Chapter 24 The Lucky Man
There's an old Chinese saying that a person's future can be seen at the age of three, which seems to be a crucial age. However, this rule may not apply to two Japanese children, Yuzuru Hanyu and Raku. For them, four seems to be the crucial moment when they take their first steps in life.
A figure following his sister stepped onto the ice rink.
Holding her father's hand, she entered the ballet classroom for the first time. That year, Le was still called Kawasaki Le.
From that day on, the 40-square-meter dance studio became her playground for her entire childhood. The gray diamond-patterned floor, the full-length mirror, and the aged wooden barre all bore witness to her love and determination for ballet. However, Le stopped training for two weeks in the winter when she was seven years old.
The seven-year-old was still naive. She didn't understand why her father, who had agreed to wait for her in the car after class, came out of the office next door, nor did she understand why the teacher who came out with him had a smudged lipstick. But she understood that the broken vase fragments on the floor represented her parents' determination to separate.
Her teacher, her classroom, and her own name were mentioned repeatedly in her parents' arguments.
"Is it my fault? If I stop dancing ballet and going to class, will Mom and Dad make up?" When Feng found Le, who had skipped class, on the swing in the park, she lay in her mother's arms and asked crying.
"I'm sorry, Xiaole. It's Mom's fault. It has nothing to do with you or ballet." Feng stroked her daughter's hair and said gently, "You have to know that feelings will fade and people will eventually separate. It's Mom's fault for not handling it well, which is why it became so embarrassing. But none of this has anything to do with Le. Le loves ballet, and Mom also likes Le to dance ballet. From now on, you and Mom will live together. Mom will work less and accompany you to performances and competitions, okay?"
Accompanied by her mother, she changed to another ballet studio to continue her training. However, when the teacher called out "Sugihara Raku" (Suginohara Raku), she only answered hurriedly after being reminded by her friend next to her.
A seven-year-old child didn't know what decency meant, nor did she quite understand what emotion was. But she remembered that sentence.
Feelings will disappear, and people will eventually separate.
It wasn't until she was sixteen, one day in a drama class, that she suddenly understood the truth of this statement. Giselle's heartbroken death, Nikiya's refusal of the antidote, and Odette's death at the hands of the devil's curse were all due to them believing in the deception of eternal love, forgetting that people are ultimately destined to part.
So she must not be fooled by such lies.
Thanks to this realization, Le was able to escape many relationships that ended tragically. But at this moment, he was stunned.
"It's a confession, Le." Hanyu's words echoed in her ears. Le looked at the man leaning on the balcony, his eyes narrow and bright, smiling. He didn't say anything about forever, but simply spoke of being together as effortlessly and naturally as the moonlight tonight.
Before his vision blurred, Le turned his head, lay on the balcony and buried his face in his hands.
"Fool! Foolish! Foolish!..."
Yuzuru Hanyu leaned against the balcony, seemingly calm and composed, his heart pounding like a drum. The quiet night allowed him to clearly hear the muffled sounds emanating from her palm. This series of baffling idiocy had him momentarily embarrassment and irritation. With his ears reddened, he reached for Le's shoulder, attempting to pull her hand away from her face.
"I was confessing, why are you calling me stupid? How am I stupid?"
Feeling her slight tremor as he touched her shoulder, Yuzuru Hanyu was stunned for a moment. He pulled her hand away from her face and looked at her tear-stained face, an expression he had never seen before. It felt like a mixture of aggrieved and touched, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, only distressed. He cupped her face in his hands, gently brushing away her tear-soaked hair, and using his thumb to gently wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes. As soon as he wiped them away, another glistening tear rolled down.
Yuzuru Hanyu said nothing, simply cupping her face. His warm lips touched the corners of Le's moistened eyes. He followed the teardrops' path, gently kissing away her tears, the salty taste lingering between his lips and teeth. Although he desperately wanted a confession, she cried so pitifully that he couldn't bear to ask any more questions.
But... his eyes fell on the corner of her mouth.
