Edited by Dobhsh
Sui HouYu kept staring at Hou Mo with a strange look in his eyes.
His blond hair looked lighter under the sunlight, the light forming a ring on the crown of his head due to the frizzy strands, shining like a halo.
His facial features were very three-dimensional, and he had a high nose bridge. Because of the backlighting, the silhouette of his face seemed to be submerged in the shadows, making it look like the surrounding light swallowed him.
“You…” After a long time, Sui HouYu found his voice. “Did you spray something on your body?”
The question baffled Hou Mo, but he still answered it seriously. “I didn’t spray on anything, just ordinary skin care products. Does sunscreen spray count?”
“So why did I fall asleep?”
Hou Mo found the question absurd and asked rhetorically, “Are you asking me?”
The two men stalled for a while but did not come up with an answer.
Hou Mo didn’t dare ride the bike with Sui HouYu anymore. Just thinking about what happened earlier scared him.
He handed over the bike to Sui HouYu, saying, “You pedal, and I’ll guide you. Anyway, I would still be able to see the road ahead. What if you had fallen off the bike earlier!? How will I explain it if you get run over by a car? If you die, then wouldn’t this head of hair be wasted?”
Sui HouYu also felt guilty and knew he was at fault, so he didn’t mind Hou Mo’s outburst as he nodded obediently and switched places.
As he prepared to pedal, Sui HouYu turned around and said, “This is my first time riding with a passenger.”
“Even if it’s your first time, it’s safer than sitting in the back. Go ahead, young man, let me see if you can fall asleep while pedaling.”
Sui HouYu suppressed his temper and continued riding with Hou Mo.
Hou Mo turned on the voice navigation on his phone, and the lazy tone of Boss Deyun’s voice instructed Sui HouYu which way to go.
It took about 15 minutes to reach the store.
When they arrived, Sui HouYu propped his feet on the ground to stabilize the bike. Looking at the storefront, he was a little confused. Would the rackets from this decrepit store even work?
Hou Mo noticed his expression and explained, “Coach Wang’s family owns this store.”
Sui HouYu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Hou Mo padlocked the bike, pointed to several buildings not too far away, and said, “That’s the junior high school where Deng YiHeng, Shen JunJing, and I went.”
Sui HouYu looked at the buildings and was a bit surprised. He didn’t expect that such a place was actually a school; he thought it was a warehouse or a factory.
The junior high school was indeed extremely shabby. It seemed that there were no plastic running tracks or lawns in the school, and the buildings were also very dilapidated.
“Dilapidated and shabby, it’s indeed in bad condition.” Hou Mo said, leading Sui HouYu towards the store.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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The shop owner’s wife obviously knew Hou Mo, as she immediately came out and greeted him, asking, “Hou Mo, you’re here. Is this your boyfriend?”
This hard-core question shocked Sui HouYu.
Hou Mo was also taken aback and quickly waved his hands. “No, no, no. He’s a reserve player in our team that Coach Wang recently poached.”
“Oh, a team member. Quite good-looking.” The shop owner’s wife looked at Sui HouYu and really liked what she saw.
With a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, Hou Mo smiled awkwardly. He told the shop owner’s wife, “Shimu , you should sit; I’ll help him choose.”
“Okay, you guys pick; I’ll call your coach.”
After the shop owner’s wife left, Sui HouYu asked Hou Mo, “Is she Coach Wang’s wife?”
“Well, her personality is particularly straightforward, and she is the only one who can keep Coach Wang in check.”
“Are you so famous for being gay?”
In Sui HouYu’s mind: Hou Mo – a very famous gay.
Although he vehemently denied it.
“Actually, it’s not well-known. When I first came here, Shimu said I looked handsome. Coach Wang sighed and said it was a pity I was gay. It took Shimu less than 20 seconds to accept it, and she said that as long as I look like this, it would be easy to find a boyfriend.”
Sui HouYu had no plans on talking about this further; after all, he wasn’t interested, and they were only here for a racket.
Hou Mo stood at the side and pointed at one, saying, “Give up on an aluminum like this one; it’s too heavy. You can buy a fiber-carbon one; the hardness is good, and its balance is also good.”
Sui HouYu looked around and finally settled on the one with the coolest design.
Hou Mo immediately vetoed it. “Don’t choose those flashy ones. You have to look at the surface, material, handle, and weight, as well as the length and balance of the racket.”
“What did you say? ” Sui HouYu turned around and asked him.
His understanding of tennis was at a level where he could play but was not proficient. His technique was decent, but he didn’t have any detailed understanding of other facets. After all, he only learned it as a hobby for a few years, and during that time, he was also taking other classes, so he didn’t have much spare time to practice.
Yes, he had the skills but lacked actual experience.
“If you want speed and good control over your racket, choose a small one. If you choose a big one, it won’t be easy to wave it around and will depend on your accuracy. The racket handle has sizes from 1 to 5. You can feel the difference when you hold it in your hand. Hold it the way I taught you; the middle finger and index finger are here, and the distance between the index finger and the thumb is roughly the width of one finger.”
Sui HouYu grabbed the racket to get a feel for it, and Hou Mo followed behind him, continuing his lesson. “There are also the weights, which would depend on your playstyle. If you would like your swing to have more power, choosing a heavier racket would be best, as it would have more inertia. A lighter one would be easier to manipulate; it’s flexible and won’t make your arms tired. But if the racket is too thin or too light, you would easily be beaten by the opponent.”
