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

It was already past 10 a.m. when I left "Guodong Real Estate".

Chen Guodong said he would take them to see apartments in the afternoon, first the one on Ganghe Street, then the one on Tongbai Lane. There were no suitable apartments on Zhifang Lane at the moment, but he said he would keep an eye out for them in the next couple of days.

Lin Jianhua started the van and drove it out of the alley.

"Beibei." He gripped the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his voice low, "What you were saying to your Uncle Chen earlier... 'Don't accept properties with unclear ownership, don't accept properties from people in need...' Where did you learn that from?"

Lin Bei leaned back in the passenger seat, watching the street scenes rushing past the window.

"It was my own thought," he said. "I want to make money, but I don't want to make that kind of money."

Lin Jianhua didn't speak, but tapped his fingers lightly twice on the steering wheel.

"And what about 'buying in smaller quantities'?" he asked again. "Why in smaller quantities?"

Lin Bei had already thought about this question; he knew his father would ask it sooner or later.

"We're afraid people will notice us," he said. "If we buy several properties in one place at once, the real estate agents and neighbors will find it strange. Where would an ordinary family get so much money? If someone asks, we won't be able to explain it."

He paused, then added, "But if we buy them separately, no one will connect these houses together. Even if someone notices, they'll just think we're looking at houses everywhere and happened to buy a few."

[The host's rhetoric is called "diversification" in finance, "information isolation" in the intelligence industry, "don't put all your eggs in one basket" in the workplace, and "the author has finally given the protagonist a normal brain" in online novels.]

Lin Jianhua's fingers stopped.

He didn't speak, but Lin Bei noticed that the half-smile on his lips was a little wider than before.

In the afternoon, the father and son ate a bowl of noodles outside and then drove to Ganghe Street.

Chen Guodong was already waiting at the alley entrance, holding a bunch of keys in his hand. When he saw the bread truck stop, he raised his hand and waved.

"Let's go, the house is at the very end of the alley."

The alleys on Ganghe Street are very narrow, and the van couldn't drive in, so the three of them had to walk.

Lin Bei followed behind Chen Guodong, walking along the bumpy cement road. The houses on both sides of the alley were very old, with peeling paint on the exterior walls, revealing the gray cement underneath. Some courtyard walls were covered with ivy, a large, lush green patch that completely covered the walls.

Chen Guodong stopped in front of an iron gate, took out his key, and unlocked it.

The moment I pushed open the door, a musty smell of old wood wafted out.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it was fairly clean. The ground was paved with blue bricks, and a few wild grasses grew out of the cracks, lush and green, not unsightly at all. Directly opposite the courtyard gate was a two-story building, its exterior painted white, but already yellowed, and the green paint on the window frames was peeling off in patches.

"This apartment is 110 square meters. There are two bedrooms and a living room on the first floor, and a bedroom and a large terrace on the second floor," Chen Guodong introduced as he walked. "The owner's surname is Zhou. He moved to the provincial capital two years ago, and the apartment has been vacant ever since. He entrusted me to help him sell it, saying that he would sell it as long as the price is right."

Lin Bei walked around the first floor.

The living room wasn't large, but it was quite square. A layer of dust covered the floor, and cobwebs clung to the corners. The kitchen and bathroom were behind the living room; neither was large, but they were adequate.

He went upstairs to the second floor and pushed open the bedroom door.

The bedroom faces south with a large window that lets in plenty of sunlight, illuminating the entire room. Standing by the window, you can see the distant river, hazy and indistinct, with a few cargo ships moving slowly by.

Lin Bei stood by the window and looked for a few seconds.

Then he turned around and looked at Lin Jianhua and Chen Guodong.

"Dad, this is the one."

Lin Jianhua was taken aback: "Don't you want to take another look? Isn't there another one in Tongbai Lane?"

"I'll take a look, but I don't necessarily have to wait until I've seen everything before making a decision," Lin Bei said. "This apartment has a good location; it overlooks the river. Whether I sell it or keep it later, I won't lose money."

Lin Jianhua glanced at him, then looked at Chen Guodong.

"Old Chen, how much is this set?"

"The homeowner is asking for 480,000," Chen Guodong said. "I'll help you negotiate; we should be able to get it for 450,000."

Lin Jianhua nodded and said nothing more.

By the time I walked out of Ganghe Street, the sun was already setting in the west.

Lin Jianhua drove Lin Bei and Chen Guodong towards Tongbai Lane. Tongbai Lane is located north of Ganghe Street, just two streets away, less than a five-minute drive.

The alley is a bit wider than Ganghe Street, wide enough for two cars to drive side by side. Paulownia trees line both sides of the road, their trunks thick and seemingly quite old. Their canopies block out the sun, casting shadows over the entire alley, making it somewhat dark even in the afternoon.

Chen Guodong led them to the middle of the alley and stopped in front of a dark brown door.

"This apartment is a bit bigger than the one on Ganghe Street, 115 square meters," he said as he unlocked the door. "The owner's surname is Sun. He immigrated two years ago, and his nephew has been looking after the apartment. His nephew works in the provincial capital and doesn't come over often, so he left the key with me."

The door opened.

The courtyard was twice the size of the one on Ganghe Street. The ground was paved with cobblestones, which crunched underfoot. Directly opposite the gate was a two-story building made of gray bricks, with an osmanthus tree in front of it. The trunk was as thick as a bowl, and the canopy covered half of the courtyard.

Lin Bei walked into the courtyard and paused for a moment.

This tree...

He looked up at the osmanthus tree, and a scene suddenly flashed through his mind. Late September, the osmanthus blossoms were in bloom, filling the courtyard with sweet fragrance. Su Wantang stood under the tree, looking up at the delicate petals, sunlight filtering through the leaves and falling on her face.

Her lips were slightly curved, not in a smile, but even more beautiful than a smile.

The system suddenly fell silent for a full three seconds, then unusually refrained from its sarcastic remarks. For the first time, the system felt that if it were to jump out and say, "Host is being infatuated again," the host might uninstall the system… Although the system couldn't be uninstalled, it wisely chose to remain silent.

Lin Bei ignored the system, stood still, stared at the osmanthus tree for several seconds, and then stored the image in his memory palace. He thought for a moment and typed four words as the tag: Tongbai Lane, Tree.

Then he took a deep breath and went inside to continue looking at the houses.

There are two bedrooms on the first floor, one facing south and the other facing north, both quite spacious. The kitchen is at the back of the house, twice the size of the one on Ganghe Street. The stove is made of brick and covered with white tiles; although old, it is very sturdy.

Lin Bei went up to the second floor again.

There are three rooms on the second floor, all facing south. Opening the windows reveals paulownia trees in the alley. The canopies are right outside the windows; you could almost touch the leaves. It must be very cool in the summer, and when the paulownia flowers bloom in spring, the entire window will be filled with pale purple blossoms.

Chen Guodong stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for Lin Bei to finish looking at the apartment before saying, "The owner asked for 520,000, but I reckon we can negotiate it down to 480,000."

Lin Bei stood by the window on the second floor, looking at the paulownia tree outside, and then thought about the osmanthus tree in the yard.

"Uncle Chen, let's take this one too." He turned around. "Good location, and it even has a yard. The demolition compensation for this area won't be low."

Lin Jianhua stood in the courtyard, looking up at Lin Bei by the second-floor window.

He looked at two houses, one on Ganghe Street and the other on Tongbai Lane, for less than half an hour in total. Without comparing prices or consulting his father, he made the decision on the spot.

When did my son become so opinionated?