HCILH Ch. 21

Chapter 21: Sleeping Together

The flag-raising ceremony was on Monday, and this time, the first-year students were participating as well.

Sui Houyu stood among the group scheduled to go up on stage to deliver their self-reflections right next to the podium.

Beside him stood a group of student athletes, holding their self-reflection letters and reading through them. It seemed like they were also seeing the contents for the first time and getting acquainted with them.

Hou Mo was not far from Sui Houyu, chatting with Sang Xian, Deng Yiheng, and others.

Other students were still gathering on the sports field. As people passed by, they couldn’t help but glance at them a few times. They were quite the striking scene.

At that moment, someone passed by Sui Houyu and stood next to him.

Ran Shu noticed Xu Youyi and felt awkward. He signaled with his eyes, suggesting Xu Youyi leave.

Xu Youyi, however, was unwilling to give up and called out softly, “Brother.”

Sui Houyu didn’t even bother looking at her. “Get lost.”

“Brother, can we please have a proper conversation? I really have my reasons!”

“…” Sui Houyu didn’t respond. His lips pressed into a straight line, and his eyes were filled with annoyance.

Ran Shu tried to smooth things over, “How about you talk about it some other time?”

“He’s ignoring me! I’m sorry! Please don’t be like this!” Xu Youyi pleaded with Sui Houyu in a choked voice, reaching out to grab his arm, only for Sui Houyu to shake her off.

“Can you stop pestering me all the time?” Sui Houyu asked irritably.

The commotion drew the attention of those around them, including Hou Mo and his group, who looked over at Sui Houyu.

Deng Yiheng remembered a certain nickname: “It’s Little Daiyu. What’s going on?”

“Is she an ex-girlfriend?” someone asked, unaware of the situation.

“I don’t know, but Sui Houyu said she wasn’t.” Deng Yiheng denied it.

“So it’s probably a case of the girl chasing after him.”

Xu Youyi was on the verge of tears again, her eyes welling up as she looked at Sui Houyu.

Sui Houyu, thoroughly annoyed, clicked his tongue with a “tsk.”

Ran Shu quickly stepped in, gently pushing Xu Youyi’s arm, and whispered: “Alright, alright, let’s talk about this later.”

“Brother Ran Shu, can you help me convince him?”

“This… well, honestly… I’m in a tough spot too…” Ran Shu was quite conflicted. If he were in Sui Houyu’s position, he’d find this just as distasteful. It was perfectly normal for Sui Houyu not to want to see Xu Youyi.

Ran Shu was firmly on Sui Houyu’s side and didn’t want to compromise.

In the end, Xu Youyi left, looking back every three steps as she went.

Ran Shu returned to Sui Houyu’s side, mumbling: “Why won’t she give up? And she even applied to this school.”

Sui Houyu didn’t want to talk. Just thinking about the disgusting things that had happened made him restless. He opened and closed his hands, clenching his fists tightly, his fingers almost digging into his palms. His knuckles turned white, and his palms flushed with red.

He felt agitated, craving chewing gum, wanting to run, wanting to fight—anything but standing here.

At that moment, Hou Mo walked over, placing his large hand on top of Sui Houyu’s head: “Don’t make it seem like we’re isolating you guys. When it’s time for the self-reflections, you’ll be in the center.”

Like a breeze dispersing clouds, or water fading ink, or a spring quenching thirst, this small gesture dissolved much of Sui Houyu’s frustration.

For some reason, Hou Mo had a calming effect on him.

Sui Houyu turned his head to look at Hou Mo, his eyes slightly red. His eyes were still bloodshot, but the sharpness from earlier had faded.

“Oh.” he replied.

When it was time for the self-reflections, Hou Mo was the first to go on stage. He stood there with a microphone, speaking loudly: “Hello, everyone, I’m Hou Mo from Science Class Seventeen.”

It was unclear whether he did it on purpose, but the group of student athletes, along with many students in the crowd, suddenly cheered, and some even whistled from within the crowd.

Hou Mo raised his hand to quiet them down, taking control of the scene, and continued, “Today, I’m here to deliver a self-reflection. The reason is that Director Ouyang suspects I led the Fenghua students to switch dorm rooms. Parentheses, though it wasn’t actually me who led them, but Director Ouyang didn’t listen. Parentheses closed. This action disrupted the unity and friendship between the two merged schools and caused a negative impact. I apologize for this. I shouldn’t have switched dorm rooms.”

After finishing his self-reflection, Hou Mo stepped down, and Sang Xian took the stage.

Sang Xian had a deep voice, and it resonated as he spoke into the microphone: “I’m Sang Xian from Science Class Seventeen. My self-reflection is similar to the previous one. Also…”

He picked up the reflection letter and began criticizing Hou Mo’s actions: “I shouldn’t have bought a fridge and placed it in the back of the classroom, disrupting class in order to have cold drinks anytime. Moreover, I voluntarily moved the fridge to Teacher Ouyang Ge’s office.”

Sui Houyu was left speechless after hearing the reflection.

Next up was Deng Yiheng, who earnestly read his self-reflection: “I shouldn’t have intentionally caused trouble during class just to stand in the teacher’s office and charge my phone. I also shouldn’t have named our WeChat group ‘Gege’s Stinky Babies,’ which seriously affected the dignity of Teacher Ouyang.”

What on earth was all of this?

Ran Shu grinned, constantly chuckling as he whispered to Sui Houyu: “I heard they’ve already reduced the number of people. The one who stole the scallions isn’t here; only twenty key figures came. If naming a group is one of the key issues, how trivial must the others be?”

If the entire hundred or so students had gone on stage to self-reflect on things like stealing scallions and petting dogs, the morning would have been over, and it would have turned into a stand-up comedy monologue.

