HCILH Ch. 99

Chapter 99: Training Camp Begins

Not only Fengyu High School participated in the training camp.

When they arrived at the station, they discovered that all the schools had booked tickets for the same high-speed train, and all the students met again in the waiting hall.

It’s said that once they arrive at the target city, they’ll take the same bus to the hotel, and the rooms at the hotel are all next to each other.

Fengyu High School isn’t a sports-specialized school, and only ten spots were available for the training camp. Due to varying levels of training and willingness, only three female team members from their school were attending.

It’s said that the damp and cold weather at the training site last year was unbearable for the northern girls. Whether it was tough didn’t matter; the main issue was that the cold and damp weather made their period pains worse, and it was better to stay behind at school for training.

The Provincial Sports School and East Sports School had twenty spots each, and most of the familiar faces were there, including Lu Yanxin.

While waiting for the train, Lu Yanxin ran over to chat with them and asked Sui Houyu: “Brother Yu, did you bring your wrist and knee guards?”

Sui Houyu casually replied: “Bought them yesterday, why?”

“Well, we’re suddenly going to the south, and it’s hard to adjust. It’s damp and cold there, and there’s no air conditioning or heating. I heard it’s pretty uncomfortable. My senior specifically gave me her old gear. Last year, a senior went there, got really cold, and her period didn’t come right for a few months after. She had to drink Chinese medicine to adjust afterward.”

Sitting aside, Hou Mo casually said: “After the training camp, Brother Yu will probably have to start drinking Chinese medicine too.”

“Why?” Lu Yanxin asked, surprised.

“He’s too thin. Yesterday, Coach Wang took him to the Chinese medicine hospital, and they gave him a prescription. He’ll drink Chinese medicine during the Chinese New Year to adjust his body.”

“Pfft—” Lu Yanxin laughed, “That’s miserable! How many girls would envy this kind of trouble?”

Sui Houyu leaned back against the chair, not wanting to speak.

They had a rare day off yesterday but still couldn’t sleep in. Coach Wang came to pick up Sui Houyu at 6 a.m., and Hou Mo also got up early to go with him to the hospital. After all, their home in Xiangjiaxiang was quite remote, and it took a long time to get to the city.

Sui Houyu’s bipolar disorder needed regular check-ups, with a few tests like brain MRIs to check his health indicators and see if he needed medication, among other things.

The good news was that Sui Houyu’s condition had been stable recently. His indicators were moving in a normal direction, probably due to good sleep and no major emotional fluctuations.

Sui Houyu’s mood had been quite good lately, which helped improve his condition.

After the check-ups, Coach Wang drove straight to the Chinese medicine hospital to address Sui Houyu’s thinness.

This time, Sui Houyu was basically dragged into the hospital by Coach Wang and Hou Mo. After entering, they checked his pulse and gave him a prescription.

Sui Houyu’s thinness was purely due to his physique; he couldn’t absorb nutrients as well as others, which is why he ate a lot but remained thin. This wasn’t ideal, so it was better to adjust it.

While lining up for ticket checks, the Fengyu High School group finally stood up, allowing others to see their down jackets clearly.

Liu Mo, who had abandoned his luggage, walked over to admire Hou Mo’s back and asked: “What’s with your style?”

The Fengyu High School group didn’t mind and turned around to show everyone. Hou Mo even gave a thumbs-up to the four characters on his back and said: “We’re the unyielding roses, aren’t we cool?”

After getting used to the four characters, they really started to like them more and more.

The embroidery of these words was also quite domineering and had a very stylish vibe.

Liu Mo stared at them in silence for a long time before finally losing composure: “Damn, what exactly did we lose to?!”

Yang Hong gritted his teeth: “Can’t bear to watch.”

Hu Qingxu also felt despair: “We actually lost to them. It’s so embarrassing to say.”

Yang Hong suddenly turned to Sui Houyu: “That pair of doubles from Nanyun Affiliated School is also going to the training camp. Maybe you can spar with them once you get there.”

Sui Houyu thought for a moment and asked: “The doubles champions from the national competition?”

