Chapter 29: Like a Pig on the Scale

Lin Xin spent the entire Tuesday afternoon in the dorm writing his reflection essay, going nowhere. He had not told Cheng Shiyin why he suddenly had to write it, but based on Lin Xin’s latest Weibo update that read 'Gu Nian is a scumbag!', she had already guessed most of it.

The next morning, the vice principal carefully read through the four pages of draft paper Lin Xin had submitted from beginning to end. He nodded at Lin Xin and said, "Mm, very good. Your attitude is quite sincere." He then ordered her to return to class for morning reading while he and Counselor Zhang went to check the attendance of each class.

Although the vice principal did not mention Lin Xin by name, he emphasized the role of the Student Council in every class he inspected, noting that they were entirely voluntary. He stated that any opinions should be reported directly through the academic system and that students must never take out their dissatisfaction with school regulations on the innocent Student Council, especially the Student Council President, Gu Nian, who was beloved by all faculty.

Consequently, the students who caught the subtext in the vice principal’s words silently cursed the person who had been caught by the principal. That person had actually made it impossible for them to enjoy their breakfast today. They had to keep their food hidden in their desks until the principal left, and by then, the porridge was cold!

At this moment, no one stopped to think about the meaning of the banner hanging in front of the teaching building that read [Leave the aroma of food in the canteen and the aroma of books in the classroom]. Nor could they have imagined that the only reason the vice principal had made the unprecedented move to check the freshmen's morning reading was because of Lin Xin.

Lin Xin was indeed cursed by them to the point where even drinking cold water seemed to hurt his teeth. Every misfortune he could imagine seemed to come true.

For example, even if he did not make eye contact with the teacher, he would still be called on in every class to answer questions he couldn't possibly know. As long as he was late by a minute or two, he would happen to be registered by the counselor who was conducting a random spot check.

In this single day, the attendance points Lin Xin lost would require sixteen hours of social service to offset. Otherwise, a giant "X" would be drawn on his moral evaluation at the end of the year, disqualifying him from any excellence awards. Though, given Lin Xin’s usual grades, it was already unlikely for him to even qualify for the preliminary rounds of such awards.

It wasn't until Friday morning that Lin Xin felt the discomfort of being "cursed" start to fade slightly, only to be met with a greater disaster. The final sentence the P.E. teacher said before class ended was that he had personally selected Lin Xin to be the sole lead for their class in the upcoming Radio Gymnastics Contest.

Hearing this, his superficial classmates, who were unaffected, clapped and cheered. The most enthusiastic among them was the class sports representative, a nearly two-meter-tall giant who had escaped the fate of being the lead. His frantic clapping was loud enough to deafen Lin Xin.

Lin Xin, of course, did not agree. Having experienced the humiliating incident of performing clumsy ballet in front of the entire school during the festival, he had fully realized how important the word "refusal" was to his life.

To make the P.E. teacher, who had already walked several steps away, notice him among the crowd of joyful students, Lin Xin used a move near-perfect for an Olympic gymnast. He raised and stretched his right hand and arm high, then used his basic ballet foundation to stand on his tiptoes to add twenty centimeters to his height, shouting, "Teacher! I refuse!"

Unexpectedly, the teacher did not even turn his head as he said to Lin Xin, "I wasn't the one who picked you."

Could it be?

Lin Xin instantly understood the teacher's meaning and could only drag his exhausted body back to the dormitory. Due to his grief, he didn't even care about the growling of his stomach as he passed the dining hall, treating it as part of his weight loss.

Yes, if it was the vice principal who wanted him to deeply appreciate the charm of this inexplicable gymnastics contest organized by the school, Lin Xin naturally had no way to refuse.

From that day on, every freshman including Lin Xin entered a cycle of day-and-night practice under the supervision of the Student Council.

In this university, there was a well-known legend.

Except for Wu Lian, the son of a board member, every graduate of this school believed it to be true. The founder of this university had a gymnastics dream.

"Hahaha, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?" If Cheng Shiyin were not wearing headphones while talking to Lin Xin but was holding the phone in her hand instead, she probably would have laughed so hard she'd throw the phone at her roommate's face.

Lin Xin had been complaining to her, saying that he was forced to be the lead for an unmentionable reason. For the past few days, he had been practicing radio gymnastics until ten-thirty every night, even skipping the two hours of evening self-study. He was paralyzed with exhaustion every day, his legs were constantly shaking, and he couldn't even rest on Saturdays or Sundays.

Listening to Lin Xin’s description over the phone, Cheng Shiyin could imagine his pitiful and aggrieved expression. Then, Lin Xin suddenly lowered his volume, sounding mysterious as if he were about to tell her some top-secret information.

Sensing the atmosphere, Cheng Shiyin crawled into her blankets to prevent the secret from being leaked to anyone else. However, she never expected Lin Xin to say such a ridiculous thing with such conviction.

