HCILH Ch. 55

Chapter 55: Group Photo

In the morning.

The morning breeze dissipated the laziness of the previous night, and bright, clear light streamed in from the end of the corridor.

Perhaps due to his different physique, Sui Houyu wasn’t like other teenagers, who often felt sluggish in the morning.

As long as he was awake, he was alert.

He held his phone in one hand, reading the announcements in their group chat, and said to Hou Mo, who was walking beside him, “I’ll join you for warm-up in a bit.”

“Oh…” Hou Mo still looked half-asleep. Even though today was the second match, they had to get up early again because the media was conducting interviews.

When they reached the cafeteria, they saw several players already eating breakfast.

Normally, Sui Houyu and Hou Mo preferred to have breakfast in their room. But with the singles matches starting today, Coach Wang had to be present for Sang Xian’s first match, and Su Anyi was also busy assisting.

Everyone was occupied, so no one delivered breakfast to their room, forcing them to come down themselves.

As Hou Mo grabbed a tray, he grumbled: “Get an extra egg, and some porridge and—”

He looked around but noticed Sui Houyu was no longer beside him.

When he found him, Sui Houyu was heading directly toward Tang Yao and Gu Libo, who were eating breakfast. He kicked their table as soon as he arrived.

Hou Mo hurriedly put down his tray and rushed over, grabbing Sui Houyu’s hand just as he was about to raise his middle finger.

Sui Houyu still looked annoyed and was about to curse. Hou Mo quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.

Sui Houyu’s table kick had already attracted several stares.

Everyone was watching closely, thinking a fight might break out. Did they hold a grudge after yesterday’s doubles match? Where was the sportsmanship?

Not to mention, there were reporters coming soon—just how reckless could they be?

Tang Yao glared, “What’s your problem?”

Sui Houyu struggled to speak through Hou Mo’s hand, but Hou Mo intervened with a quick insult: “You look just like a gorilla! Shameless!”

“Huh?!” Tang Yao was stunned. What was going on?

Seeing Sui Houyu still fuming, Hou Mo turned back to flash a middle finger at Tang Yao, and quickly withdrew it.

Tang Yao was left stunned. For a moment, he seemed to have lost the ability to speak and looked at the two people stupidly.

Even though Sui Houyu seemed ready to fight, Hou Mo hoisted him up and said goodbye to Tang Yao and Gu Libo: “See you later.”

Gu Libo remarked coldly: “I thought you two didn’t get along. Turns out you’re actually pretty close?”

“Where’d you get that idea?” Hou Mo asked, confused, while struggling to restrain the wriggling Sui Houyu.

“He’s always glaring at you.”

“You don’t get it—that’s flirting.” Hou Mo replied before hauling Sui Houyu away.

When they reached the cafeteria entrance, Hou Mo put Sui Houyu down and pressed him against the wall. “Brother Yu, reporters will be here soon. They love taking photos in places like the cafeteria. If you get caught causing trouble, we’re doomed.”

“I get mad just looking at them.” Sui Houyu grumbled.

“Can you hold it in? We’ve got matches this afternoon!”

“…” Sui Houyu turned his head away angrily, not looking at him.

Hou Mo checked his surroundings, adjusted their position to shield Sui Houyu from view, and continued to coax him. “Come on, Brother Yu, be good. I already cursed them out for you. We hit back for what they said yesterday. There are no regrets, right?”

“But it wasn’t me who cursed them!”

“I’m your messenger. Everyone knows we’re on the same team.”

“…” After some thought, Sui Houyu reluctantly relented, and they returned to their breakfast.

Hou Mo stuck close to Sui Houyu, worried he might stir up more trouble. Fortunately, Sui Houyu behaved and even ate an extra egg.

After breakfast, they returned to their room to freshen up before heading to the interview.

During the interview, Sui Houyu only needed to sit by, as most of the questions were directed at Hou Mo, the top-seeded singles player.

Hou Mo handled the interview with ease, answering confidently and flashing bright smiles, demonstrating his knack for social interactions.

When the interview wrapped up, the photographers suggested taking some photos. After snapping a few solo shots of Hou Mo, he suddenly pulled Sui Houyu over. “He’s my doubles partner. Could we get a picture together?”

The reporter was quite familiar with Hou Mo. After all, he familiar with Hou Mo from previous youth competitions and readily agreed. “Your partner is quite handsome.”

