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

Lin Bei didn't listen anymore, changed his shoes, and went out.

After my run, I went home and then had breakfast with Su Wantang in room 502.

When Lin Bei returned from apartment 502, Lin Jianhua had already finished breakfast and was standing on the balcony smoking. Hearing the door open, he stubbed out his cigarette in a flowerpot, turned around, and his gaze lingered on Lin Bei's face for two seconds.

"Finished eating?"

"I'm finished eating." Lin Bei changed his shoes and came in. "Dad, when are we going to look at houses?"

"Your Uncle Chen opens the door at 8:30, we'll leave at 8:00." Lin Jianhua glanced at the quartz clock on the wall, 7:40. "Twenty minutes to go. Get ready."

Lin Bei nodded and went into the bedroom.

He took the bank card out of the compartment in his backpack and put it in his pocket. After thinking for a moment, he took it out again, moved it to the front pocket of his jeans, and zipped it up. It wasn't a small amount of money, and he wasn't entirely comfortable putting it in any pocket, but he had to choose one.

When he came out, Lin Jianhua had already changed his shoes and was holding a set of car keys.

"Xiulan, are you going?" he asked.

Wang Xiulan was washing dishes in the kitchen, and without turning her head, she said, "I'm not going. You two can go. I don't know anything about these things."

Lin Bei thought to herself: Mom, the way you're talking makes it sound like Dad knows everything. He even asked me for the home Wi-Fi password. How could he possibly be better than me at something as complicated as buying a house?

[The host secretly complained about his father in his mind. The system admired this "cowardly to his face, fierce as a tiger behind his back" spirit. It suggested that the host say this to his face one day, and the system would reserve an ICU bed for him in advance.]

"Let's go then." Lin Jianhua opened the door.

The father and son went downstairs.

Lin Jianhua's car was a silver-gray van with several scratches on the body and a red ribbon tied to the rearview mirror, which had faded to pink. He opened the driver's side door and got in, while Lin Bei opened the passenger side door, got in, and fastened his seatbelt.

The van drove out of the residential area and turned onto the main road.

The father and son didn't talk much on the way. Lin Jianhua focused on driving, while Lin Bei watched the street scenes rushing past the window, pondering how to talk to Chen Guodong later.

Chen Guodong, a friend of Lin Jianhua, had been a real estate agent in Jiangcheng for over a decade. Lin Bei didn't have a deep impression of him in his previous life, only knowing that he was a man of few words but efficient in his work, who would come to visit during holidays, bringing a couple of bottles of wine to have a few drinks with his father.

The car turned into a small alley and stopped in front of a store. The sign above the store read "Guodong Real Estate," and the glass door was covered with various property listings, densely packed, some of which were already yellowed and curled at the edges.

A man in his forties, wearing a white polo shirt and with his hair neatly combed, was sitting in the store, looking down at his phone. Hearing the door open, he looked up and gave a professional smile.

"Brother Jianhua, you're here?" He stood up, his gaze sweeping over Lin Jianhua before landing on Lin Bei. "This is...your son?"

"Yes, Lin Bei," Lin Jianhua said.

"Hello, Uncle Chen," Lin Bei greeted him.

Chen Guodong sized him up, his gaze lingering briefly on his build before quickly moving away. He smiled, walked around behind the counter, and pulled out two chairs: "Sit, sit. Tea or water?"

"You're welcome, Lao Chen." Lin Jianhua sat down. "We're here today to look at the houses in the old town."

Chen Guodong sat down opposite him and took a tablet computer from a drawer: "Old town? Which area?"

Lin Jianhua glanced at Lin Bei.

Lin Bei picked up the thread: "The area in the south of the city, south of Zhongshan Road and east of Yanjiang East Road, the closer to the river, the better."

Chen Guodong swiped his finger across the tablet a few times, bringing up a map: "There are quite a few old houses in the south of the city. Do you want to buy them to live in or as an investment?"

"Investment," Lin Bei said.

Chen Guodong glanced at him, then at Lin Jianhua, his expression somewhat surprised. A teenager, talking about "investment" so naturally.

"If you're looking to invest, the area in the south of the city definitely has potential." Chen Guodong didn't ask any further questions, and drew a circle on the map with his finger. "This area, south of Zhongshan Road and east of Yanjiang East Road, including Ganghe Street, Tongbai Lane, Zhifang Lane... the old houses in these places aren't expensive per unit, a 100-square-meter apartment is about 400,000 to 500,000 yuan."

Lin Bei quickly calculated in his mind. About 100 square meters, 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, with a unit price of just over 4,000 yuan.

"Uncle Chen, I'd like to buy a few more sets," Lin Bei said. "I have one request... buy them separately. One set on Ganghe Street, one set on Tongbai Lane, and one set on Zhifang Lane. Don't cram them all into one place."

Chen Guodong tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table: "Buying in smaller quantities is fine. But... why do you want to buy in smaller quantities?"

"I heard that the old city redevelopment might not start in any one area," Lin Bei said vaguely. "It's better to buy insurance by spreading it out."

Chen Guodong glanced at him for two seconds and didn't press the matter further. In all his years as a real estate agent, this was the first time he'd heard a client make such a request. But he didn't ask further; it's a client's business, and you shouldn't ask what you shouldn't.

In fact, Lin Bei believed that buying houses in different locations could reduce his "prophetic" traces and avoid being noticed by outsiders as unusual.

After all, the old city renovation project in 2012 involved many departments and had significant interests. If someone suspected that he had "obtained inside information in advance," even if no problems were found, just being watched and talked about would be very troublesome.

Having been reborn, Lin Bei least wants to attract this kind of unnecessary attention; as the saying goes, "make a fortune in silence."

Buying them separately is different. Nobody would link several houses in different areas together. Even if someone noticed, they would just think, "This family probably looked at houses everywhere and happened to buy a few."

What he wanted was not to "make the most money," but to "make money discreetly."

"Uncle Chen, there are a few more requirements," Lin Bei continued. "No houses with unclear property rights. No houses with elderly or sick people living in poverty. No houses with families facing financial difficulties."

What he didn't say was: these houses will appreciate in value sooner or later, and he doesn't want to make money off those in need. He can't control what others buy, but at least he can refrain from buying them himself.

Chen Guodong's fingers, which were tapping the table, stopped.

Lin Jianhua sat beside him, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something… something like, “What nonsense is this kid spouting?” But when he glanced at Chen Guodong’s expression, he noticed that his old friend, who had been a real estate agent for over a decade, was scrutinizing Lin Bei with a serious look he had never seen before. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"Ideally, it would be a house that a wealthy family bought years ago, but later moved out and has been vacant ever since," Lin Bei added. "That would be the ideal."

Chen Guodong's gaze shifted from professional politeness to serious scrutiny, tinged with surprise and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Chen Guodong swiped a few times on the tablet and flipped through the records.

"I can find two that meet your requirements. One is on Ganghe Street, 110 square meters, three bedrooms and one living room. The owner moved to the provincial capital two years ago and the house has been vacant ever since. The other is on Tongbai Lane, also around 100 square meters. The owner has immigrated and entrusted a relative to sell it on his behalf."

"Okay." Lin Bei nodded. "Uncle Chen, thank you for your help."