HCILH Ch. 53

Chapter 53: The Second Round (Part 3)

Sui Houyu’s serve continued.

Although Gu Libo’s chin hurt a lot, it wasn’t enough to stop him from playing, unlike Hou Mo’s injury, which was more difficult to deal with.

He had come to terms with it, so he would no longer let Sui Houyu score on his serve. He remained vigilant and gave Tang Yao a signal.

Tang Yao’s breathing was a bit heavy, not because he was overly tired, but because he was holding back his temper.

People with explosive tempers like them were indeed easily distracted, which could affect their performance; their thinking might not keep up.

Hou Mo was positioned at the net, gesturing behind him with his backhand, giving a thumbs-up to Sui Houyu, indicating he should aim for Gu Libo’s backhand.

Sui Houyu remained silent, tossing the ball and swinging his racket, hitting it toward Gu Libo’s backhand. After Gu Libo returned the ball, Hou Mo was already prepared, quickly hitting the ball back in the opposite direction.

The ball landed in the valid area, and the opponent couldn’t return it. The score was 30:0.

Hou Mo glanced across the net, stood in position, and gave another thumbs-up from behind.

Sui Houyu continued to follow through.

A scene almost identical to the previous one occurred, and the opponent had no chance to counter.

Hou Mo stood ready again, unable to resist looking at Tang Yao: “Are you here to watch the match up close?”

Tang Yao instantly exploded.

While he was showing off to Gu Libo, it also made Tang Yao feel a sense of frustration, as if he was of no use. And indeed, in this match, he hadn’t been able to help much at all.

Several beautiful passing shots had gone right by him, making him feel like he was just a ghost, an obstacle in a cross-country race, or a prop for others to showcase their skills, rather than a player participating in the match.

Hou Mo’s teasing smile frustrated Tang Yao, making him grit his teeth.

For the third time, Hou Mo signaled with a thumbs-up.

Sui Houyu couldn’t help but want to laugh after seeing it. Thankfully, it was just a slight upturn of his lips, which he quickly reined in, hiding the smile in his serving motion.

Once again, he aimed for Gu Libo’s backhand, but this time Tang Yao intercepted and hit the ball back.

Hou Mo had anticipated this and made a fake move to turn, lifting his racket from below to hit a beautiful lob, showing off a stylish posture.

Gu Libo had to move forward to salvage the situation, lifting his racket to cushion the ball, which awkwardly arced over the net.

Just as the ball barely crossed the net, it was hit back by Hou Mo as if swatting a fly, leaving no chance for the opposing team to recover; they couldn’t even reach the spot where the ball landed.

The movement was so effortless, it looked like Hou Mo casually strolled to the net and made a light tap to score, emphasizing the opponent’s awkwardness even more.

After making the shot, Hou Mo walked past Sui Houyu without looking back, grinning and raising an eyebrow: “Is Dad handsome?”

“Get lost.” Sui Houyu cursed, walking side by side with Hou Mo towards the bench to rest.

With four consecutive points scored, they won a game.

This undoubtedly boosted their confidence and added pressure on the opposing team.

Gu Libo sat in his chair, still watching the other side, then muttered, “I thought they had a bad relationship. If that were the case, it could create rifts between them, with a lack of mutual trust reducing their coordination. Who would have thought they ended up turning it around? Their relationship is indeed peculiar; you could say they are kindred spirits.”

When it came to being annoying, these two were indeed cut from the same cloth.

Right now, Gu Libo was very troubled. He knew those two must have devised a strategy by now. It would be a bit challenging to utilize their coordination, as Sui Houyu and Hou Mo’s current strategy was to finish quickly, speeding up the pace to end the rallies before their lack of coordination could be evident.

If things got tough, Hou Mo would direct, and Sui Houyu unconditionally trusted Hou Mo, allowing them to resolve the issue effectively.

From the previous game, it was clear that Hou Mo’s hand wasn’t too much of a problem; after applying some spray, it probably didn’t hurt as much anymore.

So what now… should they work on the quality of Sui Houyu’s serves?

