HCILH Ch. 64

Chapter 64: Settling Down

Sui Houyu rolled over, the soft blanket faithfully wrapping around his body.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked ahead, noticing Hou Mo in his peripheral view, busy playing on his phone.

The games Hou Mo played were generally quite childish; he didn’t play online games and occasionally engaged in single-player games, such as playing military chess against the system, or games like Gomoku and Go.

The most thrilling game was probably “Stars Elimination.”

As he opened his eyes to gaze at Hou Mo, Hou Mo was so startled that he dropped his phone, sitting up straight and making proper eye contact with him.

Sui Houyu stared at Hou Mo for a long moment, completely motionless, as if he was coming back to his senses.

After blinking a few times, he abruptly sat up, moving as if he had been shocked by electricity.

After trying hard to recall for a moment, he looked back at Hou Mo.

Hou Mo quickly said, “Can I just pretend like nothing happened?”

Sui Houyu looked at him without saying anything.

Hou Mo continued, “Actually, it’s nothing much; besides being a bit surprisingly cute, there’s nothing else. In my heart, you’re still the very handsome Brother Yu! Your stature is still grand!”

“Why didn’t you just knock me out?” Sui Houyu asked through gritted teeth.

Hou Mo shook his head repeatedly: “I didn’t dare.”

“You saw I was drunk. You could have just locked me in any room, and that would’ve been it!” Sui Houyu suddenly got angry, throwing off the blanket to question Hou Mo.

Hou Mo straightened his chest and replied confidently: “If I locked you up and something happened, wouldn’t I be responsible?! Besides, it’s just being drunk, right? You were so hardworking yesterday, like a little angel, and you only watched one and a half episodes of a TV show! You didn’t do anything!”

Mentioning that made Sui Houyu even angrier; Ran Shu didn’t even know he liked watching Korean dramas! Especially crying over them!

Why did he have to watch the two newly released episodes when he was drunk?! Why didn’t he do something else?

Sui Houyu was about to explode again, but unexpectedly, Hou Mo took the initiative and yelled at him: “Sui Houyu, I’ll tell you, don’t think I’m afraid of you! If it comes to it, we can just fight. I won’t hit back, so let’s settle this once and for all. Got it?!”

“…” Sui Houyu looked Hou Mo up and down again, remaining silent.

Hou Mo continued to assert himself: “I give you ten minutes to decide how to resolve this. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude.”

“Ten minutes? Are your legs numb from kneeling? Fine, just get up. Don’t kneel anymore.”

Hou Mo didn’t move, instead responding fiercely: “I won’t! I want to kneel like this. Just because you want me to get up, I’m not going to! I want to kneel a little longer.”

Sui Houyu was too lazy to argue with Hou Mo again, so he lay back down to calm himself.

Hou Mo picked up his phone and opened the timer, his previous tough attitude now gone. He cautiously asked, “Brother Yu, can I start the countdown now?”

Sui Houyu ignored him.

Feeling the awkwardness of their silence, Hou Mo suggested, “Brother Yu, how about I perform a little show for you?”

“A show of a kneeling backflip?”

“No, I’ll sing you a song.”

“Oh…”

Hou Mo started singing.

Sui Houyu lay in bed listening for a while before turning his head to look at Hou Mo, asking, “What kind of spell is this?”

Hou Mo became unhappy and retorted, “Can’t you just let me finish singing?”

Sui Houyu could only nod, “Go ahead.”

Hou Mo continued to sing seriously.

But the way he sang… made Sui Houyu feel that Hou Mo was playing tricks on him.

After enduring it for a while longer, Sui Houyu asked: “Are you done singing?”

“Not yet. Can you be patient and appreciate the art?”

“You call this art? It’s making my head hurt! I can’t even tell what you’re singing! Are you trying to torture me? I’m sober now, no need for such extreme measures.”

Hou Mo felt particularly wronged: “I’m really trying hard to sing here.”

Sui Houyu didn’t believe him; how could someone sing so horribly if it wasn’t intentional?

He took out his phone and sent a message to Deng Yiheng, asking: How’s Hou Mo’s singing?

Deng Yiheng replied quite quickly: Senior Brother, that’s not singing; that’s crying at a grave! Whenever he sings, everyone ends up crying.

