HCILH Ch. 78

Chapter 78: The Duel Between Two Schools

After being challenged by Sui Houyu, Sang Xian didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he turned to Hou Mo and asked: “Can he play?”

It was as if Hou Mo were Sui Houyu’s guardian.

Hou Mo stared blankly at Sui Houyu for a moment, then looked at Sang Xian, unable to understand why Sui Houyu suddenly wanted to challenge Sang Xian, even with a dramatic “final showdown” attitude.

After thinking it over, he walked up to Sang Xian and whispered: “You can play tennis, but don’t end up catching feelings.”

“No chance.” Sang Xian genuinely had no interest in Sui Houyu; even Hou Mo’s friend Ran Shu was more interesting to him.

Hou Mo didn’t say anything further. 

Knowing Sui Houyu’s temperament, if he lost this challenge, he’d likely continue to butt heads with Sang Xian afterward.

If Sui Houyu and Sang Xian did end up at odds, Hou Mo would feel uneasy. The only one who should be “targeted” by Sui Houyu was him!

He wasn’t trying to turn a straight guy gay, but Sang Xian, that shameless guy, had no principles.

As far as Hou Mo knew, Sang Xian had been a typical playboy before his incident, and afterward, he had a difficult time, only recovering after some psychological support.

Hou Mo even had it all planned: when they got back, he’d gossip to Sui Houyu about Sang Xian’s escapades, like his fondness for various “styles” and his potential interest in using props.

In terms of tennis, Sang Xian was a naturally gifted player. 

He had switched to tennis even later than Hou Mo and, unlike Hou Mo, hadn’t had any previous training. He had joined the team after just two months of intensive lessons with a private coach.

With his natural athletic ability, he quickly became quite proficient.

Sang Xian wasn’t as good as Hou Mo at anticipating opponents’ moves, preferring a strong, powerful play style that often left his opponents feeling frustrated.

With advantages in height and strength, he was a promising talent.

Recently, Sui Houyu’s doubles skills had improved, and he’d also gained some singles experience.

However, Sang Xian still had the upper hand in match experience, especially since Sui Houyu’s recent experience was primarily in doubles, which has notable differences from singles.

In singles, the first serve focuses on speed and power, while the second serve prioritizes stability. In doubles, even the first serve requires more stability and often includes serve-and-volley tactics.

In singles, net-rushing is unnecessary, whereas in doubles, it’s crucial. Lobs are rarely used in singles but are very effective in doubles.

During his singles match with Sang Xian, Sui Houyu mostly used his pre-training techniques, only occasionally showing his recent improvements.

Watching from the sidelines, Hou Mo grew anxious and suddenly called out: “Brother Yu, your swings are too obvious. You could try disguising them by changing your motion mid-swing. Even if the opponent can’t predict it, you should still be more mindful.”

Ran Shu looked at him in surprise: “Y-You noticed?”

Ran Shu didn’t see it at all.

“I’m sure an amateur like you wouldn’t. If Brother Yu were playing against me, I’d already be anticipating his moves.” Hou Mo replied confidently. 

Deng Yiheng, who was passing by while collecting balls, chimed in: “In the current national youth competitions, only a handful of players reach your level, Hou Mo. Sang Xian isn’t one of them, so don’t expect too much from Brother Yu.”

Sui Houyu on the court grumbled: “I don’t need you telling me what to do!”

Seeing his irritation, Hou Mo immediately went quiet and turned to Ran Shu, asking: “Did you tick him off somehow?”

Ran Shu felt wrongly accused: “I_I barely spoke to Brother Yu today. How could I have upset him?”

“Then how did I tick him off?” Hou Mo was equally puzzled.

On the court, Sang Xian glanced at Sui Houyu, then quickly looked at Hou Mo with a knowing smile.

He understood the situation perfectly but preferred to let the two confused kids figure it out themselves. He didn’t want to get involved in their drama.

The tennis match between Sang Xian and Sui Houyu became a stalemate. Neither managed a successful break, each holding serve as the rounds dragged on endlessly.

Ran Shu yawned: “Brother Yu, I’m getting tired just watching this.”

Meanwhile, Hou Mo continued to ponder: “What on earth did I do to upset him?”