Sui Houyu had just scored four consecutive points; his serve quality was not low, and he hadn’t even needed to use his second serve.

Tang Yao was used to Gu Libo informing him of the tactics, but this time Gu Libo was unusually silent, making Tang Yao feel nervous.

Gu Libo only became like this when they encountered genuinely tricky opponents.

“How should we play next?” Tang Yao asked.

“Don’t let them provoke you; endure it. Our coordination and skill are on par with theirs, so we won’t have any problems.” 

“Okay.”

In the next game, Tang Yao served.

This game entered a regular state, with Hou Mo intercepting at the net while Sui Houyu defended from the sidelines.

Sui Houyu was like an anxious cat, jumping around; as soon as the ball came, his body was there.

It was as if someone was using a cat teaser; wherever the light shone, he would go, his body never lagging, often assuming bizarre positions.

Hou Mo gradually got used to not being able to see the play behind him but could hear the gasps of the audience.

He knew his partner was performing his cat-like style again.

Another ball came flying in, and Hou Mo sidestepped to dodge it.

Sui Houyu had already reacted but noticed Hou Mo’s movement from the corner of his eye and quickly sidestepped as well, avoiding the ball, only to see it fly out of bounds.

The prediction was correct.

It seemed that Sui Houyu and Hou Mo had found their rhythm; Hou Mo was indeed more adept with his right hand, and in the second set, they turned the tide, leveling the score against Tang Yao and Gu Libo.

During the two-minute break, Sui Houyu sat on the bench, putting on a jacket, leaning over to check Hou Mo’s hand: “Is it okay?”

“No problems.” Hou Mo raised his hand to show Sui Houyu, then smiled, “Did you see Gu Libo? His face is all crooked, and this side is clearly swollen.”

“I don’t want to look at him,” Sui Houyu rolled his eyes in disdain; it wasn’t easy for him to dislike someone so quickly.

Gu Libo excelled in this regard.

The temperature had finally risen; the morning chill was gradually melted away.

Sunlight broke through the gaps in the clouds, casting scattered patches of light that made the audience stands look like a shimmering sea.

Hou Mo raised his hand, spreading his fingers to block the sunlight, which filtered through his fingers, casting a net-like shadow on his cheek.

“The lighting on the court is favorable for us now.” Hou Mo said softly.

Sui Houyu followed his gaze to the sunlight and then to the court, asking: “Did you calculate this earlier?”

“I observed it this morning, thinking if we really needed to play the third set, it would likely be advantageous.” he replied.

“You can read the weather?” Sui Houyu raised an eyebrow.

“If I were in ancient times, I might have been a talented person.”

“No, you’re a weird species; they’d probably lock you up for viewing or just burn you for sacrifices to the heavens.” Sui Houyu retorted.

“…” Hou Mo gathered his flaxen hair with a defiant gesture; that was his last stubbornness.

The third set began.

Tang Yao had clearly been calmed down by Gu Libo; he no longer had the explosive demeanor from earlier and continued to play calmly.

Gu Libo also abandoned his usual tactics, focusing solely on the match.

Hou Mo and Sui Houyu also didn’t try anything else, remaining equally focused on the game.

If one were to evaluate their doubles skills, the Dongti Affiliated High School team was evidently superior, as they were an experienced doubles duo.

But Hou Mo had great tactics and solid individual skills.

Sui Houyu also had strong coordination skills, along with astonishing agility and reflexes, which led to a stalemate in the match.

The third set progressed to a tiebreak.

In tennis, when the score is tied at 6:6, a tiebreak is played where both sides take turns serving.

After a few points, they reached a critical moment.

Gu Libo lifted the ball and sent a topspin lob.

After Hou Mo returned it, he sent it back with backspin.

Tang Yao swung his racket broadly, adding spin and power to hit it back.

Hou Mo and Sui Houyu focused on the ball, quickly coming up with a response.

Hou Mo moved to the right at the net while Sui Houyu switched to the left front from the baseline.

Both moved simultaneously, and without Hou Mo directing, they left each other room to move as Sui Houyu swung his racket to return the ball.

This was undoubtedly a beautiful maneuver.

