HCILH Ch. 81

Chapter 81: Bathing

Hou Mo had a staff shower room card, allowing him access.

It was Friday, and regular students and teachers only had two afternoon classes, after which they were dismissed.

However, the student athletes were in intensive training and had extended hours.

At this time, even Coach Wang and Ouyang Ge had driven off campus, and the few student athletes who came to shower were in the students’ shower area. Only the two of them headed to the staff shower room.

Hou Mo locked the door after they entered, placing Sui Houyu on the wooden bench in the middle of the changing area and asked: “Feeling any better?”

“My arms and legs are completely weak. Why can you still move?” Sui Houyu asked, annoyed.

His strange competitive streak made him feel somewhat defeated by not being in as good shape as Hou Mo.

“Come on, I’ve been training for years and have gone through this a few times. You being able to keep up on your first day is already god-tier. Back in freshman year, even Deng Yiheng cried a few times! You did really well.”

Sui Houyu still wasn’t satisfied, sitting there sullenly, feeling it was embarrassing to have been carried out.

Hou Mo organized their things, then walked over to him and asked: “Can you undress yourself?”

Sui Houyu, accustomed to taking his shirt off by crossing his arms, found the movement unusually exhausting this time.

Hou Mo came over, raised his arms, and helped him take off his shirt.

Then, supporting him to lean on his shoulder, he pulled off his pants.

After a moment of silence, Hou Mo asked: “How about your underwear?”

“I’ll do it myself.”

“I’ll go adjust the water temperature for you.”

Hou Mo set a chair inside the shower room, rinsing it clean and placing one of his used shirts over it as padding, not caring if it got wet.

When he came back out, he saw Sui Houyu holding onto the wall and making his way over on his own.

Hou Mo glanced at him, quickly pulling his gaze away, then opened the glass door for Sui Houyu: “Sit on the chair to wash. Call me if you need anything.”

“Mm.” Sui Houyu answered weakly.

Back in the changing area, Hou Mo grabbed a bottle of water from his bag and downed it in one go.

After catching his breath, he undressed and joined him in the shower. But before he could finish, he heard Sui Houyu calling: “Help me wash my hair.”

“Alright, just a sec…”

“No need to wrap yourself in a towel. I won’t look, it’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”

“It’s not that…” Hou Mo insisted on wrapping himself up, not out of shyness but to prevent any “awkward reaction” from brushing against Sui Houyu.

With that temper of his, Sui Houyu might just chop him down on the spot.

With the towel secure, Hou Mo walked over, seeing Sui Houyu seated with his back to him, water already turned off.

From his angle, Hou Mo saw Sui Houyu’s slender, smooth back, his wet hair clinging to his head. Water droplets trailing down, cascading all the way down his back, finally falling onto the chair.

Standing behind him, Hou Mo squeezed out the shampoo, lathered it up, and gently started washing his hair, then rinsed the foam away with the shower head.

Sui Houyu’s hair was thick, and Hou Mo kept rinsing, feeling he hadn’t gotten all the shampoo out, repeating the process until he was sure it was done.

Handing the shower head back, Hou Mo let out a sigh of relief, as if he’d survived an ordeal.

But just as he turned, he heard Sui Houyu sayL “Help me dry off; I’m done.”

Is it really necessary to be so cruel?

This was definitely a challenge.

Looking down at his towel, Hou Mo realized Sui Houyu hadn’t brought any bath supplies, and he didn’t have a second towel. Removing it would leave him exposed.

Gritting his teeth, he took off the towel and went back to help Sui Houyu dry off.

Sui Houyu had his own towel for his hair, and Hou Mo draped his towel over Sui Houyu’s shoulders, roughly drying him off and then letting him finish.

Taking Sui Houyu’s towel, he started drying his hair.

While he did, Sui Houyu faced him, unable to resist a quick, curious glance, catching sight of something pink.

It was so quick… he couldn’t quite see it…

Feigning nonchalance, he crafted a second sneak peek, then couldn’t hold back a smile.

Those abs were pale, and yes, that pink was really pink…

After some thought, he stole another glance at the light brown body hair, finally bursting into laughter.

“Brother Yu, don’t push it too far.” Hou Mo finally complained.

“What can you do about it?” Sui Houyu asked, full of confidence.

Those who are doted upon often act with impunity.

“And what can I do about it?” Hou Mo laughed, hoisting Sui Houyu by the waist and setting him down on a wooden bench, giving his arm a playful squeeze. “Mess with me?”

“Quit it!” With his soreness amplifying every touch, Sui Houyu had no choice but to let Hou Mo take charge.

“Rest here. I’ll go finish my shower.” Hou Mo stopped teasing, heading back to shower after teaching him a lesson.

After resting a bit more on the bench, Sui Houyu slowly started dressing, though he lacked the strength to dry his hair, so he waited for Hou Mo.

He had grown accustomed to Hou Mo’s care and didn’t even find it unusual.

Once done, Hou Mo came out with his hair wet, heading to grab a towel, which was still with Sui Houyu.

