HCILH Ch. 126

Chapter 126: Coming of Age

The consequence of taking an afternoon nap was that Hou Mo woke up in the middle of the night, fully awake and unable to sleep.

Sui Houyu lay on the bed, turning his head to look at Hou Mo, who was seriously replying to messages. It was likely that someone was sending him birthday wishes.

Reaching out, Sui Houyu touched Hou Mo’s cheek. Hou Mo quickly put down his phone, mimicking his position, lying on his stomach and turning his head to look back.

The two of them were like two stranded fish, lying on the bed and gazing at each other under the dim light of the bedside lamp, silently locking eyes.

Sui Houyu’s finger tapped the tip of Hou Mo’s nose.

In return, Hou Mo reached out and covered Sui Houyu’s cheek with his large hand, almost engulfing his entire face.

“I prepared a birthday gift for you.” Sui Houyu suddenly mentioned.

Hou Mo sighed helplessly: “Yeah, I noticed.”

“Huh?!”

“That big thing in my house—no matter how much my mom covered it up, the outline clearly shows it’s a piano.”

“Oh…” So Hou Mo had already gone home.

“I’m really curious—how did you even get that thing inside? The hallway is so narrow. Did it get scratched?”

Sui Houyu lazily replied: “We removed the windows on your balcony, lifted it in with a crane, and reinstalled the windows afterward.”

Hearing this, Hou Mo’s head began to ache. He hadn’t even gone to check the balcony. Mumbling, he said: “Moving it out will be a pain too.”

“Just remove the windows again.”

“Why a piano? Do you think I’m still that artsy kid from back then?”

“I just wanted to play the piano with you.”

Hou Mo didn’t dare ask how much the piano cost, afraid that the answer would make him gasp in shock.

He knew Sui Houyu was the kind of person who reciprocated kindness tenfold. 

This gift was probably worth several times the ones he had given before—just thinking about it was nerve-wracking.

After a brief “Mm,” Hou Mo smiled and said: “Alright, I’ll flip through some sheet music and see if I can still play.”

“I can teach you.”

Hou Mo’s gaze softened instantly. He nodded before asking: “Alright, can you still sleep?”

“I probably can. With you by my side, I always can. But aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Mm, I’ll get up and pack our luggage. I still have some dirty clothes to wash.”

“Oh…”

Hou Mo kissed Sui Houyu’s forehead, propped his face on one hand, and coaxed him to sleep. Once he saw that Sui Houyu had dozed off, he got up to open their luggage.

Taking out a box of condoms, he glanced at the bed, debating whether to carry them with him or secretly stash them in the bedside drawer.

Sang Xian was stingy, only giving him one box, which made him feel like he was rationing supplies.

He had secretly bought another box online and tried one—it was way too tight. Considering how he might already be nervous the first time, he worried that the tightness might cause him to fumble. Reluctantly, he decided to stick with the ones Sang Xian had given him.

Squatting in front of the suitcase, staring at the box, Hou Mo’s face suddenly flushed as his thoughts wandered.

He opened the box, which contained ten in total.

He placed five in the bedside drawer, two in his usual bag, and three for his own room.

That should be enough.

Next, he took out the dirty clothes they hadn’t had time to wash at the hotel, sorted them by color, and tossed them into the washing machine in batches.

After tidying up, he sat alone on the edge of the bed and picked up Sui Houyu’s tablet to use a learning app.

This time, however, his mind wandered. After a while, he set it aside and started thinking about the upcoming competitions and school plans.

Their last game of the year was scheduled for after National Day.

It was the same provincial-level tournament they had first competed in, though now it had been rescheduled to after the holiday.

After that, Coach Wang didn’t sign them up for any more competitions, marking the end of this season.

It also meant he and Sui Houyu would be separated into different campuses. The thought of this filled him with melancholy.

He wanted to follow Sui Houyu, but it was clear Sui Houyu didn’t want him to.

Hou Mo understood Sui Houyu’s reasoning and didn’t want to bother him, but he still couldn’t help thinking about it.

At last, he admitted to himself that he was incredibly clingy—he wanted to spend every moment with Sui Houyu. Even after half a year of dating, his feelings for Sui Houyu hadn’t faded but had only grown stronger.

Would the distance help him calm down?

Maybe focusing on studies and training would make him miss him less?

After pondering for a while, he concluded that he’d still miss him.

So he lay down, hugged Sui Houyu tightly, and decided to hold onto him while he could.

