Chapter 105: Common Enemy

"Dr. Suzuki, someone is looking for you."

Just after finishing his day's work and completing his last ward rounds, the head nurse arrived, interrupting Dr. Suzuki's desire to leave quickly. Hungry, it was hard to be in a good mood, so he suppressed his emotions and glanced at the time on his wrist.

Who would come at this time?

"It's a man looking for you." The head nurse, perhaps sensing the thoughtful expression on Dr. Suzuki's face, was the first to offer an answer. She didn't know what the slight disappointment on his face meant, but she still added a note of clarification. "It doesn't appear to be the media, so don't worry." With that, the head nurse muttered something smugly, "Those paparazzi can't escape my eyes now," and then left. It seemed that her own approval of this skill was enough.

Men...are not paparazzi...so...

Knock knock——

There was a polite knock on the office door, and a professionally dressed man came in and nodded to Dr. Suzuki.

"Hello, Dr. Suzuki, I'm Hasegawa, and I'm on Mr. Hanyu's staff."

"Hello," Dr. Suzuki said, taking in the man before him. His memory seemed to reconcile. He looked about 35 years old, wearing a reasonably priced suit, clearly his professional attire. The jacket was neatly pressed. It seemed even he had used his body to block the cameras rushing towards Yuzuru Hanyu a few days ago. It was the same suit jacket, albeit more wrinkled. "Mr. Hasegawa, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I'm here to deliver the doctor's ticket on behalf of Mr. Hanyu and Ms. Suginohara."

Hasegawa pulled an envelope from his bag, which contained two tickets and a folded performance flyer. The people on the flyer were Suginohara Raku, whom he was familiar with, and Tohara Kazuki, whom he had just met recently.

"La Dame aux Camélias..." Dr. Suzuki unconsciously read out the words on the ticket.

"Yes, Miss Suginohara said she had sent you a message. She originally wanted to come here by herself." Hasegawa explained politely to the doctor, with a somewhat helpless look on his face.

After hearing what Hasegawa said, Dr. Suzuki felt around in his pockets.

Sure enough, I didn’t bring my cell phone.

"Yes, I understand. She and Mr. Hanyu must have had a hard time lately. It must have been difficult for you too, right?"

Dr. Suzuki made a casual greeting, and when he met Hasegawa's eyes, he discovered that Hasegawa deeply agreed with his feelings but was unable to express them in words.

That night, Yuzuru Hanyu and Raku Suginohara's joint voice, seemingly as passionate as comic book protagonists, did little to bring peace to their lives. The self-proclaimed righteous media, the exasperated weekly tabloids, the bewildered fans, and the onlookers, the situation was pure chaos.

Even when Suginohara Raku was discharged the next day, he had to leave the hospital early in the morning directly from the underground parking lot. When Dr. Suzuki returned to work, he looked at the empty bed with some regret.

"Thank you for taking the special trip. I will also thank Miss Suginohara myself. But please help me keep it safe for Mr. Hanyu." The doctor looked down at the ticket in his hand again, smiled and nodded to Hasegawa, then turned back to the office.

Bring it to Mr. Hanyu?

I always feel like something is weird...Hasegawa scratched his head, but before he could think about it, the ringing of his cell phone quickly cut off his gossip antenna.

In the quiet hospital corridor, the uncharacteristic ringing of a cell phone was enough to make Hasegawa quickly answer the call, hunched over and apologetically walk to the emergency passage.

"Hello, is this Mr. Hasegawa?"

The voice on the line was a polite one, but the tone was so familiar to Hasegawa that he frowned and answered.

"Hello, we are from xxx TV station. We recently heard about Mr. Hanyu's situation. I wonder how he is doing these days?"

Hasegawa's face wrinkled after hearing all the unnecessary pleasantries. He finally finished listening to the other party's lengthy introduction and got to the point.

"Actually, I called today to try to schedule an appointment with Mr. Hanyu. We're planning to feature Mr. Hanyu in a recent segment about him being harassed by unscrupulous media, and we'd like to invite him to be there."

really……

"Your request conflicts with Mr. Hanyu's schedule and may not be able to be met. Sorry."

"Then please check the phone..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hanyu's schedule has been very full lately. I hope you understand. Thank you for the TV station's attention and support for this matter. If it's convenient for you, I'd like to go to the radio station and talk to you in person."

He ended the conversation politely and courteously, his manner so skillful that it was heartbreaking. The other party couldn't see that Hasegawa's face had become wrinkled like an old man's, so he probably thought it was a polite refusal.

"These orthodox media are keeping an eye on these gossips every day, just waiting for the day when these gossips become official and it will be their turn to be in trouble." Morimoto Kosuke complained with gritted teeth.

Tohara and Jiu, who were lying on the therapy bed, finally couldn't stand it anymore and raised their heads to resist: "Hey, be a little more careful with your strength."

"Oh oh oh... I'm just filled with righteous indignation..." Xiaojie apologized with a smile and loosened his grip a little.

"What are you so indignant about? Your life hasn't changed at all. Mr. Hasegawa is working overtime, and senior Tohara..." Lio, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but speak. Looking at the bruises on Tohara's shoulders that had not completely disappeared, she was hesitant to speak.

If we say that the only protagonists of this chaotic accident are Hanyu-san and Suginohara-senpai, it would be really unfair to Tohara-senpai.

That night, despite the legendary desperate rush to the scene, Li Xiao didn't see it. When she squeezed through the crowd to the scene, she only saw Tohara Kazukyu standing by Suginohara-senpai. He was like an angry leopard, glaring at the instigators who were indifferent and even wanted to take pictures.

