HCILH Ch. 26

Chapter 26: The Sports Meet

“Helping each other out, right?” Hou Mo quickly explained, spreading his hands and shrugging to show his innocence.

“I don’t need help,” Sui Houyu answered in a low voice and came back to assist Hou Mo with his buttons.

The buttons on Hou Mo’s clothing were indeed a bit tight, and even Sui Houyu took a moment to undo them all. With each button he unfastened, another inch of smooth, pale skin was revealed—soft like pudding and creamy like milk.

For the first time, Sui Houyu understood what it meant to have an attractive complexion.

But damn it, the other person was a guy. A guy taller than him.

After helping Hou Mo, Sui Houyu stepped back to undo his own buttons.

Hou Mo took off his traditional Tang suit and rummaged through his bag for his sportswear before slipping into a sleeveless athletic top.

In a moment of panic, Sui Houyu glanced at him, then quickly turned away to change his own clothes.

It really was pink.

A big guy, wearing such a delicate color!

When Sui Houyu finished changing and packed away his Tang suit, he turned to see Hou Mo squatting by his bag, looking at him, asking “How much do you weigh?” 

“118 pounds.”

“How much?!” Hou Mo exclaimed in disbelief as he heard the number.

“None of your business.” Sui Houyu responded irritably, hoisting his bag and heading toward the window to jump out.

Hou Mo followed right behind him, persistently asking, “You’re that tall and only 118 pounds? Where does all the food you eat go? How are you so skinny?”

Ignoring him, Sui Houyu continued toward the sports field.

Even after jumping out of the window, Hou Mo kept rambling. “You’ve got no extra fat on you! Your legs are like bamboo sticks—are you sure a strong wind won’t knock you over?”

It was clear that Hou Mo had brazenly “peeked” while Sui Houyu changed earlier.

Sui Houyu at least had the decency to turn away.

But Hou Mo didn’t bother with that.

Back at the sports field, some classmates were waiting to take their bags and return them to their class.

The two of them headed to the registration area to sign in. Right after, Ran Shu and Su Anyi gathered around Sui Houyu to pin his number tag on him.

Su Anyi whispered, “The freshmen races are first. Two groups have already gone. After that, it’s the girls’ events, so we still have some time.”

No one paid attention to Hou Mo, so he pinned his own number tag on his chest.

Unable to pin the one on his back himself, he went over to Sui Houyu, hoping they could help each other again.

But Ran Shu quickly stepped in, taking the number tag and pinning it on Hou Mo’s back, as if determined not to let Hou Mo get too close to Sui Houyu.

Once the races started, only participants were allowed to stay on the field. 

Ran Shu and Su Anyi had to head back to the stands.

While waiting, Hou Mo looked at his arm. “I didn’t apply sunscreen. Did you?”

Since they’d rushed over, neither of them had thought to bring any.

Sui Houyu didn’t reply, deliberately moving to stand on the other side.

Hou Mo followed him, extending his arm: “My skin peels when I get sunburned. See? It’s already turning red.”

Sui Houyu glanced at him with mild annoyance.

Hou Mo’s skin was so fair that even his sunburn appeared pinkish. With his sleeveless top on, Sui Houyu noticed for the first time that Hou Mo’s arms had tanned slightly, though his shoulders were still a shade paler.

Even with a tan, Hou Mo was still fairer than most people—truly unbelievable.

“Can you stop acting like we’re that close?” Sui Houyu asked seriously.

Hou Mo looked at him for a moment before nodding and deciding not to bother him anymore.

The school’s sports meet involved both preliminary and final rounds for the 100-400 meter events. 

But for the 800 meters, everything was decided in one race, with rankings based on finish times. So they both finished the race in one go.

Hou Mo and Sui Houyu ended up in the same track, even lining up in adjacent lanes.

As they prepared to start, cheers erupted from all directions—each class seemed to have people cheering for them both. 

The noise was so chaotic that it was impossible to tell who was cheering for whom.

Although Hou Mo usually had a youthful vibe, in his athletic gear, the defined muscles in his arms exuded strength. His muscularity wasn’t excessive, just enough to make him the kind of guy girls would dream of holding onto.

The most remarkable feature is probably the long legs beneath the shorts, perfectly illustrating the phrase: “Below the belly button, it’s all legs.”

Sui Houyu, standing beside him, looked just as impressive. His figure was more slender, fitting the image of a delicate but beautiful youth.

Both of them wore the same color sportswear, standing together like a perfectly synchronized duo.

Someone nearby muttere: “Are we in some kind of idol group?”

“Keep calm. We’re just here to accompany the winners.”

Everyone knew Hou Mo was an athlete with outstanding performance, so they didn’t have high expectations.

Another person whispered: “But we should at least beat the skinny guy, right? He looks like he won’t last two laps.”

To outsiders, Sui Houyu’s slim frame gave the impression that he couldn’t even lift a girl weighing 80 pounds.

Little did they know… Sui Houyu was no ordinary person.

When the gun went off, Sui Houyu and Hou Mo almost burst forward in sync. As the race progressed, neither of them let up, maintaining their pace together throughout.

Others might not have felt anything special.