“You’ve been thinking about it for an hour?”

“Yeah.”

At that moment, Su Anyi came over, carrying a steaming bucket.

She’d borrowed a bucket from the cafeteria and brought freshly boiled corn to the tennis court, saying: “Take a break and have some snacks.”

For them, corn counted as a pretty decent snack.

A crowd immediately gathered. Su Anyi struggled out of the crowd, holding two corns in her hand. She inserted a disposable chopstick in the center of the root, handed one to Ran Shu, and then looked at Sui Houyu.

Sui Houyu glanced over, then finally relented: “Fine, I’m done.”

The sight of corn was enough to call a temporary truce.

Sui Houyu walked over and took the corn, but just as he was about to take a bite, Hou Mo stopped him, saying: “Take a breather before eating.”

Reluctantly, Sui Houyu stopped eating.

The group sat in a row, munching on corn, when Su Anyi took out her phone and said: “Coach Wang said he left the tennis balls in the trunk of his car. He was in a rush to use the bathroom, so he didn’t fully close the trunk. Could a few of you go grab them?”

The six of them, all friends, exchanged looks and then got up, corn in hand, and headed toward the back gate as Su Anyi directed.

Their school had strict rules.

Cars couldn’t enter the main gate, which was blocked with several barriers, forcing students to walk through on foot. Even bicycles had to be pushed once inside.

Coach Wang’s car was parked in the back lot near the back gate, which was generally locked with a chain and only opened for deliveries. Fortunately, he’d arranged for it to be open for them.

Hou Mo, familiar with Coach Wang’s car, opened the trunk but didn’t see the tennis balls.

Puzzled, he leaned forward to check the front seat, but still saw nothing.

Deng Yiheng grumbled: “Did Coach Wang take them with him?”

Hou Mo shook his head: “No way, he’s not that diligent.”

Just then, someone whistled at them and called out: “If you want the tennis balls, follow us.”

They looked over at the person and, upon seeing he was wearing the uniform of the vocational school next door, understood immediately.

After the start of the semester, another school—a comprehensive vocational school—had moved in about a kilometer away from their school.

It seemed that Xiangjia Alley was truly spacious, with plenty of usable land, as that school was quite large and had many students.

After some time of peaceful coexistence between the two schools, the vocational school started seeking out students from Fengyu High School, trying to gain some attention and challenge their school’s “bully” to a fight.

They showed up a few times; the first time, the “bully” was away at a competition, and the second time, the “bully” had a day off after a match and didn’t encounter them.

This was their third visit, and they naturally knew that the “bully” was on the tennis team.

As they were wandering around, they just happened to see Coach Wang, who was sending a voice message to Su Anyi, and then moved the tennis equipment away, suggesting they meet in the cornfield.

Hou Mo thought to himself that the people coming from the other side must be more numerous; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so arrogant.

Moreover, with the uncut plants in the cornfield providing cover, it was likely that the outdoor surveillance wouldn’t catch them—perfect.

Hou Mo smiled and replied: “We’re not going.”

“Don’t want the tennis balls anymore?” asked the boy who had come to call them, sounding rather cocky.

“Don’t need them; you won’t do anything with them anyway, and you can’t sell them. Besides, they belong to the school, so if they’re lost, let the school report it. It’s none of our business.”

“You’re pretty tall and have dyed hair, so why are you so cowardly?” The boy decided to single out Hou Mo.

To his surprise, Hou Mo calmly nodded in acknowledgment: “Yeah, I’m timid.”

The boy seemed troubled and messaged the others, and soon, a group of around fifteen or sixteen people arrived, all with an overly arrogant demeanor, exuding a bad attitude that made Sui Houyu feel a sense of déjà vu.

Oh, Ran Shu and the others were just as obnoxious back when they first merged schools.

The leader slightly lifted his chin and asked in a particularly obnoxious tone: “Who’s the bully of your school?”

He intentionally spoke in a squeaky voice, dragging out the sounds, and compared to him, even Ran Shu felt that Sang Xian’s deep voice wasn’t that greasy.

As Ran Shu was pondering, he realized the people around him were stepping back, leaving him standing at the front alone.

He looked to his left and right, then was shocked to see Sui Houyu also being pulled back a step by Hou Mo.

