HCILH Ch. 20

Chapter 20: Tying the Tie

In the end, the fight didn’t happen.

The next day, Sui Houyu felt sore all over and spent the Sunday resting at home.

His manic disorder didn’t make him feel overly exhausted, but the soreness throughout his body was hard to ignore!

In the evening, Sui Houyu thought about going out to buy a means of transportation; otherwise, it would be too inconvenient to get anywhere. After training, Coach Wang had driven them back, but what would happen later?

There were hardly any taxis on the roads here, just vehicles for people with disabilities, which were too small for Sui Houyu to be comfortable.

Then there were vans, but since the trips were too short, the drivers weren’t willing to take them, mostly just shuttling a group of people into the city.

After dinner, he took a stroll nearby, hoping to buy a motorcycle.

However, upon entering the store, he realized that the motorcycles looked pretty unreliable. For example, there was a motorcycle for six thousand yuan—could that even be ridden? Sui Houyu’s family had a motorcycle, but it wasn’t very expensive; it had cost two hundred forty thousand yuan.

He didn’t want to go home to get it, fearing his family would find out, so he could only make do for now.

After some thought, he picked an electric bicycle that was the right size, and he liked the way it looked—it was quite stylish.

Wearing a helmet, he rode back, and as he reached the ground floor, he saw Hou Mo helping to move things. He was slowly shifting a half-height barrel to another direction.

Hou Mo turned around and greeted him: “Hey! Riding on your little Bumblebee? How cute!”

“Cute? Don’t you think this bike looks cool?”

Hou Mo put down the barrel and looked at the bike, hesitating for a moment before saying: “Isn’t this… a girl’s bike?”

“It’s not!”

“Ah, you were tricked by the seller, right? Did he tell you it performs well? Did you bargain?”

“Can you even bargain?”

Hou Mo set down the barrel and shouted behind him: “Auntie! I’ll help you move it in a bit. My classmate got cheated, and I need to settle the score!”

“Alright, go ahead!” The reply seemed to echo from a thousand miles away; Sui Houyu didn’t even see where the voice was coming from.

Hou Mo walked over, hopped onto the bike, and wrapped his arms around Sui Houyu’s waist: “Let’s go find them.”

“Don’t touch me; I might fall asleep.”

“Huh? Is that why you don’t want anyone touching you? That’s not insomnia; that’s a lack of love.”

“You’re the only one who thinks like that!”

Hou Mo was surprised after hearing this. He recalled how Sui Houyu had suddenly fallen asleep earlier and couldn’t help but mutter: “You should try with someone else. Cast a wider net; maybe it’s not just me.”

After saying that, he released Sui Houyu, leaned back, and held onto the storage box at the back of the bike awkwardly, complaining; “Alright, let’s go.”

Sui Houyu rode the bike back to the shop where he bought it.

It wasn’t until they got there that Hou Mo remembered to ask Sui Houyu how much he had paid for the bike, and then he told the owner: “Boss, this kid didn’t choose the right bike; this one isn’t great.”

The owner came out to ask what was going on.

Hou Mo chatted with the owner for a while and then asked Sui Houyu: “What was your second choice?”

Sui Houyu pointed to another bike.

“Got it.” Hou Mo went to negotiate again.

In the end, Sui Houyu exchanged the bike for one that was finally suitable for men and was reasonably priced.

However, Sui Houyu felt that the price was so cheap that the bike might be unreliable.

After leaving the store, Sui Houyu asked Hou Mo: “Can this bike really be ridden? It’s so cheap.”

“This is made in China. You didn’t buy a brand name; there’s no big brand or advertising. You just bought the cost and production expenses. It can be ridden; this bike will last a few years without any problem, but if you want to pass it down to your descendants, that might take some effort.”

Sui Houyu looked at the bike hesitantly for a moment, then got on it, and Hou Mo followed suit.

The seat of this bike sloped downwards at the back, and when Hou Mo sat down, he slid forward.

Feeling uncomfortable, Hou Mo couldn’t help but complain, “It’s not that I want to be close to you; it’s just so slippery! My thighs are clinging to the seat, yet I’m sliding down. My legs have never defied gravity; Newton is not lying to us.”

“Why do you talk so much?”

“What should I do? You can’t just let me run back, right?”

Sui Houyu replied while holding the handlebars, “I’ll give it a try; it shouldn’t be that bad.”

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Sui Houyu continued to ride, yawning as he pedaled. When he approached their neighborhood, the bike came to a stable stop. At least he made it home without falling asleep.

As soon as Hou Mo relaxed, he noticed Sui Houyu leaning back and falling asleep in his arms.

How dramatic!

Hou Mo supported Sui Houyu while keeping his feet on the ground to stabilize the bike. He looked down at the sleeping figure in his arms, feeling quite conflicted about whether to let him sleep a bit longer or wake him up.

Fortunately, it was already evening; the temperature was cooler than during the day. The breeze that blew from time to time brought a cool feeling. Even if the two of them leaned against each other, they wouldn’t feel particularly hot.

He took out his phone to check the time, then leaned against the bike’s storage box and let Sui Houyu sleep a bit longer.

When Sui Houyu slept, he was very quiet, not snoring or moving around.

Hou Mo lowered his head and peeked ahead, noticing that Sui Houyu had exceptionally long eyelashes. From this angle, it seemed like his eyelashes were like a canopy.

