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

The day after the parent-teacher meeting, Tuesday.

When Lin Bei walked into the classroom, he sensed that the atmosphere was a little different.

It wasn't the usual pre-class noise, but something... he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Several classmates gave him strange looks, their gazes lingering on him before shifting away.

He walked to the last row, and before he could even put his backpack down, Zhou Ziheng peeked out from the front.

"Brother Bei, you're famous now."

Lin Bei was stunned for a moment: "What?"

"At yesterday's parent-teacher conference, Mr. Gu praised you as a model in front of more than fifty parents." Zhou Ziheng lowered his voice, but couldn't hide the excitement in his tone. "He said things like, 'From last place to ninth in the class, this is the biggest improvement so far this semester,' and 'Lin Bei not only works hard, but is also helpful to others.' My mom said Mr. Gu gave you a good dressing down."

Zhou Ziheng paused, then added, "The first thing my mom said when she got home was, 'Look at Lin Bei.'"

Lin Bei's lips twitched.

"My mom said it too," Wang Jun's voice drifted over from the side. He had somehow gotten close, holding a bag of Mimi shrimp crackers. "She said, 'That Lin Bei in your class, his entrance exam scores were about the same as yours, how come he got ninth place? Did you forget your brain in the womb?'"

Wang Jun stuffed shrimp crackers into his mouth as he spoke, his expression tragic.

"Then I said, 'Mom, I've improved too. I've gone from fourth to fifth from the bottom.' My mom said, 'Is that what you call improvement?' I said, 'Of course it is! Moving up one place is improvement too.'"

Lin Bei looked at him: "And then?"

"She said, 'Then move forward one place next time, and one place after that... Can't you move forward a few places at once?'" Wang Jun chewed his shrimp crackers loudly. "I said, 'Mom, taking too big a step can easily tear your balls.' My mom just threw her slippers at me."

Zhou Ziheng laughed out loud while lying on the table.

Lin Bei couldn't help but laugh.

After laughing, Zhou Ziheng suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Brother Bei, there's another rumor you've heard?"

"What?"

"Some people say you're dating Su Wantang."

Lin Bei's fingers paused for a moment.

Zhou Ziheng adjusted his glasses. "But don't worry, the rumors aren't too bad. Because most people think..."

He paused, seemingly considering his words.

"What do you think?"

"I think you're not good enough for Su Wantang."

Lin Bei: "..."

[While this statement may be harsh, it represents the mainstream viewpoint. In the high school world where looks are everything, if a chubby guy with a 6 out of 10 appearance rating stands next to a girl with a 95 out of 10 appearance rating, the first reaction from the public isn't "They're dating," but rather "Is she tutoring him to make money?"]

Lin Bei: Your explanation is even more hurtful than Zhou Ziheng's.

The system is a stickler for honesty.

Lin Bei sighed, his gaze unconsciously sweeping towards the center of the classroom.

Su Wantang was sitting in her seat, reading a book with her head down. As if sensing his gaze, she looked up, glanced at him across half the classroom, smiled slightly, and then lowered her head again.

The smile was faint, but Lin Bei saw it clearly.

Zhou Ziheng said "Oh" from the side, drawing out the sound for a long time.

"Brother Bei, that glance you two just gave each other..."

"What are you looking at? Turn back."

"Alright."

The third period in the morning is math.

Old Gu walked into the classroom as the school bell rang. His gaze, behind his gold-rimmed glasses, swept around the classroom before finally settling on Lin Bei.

"Lin Bei".

Lin Bei's back straightened instantly.

"arrive."

Come to my office after class.

The classroom fell silent for a moment, then murmurs broke out. Someone whispered, "Oh no, Old Gu is going to have a talk with him." Another person next to him chimed in, "What's there to talk about? Old Gu is definitely going to praise him."

Lin Bei responded and lowered his head to open his textbook. His face remained expressionless, but his heart skipped a few beats uncontrollably.

