HCILH Ch. 5

Chapter 5: Enmity

Despite the widespread complaints, the decision for the second years to join the military training was finally confirmed.

The Fenghua campus was large enough that the training could be held within the school grounds.

Before the training started, Hou Mo and the other tennis team members specially went to find their coach.

“I heard about this a while ago. Just go ahead and do the military training for now. In the evenings, I’ll pull you guys aside to practice with me. I’ve scheduled a match for you, so training can’t stop.”

All the players were downcast but agreed.

In fact, their initial hope was for the coach to help them skip the military training and continue practicing tennis. The main issue was that military training was too hot and exhausting.

At least tennis was a hobby—military training definitely wasn’t.

In the end, only Hou Mo and Sang Xian were left behind.

The coach looked at the two of them, with a tone that was a bit helpless and regretful: “Are you both really not planning to play doubles anymore?”

Hou Mo and Sang Xian didn’t look at each other and nodded silently.

Hou Mo and Sang Xian had clashing playstyles. They had partnered for doubles twice, and although their opponents were weaker, they lost both times.

Both were technically skilled players, but unfortunately, they were both too eager to show off individually, lacking the self-sacrifice needed for teamwork, which made them totally incompatible.

They were the only two players who could end up nearly fighting during a match with their partner.

When paired with other players, their partners often felt so suppressed that it left a psychological scar, and when those partners teamed up with others, they actually performed better.

Hou Mo sighed: “My teammates are too weak.”

Coach Wang, annoyed, glared at him: “You think you’re the best?”

“They can’t work with me—it clashes.”

Coach Wang felt it was a bit of a pity and thought for a moment before saying: “After the school merger, I’ll see how the students from Qingyu are. Maybe there’s someone who can pair with you for doubles.”

Hou Mo still had that infuriatingly smug attitude: “I think it’ll be really hard to find someone who matches my level. Besides, Qingyu doesn’t even have any sports-specialized students.”

“Get lost! Just leave now.”

Hou Mo made an “OK” gesture and walked away.

Sang Xian yawned and followed behind him.

After Hou Mo returned to the teaching building, he stopped in the corridor and said to Sang Xian: “You go back first; I’m going to call my mom.”

Sang Xian didn’t linger, nodded, and headed back to the classroom.

When the call connected, his mom’s familiar gentle voice came through: “Momo, class over?”

“Mm, but the school hasn’t officially started yet. Tomorrow we’re starting military training along with the first years, for five days.”

“Oh, do you need to pay any fees?”

“It’s fine. My bonus covers it. You don’t need to worry. I’m just letting you know I won’t be home this weekend because of the training. How’s your health lately?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

“If the work gets too hard, just quit. Don’t overdo it.” Hou Mo always spoke to his mom gently, with concern in his voice.

Hou’s mom had taken up a cleaning job at a local guesthouse complex, cleaning three houses every day.

If the guests didn’t leave too much of a mess, it wasn’t hard work. But occasionally, she’d encounter troublemakers who left the place in chaos, forcing her to work late into the evening.

“It’s not too tiring. One of the houses is rented long-term, and the tenant only comes back for two days on the weekend. He even asked me to help take care of his cat. He pays me 300 yuan every five days to feed the cat. He’s really kind.”

“That’s such a sucker deal. Paying three times the normal rent for a long-term stay?”

“Maybe he has his own reasons?”

“Don’t overwork yourself. I’ll help you clean this weekend.”

“Sounds good.”

After hanging up, Hou Mo sat by the window, spacing out for a while.

The sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a glow on Hou Mo’s figure. The tips of his flaxen hair looked even lighter in the sunlight, glowing with a golden hue. When he lifted his eyes, his long lashes seemed to catch the light.

After a long exhale, he stood up and headed back to class.

When he approached the classroom, he heard his friends swearing in the corridor. As he got closer, he saw that his friends had been locked outside and were cursing at those inside the classroom.

