HCILH Ch. 30

Chapter 30: Living Together

Hou Mo changed into a full set of sportswear and put on a baseball cap, covering himself up tightly. His skin couldn’t tolerate the sun for too long—prolonged exposure would make it turn red.

After getting dressed, he went out to watch his other teammates’ match.

On the way to the venue, he happened to come across the mascots dancing.

He sat at the edge of the field, took a sip of water, and kept his eyes on one specific mascot.

It was October, but the weather was still scorching. Wearing such heavy costumes to dance must have been extremely stuffy.

He wondered how Sui Houyu managed to endure it.

Should he bring Sui Houyu a bottle of water? Would he accept it? Was it inappropriate to disturb staff while they were working?

Knowing Sui Houyu’s prickly personality and short temper, if Hou Mo approached him publicly, Sui Houyu would definitely explode.

And they’d probably end up fighting again.

Hou Mo took another sip of water and resisted the urge to approach him. Instead, he sneakily recorded Sui Houyu dancing with his phone, chuckling while filming.

Hou Mo waited the whole day til the competition was over and headed to the mascots’ dressing room. Instead of going in, he found a pillar to hide behind and waited.

Within twenty minutes, Sui Houyu emerged, already changed and fully disguised—wearing a bucket hat, sunglasses, and a mask. But his tall, well-built physique still gave him away, making people suspect he was some celebrity attending the match.

Hou Mo immediately followed him without saying a word, walking side by side.

Sui Houyu glanced at him twice, realizing he couldn’t shake him off, and angrily kicked him twice.

Hou Mo didn’t get angry—instead, he laughed: “Not bad, huh? How did you find a job like this?”

“Ha, this kind of job is a piece of cake for me.”

“Hmm, you dance really well.”

Sui Houyu didn’t want to talk further. He just wanted to leave and never come back.

But Hou Mo slung his arm over Sui Houyu’s shoulder, preventing him from leaving. “Come on, let’s say hi to the coach and the others. We’re about to have dinner—a buffet. I’ll sneak you in.”

“I’m not going!” Sui Houyu flatly refused.

“Come on, they’ll be happy to see you.” Hou Mo persisted.

Sui Houyu yanked himself free and snapped, “I’m just here for a part-time job. It’s pure coincidence that it’s your match.”

“Oh…” Hou Mo nodded and then asked, “How did I perform?”

“I didn’t watch.”

Though he had watched the entire match.

“Why work so far away? Riding an electric scooter here must take two and a half hours, right?”

“…” Sui Houyu didn’t respond.

“Well, I get it. Working to support yourself can be tough. Just a reminder—joining the tennis team offers prize money, you know. They’re actually quite generous. If you perform well, you could earn tens of thousands annually. Last year, I earned over 200,000 yuan from scholarships, competition prizes, and modeling for sportswear.”

Sui Houyu glared at him fiercely.

He’s pretending!

He had already guessed everything but still acted innocent!

How could someone be so annoying?

Sui Houyu was so frustrated he wanted to curse, but he wasn’t as sharp-tongued as Ren Shu, so he just stood there, glaring. After a moment, he stomped off angrily.

After taking a few steps, he stopped again, still fuming, and turned back to glare at Hou Mo, trying to figure out how to insult him.

In the end, all he could blurt out was: “Get lost!”

Hou Mo, still cheerful, followed along. “Hot? Want to take a shower?”

The mascot job didn’t offer shower facilities, but the competition venue had washrooms for athletes. If Sui Houyu didn’t want to use those, he could always shower at Hou Mo’s hotel.

Sui Houyu was indeed feeling hot and sticky from sweat.

However, riding back home would make him sweaty again, so he figured it was better to shower once he got home. He shook his head and declined.

Hou Mo asked again: “Will you come back tomorrow? If you’re staying, you might as well stay with me. You always sleep better around me.”

“No.”

“But without you, we’ll be short a mascot—it’ll be awkward.”

Sui Houyu calmed down, realizing that skipping work wasn’t very responsible.

He didn’t need the money. 

The part-time income wasn’t significant, and payment wouldn’t come until after the competition. He had only worked three days, earning a total of 600 yuan.

Still, quitting suddenly would leave them shorthanded and might disrupt the event.

Spending five hours a day commuting was such a waste of time.

Staying over… taking a shower…

The idea was surprisingly tempting.

As he hesitated, Hou Mo leaned closer and asked: “Want to grab some buffet? It’s an athlete’s meal—not many options, but it tastes decent.”

Feigning indifference, Sui Houyu asked: “If I go, will Deng Yiheng and the others know I’m here?”

The fact that he asked showed he was already considering it.

“Not if I hide you. Let’s go.”

After a moment of contemplation, Sui Houyu decided to follow Hou Mo.

Hou Mo walked alongside him, lazily texting on his phone. “Some of our teammates already left since they didn’t make the finals. I’ll tell them I’m switching rooms so I can get a single.”

“I can book my own hotel.”

“Hotel fees will cost more than what you’re earning from this part-time job. Aren’t you saving up?”

“…” Sui Houyu was at a loss for words.

Sui Houyu remained silent the entire time, feeling both annoyed and frustrated, unable to argue back, especially since he was clearly at a disadvantage.

He followed Hou Mo into the hotel room.

Originally, his roommate was Sang Xian, and the two of them shared a standard twin room.

However, before Hou Mo returned, Sang Xian received the message and promptly moved out, leaving one bed vacant.