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo visibly improved in their coordination.

In just two matches, they had gleaned experience from the game, improving together while competing.

At the beginning, their chemistry was not strong enough to make a significant impact, but now, their chemistry has gradually improved, even rivaling that of the Dongti Affiliated High School team.

With a powerful spike, Sui Houyu hit the ball into the corner, scoring a point.

The match ended.

They won.

Just as Sui Houyu regained his balance, Hou Mo wrapped his arms around him and spun him around several times.

He was momentarily surprised but then smiled, not struggling at all. Being thin made it easy for Hou Mo to lift him effortlessly.

As Hou Mo hugged him from behind, Sui Houyu could turn 360 degrees to see everything around him. Friends and coaches in the audience flashed by quickly; despite the speed, he could see them cheering.

The sounds of applause and Hou Mo’s laughter filled his ears. His feet lifted off the ground, and after spinning a few times, they finally stopped.

Once Hou Mo released him, he turned around and raised his hand.

Hou Mo quickly reacted, giving him a high-five.

This time, it was likely the first time they both felt so joyful about winning a doubles match.

As the match concluded, Gu Libo and Tang Yao were still in a daze, glancing back at the time displayed on the monitor.

The match lasted two and a half hours, ending in three sets, and they lost.

Gu Libo was slightly out of breath when he saw Tang Yao walk over to him. Tang Yao still wore that disillusioned expression but offered some comforting words: “Don’t be discouraged; we played really well.”

“I didn’t perform well in this match.” Tang Yao murmured.

“I misjudged, plus they were deliberately suppressing me; it’s not your fault.”

Gu Libo turned around and saw the two players on the opposite side celebrating closely without any physical contact.

Hou Mo was playfully climbing onto Sui Houyu’s back, insisting that Sui Houyu carry him.

Sui Houyu refused, angrily throwing Hou Mo’s jacket at him, but as Hou Mo was zipping up his jacket, Sui Houyu voluntarily stepped in to help zip up Hou Mo’s sportswear, probably considering the injury on Hou Mo’s hand.

Hou Mo looked down, smiling at Sui Houyu and saying something that likely sounded flirtatious, earning another glare from Sui Houyu.

The match was over.

The audience gradually left the venue.

The coach of Dongti Affiliated High School and other team members came over to console them, but Gu Libo was somewhat distracted and didn’t pay attention.

Walking into the corridor, Gu Libo saw Deng Yiheng and Liu Mo chatting in the passage, seemingly waiting for Sui Houyu and the others.

He walked over but suddenly stopped, asking Deng Yiheng: “What’s the relationship between Hou Mo and that rookie?”

“Ah? Why do you care about that?” Deng Yiheng looked puzzled.

Moreover, Gu Libo and Tang Yao had always been proud and looked down on Deng Yiheng and Shen Junqing, yet today, they were surprisingly engaging in conversation.

But the question was quite rude.

Gu Libo replied: “Just curious.”

Deng Yiheng shrugged, responding coldly: “They’re childhood friends; their relationship is quite good.”

“Childhood friends? But the new player keeps glaring at Hou Mo,” Gu Libo found it hard to understand.

Deng Yiheng scratched his head.

He couldn’t just say that even though they often fought when they met, they still slept together every day, sharing the same bed, right?

After thinking for a while, Deng Yiheng could only say: “Brother Yu treats everyone like that, especially Senior Brother; after all, the Senior Brother can be annoying.”

As they spoke, Sui Houyu and Hou Mo came out, still playfully arguing.

Sui Houyu was dressed in sportswear and was about to head out, but Hou Mo wrapped his sports pants around Sui Houyu’s neck and gently said: “Here, wear this scarf to keep warm.”

Sui Houyu, angered, chased after Hou Mo to give him a beating, taking the scuffle from the court to the corridor.

Liu Mo watched for a while and asked Deng Yiheng: “Aren’t you going to break it up?”

Deng Yiheng shook his head, answering nonchalantly: “Sometimes, Senior Brother really deserves a beating.”

He was used to this scene.

Omake:

Deng Yiheng: A small scene, making a big fuss