Chapter 66: Role Model

On weekdays, if he goes to training at night, Yuzuru Hanyu usually spends the morning in bed, but today is different, as he has important arrangements.

He was woken by the alarm clock. He sat on the bed and scratched his messy hair, gradually coming to himself. He was alone in the room. The curtains were drawn tightly, so he couldn't tell the time. However, the music coming from the living room allowed him to judge the time by the progress of his morning exercises.

After a quick shower, he brushed his teeth to the rhythm of lively, kick-kick music, swaying his head to the beat. By the time Hanyu Yuzuru had finished packing and emerged from the living room, Le had already begun his relaxing Rond de Jambe routine. He didn't call her, but slipped off his slippers, quietly walked over barefoot, and sat cross-legged on the floor to the right behind Le's camera setup.

Hold your chin up and admire it.

Le placed one hand on the barre, her chin tilted upward, her focused gaze, her breath following the gentle curves of her arms, reaching their limit. Sunlight streamed down her straight shoulders, where a thin layer of sweat formed. Her toes scraped against the floor, creating a pleasant, scraping sound. She stretched in the direction of her toes, expanding her chest and waist. While clearly just stretching, each movement was in tune with the rhythm of the music, flowing effortlessly within it.

The last note of the music ended, and he returned to his basic stance and hand position, holding it for two more seconds before relaxing. His previous cool demeanor seamlessly switched back to the gentle and lovely Le he was familiar with.

Yuzuru Hanyu reached out to help her turn off the camera, and started clapping for her like a cheering child.

"Are you awake?" Le took the towel hanging on the handle, wiped the sweat from his face, and asked the question even though he knew the answer.

"Hmm~ I slept well."

"That's good~" She walked over and ruffled the stubborn alopecia on Hanyu's head. "You can have breakfast in the kitchen. I'll go take a shower and get ready to leave~"

Yuzuru Hanyu unhooked his camera from its stand and, with a push of his right hand, quickly rose from the ground. He inserted the camera's card into Le's nearby computer. While it was booting up, he went to the kitchen to find breakfast. It was a simple meal of sautéed mushrooms and scrambled eggs, served on whole-wheat bread with Le's homemade avocado sauce. Hanyu pouted at the sight.

He symbolically scooped a few pieces of mushrooms and scrambled eggs onto his plate, grabbed a piece of bread and a glass of milk, and returned to the table. His computer had already booted up, so he dusted off the crumbs on his hands, expertly typed in his password, and began watching Le's recent vlog footage.

This is his new hobby.

Ever since he watched the vlog video edited by Le’s colleague last time, he immediately decided to take over Le’s monthly vlog editing work.

The most important key to this work is to cut out all the scenes of Tohara and Jiu!

Scissor hand, hand raises and knife falls, happy mood.

"You cut such a good choreography into pieces." Le leaned over and complained.

"It's called copyright protection, and it also keeps the suspense going," he argued.

Le had just showered, and her new camellia-scented shower gel smelled delicious. Hanyu Yuzuru put his arms around her waist, pulling her into his arms. Just as he was about to bury his face in the crook of her neck, she pushed his head away.

"Hurry up and change your clothes. We're going out." She said as she slipped away from his arms and went to the makeup mirror to tidy herself up. While doing so, she also reminded Yuzuru Hanyu to pay attention to the time from time to time.

May is a month where spring and summer fight for dominance all year round. Tenderness and splendor confront each other, allowing humans to enjoy a period of vibrant, colorful and refreshing days. Children born on such a beautiful day are often very lovable.

This is what little May looks like when she is surrounded by her family.

Yuzuru Hanyu lay sprawled over the newborn's transparent cradle, his eyes fixed on the tiny baby, Satsuki, nestled within. She was tiny, her skin rosy and pale, her face barely the size of a palm. Perhaps she was frowning or perhaps closing her eyes too tightly, but she looked a bit solemn in her sleep. He reached out and gently poked her cheek, and she whimpered, her brows furrowing even further.

"Ah, so cute..."

His fingers were eager to try and poke it again, but before they could touch it, they were slapped away.

"Don't poke me, what if I make her cry?"

Although he lowered the volume, Le's warning was still effective in making him stop in embarrassment.

Two heads were lying on the side of the crib like kittens. Their eyes showed their love and curiosity, but they didn't dare to touch them. It was hard to tell who was cuter, little May or these two.

"She's just been fed. She won't cry if she's full. Do you want to hold her?" Even the young nurse beside her couldn't bear it anymore.

"Is it okay?" Although it was the nurse who asked the question, she looked at my sister for her consent.

Who can refuse that look of expectation and pleading eyes?

The young nurse took little May out of the crib and prepared to hand her over to the new uncle.

"How do I receive it? Eh? How do I receive it?" Yuzuru Hanyu didn't even know how to move his limbs for a moment. He took a horse stance unconsciously, lowered his body and took little May from the nurse's hands.

"Hold her butt with this hand, support her back with your arm, and hold her head with this hand," the nurse instructed the bewildered Yuzuru Hanyu. "I didn't expect that Yuzuru Hanyu could be so stiff sometimes."

Yuzuru Hanyu didn't care about the little nurse's teasing at all. He held his arms stiffly, afraid that he would hurt her accidentally.

The soft little guy in the arms seemed to like his uncle very much. He grabbed the air twice with his little hands, touched the clothes on Yuzuru Hanyu's chest, grabbed them in his hands, sucked them with his little mouth, and slept more comfortably.

