Chapter 20: Falling Out
In a shopping mall near the Sendai Ice Arena, there's a small, unassuming shop. Through the glass doors and windows, you can see the overflowing shelves. Even the entrance is completely filled with cardboard boxes piled high with merchandise, so tightly packed that only one side can be entered or exited.
Mr. Yoshida flipped the "Open" sign on the glass door over, put on a coat, and left the store without locking the door. He stood in the outdoor smoking area not far away and lit a cigarette.
This year's All Japan Championships is approaching, and Yoshida is waiting for athlete Hanyu, who has an appointment to sharpen his skates.
He was only on his third puff when he caught a glimpse of a young man in a black, slim-fitting tracksuit, backpack on his back, walking towards him at a brisk pace. He quickly took one last drag, stubbed his cigarette out on the nearby ashtray, waved his hand to dispel the smoke, and walked towards the young man.
"Good evening, Mr. Yoshida~"
"Okay! Come inside." Yoshida walked up to Hanyu, patted his arm, turned around and took a few steps to open the door.
The doorbell rang crisply in quick succession. Yuzuru Hanyu bowed, excused himself, and followed Mr. Yoshida into the store. He made his way through the crowded shelves and reached the back counter. Mr. Yoshida had run this sporting goods store for many years, and his knife sharpening service had always catered to the children at the Sendai Ice Rink.
As Yuzuru Hanyu became more famous, Coach Abe's reputation also grew, but after much consideration, the couple decided to stay in their hometown and run a small shop, where they lived a comfortable life.
Perhaps the relief Hanyu always sees when he returns and sees the shop, still pristine, is one of the reasons the Yoshidas insist on running the shop. Only they themselves know.
Arriving at the workbench, Hanyu took out his skates and handed them to Yoshida. After discussing the numbering and polishing requirements for the skates, Yoshida began his work. Hanyu stood by and watched Yoshida attentively, occasionally asking questions.
No matter how trivial Hanyu's questions were, Yoshida patiently answered them.
Ice skate sharpening is a meticulous process that takes a long time. Hanyu's conversation with Yoshida expanded from sharpening to include 4A training and competition preparations. They even discussed the incident at dinner the previous night, when his father wanted an extra beer but was sternly refused by his mother.
"Hahaha, this is the life of a married man, Yuzuru, you don't understand yet."
"I understand. Mr. Yoshida only smokes in the store and doesn't dare to smoke at home." Hanyu teased him with a smile, waving his hands in the same way he had just dispersed the smoke. His movements were a bit too big and he accidentally hit a small shelf next to him. He quickly held on to it and didn't fall down.
"You brat!" Yoshida waved his fist. "Hmph, you'll know when you have a wife."
Hanyu Yuzuru pursed his lips and averted his gaze. Yoshida assumed he was feeling distant and said, "Don't think it's too far. How old are you this year? 25? Oh, you just turned 26 this month, right? I was already married to Nanami when I was your age."
Yoshida lowered his head to sharpen his knife while recalling the story of his love and marriage with coach Nanami. Yuzuru Hanyu stood by and listened quietly without interrupting him.
"Your mind is full of figure skating, kid. You should also consider finding a girl you like. Otherwise, what a waste of youth."
"But what girl would like a crybaby like you? A man should be manly, calm in the face of difficulties, and not shed tears easily. That's how women feel safe, right?" Mr. Yoshida patted his chest. "You have to be like an uncle."
Hanyu smiled and nodded in agreement. Yoshida nodded in satisfaction and continued with his work.
That evening, Yuzuru Hanyu took one last inventory of his belongings for the competition in his room. He wouldn't be accompanied by his coach, nor would Mr. Kikuchi, and his mother wouldn't be at the venue. He needed to be fully prepared. After packing the skates, carefully polished by Mr. Yoshida, into a box, he recalled his recent conversation and spoke into his iPad.
"Does Le think I'm a crybaby?"
"Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?" The person in the video was startled by the voice. She had been playing a game with her head down, and she didn't even look up at the question. The movements of her hands seemed a bit anxious, and Yuzuru Hanyu had a premonition that something was wrong, so he quickly checked the game he was idle in.
really!
There used to be a flower garden of tulips of various colors in front of his house, but now there was a little man running around with a shovel, there were holes on the ground that had not been filled, and half of the precious black tulips had disappeared.
He manipulated his character to move, and the person on the other end of the video immediately looked up, then cautiously moved next to him. As if with a change of heart, they dropped a bouquet of black tulips at his feet.
"Give it back to you."
"You only dug one? Was it because your backpack was full and you couldn't even put away the tools?"
"Hey~ What did you just ask? A crybaby?" He pretended not to hear and took the initiative to bring the subject back. "You're not only a crybaby, but a weird crybaby. Others cry more when they're sad, but you cry when you're sad, you cry when you're happy, you cry when you lose a game, and you cry even when you win."
…
The character in the game pulled out an axe from behind his back and swung it at Le's character, who quickly dodged.
"What are you doing?"
"Give the flowers back!" Yuzuru Hanyu gritted his teeth as he controlled his character to chase after them, while Le ran with a shovel in his hand. Her giggles could be heard in the video.
For the past two weeks, Hanyu had been dragging Le into playing games with him. Every day, they'd video chat about their games and their daily news. Unlike before, Hanyu had started talking less and less about himself. His daily routine consisted of training, thinking about how to train, eating, and sleeping. It was so boring that even the paparazzi didn't bother to pry into his thoughts.
But Le was different. The endless surprises that plagued the project team, the inexplicable embarrassments of his colleagues, all became incredibly amusing when described by Le. Hanyu slowly began to enjoy the feeling of listening to Le tell him stories, something they had never experienced before.
He had always seemed to enjoy listening to him and supporting him silently. He suddenly found that listening to Le's stories was very interesting. He would also make emoji-like expressions when he complained, and would laugh first when he told funny things, and squeeze out a few words in between giggles.
Hanyu Yuzuru seemed to suddenly understand what Yoshida said. He didn't know if being reliable would make him liked by Le, but he wanted to do it for her. Even if it was just to see her smile, it was worth it.
Le was laughing so hard she was out of breath, completely forgetting the fact that excessive joy can lead to sorrow. For example, she didn't hear Guan Yue knocking on the door, yelling for her to take a shower. So when Guan Yue pushed the door open, the shock on her face formed a stark contrast to Le's smile, which she hadn't yet managed to retract.
In Le's video, if I'm not mistaken, it's Yuzuru Hanyu, right?
This angle...this picture...it doesn't look like a new official video at all, right?
Is Le Mingxian chatting and interacting with someone? Is she interacting with the person in the video?
Guan Yue scanned countless comments in her mind, analyzing the current situation, and remained silent for a while.
After a brief moment of confusion, Le suddenly became flustered, not knowing whether he should put on the iPad or say something to Guan Yue.
"Hello! Hello!" The person in the video was the first to break the subtle silence in the room with his poor Chinese.
"Don't say anything!" Le turned around and snarled at the person in the video who had no sense of danger. The person in the video argued aggrievedly, "But Guan Yue-san is your friend, Le. It's okay."
"Hello~ Ha Niu player~" Guan Yue walked in and waved at the camera, but after saying the four words "Ha Niu player", she became a little unsure and turned to Xiang Le to confirm, "Is that how it's pronounced? Ha Niu player?"
"Yeah." He answered while sitting upright.
After receiving the affirmation, Guan Yue nodded with satisfaction, patted Le on the shoulder, left the room after telling him to take a shower quickly.
“Ahhh… What should I do…” Le collapsed on the bed and wailed.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"What are you talking about! You should have pretended it was a recorded video! You even spoke on your own initiative!" Looking at the calm and innocent face in the video, she couldn't help but frown and scolded him for not having the awareness of being a celebrity.
