HCILH Ch. 25

Chapter 25: Bamboo Horse

After the monthly exam, it was time for the sports meet.

Due to the large number of classes, the sports meet will last for two and a half days, directly leading into the National Day holiday.

The results of the monthly exam will only be announced after the holiday, but according to the usual practice of both schools, some unofficial news is likely to circulate during the National Day.

That evening, after the monthly exam, Sui Houyu returned to the dormitory and asked Deng Yiheng: “Are there many classmates from our class among your WeChat friends?”

Deng Yiheng had just finished showering, and water had gotten into his ears, making him keep tilting his head to drain it out. He was swaying slightly and casually replied: “Most of them, I guess.”

“Create a group and add me; we need to set up a class group for announcements.”

This was a task assigned by Ouyang Ge.

During this time, other classes had homeroom teachers guiding them, but Ouyang Ge was the head of the moral education department and had many responsibilities.

This also led to Sui Houyu, the nominal class monitor, gradually starting to help handle matters.

Deng Yiheng used a tissue to block his ears, sat down on the chair that had just been delivered, and created a group, adding Sui Houyu to it, saying, “Let’s name the group ‘Class Seventeen, Year 2.’”

After joining the group, Sui Houyu also added Ran Shu and Su Anyi, as these were the few friends he had in class.

Deng Yiheng then sent the same message three times in the group: “Classmates who just joined, see who hasn’t been added yet and help pull them in. My friend list isn’t complete.”

Soon, the group entered a chaotic chat phase, and many people didn’t change the group name.

Sui Houyu glanced at the group and suddenly saw a familiar avatar and name chatting in the group.

The moment he saw it, his heart raced a couple of beats faster.

He tapped the screen with his finger, but due to nerves, he missed several times. As he watched the chat messages scroll up, he flipped through to find that avatar. Clicking on it, he checked the profile, and indeed, it was someone he knew well.

They hadn’t been in contact for years, but he would still occasionally search for this person’s name and click on their avatar to take a look.

The familiar avatar—a silly smiling photo of Sakuragi Hanamichi touching his head.

He returned to the group and messaged that person privately.

Roronoa: “Financial blessings????”

The person whose nickname was An Nanxi^[1] also sent a message: “????”

Deng Yiheng: “Brother Yu and Senior Brother, what about the secret code?”

Sui Houyu looked at his phone, stunned by Deng Yiheng’s words, then raised his head to look at Hou Mo.

Hou Mo had just walked into the dormitory, holding his phone in confusion with a freshly cleaned pair of sneakers in his other hand. He abruptly lifted his head and made eye contact with Sui Houyu.

“Fairy Tree Romance”

He also found it strange that he actually had a WeChat friend from the same class, especially one he hadn’t contacted for a long time.

That person seemed to be Sui Houyu.

Hou Mo had saved Sui Houyu’s contact as “Little Sister Yu.”

This left him in silence.

So it turned out that this “Yu” was actually a typo.

In Hou Mo’s understanding, this “Little Sister Yu” was the child of a family friend of his dad. Since they were of similar ages, they were often arranged to play together as kids.

However, Hou Mo didn’t enjoy playing with this child; they were too rowdy and would leave him with a headache after every playdate.

Later, he asked his dad to lie and say he was going abroad, so they wouldn’t play together anymore.

After all, “Little Sister Yu” had always thought he was a foreign child. When he was younger, his mixed-race features were more pronounced, so he just went along with it.

Later on, indirectly, “Little Sister Yu” added his WeChat account and had invited him to meet a few times when he returned to the country, but he always declined.

After that, something happened at home, and when he finally got his phone back and checked his messages seriously, he realized he hadn’t replied for months. They simply stopped contacting each other and drifted apart.

Unexpectedly, the child who had caused him psychological trauma in the past turned out to be Sui Houyu.

What was even more surprising was… “Little Sister Yu” was actually a guy?

