Chapter 4 — Perfect Body

12 Days of art competition. The girls competing in the performance major waited outside the stage, the teacher began taking attendance, reminding the contestants to take off their coats. The girls are all tall and confident — except for one person who is completely out of place. That person stood huddled in the corner of the wall. A thick black life jacket completely covered her from head to toe. The hood was pulled low, covering most of the face. But I can still recognize it — it's Lam Chi Tinh. “Where is number 15?” “Quickly take off your coat and enter the exam!” The teacher inside is urging. But Lam Chi Tinh refused to take it off. “If you wear this to the exam, you're cheating, you know that?” "Teacher repeats, you must wear your practice uniform inside." Lam Chi Tinh's teacher was impatient and rushed up to pull down her life jacket. Shoosh— Everyone took a deep breath at the same time. The girl in front of her was so thin that only a skeleton remained. The fat on the body seems to have been stripped away, leaving only thin skin covering the outside. Cheeks are deeply sunken, eyes are bulging, and there is no vitality left. The crowd looked at her in surprise and automatically gave way. “What is going on?” “This girl… is she using drugs?” The surrounding noise rang out non-stop. "Isn't this Lam Chi Tinh of Thanh Nha High School? The female lead in the previous promotional clip!" Someone with sharp eyes recognized her. Lam Chi Tinh bowed her head and did not answer. As she left, she saw me standing next to her, her eyes filled with disbelief. “You… why…” Perhaps she didn't expect that I could cruelly force myself to be this thin. The glass reflects my image — tall, slim, pure and cute. Face as small as a hand, delicate features. Looking at Lam Chi Tinh staggering into the exam room, I knew I had won. In the class group, I posted a photo of my weight with a short, cold text: "@Luc Duong @Te Quan @Ly Tuan Nhat @Trieu Hieu Nha — Everyone, it's time to keep your promise. Waiting for good news." The normally bustling class suddenly fell silent. Accounts that were previously "undercover" also disappeared one after another. Time passes every second. The chat frame is like frozen ice. I can imagine their faces behind the screen. A long time later, someone spoke up. Luc Duong sent a sticker of a panda's head, looking extremely embarrassed and sweating profusely. Accompanied by a sentence: "Your Excellency, spare your life... [clasp hands][clasp hands]" As for the others - Qi Quan kept his gray avatar, seemingly evaporating from the human world. Ly Tuan Nhat pretended not to see, then turned to post a video of shooting a basketball on his personal page. Trieu Hieu Nha quickly changed the group's name, trying to blind people. I smiled coldly. The other day, they stomped me into the mud and made fun of me. Now faced with my own joking oath, I can only pretend to be deaf and ignore it. Their courage... only exists when oppressing the weak. I lightly tapped my finger and left this disgusting chat group. In the evening, the livestream room was hotter than ever. “Guys, guess how much weight I have left today?” I promised netizens that I would announce the results today. The number of online viewers jumped from more than ten thousand to one million. “Just a wild guess, probably 3 digits.” “About 110?” “106?” “If you guess correctly, you will get a gift!” “101?” “100?” “It probably can't be two digits, right?” “Just take a bold guess.” I watched the series of numbers pass by on the screen comment image. No one guessed correctly. Everyone urged me to announce the answer. I took a deep breath: "It's... 95 pounds." Netizens' surprised expressions immediately filled the screen. A few big fans started taking turns shooting small rockets. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. I stayed up all night to cut and put together the "transformation" video. Unexpectedly, as soon as I posted it, it jumped straight to the top of hot searches online. Join me in hot search, there's also Lam Chi Tinh. She stood one step above me, now rising to TOP 1. On the phone, the big headline caught my eye: #Art contest contestant lost too much weight# [explosion] #Blogger "Perfect physique" lost 100 pounds spectacularly# 13 Early in the morning, the video of the art school competition spread from outside the internet into everyone's sight. In the video, a skeleton is gracefully dancing, looking extremely monstrous. People who don't know will think it's an AI joke. But the row of judges next to them are real teachers. When spinning around for the third time, the girl suddenly fell down, without warning. Thump! — the heavy sound broke the quiet atmosphere. The teachers were stunned