HCILH Ch. 90

Chapter 90: The Swimming Pool

Recently, Sui Houyu had been unhappy for some reason.

Hou Mo still couldn’t figure out why Sui Houyu was upset.

During this time, Hou Mo felt like he had to be on edge just to stay alive.

The earlier rejection was a misunderstanding, and in the two days that followed, Hou Mo came up with five or six reasons to explain himself to Sui Houyu.

For example, he wanted to get Sui Houyu’s attention in a special way.

He had only been upset by Sui Houyu’s refusal to join the tennis team and had spoken in the heat of the moment.

“You’re the one I like after careful consideration.”

There were also some flimsy excuses: “Isn’t it true that I love you now? Real love always comes with sincerity. How can any scumbag fall in love so quickly?”

After barely covering up the situation, Sui Houyu was still unhappy.

He even got angry just by seeing Hou Mo.

Hou Mo really didn’t get it.

Of course, Hou Mo didn’t understand why Sui Houyu was upset. Every time he saw Hou Mo, he got angry.

Chasing someone, huh? Is chasing a belief? Are you enjoying this?

If Hou Mo had talked less, would they have been dating by now? Could he drag Hou Mo over and kiss him at any time? Could he play with that pink thing at his convenience?

Instead, he still had to keep up appearances.

Recently, Sui Houyu felt that he was going to fall ill due to depression. 

When he saw Hou Mo walking over and smiling at him, his mouth moving, it made him itch with frustration.

He could look, but not touch. He had to maintain his dignity.

What the heck!

It was fine if Hou Mo didn’t bother him, but of course, Hou Mo had to be everywhere around him. It made him so mad that he wanted to fight him every day!

In the afternoon, they were training core stability.

Sui Houyu had to place his feet on gymnastic rings while balancing on a half-round balance ball.

The ball resembled a bulging pot lid with the ball-shaped side on the floor. The top was filled in, and there was a small groove in the center to hold a tennis ball.

Sui Houyu had to stabilize his body by holding onto the balance ball, but the bottom was spherical, so as soon as he thought he had his balance, his body started shaking uncontrollably.

Hou Mo stood by his side, hands raised to assist, and when Sui Houyu began to fall to one side, Hou Mo reached out, grabbing his waist to pull him back up.

Sui Houyu wasn’t ready to give up. He tried again, struggling to keep the balance ball steady.

Hou Mo squatted beside him, placing a tennis ball on the flat surface, and said: “Focus on controlling the ball, try to get the tennis ball into the groove.”

At this point, Sui Houyu had a hard enough time keeping his balance, let alone trying to get the tennis ball in the groove. It was pretty tough.

Hou Mo turned to look at Coach Wang and then moved to another spot, blocking Sui Houyu’s view. He gently blew on the tennis ball, trying to move it into the groove.

Sui Houyu lost his balance again, causing the ball to slip away. Hou Mo picked it up again and placed it back, continuing to help blow it toward the groove.

Their faces were close together, and Hou Mo’s breath brushed against Sui Houyu’s face, making him feel restless.

“Go away, I don’t need your help.” Sui Houyu snapped irritably.

“Oh,” Hou Mo stepped back a couple of paces, still crouching by Sui Houyu’s side, but now he was focused on guiding him. “You don’t need to move too much; otherwise, the ball will fall out. Just slowly adjust the surface, and it will go in on its own.”

He looked so anxious, as though he wanted to handle the ball for Sui Houyu himself.

Sui Houyu, frustrated, replied: “I know. You don’t have to tell me.”

Hou Mo moved to another ring and demonstrated, “Brother Yu, Brother Yu, look at me. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Sui Houyu was focused on keeping his balance and glanced at Hou Mo, but all he saw was an empty show.

Once Hou Mo had stabilized himself, he turned to look at Sui Houyu, awkwardly saying, “No one is helping me with the ball…”

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, neither speaking.

Neither knew who started laughing first, but once they started, they couldn’t stop. They both just stood there, laughing foolishly at each other.

Hou Mo could only shout at Deng Yiheng: “Little Deng, come help me put the ball in!”

Deng Yiheng, lying on the floor, playing dead, didn’t budge: “I’m confused, I feel sick, I don’t want to move.”

“Hurry up, I want to show Brother Yu how it’s done!” Hou Mo urged.

Deng Yiheng sighed loudly, crawling over to help Hou Mo.

Hou Mo, already familiar with the equipment, placed the ball and soon managed to get the tennis ball into the groove.

Once he succeeded, he immediately showed Sui Houyu: “See? You didn’t get the accuracy like I did.”

“It’s my first try, but once I get the hang of it, I’ll get it in one go.”

Deng Yiheng had just gotten eyelid surgery last weekend, and one of his eyes was still swollen, with stitches still in place.

He had a good excuse to be lazy, so he spent the entire afternoon watching from the sidelines. Coach Wang didn’t make him train, so Deng Yiheng proudly watched the whole session.

He overheard their conversation and suddenly frowned: “Wait, do you guys have such deep chats now?”

Deng Yiheng didn’t say anything, but the two of them didn’t think much of it.

However, once Deng Yiheng spoke, both of them fell silent.

Without breaking the awkward tension, things felt natural between them, and they didn’t overthink their actions. Now that things had been confessed, every little thing seemed to make them self-conscious, which made the atmosphere a little uncomfortable.

Deng Yiheng chuckled to himself.

At this moment, Coach Wang announced: “Alright, pack up! We’re going swimming.”

The members of the tennis team got up, excited to change into their swimsuits.

Their school had a swimming pool, but it wasn’t open often in winter due to the temperature requirements. Every time it opened, the heating system had to run at full power.

