LRTH - 9

This year, for the Chinese New Year, Fang Nanzhi’s family decided to return to their hometown to spend it with their elderly parents.

So, a few days before the New Year, the family traveled for a whole day, by plane and then by private car, finally arriving at their hometown, Qingyao Town, in the middle of the night.

The two elderly parents were very happy and prepared a table full of food for them every meal for the first two days.

On the third day at noon, it was still a feast of meat and fish.

Grandma doted on Fang Nanzhi. As soon as she sat down, she started putting food on her plate, picking out all her favorite dishes. In the past, her granddaughter was very obedient and ate everything she put on her plate. But for the past few days, she had given her a lot of food, but her granddaughter didn’t seem to eat much of it.

“Liaoliao, why aren’t you eating? Eat up! Grandma made all of this, all your favorites.”

Fang Nanzhi couldn’t bear to refuse the old woman’s kindness, but after Xu Yuanhe’s birthday, a past thought of hers resurfaced. She wanted to improve herself, not just academically, but also in her appearance.

She wanted to lose weight.

Of course, she didn’t have any fantastical thoughts that losing weight would change everything and that she could stand confidently next to Li Yizhou.

She just wanted to get better within her own abilities. Maybe it wouldn’t be by much, but at least she could move forward a little.

“Grandma, please don’t put any more food on my plate. I want to eat less,” Fang Nanzhi said in a low voice, a little embarrassed under the watchful eyes of her parents and grandparents. “I want to lose weight...”

“What? Losing weight again?” Grandma quickly said, “Liaoliao, how old are you? You’re still growing! You remember when you fainted before, don’t you? You promised Grandma you wouldn’t diet anymore.”

Grandpa also chimed in, “Exactly. Eating more meat will make you taller. You’re not fat at all. You look so good just the way you are.”

Grandpa and Grandma would never think she was fat... Otherwise, they wouldn’t have fed her so much when she was a child.

Fang Nanzhi looked at Zhao Liyun for help. Zhao Liyun and Fang Ji exchanged glances and seemed to have figured it out. Their daughter was growing up and wanted to be beautiful.

Zhao Liyun said, “Dad, actually, having too much body fat is harmful to your health. It’s not about looking good; it’s a health issue.”

Grandpa: “Is that so?”

“Of course. But Liaoliao, it’s okay to lose weight, but you can’t skip meals,” Zhao Liyun said. “If you really want to lose weight, you have to do it in a healthy way. You can exercise more and not just sit there reading and doing homework all the time.”

Fang Nanzhi quickly nodded. “I know, I know. I’ll make time to exercise. But Grandma, can I eat more things with less oil during this time?”

Grandma still looked a little unhappy at the request because her granddaughter was rarely home, and she just wanted her to be comfortable. But after seeing her persistence and hearing Zhao Liyun’s comments about being overweight not being healthy, she relented.

Fang Nanzhi was ecstatic. After all, her family’s support was essential for her to eat less.

That night, back in her room, Fang Nanzhi sat at her desk and searched for all kinds of weight loss tips on her phone. However, most of them required a strict diet.

That was impossible to do here with Grandma.

So, she switched to looking up running tips and workout videos. After watching them, she took out a new notebook and solemnly wrote four words on the first page: “Weight Tracker.”

Her height was 167 cm. According to the formula online, a standard weight in kilograms was equal to (height in cm - 100) * 0.9. So, with her current height, her standard weight should be 60.3 kg.

She was over that.

And a standard weight was just a standard. She thought that to have a good figure like Song Chuxuan or Xu Tingyou, you had to be far below the standard weight, which was considered underweight.

She didn’t dare to ask for that much right now and didn’t know if she could even get to that point.

First, she would set a small goal: reach the standard weight.

The next day, Fang Nanzhi woke up early, changed into her running shoes and workout clothes, and went for a run.

She had been very inactive before, and her athleticism was almost zero. During her middle school physical education exams, she put in a lot of effort but still couldn’t get a perfect score.

Running was like a nightmare to her, but now, she just wanted to get through it.

At first, Grandma would say that she wouldn’t be able to keep up her early morning runs for long.

But to her surprise, for many days after that, the girl would actually get up early every day to exercise. Sometimes when it rained, she would hide inside and jump around, doing who knows what.

Fang Ji and Zhao Liyun had to go back to Hangzhou on the fourth day of the New Year for work. Fang Nanzhi wanted to spend more time with her grandparents, so she planned to stay there for the entire winter break.

After her parents left, Grandma started to feel sorry for Fang Nanzhi again. She felt that her granddaughter hadn’t been eating enough during this time.

So, that night, she made her favorite pork rib noodles and brought them to her room.

Fang Nanzhi’s stomach was grumbling, and seeing the noodles almost made her lose it. She desperately tried to get Grandma to take them away, saying she wasn’t hungry at all.

The two of them went back and forth for a long time. In the end, Grandma only reluctantly left the room after Fang Nanzhi said she was studying and didn’t want to be interrupted by eating.

The door closed, but the smell of the pork rib noodles lingered in the air, smelling so good that she wanted to bite off her own tongue.

