of the spatula hitting the iron pot clanging together, and the aroma of minced garlic and hot oil filling the air.

"Mom, I'm home."

"You're back? Wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon."

Lin Bei responded, walked into the bedroom, and then slammed heavily onto the bed.

The spring mattress creaked and groaned.

He stared at the ceiling.

Then he closed his eyes.

The moment he closed his eyes, a crisp notification sound suddenly exploded in his mind.

Ding!

The system panel appeared out of thin air in front of him, floating below the ceiling, with blue text on a black background, brighter than ever before.

The hidden quest "Rescue Su Wantang" has been completed. Rating: S

Lin Bei was stunned for a moment, then sat up from the bed.

"A hidden quest?" he asked himself. "When did you release it? How come I didn't know about it?"

Hidden tasks do not need to be published; they are triggered by the host itself. The system only retroactively approves them afterward.

"Random recognition?" Lin Bei pondered the word. "You mean, I did something you thought I wouldn't do?"

[To be precise, you did something the system didn't anticipate. The system gave you mind-reading abilities and a life countdown timer, expecting you to use them at most to remind Su Wantang, chat with her, and stabilize her emotions. But the host chose a more troublesome path: finding two strangers, bringing them before Su Yuan, and letting the evidence speak for itself.]

Lin Bei didn't say anything.

[The system has assessed the success rate of this path. Zhang Mingqiang might not want to see you, Li Dong might kick you out, and Su Yuan might not believe you at all. Each step has a greater than 50% chance of failure. The system does not recommend taking this path, therefore the system has not issued a task.]

"But you still gave me a reward," Lin Bei said.

[Because the host succeeded. The system doesn't reward "correct" choices, but rather the result of "success." The host succeeded, so the system rewards them.]