HCILH Ch. 15

Chapter 15: Getting Close to Him

On the first day of sharing a dorm with the athletes, they started making noise as early as 5:30 AM.

Sui Houyu was a light sleeper; even without the assembly bell in their building, he could be awakened just by hearing conversations in the hallway.

He opened his eyes groggily, looking around the dorm room, and saw a few people packing their things.

Checking his phone, he noted the time was just 5:30 AM, which made him frown.

Their classes didn’t start until 7:30 AM, and Sui Houyu usually slept until 7:00, taking half an hour to get ready and then heading to class right on time.

Sui Houyu was troubled by insomnia every day, and mornings were his best sleep time, which he cherished greatly.

It seemed that his future days were going to be tough.

The few people in the dorm were surprisingly quiet, seemingly trying to be considerate of Sui Houyu and Ran Shu.

However, the group in the hallway was shouting loudly, and the most annoying part was that someone was playing basketball. What were they doing playing ball so early in the morning?

Hou Mo was sitting on Sang Xian’s bed across from Sui Houyu, putting on socks. After glancing at Sui Houyu, he explained, “We have morning practice; our meal time is earlier than yours.”

“…” Sui Houyu didn’t reply.

“It’ll be over soon. By six o’clock, everyone will be gone, and you can catch some more sleep.”

As if he could fall asleep at will.

Sui Houyu sulked, lying on his bed, watching his roommates pack up and leave the dorm. By nearly six, it did indeed quiet down.

He closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep, but found he couldn’t. So, he sat up, picked up his toiletries, and headed to the washroom to freshen up.

While brushing his teeth, he looked at himself in the mirror and pondered. He had managed to sleep quite well last night on his second attempt, but adjusting to a new environment also posed a challenge for sleep.

After finishing his morning routine, he returned to the dorm, and while drying his hair with a hairdryer, he stood by the window looking at the sports field, where he indeed spotted the athletes doing their morning practice.

Morning practice wasn’t formal training; this group was still joking and playing around.

He spotted a head of flaxen hair in the front row. While jogging, the person still looked as if they were “forced to be there,” lacking energy.

As he watched, he heard Ran Shu mumble: “Brother Yu…”

He turned off the hairdryer and looked over to see Ran Shu peeking out from under his blanket, continuing to mumble: “If you go to the cafeteria, bring me two buns.”

Then he went back to sleep.

For Sui Houyu, the most time-consuming part of his morning routine was drying his hair; once that was done, he was basically finished.

He took his meal card and headed downstairs to the cafeteria, texting Su Anyi on the way to ask if she needed him to bring anything.

However, upon entering the cafeteria, he noticed that the group of athletes who had just started eating fell silent and turned to look at him. This was Sui Houyu, who remained calm even in such a situation.

A bunch of athletes ate while staring at him, with no other reaction.

Once Sui Houyu went to get his food, the group erupted in excitement.

“Is this the Sui Houyu from Qingyu? A standard example of a girl looking like a boy?”

“He looks like this?! Acting like the school bully? Are you sure he’s not the mascot?”

“He really does look like a milk bean.”

“When he gets angry, does he also become super cute?”

Hou Mo heard these remarks while eating, and suddenly responded: “Yeah.”

People around looked at Hou Mo, unsure which question he was answering.

Sui Houyu returned to the dorm with his breakfast, sitting on his bed to eat.

Ran Shu had just gotten up. After washing up, he placed the mirror on the windowsill, bending over to do his eyebrows.

At that moment, the group of athletes came back, joking as they entered. Upon seeing Ran Shu, they paused in surprise.

Deng Yiheng exaggeratedly asked: “Wow, Ran Shu, you’re still putting on makeup?”

Ran Shu turned to glance at them and yelled: “Y-you don’t understand a fart, I’m just doing my eyebrows!”

Deng Yiheng walked over for a closer look, then burst out laughing: “How did you manage that? With such big eyes and a big nose, but no eyebrows? I thought you had thick eyebrows and big eyes; turns out your eyebrows are drawn on?”

Hou Mo and Sang Xian walked in side by side, both glancing at Ran Shu.

At that moment, Ran Shu had finished one eyebrow but was still in the middle of doing the other, looking quite comical.

Ran Shu immediately shot back: “What! H-how did you end up looking like that? Did your left and right sides not negotiate when you were born?”

Deng Yiheng was left speechless by the retort.

The little stutterer could be quite fierce when he spoke.

When Shen Junqing walked in, he suddenly began laughing arrogantly: “By the way, aren’t you all from Class Seventeen? I’m the only one from Class Sixteen. Ah, I did well this time—couldn’t help it”

Shen Junqing wasn’t doing too well academically either; he didn’t even know how he managed to end up in Class Sixteen.

He has been bragging since the class divisions started.

Deng Yiheng, just reprimanded, couldn’t help muttering: “You still have the nerve to talk about your studies in front of Hou Mo and Sang Xian?”

Shen Junqing replied nonchalantly: “I’m willing to; I can brag for a while, so why wouldn’t I mention it?”

Ran Shu continued doing his eyebrows: “M-my Brother Yu studies well too. He came to Class Seventeen just for me, so when the exam comes, just wait and see. We’ll show you what beauty and intelligence combined look like.”

He finished speaking without realizing that the term “beauty” had annoyed Sui Houyu.

Deng Yiheng seemed interested: “Oh! Brother Yu studies well too!”

Then he suddenly felt something was off. Why was he calling him Brother Yu too?

Ran Shu continued boasting: “Of course, m-my Brother Yu is super smart.”

Deng Yiheng shook his head: “But you see, when it comes to our Senior Brother, that’s not the case. Whenever there’s a scholarship exam, he goes all out. Those aren’t just grades; that’s his life.”