In his sleep, Sui Houyu turned over and snuggled closer into Hou Mo’s arms. The sight of him being so docile made Hou Mo lean down and plant several kisses on his forehead.

*

The next day.

Hou Mo returned home and uncovered the piano Sui Houyu had gifted him.

It was a grand piano, entirely black, made of spruce, with solid brass components like the pedals.

Running his fingers across the piano lid, he saw his name engraved on it—it was a custom-made piano. The craftsmanship was exquisite, the design sophisticated and grand.

Lifting the lid, he gently pressed the keys. The texture was smooth; the black keys were made of ebony.

He tried out the sound and then, based on memory, played the simplest tune—“Two Tigers.”

Having not touched a piano in years, the sensation of pressing the keys felt wonderful and nostalgic.

His mother walked over at this moment and remarked: “You play pretty well!”

Hou Mo was embarrassed: “You call that good?”

“For someone who hasn’t played in years, being able to hit the right notes is impressive.”

Sui Houyu came over with a cup of water. After testing the keys himself, he casually set the cup aside and nudged Hou Mo over to sit next to him.

Despite having focused on tennis recently, Sui Houyu still maintained his piano skills. He effortlessly played “Für Elise” as a sound test.

After listening for a while, Hou Mo snapped his fingers: “Start over.”

Sui Houyu glanced at him, repositioned his hands on the keys, and began again. Hou Mo also placed his hands on the piano, joining in.

They played a duet of the same piece—the same piece Sui Houyu auditioned with.

Having listened once and watched Sui Houyu’s hand movements, Hou Mo was able to follow along.

The two of them had practiced duets when they were younger during their piano lessons.

Though they hadn’t played together in years, their first attempt at a reunion duet was surprisingly harmonious.

The soothing melody flowed seamlessly, with no dissonance or clashing fingers—a testament to the chemistry they had developed as a doubles team.

Golden sunlight poured into the room, blanketing everything in a warm glow.

Da Ge, the cat, gracefully leapt onto a small stand beside the piano, curled up, and lazily swished its tail against the surface, its gaze fixed on the two pianists.

The tranquil atmosphere was tinged with warmth and a sense of home.

Hou Mo’s mother watched the two play and felt a twinge of sadness. Turning her head slightly, she avoided letting the two boys see her expression and dampen the mood.

Once, Hou Mo had been a child who practiced the piano.

But later, he had chosen tennis for survival.

It can’t be said that Hou Mo disliked tennis, but tennis always gave them a sense of being forced by life.

If nothing had happened to his family, what would Hou Mo have been like?

Later, Mother Hou simply went to the kitchen to wash some fruit for them, letting the two of them continue playing the piano.

Even with the faucet on in the kitchen, she could still hear the music from the living room.

After a while, she regained her composure.

Things were pretty good now. Hou Mo and Sui Houyu got along very well, which put her at ease.

*

Originally, after the competition, the students atheltes would have had one or two days off.

However, this time the competition ended just in time for the rescheduled opening ceremony on September 1. The they had to rush back to school to attend.

Once again, Hou Mo won the first-class scholarship, but since only the student athletes were in their senior year, no speech was arranged for him.

At the opening ceremony, awards were presented to a few students staying on this campus, and that was it.

The speeches by outstanding students were given by the freshman with the highest admission score and Xu Youyi, a sophomore.

The freshman, having just completed military training, had slightly tanned skin despite taking precautions. This made Hou Mo stand out even more when he went on stage alongside the other two first-class scholarship recipients, his skin exceptionally pale—whiter even than Xu Youyi’s.

The freshmen, unaware of the situation at the school, were excited to see Hou Mo, Sui Houyu, and Sang Xian go on stage, seemingly thinking their seniors looked very handsome.

Little did they know… pity, such a pity.

After collecting the scholarship and stepping off the stage, Hou Mo sat down and muttered: “My savings just added another digit. Isn’t your husband amazing?”

“Mm, amazing.”

“There are only two classes left in senior year; it’s a bit lonely.” Hou Mo looked around at the juniors sitting nearby and couldn’t help but sigh about being in his final year.

Ran Shu, lounging with his legs crossed, said nonchalantly: “Once the season ends, Brother Yu, Su Anyi, and I will be leaving too.”

This brought about a heavy silence among the group.

Sang Xian shot Ran Shu a sharp look before withdrawing it, clearly displeased.

