Chapter 127: A Short Separation Sparks Greater Passion…

Hou Mo had previously looked into Sui Houyu’s condition, learning that his symptoms indicated great stamina and a strong drive.

However, Sui Houyu’s usual demeanor was cool and distant, and he rarely resolved things on his own. It made him seem like someone with minimal needs in that regard.

Unexpectedly, after getting a taste, Sui Houyu seemed to lose all rationality in his excitement.

He just wouldn’t stop. If not for Hou Mo’s remaining shred of self-control and his determination to hold back at the last moment, they wouldn’t have gotten any rest that night.

After coaxing Sui Houyu back to sleep again, Hou Mo cleaned up the chaos in the room by himself.

The lingering scent of osmanthus blossoms still hung faintly in the air. Midway through tidying up, Hou Mo crouched in the room and covered his face.

Just thinking back on it felt thrilling.

He never would have imagined that his Brother Yu could be so… wild in bed.

Absolutely exhilarating.

Once the room was tidied, Hou Mo lifted the blanket and climbed into bed, lying down beside Sui Houyu. He was so excited that he couldn’t fall asleep.

Under the dim light of the room, he stared at Sui Houyu for a long time, a small thought constantly circling in his mind: This amazing boy in front of him was completely his.

He leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on the corner of Sui Houyu’s lips, pulling back quickly.

But it wasn’t enough. He leaned in again for another kiss.

And still, it wasn’t enough.

After staring at Sui Houyu for a long time, Hou Mo finally drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, he felt a weight pressing on him, making it hard to breathe.

Opening his eyes, he saw a head of curls resting on his chest. His chest was once again under siege.

His voice still groggy, he asked: “Brother Yu, does it hurt?”

Sui Houyu propped himself up, glaring at him in annoyance. Then he threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and went to wash up.

Hou Mo was left dumbfounded. Why were his chest and Brother Yu receiving such different treatment?

He followed Sui Houyu into the bathroom, watching him as he washed up: “It doesn’t hurt?”

Sui Houyu ignored him.

“Brother Yu…” Hou Mo softened his tone, trying to placate him. “We really couldn’t keep going last night. Don’t be mad, okay? Three times in one night for a first time is really a bit much. When I was cleaning you up, it was obvious that you were a little swollen.”

Sui Houyu immediately glared at him, toothbrush in hand, as if it were a dagger threatening him to leave.

Hou Mo raised his hands in surrender and retreated.

After standing outside the door for a while, he saw Sui Houyu finally emerge and quickly followed him.

Sui Houyu still ignored him and busied himself looking for clothes.

Hou Mo hugged him from behind and continued to act coquettish: “Brother Yu…”

“Do I look like I can’t get out of bed?” Sui Houyu finally spoke, his tone blunt.

“Ah…” Well, it didn’t seem like there was a serious problem.

“Do I sound hoarse to you?”

“A little.”

“Really?”

“No.” Hou Mo immediately backed down, changing his answer with utmost sincerity.

“Then why did you insist I sleep?” Sui Houyu turned around to confront him.

“Because you couldn’t even stand properly last night.”

“I just had pins and needles!”

“Really?” Hou Mo couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yes! It was the first time being held up for that long. My legs just went numb!”

“Mm, I believe you.” He nodded, pretending to agree with this explanation.

Sui Houyu was irritated for a moment before he decided to shed his pajamas and change into something else.

Hou Mo glanced at him, noticing three distinct bite marks on his shoulder and a cluster of hickeys near the back of his neck.

When Sui Houyu turned to face him, Hou Mo quickly covered his eyes and turned his head away, unable to look directly.

He might really be part dog.

“I’ll go wash up and get breakfast ready.” Hou Mo said, pointing towards the bathroom.

Sui Houyu didn’t respond.

After Hou Mo entered the bathroom, Sui Houyu leaned on the wardrobe for a moment, only to be startled when Hou Mo suddenly returned. He quickly straightened up.

When Hou Mo walked over, he turned around, laughed for a moment, and then asked: “Is congee okay? My mom prepared it, so I just need to bring it down.”

“Okay.” Sui Houyu feigned composure and responded calmly.

After Hou Mo finally went to wash up, Sui Houyu leaned against the wardrobe and pulled out his phone to search what he could eat in his current condition.

But all his searches returned were ads for medical treatments. Frustrated, he ended up looking up what foods were suitable when hemorrhoids flared up.

