Chapter 89: Morse Code

Sui Houyu activated the video intercom, only returning to his room after confirming that Hou Mo had left. Every step he took was heavy, as if he were practicing the legendary Seven-Star Step^[1].

Once inside, he called Ran Shu via voice chat and started talking about what had happened earlier.

Ran Shu was still on his way home, sitting in a car.

The soundproofing between the front and back seats of his Rolls-Royce was perfect, so Ran Shu wasn’t worried about the driver overhearing their conversation.

Ran Shu began laughing halfway through the story, continuing to chuckle all the way to the end. Then he asked: “What the heck, what’s going on? He rejected you before the sports meet? No way, you let a dog bite you?”

“That part didn’t even make me angry. What bothers me is that Hou Mo said I was his least acceptable type.”

It was just a kiss, after all. Hou Mo enjoyed it, and so did he, so it wasn’t a big deal.

But to say he wasn’t Hou Mo’s type? Absolutely not!

How dare you! Who needs your approval anyway?! If you don’t like me, then why did you kiss me in the first place?!

“There are only so many things people say when rejecting someone; it’s not that deep. But how did he manage to change his mind so quickly? Did he fall for you while training together?”

Sui Houyu angrily gulped down an entire bottle of mineral water and reached for another, only to realize that there wasn’t any left in the house.

He kept ranting: “I was about to just agree to date him. We like each other, so why not? But then he said he’s not in a rush, that he’ll take his time pursuing me and that I should take my time to think about it. How am I supposed to think about it? For two or three days? People might say I’m overthinking for such a short time. But if I take three or four months, even I won’t be able to wait that long. Is he trying to set me up for failure?”

“Ha-ha-ha! cough—ha-ha!” Ran Shu laughed so hard he started coughing, then kept laughing even after catching his breath.

Ran Shu relished Hou Mo’s misfortune.

Sui Houyu, hands on his hips, asked: “Do you think he’s messing with me?”

“You can relax. No one would dare mess with you and risk their life. Besides, I’ve seen for a while that he likes you.”

“You knew, and you didn’t tell me when we argued that time?”

“I didn’t want you to be taken advantage of by a dog, but I guess he still made his move.”

Sui Houyu stood in his room, silently seething for a moment, before declaring: “No way, I’m going upstairs to fight him!”

“No, no, no!” Ran Shu quickly tried to stop him. “If you go and fight him now, you two will probably be done for good. He’ll run away after you beat him up.”

“I’m furious!”

“Only Hou Mo could make a confession go so wrong that it drives the person mad.”

“So what do I do now?” Sui Houyu placed his phone in its stand and sat in his chair, staring off into space, eyes dull with frustration.

Ran Shu asked: “You really do like him, huh?”

“It seems so.”

“Then just let him chase you for a while. Think of it as the price for rejecting you before. When the time feels right, agree to it. In the meantime, keep teasing him and making him work for it. If he can’t handle that, he’s not worth it. Maybe you’ll break up a few days in anyway.”

“Got it.”

After hanging up, Sui Houyu took out his phone and opened an app to look for food since he hadn’t eaten dinner, and there was no water left in the house.

As he browsed, he realized something odd—Da Ge hadn’t come home yet, probably because Hou Mo’s mother had taken him to their house.

While contemplating, the doorbell rang.

He rolled his eyes and didn’t really want to respond but went to the door anyway. He activated the intercom and saw that it was Hou Mo’s mother, so he quickly opened the door.

“Auntie.” Sui Houyu greeted her politely after opening the door.

He had always liked Hou Mo’s mother and couldn’t be rude to her.

“I’ve brought Meow Mimi back, and here’s the dinner Hou Mo made. You can take it inside,” Hou Mo’s mother said warmly, handing over the food container and cat carrier.

He took them one by one.

Meow Mimi? What a name. It didn’t suit his dashing brother at all.

Hou Mo’s mother spoke again: “I had the landlord bring a new kettle, and I’ve cleaned it, so you can use it right away.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I’ll be heading back now.”

“Alright.”

Once she left, Sui Houyu returned inside, put the kettle on to boil water, and sat at the dining table. He opened the container to find braised chicken, rice underneath, and a section with pickled vegetables.

Just as he picked up his chopsticks, a notification came through on WeChat.

Shameless Big Dog: “Eat while it’s hot. This time, you’ll have to mix it yourself.”

Shameless Big Dog: “The pickles are homemade by my mom, made with radishes. They’re sweet and sour, pretty tasty.”

Shameless Big Dog: “I didn’t come back down because I was afraid you were still mad at me. If you’ve calmed down, send me a message, and I’ll come down.”

Sui Houyu finished reading and set the phone back on the table, then quietly continued eating.

The sound of boiling water eventually faded and the kettle shut off.

After eating in silence for a while, he glanced at his phone. No new messages.

He thought for a moment before sending a reply to Hou Mo.

*

Hou Mo was currently sitting through tutoring with his mother and didn’t dare fall asleep.

His phone lay right in front of him, and even though there were no notifications, he kept tapping it to check for messages.

