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. 

You Zhengping could tell that Yu Hua set a great deal of store by appearances. Yu Hua liked You Zhengping’s handsome looks, and he was very concerned about his own figure and attractiveness. No matter what company he was in, he had to look good and be dignified. 

So…today’s bad mood—could it be because he hadn’t weighed himself? 

“I really have gotten thinner.” You Zhengping lifted his shift and showed Yu Hua his perfect abs. “Look at how narrow my waist is. There was a contest at work recently. I didn’t want to participate at first—after all, me participating amounts to bullying—but the director said we had to display our achievements in the nationwide competition. The other units were also sending demobilized soldiers and former Protectors. I was representing the Xuyang District in battle. After a period of training, I had to go participate in the competition. It was pretty hard work. I must have lost five or six pounds.” 

You Zhengping wanted to tell Yu Hua that he was taking good care of his figure. With as much weight as he had lost, he needed to eat some more to make it up. 

“I know you’ve lost weight,” Yu Hua said morosely. “I’ve increased the calories and nutrients in your food lately. You can have some more of the foods you like. It’s not good to be too thin, either.” 

If he knew that he had lost weight then why was he still unhappy? You Zhengping couldn’t figure it out. He could only pick up a brimful soup dumpling and eat. 

Yu Hua’s soup dumplings had thin wrappers. They broke with a gentle bite, and the soup filling inside trickled out. A mouthful of broth, a mouthful of filling—it was as delicious as could be. 

Thinking that he could eat two extra soup dumplings today, You Zhengping felt blessed. Before when he had eaten without any limits, he hadn’t had this feeling of a cherished blessing. Scarcity truly did increase value. 

The always optimistic You Zhengping was about to say something in praise of the soup dumplings when he heard someone say, “These soup dumplings are really so good. What a pain!” 

Hm? Who had gotten ahead of him to say what he had wanted to say? You Zhengping looked around and at last settled on Yu Hua. His jaw nearly dropped in surprise. 

“Are you saying your own cooking is good?” You Zhengping said in astonishment. 

Of course Yu Hua was a person who couldn’t appreciate the value of delicious food. His brain was unable to connect to his sense of taste. He had never before praised his own cooking. He had only praised You Zhengping’s destructive culinary skills. 

“Can you enjoy the flavor of good food now?” You Zhengping quickly asked. 

Yu Hua put down his chopsticks and nodded grimly. 

Precisely because he was gradually starting to trust his sense of taste and feel the pleasure of good food, he had been unable to control his weight and had gained a pound. 

“That’s great!” You Zhengping hugged Yu Hua, full of happiness. “I’m so glad!” 

He even picked up Yu Hua, who was half a head taller than him, and spun him around. He really was happy enough to go around in circles. 

Recovering the connection between his sense of taste and his brain showed that living a normal life was gradually healing Yu Hua’s inner wounds. You Zhengping thought there was nothing that could make him happier than this. 

You Zhengping’s joy infected Yu Hua. Yu Hua also smiled faintly, though he quickly restrained his smile. As gravely as possible, he said, “It really is a good thing.” 

Later he could go around the world with Xiao You and taste all the fine foods. They could judge the pluses and minuses of the food together. He could write down even more things worth remembering in his diary. 

You Zhengping’s feelings could always influence Yu Hua. Yu Hua quickly forgot the fact that he had gained a pound. He probed the flavor of the soup dumplings along with You Zhengping, wondering where there was room for improvement. Unconsciously, he ate two extra soup dumplings. 

Only when he had seen his husband out the door, turned on the news, and was washing dishes did Yu Hua realize that he hadn’t properly controlled his eating habits. He had let go for a moment. 

After washing the dishes, he sneakily pulled the scale out from under the couch and found that he weighed two more pounds…no, one kilogram more than before eating. He was instantly covered in dark clouds. 

While his clothes still fit and the Yu Hua in the full length mirror hadn’t changed at all, Yu Hua still arrived at work steaming with rage. 

As soon as he came in, he saw Yuan Luori trotting back and forth along the corridor. Seeing Yu Hua, he ardently greeted him, “Great master, good morning.” 

