HCILH Ch. 68

Chapter 68: Make-up Classes

On Sunday, the tennis team attended make-up classes along with the heavy athletics team, which had also just finished its competition.

It’s worth mentioning that Ouyang Ge serves as the assistant coach for the heavy athletics team. However, since he is also the head of moral education, he couldn’t attend the matches and stayed at school instead. Fortunately, the team performed quite well this season.

When the two teams gathered, the science students were mostly from Class Seventeen and Class Sixteen while the humanities students were from Class Eight and Class Nine. Only a few students from the top classes were present.

On the first day of the make-up class, when Sui Houyu entered the classroom, he saw that the wrestling team boys had arrived early and occupied the entire classroom. Each of them took an individual desk, making it impossible to sit down without sharing a table with one of them.

Standing at the doorway, Sui Houyu glanced inside and soon heard Hou Mo and Deng Yiheng chatting as they walked in. When Sui Houyu turned to look, he locked eyes with Hou Mo.

Hou Mo scanned the room and then walked straight in. He pulled a desk from beside someone and placed it in the middle of the classroom. 

Then, he grabbed a chair, set it next to the desk, and said to Sui Houyu: “Sit.”

After Sui Houyu sat down, Hou Mo brought another desk and chair and sat beside him.

The boy whose desk had been taken was clearly upset and grumbled at Hou Mo: “Hou Mo, why are you such a pain? Why take my desk? Couldn’t you grab someone else’s?”

Hou Mo casually pulled out a book from his bag, placed it on the desk, and responded confidently: “Relax. Su Anyi isn’t going to sit next to you. Even a dung beetle would shine brighter sitting beside you—do you really think a pretty girl would want to share a desk with you?”

“Get lost! I even took a shower before coming!” the boy snapped irritably but still couldn’t resist sniffing his clothes just to be sure.

Finally realizing what was going on, Sui Houyu quietly askedL “Were they all waiting for Su Anyi?”

“Yeah. Our tennis team is the envy of every athlete now,” Hou Mo said, seeing through them a long time ago.

“But aren’t there other female athletes? Some of them are pretty good-looking too.”

“That’s because these idiots don’t know yet—Su Anyi’s strength could rival anyone on the wrestling team. Once they figure that out, they’ll settle down.”

Su Anyi’s appearance was highly deceptive.

She looked like a cool, aloof girl with a quiet demeanor, but her presence was captivating.

The most striking thing about her was her height and beauty—she had a great figure and long legs.

When a girl like that showed up, it was only natural for people to steal a few more glances.

Finally, the much-anticipated Su Anyi walked in. She paused for a moment, noticing the arrangement in the classroom, then looked toward Sui Houyu.

Without needing her to say anything, Sui Houyu got up, collected his things, and gave up his seat for her.

Su Anyi walked over and sat down in the spot Sui Houyu had just vacated.

Hou Mo wasn’t interested in sitting with Su Anyi so waved to Ran Shu: “Come on over.”

Ran Shu, visibly annoyed, shot a glare at Hou Mo before grudgingly taking the seat next to Su Anyi.

Although he got to sit next to Su Anyi, Ran Shu was still frustrated—Hou Mo had successfully secured a spot next to Sui Houyu again, which only added to his irritation.

The thought that Sui Houyu probably wouldn’t be willing to share a desk with anyone else—except Hou Mo—made Ran Shu even more upset.

Meanwhile, the wrestling boys, now disappointed, stood up one by one to find new seats, which allowed Hou Mo and Sui Houyu to find a spot and sit together again.

Sui Houyu pulled out his notebook and placed a recorder on the desk, ready to start studying. When everything was set up, he turned to look at Hou Mo.

Hou Mo rested his chin on his hand, as if he intended to simply watch Sui Houyu study rather than join in himself.

“Don’t you ever take notes?” Sui Houyu asked, curious about Hou Mo’s approach to studying.

“No, I have a pretty good memory. As long as I’m somewhat conscious, I can remember everything I hear, even when I’m sleepy. I just need to look at a word once to remember it.”

“Photographic memory?”

“Not exactly. But if I flip through a textbook twice, I’ll remember which page and which line a formula is on.”

“Damn…” Sui Houyu searched for words to express his feelings but could only come up with that one word.

Hou Mo chuckled, watching as Sui Houyu frustratedly clicked his pen and began flipping through his books, recording notes, and even jotting down the date—a habit, perhaps.

What Hou Mo didn’t mention was that sometimes he hated his excellent memory.

He still remembered every detail of the day his father passed away—the strength and direction of the wind.

He could recall kneeling by his father’s body, the exact words spoken by the onlookers, and the way their tone shifted or paused on certain words.

