HCILH Ch. 49

Chapter 49: Massage

In the serving game, apart from the two balls that Ran Shu received, Sang Xian scored all the points.

Sang Xian had a significant advantage during the serving game; he was the type of player who didn’t overthink his shots. He could easily win with his power, spin, and speed.

His serve usually exceeded 200 kilometers per hour, reaching a level typical of professional players, embodying the characteristics of a powerful striker.

Sang Xian was also calm and composed; even in such a passive game, he could quickly adjust his mindset and face it with coolness.

He never expected Ran Shu to score; as long as Ran Shu didn’t mess things up, that would be good enough.

So from the start, he was mentally prepared for a one-on-two situation.

The two students on the opposite side used an I-formation.

In this formation, the server stands close to the center, and after the serve, the two students would move left and right according to their pre-arranged positions, preparing to intercept at the net.

However, when the ball came back to them, it was already spinning, making it difficult to control. Sometimes, it even slipped from their hands.

Sang Xian’s level exceeded their understanding.

Once the ball passed through Sang Xian’s hands, it became challenging to control, causing both students to feel flustered.

After a while, all three players on the court appeared tense, with only Sang Xian remaining calm.

Unexpectedly, Ran Shu stood there like a statue and managed to win.

After watching, Sui Houyu looked at Hou Mo and asked: “Can they win?”

“Sang Xian is exhausting a lot of energy. After all, it’s one against two, constantly moving left and right, and the court is larger. Being a power player, each shot takes a lot of effort. Plus, doubles have a fast pace, and the speed of the ball is quick. Even if the opponents are inexperienced, it’s still somewhat taxing.”

The width of a singles court is 8.23 meters, suitable for one player. The doubles court, designed to accommodate two players, is 10.97 meters wide.

Ran Shu’s unreliability forced Sang Xian to cover the entire court, exhausting him more than usual.

On the court.

Ran Shu sat on the bench, taking a short break. After sipping some water, he mumbled: “I-I feel like I’m in detention; it’s so hot. This autumn is such a letdown; why isn’t there any wind?”

“Mm.” Sang Xian was still adjusting his state, speaking very little.

“My shoulders are a bit sore. Standing in one position the whole time is exhausting, you know?” Ran Shu continued to chat, hoping to ease his nervousness.

Sang Xian didn’t respond but raised his hand to help Ran Shu stretch his shoulders.

Sang Xian’s hands were large, making Ran Shu seem quite slender by comparison.

With his strength, Sang Xian helped Ran Shu rotate a few times, and Ran Shu could hear his shoulder joints popping.

When they returned to the court, Ran Shu remained in a static position, but he noticed the opponents were attacking him more fiercely, likely having strategized during his break.

Ran Shu internally cursed and finally returned the ball.

Holding the racket with both hands compensated for his lack of strength; however, Ran Shu’s accuracy was still off, and he hit the ball into an invalid area.

Point lost.

But Ran Shu was excited and told Sang Xian: “T-that last ball? Just being able to hit it was awesome!”

Sang Xian hadn’t expected Ran Shu to have the energy to chat and replied: “Oh, awesome.”

“Y-You’re so boring,” Ran Shu complained, scanning the court for Sui Houyu. He saw Sui Houyu sitting with Su Anyi and Coach Wang and gave them a thumbs-up.

In the stands, Coach Wang watched Ran Shu with a helpless expression and said to the other team members: “Although Ran Shu’s skills aren’t great, you can learn from his attitude.”

Su Anyi burst into laughter.

Hou Mo muttered: “He’s like a cheerful little idiot.”

Sui Houyu defended him earnestly, saying: “He’s already trying hard; he’s even holding the racket with both hands.”

Hou Mo clapped in agreement: “So impressive!”

Sui Houyu: “…”

In a situation where their stamina wasn’t great, the tiebreaker was undoubtedly tough.

Sang Xian rested for a moment, leaning on his legs at the sideline to catch his breath.

He saw Ran Shu approaching without grabbing a towel, pulling his sports shirt to wipe Sang Xian’s sweat: “W-Why do you sweat so easily?”

Sang Xian looked up at Ran Shu, then down at his shirt, which was clearly damp in one area.

He remembered that Ran Shu was usually quite delicate, never expecting him to wipe sweat for him one day.

“Thank you.” Sang Xian said softly.

“I always thought your bubble voice was intentional; I didn’t realize it was natural? There aren’t many people who speak so oily by nature. You’re like a fried dough cake.” Ran Shu mumbled as he returned to his corner.

Sang Xian: “…”

In the most critical point, the opponents were evidently being more cautious, increasing their shot count.

For them, Sang Xian’s shots were heavy, and hitting them was difficult, but they didn’t want to lose, so they had to endure.

They knew if they won this set, Sang Xian’s stamina would be depleted, giving them a chance to win the next one!

On the previous point, they had attacked the corner, but Sang Xian hit it back.

