HCILH Ch. 59

Chapter 59: Finals (Part 3)

The score was tied at 4:4.

In men’s doubles matches, only at this stage do the players truly give it their all, leaving no room for hesitation.

This is often the point where the pressure on all four players becomes the most intense.

The game had reached a deadlock by now, but those who understood the dynamics could see that the Dongti Affiliated High School team had secured two break points. Their ability to hold serve was remarkable—flawless, almost impenetrable.

Jiang Wei’s serves were tight and steady, leaving no room for error. Hou Mo and Sui Houyu had tried multiple strategies but hadn’t found any way to break through.

It was now Sui Houyu’s turn to serve.

The score stood at 30:0.

On his third serve, just as the ball crossed the net, the opponents charged forward to the net in unison. Two towering boys, both over 190 cm, loomed like a massive wall, creating a powerful sense of oppression.

Simply standing at the net with their arms spread out created immense pressure—especially with their rackets ready.

Hou Mo kept his eyes locked on the ball. The moment it was intercepted and returned, he swung his racket swiftly.

The opponents hit it back with a sharp angle. Sui Houyu, relying on his agility, leapt into the air. Using a twisting motion to add force to his shot, he sent the ball flying back hard.

However, this powerful shot was easily countered. Jiang Wei hit the ball, returning it with a backspin.

Hou Mo shifted his position, but it was too late—the ball landed right at his feet, a spot where it was impossible to make a return.

No chance to save it.

The score became 30:15.

On Sui Houyu’s next serve, the opponents switched to a double baseline formation.

Throughout the match, they had varied their return patterns, as if constantly experimenting.

The double baseline formation was one of Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui’s strengths. With both of them stationed at the baseline, they were virtually unbeatable.

Sui Houyu’s serve failed again.

In an instant, the score leveled at 30:30, wiping out their earlier lead.

In men’s doubles at the finals level, all the players were highly skilled. Breaking serve was difficult—they could only rely on their opponents’ mistakes to score.

In fast-paced men’s doubles, the margin for error was zero.

Even a small mistake could cost a point.

Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui were composed, making very few errors.

In contrast, Hou Mo and Sui Houyu, as new partners, only thrived when they ended points quickly. When rallies dragged on, small issues between them started to surface. Fortunately, both of them tried to minimize their errors, leading to a stalemate.

Jiang Wei’s team wasn’t planning to wait any longer and switched to an aggressive, suppressive strategy.

With absolute strength on their side, they aimed to secure the championship.

This momentum carried them to a break point.

Hou Mo returned the ball to an awkward spot—close to Lu Qinghui’s shin, with a tricky height and angle. Just when everyone thought Hou Mo had succeeded, Lu Qinghui managed to stand on one leg and hit a straight shot.

This move caught Hou Mo completely off guard. He hadn’t expected Lu Qinghui to attempt a straight shot from such a position.

When the ball flew past, the crowd erupted in cheers.

However, the cheers weren’t for Hou Mo—they were for Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui. They had succeeded in breaking serve.

Now it was Jiang Wei’s turn to serve. As Hou Mo watched the opponents, a wave of frustration washed over him.

At that moment, it felt like they had already lost the first set.

Standing at the baseline, Sui Houyu glanced at Hou Mo but received no signal.

It seemed Hou Mo was stuck in a mental block, unable to think of a way to break serve.

Without a cue from his partner, Sui Houyu hesitated. Should he charge the net or not? If he advanced, would it interfere with Hou Mo’s positioning?

In doubles, decisions to approach the net had to be made in advance, just before the opponent hit the ball. Players needed to sprint to their designated spots on time.

With no clear plan, Sui Houyu relied solely on his reflexes. His exceptional agility allowed him to pull off extreme saves, making that his biggest advantage.

The tighter the match, the trickier the shots became.

Sui Houyu had just returned a shot from the baseline when Lu Qinghui countered, aiming it in the opposite direction. This forced Sui Houyu to sprint towards the backcourt. His footing was clearly off, but he leaned forward, managing to get his racket on the ball just in time. After returning the shot, he barely came to a stop.

Looking up at the court, Sui Houyu noticed something troubling—both he and Hou Mo had moved into the same area. He immediately felt that something was wrong. In his rush to save the ball, he had abandoned his assigned position and intruded into Hou Mo’s area.

In fact, Hou Mo could have returned that shot on his own.

As expected, the next shot targeted a spot neither of them could reach.