Yuan Luori probably wasn’t planning to stop calling him “great master.” Since Yu Hua’s identity had been revealed and he could openly display his personal worship, he had become Yu Hua’s attendant in the studio with absolutely no scruples, sucking up so much it made Huan Zixu roll his eyes. 

“What are you doing?” Yu Hua for once addressed Yuan Luori. 

“Training,” Yuan Luori said. “The soundproofing in my dormitory isn’t very good, so it’s not very suitable for training. I came to work a little early this morning. This whole corridor is ours. If I run lightly on tiptoe, it won’t bother the other inhabitants.” 

After returning to the studio in accordance with the slaves’ requests, Yu Hua hadn’t hidden anything anymore. He had distributed the employee dormitories so each slave could have his own residence. 

He had also ordered food from a fairly cleanly Chinese restaurant, requesting for them to deliver lunch each day, and to supplement the employees’ breakfasts and dinners. 

When he had started the studio before, he had thought of it as a one-time deal—work up a name, then sell off the contracts at high prices. If he wanted to sell off the slaves, of course he had to suitably raise them. Yu Hua had regretted every sum of money spent. Now it was different. He needed the slaves to voluntarily exert themselves to make money. If you wanted a horse to keep going, you had to give it some grass to eat. He could only exploit them if he cultivated them well. 

“Why are you exercising?” Yu Hua asked. 

Yuan Luori said, “Oh, lately I’ve been feeling that it’s a little narrow under the bed. I suspect I’ve gained weight, so I’m exercising to go down a bit. Otherwise, I won’t be able to lie down under the bed.” 

“It’s not because you’ve gained weight. It’s because you insist on putting that thick cushion under the bed,” Huan Zixu said, walking past. “This is a safe world. There’s no need for you to sleep under the bed.” 

There was a thin layer of sweat on Huan Zixu’s forehead, and he was slightly out of breath when he spoke. Yu Hua asked, “Why do you seem so tired?” 

“I just walked up the stairs,” Huan Zixu said. “In the future, I’m going to take the elevator down and the stairs up to increase my basal metabolism a little and avoid getting fat. As a marketing director, I have to maintain a good outward appearance. Making a good first impression often saves a lot of trouble. I have to manage my image.” 

Yu Hua: “…” 

He didn’t say anything, simply walked into the dance room. As soon as he walked in, he saw Zhen Li practicing yoga poses. 

There was no need to ask here. This one was preserving his figure for the sake of wearing pretty clothes. 

Yu Hua irritably looked at the barrage on the livestream: 

[Wow! How rare, we get to see Director Yu.]

[Yuan Luori and Huan Zixu are here, too. Beauties are good. What thin waists!]

[Www, there are really too many hot guys at the Zhen Li Studio. No matter how long I watch, it isn’t enough.]

[Director Yu is also very handsome, he’s just a little sturdier than Liming, Luori, and Zixu. He doesn’t seem quite as photogenic…]

[Well, he isn’t an internet celebrity after all. He’s in charge of human resources. It’s all right if he gains a little weight. Actually, in reality, Director Yu’s figure is the most attractive. The camera makes people look wider.]

Yu Hua took a glance and couldn’t stand to see any more. The barrage comments kept floating past. All he saw was “sturdy,” “fat,” “wider,” and other such words. He was instantly beside himself with rage. 

He went to a corner and saw Director Ha happily eating dog food. He laughed darkly. “Well, do you want to lose weight, too?” 

“Bark?” Director Ha sensed Yu Hua’s rage and was scared into wildly shaking its head. 

“Oh, you want to lose weight,” Yu Hua said coolly. “Since the whole studio has weight loss requirements, then let’s have a gym. After all, there’s plenty of room upstairs.” 

Yu Hua suited action to word. He instantly deducted a month’s wages from the employees and rapidly fit up a certain room with bodybuilding apparatus. He also installed livestreaming equipment in the gym and arranged for everyone to livestream two hours of exercise. 

And if you didn’t like to exercise? Everyone was losing weight together. Even the dog had to run on the treadmill. 

After a month of suffering and wailing among the employees, Yu Hua saw with satisfaction that his weight had gone back to normal. He looked at himself in the mirror. 

Yes, very good. He was still attractive enough to entice Xiao You.