"Please make way!" The medical staff behind them had already arrived with a stretcher, struggling through the wall of people and carefully lifting the unconscious Suginohara Raku onto the stretcher. Turning around, the crack in the wall of people that had just opened had automatically closed, even closer than before.

"Doctor, is Miss Suginohara okay?" The man taking the photo reached forward with a recorder, unwilling to give up.

Snap——

Tohara and Jiu slapped the recorder to the ground, breaking it into pieces.

"Get out!" he growled.

He was facing the rude paparazzi from a distance. Lio could not see his specific expression from this angle, but she could feel the trembling of his suppressed anger in the tail end of his roar.

The final push she and the medical staff made to push the men away wasn't exactly gentle, but she didn't witness the rough and violent physical altercation described in the next day's report. However, the photo of the knocked-over recorder led to Tohara-san being taken to the police station for questioning for half the night...

"Heh, I guess I got a taste of what it's like to be a big star..." He Jiu snorted coldly, "It feels terrible."

That night, when he finally escaped the lengthy routine police questioning and rushed to the hospital, he found Le soundly asleep and Hanyu Yuzuru sitting beside her bed. He lowered his head and gently held her hand, as quiet as a painting. It was unknown what he was thinking.

The anger he felt along the way made him plan ahead. The moment he saw Yuzuru Hanyu, he would grab his collar and question him why he didn't protect Haole.

But the moment he saw him, that thin, frail figure with his back hunched, he couldn't see his eyes, let alone the emotions within them, but He Jiu suddenly saw himself kneeling beside Le in the chaos. Feelings of helplessness and anger were magnified infinitely, but he also knew clearly that even if he fought back desperately, it would not lead to any good results.

For the first time, he felt that he had no right to blame Yuzuru Hanyu.

If I have to blame someone, it's that Le shouldn't be with him...

[He Jiu, I know what you want to say. This is the first time we've talked about something like this in all the years we've known each other, but I... at least this is what I sincerely think at this moment. I love him, and I can't leave him just to protect myself.]

The next day, Le was escorted to the rehearsal hall by Hanyu Yuzuru. She looked at Hanyu Yuzuru, who was sitting in the corner, attracting everyone's attention, and answered his question about how to protect herself.

"Oh, it's really not easy... I can feel that Senior Le is under more pressure now... More people are paying attention to her performance now." Lio continued with Kazuki's words, bringing Kazuki out of his nostalgic memories.

Yes, she'd been under a lot of pressure lately. She'd been injured in that farce, after all, and she was being extremely careful during rehearsals, fearing it would affect Hejiu. Her constant demands on herself had left Hejiu feeling overwhelmed, yet helpless.

Today's rehearsal was finally stopped by He Jiu because Le was exhausted and fell on her toes during her solo arabesque.

"Go back and rest early. There will be no rehearsals today or tomorrow. You will definitely perform well the day after tomorrow. You are the best Margaret." He Jiu comforted her like this. Looking at the pretense of relaxation in her eyes, he deeply understood that his encouragement was of no use.

He looked at Yuzuru Hanyu who was sitting in the corner.

He put down his computer and headphones, walked over to Le and wiped her sweat. "You've reached your limit. Why don't you take a break? I filmed today's rehearsal. I'll analyze it with you when I get back."

There was still some reluctance and fear in her eyes.

"Even if you don't believe in yourself, you have to believe in me." He Jiu took the opportunity to add, "We can act well. There's no need to push ourselves any further at this time."

Le's eyes moved between the two men in front of him, and he suddenly laughed.

"When did you two unite as one? It's really rare."

"Who would tell him..." He wanted to retort, but saw Yuzuru Hanyu also laughed with her. The two of them laughed out loud, dispelling the tense atmosphere in the rehearsal room.

Le is back, but can she really adjust herself?

He Jiu was still a little worried, but in this small clinic, he couldn't say it out loud.

At this moment, Le was watching the video over and over at home, frowning as he watched his movements become increasingly distorted due to physical fatigue and emotional anxiety.

If she were her own director, she would have stopped fighting long ago. But she was so lost in her emotions that she didn't know how to turn back.

It is right to stop, but if I let my body relax like this, I will still feel uneasy in my heart... The tension is like a huge stone pressing on my heart, and I can't relieve it.

She checked the time, grabbed her coat and a bag that hadn't been touched in a while, and left the house.

Yuzuru Hanyu, training at the rink, had already finished his practice for the day. He sat on a nearby bench, head bowed, letting the sweat drip down his chin and nose onto the floor. Gift's program was roughly planned out; the next step was to improve his skills to ensure a complete and high-quality performance.

Le's performance is coming soon, and he has to solve these problems alone recently.

Just as I was thinking about it, the door of the ice rink was pushed open.

"Why are you here earlier than we agreed?" He looked up at the clock hanging on the ice rink, thinking that Hasegawa had come to pick him up. He looked up and saw Le.

"Why are you here? Are you here alone? Didn't you meet anyone?" He stood up nervously.

"It's okay, don't be nervous." She smiled and pressed his shoulders, pushing him back to his seat. "Is today's training almost over? Then skate with me for a while."

"Huh?" Yuzuru Hanyu's eyes widened in surprise. Ever since Le decided to return to the stage, she hadn't skated with him again. After all, getting injured would be troublesome.

"I say, come skate with me for a while." As she spoke, she sat down, opened her bag, and took out her pair of white skates. "I'm so nervous at home. Just thinking about the performance makes me so nervous that I can hardly breathe..."

She spoke frankly about her feelings, and Hanyu Yuzuru empathized with her and reached out to hold her hand.

"But if I get hurt while skating... I can't get hurt now."

"Aren't you here?" She turned her head and smiled at him with an extraordinarily firm smile, "You won't let me get hurt, right?"

"good."