HCILH Ch. 135

Chapter 135: A Boy as Bright as Light

Sui Houyu and Ran Shu stepped out of the airport side by side, both wearing matching sunglasses and loose-fitting clothes. As soon as they exited, the wind tousled their hair and clothing.

They weren’t here to compete, just as spectators, so there was no need to wear team uniforms. They looked just like regular travelers.

Behind them, Hou Mo was dragging two suitcases, carrying a backpack on his shoulders, and slinging a bag over each shoulder, looking utterly beleaguered.

Not far from him was Sang Xian, in an even worse state—pushing three suitcases and carrying two bags. Deng Yiheng, who had likely never seen this young master in such a miserable condition, kindly helped by taking one of the suitcases.

Ran Shu, despite being merely a spectator, had brought along two suitcases and a bag yet refused to carry any of them, insisting: “I’m still recovering.”

“Brother Ran…” Deng Yiheng gestured towards the luggage.

Ran Shu shook his head: “I’m exhausted. Sang Xian can handle it.”

Through gritted teeth, Sang Xian asked: “Is your wig so heavy it’s slowing you down?”

“You’re strong, aren’t you?” Ran Shu shot back.

Sang Xian glared at him but still ended up pushing the three suitcases.

The tension between them stemmed from a recent “friendly negotiation” over changing their living habits. Sang Xian had proposed increasing their frequency of… intimacy from twice a week to four or five times, even suggesting midweek visits to Qingyu Campus. Ran Shu refused, fearing Sang Xian’s intensity would break his little bed.

Annoyed by the refusal, Sang Xian had acted on impulse, leaving Ran Shu fuming ever since.

Sui Houyu, watching this unfold, whispered to Ran Shu, who dismissed it: “He’s a beast—he even bullies injured people.”

“He didn’t mess with your head, did he?” Sui Houyu asked.

“No.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“He laughed when my wig slipped off…”

Sui Houyu immediately sided with Ran Shu: “Then he deserves it.”

At the hotel, Sui Houyu entered their room and noticed it was a double bed. He turned to Hou Mo with a questioning look.

“All the rooms are like this; I didn’t make any special requests.” Hou Mo quickly explained.

This time, their school had only sent a small group—six competitors plus Sui Houyu, Ran Shu, and Coach Wang, making nine in total. Since they were representing their country, the accommodations were top-notch.

Sui Houyu opened the balcony door and stepped outside to admire the view: “The scenery is pretty nice.” he remarked.

Hou Mo set down their luggage and walked out to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around Sui Houyu’s waist: “Come back in and rest.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Rest.” Hou Mo insisted, picking Sui Houyu up and carrying him inside. He changed Sui Houyu into pajamas and tucked him into bed. Only after Sui Houyu fell asleep did Hou Mo start unpacking and preparing his equipment for the competition.

While tidying up, he noticed Sui Houyu’s phone vibrate. Glancing at the lock screen, he saw a message: “I’m breaking up with Sang Xian! Let’s switch rooms. I’ll stay with you!”

A moment later, the preview updated: “What’s your room number?”

Hou Mo, who had Sui Houyu’s fingerprint saved on his phone, unlocked it and set it to silent mode without replying. He simply left the phone aside, ignoring the drama.

That pair always treated breakups as foreplay. It was hard to tell whether Ran Shu’s intentions were genuine or if he just wanted an intense night of attention.

Totally incomprehensible. 

*

The world-class youth tennis competition was incredibly challenging.

It must be admitted that tennis training systems in the country are not as developed as those in other nations. Although they are rapidly improving, they still lag behind the tennis powerhouses in the short term.

Hou Mo is considered a top-level player domestically, but once overseas, the media paid no attention to them, focusing instead on high-profile players.

For example, the son of a three-time Grand Slam champion or the top seed who had already made a name for themselves in previous world-class tournaments.

This lack of attention allowed Hou Mo and his team some peace, giving him time to practice alone and even spend some quality time accompanying Sui Houyu to explore the area.

Both of them attended an international school with a bilingual teaching environment, so their spoken English was quite good. They even found many places where people spoke Mandarin, making communication relatively easy.

Neither of them was particularly fond of taking photos, but they made an exception and took a rare picture together, smiling brightly. They sent it to Hou Mo’s mother as “homework” to keep her from asking them every day.

When it was time for Hou Mo’s matches, Sui Houyu would head to the stands to watch.

The early rounds were brutal. The courts were close together, with multiple matches happening simultaneously, and spectators could only stand around the edges to watch, resulting in smaller audiences.

After intense battles, the qualifying players advanced to the main competition courts, which had proper spectator seating.