The list of foods made him feel even more defeated than if he were on a strict seasonal diet.

Not being able to eat properly as a bottom was a serious issue.

Would it get better over time?

As he leaned against the wall and made his way back to the bedroom, he couldn’t help but wonder.

*

Monday afternoon during training, after just forty minutes, Sui Houyu suddenly experienced a leg cramp.

Hou Mo quickly ran over to help him stretch, asking: “Where does it hurt?”

“My thigh.” Sui Houyu answered.

“Your thigh?” Hou Mo was momentarily stunned.

That was an uncommon spot for cramps.

Coach Wang walked over at this point, helping to massage the muscle while muttering: “Just two laps and a bit of serving practice—no intense training. How did you manage to cramp your thigh?”

Hou Mo felt a pang of guilt, swallowing hard before extending a hand: “Show me where to press, and I’ll help him.”

“There. Use your thumb to apply pressure.”

“Got it.” Hou Mo quickly took over, helping to massage Sui Houyu’s leg.

Sui Houyu winced, sweat breaking out on his forehead as he clung to Hou Mo’s shoulder to stay upright.

Ran Shu and Su Anyi also gathered around, asking: “What’s wrong? Did you overdo it with some of the movements?”

Since Sui Houyu had a great physique and had been trained in martial arts and dance from a young age, cramps were rare for him, so their concern was natural.

Neither of them answered…

Last night, Sui Houyu insisted on going for another round, seemingly finding the position where Hou Mo lifted him during their first “lovemaking” particularly thrilling. So, they used that position again.

Unable to hold back, they ended up going two more rounds…

Afterward, Sui Houyu didn’t show any significant discomfort. He could walk normally, sit without much issue, and both of them assumed that Sui Houyu had adapted well.

But unexpectedly, during training, Sui Houyu could only last forty minutes before his legs started cramping.

After some massage and a short rest, Sui Houyu wanted to give it another try, but his legs cramped again. Coach Wang promptly sent him off, ordering him to rest for the day.

Hou Mo wanted to follow and leave too. He even had his bag slung over his shoulder when he approached Coach Wang to ask for leave. Coach Wang kicked him a few times, shouting: “There are still upcoming competitions! Can you tone it down a bit? Huh!? Have some shame! Just because you got a national championship, now you’re all puffed up? You don’t care about the provincial competition anymore?”

“No!” Hou Mo clutched his bag, running in circles to dodge the kicks, while explaining, “I’ve toned it down, really!”

“Tone down, my foot! Look at the back of Sui Houyu’s neck. Is your mouth a cupping device? Are you helping his blood circulation?”

Coach Wang wasn’t clueless—he’d been around the block.

Sui Houyu, being thin-skinned, didn’t get a scolding from the coach.

But Hou Mo, with his thick skin, became the perfect outlet for Coach Wang’s frustration.

Hou Mo was all contrite: “I was wrong, I’ll tone it down.”

“Get lost! You’re driving me mad.” Coach Wang was fuming as he watched Hou Mo jog off toward the dorm, suddenly feeling a sense of helplessness about the younger generation.

Not long ago, Ouyang Ge had shared a drink with him, lamenting how hard it was to manage kids these days.

Romance wasn’t the issue. The issue was when two boys who were already a handful on their own got together. Should one intervene or not?

At the time, Coach Wang had reassured Ouyang Ge, even pouring him another drink. He hadn’t been too worried—after all, as a special coach, he didn’t have to manage students’ love lives. His job was just to coach tennis. If the kids wanted to date, they could date.

But karma hit fast. These two boys’ relationship did lead to problems, and the issue was so awkward that Coach Wang couldn’t even address it directly.

Now he had it worse than Ouyang Ge. There was truly nothing he could do.

When Hou Mo returned to the dorm, he dropped his bag and approached the bed to ask: “Are you okay?”

Sui Houyu, startled, took off his headphones and asked: “Why are you back?”

“To take care of you.”

“It’s just a cramp—nothing to fuss over. Coming back like this will make people overthink.”

“Ran Shu asked what happened to you. You didn’t say anything, and I didn’t either. They didn’t press further, but I think they’ve already guessed. Especially Ran Shu—he gave me a few side-eyes. I saw them, but I let it slide this time.”

Sui Houyu felt embarrassed. He deliberately got out of bed and walked a few steps to show Hou Mo: “See, I’m fine!”

