HCILH Ch. 101

Chapter 101: Soothing Him

The morning training at the camp was fairly routine.

After jogging a lap to warm up, they loosened their joints and performed leg exercises.

It would have been much better if the song The Rabbit Dance^[1] wasn’t playing during the leg jumps.

The morning activities included general jump training, such as leg jumps, straight-leg jumps, and finishing with a section of carioca steps. The combination of these jumps with The Rabbit Dance made them look like a crowd of frantic, hopping rabbits.

The worst part was how they instinctively synchronized their jumps with the beat of the music, which was quite catchy.

In the lineup, Deng Yiheng and Sui Houyu were close to each other, and while jumping, Deng YIheng joked to Sui Houyu: “Brother Yu, why do I feel more and more like I’m dancing Swan Lake?”

Sui Houyu felt similarly distressed: “I know, it’s tough. I’ve trained to hit beats when dancing, so now I’m instinctively following the rhythm.”

After finishing these activities, they moved on to reaction games.

The 70% intensity training lasted about an hour, followed by a 90% intensity session for about twenty minutes. The 100% intensity training was divided into sessions of 3–5 minutes, totaling 10–15 minutes.

Once the reaction game started, the male and female teams separated for training, each led by a different coach.

As they trained, Hou Mo gradually maneuvered himself to stand next to Sui Houyu amidst the confusion.

They exchanged glances without speaking and continued with the training.

Deng Yiheng, who had been pushed aside, muttered: “Rein it in, Senior Brother. Brother Yu isn’t as attached to you as you think. If you keep sticking so close, he might find you annoying. Haven’t you realized that you become more irritating the more someone gets to know you?”

“You’re the one who should shut up.” Hou Mo replied irritably.

“Disregard the advice of an elder, and you’ll suffer for it.”

“You’re only a few months older than me. You’re too arrogant!”

“Some people younger than me even wanted to act like my dad!”

Just as they were about to argue, Sui Houyu stepped between them, stopping the fight.

In the afternoon, they split into separate training sessions again.

Those specializing in doubles and singles were grouped for specific drills.

While Sui Houyu and Hou Mo were practicing angled volley interceptions, a coach walked over and loudly called out: “Hou Mo, why are you training here?”

The booming voice drew plenty of attention.

The name “Hou Mo” was already somewhat known in the training camp, and the player himself drew significant interest.

When the coach called him over, people were staring at them.

Whenever coaches who followed youth tournaments were present, they paid attention to standout players.

Coach Huang, who had previously worked with Hou Mo and had high regard for him, even recommended him to the national team, who noted Hou Mo for special attention.

Coach Huang, who was in charge of training, wasn’t there the day before. He had just arrived and had been looking for Hou Mo.

At the time, Hou Mo was practicing small-angle volley drills with Sui Houyu. Hearing Coach Huang call him, he promptly replied: “Practicing doubles!”

“You? Doubles?” Coach Huang’s tone was incredulous, almost teasing.

“Yeah, he’s my doubles partner, Sui Houyu.” Hou Mo introduced him to Coach Huang.

“Bringing in a rookie?”

“What are you talking about? Last time, we played Jiang Wei’s duo to a standstill!”

Coach Huang gave Sui Houyu another glance: “Not bad. You’re done with singles training, then?”

Hou Mo shamelessly answered: “I don’t need to train for singles.”

To others, that statement would have sounded infuriating, but they couldn’t argue with him.

There was nothing to critique about Hou Mo’s singles play.

“Come over to help demonstrate something, then you can come back.” Coach Huang said, pulling Hou Mo toward the singles training court.

Hou Mo had been planning to ask Coach Huang for a favor, so he joked: “You’re making me a prop now?”

“There are a lot of new faces this time, and you’re the only one I know. Hurry up.” Without further explanation, Coach Huang led Hou Mo away. Hou Mo turned back to reassure Sui Houyu: “I’ll be right back.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” 

The number of participants was indeed large.

Their province alone brought sixty-five players. Over three hundred attendees, including those from other provinces, were present.