"Ah, what should I do, what should I do." Yuzuru Hanyu turned to look at Le standing beside him, "I feel like crying."

The video ends here.

Le leaned against the headboard, holding his iPad and watching the video sent by Sister Saaya. This morning, he and Yuzuru Hanyu went to the hospital to visit Sister Saaya, who had just given birth. At that time, his eyes were only on the adorable baby, and he didn't notice that brother-in-law Sugawara was recording this precious moment for them with his phone.

The sound of water in the bathroom had stopped for a while. The door was pushed open with a bang, and misty water vapor escaped from the closed bathroom, along with Yuzuru Hanyu with a towel on his head.

"What are you looking at?" He put his face close to the screen with wet sweat on his face.

The video, which has already ended, is frozen at the last frame. In the frame, Yuzuru Hanyu is holding his little niece in a helpless and stiff posture, with an excited and crying expression on his face. It can be said that he has no image at all.

His fingers tapped the screen, and Le raised his hand to wipe his hair, saying teasingly, "You're already an uncle, but you're still so silly. You don't even dry your hair after taking a shower. Be careful or Xiao Wuyue will laugh at you later."

Yuzuru Hanyu didn't respond. He quietly and obediently let Le rub his head, holding his iPad and playing the video he missed from the beginning.

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the sounds of towels rubbing against hair and the video playing.

"Le, I suddenly feel that I wouldn't be a very good role model."

With the arrival of Satsuki, everyone in the Hanyu family had elevated their status. When Yuzuru Hanyu received the little one from the nurse, he officially realized he was no longer the protected youngest son of the Hanyu family. He was now an uncle, an elder.

The change of identity made him start to think about life.

What kind of uncle would he be? He reflected on his life, a 27-year life filled with figure skating.

"I used to always say that hard work is not in vain, and I've used my own efforts to prove to everyone that hard work pays off. But now, I suddenly feel like I no longer have the confidence to say this to Xiao Wuyue..."

Before he could finish his words, Le blocked his mouth with the towel he was using to wipe his hair.

He spent quite a while showering today, and the bathroom was so quiet that only the sound of water could be heard. There was no Hanyu Yuzuru bathroom concert. She guessed that this guy must be compiling some kind of clattering script in his head.

"Please! Great athlete Hanyu. Little Satsuki has only been in this world for less than a week, and you're already giving her life philosophy? You just need to be gentle with her, don't take her toys and food, and buy her more of the things she likes, and you will be the best uncle Yuzuru in her heart. Do you understand?"

"Besides, you've said it before. Hard work will definitely pay off. Champions go to those who work the hardest. Hard work may lie, but it's never in vain. Isn't that what you said yourself? Maybe the reward isn't coming now, or maybe it'll come in some other way! Are you going to put the final nail in the coffin for your 4A?"

"Again, even if I fail, so what? Yuzuru Hanyu is a human, not a god! Even gods don't necessarily never fail, so why can't humans? Yuzuru Hanyu can't fail?"

"Didn't you tell me last time that you realize that so many people support you now, and everyone accepts that Yuzuru Hanyu is a human being, and that there is a possibility of failure when pushing his limits. So now everyone accepts it, but you still can't accept that you are a human being?"

Yuzuru Hanyu, holding a towel in his mouth, blinked a few times in confusion at the barrage of words, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

By the time he realized what was happening, Le had already pulled the blanket over her and laid down with her back to him, angrily ignoring him. She had rolled the entire blanket up under her, leaving not even a corner for him.

"Of course I'm a human being." He held Le's shoulders and turned her over to look at him. "Besides, how can you be so mean? You stuffed a towel in my mouth."

"If I don't shut your mouth, you're going to get yourself into the inexplicable tragic protagonist mood again." He retorted righteously.

"Can't we use other methods to block it?"

"All I have is..." The towel, those three words were sealed in her mouth. His condescending kiss penetrated her lips and teeth, snatching away her chance to speak.

Before the atmosphere became ambiguous, Hanyu let her go and pressed his forehead against hers. "You can still block like this. Have you learned how to do it next time?"

"shameless."

Hahaha--

Yuzuru Hanyu smiled, put his arm around Le's shoulders, turned over, let her lie in his arms, and kissed the top of her head.

"You're right. My challenge isn't over yet. It's still unclear who will win or lose."

"Um."

"But why would I steal May's toys?"

She pinched the waist of the person in her arms, twisted her body, raised her head and said stubbornly that it was because he was childish.

The two of them had a big fight, and finally Yuzuru Hanyu personally made Le admit that he was a mature and steady person, allowing him to fall asleep on this beautiful night.

The night was still a bit chilly, as summer hadn't yet fully arrived. He pulled the thin blanket over the person sleeping soundly on his arm, and gently stroked her eyebrows with his fingers in the moonlight.

Yuzuru Hanyu knows himself too well. He's both headstrong and stubborn, his obsession with winning and losing unabashedly obvious to everyone. Le is naturally aware of this, and she's always quietly by his side, never intentionally trying to influence him, but always finding the perfect moment to pull him out of his own ruts.

The person in his arms reached out in a daze and grabbed his hand that was messing with his face, held it in his palm, rubbed it against his arms again, and hummed a few words, "I'm so sleepy, stop it."

After kissing her between the eyebrows lovingly, Yuzuru Hanyu adjusted his posture, hugged Le and fell asleep.