"Can I kiss you?" he asked softly, holding her face.
"Puchi..." The cautious question made Le burst into laughter. She looked up into his deep eyes, closed her eyes and moved closer. The moment their lips touched, he heard her murmur.
"You're really stupid."
Now, this idiot was on the ice, mumbling to himself and stamping his feet, listening to the echo. Looking at this childish fool, Le suddenly couldn't understand why he had agreed to a date last night. It must be because the moonlight shining on him last night was too unpleasant.
"Music! Listen!" Yuzuru Hanyu shouted from the middle of the ice rink, his voice echoing in the empty rink. "Interesting, isn't it~"
"Childish..." Perhaps it was not the right thing to complain, because before he could finish his words, Le suddenly felt an itch on his nose and started to sneeze, "Ah, cho! cho! cho! cho! cho!" This was how Le sneezed every time, with his eyes closed and his face wrinkled, and he sneezed several times in a row without any cleanliness at all.
"BO!" The person on the ice playfully imitated the combo sound effects of Taiko no Tatsujin, slid to Le's side, took a tissue from Pusang, pressed the back of Le's head with one hand, and covered her nose with the tissue with the other hand.
"Hanyu Yuzuru!" Le pulled away the hand that was pinching her nose without knowing how hard it was. "It hurts!"
"Oh, sorry~" But his smile clearly didn't look apologetic at all.
He'd been in this euphoric state since last night. He'd been taking her back to the hotel, too, holding Le's hand and giggling like a fool. His eyes, hidden by his mask and hat, curved into a smile, just like the way he was smiling now.
Silly, Le thought, rubbing his nose.
Among the monsters that interrupt happiness, there's always a jerk called work. Yuzuru Hanyu cursed inwardly, but he could only smile and bow to the advertising crew around him.
Today is the day for ANA's commercial shoot. Yuzuru Hanyu, so engrossed in the company of his girlfriend, had almost forgotten about it. It wasn't until his phone reminded him a day in advance that he remembered. Damn it, I still have work tomorrow.
The phone vibrated in his trouser pocket. While the director finished explaining the play and went to arrange the camera, Hanyu turned sideways and took a quick look at the phone.
[Raku: Breaking News! The Princess is Coming Home~ [Photo]]
The photo I sent showed Le from behind. At the end of the park entrance, she was striding toward the castle. If she weren't wearing jeans that made it easy to play the games, wouldn't she look like a princess returning to the castle in a puffy skirt?
Today is Le's birthday, and she and her friends from her former dance troupe went to Disneyland. When she discussed the itinerary with her friends, no matter how much he tried to trick her, Le still ruthlessly rejected his request to go with them.
Ah! I also want to go to Disneyland with my girlfriend for her birthday!
The inner roar inadvertently turned into actual force, and he buckled the prop suitcase a little too hard, making a snapping sound that echoed throughout the room. The crew members who were discussing filming fell silent and looked over.
“Matchmaker Hanyu, you better be gentle when we shoot later. The force you use to close the box is too strong, which doesn’t fit the atmosphere we want.” The director broke the silence and reminded.
"Okay, okay."
I glanced at the photo one more time before putting my phone back in my pocket. She even had a beautiful braid today!
hateful--
How could Hanyu, who always smiled gently in front of the camera, suddenly look so resentful? The photographer scratched his head in confusion and exchanged a glance with the director sitting in front of the monitor.
Oops, it seems that Hanyu can’t find the feeling today and will have to work overtime.
However, the happy birthday girl at Disneyland had no idea what was going on on set. She simply assumed Hanyu was busy when she didn't receive a reply. She felt at ease stuffing her phone back into her bag and locking it in the luggage compartment on the roller coaster.
The park was relatively quiet during this special period, so Le and his friends barely had to wait in line, enjoying each attraction one by one without even a moment to check their phones. It wasn't until they reached the queue for Beauty and the Beast that Le pulled out his phone. His Line messages were empty, and he realized something was amiss. His face wrinkled in annoyance.
