Chapter 63 "You Don't Understand"
At the Blue Bottle near K Group, Le sat among her colleagues, absentmindedly listening to their conversation. Awaiting the results of today's review, she felt a surge of nervousness. She stirred the coffee in her glass with a straw, the ice cubes tapping against the glass with a tinkling sound that seemed to accompany their laughter and chatter.
"He hasn't messaged me yet. Men are so unreliable." Nami Aoki, who had just finished a social gathering not long ago, complained that her ambiguous partner did not message her.
Everyone taught her that it would be better not to pay too much attention to this kind of ambiguous object, and to find a few new ambiguous objects to divert her attention.
"Yesterday, when I was packing my boyfriend's coat, I found this in his pocket~clang~" Takagi Anne held out her left hand, a delicate bracelet dangling from her slender wrist. "It's a gift for our anniversary~"
Pure showing off.
"I have a headache now. I have to work and prepare for the wedding at the same time, and my fiancé doesn't help me at all. I really regret agreeing to his proposal. If it weren't for the romance and diamond ring he prepared when he proposed, I wouldn't have agreed impulsively." Yamauchi Ayami complained, stroking the diamond ring on her ring finger.
He obviously wanted to show off.
The straw spun twice more in the cup, and Le lowered his head to take a sip. The coffee was diluted a little by the melted ice, and the bitterness faded, and the sourness prevailed.
"Suginohara, you just kept listening without saying anything."
"Yeah, yeah, how's your relationship with that boyfriend who always brings souvenirs going?"
"Very sweet, right? I noticed you were wearing a men's T-shirt~" Yamauchi Xiangle winked slyly and smiled ambiguously, "Tell us how far along you are? Are you getting married soon?"
In a conversation between four people, one person's silence is too easy to notice, and this time he was caught.
"No... There's nothing much to talk about. We're just having a normal relationship."
She tried to answer the questions in Hanyu's way of avoiding the main points, but her lack of skills did not convince everyone, and a series of questions followed.
Is the other person handsome?
Nodding. After all, there are so many fans...
Do you earn a lot?
After thinking about it for a while, he nodded.
"Then quickly capture him!" Qingmu patted Le's arm excitedly and suggested, "Such a good opportunity cannot be let go!"
The topic of how to hold on to a boyfriend continued to spread endlessly. Le was stunned by what she heard, and finally escaped the gossip scene with the help of a phone call from He Jiu.
"Aren't they saying Japanese girls are independent too? I almost had a heart attack from drinking this afternoon tea."
Le sat in the conference room and complained to He Jiu, her gritted teeth fully showing her inner disgust for the topic just discussed.
"There aren't many handsome men who earn a lot of money anymore. You have to put in a lot of effort to hold on to them, to show meticulous care, to be close yet distant, and to respond passionately. What is all that?"
Before he could finish his words, He Jiu had already covered his ears.
"You should tell Guan Yue to say these things. I'm not responsible for listening to such complaints."
"Tsk, come to think of it, being handsome and making a lot of money makes Japanese girls the best marriage partners." She stroked her chin and squinted at the man in front of her. "I'm sure you'll be very popular when you return to Japan."
"I'll be just as welcome even if I don't go back to Japan." He raised an eyebrow and pushed her head. "But you, you keep calling me a Japanese girl. Don't forget, you're Japanese too."
He covered his head and argued that he was supposed to be Finnish, but He Jiu ignored him and continued talking on his own.
"I went back to Japan because I was fed up with Fish & Chips. What about you?"
He clearly didn't feel a sense of belonging to Japan. He didn't say this, but Le clearly saw it in his eyes. As soon as she defended herself, He Jiu casually evaded her excuse and continued the conversation.
"You have come to Japan specifically for work, why don't you move in with him? Didn't your big star cry? He is such a crybaby." He Jiu supported his chin with his palm, leaning on the table, ready to listen to the story with great interest.
"Why are people always talking about him being a crybaby..." Le frowned.
"Who else said that?"
"Guan Yue, I just want a place I can go back to. Is that too much? You're all blaming me..." She pouted in protest, then raised her hands. "I surrender. I've already moved most of my frequently used things there this morning. I'll be staying there more often in the future, but I'm not planning on giving up the apartment."
"..." Watching her talk about her current arrangements as naturally as if she were talking about the weather, He Jiu opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent. The meeting room suddenly fell silent.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Are you trying to lecture me about wasting money? The rent on that apartment is so cheap, I can afford it." Seeing his strange look, Le came to his own conclusion and explained a few words. But he still seemed a little stunned, and then he thought, "Speaking of which, how do you know he likes to cry?"
He Jiu immediately realized that the topic was heading in the wrong direction. Just as he was about to change the subject, he was interrupted.
"When I just came here, were you watching videos?" Le squinted at He Jiu, "I seemed to hear Yuzuru Hanyu's voice. Were you watching his videos? You seem to be paying attention to him~"
"I said it was big data that took action first, do you believe it?" He Jiu's face was a little stiff.
