HCILH Ch. 118

Chapter 118: A Reunion

The results of the draw were announced quickly, and after a brief period of commotion, the players for the first round began warming up.

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo didn’t know their first opponents. The school name and player names were unfamiliar. This team wasn’t from their province, so they hadn’t competed against them before.

During training camps, they hadn’t even overlapped with this team.

What stood out about their opponents was that one player was 2.03 meters tall, a full 20 centimeters taller than Sui Houyu.

Their match was scheduled for the second round. They had to wait for the first two matches to finish before taking the court.

Since this tournament was entirely indoors, if they won the coin toss, Hou Mo would certainly choose to serve first.

The spectator seating was specially arranged, with a ring of soft sofas close to the court where their coach and teammates could sit and watch the game up close.

From their position, they could still hear instructions from the coach.

It was actually advantageous to be in the first match; if they were in the second match, it would be harder to time their warm-up. 

Tennis could turn into a battle of endurance, and they never knew how long the first match would last, often needing to warm up repeatedly to ensure their muscles were fully primed when it was their turn.

Hou Mo had a knack for estimating match times based on observing the pace and skill level of the first set. This allowed him to predict when the match would end and warm up with Sui Houyu accordingly.

They finished warming up just as it was time for them to play.

At the coin toss, their opponents won and chose to serve first.

After getting set up on the court, Hou Mo and Sui Houyu sat down for a brief rest and took a sip of water.

Sui Houyu glanced at the opponents and muttered: “Can someone that tall be agile?”

“Croatia has players who are 2.08 meters tall, don’t they? We’ll see soon enough. For now, focus on adjusting to the court.”

They hadn’t even bothered asking around about their opponents.

With Sui Houyu’s attitude, no opponent seemed significant to him. His real targets were a select few, and to him, this pair was just a minor obstacle on the way to the “final boss.”

Hou Mo, always adaptable, didn’t waste time on such details.

Their priority was getting used to the court.

It was an indoor court with a synthetic surface. They needed to quickly familiarize themselves with its roughness and how it affected the ball to perform well in the match.

As the match began, Sui Houyu had just taken his position when he heard loud cheering. A group of spectators dressed in matching outfits held banners and called out Sui Houyu and other Fengyu names.

He took a quick glance before looking away.

Although Ai Mengtian knew next to nothing about tennis, she had formed a fan club that cheered exclusively for Sui Houyu and occasionally supported other Fengyu players.

When there were matches on multiple courts, Ai Mengtian would always choose to watch Sui Houyu’s match.

Once Sui Houyu took the court, Ai Mengtian led the group of girls in enthusiastic cheers, creating quite a scene and drawing many eyes.

It wasn’t surprising that Ai Mengtian attended the provincial matches, but Sui Houyu didn’t expect her to follow them all the way to Chengdu.

They probably could only watch the first few rounds, as school for their senior year started early on August 20th, while the finals were at the end of the month.

On the opponents’ second serve, they aimed directly at Hou Mo’s body.

The ball shot straight toward his crotch…

Hou Mo watched the ball bounce up, lifted his racquet to block it, and managed to return the shot, albeit awkwardly. 

At least he saved his little self.

After deflecting the ball, Hou Mo could hear laughter from his teammates and the audience, and even he couldn’t help feeling both annoyed and amused.

He wasn’t sure whether he should commend the opponent for their excellent placement.

They didn’t break serve in the first game. As they walked back, Hou Mo said to Sui Houyu: “The tall guy has a decent serve, but his net speed is average, and his shots don’t spin much, mostly flat strokes. Don’t approach too much, make lateral moves; it’ll help with angle control and using their force.”

“Got it.” Sui Houyu said, bouncing the tennis ball and nodding.

“No need for revenge; he didn’t hit me.” Hou Mo added, knowing Sui Houyu’s temperament.

“Mm.” came the perfunctory reply.

Hou Mo moved to the net, squatted, and rose when the ball came over, watching as it aimed directly at the 2.03-meter giant.

The player wasn’t as agile as Hou Mo, so he raised his racquet in front of him. Already half-squatting, the impact of the ball pushed his racquet into his leg.

