บท 4: CH_4

CHAPTER 4:

[I used to be ordinary, now I aim to become a Chad.]

——

The day started as usual for Fu Xin. He got up early in the morning, went for a run like the original had been doing for years, took a bath, and went down to the dining room for breakfast.

On the large dining table, made from heavy mahogany wood with a glistening finish, that could seat sixteen people, Fu Xin sat alone near the head of the table. The original had been raised to eat at the table without any entertainment to accompany the meal, and it took Fu Xin some time to get used to it because he always had something playing in front of him on some kind of screen in his past life.

After having his fill, Fu Xin headed out to school with Uncle Bao. They rode the same route every day, watching the same buildings, the same people going about the same routine, enjoying the comfort of the monotony that rendered his mornings calm and comforting. The commute from home-to-school or school-to-home took anywhere from twenty to thirty-five minutes based on traffic, and, in that time, Fu Xin and Uncle Bao would talk— the two only got to converse with each other when they were in the car as Uncle Bao was his chauffeur.

"How are you feeling today, young master?" Uncle Bao looked at Fu Xin through the rearview mirror.

"I had a good run, the bath temperature was just correct, and Auntie Cao's food was on point as always— I'm riding the crest of a wave," and Fu Xin wasn't lying. The original's habit for the morning run meant that Fu Xin didn't start wheezing after three steps as he would've done in his past life's body— making the experience feel fun and rewarding. The bathrooms in the Fu family mansion made Fu Xin never miss his baths; he even bathed two times a day which he seldom did before. And he had come to believe that the cooking was why Auntie Cao was employed by the Fu family— her food was why his transition to the cuisine had been much smoother than he had believed it would be.

The two continued to talk about what was on the radio, the news they had heard, or any random topic that fell between them. The original didn't talk with Uncle Bao unless he needed something, but Fu Xin had decided to build a relationship so that he could have someone in his corner— it was one of the things he had changed from the original's behavior. In fact, Fu Xin had slowly taken the initiative to regularly talk with the house staff, and in three months, he had made progress he was satisfied with.

The car stopped across the street from Third High like it always did. Fu Xin, original and current, preferred to have the car stop across the street and walk to the other side— though for two completely different reasons.

"I will see you after school, Uncle Bao. Also, you can take the day off after we return home; I have no plans to go out today," Fu Xin said as he got out of the car.

"Thank you, young master," Uncle Bao said with a smile.

Fu Xin crossed the road. Near the gate, he smiled and greeted the people he knew and made small talk with his previous classmates. As he walked through the school front compound, Fu Xin felt a shove to his shoulder from the back. The shove was strong, and Fu Xin hurried forward a step to maintain balance. Fu Xin looked back and saw a man, and he had to raise his eyes to look at the face, for the person towered over him by at least a head and half. Fu Xin was by no means short in stature; blessed by good genetics, he was over six feet and one inch— but this man was a literal giant.

"You know, I have already told you this countless times, but you have to control your strength," Fu Xin said as he rubbed the back of his shoulder.

The giant grinned widely and wrapped his arm over Fu Xin's shoulder. "Oh, come on, don't be a baby; it was just a little poke; you can take it," he said.

"A poke from you, Hu Guangzhi, feels like a hit from a wrecking ball," Fu Xin said with a sigh.

If Guo Qing and Ding Tong were acquaintances and classmates, then Hu Guangzhi was a friend. The original and Hu Guangzhi had met on the first day of high school and had been friends ever since then, and before this year, they had been in the same class for two years.

"How was your game?" Fu Xin asked.

Hu Guangzhi raised three fingers. "I dropped thirty on them, got twelve rebounds, got a block each quarter, and I even got five assists. I think it was one of my best games. I completely destroyed them hard. The coach was so happy that he took the team to a barbeque."

"That's good!" Fu Xin clapped Hu Guangzhi on his back. "That would raise your stock a lot in the eyes of the senior teams."

"I sure hope it does," Hu Guangzhi said with a grin.