"Ah~ So you've been Googling him a lot lately?"
“…”
"What special feelings did the last lift arouse in you?"
“…”
"Sure enough, this day has finally come, the day when we two will fight over a man?" Le Yang said with emotion, and tilted her head to admire the changes in expression on He Jiu's handsome face. It was really interesting, and she couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Is Suginohara so happy because she knew she was chosen?" The director saw the bright smile on her face when he came in. Seeing Le's eyes widen in surprise, he smiled and patted her shoulder. "You passed. We will be recommending you for the new play in this season. Keep up the good work. Let's discuss the details."
Yuzuru Hanyu caught up on some sleep at home, and it was already evening when he woke up. He opened his eyes and saw Poosan and Moomin by his pillow, and couldn't help but smile gleefully. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and found several unread messages from Le.
[Raku: I succeeded! I was selected! My dance drama!]
【Raku: Teletubbies dancing.gif】
【Raku: Teletubbies dancing.gif】
【Raku: Teletubbies dancing.gif】
A series of dancing Teletubbies emoticons conveyed her excitement to Yuzuru Hanyu in equal measure.
Yuzu: Awesome! Congratulations, Director Suginohara! I knew you could do it!
【Yuzu: Poosang scattering flowers.gif】
【Yuzu: Poosang scattering flowers.gif】
【Yuzu: Poosang scattering flowers.gif】
Yuzu: I'm going to order some high-quality sushi to celebrate for you!
He finished sending the last message, threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, ready to find the sushi restaurant's phone number when Le called.
"No need to order sushi, we went to a Western restaurant to get a packed dinner and are on our way back. Please clean up the house~" She hung up the phone after she said that.
We? Who?
Yuzuru Hanyu's brain slowly started to work, remembering that Morimoto Kosuke was also in Yokohama today for a physical therapist exchange. He clapped his hands and made up his mind, obediently tidying up the house. When he heard a sound at the door, he took small, penguin-like steps and happily reached the entrance. When he saw Tohara Kazuki at the door, his smile suddenly faded.
"Why is he here?" he asked quietly in Le's ear.
"We're here to celebrate Le's work being selected. What? Don't you welcome me?" He Jiu tilted his head and answered for Le.
"No, no, I also want to thank you for your help with Le's work~" Yuzuru Hanyu immediately adjusted his facial expression, smiling innocently and kindly.
This dinner, which was held in the name of celebration, came to an abrupt end after the protagonist drank half a glass of red wine and fell asleep.
Tohara and Jiu sat alone on the sofa in the living room and looked around the house, which was nominally rented by Yuzuru Hanyu.
The barre and mats in the living room's open space looked like they were meant for fun, and the pairs of pointe shoes nearby confirmed his suspicions. Two different-colored game controllers sat next to the TV, a Marrimekko tea mat covered the coffee table, and a pair of Iittala mugs with Moomin prints sat next to the guest mugs.
There weren't many family photos in the living room, but it was filled with Le's usual things. If you didn't know she had only just moved in this morning, who wouldn't think this was a cohabiting nest they'd been living in for a long time?
He silently rolled his eyes, popped the lid off the second bottle of wine, and poured it into his guest mug. Decanting? He'd already been drinking from a mug, so why would he care?
Click——
The sound of the bedroom door being gently closed.
Turning around, he saw Yuzuru Hanyu, who had just closed the door, walking towards him quietly, with a look on his face that said, "Why are you still here?"
"She went to sleep?" He Jiu said, picking up the mug and taking a sip of wine, which was very sour.
"Yeah." Yuzuru Hanyu sat on the other side of the sofa, glanced at the empty bottle and the newly opened bottle of red wine on the coffee table, frowned, "You opened another bottle?"
"You all don't drink red wine, so it's a waste to leave it here. Drink it all." He added some more to his glass.
You can definitely take it home, Yuzuru Hanyu thought to himself.
But watching him pour himself a drink, he still felt a little sorry. This wine was brought by Hu Yuan and Jiu specifically for Le Qingqing, but who would have thought that they didn't even have a decent red wine glass at home.
"Le can drink quite well, but..." Yuzuru Hanyu just explained that Le just gets drunk easily after drinking red wine, in order to save her image as a drinker, but he was interrupted.
"Her? She might be fine if she drinks other things, but if she drinks red wine..." He Jiu curled the corners of his mouth and smiled contemptuously, raised his thumb and pointed it down with his backhand, "Trash."
He already knew that drinking red wine would make him sleepy, so he definitely couldn't drink much. He had brought the wine just for the occasion, thinking that Yuzuru Hanyu might drink it.
Haha, I didn’t expect it to be even worse. I’m simply allergic to alcohol.
The sky outside the window had already turned completely dark, and the room was filled with silence under the warm light, with only the sound of He Jiu refilling his glass of wine from time to time.
Feeling a little awkward, Yuzuru Hanyu spoke carefully.