This guy looks like a doll, yet his temper is so bad!

The two of them maintained this position for less than ten minutes when Hou’s mother came downstairs to throw out the trash and happened to see them.

Hou’s mother was surprised for a moment, then reminded them: “When you’re done, come home early.”

“Uh, yeah.” Hou Mo casually replied.

Less than five minutes after Hou’s mother left, another aunt came by. Upon seeing Hou Mo, she paused and quietly asked: “Busy? Can you still move that barrel?”

“Sure! I’ll help you move it in a bit.”

“I’m not in a hurry; I’m just preparing to pickle some pickles. Once they’re ready, I’ll bring some to your family.”

“Okay.”

It was quite awkward to have familiar faces around; occasionally, someone would pass by and glance at them.

Hou Mo even heard neighbors gossiping: “That kid from the Hou family really found a boyfriend.”

“Just moved in, and he’s moving fast.”

Hou Mo felt a bit uncomfortable and quickly nudged Sui Houyu awake.

When Sui Houyu woke up, he sat on the bike for a long time, unable to regain his senses, then looked at Hou Mo.

Hou Mo got off the bike and stood next to it, leaning against the wall, not changing his position for a while. “F*ck… my legs are numb.”

Sui Houyu stared at Hou Mo for a while, then blushed deeply: “Th-thank you.”

He quickly locked the bike and dashed upstairs.

Seeing Sui Houyu hurry up the stairs made Hou Mo anxious. He wanted to chase after him, but his legs were still numb, so he could only complain to himself: “Can’t you just stay and help me move the barrel?”

Once Hou Mo’s legs felt better, he remembered to adjust the position of Sui Houyu’s bike so it wouldn’t take up too much space.

Then he went back to help move the barrel alone.

When he got home, his mother seemed to have been waiting for him. Upon seeing him, she said seriously: “Hou Mo, sit down.”

Hou Mo obediently sat across from her at the dining table.

“Even if you like boys, you should like them if they’re straight. Don’t go after normal kids; don’t try to turn other kids gay.” Hou’s mother said very seriously.

Hou Mo felt wronged after hearing this. “Mom, I know! But think about it; how could I dare to go for someone like him? His temper is terrible; if we were dating, he’d probably hit me eight times a day!”

“What’s going on between you two then?”

“Who knows why he suddenly fell asleep?” Hou Mo poured himself a glass of water, took a sip, and talked about Sui Houyu’s strange sleeping habits. After hearing this, Hou’s mother also found it very odd.

“Falling asleep sitting behind your bike?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t that a sign of illness?”

“Who knows? I need to study; the monthly exams are coming up.”

“Go ahead.”

*

 Sui Houyu hugged his pillow and sat on the bed all night, his eyes wide open.

He kept thinking about how he had fallen asleep in Hou Mo’s arms and felt like he could explode from embarrassment!

Isn’t it too outrageous?!

What would Hou Mo think of him?

 He clearly didn’t like others getting close to him, yet here he was, voluntarily leaning against someone’s embrace to sleep?!

What the hell?!

Might as well k*ll him to get rid of the evidence!

The next morning, Sui Houyu finished washing up early, slung his bag over his shoulder, and decided to ride his electric bike to school.

When he got downstairs, he unexpectedly ran into Hou Mo, who was trying to dodge an elderly man, explaining, “I really can’t kill a chicken. I’m no help, grandpa! I’m scared!”

“You’re a grown man; can’t you handle this?” 

“I really can’t!”

The old man didn’t press him further and handed Hou Mo a bag: “There are four tea eggs in there. Take them and eat.”

“Thanks, old man!” Hou Mo said, genuinely not being polite.

Turning around, he spotted Sui Houyu standing at the entrance of the community. Hou Mo approached him casually and said: “You know how to tie a tie, right? Help me out; I can’t do it.”

Although students at Fenghua High School were issued suits from Qingyu, the boys in Class Seventeen, who were all student athletes, had never worn them. They were the school’s exception, allowed to wear specially tailored black sports uniforms all year round.

Today was different; it was Monday, and Hou Mo had to go on stage to read an apology and had to wear the formal suit.

The uniform he wore was clearly ironed, giving him an entirely different vibe.

He was already a boy with a strong, youthful aura, a bit rebellious, fitting the bad-boy image perfectly.

After putting on the suit, the top two buttons of his white shirt were undone, showcasing his casual style, and the tie was just hanging around his neck, not tied at all.

Sui Houyu watched him for a moment before stepping forward to help him tie the tie.

Noticing the buttons were a bit bothersome, Sui Houyu buttoned one up and then began to adjust the tie.

Hou Mo stood in front of Sui Houyu, slightly lowering his head to cooperate. When he looked up, he could see Sui Houyu’s serious expression, flawless and composed.

If it weren’t for the slight pink on his ears, he wouldn’t have noticed Sui Houyu’s embarrassment.

This was the first time he had looked so closely and intently at Sui Houyu; his beautiful features seemed perfect, like finely crafted artwork.

After finishing, Sui Houyu looked up and said, “Done.”

In that moment of eye contact, Sui Houyu was suddenly flustered by Hou Mo’s gaze. He accidentally pulled the tie too tightly, causing Hou Mo to let out a soft grunt, prompting him to lift his finger to loosen it.

“Don’t pull it so tight; I have a big Adam’s apple.”