Chapter 70: Actively Admit Mistakes
"That's all for today's rehearsal. Thank you all for your hard work!"
Director Suginohara announced the end of the performance, and the entire room of performers breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Some retreated to the edge of the room to drink from their cups, while others simply sat down, loosening the ribbons around their ankles and freeing their feet from their pointe shoes. Everyone gathered in groups of three or four, chatting and stretching.
"Le-sang, today is my birthday. Let's go eat together~" Hinata Rio was obviously tired from today's rehearsal. She was too lazy to stand up. She just sat there, used her hands as a megaphone, and shouted to Suginohara Le who was sitting in front of the mirror and taking notes.
Happy birthday wishes came one after another, and Le also mixed in to send blessings. Finally, in the gap between everyone's voices,
I found an opportunity and nodded to accept her invitation.
"That's great. I noticed that you usually get off work early and don't attend our party. I thought you were going back to be with your boyfriend again~" Hinata Rio happily carried her bag and walked to Le's side. She put her arm around her and chatted with her intimately.
"Well... he's on a business trip." Le said, maintaining a smile, but quietly pulled his hand out of Lixu's arms.
"Wow! You don't even deny that you're accompanying your boyfriend, how annoying~ I always thought you and Kazuki-senpai are the best match!" Rio insists on her own CP, and even now she still insists on producing some CP clips.
Le Xin helplessly held his forehead and decided to change the subject.
"It's your birthday, and I didn't prepare any gifts. It just so happened that Xiaojie, the physical therapist, sent some new plasters, and it seems that there was one specifically for me to bring to you. I'll go to the front desk to pick it up later. I'll just give you some gifts~"
"Oh~ Thank you~ Then I'll go change my clothes and pack up first!" After she said that, she carried her big bag and flew into the actor's lounge like a bird.
"So you guys went out for a big dinner today and that's why you came back so late~"
In the empty house, his iPad propped up on the coffee table in the living room, Yuzuru Hanyu leaned over the camera, straining to peer inside. All he could see was Le Yuanyuan hanging laundry on the balcony. She responded from afar, carrying the dried clothes inside and piling them on the sofa. She closed the balcony door and screwed the laminated glass blinds shut. Then, she sat down on the carpet and folded the clean clothes one by one.
The fragrance of the laundry beads and the soft touch of the bath towel made her feel relaxed. She picked up the bath towel and sniffed it.
"It smells like sunshine~" she said to Yuzuru Hanyu with a smile, and brought the towel closer. In the camera, he also leaned in as if to smell it, but naturally, he didn't smell anything. "You'll smell it when you come back~"
The word "return" puts Yuzuru Hanyu in a particularly good mood. Le hadn't mentioned returning to his rented apartment before leaving for Nagoya, and that alone put him in a good mood. Even though today was their first video chat since their brief separation, the two of them, with their busy schedules, seemed already accustomed to it. This sense of stability gives Hanyu a genuine sense of peace and security.
"You've been listening to me for so long, how are you doing today?" Le asked curiously, seeing him still grinning to himself. But as soon as he asked, he immediately frowned and pursed his lips, looking pitiful.
"Le, the ice in Nagoya is really naughty." His face was almost wrinkled together, as if he was really bullied by the ice surface of the venue.
"Yesterday, during the opening, my drag blade got stuck in a hole and I fell. My butt still hurts today, and I encountered an ice hole, which made me fail to jump the quadruple jump. Do you know how big the hole is? It's as big as a fist!" As he spoke, he raised his fist to the camera and gestured seriously.
"Huh? Doesn't a hole this big require re-frozen?"
"Yeah! That's why we had to stop the show right after it started so the staff could come up and clean the ice." He suddenly sat up straight, puffed out his chest, and looked very proud. "But I even got to interact with the audience! It was a little awkward though, because the staff didn't even bother to play some music, so I could only get everyone clapping and then do some dancing."
He spoke, carefully observing Le's expression. She stared intently at the screen, listening to him excitedly tell the story of the day. Her movements as she folded the clothes seemed a bit casual because she wasn't watching carefully.
"You can play music in your head anyway~" she teased when he stopped.
"But it was still a little awkward! So, on a whim, I lifted my shirt and showed off a bit of my belly. The audience was really enthusiastic!" He continued boasting, but he noticed a change in Le's expression. Thinking Le was jealous and upset, he actually felt a little excited. He cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Le, don't be stingy! It's only a little bit. Just for a moment~" He put his thumb and index finger in front of his eyes, making a small gesture.