Sang Xian predicted they would attack Ran Shu with their next shot and planned to move back, but when he reached out with his racket, he couldn’t hit the ball.

They lost.

Sang Xian felt a chill in his heart.

Then he saw the ball flying back behind him, landing just inside the sideline before flying out.

The opponents probably didn’t expect that ball to come back, or they thought it would be out of play, so they didn’t react.

Sang Xian barely steadied himself and turned to look at Ran Shu, who frowned and said: “Is this set over? When will it end? Why isn’t it finished?”

It turned out Ran Shu hadn’t even understood the rules; he just felt this set was taking too long to finish.

When Sang Xian was on the court, he followed; if Sang Xian didn’t go off, neither would he.

Turning back, he saw the referee confirming the call and ultimately declaring Sang Xian and Ran Shu the winners.

Two sets won in a row.

Ran Shu dumbly asked: “Did we win?”

Sang Xian was also in disbelief: “Yeah.”

“Was that last ball the final point?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that-is that the winning point? Am I the one who made the game-winning shot?!”

“Yeah.”

Ran Shu was thrilled.

He was practically floating.

He walked in front of Sang Xian and said: “If it weren’t for me, would we have lost? Don’t thank me too much; I’m just done with my reading.”

After saying that, he was so excited that he started dancing awkwardly in front of Sang Xian, even without any music.

He danced quite well, obviously having practiced professionally, with each movement showcasing his solid foundation.

Sang Xian watched him for a while before breaking into a smile. He then walked over to his chair, picked up his water bottle, and was about to drink when Ran Shu bounced over and asked, “Where are we going for the awards?”

Sang Xian almost choked and replied, “We can only consider ourselves… finalists.”

“Tsk, I thought we were getting awards. Do you think we might run into Brother Yu and the others?”

“Let’s wait for the second-round draw this afternoon.”

“Oh.”

After the match, Ran Shu and Sang Xian went for a urine test. Seeing their teammates coming over, Ran Shu jumped up and waved, shouting, “Brother Yu! Brother Yu! Aunt Su! Did you see my last shot?”

Su Anyi laughed the entire time, like a pleased mother.

Sui Houyu seemed a bit helpless but still encouraged him, saying, “That last shot was pretty good.”

Ran Shu was so excited that he danced another segment in front of them, insisting on dragging Sui Houyu along until he got kicked by Sui Houyu and behaved himself.

*

At 3:30 in the afternoon, the draw for the second round of men’s doubles took place.

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo’s next opponents were also acquaintances, Tang Yao and Gu Libo, scheduled for tomorrow morning’s first match. It really was a bad fateful connection.

As for Sang Xian and Ran Shu’s opponents, the whole team had never heard of their high school and eventually found out about it in the group chat.

Deng Yiheng, holding his phone, said: “They say it’s a rookie team, formed last year, and this is their first time competing. In their last match, they faced another rookie and won pretty narrowly.”

Ran Shu turned to Sang Xian and asked: “C-Can you still hold on?”

“I’ll recover by tomorrow.”

“Then good, maybe we can win another match.”

Deng Yiheng couldn’t help but sigh while holding his phone: “You guys have incredible luck in this draw!”

Sui Houyu suddenly smiled and said: “Ran Shu used to have good luck. If he filled out the multiple-choice questions seriously, he could pass just by guessing, and it’s not just once.”

Deng Yiheng asked Ran Shu: “How did you do that?”

Ran Shu answered with a grin, “I-I actually don’t understand the questions. I just think that one looks like the answer.”

Hou Mo was more concerned about the next match and asked Deng Yiheng: “What type are Tang Yao and Gu Libo?”

Deng Yiheng cleared his throat and replied: “They’re a combo type, a mix of powerful shots and precise placements. Tang Yao has stamina comparable to Sang Xian, but lacks technique. Gu Libo doesn’t have great endurance, but his control is excellent; he can hit the ball wherever he wants.”

Ran Shu interjected, “If he doesn’t have good stamina, how can they form a combo? He probably can’t even return his teammate’s shots, right?”

He had just finished a match and was still feeling jittery.

Deng Yiheng wanted to laugh but held it in, answering seriously: “When I say ‘not good stamina,’ I mean compared to average players, not like you. In singles, the rally count is high, and he can’t keep up, but in doubles, he has teammates to help share the load, which eases things a bit.”

Ran Shu fell silent.

Hou Mo knew that Deng Yiheng and Shen Junqing had faced them before and had never won.

The teammates seemed to think that Hou Mo and Sui Houyu had only recently teamed up, and since Sui Houyu was still a novice, the next match would be tough to win.

However, Hou Mo was still brainstorming strategies. In his view, the only team that could possibly challenge them was the combo they faced during the first draw.

While he was deep in thought, his phone buzzed with a message from Liu Mo.

Black Tibetan Mastiff: “10 PM tonight, see you at the gym.”

The choice of time and location was quite clever.