Sui Houyu glanced back, watching water drip from Hou Mo’s light brown hair, tracing down his neck, falling onto his chest, and gliding over the defined muscles.

His fair skin, under the shower light, was strikingly prominent.

Too pale, too pink—his muscles appeared almost delicate.

Noticing that Sui Houyu had been staring the whole time, Hou Mo brought a blow dryer over and gently pinched Sui Houyu’s slightly red earlobe.

Sui Houyu seemed sensitive, his gaze darting up to meet Hou Mo’s.

In that brief moment, Hou Mo felt a surge of insanity, the unexpected urge to kiss him.

After a pause, he threw the blow dryer to Sui Houyu: “There’s no more water left. I’ll go downstairs to get two bottles; you can dry your hair.”

Saying that, he grabbed a towel and headed downstairs, drying his hair as he went, heading to the vending machine on the first floor.

Taking the blow dryer, Sui Houyu, though exhausted, began drying his hair himself.

Suddenly, he wondered—had he annoyed Hou Mo?

Was Hou Mo mad because he had been staring?

He just found Hou Mo’s fairness amusing, with a great build that made him look a bit more. Was he being thought of as a creep?

He had never looked at others like this…

After drying his hair for a while, his arms were tired. He put down his arms to rest for a while, and heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

After a while, he saw Hou Mo returning with two bottles of water, one already opened and partially drunk.

Hou Mo placed the bottles on the bench, went into the shower to retrieve his soiled clothes, and started wringing them out.

Sui Houyu looked back and forth between Huo Mo and the bottle. He hesitated for a moment before reaching for the open bottle, twisting the cap off and drinking a few sips.

Unaware, Hou Mo emerged to see Sui Houyu drinking his water, instantly feeling thirsty again.

This was like a slow, subtle torment, making Hou Mo half-convinced that Sui Houyu was teasing him.

“I’ll carry you back to the dorm with your backpack; I’ll need to wash these clothes, or they’ll start to stink if left wet.” Hou Mo, acting indifferent, walked over and said.

“Alright.” Sui Houyu replied, capping the bottle.

With everything ready, Hou Mo carried Sui Houyu back to the dorm.

After intense training and now carrying a person up six flights of stairs, it was a test for Hou Mo.

But with Sui Houyu on his back, he seemed to have more strength, reaching the sixth floor without much panting and setting him down on his bed: “Take a nap; I’ll go wash the clothes.”

“Mm…” Sui Houyu lay down, and Hou Mo covered him with a blanket, patting his back gently. In less than five minutes, he fell asleep.

When he woke up again, he saw Hou Mo hanging up clothes.

On the balcony, Hou Mo’s clothes, along with Sui Houyu’s workout clothes, were neatly washed.

He glanced over at the window and saw that both his and Hou Mo’s sneakers had been scrubbed clean, wrapped in tissue, and hung by the shoelaces on the window handle.

Looking closer, he noticed that even his recently worn underwear was hanging out on the balcony.

Sui Houyu: “…”

So considerate… His cheeks flushed.

Sitting up, he saw Hou Mo quickly come in from the balcony and ask: “Hungry? The cafeteria’s closed, so we’d need to order food.”

“What time is it? Aren’t you going home? Won’t your mom worry about you?” Sui Houyu asked, a bit groggy.

“What is there to worry about? I’m a grown man; she’s used to me staying for training. If you’re exhausted, stay on campus tonight. We’re not alone in the dorms; 611 and 634 have people too.”

Sui Houyu scratched his head, then took out his phone and asked: “What do you want to eat? I’ll order.”

“Order what you like; I’m not picky. As long as you don’t get thin, I’d even eat dog sh*t.”

“Then go pull some yourself and eat it.”

Hou Mo walked over and sat across from Sui Houyu, opening WeChat, seemingly listening to a message from his mom: “Are you at school by yourself? Aren’t you scared?”

A mother knows her son best, and Hou Mo’s mom knew Hou Mo was timid.

Hou Mo replied in a voice message: “I’m staying on campus with Brother Yu.”

His mom quickly replied: “As long as you’re with Little Yu, I’m at ease. What time will you be back tomorrow? I’ll cook some congee and keep it warm in the rice cooker so it’s hot when you get home.”

Sui Houyu paused for a moment while scrolling through the delivery app.

Since he was young, he had always been looked down upon. His own parents had seen him as a burden, and even in the Ran family, he was never fully accepted—especially by Ran Shu’s father, who had shown his dislike for Sui Houyu multiple times.

This was the first time he’d heard a parent say something like this—that they were reassured knowing he was around.

So, Hou Mo’s mom really trusted him?

The words weren’t directed at Sui Houyu, and he only heard them by chance. But in that moment, his nose tingled with emotion.

Luckily, he kept his head down the whole time, so Hou Mo didn’t notice anything unusual, still focused on sending his voice messages.

For the first time, he felt accepted by a friend’s parent, even though they knew about his condition.