“Yeah!”

“From Yunnan?”

Yang Hong was puzzled, wondering why there was such a misunderstanding. He quickly clarified, “No, no, they’re from the Huoguo Province, and their school is Nanyun Affiliated, which is linked to the provincial team.”

“Ah…” Sui Houyu casually replied, “What about Jiang Wei’s pair?”

“Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui are already training with the provincial team. They’re not here to hang out with us children.”

While chatting, they passed through security.

After exiting the passage, Hou Mo and the others split into two groups with the Provincial Sports School and East Sports School.

Liu Mo looked at the ticket in his hand and asked Hou Mo: “Cheap monkey, you guys are so far apart? Didn’t you buy tickets together?”

They were in the same car as East Sports School.

Hou Mo shook his ticket and said: “Here comes the reason why I’m going to Fengyu. We all have business class seats. See you!”

Saying that, he dragged his suitcase and led Sui Houyu, who was sitting on his suitcase, toward their train car.

Liu Mo muttered under his breath, “What a f*cking…”

But soon calmed down, reassured his team members, and led his group to the second-class car.

In fact, the journey was quite complicated. They first had to take the high-speed train to Beijing, attend a lecture by a tennis expert, stay overnight, and then fly to the training base.

Fengyu High School cared for its students, booking business class tickets for the high-speed train and first-class tickets for the plane, far above the standard of other schools.

While traveling, Fengyu High School often showed off its financial advantage and never lagged in terms of appearance.

On the high-speed train, after Hou Mo put away his suitcase, he adjusted Sui Houyu’s seat and said: “You can sleep for a while. I’ll memorize phone numbers.”

Sui Houyu was puzzled: “Why memorize those?”

“In case of an emergency, do you need to contact anyone? Should I memorize Ran Shu’s and Su Anyi’s numbers?”

Sui Houyu pulled out his phone, showing him the numbers for Ran Shu and Su Anyi, while asking: “You think you can memorize them?”

“It’s just a string of numbers. I’ll memorize them after looking at them twice.” Hou Mo said as he glanced at the numbers and returned the phone.

Sui Houyu didn’t believe that he could memorize them so quickly and decided to test Hou Mo.

To his surprise, Hou Mo recited the numbers perfectly.

Such memory… Sui Houyu almost wanted to knock him silly with a hammer.

After Sui Houyu laid down, Hou Mo leaned over to take off his shoes, pulled a blanket from his bag, and covered him. He also placed a pair of slippers by his feet, saying: “Wear these if you need to go to the bathroom later.”

“Mm.” Sui Houyu said, closing his eyes. His hand was soon held, and their fingers intertwined naturally, as though this action was completely normal.

While holding his hand, Hou Mo would also play with Sui Houyu’s fingers, squeezing his fingertip as if he were playing with them.

Despite such touches, Sui Houyu found himself enveloped in drowsiness and soon fell asleep.

When they were almost at their destination, Hou Mo woke Sui Houyu and helped him put on his down jacket.

Sui Houyu took a moment to gather himself and asked: “What’s the plan after this?”

“After the schools gather, we’ll go for a meal, then a lecture in the afternoon, rest in the evening, and we have a 9 a.m. flight tomorrow…” Hou Mo replied, giving him a general schedule. He then turned around, adjusted his clothes, and bent down to put his shoes on. “Just follow me. I’ve memorized everything, including the map.”

Actually, Sui Houyu was the team captain, but he had never really taken on the responsibilities of the position.

Since becoming the captain, Hou Mo had taken on all the work.

This time, there was no coach with them, and Su Anyi wasn’t coming, so Hou Mo was leading the team on his own. The other nine members, including the three female team members, turned to Hou Mo for questions, and he handled everything well.

Perhaps Hou Mo had already anticipated this, so he had memorized everything before leaving.

After they left the station, Hou Mo led everyone to the parking lot where their bus was waiting. They were the first group to board.

After sitting in a suitable spot, Hou Mo made sure everyone’s luggage was properly placed before sitting next to Sui Houyu and asking: “Are you cold?”