The ball didn’t make it back over the net and rolled out of bounds, retrieved by the ball boy.

At least he, too, saved his little self.

Seeing this, Hou Mo glanced at Sui Houyu and finally said: “Your shot placement has improved.”

Sui Houyu grinned: “Of course.”

During the match, when their opponents successfully held serve, they would jump and bump hips as a simple celebratory gesture.

Sui Houyu, distracted by what Hou Mo had said that morning, paused for three seconds watching them.

No way?

It shouldn’t be.

He was probably overthinking…

The first match ended with Sui Houyu and Hou Mo winning comfortably, not needing a third set.

They returned to their seats to pack up. Hou Mo slung both their bags over his shoulders and pulled out a banana from one, peeling it and handing it to Sui Houyu.

Sui Houyu took it and walked to their teammates, hearing Su Anyi say: “The second draw is at 3 PM.”

“Has He Shibi played yet?” Sui Houyu had been meaning to watch their match.

“First match this afternoon.” Su Anyi replied, knowing what he was thinking and already checking for him.

“Good, I’ll go watch.”

Hou Mo nudged him with his elbow, and Sui Houyu looked up to see He Shibi and his partner sitting in the stands, just getting up to leave. The two were talking as they walked, likely analyzing Sui Houyu and Hou Mo’s gameplay.

Coach Wang reassured them as he stood up: “They’re treating you as key opponents too.”

Just then, Ai Mengtian and a few girls crowded over, saying to Sui Houyu: “The hotpot here is really good, super spicy.”

By now, Sui Houyu was so deprived that just hearing the word “hotpot” made his mouth water.

Hou Mo clapped his hands over Sui Houyu’s ears and chanted jokingly: “Can’t hear, can’t hear, turtle reciting scripture^[1].”

Ai Mengtian complained immediately: “You’re so annoying!”

*

In the afternoon, Sui Houyu and the others arrived at the venue and needed to find seats in the stands.

The benefit of youth matches was that fewer spectators attended, allowing players to easily enter and watch, even if they sometimes had to sit apart.

As soon as they sat down, Lu Yanxin pulled a headband out of her bag and said to Sui Houyu: “Brother Yu, bow your head.”

Confused but compliant, Sui Houyu lowered his head.

Lu Yanxin placed the headband on him, and he reached up to touch it—cat ears.

Deng Yiheng kept glancing back and asked: “Why don’t I get a gift?”

Lu Yanxin snapped a photo of Sui Houyu with her phone and replied: “It wouldn’t suit you. Look how good it looks on Brother Yu.”

Hou Mo glanced over too and moved closer to Sui Houyu, saying: “Take a picture of us together.”

Lu Yanxin was happy to oblige, taking their photo before turning back to her seat.

Hou Mo tried to cross his legs but found the space too cramped, so he sat properly and leaned toward Sui Houyu, whispering: “He Shibi’s partner is Chu You, a decent singles player, top-tier but not exceptional. His best record is third in the nationals.”

Sui Houyu rolled his eyes at him, and Hou Mo chuckled: “Anyone who can’t beat me is trash.”

“Oh—” Sui Houyu nodded, “I hadn’t beaten you before I joined the team. Am I trash too?”

“Tsk. Stop digging up the past. Let’s focus.” Hou Mo said.

Sui Houyu fell silent, turning his gaze to the court.

Hou Mo watched and commented: “Chu You has a powerful forehand and is good at finding gaps between opponents. His placement is highly variable, making him an opportunist. His partner, He Shibi, complements him perfectly, creating opportunities and even sacrificing his own highlights to set up his teammate.”

“Like Tetsuya^[2]…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, you don’t watch anime.”

The two of them continued studying the match, time passing without them noticing until Su Anyi came over to inform them about the next match. It was only then that they realized part of the second-round draw results had already come out.

“The opponents are Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui.” Su Anyi said as she sat beside them, her tone somewhat heavy.

Clearly, this was not a draw result anyone would be happy with.

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo fell silent at the same time.

They had anticipated encountering these two in the tournament, but they hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

They had only played one match, just enough to get familiar with the court, and now they were facing formidable opponents.

After a moment, Sui Houyu nodded: “Got it. What time?”