“Yeah!” Hou Mo nodded earnestly.

“I’m not some delicate guy.”

“Absolutely!” Hou Mo pushed him back onto the bed: “Let me massage it for you.”

Reluctantly, Sui Houyu lay on the bed, still seeming a bit sulky. Hou Mo tried to console him, saying: “Brother Yu is amazing—can handle any position. Your flexibility is top-notch.”

Suddenly, as Hou Mo was massaging him, Sui Houyu sat up abruptly, startling him into stopping.

“My leg cramped again! What kind of massage is this? Are you even qualified? If not, don’t bother!” Sui Houyu snapped, clutching his leg awkwardly.

Supporting himself on his hips to sit upright made the cramp worse, and he collapsed back onto the bed in pain.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became,  so he kicked Hou Mo a few times.

Hou Mo realized that ever since he’d grown up, all he seemed to do was get kicked—but oddly, it made him happy.

Meanwhile, Sui Houyu, face burning red with embarrassment, buried his face in the pillow while Hou Mo continued the massage.

*

It turned out that Sui Houyu was indeed in better physical shape than most.

Though Hou Mo was gentle, he had quite the stamina and, well, impressive “attributes.” Only Sui Houyu could match him for a few rounds.

Unfortunately, just as Sui Houyu fully adapted, their competition ended, and they returned to their respective schools, ending up in separate campuses.

Hou Mo had planned to personally send Sui Houyu to his new campus, but Coach Wang drove three of them and their luggage to Qingyu Campus, leaving no room for Hou Mo.

Hou Mo could only watch forlornly as Sui Houyu completed his campus transfer paperwork and dragged his suitcase out of sight, looking as dejected as a puppy.

Whenever Sui Houyu paid him any attention, Hou Mo clung to him like glue, forcing him to rush to the car. Ran Shu watched from the car window, smirking with a hint of schadenfreude.

Back in class, Hou Mo sat in the last row alone, with the seat in front of him empty. His deskmate’s seat was also unoccupied.

His heart felt empty.

He spent the entire afternoon slouched over his desk, like a wilting morning glory, not speaking to anyone.

During self-study period, Ouyang Ge entered to rearrange the seating. Hou Mo could only move back to sit next to Deng Yiheng, where he resumed his dejected slouch.

It was their first time being apart in eight months of dating.

The first hour after Brother Yu left—he missed him.

The second hour—he missed him even more.

The third hour—Hou Mo felt like he couldn’t survive.

That night, Deng Yiheng invited Hou Mo to the cafeteria.

Dragging his feet, Hou Mo followed the group to dinner, noticing the lineup was still the same as before their schools merged.

It was still Deng Yiheng, Shen Junjing, and Sang Xian accompanying him.

Even though they were all in relationships, it was just the four of them hanging out together.

“Sigh, in the end, it’s always you guys keeping me company.” Hou Mo said gloomily.

“Senior Brother, you’re like the tragic heroine of a romance drama. Can you act more like a male lead for once?” Deng Yiheng asked in disdain.

“I already look like a male lead, can’t I dabble in some female lead drama? I can carry a whole show on my own!”

“Sure, you’ve got too much drama.”

Unconvinced, Hou Mo asked: “Don’t you guys miss your partners when you’re apart?”

Deng Yiheng and Shen Junjing both shook their heads. Shen Junjing added: “We miss them, but not to your extent.”

“You guys were in long-distance relationships from the start, so of course it’s no big deal. But ask Sang Xian if he misses Ran Shu.”

Sang Xian looked at them blankly: “Who’s Ran Shu?”

“Beautiful!” Hou Mo had nothing else to say and walked faster toward the cafeteria.

After dinner, Hou Mo’s drama resurfaced. Staring at his tray, he lamented: “I wonder if Brother Yu is eating well without me around.”

The others couldn’t even be bothered to respond.

With the season over, the athletes had a short break from training.

Hou Mo waited every night after evening self-study for Sui Houyu’s video call.

Since Qingyu Campus didn’t allow senior students to carry phones during the day and had signal jammers in classrooms, Sui Houyu could only contact him after returning to the dorm.

Hou Mo, eager to chat with Sui Houyu, often stayed up late, keeping him company during his bouts of insomnia.

Eventually, Hou Mo applied for permission to bring a desk and chair into an empty dorm room on the fourth floor.