The classroom door had a vertical glass panel, so Hou Mo peeked through and saw Ran Shu inside, taunting them, which made the group of athletes even more furious.

Hou Mo walked up and asked, “What happened?”

Everyone hesitated to speak.

Hou Mo turned to look at Sang Xian, who was sitting on the windowsill in the corridor and shrugged. It was already like this when he returned.

Hou Mo walked over and twisted the door handle, calling inside: “Open the door.”

When Ran Shu saw Hou Mo, he pulled Sui Houyu over.

Sui Houyu stood at the door and said, “Press the F key to open the door.”

Hou Mo hissed and turned back, asking, “What’s going on?”

The trouble started with Deng Yiheng flirting.

He had a crush on Su Anyi, who was close to Sui Houyu, and wanted her WeChat ID, but she kept ignoring him.

Today, after Su Anyi returned from the bathroom, Deng Yiheng suddenly blocked her way and wouldn’t let her into the classroom unless she gave him her WeChat.

Sui Houyu saw what happened and directly kicked Deng Yiheng aside.

Most of the athletes were brainless beings, so when they saw Deng Yiheng getting kicked, they rushed out, looking ready to brawl with Sui Houyu.

But Sui Houyu just dragged Su Anyi into the classroom and locked the door, leaving the group of athletes locked outside.

After hearing the story, Hou Mo pointed at Deng Yiheng, exasperated: “Deng Yiheng, how many times have you caused trouble with him because of girls?”

Deng Yiheng, feeling wronged, said: “I’m already seventeen. If I don’t start dating soon, it’ll be too late!”

Others who were unaware asked: “There’s a history?”

Fearing his past beatings would be exposed, Deng Yiheng quickly shook his head at Hou Mo, who let it slide.

Hou Mo adjusted his expression, smiled, and said to Sui Houyu, “Sorry, it’s my friend’s fault. I apologize. Can we come in now?”

Sui Houyu shook his head: “No.”

Hou Mo looked at Sui Houyu’s face. It was so beautiful that it was considered a disaster for the country and the people. Huo Mo initially felt angry, but the feeling disappeared in an instant.

“Little Yu Yu, my friend messed up. Come on, apologize.” Hou Mo said as he pushed Deng Yiheng forward to apologize.

Hearing “Little Yu Yu,” Sui Houyu nearly exploded, almost ready to charge out and punch someone.

Deng Yiheng, knowing how to listen to Hou Mo, quickly apologized.

Sui Houyu glanced at Su Anyi, and seeing that she didn’t say anything and walked back to her seat, he knew she wasn’t bothered anymore.

So, Sui Houyu walked over and unlocked the door.

As Hou Mo walked into the classroom, he whispered to Sui Houyu, “I thought you were going to fight.”

“I just returned the favor in kind.”

“Mm, still very principled.”

“Of course.”

Hou Mo sat back at his seat and noticed a green notification light flashing on his phone. He opened it to see a WeChat message.

Uncle Sang: Little Monkey, I heard you guys are doing military training? Did you have to order extra uniforms? Godfather has just transferred 50,000 yuan to you. Take it, and don’t try to return it!”

Hou Mo glanced at the message and then looked over at Sang Xian, who acted completely oblivious.

He really shouldn’t have mentioned that he called his mom to Sang Xian…

Whenever Hou Mo bought water, others would get Baishishan, but he’d grab Kangshifu, and Uncle Sang would immediately send him money.

If Hou Mo didn’t want to go swimming and used the excuse of not having swim trunks, Uncle Sang would send him money.

Any excuse would result in Uncle Sang sending money.

Money. Money. I’ll take the money and beat you to death!

Financial Blessings^[1]: No need. I have prize money from matches.

Uncle Sang: Your prize money isn’t even enough to buy a pair of shoes.

Financial Blessings: The team has sponsors. My clothes and shoes are all sponsored.

Uncle Sang: Just take it!

Financial Blessings: Really, no need.