When the pool was open, it was usually for the whole day, and different teams or classes took turns. It was now the tennis team’s turn.

Deng Yiheng couldn’t swim, so he followed Sui Houyu, trying to hold back his laughter: “Have you ever seen a frogman swimsuit?”

Sui Houyu didn’t understand at first, but after glancing at the tall figure walking ahead, he suddenly laughed. Just imagining it was already hilarious.

Ran Shu, who still didn’t know about these secrets, muttered from the side: “Does Hou Mo have a C-section scar, or did he tattoo some random design when he was younger? Why does he always cover up so much?”

“Don’t ask,” Deng Yiheng waved him off, “Muscular men get shy too, and they’ll punch you.”

When they reached the changing room, Sui Houyu noticed that Hou Mo was deliberately taking his time, trying to be the last one to change into his swimsuit.

Sui Houyu wasn’t in a hurry either, waiting with Hou Mo. When it was finally their turn, he blocked Hou Mo’s locker, smiling at him.

Hou Mo didn’t mind anymore. He locked the changing room door, walked up to Sui Houyu, and then slowly removed his shirt. As he took it off, his body stretched, his muscles shifting, and his smooth, defined lines were on full display.

He then neatly folded his clothes in front of Sui Houyu, crossed past him, and placed them in the locker.

As Hou Mo placed his clothes in the locker, his body brushed against Sui Houyu’s, making Sui Houyu back up, pressing his back against the locker. Sui Houyu deliberately tried to avoid him, but his nose accidentally brushed against Hou Mo’s shoulder, and he caught a familiar scent from Hou Mo’s skin.

Hou Mo took out his swimming clothes and shook them open in front of him. It was a frogman-style half-sleeve, short pants swimsuit. The moment he saw it, he burst out laughing.

However, his laughter quickly faded as he watched Hou Mo take off his sports shorts and put on the frogman swimsuit. Throughout the whole process, his gaze kept turning back to Hou Mo.

After Hou Mo finished changing, he asked: “Aren’t you going to change?”

“Ah… yeah.” He nodded, took off his shirt, and when he grabbed his swimming trunks, he glanced back. Sure enough, Hou Mo was looking at him.

He reached for a towel, draped it over himself, and then continued changing behind the towel, moving as fast as if the video had been sped up to 2x.

When he was done, he wrapped the towel around himself and calmly walked out. He heard Hou Mo mutter “Damn,” and couldn’t help but laugh.

He quickly opened the door and walked out, with Hou Mo hot on his heels, complaining relentlessly, “Brother Yu, can’t believe you’re like this. I stopped hiding from you, you know.”

“I don’t want to show it to you, why would I? It’s so you don’t start drooling from Alzheimer’s.”

“You’re bringing that up again?”

“Yeah, I didn’t get it before, but now that I think about it, you little pervert have been eyeing me a lot.”

“Heh…” Hou Mo grinned shamelessly, “Young and full of vigor!”

When they arrived at the pool, they continued practicing core balance.

In class, they supported themselves with a half-circle balance ball, but here, they used a balance board.

They needed to stand with their toes on the edge of the pool, holding onto the balance board with their hands, pushing it out onto the water, and keeping their bodies parallel to the surface while supporting themselves.

If their core strength wasn’t strong enough, they’d probably be shaking uncontrollably before even managing to push the board out.

To prevent interference, they each had to maintain some distance.

Even so, they were still falling into the water one after another, like ducks dropping into the water.

Sui Houyu’s competitive nature kicked in again, and he kept comparing himself to Hou Mo. Even though he could barely hold on, he kept pushing himself.

Seeing that Sui Houyu’s arms were starting to show veins, Hou Mo couldn’t help but pull him back, saying: “Brother Yu, know when to stop, don’t overdo it. Take a break, then continue.”

He nodded but still couldn’t stop, unable to move back for a while.

Hou Mo walked over, intending to pull Sui Houyu back, but as soon as he touched him, he felt someone kick him from behind.

The kick caused both Sui Houyu and Hou Mo to fall into the water. When Hou Mo hit the water, his instinct was to protect Sui Houyu.

Both of them knew how to swim, so they quickly stabilized in the water, supporting each other.

After they stabilized, Hou Mo noticed it was actually Sang Xian who had kicked him. On the shore, Sang Xian had a mischievous smirk, clearly doing it on purpose.

If it had been anyone else, Hou Mo would’ve definitely cursed them out.

But since it was Sang Xian, Hou Mo didn’t say anything. After all, since the incident before, Sang Xian had developed a fear of water and barely attended swimming lessons. The fact that he could joke around now meant he was recovering well.

However, Hou Mo held back, but the others didn’t.

Ran Shu, seeing this, got furious. He ran over and yelled: “What the hell is wrong with you? You kicked Hou Mo, fine, but why drag Brother Yu into it too? Huh?! Get in the water!”

Ran Shu pushed Sang Xian into the water. By the time Sang Xian realized what was happening, his body was already tilting.

The fastest response from Sang Xian wasn’t to try to steady himself but to grab Ran Shu’s hand that was still extended from pushing him, pulling Ran Shu into the water with him.

Ran Shu, who could swim, was momentarily dazed. His head short-circuited, and he just grabbed onto whatever he could to climb upwards, eventually ending up with his arms wrapped around Sang Xian like an octopus. It wasn’t until his head broke the water surface that he finally calmed down.

When their eyes met, Sang Xian gave him a look of disdain, but Ran Shu didn’t let go and even spat “Tsk.”

Sang Xian: “…”

Omake:

Q: What hobbies have you been into lately?

Sui Houyu: Watching Hou Mo change clothes.

Q: Are you gay or just lusting after his body?

Sui Houyu smiled.