Sui Houyu raised his eyebrows at his phone, surprised that Hou Mo was actually singing earnestly!

He looked up at Hou Mo and said: “Wait a minute, I’ll check.”

Then he used his phone to search for the lyrics to the song Hou Mo had just sung. After finding the song title, he opened an app, input the title, found the song, and started playing it, mumbling: “‘New Mandarin Duck and Butterfly Dream^[1]’ Why are you listening to such an old song?”

“Are you expecting someone with a WeChat name like ‘Financial Blessings’ to listen to anything new?”

Sui Houyu listened to the song for a while before looking up at Hou Mo again.

Hou Mo was also looking at him, a serious expression on his face.

After listening for a bit longer, Sui Houyu commented: “You sing like you’re composing a new score.”

Hou Mo actually replied cheerfully: “I’m interpreting the song with my soul.”

Sui Houyu laughed as he listened; he had been annoyed earlier, but once Hou Mo distracted him, he forgot all about it.

He glanced at his phone and said, “I’m hungry.”

“There’s nothing usable in the kitchen at home; I’ll go downstairs and buy something for you.” Hou Mo said as he got out of bed. After getting up, he leaned against the headboard, posing for quite a while before he moved, clearly because his legs had gone numb.

Sui Houyu immediately stretched out his leg to kick Hou Mo’s leg, and Hou Mo, in a fluster, pleaded: “Don’t, don’t, don’t! My legs are cramping!”

Sui Houyu continued to stomp on Hou Mo’s leg several times before finally stopping.

Hou Mo left the room to go buy food.

Left alone in Hou Mo’s room, Sui Houyu only let out a sigh and crawled under the blanket after hearing the door close. Then he rolled around on the bed a few times before sitting back up.

As he got out of bed, he realized he hadn’t even changed into slippers; he was still wearing his sports shoes.

He had slept so messily last night that one shoe was under the bed and the other was by the door, so he could only put on one shoe and hop on one leg to find the other.

Once stable, he looked around the room, surveying Hou Mo’s space.

This room had been Hou Mo’s since he was a teenager but had since been left unused.

He wandered around a bit and noticed that many things had already been moved away, leaving it quite empty. However, he did spot a stack of sheet music on the cabinet.

The youth who once played the piano with him had now switched to playing tennis.

The sheet music being left behind—did that mean he had completely given up the piano when he moved?

By chance, he started accompanying Hou Mo to play tennis.

After all the twists and turns, they were still together.

His phone buzzed with a notification. Sui Houyu reached for it to check and saw that the tennis group was organizing a mountain climbing trip.

Sui Houyu really couldn’t understand their thinking—wasn’t it better to take a break after just finishing a competition? Why organize a mountain climb on the weekend?

He wasn’t really interested in going; he’d rather practice doubles with Hou Mo during that time.

But then he noticed a familiar contact in the group chat.

Shameless Big Dog: “Alright, Brother Yu and I will definitely be among the first to reach the top of the mountain.”

Just one sentence fired up Sui Houyu’s competitive spirit, and he quickly typed back: “Yeah.”

Deng Yiheng: “Impossible, I know the way better with Shen Junqing.”

Shameless Big Dog: “I’ve been there twice, okay?”

Deng Yiheng: “I grew up on that mountain!”

Shameless Big Dog: “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you the mountain god or something?”

Ran Shu: “If Brother Yu goes, then I’ll go too.”

Aunt Su: “Then I’ll prepare some lemonade for you guys.”

It was surprisingly casual how this was all decided.

While waiting and feeling bored, Sui Houyu stepped out of the room, paused in the living room, then turned on the TV, connecting his phone to continue watching the second half of that Korean drama.

It’s so uncomfortable not finishing a whole episode!

After watching for a while, Hou Mo came back. Not pausing for a moment, he walked straight over and asked, “Didn’t I say I’d watch with you?”

Sui Houyu replied irritably, “Watching with you is a buzzkill.”

“I’m just commenting! If I were to get a part-time job, I’d be a film critic.”

“Eighty percent of them would  have to bribe you to delete your reviews.”

“Hehe, wouldn’t that be even more profitable?”

