HCILH Ch. 19

Chapter 19: Dog

Sui Houyu kept staring at Hou Mo, his eyes reflecting a hint of intrigue.

Under the sunlight, Hou Mo’s flaxen hair looked even lighter, the fluffy strands on top of his head glistening and taking on a golden hue.

His facial features were very three-dimensional, with a high nose bridge. Because of the backlight, his face was engulfed in shadow, the surrounding brightness seeming to swallow him whole.

“You…” After a long pause, Sui Houyu finally found his voice, “Did you spray something on yourself?”

Hou Mo was confused by the question but replied seriously: “I didn’t spray anything special, just some regular skincare products. Does sunscreen count?”

“Then why did I fall asleep?”

Hou Mo found the question absurd and retorted: “You’re asking me?”

The two of them remained in a standoff for a while, unable to reach an answer.

Hou Mo didn’t dare ride with Sui Houyu anymore; thinking about what had just happened made him feel uneasy.

He stopped the bike and decided to let Sui Houyu take over. “You pedal, and I’ll navigate. If anything happens up ahead, I can see it. What if you leaned over and fell off the road? If a car came and hit you, how would I explain it? If you died, wouldn’t all that hair be wasted?”

Sui Houyu felt somewhat guilty and couldn’t make sense of the situation. Rarely, he nodded obediently in agreement and didn’t mind Hou Mo’s bad attitude as he switched positions to pedal.

As he was about to start, Sui Houyu turned back and said: “It’s my first time riding a bike with a passenger.”

“Even if it’s your first time, it’s safer than sitting behind. Go on, young man, let’s see if you can pedal and fall asleep,” Hou Mo urged.

Sui Houyu suppressed his anger and continued to ride with Hou Mo on the back.

Hou Mo held his phone behind him to activate voice navigation, still using the lazy tone of Boss De Yun^[1] to direct Sui Houyu on which way to ride.

The ride to the shop took about fifteen minutes.

Upon reaching the entrance, Sui Houyu supported the bike with his foot and stared at the storefront, feeling a bit bewildered. Could this shabby place be reliable?

Hou Mo noticed his expression and explained: “This shop is run by Coach Wang’s family.”

Sui Houyu immediately felt relieved.

Hou Mo locked the bike and pointed to a few nearby buildings: “That’s where I attended middle school with Deng Yiheng and Shen Junqing.”

Sui Houyu looked at the buildings in surprise, not expecting such a place to be a school. He thought it was a warehouse or factory.

That middle school indeed looked shabby; there seemed to be no plastic track or lawn, and the buildings were quite dilapidated.

“It’s really rundown and shabby,” Hou Mo remarked, leading Sui Houyu into the store.

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Hmm?” Hou Mo turned to look at him.

“It’s actually quite nice.” Sui Houyu said, and he stepped into the sporting goods store first.

His answer was very vague, and Hou Mo felt that chatting with him was akin to doing reading comprehension. In the past, he thought Deng Yiheng was annoying for talking too much, but now he felt that Deng Yiheng was pretty good, at least he could articulate his thoughts clearly.

The shop owner recognized Hou Mo immediately and came out to greet him, asking: “Hou Mo, is this your boyfriend?”

That hard-hitting question shocked Sui Houyu.

Hou Mo was also taken aback and quickly waved his hands: “No, no, no! He’s a reserve player on our team, recruited by Coach Wang.”

“Oh, a team member? He looks really good,” the shop owner said, genuinely liking Sui Houyu.

Hou Mo smiled awkwardly, cold sweat forming on his forehead. He said to the shop owner, “Auntie, you can sit down. I’ll just help him choose.”

“Alright, you two pick. I’ll call your coach over.”

Once the owner was gone, Sui Houyu asked Hou Mo, “Is she Coach Wang’s wife?”

“Yeah, she has a very straightforward personality; she’s the only one who can keep Coach Wang in check.”

“Is it that well-known that you’re gay?”

In Sui Houyu’s mind, Hou Mo was a very famous gay.

Although he vehemently denied it.

“It’s not that famous. When I arrived, Auntie said I was handsome, and Coach Wang sighed, saying it was a pity I’m gay. Then Auntie accepted it in less than 20 seconds, saying that as long as one looks like me, finding a boyfriend isn’t a problem.”

Sui Houyu didn’t want to discuss this anymore; after all, he wasn’t interested. He just wanted to look at tennis rackets.

Hou Mo stood to the side and pointed to one. “Forget about that aluminum one; it’s too heavy. Just get a carbon fiber one. The hardness is good, and stability is fine too.”

Sui Houyu looked around and finally focused on the one with the coolest design.

Hou Mo immediately rejected it. “Don’t choose those flashy ones. You need to consider the racket face, material, grip, weight, and also the racket length and balance.”

“Is there a reason for that?” Sui Houyu turned to him and asked.

His understanding of tennis was at a level where he could play but not excel. He had decent skills but didn’t have much detailed knowledge of other aspects since he had only been learning it as a hobby for a few years, during which he was taking other classes and had little practice time.

He could play and had techniques but lacked practical experience.

“If you want speed and control over the racket, go for a smaller face. A larger face is less likely to miss, depending on your accuracy. The grip comes in sizes 1 to 5; try holding it to feel. Grip it like I taught you, with your middle and index fingers here and your thumb about a finger’s width apart.”