Hu Guangzhi was a basketball player, and he was a good one. He had a towering physique, great skills for someone his size and age, and a work ethic that respected the gifts he was blessed with. Like many talented teenage players in the country, Hu Guangzhi had signed with a junior team of the professional basketball league, but unlike his peers, Hu Guangzhi had done so at thirteen years old. He was tall and skilled enough that the team had signed him the moment he turned thirteen, the minimum age criteria.

"I hope they sign you quickly," Fu Xin said.

"Yeah, the games have been getting easier lately. I'm starting to feel that I'll smash them even if I don't practice," Hu Guangzhi had a boastful tone in his voice.

"But before that, you'll get smashed by your coach, and your father," Fu Xin.

"That's why I'm practicing." Hu Guangzhi shrugged, "Well, I'll keep practicing as long as it keeps making me win."

Fu Xin shook his head. "Jocks, win junkies, all of you."

"Winning is fun, after all. You can only enjoy the game when you're winning. Losing is no fun." Hu Guangzhi stretched his arms up as he continued, "We should go out somewhere; we haven't been out in a while. My girlfriend has been nagging me to take her out somewhere nice."

"And why do you want me to be the third wheel?"

"Not a third wheel... She wants me to set one of her friends up with you."

Again due to good genetics and proper personal care, Fu Xin struck a handsome figure. Merging that with his good nature and excellent grades, Fu Xin was a target of a few confessions in his day. The original, however, had never accepted any confession thrown his way.

"No, thank you," Fu Xin said. He was well aware of how popular he was with girls, but he wasn't interested in dating right now. "You can tell Hao Haoxue that she should stop trying to tie her friends with me?"

"Hao Haoxue, what are you talking about? I broke up with her months ago. I have already had two girlfriends since then."

"You have?" Fu Xin raised his eyebrows, but he wasn't surprised. If Fu Xin didn't participate in dating, then Hu Guangzhi dated too much. Hu Guangzhi already had five girlfriends in high school. "What's her name? No, wait, you know what, don't bother, I doubt she will stick around long enough for me to remember the name."

"That's rude... Hey, you have Xue Lanfen in your class. Do you know if she's open to dating?" asked Hu Guangzhi. Fu Xin gave him a dirty look, and he shrugged in response.

They parted ways when they reached the floor of the third-year classrooms. Fu Xin entered his classroom and made his way to the desk, and only when he set his bag down did he look around the classroom and notice the boys were gathered near the back door. He walked through to the crowd and peered through to see what they were doing and saw that they had gathered around Lin Tian's desk.

One look at Lin Tian and Fu Xin was more sure than anything in life that he had found the 'identified protagonist' that the system had prompted him about yesterday. Gone was the man with hair that looked like they had never seen a comb; he was now replaced by someone with an era-appropriate thirty-seventy split clean combed and gelled hair. The shirt that had been wrinkled and untucked was now properly ironed and tucked into the pants. Even the dusty shoes of yesterday looked like they had been polished by a military man.

Fu Xin furrowed his brows. An appearance change could be chalked up to a change in life choices. But there was one thing that couldn't be changed in a day— personality. The Lin Tian in front of him was chatting with his classmates, cracking jokes, and leading the conversation with engaging stories and anecdotes that hooked people into listening. Fu Xin stepped back; he needed one more confirmation before he could be sure about his belief.

He called Ding Tong, who was also listening to Lin Tian, to his desk. "Hasn't Lin Tian changed a lot suddenly?" Fu Xin asked.

"It was a surprise; I didn't think he would be like this," Ding Tong nodded.

"Do you know how he was before... as in last year?"

Ding Tong titled his head, "What might you mean?"

Fu Xin held back a sigh. He looked around the classroom. "Who in our class was in Lin Tian's class last year?"

"That girl, she was in Lin Tian's class," Ding Tong pointed at a bespectacled girl sitting in the front row, with her face hunched over a book. "I can't remember her name."