Saying that, he took out a hand warmer from his pocket and gave it to Sui Houyu: “It was heated on the high-speed train.”

“This little pig is almost your personal item now.” Sui Houyu said, taking the hand warmer, already familiar with it.

“You’re using it secretly, otherwise, you might end up looking like a couple with Lu Yanxin, you know what I mean.”

He immediately nodded, understanding, and hid the little pig in his sleeve.

Liu Mo and their team were the second group to board. When they saw Hou Mo, they sighed: “Cheap monkey, you guys are fast.”

“I checked the map before I came. After all, I’m leading the team with my brain.” Hou Mo replied.

Liu Mo was furious and asked: “Aren’t you guys pretty rich? Why didn’t you hire a private car? Why are you riding with us?”

“You’re so sour, like a rotten lemon. Stop complaining. If you keep nagging, I’ll just make you feel worse.” Hou Mo said, smiling like an angel.

Liu Mo knew what kind of person Hou Mo was, so he stopped complaining and started directing his team members to their seats.

He had never gotten anything good from Hou Mo.

*

The next day, after arriving in the training city, Sui Houyu felt fine when he walked out of the airport. It wasn’t too cold, not as exaggerated as they said.

But after taking the bus to the training location, Sui Houyu gradually started feeling uncomfortable.

It was very humid there, and he immediately felt that his clothes, including his socks, were damp. The excessive humidity made it hard for the clothes to keep him warm, adding to the chill.

His hand warmer was in his checked luggage, so it wasn’t heating up, and Sui Houyu was starting to feel worse.

Coming from the dry north to the south, he just couldn’t adapt in a short time.

The north was a dry cold, clean and quick, like a punch to the face. Wearing a down jacket could block it off.

Here, it was a damp cold, gradually seeping into the body.

The “melee” and “mage” battle, Sui Houyu felt, was won by the “mage.”

When they arrived at the training base, Sui Houyu suddenly understood why Hou Mo had been carrying phone numbers around.

As soon as they entered, all communication devices were confiscated, all snacks from their luggage were handed over, and their suitcases were checked one by one. No messy things were allowed.

When the instructors reached Sui Houyu’s suitcase, they paused for a moment, causing female team members like Lu Yanxin to come over and look.

There were many bottles and jars inside, all travel-sized, and the instructors had to check each one to make sure nothing was strange.

Lu Yanxin, looking for a while, exclaimed: “Brother Yu, you’re more delicate than me. No wonder your skin’s so good.”

Sui Houyu denied: “These are just everyday items, nothing special.”

The instructor pulled out another bottle and asked: “What’s this?”

“Eye wash.”

“Eye wash?”

Sui Houyu answered seriously: “Yes, for relieving dry and tired eyes.”

Many of them didn’t know what it was, so Sui Houyu had to demonstrate washing his eyes on the spot.

Yang Hong was shocked and shouted: “Damn, this guy is the type who can put eyedrops in his open eyes!”

Sui Houyu glared at Yang Hong with disdain.

He could understand the surprise over killing someone without blinking, but what’s so surprising about putting in eyedrops without blinking?

Deng Yiheng, long used to this scene, smiled with slight contempt: “This is nothing. You haven’t seen my roommate draw eyebrows yet. That’s real magic!”

Lu Yanxin was particularly curious: “Who is it?”

“Little sculpture.”

“Oh, I remember him clearly too.”

In the end, Sui Houyu had a lot of things confiscated, like his Nintendo Switch, a physics book, felting tools, and a bag of goji berries.

Hou Mo had known about this procedure long ago. Besides clothes and toiletries, his suitcase only contained tennis strings and spare rackets—nothing else.

After the instructors finished their checks and left, Hou Mo pulled out two bottles from his suitcase for Sui Houyu to see: “One is for the face, one for sunscreen, that’s all.”

Sui Houyu didn’t respond.

After the inspection was done, Sui Houyu was about to organize his suitcase, thinking they were done. But when they entered the building, there was another check.

They had to place their suitcases on the conveyor belt and go through a security scan, just like at the airport.