These numbers were managed by staggering the arrival of some provincial teams until after the New Year.

The sheer volume of young talent was staggering, though only a handful would make it to top-level competitions.

Tennis has been an area of focused effort in the country.

While female players ranked higher globally and reached Grand Slam main draws more frequently, the number of top male players remained low.

The country was pushing hard to develop a world-class male athlete.

Any of these young players could become future opponents.

Among them, one might rise above the rest.

Who could say for sure?

Hou Mo was probably the most highly regarded among them.

As his partner, Sui Houyu hadn’t yet competed in a national tournament or achieved notable results, so he lacked widespread recognition.

This realization fueled Sui Houyu’s determination to perform well in the next national tournament.

Interception was Sui Houyu’s weakest skill, so he focused on practicing it after Hou Mo left.

The doubles coach couldn’t dedicate full attention to one player and typically supervised everyone, stepping in only when guidance was needed.

After a while, He Shibi unexpectedly approached him: “Let’s practice together.”

Sui Houyu turned to look at him, puzzled, then glanced to the side where He Shibi’s own partner was training alone without comment.

Without much thought, he accepted and started practicing with He Shibi.

Even without building rapport, training with He Shibi could help him practice adaptability—essential for adjusting to teammates in unexpected situations.

To his surprise, He Shibi’s teamwork skills were exceptional.

They required no verbal communication, yet He Shibi’s coordination was perfect.

The seamless, wordless collaboration felt as if he had known He Shibi for ages, displaying a level of synergy that surpassed his initial matches with Hou Mo.

Remarkably, they had only practiced together for a mere ten minutes.

It felt as though this person understood him.

Regardless of what decision or instinctive move he made, He Shibi adjusted seamlessly. 

He was able to distinguish which balls to intercept and which ones to leave for Sui Houyu, never overstepping.

He Shibi was not competitive or aggressive; instead, he had a spirit of dedication. Throughout the process, his only action was to cooperate with him, seeking and creating opportunities for him to perform better.

It felt incredibly comfortable to work with him.

The word that came to mind was empathetic.

If he had actually added He Shibi on WeChat, he might have given him a nickname like The Empathetic Daredevil.

It fit perfectly.

Sui Houyu seldom genuinely praised anyone, but this time he couldn’t help saying: “Not bad!”

He Shibi maintained his usual aloof demeanor and muttered: “I’m terrible at singles.”

“But working with you is pretty comfortable.”

“I can work with anyone.” He Shibi said, casting a glance at his partner. “But my coach insists on pairing me with him. Just look at that sour face—like someone owes him eight million or something.”

Sui Houyu didn’t respond, just stared at He Shibi.

Brother, you look like a fugitive yourself, and you’re talking about someone else’s sour face?

At that moment, another group of trainees was practicing on the court, so Sui Houyu’s group moved aside to practice serving from different positions, targeting inside and outside corners.

Sui Houyu and He Shibi chatted while walking and discussed their practice insights after training for a bit.

When Hou Mo returned, he whispered to Sui Houyu: “I talked to Coach Huang, and he allowed us to switch dorms. I already moved all your stuff to my dorm. My roommate is pretty nice and agreed to move to the third floor.”

They moved at this time to avoid the other trainees noticing and causing a fuss about switching dorms.

Better to switch before everyone memorized the dorm assignments, a quick and decisive move, and never bring it up again afterward.

“Okay.” Sui Houyu thought for a moment and decided to inform He Shibi.

Whether it was because He Shibi was a bit antisocial or simply his aloof expression, none of the trainees sat with him during meals. Even his doubles partner sat at a table diagonally across from him.

After Sui Houyu and Hou Mo sat down, He Shibi’s doubles partner glanced their way, pausing for a moment while holding his chopsticks.

Sui Houyu paid him no mind and told He Shibi about the dorm change.

He Shibi nodded: “Got it.”

They weren’t really close, so a change was just that, no big deal.

Sui Houyu hesitated for a moment and said: “Can you give me your contact information?”

Hou Mo hadn’t thought much of the brief greeting, but when he heard Sui Houyu ask for contact information, he sat up straight immediately.