"You stay here; I will go talk to her." Fu Xin got up and walked to the girl. "Classmate Shi..."

The girl looked up, her eyes widening behind her thick round glasses. She sat up straight so fast that the front two legs of her chair lifted for a moment.

"Y-Yes?"

"Sorry to disturb you while you're studying, but may I ask you a question," Fu Xin asked with a smile.

The girl nodded. Her hand subconsciously went to her hair to smoothen the strands in disarray.

"I heard that you were in Lin Tian's class. He's so different from how he was yesterday— how was he last year, if I may ask," Fu Xin asked.

"Lin Tian?" She glanced back at Lin Tian briefly. "He didn't talk much, so I don't know. I think he only had one friend. I remember talking to him a few times, and he wouldn't look at me when I was speaking, so rude."

Fu Xin didn't have to listen more. He was now sure about a lot of things. He was convinced that the system wasn't his hallucination, that the mission decreed by the system wasn't false, and that Lin Tian... was a protagonist. 'And that if I don't put him down, I will die,' Fu Xin's stomach hurt as he thanked the classmate and returned to his chair.

"Brother Xin, did Lin Tian offend you in some way?" Ding Tong asked. He pulled up his sleeve showing a bone-skinny arm, "Do you want me to take care of him for you? I'll wipe the floor with him."

Fu Xin doubted that would happen, but he didn't voice his opinion. "Do you find fighting fun? Go study and try to improve your life," he sighed. If he was going to go against a protagonist, then he was going to be careful about it and not send a high school student acting like a two-bit thug to beat up the protagonist. He wasn't going to be the chef who would cook up the protagonist by throwing ingredients known as obstruction one after another, each of increasing difficulty until the protagonist was a deliciously cooked product able to get Michelin stars to the restaurant.

The school bell rang, and the class settled down for the lectures. Teacher Hao entered the classroom looking like a strict taskmaster, put down her things on the teacher's table, and then roamed her hawk-like sharp eyes over the classroom. Her gaze reached the back, narrowed, and widened in surprise.

"Lin Tian," Teacher Hao said. "I see that you have made some changes to yourself," there was a hint of approval in her voice.

"Thank you, Teacher Hao," Lin Tian stood up and spoke clearly and loudly, much different from yesterday's Lin Tian. "I have decided to get serious about my life and future. I will study and score high on the college entrance examinations and get into Peking University!"

Few students in the class broke into chortles and laughter at Lin Tian's declaration. The Third High was a school with a relatively small batch size, so generally, everyone in the same year knew each other on some level. Even if Lin Tian wasn't socially popular in Third High, it was known that he wasn't academically gifted. He could've been above average for all people knew, but as long as he wasn't scoring near the top in every exam, he wasn't worthy of being mentioned in the race for colleges like Peking University.

"Quite!" Teacher Hao silenced the class. She said to Lin Tian, "They aren't wrong in laughing. Your grades aren't good enough to even think about Peking University. If you want to make that statement true, then you'll have to work harder than everyone else because they're already ahead of you, and you need to catch up."

Lin Tian stood up straighter and smiled confidently. "I'm willing to bet with anyone in this class that I'll score higher than them in the first mock exam."

During their third year of high school, students all around the country took various mock exams in preparation for the college entrance examinations. Three official mock tests were conducted before the real examination— the first mock was conducted city-wide, and the ranks were compiled within each city; the second mock was conducted over the province-level, and the ranks were compiled within the providence; the third mock, the final test, was a nation-wide test, essentially the same as the real examination, and every student could see where they stood among the students pan-country.

The declaration sent a wave of discussion among the class. Some hooted, others scoffed, but everyone was looking at Lin Tian in a new light— wondering if this would be a story of fabulous change or a tale of boasting turning into failure.

"Good determination!" Teacher Hao said, looking impressed.

Fu Xin looked around the class. 'As expected of a hero, it took him one day to switch it all up.' He could feel that no matter what the result, today, Lin Tian had left behind his previous reputation as a man with severe social anxiety and had made people look at him in expectation.