While waiting in line, Sui Houyu saw a person from East Sports High School hiding a phone inside their pants, which was confiscated.

One person from the provincial team had a phone battery hidden in their shoe sole, and that was also detected. Later, the whole provincial team was rechecked, and another person had an old Nokia phone, with a removable battery.

While waiting to check into their rooms, Sui Houyu quietly asked: “A whole month, with no contact with the outside world?”

“They’ll give us one afternoon and half a day off in the middle of the month, but we’ll have to return the phone afterward.”

Sui Houyu’s expression went stiff.

Hou Mo then found the coach who was in charge of assigning dorms and asked quietly: “Coach, can my doubles partner from Fengyu High share a room with me?”

“We’re redistributing the dorms, so you can’t stay together. It’s for your own good, so you don’t disturb each other’s sleep.” the coach refused, shaking his head.

“My partner is special. He just started playing tennis and still has some sleep issues. Our coach has spoken with you about this.” Hou Mo explained.

The coach seemed to remember and asked, “What are your names?”

“Hou Mo and Sui Houyu.”

“Your names aren’t easy to remember!”

“You can just think of them as a couple’s name.” Hou Mo said.

“Alright, I’ll try to remember.” The coach said and then sent them to the cafeteria for lunch while waiting for the rest of the teams.

At the cafeteria, Sui Houyu suddenly felt that the food at Fengyu High’s cafeteria was pretty good, compared to this bland and tasteless food.

Is this prison food?

Hou Mo noticed and quietly advised: “Don’t mind it too much. It’s tough here, but the coach has his own system. After training, you’ll improve. More importantly, there are many people here, and during free practice time, I’ll challenge you one by one to gain more experience.”

Sui Houyu nodded, looking up to see Sang Xian, the young master, eating too. He didn’t want to stand out, so he ate along with everyone else.

After waiting for a while, when the other provincial teams had almost arrived, they were assigned to dorms.

When Hou Mo and Sui Houyu got their room keys, they were speechless. Not only were they not assigned to the same room, but they were even on different floors.

Hou Mo had to go find the coach again, who replied directly: “I assigned rooms based on couple names!”

“But that’s not us.”

The coach seemed like he wanted to say more, but someone called him over, and it seemed another team had arrived. He could only answer: “You’ll stay here for now. I’ll see if I can change your rooms when I have time.”

Hou Mo didn’t want to trouble the coach too much since they were busy, so he just accompanied Sui Houyu to his dorm.

The dorms were doubles, with two simple single beds, a wardrobe, a board-table, two chairs, and nothing else.

The showers and restrooms were shared with others.

While Hou Mo helped Sui Houyu set up his bed, he mumbled: “What’s with the couple names? Who are you with? Our names aren’t couple names enough?”

At that moment, someone walked into the dorm, and they both looked at the person.

The person was about 180+ cm tall, just a couple of centimeters shy of it.

With fox-like eyes and bruises around his mouth, his body was covered with bruises as if he had just fought. His face, though still decent, was a shameful sight.

To Sui Houyu and Hou Mo, the person looked like trouble, with a proud look in his eyes.

Hou Mo recognized him right away—he was one of the doubles partners from Nanyun High School.

The person glanced at them, dragging his suitcase into the room and sitting on the other bed for a brief rest.

Hou Mo greeted him first: “Hi, we’re from Fengyu High. I’m Hou Mo, and this is my partner, Sui Houyu.”

“Yeah, I know you guys.” The person turned to look at them. “You’re the pair who can go toe-to-toe with Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui?”

“Yeah.”

The person’s gaze was sharp, as though glaring or staring at them.

Sui Houyu seemed fierce, but this person was truly dangerous—if this were ancient times, he would definitely be a ruthless outlaw, having killed more than a few people, as his gaze could kill.

Hou Mo felt worried, thinking, if this guy and Sui Houyu didn’t get along, what would happen if they fought?

Sui Houyu’s temper could explode with a single spark, and this guy didn’t seem like someone to back down either.

This dorm must be changed!

Otherwise, Hou Mo wouldn’t be able to sleep, and the two of them would end up fighting at the training base.

