HCILH Ch. 36

Chapter 36: Smoothing Things Over

Hou Mo—a man who feels delighted even after being scolded—hid under the blanket and quickly typed a reply: “If you can’t sleep, just come over. I’ve saved a spot for you.”

Little Demon Bean: “Oh, I’ll give it a try.”

Financial Blessings: “Then I’ll go to sleep first.”

Little Demon Bean: “Okay.”

Hou Mo locked his phone and set it aside, peeking through the gaps in the bed frame at the lower bunk opposite him. He saw that Sui Houyu seemed to still be on his phone.

All Hou Mo could see was the glow from the screen illuminating Sui Houyu’s face, casting a cool blue light on his nose and hair. His fingers slid across the screen—probably browsing something.

Hou Mo squinted his eyes, wanting to see what Sui Houyu was looking at. For some reason, he was particularly curious

But he soon gave up and lay back down to sleep.

*

Morning.

Sang Xian stood by the bed with his hands on his hips, hesitant.

Deng Yiheng, already awake, quickly turned off his alarm and sat up. When he noticed two people sleeping together on the upper bunk, he was just as puzzled.

Isn’t this mutual affection?

Why did Sui Houyu come over here again?

Sang Xian pointed to the upper bunk and asked Deng Yiheng: “Should I wake them both up?”

Deng Yiheng wiped his face and nodded: “Yeah, Brother Yu is one of us now. Let’s get them both up for morning exercises.”

Sang Xian reached out to push Sui Houyu awake but hesitated as he raised his hand. He turned to Deng Yiheng again: “Is it appropriate for me to touch him?”

“I’ll wake up Senior Brother then.” Deng Yiheng offered and reached out to nudge Hou Mo awake.

Hou Mo, always grumpy when waking up, needed a moment to adjust; otherwise, he’d definitely get annoyed.

When he opened his eyes and saw Sui Houyu lying next to him, he swallowed nervously and leaned back, afraid his morning breath might offend Sui Houyu.

When did he come over to sleep?

How did he do it so quietly? Huo Mo didn’t notice it at all.

Hou Mo propped himself up and, still dazed, saw Deng Yiheng wrapped in a blanket, saying sincerely, “Senior Brother, if you’re going to sleep together, just move to the lower bunk. No need for Brother Yu to climb up every night—it’s tiring.”

As well-intentioned as the words sounded, they felt awkward.

Sang Xian handed his phone to Hou Mo, suggesting: “How about I get you a bed curtain for privacy? That way, we won’t see what you’re doing inside, and as long as you don’t make noise, it’s fine…”

“Get lost!” Hou Mo interrupted him hastily.

Unfazed, Sang Xian rummaged through the cabinets and soon pulled out a measuring tape, starting to measure the bed.

Hou Mo looked at his “considerate” friends with a face full of exasperation.

There really was no way to explain this.

Still, he reached out and gave Sui Houyu a little nudge. However, Sui Houyu, grumpier than him, simply rolled over and frowned, continuing to sleep.

Hou Mo prided himself on not being timid, but for some reason, he didn’t dare wake Sui Houyu again.

He thought for a moment, then simply climbed down from Deng Yiheng’s side of the bed, afraid of accidentally touching Sui Houyu and making him upset.

After getting out of bed, he walked over to Ran Shu’s bed and woke him up.

With a reluctant expression, Ran Shu got out of bed, and Hou Mo said to him, “You go wake up Brother Yu, I’m going to wash up.”

Still groggy and confused about why Hou Mo had already gotten out of bed while Sui Houyu was still sound asleep in his bed, Ran Shu sleepily walked over and called: “Brother Yu, time to get up.”

Ran Shu reached out to push Sui Houyu, but his hand was smacked away.

He stared blankly at Sui Houyu, watching him sit up and look around before finally turning to him.

“It’s… it’s time for morning exercises.” Ran Shu explained.

“Oh…” Sui Houyu came to his senses, got out of bed, and glanced back at Ran Shu. “Did I hit you?”

“You slapped me. Just one smack.”

“I’ll buy you a skin.”

“Mm-hmm,” Ran Shu replied indifferently, yawning as he walked out of the dorm room.

The student athletes look rather disheveled in the morning, too.

Some students try to get a bit more sleep and don’t even wash their faces before heading out for morning exercises. They only wash up after the exercises, and if they have time, they grab some breakfast.

The boys in Hou Mo’s dorm woke up relatively early, but they didn’t have time to get ready properly either.

At least Sui Houyu went downstairs with his hair still damp.

After washing their sportswear, he and Ran Shu had hung them on the balcony overnight to dry.

It was their first time wearing these uniforms, and they found it somewhat refreshing.

The black sportswear on the two of them really added to their aura, especially as a group of athletes marched downstairs in unison, all heading in the same direction. The way this group of people, who “couldn’t close their legs” as they walked, swaggered together gave off quite a powerful vibe.

To outsiders, it might even seem like they were off to brawl.

In the formation, Hou Mo helped adjust their positions: Sui Houyu stood in the middle, while Ran Shu was placed in the back row.

Their small group was composed of tennis players, making them distinct from other teams.

The track team had boys over 170 cm tall, but in the tennis group, Ran Shu had the honor to be one of the shortest.

It made Ran Shu feel particularly wronged.

Feeling aggrieved, Ran Shu sulked until Hou Mo warned him: “If you can’t keep up, just walk. Take your time,”

“Who do you think you’re underestimating? I can dance for a whole day.” Ran Shu said defiantly, puffing out his chest.