Ran Shu shook his head in agreement, “So, h-his life is over.”

“Oi!”

“Just wait and see.” In this regard, Ran Shu was quite confident.

Hou Mo had been listening to their conversation. For him, academics didn’t matter much; after all, he nearly scored full marks and wasn’t afraid of anyone.

He was just watching Sui Houyu eat.

Eating so much so early in the morning? He had cake last night, went to bed right after eating, and yet he was still so thin?

Hou Mo picked up his bag and asked Sui Houyu: “How do you eat without gaining weight?”

Ran Shu—Sui Houyu’s crazy fan.

He could mindlessly boast about various aspects, and at this moment, he chimed in: “My Brother Yu goes to the bathroom twice a day.”

Then he received a kick from Sui Houyu, looking wronged with a pouting lip.

Hou Mo couldn’t help but laugh.

The athletes came back to grab their things before heading off to class.

Ran Shu finished doing his eyebrows and realized he didn’t have time for breakfast. He grabbed a bun and followed along. As they walked down the hallway, he suddenly sensed something was off.

In this dorm, it seemed he was the only one under 1.8 meters. Deng Yiheng appeared to be the shortest one, so he caught up and asked: “How tall are you?”

“Me? 181 centimeters.”

“Oh…”

“What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

Ran Shu, who was 178 centimeters tall, suddenly felt self-conscious.

This group of athletes was really annoying.

*

During the morning self-study session, Sui Houyu opened a new box of dominoes and began to arrange them after glancing down at them.

He had mania, and classes really tested his patience.

Usually, he could chew gum to relieve the tension, but some teachers didn’t like that behavior, so during class, he would fiddle with other things to distract himself and alleviate his anxiety.

Even being scattered in focus, he could still study well; it was likely a personal trait.

As he was arranging the dominoes, he noticed Hou Mo, sitting one aisle away, wearing a U-shaped neck pillow and yawning widely.

He remembered that Hou Mo had replied to a message last night, seeming to sit by his bed for a long time, which likely explained why he was so tired.

But was it too arrogant to wear a U-shaped neck pillow directly?

The two, who had just been praised as top students that morning, suddenly exchanged glances.

Hou Mo looked at the dominoes in Sui Houyu’s hands, and Sui Houyu looked at the U-shaped pillow on Hou Mo’s neck. The two stared at each other in silence.

In the end, neither spoke, and they went back to what they were doing.

Sui Houyu didn’t have a deskmate, so he pulled out the chair by the window and started setting up a domino formation. Seated in the last row with his body blocking the view, it was unlikely anyone would notice.

By the third period, Sui Houyu had already arranged his dominoes into an intricate cylindrical tower.

Meanwhile, Hou Mo was sleeping like a log on the other side, his body swaying randomly. Suddenly, he lurched forward, and with a loud “thud,” his head hit the desk.

The noise startled Sui Houyu, who instinctively blurted out, “Sh*t!” His hand trembled, and the entire tower collapsed.

In an instant, dominoes fell off the chair with a series of loud clattering sounds, scattering across the tiled floor in all directions like flowers in the wind.

The teacher, in the middle of the lesson, paused and turned to look at them.

Hou Mo clutched his head in pain, too hurt to even speak.

Sui Houyu tried to use his foot to nudge the fallen dominoes back into his desk area, and Ren Shu, who sat in front, also helped.

The teacher walked over, glaring at both of them and yelled directly: “What are you two doing? Playing around? Sleeping? Ah?  Disrupting class? This is a classroom!”

Both of them immediately settled down.

“Get out and stand in the hallway!”

Hou Mo, still rubbing his head, staggered toward the door.

Sui Houyu let out a sigh and followed him into the corridor. Once they were standing outside, Sui Houyu shot a glare at Hou Mo.

 Hou Mo responded pitifully with a visisbly red forehead.

After a while of standing in the hallway, Hou Mo’s body began to sway again, and he leaned onto Sui Houyu.

His ability to sleep anywhere was truly remarkable—he could even sleep standing up.

Annoyed, Sui Houyu smacked the back of Hou Mo’s neck.

Hou Mo jolted upright, dazed, and glanced around in confusion before turning to look at Sui Houyu.

Sui Houyu raised his chin slightly, meeting his gaze calmly.

A breeze blew through the open windows in the hallway, ruffling Sui Houyu’s layers upon layers of hair.

Suddenly, Hou Mo found himself feeling drowsy just from watching Sui Houyu’s hair flutter.

Neither of them said a word, and Hou Mo didn’t fall asleep again. Instead, he stared out the window in a daze.

They stood side by side, their sleeves occasionally brushing against each other, moving closer until Sui Houyu eventually leaned against Hou Mo and fell asleep.

Hou Mo looked at him in surprise but didn’t smack him awake. After a moment of hesitation, he slipped a U-shaped pillow around Sui Houyu’s neck.

He then held one hand in front of Sui Houyu’s forehead—not touching him, but ready to support his head if he started to fall.

Character Height Chart:

Sang Xian: 190 cm [Domineering Face]

Hou Mo: 188 cm

Shen Junjing: 185 cm [Deng Yiheng’s doubles partner, the street punk from the opening]

Sui Houyu: 183 cm

Deng Yiheng: 181 cm [The one who loves girls]

Ren Shu: 178 cm

Ouyang Ge: 177 cm [Teacher Gege]

Su Anyi: 171 cm [Stoic-faced sister, Houyu’s friend]

Teacher Li: 168 cm [Houyu’s former homeroom teacher]

Xiao Daiyu: 162 cm

That covers all the main characters in the story. Player profiles for rival teams will be released later.