Thinking back, neither of their parents had introduced them properly.

He called the other party “Little Yu,” and the other called him “Nanxi.” Since they weren’t yet at the age where puberty changed their voice and went to the bathroom separately, there hadn’t been any chance to reveal their genders.

He had instinctively assumed that the other was a girl because of their overly delicate appearance.

To say that there was no impact on his heart would be a lie.

This dramatic twist really took Hou Mo by surprise for a long time.

It felt like a flower lay hidden in his childhood, silently blooming through the years. When he turned back, that flower unexpectedly reappeared along his path of growth.

By the time they met again, the flower had fully blossomed, bright red, more vibrant than roses.

Hou Mo and Sui Houyu locked eyes for a long time before Sui Houyu furrowed his brow and asked: “How do you have his WeChat ID?”

Hou Mo laughed dryly and replied: “Ah… I changed my name.”

Sui Houyu understood instantly.

Looking at the familiar flaxen hair and pupils, he finally realized why Hou Mo felt somewhat familiar, so he continued asking: “Didn’t you say you went abroad?”

Hou Mo’s awkward smile faded until he couldn’t even smile anymore.

There was no way to elaborate on this matter.

Deng Yiheng looked at the two of them and felt something was off. He leaned over to see Hou Mo’s phone and immediately recognized it: “No way? Brother Yu is the one who left a psychological trauma on you as a kid? But mistaking him for a girl is… not surprising.”

Sui Houyu had grown up, but he still had a standard boyish-girl appearance; how good-looking must he have been as a child?

Mistaking him for a girl was normal; how young were they back then?

Sui Houyu coldly demanded, “What do you mean?”

Deng Yiheng didn’t notice Sui Houyu’s expression and was still immersed in the shocking coincidence, laughing as he said, “Senior Brother mentioned before that his dad often brought him to play with a little girl. That girl had such an annoying personality… She drove Senior Brother crazy and he didn’t want to play with her, so he would lull her to sleep instead.”

Hou Mo felt his throat tighten and hurriedly coughed to remind him, but Deng Yiheng didn’t notice.

Deng Yiheng continued, “Later, he found that little girl too annoying and lied about going abroad, so he didn’t go anymore. It seems that girl added Senior Brother on WeChat later, but Senior Brother didn’t care. Because of that girl, Senior Brother wasn’t too keen on getting close to girls anymore. Turns out that kid is you…”

Sui Houyu looked at the two of them, his gaze heavy and stormy, as if dark clouds swept through the heavens, bringing down cities and fires of war.

Deng Yiheng looked at Sui Houyu, and his expression gradually collapsed as he quickly stood up and apologized: “No, don’t take it to heart; it was just a childish joke. We were just messing around. I even saw a big dog as a kid and was so scared I peed my pants!”

Hou Mo also felt a bit uncomfortable, glancing at his phone and then at Sui Houyu, feeling embarrassed.

Ran Shu, who had been on the upper bunk playing games, had turned on Do Not Disturb and hadn’t paid attention to the group chat.

After hearing their conversation, he suddenly realized something was off. He stopped playing and put down his phone, asking, “B-brother Yu, isn’t he the one…”

Sui Houyu interrupted Ran Shu: “Don’t say it.”

“But… but… you still…”

“Shut up.” After Sui Houyu finished speaking, he turned back to Hou Mo, then coldly sneered, “I was indeed pretty annoying as a kid; sorry for bothering you before.”

After Sui Houyu finished speaking, he grabbed his phone and left the dormitory.

Ran Shu hurriedly got off his upper bunk and chased after him, flustered, not finding his slippers, so he wore sneakers and held his shoes as he rushed out, looking quite disheveled.

Hou Mo watched Sui Houyu and Ran Shu leave, still somewhat dumbfounded.

He suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Deng Yiheng smacked his lips and turned to Hou Mo, asking: “Did I say something wrong?”

He finally came back to his senses.