He was the only one holding the key to this dorm room, allowing the lights to stay on late at night.

When Hou Mo applied for the room, he claimed it was to stay up late studying. In reality, he hardly ever brought his books back. Once in the dorm, all he did was sit at the desk and chat with Sui Houyu.

On Thursday night, Hou Mo leaned on the desk, staring at the image of Sui Houyu on his phone screen: “Are all your dorms only for single-occupancy?”

Sui Houyu, sitting on the other end of the video call, was twirling a pen. A book lay open in front of him as he casually replied: “I specifically applied for one. I need to study seriously now; training has delayed a lot of my classes. Ran Shu also has a single room—he feels that if there’s something good available, you might as well take it.”

“Oh… then I won’t talk. You focus on your studies; I’ll just watch you.”

“Say whatever you want. I can’t focus entirely on studying anyway.”

“Brother Yu.” Hou Mo muttered, burying his face in the crook of his arm.

“Hm?”

“You’re really good-looking.”

“Why are you acting like such an idiot?” Sui Houyu raised his head to look at the video, meeting Hou Mo’s gaze with a helpless expression.

“I just am!”

“Oh…” Sui Houyu looked at Hou Mo on the video and asked with a smile, “Has the idiot been sneaking off to solve things on his own in the bathroom lately?”

Hou Mo wasn’t fazed by the question. Instead, he smiled and replied, “No, I have to save it. Not a single drop can be wasted—it all has to go into you.”

“Let me see.”

“Show you what?”

“The little monkey.”

Hou Mo knew that there was no one else in the dorm room, but he still panicked and glanced at the window. He then moved the table and chairs to the corner before finally opening the rear camera on the video and pulling his shirt up to show Sui Houyu: “Here.”

Sui Houyu looked at it and grinned mischievously, licking his lips before saying: “Show me the pink again.”

Hou Mo adjusted the video for a while, eventually switching to the front camera. He lifted his shirt to show Sui Houyu.

After lowering his shirt, he leaned closer to the camera again and said: “Now you show me.”

Sui Houyu purposely pulled the bedroom lamp forward and, without hesitation, showed it to him.

Like a pervert, Hou Mo was instantly excited by the sight, his voice tinged with longing as he said: “I want it, I want to rub him.”

“How do you want it rubbed?”

“It’s just that first… Shanxi-style taboo phrases^[1]…”

“Like this?” Sui Houyu followed Hou Mo’s instructions.

“Yeah, then the Shanxi-style taboo phrases…” Hou Mo swallowed, watching as Sui Houyu mirrored his actions, feeling himself stir in response.

After a moment, he spoke again, his voice tinged with curiosity: “Brother Yu, I want to see your expression right now.”

Sui Houyu was quite cooperative and lifted the video up so that Hou Mo could clearly see his face.

Hou Mo looked at Sui Houyu’s hard to resist expression and his heart was tickled to death.

Sui Houyu raised his eyes to look at him in the video and hooked the corners of his mouth in a gangly smile: “You don’t have to endure it either.”

He never thought that one day he would end up resolving ‘Shanxi-style taboo phrases’ with his boyfriend over video chat.

Both of them could hear each other’s somewhat disorganized breathing and could still see each other’s expressions.

After it was over, Hou Mo felt a little troubled. He had nothing to clean up.

Sui Houyu, on the other end of the video, grabbed a bunch of tissues and wiped for a long time.

He looked at the video and said: “If I were by your side, could I help you wipe?”

“If you were by my side, would I need to do it myself?”

He chuckled and asked again: “Shouldn’t you be taking care of things at the back? Why are you focusing on the front?”

Sui Houyu was wiping his hands with wet wipes. Suddenly, he leaned closer to the video and said: “No, only yours can go in there.”

Hou Mo stared at the video for a while, then sighed: “F*ck, it reacted again.”

Sui Houyu smiled smugly, then stood up and said: “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Point the video at the bathroom.”

“Get lost.”

Sui Houyu lived in a single room with a separate shower, so he could shower anytime.

Hou Mo could only hear the sounds of Sui Houyu cleaning up, but couldn’t see him. So, he decided to take advantage of the time to organize things on his side.

That pair of underwear was ruined, so he wiped himself clean with it and then went commando before putting on his pants, throwing the underwear away.

