Chapter 82: Let’s Talk About It Later

Monday.

The soreness in the student athletes’ muscles had subsided a bit; at least they no longer looked like crabs trying to walk straight down the stairs for the first time.

Now, they finally walked like normal people.

After morning practice and breakfast, the student athletes walked in groups toward their class.

On the way, Deng Yiheng was singing: “Only when you truly love do you resent, whether you can let go or not…^[1]“

Hou Mo swung his keychain and asked: “How deep is ‘deep’? And how much does it hurt to ‘let go’?”

Deng Yiheng eyed Hou Mo for a long moment, then cursed: “Shameless old rascal.”

Sui Houyu glanced at Deng Yiheng, puzzled as to why he suddenly started cursing.

When they entered the classroom, Sui Houyu stopped in front of his desk and noticed a box on it. He hesitated briefly, then opened it. Inside was a box of handmade chocolates.

He picked up a card and glanced at it. The card read:

To: Little Fishy

Celebrating our first day of dating.

—Tiantian

Sui Houyu looked at the card, then at the chocolates, feeling bewildered.

Who was “Little Fishy”?

And who was “Tiantian”?

Why was this gift on his desk?

Others soon noticed the box. Ran Shu reached out to take a piece, but Sui Houyu stopped him: “It’s probably not mine. It says ‘Little Fishy,’ and something about ‘first day of dating’… Who here just started dating?”

Ran Shu withdrew his hand, also looking at the card. After a moment, he asked: “Maybe s-someone’s calling you that? Little Yu, Little Fishy^[2]?”

“Huh?” Sui Houyu picked up the card and looked at it again. What nonsense?

If someone actually called him that, he’d have to throw hands.

Hou Mo, standing beside Sui Houyu, took the card and asked: “Is this a prank?”

Ran Shu looked at the chocolates suspiciously: “C-Could it… have poison in it? Maybe it’s from one of Xu Youyi’s admirers?”

Sui Houyu stared at the box for a moment before deciding to ignore it.

After all, he was popular too. During the height of his popularity, his desk would be covered in chocolates every Valentine’s Day morning.

Just as he was about to sit down, the school broadcast announced that all class monitors should go to the disciplinary office. He got up and started heading out.

Each step he took still made his legs ache.

Hou Mo happily trotted after him, saying: “I’m the academic representative. I should contribute to the class too.”

When they arrived, it turned out there wasn’t much to do at the disciplinary office—just picking up a form to fill out for the upcoming “Model Student” nominations.

Hou Mo had expected to wait a long time outside the office, but Sui Houyu went in and came right back out. They walked back together.

Still full of energy, Hou Mo started talking about practice: “Today we’re training baseline shots. I’m bringing in Deng Yiheng and Shen Junjing to partner up with us. We’re going to crush them and make them scream.”

“Oh…” Sui Houyu was studying the form, trying to figure out who in their class could qualify as a model student.

Looking at Hou Mo, he thought to himself that this guy was the farthest thing from one.

As they were chatting, a girl suddenly appeared in front of Sui Houyu, blocking his way, and excitedly asked: “Did you get my gift?”

Sui Houyu was startled and looked up, noticing a few girls sneaking glances at them. When they realized he had seen them, they immediately scattered.

From the looks of it, they weren’t this girl’s friends. He had a gut feeling—this scene felt strangely familiar, reminding him of past malicious pranks.

“Why did you send me a gift?” he asked the girl.

The girl had long black hair draped over her shoulders, likely unbound because it was still before the first class. Her face was small, and she had a unique pair of fox-like eyes that tilted up at the corners.

She didn’t seem very tall, maybe around 160 centimeters at most, even with shoes on.

After looking at her, he was sure he didn’t know her.

The girl responded quite confidently: “To celebrate our first day of dating!”

“And… who are you?” Sui Houyu asked.

The girl looked startled, suddenly panicking: “Do I look that different from my photo?”

Hou Mo had thought someone was just hitting on Sui Houyu.

But… they were dating?!

What the heck? A photo? Online dating?

He was with Sui Houyu every day, so how could he not know?

He looked at Sui Houyu, who seemed lost in thought, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Could it actually be true?

Sui Houyu glanced over and noticed someone in the corner holding up a phone, seemingly recording the scene.