The two of them sat down at the dining table, continuing to play the Korean drama during dinner. Even though they were quite far away, Sui Houyu was still fully engrossed.

After a couple of bites, Hou Mo looked at the screen and said, “Is this girl sick? The male lead wakes up, and she hesitates again?”

Sui Houyu shot him a glare and said, “Shut your mouth, and we can still be friends.”

“How can I eat with my mouth shut?”

“Then just don’t make a sound!”

Hou Mo silently continued eating.

In the drama, the female lead wanted to leave, and the male lead, limping, chased after her. After he fell, she went back to help him, and he held onto her tightly, both of them crying.

Hou Mo didn’t say anything, but he laughed “giggling” like a hen laying eggs.

Sui Houyu looked at Hou Mo and kicked him, thinking he deserved a beating.

After finishing their meal, they were just in time for the next episode preview. Sui Houyu didn’t even skip the preview, watching it seriously.

Hou Mo reached out to tidy up the takeout bags, then stood up and asked Sui Houyu: “Are you taking a shower? If not, I’ll turn off the water heater.”

After their competition, the tennis team had applied for a day off, and they still had to go back to school for classes tomorrow.

Since there was no one living there, the water and electricity would usually be turned off. If Sui Houyu didn’t shower, Hou Mo was prepared to cover up and leave.

Sui Houyu looked at his clothes, then walked over to open his suitcase, took out a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

Hou Mo followed him, handing him a pair of slippers. At that moment, Sui Houyu had already taken off his shirt, accepting the slippers while bare-chested and closing the door.

Hou Mo stood at the door for a while, not leaving. Surprisingly, Sui Houyu hadn’t locked the door; he could just push it open and walk in.

In the end, he turned around and left, sitting down to play on his phone, trying to calm his chaotic heart.

Suddenly, Ran Shu messaged him, asking: “What’s Brother Yu doing? Why isn’t he replying to me?”

Financial Blessings: “He’s taking a shower.”

Ran Shu: You didn’t get rough with him, did you?

Financial Blessings: Get rough with what? K*lling a hostage?

Ran Shu: “It’s nothing, but is Brother Yu going back to Xiangjia Alley this afternoon?”

Financial Blessings: “Probably, I’ll ask him what time he’s leaving.”

Ran Shu: “His mom called me. I didn’t mention our day off, but his mom wants him to come home. What should I do? Should I help persuade him?”

Hou Mo looked at his phone, suddenly realizing that Sui Houyu really rarely went home. He recalled that it had been over two months since Sui Houyu had last been home.

He typed back: “Does he have a bad relationship with his family?”

Ran Shu: “Ha, you’re trying to ask me again? I won’t tell you!”

Financial Blessings: “Do you think you know Brother Yu so well? Did you know he watches Korean dramas?”

Ran Shu: “???”

Financial Blessings: “Do you sleep with him?”

Ran Shu: “So it’s a competition on who knows Brother Yu better? You definitely can’t win. Yesterday afternoon, when I saw Brother Yu wearing that outfit, I guessed he was preparing a birthday party for me.”

Financial Blessings: “How did you guess that? Anyone can make guesses after the fact.”

Ran Shu: “When Brother Yu cares about a special day or participates in an important event, he wears a blue and white striped shirt. I don’t know why he has this strange aesthetic like a straight male programmer, but it’s always the same.”

Ran Shu: [Image]×5.

Ran Shu: “The first three pictures are from my birthdays in the last three years, the fourth one is from Su Anyi’s birthday, and the last one is a photo from when he participated in a competition.”

Hou Mo held his phone to look at the pictures. In all five pictures, Sui Houyu wore blue and white striped shirts, with differences in the width of the stripes, the pocket on his chest, and the design at the sleeves.

He flipped through them one by one, then couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

After saving the five photos, Hou Mo typed: “But I sleep with him, and you don’t even dare sit at the same table with him.”

Ran Shu: “Damn it!”

Financial Blessings: “Alas, he needs me.”

Ran Shu: “Let’s unfriend each other, and say goodbye forever.”

Financial Blessings: “Why so angry?”

After sending this message, a red exclamation mark appeared in front of it.

Omake:

Hou Mo: As long as I kneel quickly, Brother Yu will easily deal with it.