"What's wrong?" Hu Yuanhejiu, who was standing next to her, leaned over to check her phone, but she turned off the screen before she could. "Tsk, have you made some shady friends?"
"Yes, this is the most embarrassing friend I have had since I was a child." Le said as he put the phone with a black screen in front of He Jiu, allowing him to clearly see his face in the reflection.
He Jiu was not annoyed, and carefully adjusted his hairstyle in front of the phone, "Thank you, you have worked hard~"
"Okay, stop messing around, it's our turn."
At a friend's reminder, the group finally sat in the teacups prepared by Mrs. Teapot and began this immersive fairytale journey. This is one of the few activities where you can take photos throughout the entire journey. In the huge teacup, not only Le and a few friends, but also a few strangers, also held up their phones to capture the magical scenery along the way.
However, out of the corner of his eye, Le noticed that the camera held by a little girl sitting slightly behind him seemed to be constantly focused not on the beautiful Belle, but rather in his direction. He turned his head to glance, followed the direction of the camera, and instantly understood who the little girl was shooting. He nudged Tohara Kazuki next to him, raised an eyebrow, and glanced in the little girl's direction.
After Belle and the Prince's dance, Yamada Yuna was still eager to buy something, and she was full of shopping cravings. Seeing her so engrossed, the other children didn't want to interrupt her and wandered around the store, waiting for her to check out. Le, humming the music from earlier, explored the store and noticed the girl from earlier. After a few quiet conversations with her friends, she seemed to muster up the courage to walk over to Kazuki.
The background music in the store switched, and the sudden increase in volume drowned out the little girl's voice. She looked at Hejiu's back, lowered her head and snapped her fingers awkwardly. Just as she was debating whether to muster up the courage to speak again, a figure came over from beside her, jumped over her shoulder, and patted Hejiu's shoulder. He turned around.
"There's a little lady looking for you~" Le winked at the little girl.
"Um...um...I'm a fan of Tohara-san! I especially love your Don Quixote ballet!" The girl was a little nervous. She rummaged through her bag and took out her notebook. "Could you please sign it for me?"
"Ah, thank you, of course." He Jiu smiled politely and took the little girl's notebook. "Do you want to write anything?"
"If possible, please write a 3A and 4T landing for a smooth transition."
Le, standing nearby, was stunned when he heard this, then pulled the mask on his nose to cover his face more tightly. He Jiu glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, and then lowered his head to write the blessing she wanted in a notebook in a flamboyant style as requested. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Qianba Baiyin."
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"Look~ This float is so beautiful! Pu-san even waved at me!"
"And this one, look, look, it's my favorite Princess Bella. I'm so lucky, she just opened when it was my turn in line!"
"Oops, the fireworks are so blurry, but they are really beautiful!"
Le sat on the carpet in front of the sofa, holding up her phone to share the videos and photos she had taken today with Yuzuru Hanyu. The whirring blow dryer overhead and the messy hair she was blowing had disrupted her perception, causing her to completely fail to notice that the person sitting on the sofa, blow-drying her hair, had a bad look on his face.
It was great that she was so happy, but he was not part of her happiness. Not only that, the birthday cake he prepared was still in the refrigerator, untouched.
"Oh, by the way! Lend me your Instagram!"
"You go get the next one yourself." Although he looked unhappy, he still handed over his iPad obediently.
"Just use yours. I have to register, what a hassle." Le took the iPad, entered Tohara and Jiu's account on Instagram and opened it. There were already a lot of photos of them together at Disney today.
The ballet dancers at Disneyland truly look like princesses and princes emerging from a castle for a reunion. Their exceptional grace and graceful ballet poses transform the ordinary tourists around them into mere pedestrians in anime, and every photo is captivatingly atmospheric.
Although Le was not a dancer when she was in the dance troupe, her dancing skills were not inferior to those of the current dancers. At least in every photo, Yuzuru Hanyu only had eyes for the girl wearing a large square-necked puff-sleeved short top and jeans.