Fang Nanzhi sighed and lay down on her desk.

So hungry...

I want to eat so much...

Maybe I’ll just eat a little... Grandma made it, so it would be a waste not to.

She swore she would only eat this one meal.

Ding—

Just as she was agonizing over whether to go out and find Grandma, her phone suddenly rang. It was a message from Xu Tingyou.

Tingyou: [I just saw your mom and dad come back. Did you not?]

Fang Nanzhi: [Mhm, I’m staying with my grandparents for a while longer and will go back when school starts.]

Tingyou: [Okay, we’re having hot pot at Brother Yizhou’s house today. I was going to invite you, too, if you were back.]

Fang Nanzhi was stunned and didn’t have time to reply. The next second, she saw Xu Tingyou send a picture of the steaming hot pot on the table.

It looked very rich.

And in the corner of the photo, her sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a person’s hand.

The hand was very recognizable. She knew who it belonged to with just a single glance, and her heart began to pound uncontrollably.

After a long while, she replied: [It looks very good.]

Tingyou: [Of course, I bought all the ingredients.]

She said it as if she had made the hot pot herself.

Fang Nanzhi chuckled and sent a “you’re so amazing” emoji.

Xu Tingyou didn’t reply again, probably because she was eating.

But Fang Nanzhi didn’t put down her phone. She looked at the hand in the photo, and the desire she had to go out and have a late-night snack disappeared.

She thought angrily, I have to keep going!

________________________________________

On the day before school started, Fang Nanzhi returned to Hangzhou.

Fang Ji drove to pick her up. It was still very cold in Hangzhou, and Fang Nanzhi was bundled up tightly. Fang Ji didn’t notice anything at first, but after they got home and Fang Nanzhi took off her scarf, he realized that his daughter’s face seemed to have lost some weight in just half a month.

He and Zhao Liyun had said it was okay for her to lose weight, but now that they actually saw their daughter a little thinner, they felt full of pity again. They quickly told her she didn’t need to lose any more weight and that she was perfect just the way she was.

But after these two weeks of winter break, even though it was very, very difficult at times, Fang Nanzhi had felt the joy that exercise brought her.

Doing some exercises in the morning made her feel energetic all day. And since she was starting from a higher weight, it was especially easy for her to lose weight by exercising and controlling her diet. This gave her a great sense of accomplishment and made her feel that she could definitely keep going.

The next day, school started.

The other students in the class paid very little attention to Fang Nanzhi on a regular basis. If they had to describe her, they would just say she was the chubby girl in their class who was very good at math.

So, hidden beneath their thick winter school uniforms, they naturally didn’t notice any changes in Fang Nanzhi’s weight loss.

Only Xu Tingyou said to her when she arrived, “How did you manage to lose weight during the New Year?”

Fang Nanzhi paused for a few seconds, then said happily, “Really? You can tell?”

Xu Tingyou was confused. “A little. Why, are you on a diet?”

Fang Nanzhi was a little embarrassed, but in her heart, Xu Tingyou was already her friend, and the only one she had. She nodded. “I want to lose weight... well, healthily.”

Even with her only friend, she couldn’t tell her the real reason she wanted to get thinner and prettier. It was too much of a pipe dream, and others would probably find her ridiculous.

Xu Tingyou nodded. “Oh, that makes sense. I ate so much during this time that I gained five or six pounds. I want to lose some weight, too. How are you doing it?”

Fang Nanzhi: “Running in the morning or doing workout videos in my room.”

Xu Tingyou immediately made a pained face.

Fang Nanzhi chuckled. “It’s pretty effective, but I’m starting from a higher weight. Since you’re so thin, I don’t know if it will be easy for you to lose weight that way.”

“It’s definitely possible,” Xu Tingyou said, lying on her desk. “It’s just that I might not be able to get up in the morning.”

Fang Nanzhi: “I can call you. My mom said there’s a running track in our complex.”

Later, Xu Tingyou agreed. So, every morning, Fang Nanzhi would go to her house to wake her up, half-dragging her to the complex’s activity area, and they would run lap after lap around the track.

After running for two weeks, Fang Nanzhi heard something from Xu Tingyou: Li Yizhou had been pre-admitted to the Ming University’s Department of Architecture.

Ming University was located in Minghai City, about a two-hour high-speed train ride from Hangzhou. It was one of the top universities in the country, and its architecture program was world-renowned. Only a handful of people were able to get in.

But not many people were surprised that Li Yizhou was pre-admitted to such a program because his talent had always been there, and the pre-admission was what everyone expected.

Fang Nanzhi was only surprised to learn that his chosen field was architecture. No wonder he wasn’t an art student but was often in the art studio.

“Brother Yizhou’s dad is a world-famous architect. He grew up influenced by him, so it’s not surprising at all that he would choose this field,” Xu Tingyou said.

Fang Nanzhi nodded and asked curiously, “Have you known him for a long time?”

“For a long time. He and my brother became close when they were in the same class in middle school. And since they live so close, our two families have a good relationship.”