And after his family’s downfall, he vividly remembered every cold glance, sigh, cruel remark, and indifferent response from those around him.

But he also remembered the kindness shown to him.

All of it—every bit of it—he remembered clearly.

Those memories, however, were things he would never share with Sui Houyu.

It’s quite amusing to see Sui Houyu puffing with anger, and it naturally lifts your mood.

He’s really adorable when he’s mad. Shortly after, the female athletes from the athletic sports team also entered the classroom, immediately drawing whistles and jeers.

Some of the girls playfully raised their fists at their teammates in a mock show of intimidation, but when they noticed Sui Houyu and Hou Mo, they quickly retracted their antics.

The tennis team—or rather, the handsome guys from Class Seventeen—had already become famous across the entire school. Knowing they’d have class with these good-looking boys, the girls had deliberately put on makeup that morning and slipped into pretty little dresses.

They sat as close as possible to the handsome boys, trying to maintain a graceful, ladylike facade.

This move drew collective teasing from the male teammates, as if they’d forgotten how moments ago they themselves were scrambling to sit beside Su Anyi.

Interestingly, the girls on the tennis team had a completely different vibe. They stayed zen, minding their own business, playing with their phones and chatting, not paying any attention to anyone else.

After all, they were used to it—those few good-looking boys? Not a single one of them seemed to be straight.

To these girls, these guys weren’t even worth a glance.

Before the teacher arrived, Sui Houyu was busy studying. Hou Mo, being his usual cheeky self, casually placed his hand on Sui Houyu’s leg.

Sui Houyu glanced at him, pushed his hand away, and continued reading.

Undeterred, Hou Mo also pulled out a book to read. After a while, however, he couldn’t resist poking Sui Houyu’s arm again, never staying quiet for long.

Irritated, Sui Houyu grumbled: “Can you behave for just a minute?”

“Oh? Now you’re trying to act all righteous? Then why don’t you stop dragging my hand back in your sleep?”

“…”

Sui Houyu looked at Hou Mo in silence for a moment before realizing what he meant. His face instantly flushed red, and he angrily kicked Hou Mo’s chair.

Hou Mo, being Hou Mo, kept his balance even as his chair skidded away, quickly pulling it back to sit down smoothly again.

This little scene caught the attention of others, making them think the two were about to fight. Instead, they saw Hou Mo lean closer to Sui Houyu and say, “That kick was impressive—you’ve got the style of a princess from the old days. I’ve even mastered it now.”

“Shut up! You’re so annoying!” Sui Houyu shouted grumpily.

“Oh, but it’s so lonely with no one to chat with…”

Just then, Deng Yiheng called out: “Senior Brother, I’ll chat with you!”

Without even turning around, Hou Mo lazily responded: “Scram.”

“Got it!” Deng Yiheng cheerfully answered.

The whole exchange made everyone burst into laughter, and the teasing continued for quite some time.

Hearing the laughter, Sui Houyu clenched his teeth in frustration and slapped away Hou Mo’s hand again when he tried to flip through his notebook.

The wrestling team had been excited about the class initially, but their enthusiasm soon fizzled out.

Even Su Anyi wasn’t interested in any of the guys, focusing solely on her studies.

That crushed the boys’ hopes.

Sang Xian slept from the moment he entered the classroom until dismissal.

Ran Shu looked good, but no matter how you looked at him, he was more like one of the girls.

Sui Houyu and Hou Mo? They were both decent, but they seemed only interested in each other.

With that, the girls gave up as well.

After a full day of make-up classes, the students were finally released. The moment the teacher announced the end of class, everyone jumped up and cheered, bolting out the door.

Teenagers at this age couldn’t sit still for long, and as soon as they got some free time, small groups started planning to play basketball.

It seemed like a match between the wrestling team and the tennis team was in the works.

Though the tennis team had the height advantage, to the wrestling athletes, they were just a bunch of tall, skinny poles—except for Sang Xian, whose physique was commendable.

After quickly packing up, Hou Mo didn’t leave with the others. Instead, he grabbed hold of the strap of Sui Houyu’s backpack, stopping him from leaving: “Come with me somewhere.”.

Sui Houyu wanted to take a shower and reluctantly asked: “Where?”

“To weigh you.”

During the competition, they hadn’t kept track of weight, and there wasn’t a scale at home either.

Now that they were back at school, the first thing on Hou Mo’s mind was Sui Houyu’s weight.

Before the competition, Sui Houyu had weighed 115 pounds—two pounds heavier than before—which made Hou Mo quite satisfied with his feeding efforts.

