Mr. Melancholy Wants To Live A Peaceful Life

EXTRA 1

He had gained one pound. Yu Hua, his face grim, stood on the scale. Before You Zhengping left the bathroom, he quickly stepped off the scale and kicked it under the couch, attempting to destroy the evidence.

There was a towel hanging over You Zhengping's shoulders as he walked yawning out of the bathroom. He had had an urgent assignment the night before. It had been past two in the morning when he had gotten home. In the morning, You Zhengping still had to go to work on schedule. After getting up, he had taken a shower. He still couldn't resist feeling sleepy.

"Huh? Where's the scale?" You Zhengping wanted to weigh himself before eating. He came to the place where the scale usually was, but there was nothing there.

"What?" Yu Hua said, his expression changing. "It's not there?"

"No, I must have kicked it somewhere last night," You Zhengping said. "If I can't find it, then I won't weigh myself today. Anyway, I've gotten skinnier lately. I can't have gained weight."

"All right, let's have breakfast." Yu Hua smiled warmly.

After this many years of marriage, You Zhengping had an ample understanding of Yu Hua's expressions. Seeing such a bright smile on Yu Hua's face first thing in the morning, You Zhengping's little cheering antennae immediately stuck up. There had to be something wrong with that smile of Yu Hua's. The happier his smile, the gloomier he felt inside!

Where was the problem? Could it be because he had said he wasn't going to weigh himself this morning? Since everyone had lost their powers, Yu Hua had been especially attentive towards managing his food intake, strictly controlling calories and activity each day according to You Zhengping's basal metabolism. His weight had to be kept within normal bounds. If he gained a pound, Yu Hua would get anxious.

As soon as they started controlling calories, high fat and high sugar foods had become scarce. You Zhengping had protested strenuously. He had even said that even he got so fat he died, he still couldn't leave delicious food.

Yu Hua hadn't said anything at the time. He had only silently turned on his computer and pulled up Cen Xiao's picture. He photoshopped a balding, beer-bellied, and plump Cen Xiao and showed that to You Zhengping. He said, "Do you want to look like this?"

You Zhengping had been scared by the picture and had started paying close attention to his food and sleep every day. Unless it was necessary, he wouldn't stay up late, and he didn't indulge when it came to food. At first it had been unfamiliar and very hard to bear. Later he had gradually gotten used to it, and You Zhengping had begun to somewhat enjoy the low-fat low-sugar high-egg-white life.

Before, when he had encountered delicious food, he didn't savor it. He had gobbled everything up. While he had eaten everything, it had all been straight down the gullet. He hadn't properly experienced the deliciousness of the food. Now that he could only eat deep-fried food once a week and only occasionally eat hotpot and barbecue, You Zhengping had started to especially cherish fine food. 

He enjoyed each bite twice. When he had eaten it all, he would always feel he was still missing a little, but more than that, he would feel that it was tasty. Lingering was more delicious than eating everything in one bite.

Habit is the strongest form of self-discipline. After getting into these habits, You Zhengping had found that they suited him. Especially since out of some motive, the more the two of them controlled their food intake and couldn't eat good food, the more snacks Yu Hua would make for You Zhengping's colleagues.

Cen Xiao and the others had all gained weight lately and had to go up a size in uniforms. You Zhengping had looked on quietly, imagining the picture Yu Hua had photoshopped, unable to help sighing over Yu Hua's foresight.