HCILH Ch. 57

Chapter 57: Finals (Part 1)

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo’s matches had gone smoothly, and they fought their way to the finals. Their opponents in the finals were Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui from Dongti Affiliated High School’s team.

The match was scheduled for the second game on the morning of November 7.

Hou Mo’s men’s singles final would take place in the afternoon on the same day, where he would face Liu Mo from the provincial team.

Over the past few days, Hou Mo had grown accustomed to playing two matches a day, but it was starting to take a toll on him.

In the early days, he could still joke around with Sui Houyu, but by the 5th, his mood had dipped, and he was sleeping noticeably more.

Sui Houyu knew that Hou Mo had always been fond of sleeping, and it was normal for him to rest at this time, so he usually didn’t disturb him.

*

The night of November 6.

When Hou Mo returned to the room, he went straight to bed. Upon waking up, he noticed Sui Houyu wasn’t beside him. The room was pitch-black and eerily silent.

He collected himself for a moment, turned on the bedside lamp, and looked around but didn’t see Sui Houyu anywhere.

He got up, walked to the bathroom door, and peered through the crack. No light.

Sui Houyu always turned on the light when using the bathroom, and he’d usually play on his phone—there’d at least be some glow.

Just as Hou Mo was feeling puzzled, he heard Sui Houyu’s voice outside the door. He opened the door and saw a familiar scene.

The last time he saw Sui Houyu squatting outside a door, it was to secretly eat snacks outside the dorm room.

This time, Sui Houyu was crouched down, sending voice messages.

“What are you doing here?” Hou Mo asked, holding the door with confusion.

“Didn’t want to wake you up.”

“You wouldn’t have.”

Sui Houyu stood and followed Hou Mo back into the room, still sending voice messages. It seemed he was arranging a party with Su Anyi.

From what Hou Mo overheard, they were planning a surprise birthday party for Ran Shu.

Hou Mo sat on the bed and waited for Sui Houyu to put down his phone before asking: “Ran Shu’s birthday?”

“Yeah, November 7—the day of our finals.”

Hou Mo glanced at the time on his phone: “Oh, just two hours left. Planning to wish him a happy birthday at midnight?”

“Nope. We’ll pretend we forgot and give him a surprise when we get back to the city. Just act like you don’t know, okay?”

“Cliché.” Hou Mo chuckled. “So, is this one of those ambushes with a big group, cake, gifts, and maybe even fireworks?”

After a brief pause, Sui Houyu admitted, “Not the kind that goes into the sky—just sparklers.”

“Well, Ran Shu will probably love it. He eats that kind of thing up.”

Sui Houyu hesitated, then asked: “And you? You don’t like it?”

“No. I don’t even like celebrating my own birthday.” Hou Mo said and walked into the bathroom.

Watching Hou Mo leave, Sui Houyu felt a bit sad.

The day before Hou Mo’s birthday was the anniversary of his father’s death, so it wasn’t surprising that Hou Mo avoided birthday celebrations.

He looked at the message from Su Anyi and typed a reply: “You handle the arrangements. Hou Mo woke up, and we’re discussing strategy.”

Su Anyi: “Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

When Hou Mo came out of the bathroom, he grabbed a half-open water bottle, twisted off the cap, and took a sip while glancing at Sui Houyu.

Sui Houyu looked back at him, and they stared at each other silently for a moment.

Hou Mo seemed to understand, put down the water bottle, and grabbed a notebook. He started sketching out their game plan.

“Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui usually use two formations: the One-Up, One-Back formation and double baselines. If they go with the One-Up, One-Back formation, we’ll switch to double baselines. If they stick to double baselines, we’ll use the I-formation.” Hou Mo explained to Sui Houyu while drawing formation diagrams.

“Got it.”

“You’ll have to follow my lead with the I-formation—it requires tight coordination.”

“Okay.”

Sui Houyu had become so familiar with Hou Mo that even Hou Mo’s eccentric diagrams made sense to him now.

But sometimes, Sui Houyu had to lean in closer to make out the details, otherwise he couldn’t tell the specifics.