But now, a question appeared in Fu Xin's mind. What had caused such a drastic change in Lin Tian? Fu Xin believed that something in Lin Tian had awakened, causing the system to label him as a protagonist— if not, the system should've done it before when they had passed each other in the corridor at the end of the last school year, around the time when he had just transmigrated.

'Is it a system?' Fu Xin thought. 'But would a system give him such confidence?' All his system gave him was anxiety. 'Did he get an ability that will allow him to ace the examination? Maybe, perfect recall or instant comprehension?' He silently clicked his tongue; figuring out the cheat ability was tough when there were so many abilities to choose from. 'Why didn't my system give me a cheat ability?'

Lin Tian looked at Fu Xu while the latter was looking at the former. Lin Tian raised his chin and smirked. "What about you, Fu Xin? Do you dare to take this bet, or are you scared that you will lose to me?" His voice had a boastful and provocative tone.

All eyes in the class turned to Fu Xin. The original had been a top scorer from the very first test in the first year of high school and hadn't dropped below the top five on any test, and was one of the people in the school expected to end up at Peking or Tsinghua University.

Teacher Hao didn't say anything to stop where the conversation was heading.

Fu Xin didn't reply immediately and gazed at Lin Tian in silence as he contemplated how to answer the naked challenge. He finally shrugged and smiled, "Sure, why not? I don't mind. I agree to this little bet of yours."

"Little bet?" Lin Tian frowned. "Are you saying that you don't see me as a threat, that I'm not any competition? Remember that you're making this bet in front of the class and Teacher Hao— losing after you underestimate your opponent will cost you greatly." There was a glint in Lin Tian's eyes even as he said, all with a frown on his face and displeasure and warning in his voice.

"You're correct in saying that I don't see you as competition," Fu Xin raised his index finger. "There's only one person here I consider the competition."

The immediate knee-jerk reaction from the class was to look at Xue Lanfen, another one of the top scorers of the batch, who, similar to Fu Xin, hadn't dipped below the top five in any test since the very start, showing the consistency expected from a model student. Even Lin Tian himself gazed at Xue Lanfen, who was looking at Fu Xin.

Fu Xin smiled and then pointed the raised index finger at himself. "I am the only one who I consider as competition."

What? A wave of whispers and mutters went through the class as everyone looked at Fu Xin in surprise.

"As long as I'm better than the 'me' of yesterday and aim to trump the 'me' of tomorrow, I will continue to improve. Making this bet with you won't make me change," Fu Xin said leisurely. "My goal is to achieve excellence... success and reaching the top will come naturally along with it. And when I reach the top, I will work to dethrone that version of me. It's as simple as that."

The previous feeling of surprise was replaced with looks of admiration. Guo Qing even clapped until he was stopped by a glare from Teacher Hao. Another person who was glaring was Lin Tian; he was glaring at Fu Xin.

Fu Xin shrugged at Lin Tian and gestured with his eyes to make him look. Lin Tin frowned as he looked where Fu Xin gestured— and at the same time, Xue Lanfen, who was looking at Fu Xin, saw him gesture towards her, so she looked at who he was gesturing to and turned her head. Two people— Lin Tian and Xue Lanfen— turned towards each other, and their eyes met. Lin Tian was caught by surprise, and his expression went from a glare to a startled smile of awkwardness.

Fu Xin thinned his eyes when he saw his plan to make Lin Tian feel conscious succeed. He waited for a second, yet there was no HUD in front of his eyes or voice in his eyes in his head. He had embarrassed Lin Tian in front of the class with his 'only one competition' statement but didn't get any response from the system, so he tried the little trick with Xue Lanfen, yet there wasn't any response.

'What the hell?! Isn't the system supposed to reward me every time I stop the hero from succeeding?' Fu Xin thought. 'Shitty system!'

Even with the small victories, he wasn't happy at all.