This was perhaps Sui Houyu’s first instinctive attempt at reading the play. After stopping abruptly, he had already begun sprinting towards the predicted location.

His movements were swift and dynamic, with powerful strides propelling him forward. It looked like the explosive takeoff of a sprinter from a crouched position in a 100-meter sprint.

However… just as he reached the ball, he couldn’t stop in time.

Each side of the net was staffed by ball boys, and the referee sat on a raised chair, watching the match.

As Sui Houyu dashed toward the ball, his foot struck the cushion beneath a ball boy. He tripped and, carried by momentum, crashed into the referee’s stand.

Instinctively, he extended a hand to steady the ball boy, worried he might have hurt him. But his head slammed into one of the stand’s panels, striking his brow bone.

Hou Mo noticed Sui Houyu’s collision and, while rushing toward him, saw the ball coming. Acting purely on reflex, Hou Mo returned the shot before running to check on Sui Houyu.

Perhaps everyone’s attention was drawn to Sui Houyu’s mishap—no one expected Hou Mo to return the shot, allowing him to score a point.

The ball boy helped Sui Houyu stand up steadily. He grimaced from the pain in his brow, and for a brief moment, his vision blacked out.

Struggling to keep his eyes open, he saw Hou Mo looking at him anxiously and asking, “How do you feel?”

“It hurts a bit, but I’m fine.” Sui Houyu tried to lift his hand to rub his brow, but Hou Mo stopped him.

The referee rushed over and called for a medical timeout.

Sui Houyu looked puzzled as the medical staff arrived to examine his injury. They wiped his wound with cotton, and only then did he realize he was bleeding.

With sweat dripping down from the intense match, the salt in the sweat had stung the wound, making the pain sharper. Once they wiped away the sweat, it felt a little better.

Coach Wang and others quickly arrived at the court’s edge, calling out to Hou Mo, “How is it? Can he still play?”

Hou Mo, flustered, looked back at Sui Houyu and shook his head, uncertain.

He had never felt like this before—his heart was racing uncontrollably, and every beat seemed to carry pain, making it hard to breathe.

It was as if every heartbeat aggravated the ache in his chest. Or perhaps his heart was hurting too. Otherwise, why did he feel so uncomfortable?

He hovered around the medical staff, repeatedly asking about Sui Houyu’s condition while glancing back at him.

While the wound was being treated, Sui Houyu squinted one eye shut. He raised his gaze to Hou Mo and said, “It’s fine, really.”

Ignoring Sui Houyu, Hou Mo asked the medical staff, “Can he still play? Is it a concussion? Does he need stitches? Will it leave a scar?”

The wound was just above Sui Houyu’s eyebrow, less than a finger’s width away. It looked about two centimeters long, and the amount of blood alarmed Hou Mo, filling him with heartache.

The medical staff replied: “The wound isn’t deep. As long as the bleeding stops soon, stitches won’t be necessary. It should heal on its own, and with ointment, it won’t leave a scar.”

After finishing their reply, they continued examining Sui Houyu to ensure there were no other issues.

Hou Mo took a couple of steps and said, “Maybe we should forfeit and go to the hospital.”

Annoyed, Sui Houyu snapped:“I said I’m fine! Don’t you understand?”

“You think saying you’re fine makes it true? What if there are complications? What if you faint while running later?”

“It’s just a scrape! It might even heal in a bit! You’re overreacting!”

Hou Mo, usually patient, lost his temper too and retorted: “Since when does a scrape bleed this much?”

“I know my body. There’s no other problem—it only stings because of the sweat.”

“I don’t care what you say! I won’t relax until the exam confirms you’re okay! Otherwise, don’t blame me for getting mad!”

Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui came over to check on Sui Houyu as well. They weren’t even sure if the game could continue.

When they arrived, they found Sui Houyu and Hou Mo glaring at each other, looking ready to fight.

Alarmed, Lu Qinghui quickly stepped in to calm them: “Come on, don’t fight! Let’s talk this through. If we really can’t continue, we can request a postponement. Health comes first—athletes need sustainable development.”

Amidst the commotion, the medical staff finished their examination. They confirmed it was just a surface wound, cleaned it, and the bleeding had mostly stopped.

Hou Mo kept pestering the staff, repeatedly confirming that there were no further issues. Only when he got a definitive answer did he finally relax.

The referee granted them a five-minute break before the match would resume.

Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui returned to their seats to rest and drink water.

Hou Mo sat down beside Sui Houyu, still staring at the bandage on his forehead with a pained expression.