Unlike the reluctant parting of Sui Houyu and Hou Mo, Ran Shu was elated at the thought of separating. He figured that only meeting once a week might even make Sang Xian seem more tolerable and reduce the frequency of their breakup fights.

Ran Shu turned to Hou Mo and said: “You should be happy. All the people who curse you daily are going to another campus.”

“But Brother Yu is going too,” Hou Mo replied unhappily.

“Isn’t that great? Distance creates beauty, and you’ll be less annoying.”

“Look at him.” Hou Mo said, pointing at Ran Shu and addressing Sui Houyu. “He’s so articulate. I’ve made great contributions to training his speaking ability.”

Sui Houyu ignored both of them.

*

Back in the classroom, as soon as Sui Houyu sat down, Hou Mo dragged his chair over to sit beside him: “Who will be your deskmate when you move to that campus?”

“I don’t know.” he replied while taking a book out of his desk.

“What if a girl strikes up a conversation with you?”

“I’ll ignore her.”

“Do you know that your indifferent ‘I don’t care about anyone’ vibe is especially attractive? That’s not right.”

Sui Houyu frowned and looked at Hou Mo, truly at his wit’s end. Who else would put up with this guy other than Hou Mo?

He could only ask: “Then what should I do?”

“You should say, ‘I have a boyfriend!'”

“Oh, okay.”

“And if a boy who likes you asks for your WeChat ID?”

“I have a boyfriend.”

“You should say your husband is super fierce and merciless!”

Sui Houyu slammed his book onto the desk and asked: “Are you done yet?”

“You’re getting impatient? Oh, you’re really something.” Hou Mo continued pestering, “Believe it or not, I’ll hug you right now and call the teacher over, claiming you’re sleeping in class?”

“…” Sui Houyu was left speechless, staring at Hou Mo in stunned silence.

Hou Mo pulled out a small notebook, jotting down: “I’ll write it all down for you. Remember this, okay?”

Sui Houyu really didn’t want to respond.

*

The notebook stayed with Hou Mo for a whole week, accompanying him everywhere. Whenever he thought of something, he’d jot it down.

For instance, what Sui Houyu should do when encountering food he didn’t like.

If he didn’t feel like showering, he shouldn’t try to muddle through. Hou Mo would supervise him by drawing a line on his body daily, always in a different spot. The next day, it had to be washed off.

Faced with Hou Mo’s obsessive behavior, Sui Houyu was exasperated but had no choice but to endure it.

As long as Hou Mo didn’t follow him to the other campus, that was fine.

*

On Friday, Hou Mo brought his tennis racket back home. The tension on the strings had loosened, and he planned to restring it.

That evening, while Sui Houyu was sitting in front of his tablet watching videos on a learning app, Hou Mo sat alone in the living room restringing his racket. To save money, he’d mastered the skill himself.

He had borrowed a machine from Coach Wang’s shop and managed to handle it alone.

The two were peacefully doing their own things when Hou Mo suddenly stood up and started searching the house. He then asked: “Brother Yu, where’s the iodophor?”

Sui Houyu glanced up and asked: “What happened?”

“There’s a metal piece near the machine, and it cut my finger.”

Sui Houyu immediately got up to take a look and saw a small cut on the pad of Hou Mo’s left ring finger, still bleeding.

“Don’t move. Let me look for it.” Sui Houyu said as he searched the house but couldn’t find any iodine. “Should I go upstairs and ask Auntie?”

“No need. It’s just a tiny cut. I’ll wash it and put on a band-aid.” Hou Mo replied. He turned and went to the bathroom to wash his hands, then inspected his finger again. It was still bleeding slightly.

Following him, Sui Houyu grabbed Hou Mo’s hand and put the injured finger in his mouth. After a moment, he took it out and examined the cut.

The wound was small and would probably heal in a couple of days. The bleeding had mostly stopped.

Relieved, Sui Houyu looked up at Hou Mo and noticed he was staring at him with an intense gaze. Puzzled, he asked: “What’s wrong?”

“You… look pretty good with your fingers in your mouth.”

Rolling his eyes at Hou Mo, Sui Houyu turned to get a band-aid, but Hou Mo suddenly hugged him from behind and kissed his earlobe.

“I’m getting the band-aid.” Sui Houyu said, pointing outside the door.

“Let’s finish washing before we stick it on,” Hou Mo replied, shutting the bathroom door as he started helping Sui Houyu remove his clothes.