Recently, there had been men’s matches, and after the games, players would practice on the court to get familiar with the venue.

By ten PM, most players would have left, as they needed to conserve energy during the tournament. Fewer people in the venue meant fewer onlookers for any shenanigans.

Hou Mo quickly replied: “Okay.”

After exiting, Hou Mo opened the tennis group chat and sent out three identical messages.

Fenghua-Hou Mo: “Tonight at 10 PM, Black Tibetan Mastiff will streak naked; everyone is welcome to come and watch. @All members”

Provincial Sports-Liu Mo: “You b*tch! You’re such a dog!”

Fenghua-Shen Junqing: “Got it!”

Fengyu-Deng Yiheng: “Got it!”

Provincial Sports-A: “Although it’s a bit underhanded, I really want to go!”

Dongti Affiliated High School-B: “We have to go!”

Provincial Sports-Liu Mo: “Ladies, don’t come; I’m on my last shred of dignity!”

City Sports-C: “Fenghua, what’s wrong with you guys? Your school names aren’t even the same.”

Fenghua-Hou Mo: “Oh, didn’t the schools merge and change their names? I don’t chat much, so I haven’t updated it.”

Provincial Sports-Yang Hong: “Bring your partner into the group.”

Provincial Sports-Hu Qingxu: “And the sculpture next to Sang Xian can come in too; he dances pretty well.”

City Sports-D: “Sculpture, hahaha.”

Dongti Affiliated High School-Lu Yanxin: “I want to see…Captain Liu’s physique must be great, right?”

Provincial Sports-Liu Mo: “Please don’t come.”

Provincial Sports-Yang Hong: “No problem, Captain; I’ll clear the area, get rid of the girls.”

Dongti Affiliated High School-Lu Yanxin: “From this moment on, I’m not just not a girl; I’m not even human.”

Fengyu-Deng Yiheng: “You’re really pushing it.”

Dongti Affiliated High School-Lu Yanxin: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I really don’t want to miss this! Forget it, I won’t watch. I’ll find your team assistant; that girl is awesome at cursing; I really like her.”

As soon as she said that, the chat exploded, asking Fengyu High School to bring the assistant into the group.

Just one day into the competition, the assistant from Fengyu High School and Hou Mo’s partner became famous, one for their looks and the other for their skills.

Sui Houyu won against Yang Hong and Hu Qingxu.

Su Anyi single-handedly took on three guys, making the opponents shout for mercy.

Hou Mo added Sui Houyu to the group.

Fenghua-Hou Mo: “@Roronoa, my partner.”

Sui Houyu looked down to change his nickname and saw the screen filled with people chatting about nonesense topics; it didn’t seem normal at all.

Sui Houyu raised his head and asked Hou Mo, “What kind of group is this? It doesn’t look like a serious one.”

“It’s the tennis group chat; it’s the only one I’m in, and there are a lot of people here. Deng Yiheng has many groups too, like tennis dating groups and tennis technique groups. Interested?”

Sui Houyu glanced at the sudden friend requests popping up and shook his head: “Not interested.”

“Then you can mute this group; no need to pay attention to them. I’ll check if the team doctor is available.”

After their matches, they would have massages for relaxation, and the team doctor would help them.

However, Sang Xian seemed exhausted and had already gone to find the team doctor, so they would probably have to wait a while.

Hou Mo looked at Sui Houyu again and then pulled him up, saying, “Let’s head back to the hotel first.”

Sui Houyu followed Hou Mo out of the gym, and on the way, Hou Mo moved his shoulders and said, “I think I should massage you; if it’s your first time with the team doctor, you might just jump up and hit him. I can hold back a bit.”

“Can you even do that?”

“Being sick for a long time makes one an expert, you know? After being massaged for so long, I’ve picked up some skills. I’ve massaged teammates before, so don’t worry. After we get back, you should take a cold shower, and I’ll ask the team doctor for some massage cream.”

“Okay.”

Once they entered the room, Hou Mo insisted on following Sui Houyu into the bathroom. After turning on the water, he adjusted the temperature for Sui Houyu, saying, “This temperature is fine. Don’t be foolish and use ice-cold water; you might catch a cold.”

“Got it.” Sui Houyu lazily replied as he tugged at the hem of his shirt and took off his outer clothes.

Hou Mo turned his head and glanced at Sui Houyu several times before stepping out of the bathroom. This guy was so straightforward; he didn’t even shy away while undressing. The teammates on their team usually avoided him, except for Sui Houyu and Ran Shu.

As he walked toward the team doctor’s room, he suddenly came to his senses—he was going to massage Sui Houyu?

He took the initiative?

Why was he taking on this job?

With Sui Houyu’s slim waist and those long legs, what if he pressed too hard?! How would he explain that?

Would he get beaten up?

He started regretting not bringing more pairs of jeans; his sweatpants were way too obvious…

Omake:

Hou Mo opened Baidu to search for how to be a gentleman.

Baidu said: Cut it off.