for a few seconds, then frantically ran back. Not long after, medical staff rushed in and lifted the light body onto the stretcher. The shrill sound of an ambulance siren rang out. The video ends at 3:50 seconds. When I went to the hospital to visit Lam Chi Tinh, she was quietly lying in the ICU, her whole body covered with tubes. “I still haven't woken up since yesterday.” The nurse stood next to arrange the medical records, his voice was very low: "The doctor said that all the organs are exhausted and can't hold on much longer." The sound of the metronome ticking... ticking... echoed steadily, making people feel uneasy. Lam Chi Tinh's parents quietly wiped their tears in the hallway. “She was healthy before, why did she suddenly become like this?” "A month ago, I was checked for malnutrition. Why don't I give my child some extra nourishment?" The man reproachfully looked at the woman. "Are you blaming me? Normally you're so busy that you don't even pay attention to your child!" "What about you? I've been working hard to earn money outside, the ICU money has been used up these past few days!" … During the quarrel, the sound of the life monitor suddenly changed. “Beep——” A long, shrill sound tore through the air. The blue wave line immediately stretched into a straight line. The nurses ran in holding the defibrillator. When the electrode was applied to her chest, her body jerked violently, the hospital gown bulging in a small arc and then quickly deflating. “Adrenaline 1mg, intravenous!” … After the third electric shock, the doctor removed the stethoscope and gently shook his head at the nurse. The moment the long sound ended, the hospital room fell into unusual silence. In my ears, a cold electronic voice rang out, as if echoing from far away: "The linked person's life has disappeared, the system has released it." The world is left with nothing but nothingness. The news that an art contestant died from exhaustion immediately rose to the top of the hot search. "Young people nowadays, they openly starve themselves to lose weight..." "You're so young... what a pity..." I stood silently beside the bed, suddenly remembering that I had also missed my period for two months because of losing weight. The world before my eyes began to spin. 14 When I opened my eyes again, Luc Duong was sitting next to me. He said, I had hypoglycemia due to losing too much weight. “Let me supervise your eating later.” I rolled my eyes and raised it foot kicked him out. That arrogant boy from before is now just another face flattering me. To put it bluntly, it's still superficial and shallow. “Ah yes, I wonder if you still remember this.” “I said, if you lose 100 pounds, I will flirt with you…” “So,” “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” The early winter night is cold. The sound of his heart beating faster and faster. I looked at my reflection under the light — slender, to the point of becoming unfamiliar. I still can't calm down inside. Using an almost self-destructive method to turn yourself into a "beautiful" model in their eyes... Is that really a victory? I slowly raised my head, my eyes calmly looking straight into his expectant eyes. “Are you worthy too?” The person in front of him was stunned. “Your memory… is really bad?” “Before, you called me 'fat', posted ugly pictures of me, laughed at me…” “Have you forgotten everything?” "Now you see I'm skinny, you see I'm beautiful, so you move closer and say you like me?" “Your ‘like’… how much is it worth?” I stared into his eyes that suddenly became confused, as if trying to find Lam Chi Tinh's figure in them. "Get far away. Don't dirty my eyes anymore!" Luc Duong was completely silent. People who often cause trouble, every time they see me, they stay far away. The school started spreading stories about me: "Do you know anyone? That's the beauty queen of class 12A2, she's so terrible." "Who would believe it? She used to be a fat girl and lost 100 pounds in two months." In class, no one dared to touch me anymore. Because I say I do. They believe that even if it means murder and arson, I would dare. Outside, it was drizzling. "Hey, Ly Do! Are you skipping your evening self-study class again?" The homeroom teacher chased after him without leaving. But for the tenth time, I ignored the rules and ignored her call. During weight loss, skipping school became a daily occurrence. “Oh my god, my ancestors, do you still want to lose weight?” "Are not." Never again. The rain wet the hem of my dress and stuck to my calves, but I felt light and as if I were about to fly. The smoky barbecue restaurant is right in front. Under the moonlight, my skin becomes clear, bright and smooth. On both sides of the road, flowers bloomed — surprisingly beautiful.