HCILH Ch. 77

Chapter 77: Jealous Again

Just back to training, the tennis team members were getting a bit unruly.

The team’s training required a large amount of tennis balls. Coach Wang, having connections from his shop, could get new tennis balls at wholesale prices. However, since the factory was located far out, Coach Wang had to personally drive there.

Today, a new shipment arrived, so Coach Wang drove straight to the factory.

Taking advantage of his absence, the team members sneakily locked the training room door with a chain lock.

In the northeast, it was already very cold this time of year, making outdoor training impossible, so they had to train indoors. Fallen leaves outside the training ground had turned into a river of dark gold in the corners of the court.

As autumn turned to winter and the cold winds blew, a group of players gathered at the door of the training room. Some guys were messing around, while others were waiting for Su Anyi to announce that they could go back and rest.

Sui Houyu picked up the chain lock and examined it before turning to Hou Mo. Hou Mo had no choice but to ask: “Who has the key?”

No one responded.

Hou Mo didn’t get angry. Instead, he walked over, stood in front of them, and asked with a smile: “Do you think my temper’s been better lately?”

Finally, someone spoke up: “It’s in the classroom. I didn’t bring it. I’ll go get it.”

If Hou Mo wasn’t in charge, things might go differently.

But with Hou Mo taking charge, nobody dared mess with him. Sui Houyu becoming the captain was already headache enough for them.

Hou Mo wasn’t known as the school’s big shot because he liked causing trouble or getting into fights; it was because at Fenghua High School, only he could command such respect of hundreds of people.

Over time, Hou Mo earned his “status” in the school hierarchy.

When Su Anyi arrived, she took one look at the chain lock and said coldly: “No need.”

She walked over to the chain, grasped it with one hand, twisted it hard, and then yanked.

Everyone heard the door rattle from the impact, which was powerful enough to shake dust off the wall, making people quickly step back.

Then, Su Anyi tossed the broken chain lock to the boy who had hidden the key and said: “Sorry, I broke it, but next time, it’ll be your leg.”

The guys inhaled sharply in shock.

Taking advantage of the others shuffling into the room, Deng Yiheng sidled up to Sui Houyu: “Brother Yu, I suddenly feel like you saved my life when you stopped me from asking Sister Su about her WeChat.”

Sui Houyu chuckled but didn’t respond, following them inside.

One brave guy, still undeterred, approached Su Anyi and joked: “Sister Su, I’ve been feeling a bit depressed lately. Could you help me with some psychological counseling?”

“Oh, shut up! You didn’t seem depressed when you were downing five pounds of food at one meal. Go train.” Su Anyi replied with annoyance.

“Such poetic language.” he muttered before scurrying away.

Before practice, Coach had given Su Anyi strict orders.

For this training, Su Anyi would be supervising with no leniency allowed. She even had Coach’s permission to scold anyone who acted out, free to unleash her inner diva.

Su Anyi walked over to Sui Houyu and said: “Brother Yu, Coach Wang went to pick up new tennis balls and is also ordering custom down jackets. Do you want to check with the team for a consensus?”

Before Sui Houyu could respond, Hou Mo replied: “Just coordinate with Coach Wang. If you ask them, you’ll get 18 opinions from 10 people.”

Sure enough, with Sui Houyu being the nominal captain, such tasks would ultimately fall to Hou Mo to organize.

Su Anyi nodded in agreement, reminding them: “We’ll be doing evaluation tests tomorrow. How should today’s training be arranged?”

As Hou Mo took off his jacket, he replied: “I’ll handle it.”

“I’ve got a form here. Can you two go over it with me?”

Hou Mo took the form and looked at it. It required logging each team member’s sleep duration, sleep quality, appetite, fatigue, training cooperation, and willingness to compete, with various levels to select for each item.

He took a pen and filled it out on behalf of both himself and Sui Houyu: “I filled mine and Brother Yu’s. I know him better than he knows himself. We go to bed and wake up together, and I feed him.”