Sui Houyu reached out to hold the racket and felt it while Hou Mo continued explaining from behind, “Then there’s the weight; that also depends on your preference. If you want more power in your shots, choose a heavier racket, as it will have more inertia. Lighter ones are easier to understand; they’re flexible, and your arm won’t tire as much, but if the grip is too thin or the racket is too light, it’s easy to get overpowered by the opponent.”

Hou Mo took one down from the rack. “I use this one; it feels comfortable, the weight is what I like, and it’s quite durable.”

Sui Houyu glanced at this racket and heard Hou Mo suggest: “Your hands should be a bit smaller than mine; you should choose another grip size.”

When they were together, Hou Mo had gotten used to him talking to himself and was able to chatter on.

Sui Houyu lifted his hand to look at it, then raised it for Hou Mo to see, indicating that his hands weren’t small.

Hou Mo calmly raised his hand and placed it against Sui Houyu’s, aligning the bases of their palms, palms facing each other. Comparing them like this, Sui Houyu’s hands did seem a bit delicate.

Hou Mo’s hands were large, like paddles; he could even feel the roughness of Hou Mo’s palm, likely from long-term racket handling that had left calluses.

The warmth radiating from their palms was not repulsive to Sui Houyu; instead, he felt a sense of calm wash over him.

Then, a wave of drowsiness suddenly swept over him, fiercely and abruptly, instantly clouding his mind.

He quickly withdrew his hand to regain his awareness, or else he would have fallen asleep again in the next moment.

Why did he feel sleepy whenever he came into contact with Hou Mo?

Sui Houyu couldn’t figure it out.

Just then, Coach Wang came downstairs, his loud voice easily heard from a distance: “You two are here? Aren’t you like oil and water? And yet, you’re together picking rackets?”

Hou Mo quickly explained: “He’s staying at a guesthouse that my mom tidied up. He wanted to buy a racket, so I brought him here.”

“Oh, how’s your mom doing these days?”

“She’s doing well.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Coach Wang stood beside them and asked: “Have you found anything you like?”

Sui Houyu shook his head: “Not yet.”

“Hou Mo introduced the rackets to you, right?” Coach Wang inquired.

“Yeah.”

“Any thoughts?”

“I’m looking for something light, a lightweight racket with a small face and a grip that’s not too thick.”

Coach Wang pondered for a moment and asked, “Have you thought carefully about your playing style?”

“Yeah, my strength and stamina are fine. Even if I choose this kind of racket, I won’t mis-hit. I feel that it’s difficult to surpass others in a short time, so I should leverage my greatest advantages to the fullest. My advantage might be my agility.”

Coach Wang agreed with Sui Houyu’s perspective and, after some thought, handed him a racket: “Try this one. It’s not extremely light; the very light ones are usually for girls. This one fits your requirements and has decent material.”

Coach Wang, being Sui Houyu’s trainer, naturally wouldn’t recommend items that were overstocked or highly profitable; instead, he chose what was most suitable for Sui Houyu.

As Sui Houyu took it in hand, he weighed it and gave it a grip, finding it quite satisfactory.

Coach Wang went to get Sui Houyu a few rolls of grip tape and sweatbands, saying, “If you think it’s suitable, I’ll help you wrap the grip tape.”

“Alright, let’s go with this,” Sui Houyu handed it over.

Coach Wang took the items to the front desk while saying: “You’re one of my students, so I’ll charge you the wholesale price. I’ll give you these sweatbands and grip tape for free since I brought you to the tennis team.”

Sui Houyu replied generously, “It’s fine if you make some money.”

Coach Wang laughed: “Am I going to make money off a kid like you?”

Hou Mo leaned against the front desk, eating the free fruit and muttering: “It’s fine to make a little money; he’s quite the big spender. Renting a long-term stay, not everyone can do that.”

Coach Wang jokingly scolded Hou Mo a few more times and then asked: “Have you eaten?”

Hou Mo immediately shook his head: “No.”

Sui Houyu hesitated for a moment before also answering: “No.”

“Let’s go upstairs and eat. I specially asked my wife to make a few dishes,” he said, inviting the two boys upstairs.

Once upstairs, Coach Wang talked to Sui Houyu about playing tennis while also giving him tips on racket maintenance, expertly wrapping the sweatband around the racket, showing he was very experienced in doing this.

Then he asked the two boys: “Do you have any plans for the afternoon? If not, stay here with me, and I’ll teach you both doubles.”

Coach Wang was quite invested in this, always thinking ahead. Seeing that Sui Houyu seemed interested, he wanted to take advantage of the momentum to really bring him into the fold.

Hou Mo, eating fruit, replied: “Yeah, we have other plans this afternoon.”

Coach Wang asked: “What plans? Are you meeting to do homework together?” 

“We’ve made plans to fight this afternoon,” Sui Houyu answered.

Coach Wang’s expression darkened: “…”

Sui Houyu covered his face.

That afternoon, Sui Houyu experienced a high-intensity training session.

The standard for ending the training was that the sweat on both his and Hou Mo’s shirts could fill a cup.

The first time, he could understand when Hou’s mother followed Hou Mo downstairs.

But when it happened a second time, he began to suspect that Hou Mo was doing it on purpose.

If you didn’t want to fight, why not just say it outright? What was the point of all this?

F*ck you^[2]!