When he came back, Sui Houyu was sitting down again and asked: “Should I buy you a phone holder? When you’re doing that, your phone keeps shaking around, and I just watched it out of boredom.”

Hou Mo chuckled, “Heh, alright. I’ll keep some tissues in this room from now on, or it’ll be too messy.”

Sui Houyu, acting like a gentleman, picked up a pen and started reading as if he wasn’t the one who had just been teasing.

After reading for a while, he asked Hou Mo on the video: “Don’t you study?”

“No motivation. This campus is full of amateurs. I could crush them all with my eyes closed.”

“Isn’t the scholarship based on your joint exam scores?”

“We don’t participate in the mock exams. While you guys are doing your mock tests, we’re still in competitions, so we can’t take the joint exam.”

Hou Mo’s events had competition points, and once enough points accumulated, they could add extra points to their future exams.

For universities like Dongti University, which placed a strong emphasis on tennis, if someone had high tennis points, they would prioritize admitting them.

Because of his achievements in doubles, Hou Mo’s points had accumulated to a terrifying level. If he continued performing well during his senior year, he could apply for early recommendation for admission.

It was normal for Hou Mo to lack motivation.

Sui Houyu suddenly said: “Well, I’ll bring you a set of problems every time I go back, then grade them for you. If your score is lower than mine, you’ll have to let me top. Don’t worry, I’ll use science papers, no essays required.”

“What the hell?”

“It’s quite comfortable. Want to give it a try?”

“I don’t want to try.”

“Yeah, maybe only my boyfriend can handle it comfortably, but when I handle it, it’s not as enjoyable?”

“Stop, stop, stop. My Brother Yu is invincible. I’ll study seriously, don’t compare on this, it’s not necessary. Right?”

Sui Houyu dropped the subject.

Hou Mo stared at Sui Houyu on the video for a while and couldn’t help but groan: “Ahhh, why isn’t it Friday yet?”

“Be good, stop making trouble.”

“I’ll keep making trouble!”

Sui Houyu, unusually in a good mood, pouted at the screen: “Kiss me.”

Hou Mo also leaned in and kissed the camera.

*

Friday afternoon.

After an entire week of feeling like a dead fish, Hou Mo suddenly became energetic. By the afternoon, he was so anxious he was shaking his legs. After the second class in the afternoon, he grabbed his bag and ran outside the school.

Deng Yiheng and the others walked out leisurely. After getting into the van, Deng Yiheng spoke to Hou Mo: “Why are you running so fast? Aren’t we in the same car?”

“Sigh, I won’t be able to see our Xinxin until tomorrow, and Shen Junjing is even more laid-back. He only sees her a few times a semester.”

Lu Yanxin also lived in Xiangjia Lane, but after she returned, she had to stay at home that day, only able to go out the next day to meet Deng Yiheng.

Hou Mo continued to be anxious, wishing he could get out of the car and help the driver pick up passengers.

Deng Yiheng spoke again: “Why are you in such a hurry? Brother Yu will take more than an hour to get back, and if there’s traffic, it’ll take two hours. Going back so early won’t help.”

“I need to go back and tidy up, then send the cat away.”

Omake:

“Can you be more active?” Hou Mo asked, displeased.

Hou Mo’s obsession was that whenever he was with Sui Houyu, his older brother could never be around. Otherwise, whenever Sui Houyu called, Da Ge would show up and beat him up.

Back home, Hou Mo first messaged Sui Houyu to ask where he was, then proceeded to tidy up the room. After finishing, he looked at his phone, watching as the two of them got closer on the map, standing by the window like a longing lover.

Finally, he saw Sui Houyu get out of the car, walk toward their building with his bag on his back, and he immediately went to meet him at the door.

When Sui Houyu reached the door, Hou Mo heard footsteps upstairs and then saw Sui Houyu entering the door by inputting the password. As soon as the door opened, Hou Mo pulled him into his arms, pressing him against the wall and kissing him without letting go.

Sui Houyu could only put down his bag during the kiss, casually closing the door with his hand, and then raised his hand to hold Hou Mo’s shoulder.

He carried Sui Houyu into the bedroom and placed him on the bed.

Since they entered, it seemed neither of them were planning to stop, and there was little communication between them along the way.

Tonight, they would fight until dawn, with no rooster to wake them, and he would never stop.

Obsessed with him.

Infatuated with him.

He wished they could be intertwined together all the time and never separate.