"Do you need something to go with your drink?" He got up and went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and began to search inside for the snacks his father would usually consider when drinking. "Huh? We actually have this sausage at home? Can it go with the drink?"
With a ding, the microwave light went out.
"Is this the sausage that Le brought for breakfast? Will she be unhappy if I eat it in advance..." Yuzuru Hanyu walked out with the hot sausage, muttering to himself.
In the air-conditioned room, the sausages in front of me were still steaming.
"Do you need more sauce?" Yuzuru Hanyu saw him staring at the sausage in a daze, wondering if something was missing, and was about to get up when he was called.
"No need." He Jiu picked up a piece of sausage and threw it into his mouth. "Besides, she won't be angry. She's not very protective of her food."
"Are you sure?" Yuzuru Hanyu raised an eyebrow. "I drank a cup of her yogurt the day before yesterday and was angry for a long time."
He Jiu paused for half a second while pouring the wine, as if he was stunned. He quickly laughed at himself and said, "Yes, she can protect her food boldly now."
"You probably don't know, but she didn't dare eat these things before." He Jiu pushed the plate in front of him. "Now that I think about it, she did love eating them when she was little. She would argue with me all the way because she didn't break the popsicles evenly."
He looked around the living room again, at the barre, the dancing shoes, the Moomin figurines and the cups... He withdrew his gaze and spoke slowly.
"I still don't like you."
"???" Yuzuru Hanyu suddenly felt that he shouldn't insist on being polite as the host. He should just kick this person out and go to bed early.
I've heard that for some people, there's a fine line between being drunk and being normal, and that's probably the case now.
Tohara and Jiu moved from the sofa to the carpet and sat down, their heads resting on the sofa as they recounted stories of their childhood ballet lessons with Le. Yuzuru Hanyu watched the bottle of wine in his hand gradually empty, hesitating between stopping him and not stopping him.
I really want to hear about Le’s dark history as a child.
But if he does this, will he vomit in the living room?
While he was hesitating, He Jiu suddenly moved to the barre using his hands and feet, grabbed Le's pointe shoes in his hands, and knocked the ground with the toes of the shoes.
"Look how hard these are! She couldn't even bend them at first, so I had to do it for her. She practiced in these shoes every day, and let me tell you, it's definitely not any easier than ice skating. Back then, she couldn't even get her leather shoes into her shoes without icing her feet after practice, you know?"
He doesn't know.
He only knew that when he was doing CWW that year, he got a list of questions from the children and asked Le about the pain of pointe shoes. She just smiled and said, "After all, it's a fairy's ball. If you really want to go, you have to cut off your heels to fit into the shoes, right?"
At that time, he just exaggeratedly shouted that Le was like Cinderella's stepmother and was so terrible.
"That year I really hoped that she could go to Emperor Entertainment Group, but she chose to go to the United States. She said that the annual assessment and selection could really inspire her fighting spirit, so she chose this path. What was the result? What kind of losers were there in that group? She was so skinny, and she even said it was tiring to lift her? Do you know? Her waist was only about this size at that time." He Jiu gestured with his hands to give an approximate size, and it looked to be no more than two of his fists wide.
"You know what? She took one bite of the burger, just one bite, and then ran to the bathroom to vomit."
He doesn't know.
He only knew that when he first met Le, she seemed to eat very little, saying that it was because of her stomach problems and she would feel uncomfortable if she ate too much.
"Despite all the hardships, she never gave up ballet. She truly loved it! It was only when I saw the news that she told me she was quitting. I actually only found out when I saw the news. No matter how much I emphasized that I believed in her, she still insisted on never being in the spotlight again."
"I thought she would gradually change her mind after going to Helsinki, but she gave up anyway."
He Jiu suddenly stopped. He didn't say anything, but lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.
The room fell silent.
In this quiet moment, Yuzuru Hanyu's mind couldn't help but replay the scene of that year. That year, she stood on the center stage of an empty theater and loudly announced, "Suginohara Raku's career as a ballet dancer ends here."
He was the only one who unexpectedly attended the retirement ceremony, and at that time he was just a person who knew very little about her entire ballet career.
"When I was little, my teacher told me that male dancers must be steady and reliable enough to protect their partners. But I failed... I really failed..."
He Jiu lay on the coffee table, his voice gradually becoming softer and turning into a murmur.
"I don't like you either," Hanyu said, squatting beside him. "But I know you're very important to Le. You've been her most important friend since she was little, and you're someone who understands and supports her dreams. She has new dreams now, and is creating a new stage. You're still her great partner."
"You don't understand."
"I understand."
"You know shit."
“…” Yuzuru Hanyu was a little angry.
He grabbed Hejiu's arm, which was lying on the table, and put it on his shoulder, ready to drag him to the door and throw him out. But he really underestimated the weight of a drunk man, and with a push, they both fell to the carpet.
"What are you two doing?" Le, who came out to drink water in the middle of his sleep, stood at the kitchen door with a complicated expression.
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