Chapter 29: Word Spirit
It is the twelfth lunar month again, and the New Year is getting closer. Unlike last year when Youle and Yuzuru Hanyu were playing games together, Guan Yue is the only one at home, eating takeout in silence.
The Winter Olympics were approaching, and Le had practically sold himself into the project team. Staying up all night was common, and even when he did come back, he'd just quickly wash up and go back to his room. Fang Li was also busy at the end of the year, so Guan Yue ate alone most of the time. Naturally, she'd lost interest in cooking, and would usually just order takeout and eat quickly.
The hot pot in the white plastic bowl had lost its heat. Potato starch and wilted vegetables tangled together in the sesame sauce, completely losing the appetizing appearance it had when first served. But the owner of the hot pot didn't seem to care. Her chopsticks scrambled in the bowl without any intention of eating, her attention completely focused on her phone.
In a WeChat group, messages are constantly scrolling upwards.
[Let's eat: Hahahaha, half a month has passed and Tantan is still reminiscing about All Day. ]
[Carbohydrate My Love: No, I just finished my exams and got out of quarantine. I've been catching up these past two days!]
[Coffee Milk: Don't tell me, I've been brushing my teeth every day for the past two weeks. It's so cool, isn't it?]
[Café Milk: And there are so many pre-Olympics warm-up materials lately, I’m so happy~]
[Carbohydrate My Love: That's right! This choreography is amazing! There are only a few pressing steps in the whole process. I just want to ask, who else can do it besides Mr. Hanyu?]
[Grapefruit Girl: I'm awesome, this kind of classical music is perfect for me! The costumes look great this time too!]
[Let's eat: Isn't our God of War handsome? Doesn't he deserve a name? And he even danced 4A!]
[Yuzu Lulu: Who would have thought that someone in such a stable state is already a 27-year-old veteran? Hhhh, ISU and JSF must be pissed off, right?]
Guan Yue had joined this Yuzuru Hanyu fan group on Weibo a long time ago. With fewer competitions and ice performances in the past two years, many members gradually left the group. Only recently, with the Christmas Day competition, did the group become active again. Guan Yue, keeping a big secret, remained silent in the group for a long time, but the lively atmosphere of the young women made this empty-nest young woman reluctant to close the chat box.
[Pusang and Yuzu: Tantan, have you caught up on the interview?]
[Carbohydrate My Love: Not yet. His interviews are always filled with useless answers, which makes me anxious. I'll wait until there's nothing left to watch before catching up.]
[Pusang and Yuzu: I urge you to watch it now while you're excited. It's so thrilling. Who can be more thrilling than Haniu himself?]
[Grapefruit Girl: Help, please stop talking, I just remembered it again.]
【Have a bite: Woohoo, me too, help! 】
[Qingtong Beijiangtang: Honestly, don't you think the Niu are really divisive? They were so domineering and in top form during the game, but then they just slumped down afterward. Who can stand that?]
[Let's have a meal: That's right! After seeing this kind of scene a few times, he's definitely figured out the whole world of Kodeng literature.]
The All Japan Championships they were discussing in the group was the Winter Olympics qualifying competition that took place on Christmas Day last month. On the field, Yuzuru Hanyu had restrained some of his youthful frivolity, and he looked steady and calm, like a king ruling the world.
However, the post-game interviews and the various off-ice interview videos were different. He looked back at the rink with a wistful look, and when answering questions, he would look up at the ceiling for a long time before answering slowly. Every movement made people feel that this 27-year-old needed someone to hug him.
Guan Yue was worried about whether he was in poor condition, but even though she had Hanyu's WeChat, she couldn't ask.
A few days ago, Le returned home at seven o'clock, a rare occasion. Guan Yue tried to find some clues from the person changing shoes in the entrance hall to confirm her concerns, but she came to no conclusion. However, her gaze caught Le's attention.
"Why are you looking at me?" Le took off his headphones and looked over.