Now that the competition was over, Hou Mo needed to confirm his weight again to feel at ease.

Though unwilling, Sui Houyu nodded and followed Hou Mo to the equipment room.

As they stepped outside, someone tossed a basketball toward Hou Mo, but it veered off course, nearly hitting Sui Houyu. Hou Mo intercepted it with a quick hand.

Sui Houyu stepped back, noticing how large Hou Mo’s hand looked as it caught the bright coral-red basketball, creating a striking contrast with his pale skin.

The hands that never behaved—at least they looked good.

The guy who threw the ball called out: “Senior Brother, wanna join us for basketball?”

“Nope. I’m training with my partner.” Hou Mo replied, deliberately throwing the ball back hard at the guy.

The guy awkwardly caught it and apologized to Sui Houyu: “Sorry, my aim was off.”

Sui Houyu gave him a cold glance and walked away without responding.

It was Sunday, so not many students were on campus. The quiet school grounds felt like a giant bear in hibernation.

A chilly autumn breeze rustled the leaves, filling the air with the fresh scent of greenery.

Though Sui Houyu had agreed to follow him, Hou Mo still wasn’t reassured and clutched the strap of his backpack the entire way.

Sui Houyu felt like a sulky kindergarten kid being dragged home by a parent.

When they reached the equipment room, Hou Mo fetched the scale.

Originally, the scale was taken back to the dormitory by Hou Mo. Now. the scale had been returned to the equipment room before the competition, and it was time to use it again.

Sui Houyu took off his shoes and stepped onto the scale.

The numbers flickered before settling at 56.5 kilograms.

Both of them fell silent.

Hou Mo squatted by the scale, looking up at Sui Houyu, who bent slightly to meet his gaze. Neither said a word, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

Unwilling to accept it, Sui Houyu moved the scale to another spot and stepped on it again.

The numbers stayed the same.

He calmly put his shoes back on, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and said at the door: “I’m going to shower. Are you coming?”

Hou Mo silently put the scale away and followed him without a word.

As they walked, Sui Houyu tried to break the silence: “Maybe it’s because of all the running and conditioning for the competition. I’ll probably gain it back soon…”

Hou Mo suddenly exploded: “Where did it go?!”

“H-Huh?” Sui Houyu was startled by the outburst.

“Where did those two pounds I worked so hard to put on go?!” Hou Mo stomped his foot in frustration.

“It’s just temporary. I might gain it back soon,” Sui Houyu tried to console him.

“I don’t care! I just want to know where those two pounds went!”

Sui Houyu was at a loss for how to deal with Hou Mo’s meltdown. He pressed his lips together, feeling inexplicably guilty—even though it wasn’t his fault he lost weight.

Hou Mo stormed off, walking so fast and Sui Houyu had no choice but to follow.

After a long silence, Hou Mo suddenly climbed onto the railing of the school’s bridge and shouted: “Promise me you won’t lose any more weight, or I’ll jump!”

“That’s not something I can control! Stop being ridiculous!” Sui Houyu was utterly baffled by Hou Mo’s antics. What was he doing? 

Was all this really necessary over two pounds?

Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought they’d lost something far more precious—like the love of their life.

Hou Mo didn’t care. He pretended to cry dramatically: “My heart is bleeding! Promise me!”

“Fine, I promise! Happy now?” Sui Houyu groaned, covering his face in embarrassment. People on the basketball court were starting to stare.

“What if you lose weight again?” Hou Mo demanded.

“Then you can jump.” Sui Houyu shot back.

“…” Hou Mo was momentarily speechless.

The two looked at each other dryly for a long time. Hou Mo was a little embarrassed, so he got down from the railing by himself and walked towards Sui Houyu: “Since you were sincere, I’ll forgive you—this time.”

Sui Houyu rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

Hou Mo quickly caught up, muttering: “You still need to eat more. Starting tomorrow morning, I’ll make sure you eat. Don’t be picky about food, you hear me…”

*

Deng Yiheng watched the two walk away from the basketball court and sighed, shaking his head: “Brother Yu still came too late. Once they change the water in the artificial lake, he’ll find out—it barely reaches Senior Brother’s thighs. If he really jumped in, other than the water being a bit dirty, there wouldn’t be any problem.”

Sang Xian, dribbling the ball, asked him: “Would you really let Lu Yanxin jump in the water?”

“Of course not!” Deng Yiheng immediately denied. “The water’s way too cold!”

“And Sui Houyu can’t jump in either.”

Deng Yiheng’s eyes shifted as he thought it through, grinning mischievously.Sang Xian raised the ball and made a shot—a three-pointer, scoring perfectly.