“Actually, even if you didn’t say it, he would have guessed. Seeing that I didn’t go abroad and had always been in the country, he would probably figure it out,” Hou Mo said, climbing up to the upper bunk and lying down, sighing, “It’s just going to be hard to interact normally again.”

What Deng Yiheng said wasn’t a lie.

 At that time, he was indeed quite annoyed with “Little Sister Yu.” He added her on WeChat because he didn’t want to make things difficult for his dad, but he really didn’t want to interact with her. So, he set his Moments to be invisible to her, and she couldn’t see his Moments either.

Over the years, he almost forgot about this person.

Unexpectedly, after entering high school, he encountered her again, and they became classmates and even roommates.

Fate really can be quite troublesome.

He closed his eyes and recalled that crazy little kid.

Sui Houyu seemed… a bit different from when they were kids.

Hou Mo didn’t know when Sui Houyu returned to the dormitory.

After getting up in the morning, he noticed Sui Houyu sleeping in the lower bunk.

Sui Houyu usually stayed up late and was the last to go to sleep in the dorm. Fortunately, he was quiet; he would come back at night without disturbing anyone.

Ran Shu was sprawled out in the upper bunk, with his blanket half falling out, sleeping quite messily.

After Hou Mo finished washing up, he took out his phone and saw a message from Ouyang Ge: “Help Sui Houyu out during the sports meet.”

Hou Mo typed a reply: “Are you planning to be a hands-off manager?”

Gege: “Busy. Besides, isn’t the sports meet your turf? Just perform normally. How’s the class outfit preparation?”

Financial Blessings: “It was delivered the day before yesterday, all ironed. I tried it on, and it fits well enough.”

For Hou Mo, “fits well” meant he could get it on, but it was a bit tight around the hips. He didn’t know why there were so few tall boys’ clothes at the rental place.

To wear the outfit better, they had to go shirtless underneath; otherwise, it would look bulky.

Gege: “Alright, let’s go for the groomsmen and bridesmaids vibe.”

Hou Mo sighed as he looked at his phone. Even the homeroom teacher thought they were a groomsmen group.

Who could he complain to?

At that moment, the other people in the dorm went to wash up as well. When Hou Mo saw Sui Houyu come back, he said: “Gege said to notify when you get into the team, so don’t be the first to open the umbrella, or you’ll easily be singled out.”

Sui Houyu glanced at Hou Mo, then simply replied with an “mm” before continuing to be busy.

Ran Shu leaned in front of Hou Mo, blocking his view so he could no longer see Sui Houyu.

“I-if you have anything to say, just tell me.”

Great.

His relationship with Sui Houyu had regressed to how it was before liberation.

It seemed even worse than before.

Hou Mo didn’t have much to say either; he took out his Tang suit and went outside to find a place to change. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find matching shoes, so he asked Deng Yiheng: “Can I wear flat shoes and put on black socks over them?”

Deng Yiheng shook his head repeatedly: “Can we not embarrass ourselves like that?”

“I only have sneakers.”

Sui Houyu and Ran Shu returned, both dressed neatly. Everyone in the dorm turned to look at them.

Generally speaking, having a bit of muscle looks good in clothes.

But for some reason, this Tang suit suited the slim figures of Sui Houyu and Ran Shu, making them look quite good.

If they were actually groomsmen, they could even steal the spotlight from the groom.

Especially when Sui Houyu stood by and watched Ran Shu organize his bag, he instinctively waved a fan, and he truly looked like a refined gentleman.

His charisma was spot on.

Deng Yiheng glanced at Sui Houyu, then back at Hou Mo, unable to help but shake his head: “Senior Brother, it’s not that I’m saying this, you don’t lose in other aspects, but in Chinese style, you really can’t compare to Brother Yu.”

Ran Shu chimed in, criticizing: “Those big European double eyelids aren’t even Chinese style!”