"It's okay, Guan Yue-san is a friend, Le should trust her~"
"Of course I believe it!"
"That's it~"
It was true that he believed it, but if he kept it a secret from her, Guan Yue would still be angry, right? Le Du felt very uneasy for the next few days, but he didn't know how to bring it up.
She had been waiting for Guan Yue to ask her about Yuzuru Hanyu, but she didn't.
Guan Yue didn't ask her when she met Hanyu Yuzuru, nor did she ask why she didn't tell her. She didn't ask anything, just pretending nothing had happened. This actually made Le a little nervous.
It wasn't until Christmas Eve when Le got home from get off work that Guan Yue asked her if she wanted to come back the next night to watch the game together.
The All Japan Championships always fall around Christmas, something Guan Yue had complained about before. "Does the Japan Ice Hockey Association want everyone in the audience to be single? If you want to watch the games, you can't go out on a date on Christmas." Every time she complained, Yue would respond with, "You don't have a date anyway." But this time, Yue didn't dare.
"What is the Japanese Ice Hockey Association thinking? They always hold competitions on Christmas." Guan Yue cursed while pointing at the TV while eating the Christmas gingerbread made by Le.
"Yeah, that's too spicy!"
"This live broadcast opening is too ugly."
"Yes, it's horrible."
“I don’t understand Japanese either.”
"Then let's switch to CCTV's live broadcast? Or I can translate it for you?"
"LeLe, I'm really not angry." Seeing LeLe's timid look, Guan Yue sighed, "Hanyu Yuzuru is a public figure. You've known him for so many years, so it's normal for your first reaction to be to protect him. If it were me, I would do the same. It's really nothing."
Le opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. He just moved to Guan Yue's side and hugged her, "Thank you."
The live broadcast came from the TV: No. 26, Yuzuru Hanyu, ANA. Guan Yue patted Le on the back and said, "Watch the game."
On TV, Yuzuru Hanyu, dressed in a black coat, a studded black jacket, and leather pants, rocked a rocker vibe. Standing on the ice with his arms crossed and his chin raised, he exuded a sense of swagger. "Let Me Entertain You," a show steeped in rock and roll cool, had Guan Yue, a fan, screaming inwardly. She feigned composure, though, considering a friend of Hanyu nearby. Le, however, had completely changed her usual composure as a watcher, clutching her wrist during his jumps, leaping for joy at his landings, and occasionally laughing.
"What were you laughing at just now?" When the show ended, Guan Yue finally couldn't help it.
"Did you see him shake his hips just now?" Le couldn't help laughing again. "He was shaking his hips to the lyrics. His choreography is always like this, hahahaha."
Since Le was relaxed, Guan Yue naturally stopped holding back when watching the free skate the next day. The moment she saw Kosten, she almost slapped Le's hand until it turned red.
"Is it another Japanese-style show? Oh my god! It's so good! This costume is so beautiful! What show is it? Do you know?"
"I know, it's Uesugi Kenshin." Le Momo pulled his hand out, held it against his chest and rubbed it.
In the video, Yuzuru Hanyu skates to the center of the ice, then raises his eyes, as if possessed by the god of war, beginning his own battle. He remains in character until the music ends, rocking out to the audience's applause.
"All Clean!" Guan Yue turned around happily, only to see Le's unsurprised expression. "But why do I feel like Haniu is becoming more and more stable? He should have been very happy to have All Clean before~"
Le turned the phone over and covered it with his hand. After all, the row of All Clean emojis that filled the screen with cheers probably didn't quite fit the description of "stability." Just then, the phone vibrated.
Yuzu: Moi~[Image]
The picture sent is the MOI track submission form.
【Raku: Moi Moi~】
"What are you laughing at?" Guan Yue was puzzled.
"You know the all-day performance skating is called MOI, it means Moi~, which means you are ok~" Le laughed happily.
"What a strange joke..." Guan Yue frowned.
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