A few minutes before the evening roll call, the counselor, Shu Peng, arrived.
“Happy New Year, everyone!”
Shu Peng greeted them with a smile after stepping onto the podium.
The students below responded one after another.
“It looks like you all had a good New Year; your faces have gotten rounder.”
Shu Peng teased with a smile.
“Sigh, Sister Peng, just know it in your heart, don’t say it out loud!”
“All I did at home was eat and sleep, how could I not gain weight?”
“Every festival I gain ten pounds; there’s no escaping the holiday weight.”
“Now I have to start losing weight again, otherwise I’m really going to die of fatness.”
A few girls in the front started discussing animatedly, unwilling to accept the fact that they had gained weight.
“It’s unavoidable; I’ve gained a few pounds too!”
Shu Peng revealed cheerfully.
“Don’t worry, ladies; you’ll get even fatter from now on.”
Some boys loudly chimed in.
“Hahahaha…”
Many boys in the classroom couldn’t help but laugh at this.
“Shut up, you! How are you boys any better? Haven’t you all gained weight too?”
“That’s right, that’s right…”
The girls protested indignantly.
“So what if we gained weight? We don’t care!”
“Then you keep eating more and get so fat you die. I wish you a lifetime of being single throughout your college years.”
“Hey, hey, hey, what kind of talk is that? Don’t make personal attacks like that!”
“Didn’t you just say you don’t care?”
“Do fat people have to be single? Who told you that?”
“But you’re fat and ugly!”
The girl threw a devastating blow.
The boy, whose face had also become noticeably rounder, froze and glared angrily.
The girl, not to be outdone, glared back fiercely.
“Alright, alright, stop arguing. It’s almost time, let’s start the roll call.”
On the podium, Shu Peng loudly took control of the situation and began calling out names from the attendance sheet.
“Brother, have I gained weight too?”
Xia Nuannuan raised her hands to cup her face, asking nervously.
As a former overweight girl, she was all too familiar with this problem.
She had eaten a lot of snacks and slept a lot at home during this Spring Festival; it had been too comfortable.
However, she hadn’t paid much attention to her weight recently and hadn’t weighed herself, so she didn’t know if she had gained weight.
Hearing this topic suddenly, she immediately became nervous.
“No!”
Qin Tian smiled and shook his head.
“Really not?”
Xia Nuannuan looked unconvinced.
“Really not!”
Qin Tian nodded emphatically.
“Siqi, have I gained weight?”
Xia Nuannuan, still unsure, looked at Shen Siqi and asked again.
“Let me see your hands off your face.”
Shen Siqi said with a smile.
Xia Nuannuan complied cooperatively, removing her hands from her cheeks.
“Mmm…”
Shen Siqi’s gaze moved down from her face, and she tapped her chin thoughtfully, murmuring, “Your face looks fine, but your chest seems to have gotten bigger?”
“Ah?”
Xia Nuannuan exclaimed softly, crossing her arms defensively and complaining with embarrassed annoyance, “Stop it, I’m talking to you seriously, don’t joke around.”
“No, I’m serious. Sister Lei, take a look.”
Shen Siqi turned and said to Lu Lei.
Lu Lei also glanced at her and nodded with a gentle smile, “It does seem to be a little bit.”
“So, you’ve gained a little weight too, but it’s the kind of weight all girls desire.”
Shen Siqi said with a hint of envy.
Chen Zhuang and others in the front and back rows heard their conversation and their eyes involuntarily drifted towards Xia Nuannuan.
“What are you looking at? What are you looking at? Stop staring!”
Qin Tian stretched his arm to shield Xia Nuannuan and reprimanded them in a low voice.
Chen Zhuang and the others immediately sat up straight, pretending nothing had happened.
“Starting tomorrow morning, let’s start running again. I need to lose weight.”
Xia Nuannuan said to Qin Tian with a flushed face.
“Exercise is fine, but losing weight is unnecessary. You really haven’t gained weight!”
Qin Tian comforted her with a smile.
“Impossible, if you gain weight, your whole body will get fat. My face must have gotten rounder too.”
Xia Nuannuan touched her face, looking dejected.
“Don’t worry, a round face brings more fortune.”
“That’s nonsense. I don’t want to get fat again. I’m starting my diet tomorrow.”
“You really haven’t gained weight!”
Qin Tian was somewhat amused.
“Xia Nuannuan!”
The counselor on the podium suddenly called out.
“Here, here!!”
Xia Nuannuan quickly raised her hand and shouted.
“It seems you had a very comfortable Spring Festival too!”
Shu Peng said with a bright smile.
Xia Nuannuan’s expression froze, and she shot a sharp glance at Qin Tian.
“She’s jealous, obviously jealous!”
Qin Tian covered his mouth with his hand and whispered.
Xia Nuannuan’s cheeks flushed, and she reached out and pinched his waist hard.
After the evening roll call, the counselor explained a few matters requiring attention for the start of the semester and then announced the dismissal.
“Brother, let’s go to the track and do some activities.”
Xia Nuannuan stood up and said to Qin Tian.
“Huh? Didn’t we say we’d start tomorrow morning?”
Qin Tian asked, surprised.
“I ate too much this afternoon, and I have nothing else to do. Let’s go run a few laps to burn off some calories. Come on, come on.”
Xia Nuannuan pulled him up without further ado and quickly walked out of the classroom.
Watching the two hurry away, the students in the classroom who didn’t understand the situation couldn’t help but start speculating.
“What’s going on? Why the rush?”
“The couple just started living together, it’s understandable.”
“Damn, Qin Tian, that guy, I’m so envious.”
“Ahhhhh… When will I reach this stage!”
“Then you’ll need a girlfriend first.”
“Sigh, forget it, the more you talk, the sadder it gets.”
…
…
The next morning, the new semester’s classes were about to begin.
The course schedule for the new semester was clearly more packed than the previous one.
This was also normal. The first semester of the freshman year was more about allowing new students to adapt.
The second semester of the freshman year, and even the entire sophomore year, was generally when the course load was the heaviest.
As before, Qin Tian rode his bicycle to the girls’ dormitory building to pick up Xia Nuannuan for class.
During the winter break, the bicycle had been stored in the dormitory, and Qin Tian had even covered it with a cloth before leaving campus.
The weather was beautiful today, with warm, bright sunlight shining on every student rushing to class with books in hand, filling the entire campus with vitality and energy.
Riding their bicycles towards the classroom with the rising sun, the two were still a remarkable sight on the Jiangcheng campus.
“Did you hear? They seem to have bought a house off-campus and are living together.”
“What? Is that true or not?”
“I don’t know. I heard it from a junior who’s in the same major as them.”
“Then shouldn’t they be coming to class from off-campus? But this direction seems to be towards the girls’ dormitory, and they’re riding bicycles.”
“Then I don’t know.”
…
Watching their retreating figures, a few girls gathered and whispered to each other.
There was never a shortage of people spreading rumors on campus, especially among girls.