Being a smart person, he immediately guessed that the girl was likely the victim of a prank and that someone intended to capture her embarrassed reaction on video to spread as a joke later.

He sighed, grabbed the girl by the sleeve, and led her to a quieter spot, telling Hou Mo: “You go on back.”

“Go back without you?! What about you?” Hou Mo asked, his tone resembling someone confronting a heartbreaker.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” Sui Houyu replied coldly.

Hou Mo, unwilling, continued following them until Sui Houyu turned around and gave him a fierce glare.

Feeling terribly wronged, Hou Mo finally turned back toward the classroom. His mind was in a mess.

What on earth was happening?

Sui Houyu stopped only when they reached a quiet spot.

The girl, a bit dazed from being pulled along, wobbled as they stopped, ending up standing like she was being punished in the corner.

Standing on the outside, Sui Houyu, even though he was lean, managed to shield her completely due to his 183-centimeter height.

“I don’t think I’ve seen any photos of you.” Sui Houyu said again. “In fact, I don’t know you at all or what you’re talking about. But I suggest you don’t act too flustered—someone’s recording us.”

The girl gasped and tried to look outside, but Sui Houyu pressed her head back by the forehead, saying: “I don’t want you to be embarrassed. If you make a scene, I won’t help.”

“You… don’t know me? I added your WeChat a few days ago. You accepted, and we’ve been chatting for days…”

“I rarely use WeChat for chatting.”

The girl took out her phone: “I’ll send you a message now…”

“No need. Just check if this is my WeChat ID. Does it match?”

The girl quickly opened her WeChat contacts, looking at the account she’d been chatting with for days. The profile photo and username were the same as Sui Houyu’s, but the ID was different.

No need to send a message; she could confirm that the person she’d been talking to wasn’t Sui Houyu.

This…

Was she being played with?

Was the person who was messing with her pretending to be Sui Houyu while chatting with her, then turning around and sharing with others how stupid and fake she looked?

This was even more humiliating than being openly mocked.

After a long while, the girl looked up at Sui Houyu, eyes wide with shock, and asked: “So… it wasn’t you chatting with me, I…”

“You were being played.”

“F*ck! Which little b*tch-a really f*cking b*tch. Some people must be so bored they’d rather mess with their dad’s ashes, huh, instead of picking on me? Damn, b*tch b*tch!”

Sui Houyu looked at the girl in front of him, this cute little thing who suddenly transformed into a fiery spitfire, spewing a stream of profanities that left him utterly speechless.

At first, she had acted all sweet and innocent.

But realizing things weren’t as she had thought shattered her composure, rage flooding her mind until she couldn’t hold back anymore.

Sui Houyu had no interest in sticking around either, so he put his phone away and prepared to leave: “If there’s nothing else, I’m heading off.”

“Wait! I already told people you’re my boyfriend. What am I supposed to do now?” the girl suddenly called out to him.

“Can’t you just clarify things?”

“Did you see who was secretly filming?”

“No.”

The girl suddenly grabbed Sui Houyu’s sleeve, stopping him from leaving: “They messed with me, and they used you too. Aren’t you mad? Help me out; just help me find out who’s been messing with me, okay?”

“Nope.”

“Then I won’t clarify!”

“What?!”

The sudden shift in her demeanor caught Sui Houyu off guard.

The girl continued: “I used to like you, asked around to get your WeChat, and after a lot of back-and-forth, I finally got it and chatted with you for a few days. But now it’s like this, and it’s driving me insane! I don’t care about love or first love anymore; I just want to kill that little b*tch! To hell with love—if I can’t crush that idiot, don’t even call me Ai Mengtian!”

Sui Houyu looked at Ai Mengtian for a moment, then suddenly chuckled and pulled his sleeve back: “How can I help you?”

“Just pretend not to hate me. Let those people think they didn’t get to me, that they even helped me! I’ll go clarify that you haven’t actually agreed to be with me, that I’m pursuing you, and you’re considering it. Sound good?”

Sui Houyu stared at her for a long moment, apparently unwilling to cooperate.

After shedding her sweet-girl act, Ai Mengtian adopted a bold, tough-guy expression: “It doesn’t hurt you at all, does it? Besides, you could end up with a buddy like me!”