“Oh, I see...”

The two of them walked from the activity area toward Xu Tingyou’s house while chatting. These days, because Fang Nanzhi’s family’s helper had gone back home for something, Zhao Liyun had entrusted her to the Xu family for breakfast.

Fang Nanzhi had eaten breakfast there for two days and was already used to it. She no longer felt awkward eating at the same table as Xu Yuanhe and Xu Yuanhao.

But she didn’t expect to see an extra person at the dining table when she walked into Xu Tingyou’s house today.

The first second she saw his back, Fang Nanzhi recognized him. Her heart skipped a beat, and she had the urge to turn around and leave.

People always wanted to be at their best in front of the person they liked.

Although she knew she wasn’t very attractive, she still didn’t want to appear in front of Li Yizhou with a red face and slightly messy hair after a run. She must look so ugly!

However, Huang Yurou had already seen them and called them over for breakfast.

Fang Nanzhi had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit at the dining table. However, she didn’t look at Li Yizhou and forgot to say hello.

During the meal, she learned from their conversation that Li Yizhou had come over in the morning because his mom had asked him to bring some food over, and he was waiting for Xu Yuanhe so they could go to school together.

“You guys are so lucky to have a son like him. He got directly admitted to the Ming University’s Department of Architecture. Tsk... You don’t have to worry about his studies at all. It’s not like me, look at Tingyou and Yuanhao. They worry me more than the other.”

Xu Tingyou: “...”

Xu Yuanhao: “...”

Li Yizhou: “Auntie, their foundation isn’t bad. If they’re serious, they’ll have no problem with the college entrance exam.”

“The problem is they’re not serious enough. Take Yuanhao, for example. I’ve never seen him study at home.”

Xu Yuanhao rolled his eyes dramatically. “Then what should I be studying at home for? You study at school!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was rewarded with a sharp flick to the head. “So you can play all weekend, right? If you don’t work hard in the first year, how will you catch up in the third year!”

“I’m not playing all weekend. I study, too, right, bro?”

Xu Yuanhe was too lazy to help him. “I haven’t seen you.”

Xu Yuanhao: “Tsk! You guys are really—”

“Really what? I’m telling you, I’ve decided to hire a tutor to help you two on Saturdays. Stop thinking about playing all the time.”

When Xu Yuanhao heard this, his face immediately fell. “Why? I don’t need a tutor!”

Xu Tingyou: “I don’t need one either.”

“Look at your grades. How can you say you don’t need one?”

Xu Yuanhao: “I, I just don’t need one. I have Brother Yizhou! Right, Brother Yizhou? I’ll go to your place on weekends to do my homework, and you can teach me!”

Li Yizhou, who was called out, raised an eyebrow slightly.

Xu Yuanhao and Xu Tingyou desperately gave him a look.

Li Yizhou was unmoved. It wasn’t until they frantically mouthed “please, please, please” that he briefly curved his lips and spoke. “Auntie, what Yuanhao said is not a bad idea. You can send them to my place on Saturdays, and I can tutor them.”

Huang Yurou: “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you again?”

“No, it won’t. I don’t have to write any more test papers this semester. I have a lot of free time and I’m free on weekends.”

In fact, Xu Yuanhao and Xu Tingyou had both asked Li Yizhou for help with their homework many times in middle school. Later, in high school, they didn’t ask him to get involved with their studies because he was in his final year, and his own studies were more demanding. Huang Yurou was afraid of disturbing him.

As for Xu Yuanhe, his grades were actually quite good, but he had no patience for tutoring his two younger siblings. Li Yizhou had good patience and had always treated the two as his own younger siblings, so he would help them more with their studies.

Huang Yurou also remembered that he had been pre-admitted and didn’t need to take the college entrance exam. She said happily, “That’s right, that’s right. I forgot. Yizhou, it’s great that you can tutor them! Then I can rest assured!”

“Sure, but Auntie, I have to get something in return.”

“What is it? Just say it!”

Li Yizhou said, “I want to come over for dinner often from now on, and you have to make my favorite braised pork ribs.”

Huang Yurou laughed happily. “That’s nothing! Auntie will make it for you!”

Originally, none of this had anything to do with Fang Nanzhi. She was just quietly eating her breakfast while listening to them.

Who would have thought that while they were talking, Huang Yurou would suddenly say, “Liaoliao, if you’re free on weekends, you can also go to Brother Yizhou’s house to do homework. I heard your mom say your English isn’t very good, and your Brother Yizhou is very good at English. If you have any problems you can’t solve, you can ask him while you’re there.”

Fang Nanzhi choked on her food and quickly waved her hands. “No, no, no, you don’t have to go to the trouble!”

“It’s no trouble. Your grades are good, so you don’t need much tutoring. It’s just you kids doing homework together. And if you have a question occasionally, it’s so convenient, right, Yizhou?”

Fang Nanzhi was so nervous her face turned red. “I...”

“That works,” Li Yizhou said, leaning back in his chair with a slight smile. “Those two are too mischievous. Sometimes when I’m not around, it’s good to have an obedient one to supervise them.”