Chapter 2: Meeting His Roommates

All he had to do was clean one desk, gather the trash, and toss it in the bin. Yet hauling his body of more than 300 jin around, Li Hang took a full half hour.

To pick up a plastic bag from the floor, he had to hold the desk and lower himself slowly. Then he braced his hands on his knees to stand again. By the time he was done, his heart was racing at 150 beats a minute.

He sat down and gasped for breath, sweat dripping from his forehead onto the desk. At this weight, bending over to pick something up was practically a squat.

“Oh, right. System, do you have a status screen?”

[Host: Li Hang]
[Weight: 312 jin]
[Height: 175 cm]
[Looks: 52]
[Stamina: 42]
[Intelligence: 68]
[Charisma: 30]
[Shock Points: 88]
[Skills: None]
[Friendly reminder: The passing mark is 60.]

Li Hang stared at the screen. Apart from intelligence, which barely cleared the passing mark, the original owner’s stats were a sorry sight. Sixty was the normal level for an ordinary person.

A score of 52 for looks could only be called ugly. As for stamina, 42 seemed honest enough when climbing three floors nearly killed him.

“Charisma, 30…” He sighed. Considering the original owner’s size and hygiene, the system had been generous to give him even that much.

His height wasn’t bad, though. At 175 centimeters, he was considerably taller than Liangzi, who stood 164. That was some consolation.

But 312 jin was a little more than he’d thought. Li Hang did the math. Even if he only got down to 200 jin, he’d earn 11.2 billion yuan. At 150 jin, it would be 16.2 billion.

Looked at that way, every roll of fat seemed to sparkle.

He was happily counting his future fortune when voices sounded outside the door.

“Dong, thanks for treating us. That restaurant was great. You really showed us a good time.”

“Yeah, it must have cost a lot. You shouldn’t have spent so much.”

“It was nothing. We’re going to be living together for the next year, so let’s get along.”

“Right, we’re roommates… But that Li Hang in our room is hard to take. He’s so big, and his hygiene is awful. If Magic City University didn’t require first-years to live on campus, I’d want to move out.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“We’re not asking for much, really. Just clean up and don’t make things unpleasant for everyone else.”

The door opened, and three men came in.

Xu Haodong led the way. Tall and handsome, he wore fashionable clothes and a watch that was obviously expensive. His expression barely changed when he saw Li Hang by the door. He hardly raised his eyes, walking straight to his own space.

Shi Xiao, who wore glasses, looked briefly awkward. “Li Hang, have you eaten?” he asked casually.

The last one, Qiao Chuan, looked rather cool. Without a word, he went to his desk, tossed down his keys, and turned on his computer.

“I have,” Li Hang told Shi Xiao.

An awkward silence settled over the room. Shi Xiao nodded and returned to his seat opposite Li Hang. His eyes wandered; he tapped his keyboard twice, then stopped.

Li Hang stood and looked at the three of them. “I’m sorry about the past two days.”

His voice was calm but sincere. “I’ve caused you trouble. I hope we can get along this coming year.”

Xu Haodong paused with an earbud halfway to his ear, then nodded. He said nothing, but the gesture was clear enough.

Qiao Chuan looked up and thought for a moment. Whatever was on his mind, all he said was, “Okay.”

Shi Xiao was the most outgoing. He stood, walked over, and patted Li Hang’s plump shoulder. “It’s fine! You’ve already cleaned up. Your desk is shinier than mine, and you emptied the trash too. Nice work, man! Let’s put the past behind us and get along from here on.”

The genuine smile on his face warmed Li Hang’s heart. He smiled back and nodded.

Soon the three roommates were at their computers, gaming together. Keyboards clattered and teammates shouted through their headsets.

Shi Xiao glanced back. “Li Hang, want to join us? We’re one short.”

Li Hang shook his head. “You guys play. I’m not very good.”

Shi Xiao didn’t press him. He made an OK sign and turned back to the game.

This was fine too. Li Hang leaned back in his chair, watching the images flash across the screens, and let his thoughts drift.

What would the idiots from his old dorm do when they discovered he’d vanished? Would they be scared? Would they search everywhere for him?

His previous life had been pretty good. Through his own efforts, he’d gotten into a Double First-Class university and a good major. He’d even been considering the civil service exam or graduate school.

Now he’d ended up in the body of a man who weighed more than 300 jin. The looks around him weren’t exactly malicious, but he could still feel their distaste.

He sighed. At this weight, he really did intimidate people. If he were just a little chubby, people might happily include him. Some chubby guys were good-natured and funny; people liked pinching their cheeks and patting their bellies.

But over 300 jin? He looked only a little smaller than Liangzi. Ordinary people felt overwhelmed just standing beside him, never mind eating out or going shopping together.

He had a long road of weight loss ahead of him.