“I don’t need more buddies…”

“I used to be at Fenghua, and now I’m in Class Ten. My homeroom teacher’s Mr. Li. I may not have connections like Hou Mo, but I have some friends! If you need help, just call me Sister Jie; Sister Jie’s got your back.”

“…” He didn’t seem to need someone watching his back.

Ai Mengtian pulled out her phone: “Here, let’s exchange WeChats, so I can keep you posted.”

Sui Houyu shook his head: “No need.”

“I know plenty of Hou Mo’s dark secrets. Really juicy stuff. I could tell you stories.”

“Do you scan me, or do I scan you?”

Ai Mengtian quickly scanned his code and added him as a friend.

*

Meanwhile.

Hou Mo returned to the classroom and stood by the window, looking out at the equipment room hallway corner.

Their Class Seventeen was closer to the back, near a corner that led to the equipment room, which was quite spacious.

There was a hallway corner outside the equipment room visible from their class window—it was even part of their class’s assigned cleaning area.

Right now, Sui Houyu and Ai Mengtian were there. Sui Houyu was standing sideways, blocking the view of Ai Mengtian, so Hou Mo could only guess that they were talking.

Watching, he saw Sui Houyu raise his phone toward Ai Mengtian. Then, after a moment, Ai Mengtian grabbed Sui Houyu’s sleeve.

Hou Mo’s forehead vein pulsed.

At that moment, Shen Junjing arrived at the door of Class Seventeen, asking the students inside: “What’s going on? I heard that Brother Yu and Ai Mengtian from Class Ten are dating? First, they chatted on WeChat, and then yesterday, they made it official.”

He noticed a crowd from Class Seventeen gathered by the window, watching something, so he joined in. Spotting Sui Houyu, he exclaimed: “No way, Brother Yu’s got her against the wall? It’s definitely Ai Mengtian.”

Ran Shu muttered as he watched: “N-No way… Brother Yu… N-No way…”

If Sui Houyu were dating someone, there’s no way he wouldn’t know!

Deng Yiheng, who was clearly intrigued, asked Ran Shu: “What’s Brother Yu’s type?”

Ran Shu replied: “L-Likes long black hair, the quiet type, the really tough kind.”

Deng Yiheng nodded: “Except for her height, Ai Mengtian checks all the boxes.”

Ran Shu chuckled: “You… didn’t know, did you? Brother Yu actually likes short girls, like under 160 cm. He once told me he thinks short girls are pretty cute.”

Hou Mo listened to all this, fuming.

Didn’t he say he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend?

And now he’s gone and found one?

His words were as good as hot air.

Likes girls under 160 cm, huh? Then he’d have to start sawing his legs from the knees down to make the cut.

Why was Sui Houyu so skilled at giving people headaches?

Soon after, Sui Houyu returned to the classroom. He immediately noticed everyone looking at him.

He walked back to his seat, trying to act natural. He glanced at the chocolate on his desk, hesitated, and tossed it to Ran Shu: “Here, have it.”

Ran Shu held the chocolate, asking: “What’s going on with you?”

“She misunderstood; I haven’t agreed to anything.”

“Oh… just someone interested in you.” Ran Shu sighed in relief, opened the chocolate, and started eating.

Deng Yiheng, however, zeroed in on a key point: “You haven’t agreed? So there’s a chance in the future?”

Sui Houyu hesitated for a moment. Knowing Deng Yiheng had a big mouth and would spread the truth everywhere if he told him, which would embarrass Ai Mengtian, he replied: “We’ll see.”

He didn’t expect those three words would set Hou Mo off, making him explode: “What?!”

The first time Hou Mo heard “we’ll see,” he let Sui Houyu off.

The second time, Sui Houyu joined the tennis team. Now, this third time was about a potential relationship, and Hou Mo couldn’t hold it in anymore.

What “we’ll see”?

Not a chance!

Sui Houyu jumped at Hou Mo’s sudden outburst, looking at him in surprise as he watched Hou Mo switch seats to sit right beside him.

Now Hou Mo could keep an eye on Sui Houyu, making sure he wouldn’t be able to chat on WeChat!

As morning study started, Ouyang Ge entered the classroom, glanced around, and then sat beside Deng Yiheng.

Deng Yiheng was nearly in tears…