His mother noticed and asked: “Did you have a fight with Little Yu?”

“Yeah…” Hou Mo didn’t try to hide it. “I confessed to him, but it didn’t go well.”

His mother was taken aback: “Didn’t I tell you not to pursue straight boys?”

“I made sure he’s not straight before I confessed. He definitely has feelings for me but just can’t accept that he likes a guy yet. He’s thinking it over.”

“So, you two are giving each other the cold shoulder?”

“Ugh, don’t even mention it…” Hou Mo said, ruffling his hair in frustration.

Just then, his phone lit up with a notification. The fierce little brat finally replied.

He opened the audio message, listened to it, then, puzzled, replayed it.

It sounded like a series of beeps, resembling the tone of a keypad.

His mother also heard it and commented: “That might be Morse code.”

“What?!” That advanced?

Hou Mo quickly found examples of Morse code and started decoding it carefully with his mother.

After five or six minutes of focused effort, they finally deciphered it.

Sui Houyu’s reply was two letters: “sb^[2]”.

Hou Mo stared at the two letters for a long time, then asked his mother in a choked voice: “Mom, was I rejected?”

His mom could only comfort him: “Chasing someone is never easy. Your dad chased me for a long time back then.”

“Then why didn’t you agree?”

“He looked too fierce. When he spoke to me, it felt like he was scolding me. It wasn’t until one time I saw him get scared by a small animal that I thought he was a bit cute.”

Actually, Father Hou was quite handsome, tall with sharp features.

It was just that, being a soldier, he had a furrowed brow that made him look a bit intimidating.

Mom had been the delicate, soft type back then, a bit afraid of men like him.

Hou Mo sighed heavily, laying his head on the table, feeling utterly defeated: “What should I do…”

“Why don’t you send him a message back?”

Hou Mo took out his phone, studied the code, and then replied with a voice message in Morse code, a string of letters: “iloveyou.”

After sending it, not long later, he got a reply from Sui Houyu: “gun.”

Hou Mo was about to cry. Chasing someone really was too hard.

Mom laughed and said: “I actually think if Little Yu hated you, he wouldn’t even bother responding. The fact that he’s replying might mean you still have a chance.”

Hou Mo was suddenly enlightened.

With Sui Houyu’s personality, if there were no chance, he would have blocked him a long time ago. The fact that he was still replying meant that this shy guy was responding to him in his own way.

He immediately packed up his things, stood up, and said to his mom: “Mom, I’m going downstairs to put my warm face against his cold shoulder!”

“Alright, go ahead. Good luck.”

“Mm!” He quickly closed the door behind him and hurried toward the guesthouse where Sui Houyu was staying, practically leaping down the stairs.

He knocked on the door and soon heard the intercom’s “swish swish” sound, only to hear it quickly shut off.

It was probably Sui Houyu peeking through the door, but not opening it.

He glanced at the password lock. Since Sui Houyu hadn’t enabled “do not disturb” after his mom brought the dinner, he entered the code and went in. As soon as he entered, he saw Sui Houyu standing by the door, glaring at him angrily and asking: “Who let you in?”

“I brought you some toilet paper, it’s my job.” Hou Mo said, forcing his way into the room, holding up the toilet paper.

Once inside, he changed the toilet paper in the bathroom and didn’t leave the room.

Sui Houyu stood there with his arms crossed, watching him, looking like he was itching for a fight.

Hou Mo pushed Sui Houyu inside the room, then said: “Don’t mind me, I’m just a pillow. I’ll stay quiet, alright?”

“Have you ever seen anyone weigh a pillow weighing nearly 150 pounds?”

“Actually, rounding it up, my weight is 140 pounds.”

“You think I’ll take advice from you?”

Hou Mo was truly heartbroken.

While other childhood friends reunite with tears in their eyes, he and Sui Houyu had just reverted to before they even met.

While others confess with a gaze full of affection, he and Sui Houyu went back to the way things were before their confession.

What was wrong with them?

“I like you;” Hou Mo suddenly blurted out.

“…” Sui Houyu didn’t know what to answer. 

“I like you the way you are.” Hou Mo continued.

Sui Houyu rolled his eyes.

“I love you.” Hou Mo made a heart gesture with his hands.

Sui Houyu turned around and walked away.

Hou Mo wanted to follow him, but when he saw him sit down with Da Ge in the chair, he immediately stopped.

With no other option, Hou Mo went to the dining table, packed the food container, and poured a glass of water for Sui Houyu, placing it on the table to cool.

With nothing else to do, he went into the bathroom to take a shower.

He really didn’t treat himself as an outsider.

Sui Houyu looked toward the bathroom door, feeling disgusted, but not wanting to kick him out.

While conflicted, Hou Mo came out of the shower and walked over to the wardrobe. He had left his pajamas in the wardrobe the last time he came.

Sui Houyu looked up at Hou Mo, who was wrapped in a towel, noticing his well-toned abs and chest, and the faint pinkness there. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Was he not avoiding him anymore?

Forget it, I’ll let him stay.