So even the “dog behavior^[1]” is contagious.

What a blunder; Brother Yu had been led astray.

Hou Mo suddenly spoke very earnestly to Ran Shu: “Brother Ran, let’s not stoop to their level. Let’s just let them off today; as long as they return the balls, that’s enough.”

Deng Yiheng also began to massage Ran Shu’s shoulders, saying: “Brother Ran, don’t be angry, just let it go.”

What shocked Ran Shu most was when Sang Xian chimed in: “Brother Ran, if you want to fight, just say the word.”

Sui Houyu watched the scene, chuckling, seemingly not planning to save him, and found it quite amusing.

Ran Shu had inexplicably become the “bully” of Fengyu High School and was pushed to the front line of the “war between the two schools.”

If it were anyone else, they would likely be shaking in their boots. But Ran Shu was not an ordinary person; he turned to the group, lifted his chin, wanting to exchange a few words, but was interrupted by Hou Mo: “What do you want with our Brother Ran?”

Being called “Brother Ran” felt pretty good, and Ran Shu turned to face the greasy voice with a cocky look.

“Just… spar a bit, exchange some ideas,” replied the greasy voice with a smirk.

“Oh—got it.” Hou Mo spoke as if he were the representative of Fengyu, saying: “But I think you might have misunderstood; the bully isn’t on our team. Brother Ran is just the captain of our team; the real bully is on another team.”

“Who is it? I’ve heard some say it’s someone with the surname Hou and others say it’s someone with the surname Sui?”

“Well, you wouldn’t know, would you?” Hou Mo laughed brightly, like a little angel. “We tennis players aren’t that impressive. The real tough ones are in the Sanda interest group, especially a guy named Ouyang Ge, who usually bullies us. He’s the notorious bully of Fengyu High School. He’s truly over the top. We all find him unbearable but can’t speak up. I support you in going to confront him and knock him down a peg.”

The greasy voice pondered and asked: “Ouyang Ge? That’s the first time I’m hearing that name. It does have a bit of a ring to it.”

Hou Mo immediately exaggerated his tone and added embellishments: “Not just that! He’s incredibly arrogant and doesn’t take anyone seriously. Even our school principal treats him politely. If you can subdue him, then the whole Fengyu High School will be at your mercy.”

“Sounds interesting. How can we find him? You go get him.” the greasy voice said, thinking that Hou Mo looked weak and assuming he wouldn’t be a tough character, so he wanted to send Hou Mo to call for him.

Hou Mo shook his head timidly: “I’m not brave enough, but I can tell you where to find him. He’ll definitely be in the interest group classroom at this time. But I must warn you, Ouyang Ge is pretty fierce; he’s in the Sanda interest group.”

The greasy voice immediately scoffed: “Sanda interest group? I’m the city’s youth Sanda champion; I know all the notable fighters in this city, and I’ve never heard of this guy. Why should I be afraid of him?”

Hou Mo’s eyes lit up: “Big brother, you have to teach him a good lesson; we’d all be grateful.”

Saying that, he walked over, picked up a small stick from the ground, and drew a simple map in the dirt: “Let me draw a route for you. You can go in through the back door, walk this way, and turn at this building…”

Sui Houyu stood aside, watching Hou Mo and the greasy voice hit it off, as they seemed to be strategizing on how to find Ouyang Ge. His feelings of disdain surged once again.

A person could be this pathetic; it was indeed a rarity in the world.

Seeing Hou Mo being so obedient and understanding, the greasy voice returned their tennis balls and stealthily led his group into Fengyu High School, following Hou Mo’s directions to find Ouyang Ge.

Once they left, the other few finally dared to chuckle.

Ran Shu, however, was not satisfied and asked: “W-W-Why didn’t you let me speak just now?”

“In this kind of situation, morale is key. One burst of spirit leads to triumph, but if we falter, we’ll fall apart. If you start off saying ‘W-W-Why,’ our morale would be crushed.”

“You sound so pretenious; you’re right.” Ran Shu rolled his eyes at Hou Mo, pulling Sui Houyu to walk back, as if staying with this group would infect him with their “dog energy.”

Omake:

Gege: Bone-setting warning.