Chapter 56

After returning to the hotel room, Su Huiyu flopped straight onto the bed and didn’t get up.

After lying there for a while, he felt stuffy. Only then did he realize he had forgotten to turn on the fresh-air system and air conditioning after entering the room. This hotel room didn’t automatically regulate after inserting the key card—so annoying.

He realized it, but didn’t want to move. For someone usually energetic, this was rare.

Hou Mo came back fairly quickly and said as soon as he entered:

“I ran into Su Anyi on the way back. I brought lunch back directly.”

He walked in, looked around the room, turned on the fresh-air system and air conditioner, and muttered:

“Why didn’t you turn it on? This room is actually pretty stuffy.”

Then he placed the lunch on the table and turned back—Su Huiyu was still lying motionless on the bed.

Hou Mo was certain he wasn’t asleep.

If Su Huiyu could fall asleep on his own, he wouldn’t be squeezing into the same bed every night.

“Eat,” Hou Mo said.

“I’m not eating,” came a muffled voice from under the blanket.

“Why?”

“No appetite.”

Without hesitation, Hou Mo reached out, grabbed him around the waist, and lifted him up like a big doll, placing him onto a chair so he would sit properly.

Then he sat beside him, opened the lunch boxes, and said while breaking apart chopsticks:

“The food today is pretty good. I heard each box costs about 80 yuan. So eat. We’ve got three boxes between the two of us.”

Su Huiyu pouted and ignored him.

At that moment, Hou Mo’s phone chimed.

He picked it up.

They often received notifications during tournaments, so alerts were left on.

The moment Hou Mo lifted his phone, Su Huiyu stared at him.

When he saw Hou Mo smile at the screen and quickly reply, his irritation deepened.

It felt strange—like a lump of air stuck in his throat, dry and irritating, something swallowing couldn’t fix and water couldn’t soothe.

He glared at Hou Mo for a while.

Then Hou Mo suddenly showed him a photo:

“Look at this. I purposely tilted my head up, but you lowered yours. Are we cursed by Tang Yao or something?”

Only then did Su Huiyu realize it was the morning photo from the reporter.

The two of them were completely misaligned in the picture, looking ridiculous.

Hou Mo laughed so hard he looked like a flapping goose.

Then he said casually:

“I’m posting this on Moments.”

“Mm,” Su Huiyu replied vaguely.

The moment Hou Mo put his phone down, Su Huiyu immediately picked up his own and opened Moments.

He found it instantly.

Username: “Shameless Big Dog Bastard”
Caption: “Introducing my doubles partner—Yu-ge.” [photo]

It was the same professional shot from earlier—good composition, good lighting, genuinely well taken.

Soon, notifications started pouring in.

Comments:

• Deng Yiheng: “Whoa, Big Senior Brother actually posted Moments—first one, right?”
• Ruan Shu: “Was this photo even edited? You’re just relying on Yu-ge’s beauty or you’d get beaten.”
• Su Ayi: “Nice photo.”
• Shen Junjing: “Five minutes in, this is already in four group chats. The girls are going crazy.”
• Coach Wang: “Handsome.”

Su Huiyu’s mood finally improved.

He picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

The irritation in his throat quietly dissipated.

So it wasn’t thirst. It wasn’t physical at all.

It was something else.

A silent, unnoticed irritation—then quietly healed without anyone knowing.

Only he himself knew it had ever happened.

Hou Mo, meanwhile, continued:

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Your next opponent isn’t strong. If we run into Jiang Wei and the others, we’ll just go all out. And I already helped you curse them back, so don’t keep sulking.”

Su Huiyu looked at him in confusion.

Hou Mo kept going:

“So you don’t need to be so moody.”

Then he took out a banner from his bag and handed it over.

“Take this. When I play, you can hold it up and count it as helping me meet KPI.”

“What KPI?” Su Huiyu frowned again.

Hou Mo quickly explained about sponsorships, visibility, fan popularity, and commercial value.

Su Huiyu narrowed his eyes.

“Oh… so that’s it?”

“I thought you wanted to find a girlfriend in your fan group or something,” Su Huiyu muttered halfway.

Hou Mo waved his hand immediately:

“Hell no. My family situation—how could I date? I’d only drag someone down.”

“You’re not planning to date?”

“Nope.”

“And you?”

“I’m not either.”

“Why? You’re pretty easy to find someone for.”

Su Huiyu paused.

“Personal reasons.”

Hou Mo laughed:

“You’re pretty handsome though!”

“I can’t control my temper. It wouldn’t be safe for a girl. And my condition is hereditary.”

Hou Mo’s hand paused mid-bite.

A slight discomfort rose in his chest.

A bit of pity.

After a quiet meal, Hou Mo said:

“That’s fine. Being single doesn’t affect training. We can just become two single guys grinding doubles harder than anyone else.”

“Mm.”

“I’ll be with you anyway. You’ll always have me.”

At that, Su Huiyu glanced at him—and smiled faintly.

Eyes bright, like starlight scattered in them.

In the afternoon, they received their new sponsored uniforms.

They were fresh, light blue and white, with customizable text printed on the back.

Su Huiyu wrote his design first.

Hou Mo saw it, smiled, and added his own.

Su Anyi checked it and asked again if they were sure.

They both agreed.

Later, they went to the court.

Before the match, they changed into the uniforms.

At first, the crowd didn’t notice the text.

Then gradually, people read it clearly:

Su Huiyu’s back:
← My partner is an idiot

Hou Mo’s back:
→ My partner is extremely fierce

Arrows matched their positions on court.

The crowd burst into laughter.

“Are they wearing couple outfits?!”

Even their teammates couldn’t hold it in.

“They made this uniform look like a couple shirt…”

As for the match—

it was basically a comfortable win.

And their chemistry kept improving.

Everyone agreed:

They were getting stronger together.

But against Jiang Wei and Lu Qinghui—

still not enough.