Sui Houyu glanced over and didn’t care anymore. He then took his and Huo Mo’s jackets and bags to the locker room.

When he came back, Su Anyi was checking their heart rates; everything looked very professional.

Standing next to her, he asked: “Are you tired?”

Without looking up, Su Anyi replied: “Nope.”

“Will this affect your studies?”

“It’s fine. I’m quite happy doing this. I’ll quit when I’m in senior year so it won’t interfere.”

Hou Mo, an experienced athlete, was familiar with the training regimen and the structured routines involved.

Training wasn’t all about playing tennis; they also did exercises to work on other muscle groups. 

Excessive specialization training could lead to an imbalance between the agonist and antagonist muscles, where the pulling force of the agonist could damage the tendons and muscle fibers of the antagonist.

The first part of training was usually warm-up and stretching.

Then they would work on coordination and balance, followed by a game. If the schedule was well-organized, the first segment of training would conclude.

After this segment, they’d move on to a tennis match in groups.

While stretching, someone quietly called out to Hou Mo: “Senior Brother, let’s play basketball.”

“Or soccer. We have enough people today.”

In the game segment, they could play basketball, soccer, or do relay races. Even though they chose tennis, they had a mysterious attachment to basketball—probably due to being tall and having plenty of stamina.

Hou Mo adjusted his position and replied with a smile: “We’re doing squats”

This suggestion was met with groans.

Ran Shu didn’t get why people were fussing over squats until the others started hinting for him to join their group.

“W-What does that mean?” Ran Shu asked, confused.

Hou Mo divided them into groups. Those with doubles partners stuck together, while the singles players grouped themselves as they wished.

Deng Yiheng and Shen Junjing demonstrated first.

When Shen Junjing squatted, Deng Yiheng sat on his shoulders, and Shen Junjing had to squat with Deng Yiheng on top of him.

Su Anyi timed them to see who could finish the required reps fastest.

Ran Shu initially didn’t take it seriously.

He figured he’d be paired with Sang Xian, his doubles partner, and lifting Sang would be easy.

But when the pair switched roles, Ran Shu was shocked, looking at Sang Xian’s build. Could he really lift him?

Sui Houyu watched intently and asked Hou Mo: “Can we do it without holding onto the pole?”

To ensure the person on top wouldn’t fall, there was a pole in front of them, mats behind, and teammates on standby.

“Better safe than sorry.” Hou Mo replied, slightly concerned.

Sui Houyu ignored the suggestion and said: “We have to win.”

At that, Hou Mo felt a cold sweat break out. Those words were so intense.

When it was Hou Mo and Sui Houyu’s turn, Hou Mo squatted first with Sui Houyu on his shoulders.

He handled it with ease. Sui Houyu was light, and Hou Mo could carry him comfortably, finding it all manageable.

Then, he held Sui Houyu’s calf and started squatting.

Hou Mo did it quite steadily. He didn’t think there was any problem with carrying him on his back. On one hand, it was because Sui Houyu was light, and on the other hand, it was because he could completely control it and did it with ease.

Sui Houyu barely noticed any swaying, if anything thinking Hou Mo was a bit slow.

But when they switched, the scene changed drastically.

Before Hou Mo could even settle, Sui Houyu shot up. Sang Xian had to steady Hou Mo’s back to keep him balanced.

Hou Mo managed to blurt out: “Brother Yu, Brother Yu don’t rush. Brother Yu, slow down! I can’t keep steady.”

Plus, Sui Houyu’s bony shoulders were uncomfortable to sit on.

But Sui Houyu ignored him, quietly counting the reps to win.

Watching this, Ran Shu snickered: “S-Shooting himself in the foot. Hou Mo’s always doing these thankless tasks, hehe…”

Standing beside him, Sang Xian glanced down at Ran Shu without saying a word.

Finally, Sui Houyu finished, and Hou Mo couldn’t hold on any longer. Just as Sui Houyu was about to squat down, Hou Mo toppled backward.