Sui Houyu, however, found the bandage annoying, “Can I take this off? It’s really bothering me.”

“No.”

“A band-aid would work too.”

“The wound is too big—it would take three band-aids side by side, and they’d cover your eyelid too. The bandage is better. Once the match is over, I’ll buy you some fancy-shaped band-aids.”

Sui Houyu frowned, still trying to adjust to the discomfort.

After watching him for a while, Hou Mo sighed. “You really don’t need to push yourself this hard.”

“I never give up.” Sui Houyu adjusted the bandage and continued, “Even if I know I can’t win, I’ll fight with everything I’ve got. That way, the gap between us will be smaller, and it’ll be easier to catch up next time.”

Hou Mo stared at him for a moment before sighing. “Why is it that, even though I’ve been competing for years, you’re the one giving me motivational speeches?”

“You’ve managed singles well enough, haven’t you? But now you have me with you. You’re taking me too seriously.”

“Well….”

“Seeing that miserable look on your face makes me want to punch you.” Sui Houyu shot Hou Mo an annoyed glare.

At that moment, Hou Mo’s usual mischievous grin was gone, replaced by a worried expression. Sui Houyu found it unsettling.

Hou Mo gave in with a smile: “So, after the match, do we go through the formalities of you picking a fight first, or should we just start brawling right away?”

“You planning to fight back?”

“So domineering?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

Hou Mo surrendered again, crouching to rummage through his bag. He pulled out a headband and stood in front of Sui Houyu, fastening it around his head.

“This is my headband. I sweat a lot, and it messes with my vision, so wearing this helps absorb some sweat. You wear it too—if the bandage gets uncomfortable, just take it off.”

“Oh…” Sui Houyu tilted his head back, obediently allowing Hou Mo to fix his hair and secure the headband in place.

Meanwhile, Coach Wang returned to his seat in the audience, just as a wave of cheers erupted from the crowd.

Confused, he asked, “What’s happening? Have they resumed the match already? I thought it was a five-minute break.”

Deng Yiheng pointed at Hou Mo and Sui Houyu. “It’s just Senior Brother helping Brother Yu put on a headband.”

“And what are the girls screaming about?”

“Maybe they think Brother Yu looks good in a headband…” Deng Yiheng replied, his tone tinged with jealousy.

Good-looking guys really are trouble. A handsome guy helps another handsome guy with a headband, and the crowd goes wild. Meanwhile, when Deng Yiheng wins his matches, the applause is sparse.

Ran Shu watched the match with growing concern. He turned to Coach Wang to ask about the situation and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Sui Houyu was okay.

Then he turned to Su Anyi and said, “W-What should we do? Brother Yu wants to win too badly; he’s really going all out.”

Su Anyi gave a solemn response: “Maybe he just wants to give it his all, so he has no regrets, even if he loses.”

Ran Shu then turned to Deng Yiheng and asked, “W-What if  Brother Yu loses? How should I comfort him? Will you come with me?”

Deng Yiheng gave him an awkward look. “Are you trying to make fun of me? Me, comforting Brother Yu? Brother Yu already defeated Tang Yao and Gu Libo. They’ve achieved more than I ever have—what right do I have to comfort him?”

Everyone from the provincial team burst into laughter.

The commotion even caught Tang Yao’s attention. He turned to glare at them with a sharp, unfriendly gaze.

For once, Deng Yiheng felt vindicated. After all, Brother Yu and Senior Brother had defeated Tang Yao, so he pulled a silly face at him, annoying Tang Yao to no end.

The match resumed.

Fengyu High School: 15 – Dongti Affiliated High School: 0.

As Hou Mo walked toward the net, he spoke to Sui Houyu, “Do as I say, give it a try.”

The injury timeout, along with Sui Houyu’s reassurances, helped Hou Mo regain his composure and think clearly.

This time, he observed the opponent’s formation and made several hand signals behind his back.

Hou Mo provided two strategies: Plan A for an inside-serve and Plan B for an outside-serve.

But it didn’t stop there—he even signaled what to do on the second shot, basing it all on their predicted positioning.

If it had been anyone else, those hand signals might have been confusing, but Sui Houyu understood them perfectly.

After all, Sui Houyu was not only physically talented but also a quick learner—a genius in his own right.

As soon as Jiang Wei served, both Hou Mo and Sui Houyu sprang into action.

Their movements were seamless, executed with perfect synergy, each step taken with purpose.

Jiang Wei’s serves were usually flat and powerful, lacking much bounce but full of force.