But Hou Mo realized that Sui Houyu was pushing himself against him. For once, he felt challenged and was determined to keep up with Sui Houyu, pushing himself to the limit even outside of practice hours.

The 800 meters for athletes is different from the 800 meters for regular students.

For regular students, a sophomore girl passes with a time of 4 minutes and 38 seconds. But for athletes, it’s a requirement to finish in under 2 minutes and 42 seconds; otherwise, it’s unacceptable.

For boys, an excellent time for the 800 meters is under 2 minutes and 3 seconds, with a common expectation of finishing within 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Why is it called the “death 800 meters”?

Because it requires sprinting at full speed for the entire 800 meters.

At this moment, Sui Houyu and Hou Mo were doing just that.

They were all in, charging forward like they were in a sprint, maintaining their pace steadily for two full laps before crossing the finish line together.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

The loud applause reverberated throughout the stadium.

The cheers and accolades were all for them.

Without comparison, there’s no harm.

The third-place runner in their group was left more than half a lap behind them.

The sports meet had just begun, but the first event ignited the entire school’s atmosphere, and the astonishment echoed for a long time.

The excitement quieted only when the results were announced.

While waiting for the results, Hou Mo paced in a corner to relieve his nerves.

Looking up, he saw Sui Houyu acting nonchalantly; his stamina was truly impressive.

The announcement finally came: “21701 Sui Houyu and 21702 Hou Mo both achieved first place, with a time of 2 minutes, breaking the school record.”

Tied.

Sui Houyu seemed displeased with the result, shooting Hou Mo a glare before walking away.

Hou Mo felt wronged by the glare; after all, he had trained for several years—he didn’t think it was unfair to be tied with him.

When they returned to their class, a wave of cheers erupted. Deng Yiheng exclaimed: “With that run, we’ve got two level-two athletes! How can the track team show their faces?”

Even Shen Junqing from Class Sixteen leaned over to shout: “Brother Yu, nice job!”

Several other athletes approached to remind Sui Houyu how to cool down after the race.

Sui Houyu looked at the group, puzzled. When had he become so familiar with these athletes?

After sitting down, he twisted open his water bottle and was about to take a sip when Hou Mo, seated in front of him, pulled out sunscreen from his bag and sprayed it all over himself, creating a mist that sprayed Sui Houyu’s face.

After spraying, Hou Mo turned around and saw Sui Houyu wiping the mouth of the bottle and glaring at him again.

“Do you want some?” Hou Mo asked enthusiastically.

Before Sui Houyu could respond, Hou Mo playfully covered his eyes and sprayed him again, making Sui Houyu quickly shut his mouth, fearing he might get some in his mouth.

Afterward, Hou Mo turned back.

Sui Houyu looked at his bottle, raised it to check the contents, and guessed it had been seasoned, so he tightened the cap and placed it beside his foot, then took out a new bottle to drink from.

By the time the second event started, teams finally began to set up umbrellas.

As long as they weren’t the standout team, they could use them.

Sui Houyu leaned under the umbrella borrowed from Su Anyi, lazily watching the competition while noticing Hou Mo in the front row fidgeting uncomfortably, shifting his body, first leaning back in his chair, then swinging his legs over to squeeze next to Sui Houyu under the umbrella.

Su Anyi was competing in the 1500 meters and wasn’t sitting next to Sui Houyu, giving Hou Mo the chance to move closer.

Sui Houyu shot Hou Mo a disdainful glance.

But Hou Mo, who was using the umbrella was unashamed and asked, “Should I hold it for you?”

“Get lost.”

Hou Mo didn’t leave. Wearing sun protection on top and long athletic pants below, he stubbornly stayed under the umbrella, sighing softly: “People with fair skin can’t handle the sun. Look how strong the UV rays are today…”

Just as he finished speaking, the sky darkened.

Hou Mo didn’t leave and continued to add: “UV rays are all around us in the air.”

Sui Houyu held the umbrella, continuing to observe the competition, his voice steady but somewhat indifferent: “You don’t have to act like this; we’re not that close. What happened before is in the past. We’ve only hung out for a few days, nothing more. Learning that I’ve been disliked for so many years is indeed a bit disappointing, but I was indeed annoying as a kid, so I understand.”

Hou Mo turned to look at Sui Houyu, staring at him but unsure of what to say.

Sui Houyu remained calm: “Maybe you’re worried that I’ll continue to affect the class’s harmony? It’s not that extreme; I usually don’t cause trouble and don’t want to stir up issues. As long as you stop bothering me, I won’t bother you either. I’m not one for camaraderie, and after graduation, we’ll be strangers, never crossing paths again.”

“Actually… I wanted to…” Hou Mo hesitated, ultimately holding back.

After last night, he felt a bit guilty.

He also intended to reach out to Sui Houyu today.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sui Houyu replied with a smirk, “There are plenty of people who dislike me, so I’m not worried about adding one more. Honestly, I’m not as concerned about this as you think.”

After saying this, he offered the umbrella to Hou Mo: “You can borrow it.”

Sui Houyu handed over the umbrella, swapped his seat, and moved to a corner.

He didn’t like this kind of closeness; it felt like pity.

It made him feel uneasy.

Hou Mo held the umbrella, glancing back at him for a while, then settled back down without pursuing him further.