Standing beside Sui Houyu, Ran Shu commented: “When I used to watch Hou Mo’s matches back home, he always seemed out of place compared to the other players. Now that we’re abroad, he’s managed to blend seamlessly into the ‘enemy ranks,’ no trace of awkwardness at all.”

“He doesn’t have leg hair.”

“…Is that a flex?” Ran Shu rolled up his pants. “I have some.”

“Yours is normal. Sang Xian’s is like wool pantsr.”

Hou Mo’s fine, light-colored body hair gave him a smooth and pale appearance, which Sui Houyu adored.

Usually at that time, Sui Houyu also followed along, watching the game with Hou Mo, listening to Coach Wang’s explanations, and occasionally sharing some of his own opinions to give Hou Mo some suggestions.

Hou Mo listened to all of it and put it into practice in the subsequent matches, achieving good results.

As Hou Mo progressed in the tournament, media outlets began to notice him.

One evening, while they were returning to their room, they bumped into acquaintances.

He Shibi and Chu You seemed to have just returned from a match. As they walked toward their room chatting, they ran into Hou Mo and Sui Houyu. He Shibi took the initiative to ask, “Why didn’t you two participate in the doubles competition?”

The matter of Sui Houyu’s penalty had been kept under wraps, so none of the other teams knew about it. Over the past few days, this wasn’t the first time they were asked this question.

Hou Mo replied cheekily: “We were leaving the chance for you.”

Chu You sighed: “Don’t talk to them anymore. Every time you do, you just end up annoyed.”

“Bye-bye!” Hou Mo waved them off.

As the two walked away, Sui Houyu commented: “I made time to watch one of their matches. It looks like they’ve improved again. We haven’t trained together for a while, and by the time we’re in college, we might not be able to keep up with them.”

Hou Mo slung an arm around Sui Houyu’s shoulder and couldn’t help saying: “Hey, how come your health has improved, but you’ve lost your confidence? That’s not like my Brother Yu. You should believe that no matter how hard they work, it’s pointless. Once we team up again, we’ll still be better!”

“Yeah, I was just saying it casually.”

As the competition progressed, it became increasingly intense. Ten days in, more than half of the players from their country had already returned home.

The remaining players stayed on, but since each day incurred expenses, those eliminated were promptly arranged to return.

On the twelfth day, Deng Yiheng and Shen Junjing’s doubles team was also eliminated.

Coach Wang made a special request to the school, asking to keep the players until the end so everyone could travel back together for safety.

Shen Junjing’s girlfriend hadn’t qualified for the competition.

Lu Yanxin had made it through and was continuing to fight her way forward, causing a lot of pressure for the just-eliminated Deng Yiheng, who sat in his room hugging his knees, sulking.

“I’ve been under so much pressure lately…” Deng Yiheng muttered.

Ran Shu, for once, came in handy. He said: “Look at me and Sang Xian playing doubles. Even though I’m a total deadweight, I still feel great. I’ve been Brother Yu’s friend for so many years—he’s ranked first in the whole school, and I’m dead last, but I’ve never been pessimistic. You know what that is? That’s a winning mindset!”

“How do you manage it?” Deng Yiheng asked earnestly.

“I don’t really know, but I feel awesome. Just look—someone this amazing is my buddy! And look at Sang Xian. I drag him down so much, but he still fell for me. What does that mean? It means I’m incredible!”

“Yeah! Being able to keep up with Lu Yanxin also means I’m awesome!”

“Exactly!”

With Deng Yiheng’s mood lifted, Sui Houyu started a small lesson for him: “I watched your match carefully. You made a lot of small mistakes, and your error rate was higher than your opponent’s…”

Taking over Coach Wang’s job, Sui Houyu helped Deng Yiheng and Shen Junjing review their match and pointed out areas for improvement.

Although Sui Houyu didn’t have a match recently, he wasn’t idle. He attended the matches of skilled doubles players, studying their tactics, learning from their strengths, and analyzing their weaknesses. Watching matches became a way for him to improve, giving himself a productive task to focus on instead of fretting.

Deng Yiheng and Shen Junjing didn’t dismiss Sui Houyu’s advice just because they had more experience than him. Instead, they listened intently.

After observing for a while, Coach Wang turned to Hou Mo and said with a smile: “See? I always knew he was a well-rounded talent. Look at how he analyzes strategies.”

“Even though you did seem a bit like you were matchmaking at first, you got really lucky and found a gem,” Hou Mo replied with a smile as he watched Sui Houyu explain. “I should thank you, though. Without you, I wouldn’t have found such an amazing boyfriend.”

“Your homeroom teacher’s been complaining about me nonstop.”

“Haha!”