Suddenly, the person remembered something and introduced himself: “Oh, by the way, I’m He Shibi.”

Sui Houyu & Hou Mo: “…”

This is so damn… awkward.

Sui Houyu and He Shibi?

Hou Mo suddenly felt like he had lost, lost in terms of cultural depth and historical heritage. What was he? He was just someone with the surname Hou^[1].

At that moment, someone else walked into their dorm room, tall and of the slender, aloof type.

This person had a world-weary face; Gu Libo had a world-weary expression because he always looked like he was ready to give up on life, but this person’s world-weary demeanor came from his looks and aura.

He wore glasses, his mouth tightly pursed, displaying a stern, humorless demeanor, with a trace of chastity about him.

If this person didn’t have a Band-Aid on the corner of his eye and some bruising on his face, he’d actually be quite handsome.

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo exchanged a glance, seemingly confirming that these two had been in a fight together.

Hou Mo whispered: “He’s his doubles partner.”

“Oh.”

The world-weary person walked in, placed a meal on the table, and said: “There were only a few dishes left in the cafeteria, so I brought you some.”

“Take it away, I’m not eating.” He Shibi didn’t even glance at him, directly refusing in an unpleasant tone.

“Training starts this afternoon.”

“I said I’m not eating. Do you not understand?”

The world-weary person looked at He Shibi for a while, then slammed the meal down onto the table, speaking in a low, gruff voice: “Eat it if you want, don’t if you don’t.”

After that, he turned and left the dorm.

Throughout the entire scene, Sui Houyu and Hou Mo kept exchanging glances, and eventually, Hou Mo carried his bag and led Sui Houyu upstairs.

After they stepped out, Sui Houyu’s curiosity flared again: “I reasonably suspect that their injuries were caused by the two of them fighting.”

Hou Mo sighed: “I suddenly think our early relationship was pretty good.”

At least Hou Mo wouldn’t hit Sui Houyu in the face, and Sui Houyu knew how to hold back during a fight.

While Hou Mo was tidying up their dorm, he saw Deng Yiheng passing by and called out to ask: “What’s up with that doubles pair from Nanyun Affiliated School? The atmosphere was so intense.”

Deng Yiheng casually replied: “They’ve always been like this. Last time, their match with Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui was delayed by over twenty minutes. I heard it was because the pair from Nanyun High School fought while discussing tactics. But it was the finals, so they couldn’t just cancel the match, so they kept the fight quiet. But that’s just what I heard, don’t know if it’s true.”

Looking at it now, it seemed like there was definitely some kind of conflict.

Hou Mo made a beckoning gesture to Deng Yiheng and whispered: “Come with me tomorrow night to get our phones.”

Deng Yiheng laughed when he heard this: “Not going today?”

“Today, there’ll be too many people watching. Tomorrow will be safer.”

Sui Houyu was still surprised: “Where did you hide it?”

Hou Mo pointed his thumb outwards: “Remember I walked around outside before entering? I threw my phone over the fence, wrapped in waterproof film. It’s an old phone, nothing important.”

“But why did you need to memorize the phone numbers?”

“Well, if a coach finds it and sees the numbers, or tracks where the number is from, they can figure out which school it came from. So it’s safest to just keep the numbers in my head.”

Sui Houyu was impressed: “Impressive.”

Hou Mo smiled: “It’s experience. I came here once in middle school, and it left quite an impression.”

After the team from Fengyu High School had settled their things, they instinctively gathered around Hou Mo. Soon, they all met in his dorm room.

Deng Yiheng had nowhere to sit and plopped down on the table. He suddenly sighed: “Ah, I miss Ran Shu.”

Everyone looked at Deng Yiheng.

He continued: “I really miss hearing him complain about this place. Every sentence he says would be full of unexpected words.”

Sui Houyu couldn’t help but laugh.

Luckily, Ran Shu wasn’t here. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t be able to stand this place.

Deng Yiheng glanced at Sang Xian a few times with a guilty look.

Had he misjudged the situation? When he mentioned missing Ran Shu, did Sang Xian glare at him?