Chapter 11: Staying Together

After ten, the dorm lights went out and the four climbed into bed. They had to rise at six, so nobody wanted to stay up late.

Li Hang opened his system screen as usual.

[Host: Li Hang]
[Weight: 310 jin]
[Height: 175 cm]
[Looks: 52]
[Stamina: 44]
[Intelligence: 68]
[Charisma: 30]
[Shock Points: 866]
[Assets: 180 million yuan]
[Skills: Beginner Music Skill]

He was exhausted, his eyelids heavy as lead. After one glance, he closed the screen, rolled over, and fell asleep in less than two minutes.

His alarm was set for 6:10. When it rang, he felt he’d barely closed his eyes, but his body reacted before his mind; his hand found the phone and switched it off. He climbed down quietly, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and put on a loose T-shirt. Then he went downstairs to collect breakfast from Aochuang Fitness Center.

A delivery rider was waiting with a silver-gray insulated bag strapped to his electric scooter. Li Hang gave his name, and the rider handed it over. “Coach Fang asked me to tell you the Greek yogurt is a newly arrived brand. He’d like you to try it.” Then he rode away.

Back in the dorm, Shi Xiao sat on his bed rubbing his eyes, his hair sticking up like a bird’s nest. Qiao Chuan was brushing his teeth, and Xu Haodong had just emerged from the bathroom with water still on his face.

“Breakfast is here?” Shi Xiao sniffed, jumped down, and came over to Li Hang’s desk.

Li Hang unpacked the bag: 120 grams of steamed Chinese yam, neatly cut and arranged in a box; 180 grams of unsweetened Greek yogurt topped with 80 grams of fresh blueberries; and two peeled boiled eggs.

Shi Xiao stared at the food, then at Li Hang’s size, his expression complicated. “Are you sure that’s enough, Hang? For someone your size, back at my high-school cafeteria, breakfast alone would have been two baskets of steamed buns, a bowl of porridge, and a pancake.”

Altogether the meal weighed nearly a jin, hardly a small portion for an ordinary person. Next to Li Hang’s 300-plus-jin frame, though, it did look meager.

Qiao came over after washing and looked without speaking. His face plainly asked the same question: Was that enough? Xu nodded. “The nutrition is sound: high protein, low GI, and a moderate amount of carbohydrates. Standard for fat loss.”

Li Hang picked up his chopsticks. “I don’t have much choice. I really need to lose weight. A few steps leave me breathless, and bending over to tie my shoes is like doing squats. After sweating at the gym yesterday, I finally felt a little more alive.”

He finished in five or six minutes and packed up the bag. The four went downstairs together. Near the athletic field, the other three headed for their training assembly point while Li Hang went the opposite way to the exemption area. Shi Xiao looked back enviously before leaving.

The exemption area was shaded by a row of plane trees east of the field, beside the gymnasium wall. About forty people sat in small groups on blue mats. The instructor in charge, surnamed Wang, was short but energetic and always smiling, a sharp contrast to Instructor Wu, who was shouting at trainees in the middle of the field with a stern face.

Instructor Wang walked over with his hands behind his back, surveyed the group, and crouched beside Li Hang. “What’s your name?”

“Li Hang, computer science.”

“Computer science.” Wang nodded, looking at him for two seconds. “What condition exempted you?”

“I’m over 300 jin. Intense exercise might cause problems.”

Wang didn’t look surprised. He’d probably seen many special cases in the past few days. He patted Li Hang’s shoulder. “Then sit here, read the handbook, and get familiar with the university rules. If you feel unwell, tell me. Don’t push yourself.”

“Thank you, Instructor Wang.”

Li Hang leaned against a tree and took a student handbook from a nearby box. Wang spoke to a few other newcomers, then walked to the front and clapped his hands.

“Since everyone’s here, let’s introduce ourselves briefly. We’re all at the same university; perhaps we can help one another later. Start from this side.”

They took turns: students from art, science, business, and civil engineering. Each had a reason for exemption—heart problems, recovery after surgery, or sports injuries.

When his turn came, Li Hang pushed himself up. “Li Hang, first-year computer science. I’m exempt because of my weight. I’m losing weight now, and I hope we can all get along.”

A few looked at him; some smiled kindly, and others nodded. Nobody made a fuss or stared. Everyone in the exemption area had difficulties of their own, and no one dwelled on another person’s shortcomings.

The morning session ended at 7:40. For the exempt students, ‘training’ meant sitting, reading the handbook, and occasionally chatting with a neighbor, so the time passed quickly. When Instructor Wu called dismissal, Li Hang stood, stretched, did several sets of wall sits, and walked back and forth through the shade.

He browsed his phone for a while, found nothing interesting, and messaged Coach Fang: “I finished breakfast. The yogurt was good.”

Fang replied quickly. “Glad to hear it. Lunch is arranged for 11:40 downstairs. Don’t train too hard today. Just move around this morning and do the real workout in the cooler afternoon.”

“Got it.”

Li Hang put his phone away, leaned against the tree, and closed his eyes to rest.