[The system has detected an increase in the host's heart rate. The host is advised to take deep breaths. Old Gu won't eat people, even though he looks like the kind of teacher who would.]

Lin Bei ignored the system and focused his attention back on his textbook.

The class passed quickly.

After class, Lin Bei followed Lao Gu into the office.

The office was small, with six desks arranged side by side near the window, piled high with workbooks and lesson plans. The other teachers weren't there; only the two of them were in the office.

"Sit down." Old Gu pointed to the chair next to him and sat down behind the desk himself.

Lin Bei sat down and placed his hands on his knees.

Old Gu didn't speak immediately. Instead, he took out a thermos from the drawer, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip. His posture was unhurried, as if he was preparing something.

"You did well on the monthly exam," he finally said.

"Thank you, Teacher Gu."

"But I didn't call you here because of your grades." Old Gu put down his thermos, crossed his hands on the table, and looked at Lin Bei through his glasses. "I want to ask you something."

Lin Bei's heart skipped a few beats.

"Regarding the incident at the cafeteria last time, Li Xiaoyu was being harassed by Zhao Pengfei, and you stepped in to help her out." Old Gu's tone was flat, making it impossible to tell whether it was praise or something else. "Has Zhao Pengfei bothered you again since then?"

Lin Bei was taken aback. He thought Old Gu would ask about his studies first, but he didn't expect it to be about this.

"No," he said.

Do you know why?

Lin Bei thought for a moment: "It's probably because his Adidas shirt is indeed fake, and he's afraid I'll actually take him to the academic affairs office to have it authenticated."

Old Gu nodded, then shook his head.

"That's one reason," he said, "but the more important reason is that Zhao Pengfei is the kind of person who bullies the weak and fears the strong. If you expose him in public, he won't dare to touch you. He's not afraid of you, he's afraid that 'if this goes on, it will escalate.'"

Looking at Lao Gu, Lin Bei suddenly realized that this usually serious math teacher was actually quite good at judging people.

"There's one more thing." Old Gu's tone suddenly changed, as if he was carefully choosing his words, "Are you and Su Wantang getting quite close?"

Lin Bei clenched his fingers on his knee.

"She tutored me in English," he said, pausing for a moment. "I brought her food; we helped each other out."

Old Gu glanced at him, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly. It was a very small curve, but Lin Bei noticed it.

"I know," Old Gu said. "Her dad came to see me after the parent-teacher meeting yesterday and thanked me."

Lin Bei was stunned.

Old Gu picked up his thermos and took another sip. "He said his family had some trouble recently, and they were very grateful for your help. He didn't say what happened, and I couldn't ask. But he asked me to tell you thank you."

Lin Bei remained silent for a moment.

"Teacher Gu, I just..."

"You don't need to explain," Old Gu waved his hand. "I called you here not to criticize you, nor to praise you. I want to tell you something."

He looked into Lin Bei's eyes.

"You've done very well. But high school is a long road ahead, so don't let your guard down just because of one monthly exam. There's still a lot of room for improvement in your math, physics, and chemistry, and although your English has improved, you're still not at the level of top students."

He pulled a piece of paper from the table and handed it to Lin Bei.

"This is a list of your weak areas in math, physics, and chemistry. Go back and focus on improving these."

Lin Bei took the paper and glanced at it. The list was very detailed, listing three to five weak points for each subject, with corresponding example questions noted next to them.

"Thank you, Teacher Gu."

"You're welcome." Old Gu leaned back in his chair and smiled, a rare occurrence for him. "If you really want to thank me, then you'll get into the top five in the next monthly exam."

Lin Bei paused for a moment, then nodded.

I will try my best.

Old Gu's tone returned to its usual seriousness, "Alright, go back to class, don't be late."

Lin Bei stood up and walked to the door when he heard Old Gu's voice behind him again.

"Lin Bei".

He turned around.

Old Gu looked at him and remained silent for a second.

You've lost a lot of weight recently, keep it up!

Lin Bei smiled slightly, opened the door, and walked out.