Hou Mo retorted defiantly: “That’s my eye socket, not double eyelids. Have you ever seen anyone whose double eyelids crease like that?”

When Hou Mo looked up, there would be a line between his brow bone and eyelid, possibly due to his deep-set eyes.

But occasionally, people would think that was a double eyelid.

What a joke; the size of the eyelids and the width of the double eyelids—those would be frog eyes!

Sang Xian pulled out a suitcase from under the bed, opened it, and showed Hou Mo: “Pick a pair at random.”

Hou Mo squatted in front of the box and asked: “Are they all new?”

“Yeah.”

Hou Mo had the same shoe size as Sang Xian, so they could swap shoes, which spared Hou Mo from the embarrassment of wearing sneakers with socks.

There were many things to organize for the sports meet.

As the class leader, Sui Houyu arrived at their class location early, and Su Anyi was already waiting for them.

Su Anyi was a very cool girl, and her looks had an elegant vibe. Today, with her hair in a bun and wearing a qipao, her aura was even more prominent, making Ran Shu stutter and praise her for a long time.

Once in class, Sui Houyu got the competition schedule.

To prevent heatstroke, the school scheduled the middle-distance running events for the earlier morning slots.

Feeling that the 1500m and 3000m events were too dull, the first event was the 800m. The people from Class Seventeen of Year 2 participating were him and Hou Mo.

Su Anyi said, “In that case, after you finish the parade, you need to change into your sportswear. Time is a bit tight. I’ll find a student who isn’t in the parade to hold your bag and wait for you in the corner. That way, it’ll be faster. I’ll help you check in with Ran Shu holding your sign.”

Sui Houyu replied softly, “If I’d known, I would have just worn it underneath. Now I can only find a place nearby to change.”

During the parade, Class Seventeen of Year 2 was quite unique.

With neat outfits, the selected students also had better average physiques, making them quite eye-catching.

Before the opening ceremony started, Ouyang Ge took some time out of his busy schedule to come over and take a group photo of them.

Sui Houyu stood relatively close to the corner, slightly raising the corners of his mouth, smiling very perfunctorily.

After the photo, when he planned to leave, he turned around and noticed Hou Mo standing in the back row.

Hou Mo smiled at him.

He didn’t respond and just walked away.

After the parade, someone waved to Sui Houyu and handed him his bag: “Go change into your sportswear!”

Sui Houyu nodded and was about to find a place to change when someone grabbed him.

Hou Mo reached out, hooking Sui Houyu’s shirt collar from behind, took his bag from the other student, and said to Sui Houyu; “Let’s go to the abandoned building, jump through the window to get in; there’s no one there.”

Sui Houyu turned to look at him, hesitating to speak.

Hou Mo felt a bit helpless: “Let’s go! It’s closer there.”

Hou Mo led Sui Houyu to the “abandoned building,” which was actually a building that hadn’t been put into use.

He skillfully found a window, pushed it, and it opened.

After opening the window, Hou Mo reached out to help Sui Houyu jump in. As a result, Sui Houyu took a couple of steps back, flicked his hem, and jumped in smoothly, looking very impressive.

His movements were clean and neat, so impressive that Hou Mo almost clapped.

Hou Mo followed him in, standing behind the wall and struggling to unfasten the buttons on his collar, which were really tight and he couldn’t get them open for a long time.

“Help me…” Hou Mo looked at Sui Houyu for assistance.

Sui Houyu originally didn’t intend to pay attention to Hou Mo, but didn’t expect that they would end up in the same room. In the end, he still walked over to help Hou Mo unfasten the buttons.

Hou Mo, adhering to the spirit of helping one another, also reached out to assist Sui Houyu in unbuttoning, which made Sui Houyu pull back his hand and step back several paces, glaring fiercely at Hou Mo.

What kind of situation is this, taking off each other’s clothes!

Hou Mo looked at him with an innocent expression.

He always felt that Sui Houyu looked fierce, like a young beast; not scary, but quite cute.