Upon entering the hotel, Hou Mo opened his suitcase directly in the walk-in closet, making it easy to access his belongings whenever needed.

He rummaged through a bag and handed Sui Houyu some clothes. “These are from our sponsor. I haven’t worn them yet, but my mom washed them. You can change into these after your shower.”

He also took a small packet from a box and tossed it to Sui Houyu: “Disposable underwear.”

Since Hou Mo frequently participated in competitions, he always kept supplies like that on hand.

Holding the clothes, Sui Houyu hesitated for a moment before heading into the bathroom.

While waiting, Hou Mo sent a message to Sang Xian, asking him to bring over three meals.

Sang Xian: What’s with the extra meals?

Hou Mo: Strategizing alone in my room. I’ll rejoin everyone tomorrow.

Sang Xian: Then why three meals?

Hou Mo: I’m picky. I’ll only eat one dish from each.

Sang Xian: Fine.

As he put down his phone and waited, listening to the splashing sounds from the bathroom, Hou Mo suddenly found it quite strange.

He had never wanted to get close to anyone, yet now he was so warm and enthusiastic toward Sui Houyu. Even he found this a bit baffling.

So weird…

Sui Houyu finished washing up and came out with his hair half-dried, swinging his arms as he checked what food was laid out on the table.

Hou Mo looked at him and asked, “Aren’t you going to fully dry your hair? I have the air conditioning on, you might catch a cold.”

“Got impatient drying it, and my arms got tired. I’ll finish drying it after I eat.”

Hou Mo chuckled while eating. His hair really was that thick. Meanwhile, Sui Houyu was eating his athlete’s meal, complaining as he chewed: “Why is it so plain? And this steamed bun is so dry, the texture is awful.”

“Eat it. This is our standard meal, and it’s still better than what we get at school.”

“I can’t stand this kind of food…” Sui Houyu grumbled as he sat cross-legged on the chair, pulling out his phone to order food.

Hou Mo leaned over to peek and asked: “You’re going to spend over a hundred just for delivery? Aren’t you supposed to be saving money from part-time work?”

Sui Houyu immediately put down his phone, picked up his chopsticks, and resumed eating without another word.

His eating posture was far from proper.

He liked sitting cross-legged on chairs or even squatting on them while eating—basically, never sitting properly at the table.

Hou Mo remembered this habit. When they were kids, he thought Sui Houyu was incredibly ill-mannered. If he ate like that, his dad would have beaten him.

Only now did Hou Mo realize that no one had ever taught Sui Houyu how to behave properly.

Glancing up, he noticed how loosely the sportswear hung on Sui Houyu, clearly a size too large.

The sleeveless top even revealed the outline of his ribs on one side.

After a brief sweep of his gaze, Hou Mo looked away.

He suddenly brought up the past: “Do you remember how, when we were kids, you insisted we go out and play at 1 PM in the heat of summer? I didn’t even know about sunscreen back then, so I stupidly followed you out. After playing for three hours, I ended up completely sunburned, and the back of my neck started peeling.”

Sui Houyu paused his eating for a moment, thinking, before asking: “Which time are you talking about?”

He had done that often—regardless of the time or weather. When he felt restless, he had to go outside to play, and Hou Mo had to accompany him.

If Hou Mo refused, Sui Houyu would persist and make a fuss until he agreed.

“The time we bought ice cream in the afternoon. I got melon-flavored, and you got strawberry. You didn’t like the little fruit pieces in yours and demanded we switch. When I refused, you threw your ice cream on the ground, and I had to give you mine while I cleaned up the mess.” Hou Mo recounted with a chuckle as he continued eating.

Sui Houyu chewed the food in his mouth, and the speed of chewing gradually slowed down.

No wonder Hou Mo had disliked him so much back then. Listening to this, Sui Houyu also thought he’d been quite annoying.

Lowering his head, Sui Houyu continued eating, unsure how to respond to this topic.

He didn’t even understand why Hou Mo suddenly brought it up.

Hou Mo took another bite of the steamed bun and said, “Maybe you felt guilty about it. At dinner, you kept giving me shrimp while you only ate the celery from my plate.”

“Oh…” Sui Houyu mumbled vaguely. That happened?

Hou Mo then swept the celery Sui Houyu had picked out back into his meal box: “Eat some celery. You’re so thin, and it’s definitely because you’re picky.”

Seeing the celery, Sui Houyu frowned and pursed his lips stubbornly, showing his defiance—he would never back down when it came to celery.

As a kid, Hou Mo had thought Sui Houyu’s behavior was inexplicable.

Now, eating together again, he realized that Sui Houyu must have hated celery so much that he’d deliberately picked it out for him.

So, back then…Sui Houyu had actually been doing him a favor by getting rid of the food he hated most.

It’s a pity that he only understood it now.

Important notes from the author:

The mascots are like those at Disney parks, such as Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse performers.

In this story’s setting, high school students participate in youth competitions, which may include 18-year-olds—raising the age limit to allow for romance. After high school, they join other competitions.

Omake:

Q: What’s it like to have a partner who spoils you?

Sui Houyu: His… hurts, and my back hurts.

Q: Doesn’t he care about you?

Sui Houyu: It’s my own need—for stress relief and treatment.

Q: Are your kidneys okay?

Sui Houyu: I may be a paper-thin character without organs, but I still have needs.

[Don’t assume Sui Houyu is just acting like a tsundere. Given his lingering health issues, he genuinely has higher needs than most people. Throughout the book, it’s emphasized that Hou Mo is a physically fit athlete.]