Hou Mo replied absentmindedly: “Impressive.”

After Hou Mo left, Ran Shu asked Deng Yiheng in the front row: “How far are we running?”

“It depends—different phases have different intensities. Lately, it’s just a 2,000-meter run in the morning. The track team runs 4,000 meters.”

“J-just?” Ran Shu stammered, feeling a bit panicked.

“Yeah. It only gets miserable when we have to run 5,000 meters uphill with weights. Sometimes it’s 3,000 meters or even frog jumps.”

Today’s routine was a 2,000-meter run, after which they could have breakfast.

However, for Ran Shu, who was participating in morning exercises for the first time, the run was exhausting.

Sui Houyu ran alongside him, giving him a push on the back whenever he started falling behind, helping him complete the course.

After they were dismissed, Ran Shu’s face was flushed red, and he grumbled at Sui Houyu.

While others were doing light stretches, the two of them headed straight for the cafeteria.

Hou Mo came over and demonstrated a few stretches for them: “Follow my lead; it’ll keep your muscles from stiffening. You can do these on your own before morning exercises, too.”

Sui Houyu followed along but noticed that Hou Mo kept staring at him.

“What are you looking at?” Sui Houyu asked unhappily.

“Your hair’s a mess.” Hou Mo reached out to press down Sui Houyu’s hair, but it sprang back up immediately.

Sui Houyu’s hair hadn’t dried properly when he came downstairs.

After the 2,000-meter run, it had fluffed up entirely. His thick hair had turned into a wild mop, resembling an unruly steel wool ball.

Hou Mo pulled him toward the cafeteria, telling Ran Shu to get food for Sui Houyu while he guided Sui Houyu to a seat.

He took out a bottle of mineral water, poured some into his palm, and pressed it onto Sui Houyu’s head, trying to flatten the rebellious strands.

Despite his best efforts, the hair tips stubbornly stuck back up as soon as he removed his hand.

He pressed down again, removed his hand, and the hair tip stubbornly curled up again.

“Is your hair naturally curly, or do you have a head full of springs?” Hou Mo asked as he tried to smooth it down with both hands.

Sui Houyu took out his phone, switched to the front camera, and looked at his hair. He ran his fingers through it and replied: “I can’t help it. Even after thinning it out, it grows back thick in two days.”

Ran Shu came over with a tray of food, setting it down on a table. He watched Hou Mo’s actions with a hint of jealousy. “I’ve never dared to touch Brother Yu’s hair like that…”

Hou Mo released Sui Houyu’s hair and it seemed to be much better. Then he asked with a chuckle: “What’s wrong?”

“If I touch him too much, he beats me up.” Ran Shu muttered as he placed both his and Sui Houyu’s breakfast in front of them.

Seeing Ran Shu’s jealous expression, Sui Houyu quickly clarified: “He’s just fixing my hair.”

“Oh…” Ran Shu lowered his head and began eating.

A moment later, Sang Xian arrived with Hou Mo’s breakfast and placed it in front of him.

It seemed they had a clear division of labor.

Sang Xian didn’t even need to be told to help Hou Mo get his food.

Ran Shu took a few bites and asked, “Do you student athletes eat as much as you want without paying?”

It was his first time experiencing the privilege of not needing to swipe a meal card—just wearing the tracksuit allowed them to get food from a designated window.

“Yeah!” Deng Yiheng answered as he sat down, gesturing toward Ran Shu and Sui Houyu. “Those without this uniform—like the first-years—don’t get it for free.”

“D-Don’t they protest?” Ran Shu asked.

“This policy came from Fenghua High. Now that we’ve merged with Fengyu, it’s gone, and the new students missed out. What can they do? You two are lucky to benefit from Coach Wang’s connections. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have this perk either.”

Hou Mo found his porridge too thick, so he diluted it with mineral water and stirred it. “At first, Fenghua used to recruit athletes aggressively, competing with Provincial Sports School and Dongti Affiliated High School. Especially tennis players. They offered tuition waivers, free dorms, uniforms, and meals to lure us in.”

Sui Houyu reached for the egg on his tray, but Hou Mo took it first, peeling it for him.

Sui Houyu didn’t refuse and asked: “Why were they so desperate to recruit?”

“Our school focuses on international programs, and overseas students are more recognized for tennis. So the school invested heavily in tennis to attract skilled players and boost its reputation, making future recruitment easier. Coach Wang was specially hired and given special treatment. Last year, our tennis team performed exceptionally, so they no longer needed these incentives. They canceled them after the merge.”

After peeling the egg, Hou Mo placed it in Sui Houyu’s tray and began peeling his own.

Sui Houyu glanced around before biting into the egg.

Their Fenghua campus only had first- and second-year students, and these black tracksuits were exclusive to second-year athletes, making them feel particularly special.

Athletes have a simple concept—those wearing the tracksuit are part of the team.

After finishing the egg, Sui Houyu picked up his bowl to sip some porridge, only to hear Ran Shu grumble bitterly: “Does food taste better when someone else peels it for you?”

Sui Houyu almost choked at Ran Shu’s resentful tone.

Without missing a beat, Ran Shu efficiently peeled his own egg and placed it in front of Sui Houyu. “Eat!”

Sui Houyu took a sip of porridge and obediently ate the egg.

After all, childhood friends shouldn’t be treated differently.

For once, Sui Houyu gave in.