"Really, really! I'm not lying to you," Lin Xin defended himself after hearing Cheng Shiyin’s near-manic laughter. He argued indignantly, "Think about it. A school that doesn't even let you attend evening self-study and forces everyone to do radio gymnastics instead. Even during military training, they didn't keep people until ten-thirty. Tell me, is this something a human would do?"

Cheng Shiyin also found it a bit funny. Remembering what Shang Xiaoxia had said about Wu Lian being the son of a board member on the way back from his house, she asked Lin Xin, "Then have you asked Wu Lian why this gymnastics contest is so important?"

Lin Xin replied, "I did, but he won't tell me." He added with a mischievous laugh, "But he told Shang Xiaoxia."

"Why is that?" Cheng Shiyin asked again.

Lin Xin answered, "He said he wasn't too sure himself. Anyway, it's an unchanging tradition since the school was founded, decided unanimously by the board in the early years. No one has the power to cancel it."

Just as Lin Xin finished speaking, Cheng Shiyin heard Ying Lun’s irritable voice on the other end. "Lin Xin! Fall in! What are you chatting for? Everyone is waiting for you!"

"Okay, I'm coming! Just a second!" After shouting back at Ying Lun, Lin Xin turned back and said softly into the phone, "The Student Council is calling me to do the exercises. I'm hanging up. Let's talk tonight, bye-bye."

"Mm, bye-bye." Cheng Shiyin hung up the phone. Hearing the mention of the Student Council, she couldn't help but think that if Ying Lun the Publicity Head was there, Gu Nian as the President would be even more likely to be present.

Only then did Cheng Shiyin suddenly remember that Gu Nian’s contact information was still lingering in her phone. She had been with Lin Xin so much these past few days that she had actually forgotten to block Gu Nian immediately. She never wanted to have any contact with him again, and deleting these contacts would save her from being disturbed by him.

So Cheng Shiyin immediately pulled out her phone to delete Gu Nian’s accounts on various social media platforms.

To her surprise, Gu Nian had actually performed the blocking operation before her, resulting in no trace of his existence on her end anymore. Cheng Shiyin muttered, "I didn't expect cold-heartedness to be one of Gu Nian’s merits." At least she wouldn't be pestered.

This point was also discovered by Lin Xin, who was currently being punished by Ying Lun with movement drills.

Since parting at the water park, whether it was a necessary meeting for the Student Council or an accidental encounter on the road, Gu Nian would pretend not to see Lin Xin or act as if they didn't know each other. Their relationship had returned to being ordinary subordinates or unfamiliar schoolmates.

Gu Nian’s behavior allowed Lin Xin to feel completely at ease. At least he was a generous person, unlike Ying Lun. He didn't have to worry about retaliation, even though the vice principal had already taken revenge for him.

As for Ying Lun, Lin Xin always felt like he was being targeted, though he figured it was probably because of the incident where he failed to bring him pants.

"Keep your hands level! Maintain ninety degrees with your body!" Ying Lun roared into the ear of the distracted Lin Xin. Lin Xin quickly adjusted his posture, his mouth curled in a look of total defiance. Fortunately, it was already ten at night and Ying Lun couldn't see his expression clearly, otherwise, there would be another lecture about his attitude.

Lin Xin held his breath and endured for another half hour. Finally, he didn't have to look at Ying Lun’s face anymore. He swaggered to the dorm door and pushed it open, shouting to the room, "I have returned!"

As Lin Xin entered, everyone covered their noses with their sleeves before responding unnaturally, "Good work, good work."

Seeing their reactions, Lin Xin sniffed the air and indeed smelled a strong scent of cumin. He immediately covered his nose with his sleeve as well. The result was even more pungent.

How could Lin Xin not realize that the smell of sweat was coming from himself? In an instant, he packed his toiletries and sprinted toward the girls' bathhouse.

Rest assured, the school’s girls' bathhouse was completely safe for Lin Xin. For just one yuan more than the public bath, he could have his own private cubicle. 'You can't see me, and I can't see you.' It was very safe and private. The only drawback was that there was no one to help scrub his back, so Lin Xin might have to figure that out himself.

After a refreshing shower, Lin Xin habitually stepped on the scale at the entrance of the bathhouse. Then, shaking his head, he went to the hair-drying area and picked up an idle hairdryer. While pointing it at his head, he muttered to himself, "It must be the weight of the water in my hair. With my hair volume, the water must weigh at least ten pounds."

After his hair was completely dry, Lin Xin stepped onto the scale once again, then decisively asked the front desk to book another private cubicle for him.

Half an hour later, Lin Xin dragged his exhausted body onto the scale for the third time. This time, with his skin completely red from scrubbing and absolutely no dirt left to hide, Lin Xin finally faced reality. 'I need to lose weight.'

It was time for a real diet and exercise, both were necessary.

Compared to the last time he weighed himself after a shower, Lin Xin was exactly fifteen pounds heavier.