Noticing that Hou Mo had suddenly fallen silent, Sui Houyu looked up at him. Since he had just leaned in, the two were now very close. When he raised his head, he found Hou Mo’s face right in front of him.

After finishing the formation diagram, Hou Mo stared at it in silence, unable to say anything beyond what he had already explained.

These past few days, he had been thinking hard but still hadn’t figured out a strategy to counter their opponents.

As they remained silent, Sui Houyu suddenly looked up, meeting Hou Mo’s gaze. They were so close that their breaths intertwined.

Hou Mo’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Sui Houyu instinctively leaned back, as if pulled by an invisible force, awkwardly tilting until he bumped into the back of the chair.

Hou Mo glanced at him but said nothing.

Sui Houyu quickly grabbed the water and took a sip. “Why’d you stop talking?”

“I haven’t figured out a strategy yet.”

They both fell silent again.

After a long silence, Sui Houyu finally spoke: “When the soldiers come, we fight them; when the water rises, we build a dam. It’ll be fine.”

Hou Mo gave a somewhat forced smile. “Yeah, our biggest challenge as a pair is having too many tactics, which can cause confusion. But since we haven’t accumulated too many yet, we won’t get overwhelmed. Staying optimistic is good, too.”

“What are we most worried about?”

“Their aggressive double-backline attack. And if they excel at serving and rushing the net, we might end up on the defensive.”

Hou Mo tore up the previous diagram and drew a new one. “Take a look at this. You’re a bit weak in switching positions after serving. If you follow this path, it’ll help cover that gap.”

Since they couldn’t devise a flawless strategy, Hou Mo decided to focus on overcoming their own weaknesses and improving their skills.

If the two of them became strong enough, many of their challenges would naturally resolve themselves.

*

While warming up in the morning, Hou Mo and Sui Houyu ran into Lu Yanxin, who was preparing for his match.

Lu Yanxin had recently transitioned to tennis and made it to the provincial tournament, though now he was competing for third place.

Suddenly, Hou Mo called out to her, “Good luck, daughter-in-law!”

Lu Yanxin, who was about to wave at Huo Mo and Sui Houyu, was confused by being called daughter-in-law: “Daughter-in-law? Who’s your son?”

“You can pick anyone from our team. Whoever catches your eye will be the one,” Hou Mo replied shamelessly.

Lu Yanxin burst out laughing. “How about your partner?”

Without hesitation, Hou Mo refused: “Nope, he’s my ancestor.”

Lu Yanxin waved his racket in mock protest: “I’m about to play a match, and here you are flaunting your relationship! Having a partner makes you so smug!”

With that, he strode off.

Not long after, Ran Shu and Su Anyi came over to find them. Ran Shu bounced over to Sui Houyu, grinning but saying nothing.

Sui Houyu paused his warm-up and asked, “Had breakfast yet?”

“On my way to eat now.”

“Oh. Eat plenty.” After replying, Sui Houyu resumed warming up.

Ran Shu’s smile slowly faded, and he nodded, a bit dejected, before heading to the cafeteria with Su Anyi.

Watching them leave, Hou Mo commented, “Ran Shu really wears his heart on his sleeve.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty straightforward.”

Once they were ready, Hou Mo and Sui Houyu headed to the players’ lounge, where they ran into Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui.

Jiang Wei greeted Hou Mo: “Take care of me later.”

Hou Mo nodded: “Sure.”

Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui had trained at a semi-professional sports school and had also spent some time with the provincial team.

The provincial team’s coach, a former national player, had developed an effective training system, giving Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui a more advanced and structured preparation than Hou Mo and Sui Houyu.

When it was time to play, the four of them stood together, and Sui Houyu suddenly noticed he was the shortest among them.

In everyday life, Hou Mo’s 188 cm height was considered ideal, and Sui Houyu’s 183 cm wasn’t short either.

However, their opponents were towering. Jiang Wei stood at 192 cm, and Lu Qinghui at 190 cm—both even taller than Hou Mo.

Despite their height, they didn’t appear bulky.

Tennis players tend to have lean, well-proportioned physiques, with muscles that are defined but not overly bulky—athletic and balanced.

A pair like Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui had a clear height advantage in doubles matches.