Hou Mo had studied Jiang Wei’s habits and took advantage of them. With a volley, he added spin to the ball, subtly changing its trajectory. On the opposite side, Sui Houyu was already prepared.

When Lu Qinghui returned the shot, the two opponents found themselves switching positions so quickly that it was impossible to tell who had hit the ball back.

Unable to predict the trajectory, they only realized what had happened when the ball landed at their feet and bounced away.

Score: 0–30.

Despite the injury, Hou Mo and Sui Houyu’s momentum didn’t falter. Instead, it seemed to intensify, as if they were sending a message—

They were determined to break serve!

Sui Houyu beamed at the sight of their score, and smiled particularly brightly at Hou Mo.

Even the smallest breakthrough filled him with excitement.

His curly hair, held back by the headband, gave him a slightly punkish look, making him appear even more striking. The bandage on his forehead did nothing to diminish his charm.

Under the sunlight, his radiant smile resembled a splash of lemon colliding with fizzy soda—bright, refreshing, and irresistibly captivating.

Hou Mo found himself glancing at him, again and again, before smiling back.

In tennis, feints are a delicate art.

In doubles matches, if the partners lack chemistry, feints can easily backfire, leading to errors that opponents can exploit.

But Hou Mo and Sui Houyu’s risky attempt paid off—they executed it flawlessly.

The match continued, with the score constantly shifting.

From 15–30 to 15–40, then to 30–40… until their feint succeeded again.

An advantage.

As they prepared once more, Hou Mo and Sui Houyu exchanged a glance before taking their positions.

This brief moment of eye contact allowed them to see the determination in each other’s eyes, a kind of reassurance that healed them.

Hou Mo assessed the formation of their opponents and began to signal behind him with a series of hand gestures.

Sui Houyu glanced over, silently coordinating with him.

Sui Houyu always had an energetic demeanor; even while waiting, he would shuffle his feet, ready to move at any moment.

In this state, it was already difficult to predict where Sui Houyu would go next.

Coupled with their strategy of using feints, it left their opponents in a state of confusion.

When the ball came, Hou Mo positioned himself to swing, but surprisingly, Sui Houyu was waiting behind him, suddenly intercepting and returning the ball.

Lu Qinghui had anticipated a return from Hou Mo, but the incoming ball was completely unexpected. He fumbled and the ball struck the frame of his racket, resulting in a short, angled shot.

Seizing the moment, Hou Mo lightly lifted his racket; the ball sailed over the net and rolled to a stop after a few bounces.

Hou Mo scored effortlessly.

They had successfully broken their opponents’ serve.

The score was now 5:5.

Now, whichever team reached 7 points first would win the set.

After the successful break, the members of the Provincial Sports team and Fengyu High School erupted in simultaneous cheers, even standing to applaud.

They all understood just how challenging it was to break the serve against Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui.

The match was genuinely thrilling, igniting their passion.

In the stands, Tang Yao drained the last sip from his water bottle, crumpled it up in anger, and felt an inexplicable sense of unease rising within him.

The rapid progress of Sui Houyu and Hou Mo left others in the dust; by their next encounter, he and Gu Libo might not even be their opponents anymore.

If given more time, Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui could also be in danger, and even the pair from Nanti would only barely maintain their advantage, right?

Nanti—Nanyun Sports University High School.

This high school boasted the current top-ranked boys’ doubles pair in the national youth division.

The set stretched into a tiebreak.

Perhaps Sui Houyu and Hou Mo’s new tactics truly threw Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui into disarray, allowing them to win the first set.

As the match progressed to the second set, Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui gradually figured out Fengyu High School’s strategy and were no longer caught off guard.

Moreover, since Hou Mo and Sui Houyu were taking risks and their coordination wasn’t perfect, they occasionally made errors with their feints.

Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui played steadily, adapting, and took the second set.

After a brief break, the match resumed with the start of the third set.

In the third set, it was Hou Mo’s turn to serve, with Sui Houyu positioned at the net to intercept.

They practiced this positioning less frequently. While Hou Mo’s serve was reliable, their movements could be coordinated under his command. However, Sui Houyu’s ability to intercept at the net wasn’t on par with Hou Mo’s and still needed improvement.

As Hou Mo served, he looked up and suddenly saw Sui Houyu signaling behind him.

Initially thinking Sui Houyu was directing him, he was surprised to see Sui Houyu flashing a long middle finger.

After being playfully tormented by Sui Houyu for so long, he oddly interpreted this gesture as encouragement.