Luckily, there was a mat behind them, so there was no harm. But as soon as Sui Houyu turned around, he saw Sang Xian standing on the mat, reaching out with both hands, lifting Hou Mo by his armpits.

Even though Hou Mo was only two centimeters shorter than Sang Xian, in that moment, he seemed like a little chick in Sang Xian’s hands.

Once Hou Mo steadied himself, Sang Xian asked in a soft voice: “You okay?”

Hou Mo nonchalantly replied: “I’m fine.”

Sui Houyu was close enough to overhear their exchange, and it made him uncomfortable.

It seemed like he had been the one to make Hou Mo look embarrassed, while Sang Xian became the “savior,” ending with Hou Mo accepting Sang Xian’s care.

Compared to Sang Xian’s meticulous attention, Sui Houyu felt like an unruly child constantly causing trouble.

The comparison left him feeling ashamed.

Once again, he felt irritated.

Lately, he couldn’t stand seeing Hou Mo and Sang Xian getting along so well; it was becoming increasingly annoying.

Their close relationship made him feel like a third wheel, splitting up a couple by becoming Hou Mo’s doubles partner.

He stood aside with a sour expression, not even asking their team’s completion time and staying silent.

Hou Mo didn’t notice this, as he watched Sang Xian and Ran Shu’s team begin the squats with a grin.

Sang Xian carried Ran Shu as if it were a game, like a father carrying his child.

When it was Ran Shu’s turn to carry Sang Xian, his face turned bright red as he struggled to lift him.

Frustrated, Ran Shu scolded Sang Xian: “E-Even dieting won’t help you—you should just amputate a limb! I should have teamed up with Brother Yu.”

Sang Xian ignored Ran Shu, turning to Su Anyi and saying: “We forfeit; next group.”

The two of them stood aside, and Ran Shu noticed that Sang Xian was staring at him. Suddenly, he realized that Sang Xian was technically his creditor. Laughing awkwardly, he said: “Actually, you’re really, really… dashing and imposing.”

Sang Xian chuckled softly, looked away, and seemed to let it go.

Ran Shu rolled his eyes, thinking he’d better hurry up and pay Sang Xian back; otherwise, he’d have to keep buttering him up. He couldn’t stand talking to people like Sang Xian—he only got along with Sui Houyu and Su Anyi.

After the competition ended, Sui Houyu and Hou Mo’s team won first place.

As everyone dispersed to begin individual training, Sui Houyu suddenly reached out to support Hou Mo’s arm, prompting Hou Mo to look at him in confusion: “What’s up?”

Sui Houyu replied calmly: “Just holding you steady.”

Hou Mo was even more puzzled: “Uh… do I need help walking?”

“I’m worried you might fall.”

“Brother Yu, did I do something wrong? I’ll apologize, okay? Please forgive me.” Hou Mo panicked for a moment.

Sui Houyu immediately let go of him, rolled his eyes, and grabbed his racket to start training.

Hou Mo looked around, puzzled, trying to recall if he had done anything to annoy Sui Houyu. He didn’t think so!

Could it be that he was too heavy and hurt Sui Houyu?

Chasing after him, Hou Mo apologized: “Brother Yu, I was wrong. I’m too heavy. I’ll go on a diet.”

Sui Houyu: “…”

“Brother Yu, if you don’t forgive me, I’ll go get a limb amputated! I’ll shave off pieces of me until I weigh as little as you like.”

Sui Houyu, who had just taken a sip of water, squeezed his water bottle in frustration.

Hou Mo’s heart skipped a beat, and he leaned in close to whisper: “I’ll kneel when we get back—there are too many people here; give me a little face.”

“You’re a f*cking idiot!” Sui Houyu cursed, then abruptly turned to Sang Xian and said: “Let’s play a singles match.”

Omake:

Let’s not talk about whether Brother Yu is catching on or not. Right now, he thinks he’s in a rivalry with Sang Xian over a “wife.”