"I'll see if you're in good shape," Guan Yue answered truthfully. After all, if Hanyu Yuzuru wasn't in good shape, Yue would probably show some concern.
"I'm fine. Although I'm tired, the project is gradually coming to an end and I have hope." And recently, after much persuasion from her, Director Meng finally agreed to recommend her to the performance skating executive team, so she has been in a good mood recently.
"Then..." Guan Yue was hesitating about how to bring up Yuzuru Hanyu when she suddenly spotted the needlework that had been sitting on the coffee table for a while. An idea struck her, and she asked, "By the way! Did Haniu receive the tissue box cover in the Poussin color you prepared for him?"
"Yeah, he got it. He got it when he got home at the end of the day."
"How is it, is he happy?"
It would have been fine if Guan Yue didn't ask, but when it came to this, Le felt a little depressed.
That evening, upon arriving home, she received a video from Yuzuru Hanyu. Excited, she dangled the unopened package against her ear, trying to guess what was inside. The soft packaging clearly couldn't possibly contain anything hard enough to make a sound. He probably knew that already, but he still refused to skip the step of listening.
Watching him finally compromise and start to unpack the package in the video, Le, who was not present, was actually a little nervous and carefully observed his expression.
"Hey!" He pulled the knitted item out of the package. The familiar color scheme made it clear what it was, but he turned it over and over but couldn't find the familiar ears and eyes. "Hey! What is this? A tissue box cover? Did you knit this?"
"Yeah. I asked and I think I might not be able to bring Pu-san to the Winter Olympics, so I thought you might need this." Le smoothed the hair by his ear. "Try it and see if it works. I've tried the size, and if it's not big enough, I'll have to trouble Aunt Yumei to alter it."
The person in the video stood up and disappeared. Only the sound of rummaging through something was heard over there. After a while, he sat back in front of the camera.
"The size is fine, but look, I have one." He held up the floppy knitted fabric. Although it looked a little worn, it was clearly Poussin's colorway. "I've had this happen before in competitions, so Mom prepared one for me. It's been years since I last used it."
Looking at the knitting in the video, Le suddenly felt as if he had done something unnecessary, and his ears started to heat up.
"Then give it back to me!"
"No way~" Yuzuru Hanyu stuck out his tongue at the camera, reached out to take his Pousan, took out the tissue box and stuffed it into the knitted bag he just got, "It's all mine after I gave it to you~ I won't give it back~"
"Happy, he's so happy!" Le replied, almost gritting his teeth. More than happy, he later took the knitting bag to Aunt Yumei to show off for a while, which made Le even more embarrassed.
This reaction was truly puzzling, but Guan Yue, eager to understand the situation, pondered for a moment before finally asking, "So he should be doing well now, right?"
The action of hanging up the coat was two beats slower than usual. Le lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then turned his head and replied with a smile: "Yeah, it's fine, don't worry."
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The key turned, and the door clicked open. In stark contrast to the incandescent light in the hallway, the interior was shrouded in darkness. Moonlight, which had been filtering through the balcony curtains onto the sofa, was now banished by the light streaming in from outside. The light entered with the creak of the door hinges, only to be cut off by the slam of the door shut. The moonlight happily returned to occupy the sofa.
Yuzuru Hanyu leaned against the closed door, removed his mask, then his tie, and let out a deep breath as if he had been holding it in for a long time. Still without turning on the lights or changing into slippers, he walked barefoot to the sofa and collapsed onto it.
Lying on his back on the sofa, he looked up at the ceiling. He was so tired, all these trivial matters were so tiring.
Today he made a special trip to the Ice Skating Association to confirm all matters related to the Beijing Winter Olympics, and then rushed back to Sendai. The hassle of the journey was nothing compared to what he faced while sitting in the conference room.
He rubbed his face. He must not look well right now. It was precisely because he didn't want anyone to see him like this that he hadn't been home recently, instead moving to this apartment he'd bought a few years ago, citing the need to focus. The house was spotless; his mother must have cleaned it. He should thank her profusely, Hanyu Yuzuru thought, but he didn't move, letting sleep creep in.