Finally, Sui Houyu took his turn to go on stage: “I’m Sui Houyu from Science Class Seventeen. I…”

He wanted to continue but was suddenly interrupted by a groundhog-like scream. He had no idea if the crowd below had their tails stepped on or something because their screams were so heart-wrenchingly loud.

He paused for a moment, then continued: “I shouldn’t have participated in games with other schools. These inappropriate games disrupted other students’ studies and rest, and I sincerely apologize…”

Hou Mo, listening from below, couldn’t help but smirk.

This self-reflection was masterfully crafted—‘inappropriate games,’ carefully rephrased to avoid admitting to provocation or confrontation. The guy really knew how to twist things.

A sly wolf, it was really good at pretending.

On the way back to the classroom, Ran Shu was still grabbing people to ask, “Does G-gege’s office have a fridge? Can I store some stuff in there?”

Deng Yiheng dodged the question entirely, “The way you stuttered while saying ‘Gege’ was pretty funny.”

“Don’t—don’t imitate me, or I’ll beat you up, got it?”

“With those scrawny arms and legs?” Deng Yiheng wasn’t the least bit afraid of Ran Shu but still answered, “You can store things, but there’s a risk. If Gege gets hungry, he might eat our stuff. Someone’s popsicles got eaten last time.”

“Oh…”

Back in class, Ouyang Ge knocked on the desk before the first class began, saying, “Two things. The sports meet is coming up, so Hou Mo, you’re in charge of collecting the list of participants. Each person can only sign up for two events, not including relays. Also, the monthly exam is two days before the sports meet, so start preparing for that too.”

Ran Shu immediately raised his hand and asked: “Gege, Gege, are we preparing uniforms for the parade? We need time to customize them!”

“Do you have any ideas?”

Deng Yiheng was the first to suggest: “How about we have a guy wear a girl’s outfit and carry the class banner?”

Noticing that a group of people was looking at Sui Houyu, Ran Shu anxiously stood up: “We need someone with a strong contrast! It’d be hilarious! It would be interesting if someone like Sang Xian wears it!”

Caught off guard by the sudden mention of his name, Sang Xian stared at Ran Shu in surprise.

Ran Shu, feeling guilty, avoided Sang Xian’s gaze.

Another person suggested: “Why don’t we wear Hanfu?”

Ran Shu immediately countered: “That’ll take too long to tailor; it won’t be ready until the winter sports meet.”

Ouyang Ge waved his hand: “Let’s discuss this during the self-study period. Class is starting.”

The bell for class had already rung.

After speaking, he moved to the back of the classroom and sat down next to Sui Houyu.

At the start of the term, Ouyang Ge had been too busy to spend time in class. Now that his work had settled, he finally had time to become Sui Houyu’s deskmate.

Sui Houyu felt a wave of discomfort.

*

After the evening self-study period, Sui Houyu went to the bathhouse for a shower.

When he came out, he checked his phone and saw four missed calls. Seeing the name, he frowned.

He didn’t return the call immediately. After gathering his things, he went to a shop on campus and chose a cup of grapefruit tea.

While Ran Shu was standing next to him waiting, he received a call, and after hanging up, he awkwardly approached Sui Houyu, saying: “M-my mom called me and told me to tell you to return her call.”

The calls for Sui Houyu were from his mother.

Sui Houyu didn’t want to contact her, but if he continued to avoid it, Ran Shu would end up caught in the middle.

If the standoff continued, his mother might show up at the school directly.

Sui’s mother has quite a temper.

He sighed, took the grapefruit tea from the store clerk, and walked to a corner to call his mother back.

When the call connected, his mother’s sharp voice came through: “Why didn’t you answer the phone earlier?”

“I was showering.”

“You’re not staying at Sui Lin’s place? Where are you living now? I asked Ran Shu, and you’re not staying at his house either.”

“I rented a place by myself.”

“Renting a place? Isn’t there enough space for you at home?! How old are you, living on your own? Where are you renting? Give me the address.”

Sui Houyu was silent for a moment before answering: “You don’t need to worry, I’m living just fine.”

“Sui Houyu! When is this rebellious phase of yours going to end?! When will you stop making me worry?! You’re going to drive me to exhaustion! You’ve always been a burden to me, always stressing me out! Sui Houyu, I’m warning you, don’t push me too far. I’ve put up with you for long enough. What do I have to do for you to finally leave me alone? Do you want me to get divorced and live a miserable life for the rest of my days before you’re satisfied?!”

Although he wasn’t on speakerphone, her voice was so loud it might as well have been; everyone around could hear.

His mother was practically hysterical, yelling, screaming, like she had gone mad.

“…” Sui Houyu didn’t want to respond.

Even if he spoke, she wouldn’t listen.

Even if he explained, she wouldn’t believe him.

No matter what he did, it always seemed like he was pushing her. All he wanted now was to stay far away from her, but she wouldn’t allow it.

What did she want from him?

“Sui Houyu, can’t you stop being so selfish?” his mother asked again.

“Let me go.” He simply replied with this one sentence, his voice trembling.

There was no reply from the other side, and the call was hung up.

Sui Houyu crouched in the corner for a long time, holding the grapefruit tea, not having taken a single sip.

So annoyed.

So annoyed he felt like he might explode.

Ran Shu wanted to comfort him but was driven away by Sui Houyu. He just wanted some peace.

Ran Shu seemed familiar with the situation and didn’t push further.

When he returned to the dormitory, it was already 2 a.m., and the others were all asleep.

The irregular heartbeat and overwhelming agitation made Sui Houyu feel extremely uneasy.

He stood by his bed for a moment, then turned around, took off his shoes, and climbed into Hou Mo’s bed.

Relying on his thinness, he found a little gap to lie in.

He just wanted to sleep.

Just wanted to fall asleep.