“Of course! He’s a promising newcomer,” Hou Mo replied with a grin, throwing an arm around Sui Houyu’s shoulder as they posed for the photo.

As they were about to leave, Hou Mo called back to the reporters, “Brother, make sure to send me a copy of the photo!”

“You two, come over. I have a few more questions.”

The two of them sat back down, and the reporter’s questions focused on the doubles matches.

One reporter turned to Sui Houyu. “Do you play singles as well? How’s your performance?”

Sui Houyu shook his head: “No, I only play doubles.”

“Is it because you’re not good enough for singles?”

“No.” Sui Houyu pointed at Hou Mo. “He was once the national champion. If I can beat him one day, that’ll prove my ability. I play doubles for Coach Wang—and just to compete with him.”

The reporter then asked Hou Mo: “What about you? You didn’t care much for doubles before. Why the sudden change?”

“To partner with him.” Hou Mo answered, pointing at Sui Houyu and flashing a radiant smile.

The reporter, intrigued, asked: “Are you two close?”

Sui Houyu replied nonchalantly: “We’re okay.”

Hou Mo beamed: “He’s my childhood friend.”

The reporter nodded in understanding: “I see.”

After the interview, they found a spot to stretch. Hou Mo asked Sui Houyu to press his shoulder down.

Sui Houyu complied, but his hand got caught between Hou Mo’s shoulder blade, making him feel the tension in Hou Mo’s muscles. He instinctively withdrew his hand.

Hou Mo didn’t mind and kept saying:. “Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile.”

“Aren’t you about to compete?”

“It’s okay, I just need to loosen up.”

Sui Houyu took two steps back and let out a big yawn.

He watched Hou Mo stretch. His tall, well-proportioned, and solid physique stood out, and even a simple tracksuit couldn’t hide those long legs.

His figure looked particularly outstanding.

For a moment, Sui Houyu was a little dazed but quickly snapped back to his senses when someone called his name.

“Brother Yu, the sponsor plans to provide you two with a new set of sportswear. It’s a soon-to-be-released model, and you can have personalized text printed on it. What would you like to print?” Su Anyi handed him a promotional image of the clothing design.

Their team received plenty of sponsorships, including shoes and uniforms, and the uniforms for this match were also sponsored.

Since the sponsor noticed that Hou Mo and Sui Houyu had performed well and that their shoes and uniforms didn’t match, they decided to provide both players with matching new sportswear to use for promotional purposes.

Sui Houyu looked at the design. It had a refreshing style, with alternating light blue and white—a color combination he liked.

He checked the placement of the text and wrote down what he wanted to print.

Hou Mo stopped stretching and walked over, taking the sheet from Sui Houyu’s hand. When he saw what Sui Houyu had written, he chuckled and added his own text beneath it.

Su Anyi glanced at the sheet and asked: “Are you two sure you want this text printed?”

Sui Houyu nodded.

Hou Mo laughed along: “As long as Brother Yu is happy.”

Su Anyi looked at the form again and said: “Alright, I’ll submit it. If there are any issues, I’ll contact you right away.”

When they arrived at the edge of the court, they saw Liu Mo playing a singles match against an opponent Sui Houyu didn’t recognize.

Several matches were ongoing across different courts. Sang Xian was playing on another court, while this one featured Liu Mo.

Deng Yiheng waved them over. After sitting down, they noticed that Ran Shu and Su Anyi were also there.

Ran Shu leaned over to Sui Houyu. “I-I knew you’d come to watch this match.”

Sui Houyu responded casually.

Just as Sui Houyu sat down, Deng Yiheng remarked: “The level of provincial competitions just isn’t as high as national ones. Even the mascots give it away. This one just hops around. The mascot at the last national competition, though—amazing! That dance? Definitely professional-level! Performing that well in such a heavy costume? Not easy.”

Sui Houyu sat calmly in the stands, cleared his throat, and didn’t respond.

Hou Mo pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh, his shoulders shaking with the effort.

After watching for a while, Hou Mo stood up: “I need to get ready. Liu Mo’s opponent isn’t going to last.”

After Liu Mo’s match finished, it was Hou Mo’s turn to take the court.

Sui Houyu instinctively stood up to follow, but Hou Mo pressed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll can go by myself. You stay here and watch the game.”

As he spoke, he tossed his bag to Sui Houyu.