Asking someone for their contact info?

That was a major sign of respect coming from Sui Houyu.

If it didn’t seem significant before, after learning that Sui Houyu wasn’t completely straight, Hou Mo became hyper-aware.

He Shibi seemed surprised as well, but agreed: “Sure, I’ll write it down for you.”

He pulled a pen from his pocket.

Sui Houyu was a bit surprised: “You carry a pen with you?”

“I have a bad memory, so if the coach points out any issues, I write them down.” He Shibi explained, rolling up his sleeve to show his forearm, where there were indeed several notes scribbled.

“Oh, alright.” Sui Houyu didn’t have anywhere to write it down, so he extended his hand, and He Shibi wrote the number on the back of it.

As tennis players, their palms would sweat from holding the racket, so writing on the palm was never an option.

Hou Mo, seeing this, quickly said: “You could just say the number. I can memorize it.”

But he spoke too late. He Shibi had already written three digits and paused, looking at Hou Mo.

Sui Houyu, noticing that they were practically holding hands, quickly said: “It’s fine, go ahead.”

Hou Mo didn’t care anymore. 

He Shibi gently held Sui Houyu’s fingertips, wrote a string of numbers, and said: “This is my number, and it’s also my WeChat ID.”

Sui Houyu looked at his hand and replied: “Okay, I’ll write it down in the dorm.”

With their phones confiscated, they had to rely on the most basic method.

Hou Mo watched as Sui Houyu’s fingertips were lightly squeezed, clutched at his chest in distress, and barely held it together until the meal ended, then tugged Sui Houyu to rush back to their dorm.

Back in the dorm, Sui Houyu found some paper and copied the number.

After seeing him finish, Hou Mo pulled him to wash his hands and even helped scrub his fingertips, rubbing them repeatedly.

The sink was old, with a rotary handle worn down to its metal, and the faucet had patches of rust. The water pressure was erratic, spurting intermittently.

Their hands overlapped under the faucet, rubbing back and forth.

Sui Houyu turned to glance at Hou Mo and explained with a sigh: “I just think he has a lot of doubles experience, and I could ask for some tips.”

“Coach Wang has doubles experience too.”

“But he’s really great at coordinating. I want to ask him.”

“I’m great too…” Hou Mo mumbled, feeling wronged.

“Yeah!” Sui Houyu answered, conceding, “You’re the best!”

“If you don’t understand, just ask me. Why go to someone else?”

“Because I want us to play better together.”

Hou Mo was still sulky: “It won’t work; your partner is hurt inside.”

“Should I give you a massage?” Sui Houyu turned off the faucet and asked.

A crack finally appeared in Hou Mo’s sulky expression: “How would you do that?”

“Later, when we go to bed.” Sui Houyu leaned close to his ear and added, “And I’ll massage the pink thing too.”

This was the first time Sui Houyu had made such a teasing remark to Hou Mo.

Though their relationship was just short of breaking the last barrier, Sui Houyu, being the “reluctant pursued,” usually kept his composure. This time, to cheer Hou Mo up, he let a bit of playful banter slip.

Hou Mo finally laughed: “You? You’d fall asleep halfway through the massage.”

Realizing this was a real possibility, Sui Houyu thought for a moment and said: “Then wake me up. I’ll massage until you’re fully healed.”

“Over the clothes?”

“Can that really heal a wound?”

“Probably not, but a kiss might do the trick.”

“I’ll think about it,” Sui Houyu said, shaking the water off his hands and heading out.

Hou Mo watched him walk away, his gaze deep and murky, filled with impure thoughts.

Suddenly, he rushed over, hooked his arm around Sui Houyu, and ran toward the dorm.

Omake:

Hou Mo: I’m not easy to console.

Sui Houyu kisses him.

Hou Mo: I’m better now.

[In game terms, He Shibi is like a top-tier support, taking quick action at the net as melee, while the baseline player acts as ranged support. Ran Shu would be the mage, with a long cast time, chanting buffs throughout. When paired with Ran Shu, Sang Xian becomes a human shield by default.]