Hou Mo took one off the shelf. “I use this one. It’s smoother. I like the weight and everything, and it’s quite durable.”
Sui HouYu took a look at the racket and heard Hou Mo suggest, “Your hands should be smaller than mine, so choosing another model for the handle would be better.”
Only the two of them were there, and as Hou Mo was used to talking to himself, he could talk endlessly.
Sui HouYu looked at his hand, then lifted it to show Hou Mo that his hand was not small at all.
In response, Hou Mo calmly raised a hand and moved it towards the other’s hand, their palms aligned and pressing against each other. With such a comparison, Sui HouYu’s hands indeed looked more delicate.
Hou Mo’s hands were large, as big as a webbed feet. Sui HouYu can even feel the roughness of Hou Mo’s palms, probably due to the callouses left by holding a racket for a long time.
The warm body temperature was transmitted through the palm of his hand. Sui HouYu was not repulsed by it but rather felt peace of mind.
Immediately after, a wave of drowsiness swept over him. The feeling was very strong and aggressive, instantly occupying his mind.
He quickly withdrew his hand and woke up; otherwise, he would have fallen asleep again the next moment.
Why did he get sleepy around Hou Mo?
Sui HouYu couldn’t understand it.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Coach Wang came downstairs, and his loud voice could be heard clearly from a distance. “You two are here? Aren’t you two, like fire and water, totally incompatible with each other? You came to choose a racket together?”
Hou Mo explained first, “The apartment he is currently staying in happens to be one of the places my mother takes care of. He wanted to buy a racket, so I brought him here.”
“Oh, how is your mother doing lately?”
“It’s all good.”
“That’s fine.”
Coach Wang stood next to the two of them and asked, “Did you find anything you like?”
Sui HouYu shook his head and said, “Not yet.”
“Did Hou Mo introduce to you the different rackets?” Coach Wang asked.
“Yes.”
“Any ideas?”
“I want to choose a light one with a small head and a handle that isn’t too thick.”
Coach Wang pondered for a moment and asked, “Have you carefully thought about your own playstyle?”
“Well, my strength and stamina are fine, so even if I choose this kind of playstyle, I won’t change my mind. I think it would be difficult for me to catch up to the others in such a short period of time, so I should maximize my greatest advantage, which is probably my flexibility.”
Coach Wang agreed with Sui HouYu’s opinion. He thought for a moment before taking a racket and handing it to Sui HouYu. “Feel it; it’s not too light. Anything lighter than that is used by girls. This is the one that best meets your requirements, and the material is also good.”
Coach Wang was Sui HouYu’s coach, so naturally he would not recommend something they had more of in the inventory or that cost more, instead choosing the one that was most suitable for Sui HouYu.
Sui HouYu weighed it in his hand and then shook it again, thinking it was not bad.
Coach Wang went and brought several rolls of leather inner overgrips and sweatbands for Sui HouYu, saying, “If you think it’s suitable, I’ll wrap the inner handles for you.”
“Okay, this is it.” Sui HouYu handed it over.
Coach Wang walked towards the counter, bringing all the things they had chosen, and said, “You are the person I brought, so I will charge you the wholesale price. These rolls of sweatbands and leather inner overgrips are from me; after all, I brought you to the tennis team.”
Tycoon Sui HouYu magnanimously said, “It’s fine if you make a profit.”
Coach Wang smiled and replied, “Can I still take money from a child?”
Hou Mo leaned on the counter and ate some fruits, muttering, “It’s okay to make some money. He’s someone who can afford to rent an apartment long-term; ordinary people can’t do it.”
Coach Wang mocked and scolded Hou Mo with a few sentences before asking, “Have you eaten?”
Hou Mo immediately shook his head and said, “No.”
After hesitating for a moment, Sui HouYu also replied, “No.”
While beckoning the two boys to head upstairs, he said, “Go upstairs and have some food. I specifically asked your Shimu to cook a few dishes.”
Upstairs, Coach Wang talked to Sui HouYu about playing tennis and also gave tips on how to take care of the racket as he helped wrap the overgrips. His technique looked very professional, making it obvious that he did this kind of thing often.
Afterwards, he asked the two boys, “Are you busy this afternoon? If you have nothing to do, stay here. I’ll teach you both doubles.”
Coach Wang was still quite attached to this matter and was always thinking about it. Seeing as Sui HouYu seemed to be moved, he wanted to take advantage of the victory, pursue it, and directly take Sui HouYu down.
Hou Mo ate fruit and replied, “Yes, we both have an appointment this afternoon for other things.”
Coach Wang asked, “What are you doing? Meeting up to do homework together?”
“We made an appointment for a fight this afternoon.”
Coach Wang’s face darkened. “…”
Sui HouYu covered his face.
That afternoon, Sui HouYu experienced high-intensity training.
They were only allowed to stop once the sweat on both his and Hou Mo’s clothes could fill a glass.
The first time Mother Hou followed Hou Mo upstairs, he could still understand.
But the second time this happened, he began to suspect that Hou Mo did it on purpose.
If you don’t want to fight, just say so. Why do all this?
What a dog!
ohh update 😳 thank you for the chapter 😊
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
Thanks for the update 😀 👍 🙂 😊
This made my day 💕 totally in love with the characters! I’m so happy to see them again.
Thanks a lot for this chapter.
Thank you for the chapter 💛