*

Among the players Sui Houyu was familiar with, Liu Mo was unlucky and encountered the top-seeded player just a few days into the competition, leading to an early return home.

He Shibi and Chu You’s team performed quite well, finishing in 17th place—a remarkable achievement in a world-class competition.

Their performance allowed Sui Houyu and Hou Mo to gauge where their own level might stand. Playing against He Shibi and Chu You had always been challenging, and their skill levels were about the same.

If they had participated, their results would likely have been similar—around the teens or possibly even outside the top 20.

They still had a long road ahead in tennis. Their current level was far from their peak, and they had years, even decades, to learn and grow.

Someday, they’d meet again in the finals of an international tournament.

Sang Xian’s team placed 19th, which was satisfactory to Coach Wang.

Lu Yanxin had a breakout performance, securing 13th place, showcasing her extraordinary talent.

As for Hou Mo, he fought his way to the very end. Though he didn’t win the championship, he competed for third place.

Even so, Hou Mo caught the attention of domestic media.

One day, a reporter came to interview him, speaking excitedly about the young tennis player from home who had made it to the finals.

Standing beside her, Hou Mo watched her enthusiastic manner and almost thought he’d already won the championship.

The reporter’s questions were broad, asking things like whether he was nervous or confident.

After the interview, Hou Mo asked quietly: “Which channel are you from? I’ll let my mom know to watch.”

The female reporter glanced at him and whispered: “The national sports channel.”

“Oh… What time?”

“This is live…”

Hou Mo froze for a moment, then forced a polite smile for the camera: “Goodbye.” he said, before practically running away.

He ran straight to Sui Houyu, complaining about how embarrassing it had been. Just as he arrived, he noticed the camera following him, seemingly trying to capture footage of his warm-up.

At that moment, he happened to be holding Sui Houyu’s hand.

The two quickly let go and pretended to be casual. Sui Houyu grabbed his racket and acted like he was helping Hou Mo warm up. The scene looked so staged it was as if they’d pulled a random passerby to act as an assistant.

Once the camera moved away, Hou Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Watching his flustered reaction, Sui Houyu couldn’t stop laughing.

The third-place match was the first of the afternoon.

Sui Houyu sat in the stands surrounded by teammates, coaches, and a few remaining competitors. Everyone waited for Hou Mo to take the court.

Carrying his bag, Hou Mo entered and ate a banana—a personal ritual of his.

Watching this, Coach Wang chuckled and remarked: “He really is like a monkey.”

Sui Houyu, on the other hand, was extremely tense. While others chatted, he kept his eyes fixed on Hou Mo, holding his breath.

Ran Shu was puzzled and asked: “The match just started. They haven’t even picked the side yet. Why are you so nervous?”

“I’m worried he’s nervous.” Sui Houyu immediately replied.

“Doesn’t seem like it. He looks calm, even scouting for the national channel’s cameras earlier. I think he likes the attention.”

“He wants to be on TV more to attract sponsors and maybe land an endorsement.”

“His determination to make money is unwavering.”

Hou Mo’s opponent was another boy his age, with deep brown hair, faint stubble on his cheeks, and striking green eyes. His mature appearance contrasted with his youthful features.

Interestingly, Hou Mo’s hair color was even lighter than his opponent’s.

As the match began, Hou Mo tied on his familiar headband, gripping his racket as he focused intently on the other side of the court.

Hou Mo’s excellent anticipation and individual skill allowed him to maintain an edge, even against a skilled opponent.

When the final ball hit the ground and flew out of bounds, the crowd around Sui Houyu erupted in cheers, snapping him back to reality.

He turned to see his boyfriend smiling brightly, raising a fist in his direction. Unable to hold back, Sui Houyu grinned in return.

He quickly joined his teammates at the court’s edge.

Hou Mo approached, high-fiving everyone. When he reached Sui Houyu, he extended his arms, and they embraced, though their height difference made it awkward. Both were brimming with excitement.

“You were great!” Sui Houyu praised him, a rare compliment.

Hou Mo beamed: “Of course! Do you even know whose boyfriend I am?”

With that, he headed toward the players’ tunnel for another interview.

In his second appearance in a youth tournament, Hou Mo had gone from an average performance in the first to securing a world ranking of third.

This achievement made him an overnight sensation in the domestic tennis scene, sparking widespread hope for his future.

While Hou Mo was being interviewed, Coach Wang was busy texting. Afterward, he informed the others: “Once the tournament is over, I’ll be taking Sang Xian and Hou Mo to Beijing. The rest of you will return home on your own.”

Sui Houyu knew what this meant; it was related to the future of Hou Mo and Sang Xian, so he nodded emphatically.