“Doesn’t your finger hurt?”

“It doesn’t. It doesn’t hurt as much as when you suck on the pink thing.”

Irritated, Sui Houyu raised a hand as if to hit him, but as he turned to face Hou Mo, he didn’t follow through and instead hugged him, kissing him lightly.

What started in the bathroom spilled over into the bedroom. Sui Houyu, already feeling a little sleepy, was laid on the bed by Hou Mo.

Noticing Sui Houyu’s drowsiness, Hou Mo playfully bit his hand, causing Sui Houyu to frown and burrow further into the bed, trying to sleep.

Hou Mo bit him again, prompting a displeased murmur. Sui Houyu swatted Hou Mo before mumbling: “You’re so annoying.” 

Then he fell asleep completely. 

Hou Mo froze after being slapped. Supporting himself on the bed, he stared at the sleeping Sui Houyu before standing up.

After hesitating for a while, he adjusted Sui Houyu’s position for more comfortable sleep. Then, he applied a band-aid to his own wound and helped blow-dry Sui Houyu’s hair.

Once the house was calm again, Hou Mo sat alone on the sofa, silently gazing at the machine.

As he thought about everything, he felt so wronged he wanted to cry.

His first attempt at some intimate fun with his boyfriend had ended with a slap—on the face, no less.

He’d considered waking Sui Houyu up, but he hadn’t expected to be slapped.

Sui Houyu woke up two hours later, realizing he was still undressed. He threw on some clothes and went to find Hou Mo.

He saw Hou Mo sitting on the sofa sulking, having abandoned his task of restringing the racket.

Walking over to sit beside Hou Mo, he was surprised when Hou Mo immediately stood up and walked into the bedroom, avoiding him.

Sui Houyu stood at the door in confusion for a moment before following him. He found Hou Mo leaning against the headboard, pretending to look at his phone.

Sui Houyu sat down on the bed, and Hou Mo immediately scooted farther away.

“What’s wrong?” Sui Houyu asked.

“Just afraid you might fall asleep again.”

“Are you mad?”

“Don’t dare to be.”

“You’re the top, aren’t you? Even if I fall asleep, you can just keep going.”

“Have you seen my face?”

“What?”

Hou Mo pointed at the clear finger marks on his cheek: “This is my skin type. Any mark stays for a long time. Look at my pale face—you left such a perfect print. My boyfriend did this to me.”

Sui Houyu coughed awkwardly, having no recollection of this. He figured he must’ve been groggy when Hou Mo woke him up and lashed out reflexively.

Feigning calm, he said: “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have taken so long with the foreplay.”

“Oh, it’s my fault now? If you think it’s too long, why’d you get hard?”

“Okay, okay, I was wrong,” Sui Houyu finally admitted.

Seeing his change in attitude, Hou Mo quieted down.

Sui Houyu moved closer, but Hou Mo shifted again.

Frustrated, Sui Houyu climbed onto the bed and straddled Hou Mo before he could move again, holding him in place.

“Still mad?” he asked softly.

Hou Mo’s eyes reddened at the question, and he complained: “I’ve been waiting until adulthood, finally thought we could do something, but I got slapped in the middle and told I’m annoying. It’s so frustrating.”

Every time Sui Houyu saw Hou Mo like this, he felt helpless. He leaned down to kiss him and apologize repeatedly.

Finally, Hou Mo pulled a box of “family planning tools” from the drawer. Sui Houyu had no idea when he’d put them there.

Hou Mo was so attentive throughout that it started to irritate Sui Houyu. Although he’d agreed to bottom, it didn’t mean he needed to be coddled.

What followed was an experience full of mischief and growth—a moment of bittersweet intimacy as their relationship deepened.

…………………………………………………………………… I got locked out. This is your Senior Brother, the macho whimpering mess sob sob. Brother Yu, resigned and determined, took the lead himself. After enduring some trials and tribulations, he came of age—very happy, very joyful, sob sob, mwah mwah mwah ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Have you ever experienced despair? I have. Fewer words allowed this time, and I can’t edit further. My apologies. I’ll think of adding a mini-theater in the next couple of days …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hou Mo’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he swallowed hard and endured, then replied, “Mm, I won’t move.”

………

……

Omake:

Mm.

Senior Brother cried for the first time—for a kiss.

Senior Brother cried for the second time—they started dating.

Senior Brother’s eyes reddened—Brother Yu took the initiative.