After the group photo, there are photos of two people and photos of three people.
"Wait, don't turn the page." A photo of Le and his partner caught his attention, interrupting his hand as it was about to turn the page. "Who is this man?"
In the photo, Le stood on half-toe, making a beautiful attitude appearance. A man stood behind her, holding her waist.
"Ah, it's Ryosuke-kun. He was a colleague from the dance troupe before, the gay guy I told you about before. We've always had a good relationship."
Oh, it’s gay.
Even if he's gay, that's not okay! How could he be so self-aware? Didn't he see that when he raised his arms, his shirt also lifted up, exposing his waist? Was it okay for him to touch him like that?
"Don't wear this dress for photos next time."
"Why? Doesn't this look good?" Le looked down at his clothes and saw nothing wrong with them.
"Whatever you want."
What's going on? Watching him leave the sofa and go to the kitchen to get some water, Le looked back at the photos. Isn't everything good? Is he so unhappy because he didn't take him with him?
But how popular is Yuzuru Hanyu? Doesn't he realize it? Not to mention that he has work today, even if he didn't, she wouldn't dare take him to Disneyland. It probably wouldn't even make the headlines the next day.
Fortunately, she was prepared.
He pulled out a Pusang from the shopping bag beside the sofa, with a big tag still on, and rubbed its soft head.
Pooh-san! I can only rely on you!
He used Pusang to shield his face, quietly walked behind Yuzuru Hanyu, and patted his shoulder with Pusang's hand.
"Hello, Yuzuru-kun! I'm your girlfriend, and I was carefully selected at the store before I was brought back to accompany you. Please take care of me, as it's our first meeting~"
Le was making so much noise unpacking the package on the sofa that he had noticed her movements a long time ago, but he still pretended to have a stern face and turned his head away from her.
Le stole a glance at Pu from the side, pouted, and continued to hold Pu and said, "Yuzuru-kun doesn't say hello to me? Then I'll say hello to you~" He put Pu against Hanyu's cheek. Unexpectedly, he turned his head, so he kissed Pu head-on. "Oh, I was going to kiss you on the cheek, is Yuzuru-kun so enthusiastic?"
She poked her head out from beside Pooh and teased him with a smile.
The Pusang in her hand was suddenly taken away by Yuzuru Hanyu and placed on the dining table beside her. Le blinked at him blankly. He lowered his head slightly and looked at her, with his bangs covering his eyes and a dark look in his eyes.
"Just kissing, am I at a disadvantage?"
He grabbed Le's waist and pulled her in front of him. With his other hand, he placed his hand on the back of her head and leaned down to kiss her. Yuzuru Hanyu was a man who always expressed his feelings in everything he did: competitions, performances, interviews, even kisses. He held Le's waist firmly, his hand on the back of her head feeling particularly domineering. The light nibbling of his lips seemed to vent his frustration at being ignored today.
After the kiss, he buried his face in Le's neck and rubbed it, then said softly like a wronged little animal: "I also prepared a birthday present for you, and a cake, it's in the refrigerator."
"Well, thank you, Yuzuru. Then shall we take it out and eat it?" Le raised her hand and gently stroked the hair at the back of his neck, following the direction of the hair, stroking it gently like a cat, trying to comfort the Yuzuru cat hanging on his body. He didn't notice that where her fingertips brushed, his white skin turned slightly red.
"Blow out the candles first." His voice was muffled and a little hoarse.
"Okay, then, let's blow out the candles first?" Her breath and fingertips brushed against his hair and across his slender neck. Le was still thinking about how if it were a cat, its tight neck wouldn't have any flesh to lift up, and the hand around her waist suddenly tightened.
"You can wait a while..." The words disappeared at the junction of lips and earlobe.
The carefully selected strawberry birthday cake had been waiting for a long time. Unfortunately, even after 12 o'clock, it still couldn't fulfill its mission today. It was lonely in the coldest place in the room, no one cared about it.
But some people are lucky.
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