Sui Houyu stayed seated, watching Hou Mo walk away, puzzled. What’s going on with me? Why do I keep wanting to follow him everywhere?

Have I just gotten used to being his partner?

Just as Hou Mo predicted, Liu Mo’s opponent seemed to lose focus, and his performance kept declining throughout the match. In two sets, the game was over—Liu Mo won.

Afterward, Hou Mo took his racket and stepped onto the court, casually stretching his body.

Back when he was playing alongside Hou Mo, Sui Houyu only got occasional glimpses of the matches while dressed as a mascot. Now, sitting in the stands, he noticed many girls in the audience watching Hou Mo, even calling out his name.

He looked up and saw some girls holding banners with Hou Mo’s name and photos.

Quite popular, huh.

Deng Yiheng struck up a conversation, interrupting Sui Houyu’s thoughts: “How’s Senior Brother’s hand doing?”

“He said it doesn’t hurt anymore unless he presses on it hard. There’s just some bruising.”

“That’s good. These bumps and scrapes are normal. We get them all the time during practice—you don’t have to take it to heart.”

“Mm.”

Hou Mo’s singles match was smooth and effortless.

From Hou Mo’s perspective, it was a complete domination, and watching the opponent struggle under pressure was quite satisfying.

The match ended in two sets. Afterward, Hou Mo glanced toward their seats and waved before putting on his jacket and heading toward the corridor.

Sui Houyu suddenly remembered that he still had Hou Mo’s bag, which contained his toiletries. Grabbing the bag, he quickly went to find Hou Mo.

When Ran Shu and Su Anyi stood up, Sui Houyu was already gone.

Ran Shu grumbled as he watched Sui Houyu’s back: “Brother Yu is so heartless. The moment someone else calls, he runs off. Where does that leave me?”

Su Anyi replied casually: “Probably went to give Hou Mo his stuff. I’ll go get them some lunch.”

When Sui Houyu found Hou Mo, a few girls were already gathered around him. These girls were even faster than him.  They must have left the match early just to wait here.

The girls handed their banners and gifts to Hou Mo, asking if he thought they looked nice.

Sui Houyu stood nearby, arms crossed, watching silently without interrupting.

Hou Mo picked up one of the banners and showed it to Sui Houyu: “Brother Yu, what do you think? Looks good?”

“It’s alright,” Sui Houyu replied flatly.

“Give me one,” Hou Mo said to one of the girls, who immediately handed it over.

Hou Mo took the banner and handed it to Sui Houyu. “Hold this for me during my matches, okay? I’ll feel super motivated if you cheer for me.”

“I don’t want it.” Sui Houyu tossed the banner back to Hou Mo, then handed him the bag before turning to leave without waiting.

Hou Mo called out to the girls, “Thanks for cheering for me. I’m heading out with my partner now.”

The girls waved goodbye enthusiastically.

“Bye-bye!”

“You were amazing today!”

“Good luck in the doubles match this afternoon!”

As Sui Houyu walked off, he overheard the girls cheering and asked Hou Mo, “Are they coming this afternoon too?”

“Yeah, since they’re already here, they’ll probably stay. It’s Saturday, and they’re off school, so they might come tomorrow too.”

“Are they from Fenghua?”

“No, from No. 3 High School.”

No. 3 High School was a prestigious school in the city, not far from their old Qingyu High.

Sui Houyu continued to ask: “Do you know them?”

“My fan group has a chat. These are some of the more active ones.”

“Do you have their WeChat?”

“No individual adds, just occasional chats in the group.”

It was something Hou Mo had no choice but to deal with. As a sponsored athlete, he needed to engage with these fans to maintain good relations with the sponsors—taking sponsorship without cooperation just wouldn’t be right.

Sui Houyu pulled out a room key from the bag and said, “I’m going back to the hotel.”

“I-I’m heading back too—wait, no, I still have to do the urine test! Wait for me, Brother Yu! Don’t run off!” Hou Mo watched helplessly as Sui Houyu ran off. He wanted to chase after him but couldn’t, so he turned to Deng Yiheng, who had just walked out. “What’s up with Brother Yu? He didn’t seem too happy.”

Deng Yiheng was also puzzled: “He looked pretty happy when he left, though.”

“Huh? Then what’s going on? Did he run into Tang Yao again?” Hou Mo glanced around as he spoke, but there was no sign of Tang Yao.