Su Anyi replied: “Around this evening, no earlier than 6:30 p.m.”

Two matches in one day. Fortunately, their opponents had also played a match, so it was fair.

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo exchanged a glance, with Hou Mo still wearing a confident smile: “We’ll give them a lesson tonight.”

“Lend me your headband.”

“Sure.” Hou Mo quickly understood his intention.

This headband had been a mark of Sui Houyu’s disgrace in the previous match. Meeting these opponents again, he wanted to wear it as a reminder to himself.

This time, he couldn’t lose.

He Shibi and Chu You won their match smoothly, which Sui Houyu watched with satisfaction.

They were indeed impressive.

That was Sui Houyu’s thought.

As for tactical analysis, that was Hou Mo’s job.

After the match ended, Sui Houyu, along with his friends, went to see their teammates warming up and coincidentally ran into He Shibi coming out.

He Shibi glanced at Sui Houyu and commented: “The cat ears are pretty cute.”

Chu You followed his gaze, feeling speechless: “Why do you always like weird things?”

He Shibi turned to Chu You, replying with irritation: “Yeah, I do like weird things.”

Chu You: “…”

Sui Houyu: “???”

After the two walked away, Sui Houyu looked at Hou Mo and pointed at his headband: “Is it strange?”

“Ignore those dumb straight guys, it’s adorable.”

He still reached up and took it off, deciding not to wear it anymore.

Hou Mo took the headband from him and carefully placed it in the bag: “Wear it back in the room.”

Sui Houyu: “…”

Hou Mo was the one who truly liked weird things the most.

*

The evening match turned into a long battle, starting around 7:15 p.m. when it was finally Sui Houyu and Hou Mo’s turn.

The two walked onto the court with their bags, Sui Houyu’s head still tied with Hou Mo’s headband, holding his curly hair back.

For this match, Sui Houyu was using the racket given to him by Deng Yiheng and Shen Junjing, an eye-catching, flashy gold racket that stood out instantly.

Their opponents were the two big guys who stood like mountains at the court’s edge, even coming over to greet them. Lu Qinghui smiled and said: “This might be our last match together in a while.”

As long as school hadn’t started yet, Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui could still participate in youth tournaments.

Once school started, they’d both be university students.

This was their final youth match.

“Looks like this match is crucial for you guys! Losing wouldn’t look great, would it?” Hou Mo said with a sly grin, his words quite provocative.

“Yeah, so we’ll give it our all.” Lu Qinghui responded calmly, not bothered by Hou Mo’s sharp tongue.

“We won’t go easy either. We want to leave a strong impression.”

“You already have.”

This was true—Lu Qinghui and Jiang Wei had already been impressed by them after just one match.

They were newcomers with terrifying growth potential and an intimidating presence on the court.

Like a beautiful yet cold snake, hissing and winding around, making it hard for them to catch their breath.

During the coin toss to choose sides, Hou Mo won.

Hou Mo chose to serve first.

Sui Houyu took the ball and stood at the edge of the court, tapping it a couple of times before looking at their opponents.

He tossed the tennis ball and hit it toward their open space with absolute speed and power, a flash of lightning that was over in an instant.

Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui moved simultaneously, but could only watch as the ball passed them, skimming the line and bouncing out.

An ace!

210 kilometers per hour. 

The crowd erupted.

It was undoubtedly a spectacular start, full of momentum.

Across the court, Lu Qinghui smiled with his racket in hand: “The little guy still has quite the temper, how interesting.”

Jiang Wei, in a steady tone, offered rare praise: “He’s had some progress.”

For the first time that day, Sui Houyu spoke to them, tilting his chin slightly, his eyes carrying a hint of pride: “Don’t disappoint me.”

He regarded them as formidable opponents. If the match was too easy, he’d be disappointed.

He didn’t fear overly strong opponents; what he worried about was that those he deemed as rivals wouldn’t prove worthy enough.

What kind of audacity was it to say that to veterans like them?

But he said it confidently.

Competing against truly skilled opponents made victory more satisfying, didn’t it?

Lu Qinghui continued to smile good-naturedly, finding Sui Houyu very interesting.

Jiang Wei responded steadily: “Alright, we’ll go all out.”