They were tall, but not excessively so.

Their technical skills were excellent.

No wonder everyone favored them to win.

When the match began, they flipped a coin to decide sides and who would serve first.

This time, Hou Mo chose to serve first.

As they prepared for the team photo, Lu Qinghui suddenly chuckled and whispered to Jiang Wei: “Look at the words on the back of their shirts.”

Jiang Wei peeked and then laughed: “Let’s get that printed next time.”

“What, ‘My partner is a blockhead’?”

“Shush.” Jiang Wei rolled his eyes. “Focus and take this seriously.”

“Oh…” Lu Qinghui pouted, his 190 cm frame somehow managing to look pitiful in front of the camera, his large eyes brimming with innocence.

In the first game, Sui Houyu served.

He hit the ball with immense power and speed, perhaps wanting to make a strong first impression. The serve was explosive.

Lu Qinghui made a beautiful volley.

Hou Mo quickly returned the shot.

From the baseline, Jiang Wei executed a backhand slice, adding backspin to the ball. It skimmed just over the net.

Sui Houyu rushed forward to intercept, but the ball slipped beneath his racket. He could only watch as it hit the ground and failed to bounce back up.

A backspin shot.

Also known as a “drop shot.” 

Generally speaking, this type of shot is rarely used because it’s relatively slow, making it easy for opponents to predict and intercept where the ball would land.

Sui Houyu had anticipated the shot correctly and positioned himself well.

But the ball was too low, making it impossible to return at all.

Sui Houyu was already very close to the net, but if he swung any closer, he would’ve easily hit the net.

A ball that made Sui Houyu completely helpless.

They lost the first point just like that.

When Sui Houyu served again, he glanced at their opponents before sending the ball across.

After a few exchanges, he noticed Jiang Wei preparing to hit the ball with backspin again.

This time, Sui Houyu glanced at the net and, moving swiftly, flicked his racket upward, lifting the ball back over the net. His movement was so quick that even the net swayed slightly from the breeze of his swing.

Lu Qinghui was already waiting and immediately returned the shot, but Sui Houyu smashed it back with brute force. The ball hit the ground with a heavy thud and bounced off fiercely.

Lu Qinghui turned to watch the ball and thought to himself that it seemed almost aggressive, like an angry grasshopper hopping in frustration.

He then glanced at Sui Houyu and couldn’t help but laughL “The little guy has quite a temper, huh?”

Sui Houyu exclaimed in surprise: “Little guy?!”

“What, would you prefer ‘shorty’? Or ‘cutie’?” Lu Qinghui raised his eyebrow and teased with a smirk.

Hou Mo, who had been adjusting his position, quickly stepped in: “Hey! No flirting with my partner.”

“I wasn’t…” Lu Qinghui replied, still smiling warmly, his demeanor easygoing and cheerful.

In the stands, Deng Yiheng nervously jiggled his leg and muttered under his breath: “What are we gonna do? Brother Yu must be under so much pressure.”

To Deng Yiheng, Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui were like gods—opponents far beyond his reach.

But sitting beside him, Ran Shu remained unfazed, slouching casually as he commented: “N-Nah, Brother Yu’s no ordinary person.”

Deng Yiheng argued: “I know Brother Yu is amazing, but it’s still his first tournament!” 

Ran Shu pointed at Sui Houyu on the court and said: “L-Look at Brother Yu’s eyes. Can you see it?”

With that, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a pair of binoculars, handing them to Deng Yiheng.

Clearly, Ran Shu had come prepared—bringing binoculars.

Ran Shu went all out just to watch Sui Houyu’s match.

Deng Yiheng obediently raised the binoculars to observe Sui Houyu’s expression.

Back on the court, Sui Houyu returned to his serving position.

He needed to hold serve now, and the pressure was immense for anyone.

After only a month of training, he was already competing at the provincial level and had made it to the finals. Their opponents were ranked second nationally, narrowly missing first place.

The pressure was overwhelming.

But Sui Houyu was no ordinary person. He never felt nervous. Instead, he grinned.

It was a sly, mischievous grin, with a hint of arrogance and mischief, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

The stronger his opponent, the more exhilarated he felt.