After sending that last message, Hou Mo saw a red exclamation mark pop up, indicating that he had been deleted as a friend by the other party.

Hou Mo was exasperated. This guy would go to any lengths to make him accept the money.

But since Uncle Sang had transferred the money via bank card, Hou Mo could just transfer it back later. Being deleted on WeChat didn’t really matter. So, he wasn’t too concerned and texted Uncle Sang’s phone number: “Okay, I’ll keep the money for emergencies.”

A moment later, Uncle Sang re-added him on WeChat and replied: “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Financial Blessings: [smiling emoji]

*

On the first day of school, the morning was spent on self-introductions, distributing books, and handing out uniforms.

In the afternoon, there would be a big cleanup since the school is large, and it’s impossible to finish in a short time. After that, school would be dismissed, and military training would start the next day.

During the lunch break, Sui Houyu and his group didn’t go to the cafeteria. Ran Shu was looking at his phone, trying to figure out which takeout would be good: “Just ordered from a place; it’s like gambling.”

After saying this, he turned to the group of athletes nearby, wanting to speak but stopping.

Sui Houyu understood what Ran Shu meant, but he didn’t have a good impression of those athletes, so he said: “Just go with your style.”

“Alright.”

In their class, the food for the athletes is specially provided and delivered directly to the classroom, with each person getting a boxed meal.

Only at school can they eat steak with confidence, as the meat is strictly selected.

When it was time to eat, a few athletes from other classes would also gather in Class Seventeen, making the classroom noisy.

After a while, someone came over to deliver takeout to Ran Shu and his friends, with students from other classes helping to carry it, and they ended up with a pile of food just for the three of them.

Ran Shu’s style is to order from all the restaurants if he can’t decide which one is good, and then he saves the ones he likes.

At least this way, they wouldn’t go hungry or have to endure bad food.

He is foolish and willful because he has a lot of money.

The athletes nearby saw the table filled with takeout and turned to look.

“Rich guy…”

“Can you finish all this?”

Knowing Sui Houyu’s appetite and having seen him eat a lot in person, Deng Yiheng said: “Yes, he can.”

Everyone looked at Deng Yiheng in surprise, wondering how he knew that.

Deng Yiheng glanced at their takeout again and suddenly seemed to want to say something: “Uh…”

Hou Mo looked over and immediately warned him: “Shut up.”

Deng Yiheng promptly closed his mouth and obediently continued eating.

After they finished eating, while Sui Houyu was cleaning up the meal boxes on the table, Hou Mo happened to be throwing away trash and casually said, “Food waste should be taken to the recycling station on the first floor. Do you know how to sort trash?”

Sui Houyu glanced at Hou Mo indifferently and responded coldly, “Oh.”

Hou Mo suddenly grinned mischievously, showing a hint of playfulness: “Actually, ordering takeout like this does help you figure out which place is good, but… you won’t know which restaurant’s food will give you diarrhea. There are a lot of small workshops nearby, so be careful.”

Sui Houyu suddenly paused his movements.

He noticed that while Deng Yiheng was hesitating to speak, Hou Mo was stopping him. At that moment, Sui Houyu didn’t quite understand, but now he realized that Hou Mo wanted to wait until they finished eating to say this.

He looked at Hou Mo, and his expression gradually turned sour.

If Hou Mo had said nothing, Sui Houyu might not have been angry, since no one was obliged to tell him.

However, being so gleeful and intentionally trying to provoke them afterwards was annoying.

Ran Shu directly cursed: “Why is this guy so annoying?”

Hou Mo felt innocent: “How am I annoying? You guys didn’t ask!”

As Sui Houyu walked out with the trash bag, he bumped into Hou Mo on purpose as he passed. Hou Mo didn’t mind, rubbed his shoulder, and said: “The infirmary is in Building 6. Remember, no one will be there after five.”

Sui Houyu shot Hou Mo one last glare before leaving the classroom.

After he left, Sui Houyu vaguely heard a burst of laughter from the classroom, coming from that group of athletes.