His plans for a nap on the sofa were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He pulled it from his trouser pocket. It was a video call invitation from Le. Yuzuru Hanyu quickly sat up from the sofa, turned on the floor-standing reading light beside it, rubbed his face and pulled at the corner of his mouth, then answered the video call with a smile.
"Yuzuru, are you going to training soon? I just finished work here." Le's voice came. The video looked like she was still on the street. The orange street lights weaved a halo on the edge of her furry hat. Her nose and cheeks were a little red from the wind.
Although Yuzuru Hanyu was smiling in the video, there were some blue marks under his eyes. Le couldn't help but frowned and asked, "Didn't you get enough rest?"
Zooming in on the video frame, Yuzuru Hanyu took a look at himself in the video. The shadows under his eyes were indeed quite obvious, and the floor lamp shining on his face was rather scary. He quickly found an excuse, "It's because of the lighting, you see~" As he spoke, he moved away from the lamp above his head, and his dark circles were obviously lessened. He saw Le in the video blinking, and he didn't know whether he believed it or not, so he simply changed the subject.
"What about you? Are you wearing a scarf? Don't get sick again!"
"I'm wearing a scarf, look!" She lowered the camera slightly, revealing her scarf as proof. Her confident voice betrayed no trace of fatigue from just finishing work, but rather a sense of vigour.
Infected by her vibrant state, Hanyu Yuzuru felt his own fatigue dissipate considerably, and his smile deepened. "Did rehearsal go well today? You seemed very happy."
"Yeah! Today's rehearsal was great. The kids were all very well-behaved, so well-behaved that I almost forgot how scary these little devils were in the beginning~" Le switched to the memo on his phone while walking, and began to tell Yuzuru Hanyu about the interesting things in his work, narrating them one by one with great emotion.
Yuzuru Hanyu supported his head and listened to her story with a smile. The camera swayed with her steps. Beijing looked very quiet at around 10 o'clock in the evening, and there were not many people on the streets. That's why she was so unscrupulous to video chat with him on the street.
After all, busy work is still packed with anxiety, so the funny things in the memo were quickly finished. Seeing Yuzuru Hanyu's expression in the video clearly relaxed, Le didn't want to hang up.
"By the way, did you go and confirm your trip to Beijing today? How was it going? When will you come?"
“I might not be able to attend the opening ceremony.”
"Ah..." The face in the video clearly showed disappointment, but he quickly cheered up, "It's okay, you can't see the whole picture of our show clearly when you're there. It's better to watch the live broadcast on TV!"
"Well, I'll stay tuned to the TV."
"So when will you come?"
"Two days before the competition, the exact time hasn't been decided yet."
"Yeah! But if Yuzuru doesn't come to the opening ceremony, we might go directly into a closed loop later, and we won't be able to see each other..." A somewhat frustrated voice, along with the sound of the wind from Beijing, was transmitted to Tokyo through the video. Yuzuru Hanyu felt a little sad when he heard it.
On the other side of the video, Le cheered up very quickly, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the video, "But I've prepared a surprise! I'll reveal it when you win the championship three times in a row!"
Three consecutive championships.
"Le, do you think I can win three times in a row?"
The question he blurted out made Le stop in his tracks, and before he could withdraw his question, she spoke first.
"Of course! My Hanyu is the best! Although I have little time now, I have also watched your game videos carefully, as well as the practice videos you sent me. I believe in you, you can do it! Three consecutive championships!" The girl took advantage of the fact that there were no passers-by on the street and shouted the last three words in the street with her fists raised high.
The video ended after the energetic cheering session. He flicked off the floor lamp, and the room returned to darkness. His phone landed on the coffee table with a resounding thud. After the echo faded, the room returned to silence, and Hanyu buried his face in his hands.
After a moment, Hanyu's quiet muttering to himself broke the silence in the room.
"Winning is enough, Yuzuru Hanyu, you can do it. As long as you win, you won't let anyone down."
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