"Just be generous, that's all. However... if it's for an excellent show, then whatever you do is an artistic achievement. But... if it's just for show, Hanyu, I urge you to respect yourself."
Le's expression was serious. After she finished speaking, she lowered her eyes and stopped looking at the screen. Instead, she focused on folding clothes. She turned the socks in her hand over and over, finally stuffing them into a ball and throwing them into the pile of clothes.
After hearing what she said, Yuzuru Hanyu felt a little embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.
"Director Suginohara's lesson is..." From such a distance, it was difficult to just go up to him and act cute. The best thing to do was to admit his mistake. Besides, what Le said made sense. After all, he had always insisted on being an athlete. Seeing that Le didn't say anything, he found a way to smooth things over, "Le is the most generous! So even the temptation of watering is allowed, right?"
"What are you talking about..." Le frowned and looked at him, not knowing that her expression looked extremely coquettish in his eyes.
"Speaking of watering! It's your fault for making fun of me in Makuhari and saying the water supply was getting low. I deliberately filled up some more water today. And it went up my nose! It's so uncomfortable!"
"How can you blame me for this? We tried it at home before and it was all fine!" She picked up the empty cup on the table and pretended to pour water on her face. "You must have sprayed it into your nose. It would be strange if it didn't choke you."
A favorite scented candle lit on the living room coffee table. The light from the dancing flame danced to her raised chin, then cascaded down her slender neck like water drops, disappearing at her chest. In the camera, her fair skin, framed by the warm light, complemented her shadow reflected on the floor-to-ceiling windows, suddenly giving the viewer a sense of cinematic déjà vu.
The same action, the same scene, brought back fresh memories. He glanced over her shoulder at the French window behind her, his lips suddenly curling up. That smile was different from his usual innocent one, holding a sly edge, as if he had come up with a sinister plan. Naturally, Le noticed it too.
"What are you laughing at?" Le asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No, I'm laughing at my poor skills. But don't blame me. Last time when Mr. Suginohara was teaching me, I really didn't have the heart to learn well. How about... when I get back, you can teach me again?" He narrowed his eyes and smiled like a fox.
In the video, Le was stunned for two seconds, and suddenly his face turned red.
"Hanyu Yuzuru! I'm not going to talk to you anymore! I'm going to bed!"
The video was cut off after her shy declaration.
Yuzuru Hanyu was in the hotel, clapping his hands and laughing so hard he collapsed onto his bed. Le had naturally been thinking the same thing when he ended his video call.
On the first night of rehearsal at Makuhari, he struggled with how to use the water cup in a cool and sexy way. Celine's husband suggested pouring the water over his head, which would complement the lyrics about the rain and create a different kind of charm, but he wasn't sure. He tried several times alone in the bathroom, getting completely soaked. Unfortunately, the bathroom camera wasn't ideal for capturing the shot he wanted.
"I have a solution!" Le pulled the wet Yuzuru Hanyu out of the bathroom.
In front of the living room balcony, she had reserved an open space for dance practice. She had tightened the laminated blinds on the floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing the light from inside and the obscured glass to create a natural mirror. Le had laid her dance mat in front of the window, ensuring it was waterproof.
"Come, practice here~" she said to him.
At the beginning, he practiced and she recorded and gave him advice. Later, she finally couldn't stand it anymore and tried it with him.
"Eye contact is also important. Don't look confused after getting wet!" Le took a paper cup and sat down next to him like a duck. "You see, different eyes have different effects." As she spoke, she stared at his face seriously with a fierce look. She quickly poured the water from the cup over her head, crushed the paper cup and threw it aside. "This should be quite handsome, right?"
Yuzuru Hanyu was also surprised at how quickly he got into the role, and nodded with a blink.
"There's another way. I'm just trying, it might not work." She said this, picking up another glass of water. She lowered her eyes, then slowly raised them. Her gaze lingered briefly on the tip of his nose before she looked away. But the way she looked away was as if she were being pulled by an invisible force, slow and reluctant. The water in the glass dripped down her forehead, and she raised her eyes to look at him again. That single glance was filled with alluring charm.
She paused, scrambling to find the iPad recording the video. She opened the video and checked it, feeling incredibly excited.
"Wow! I think I really nailed it! I've seen classical dance teachers use this style before, and I've never been able to nail it!" she happily boasted to him. Hanyu Yuzuru also leaned over to watch the footage she had just recorded. After some more discussion, the two of them finally concluded their research on this topic, and both of them were thoroughly drenched.
Putting away the iPad, Yuzuru Hanyu pulled Le into his arms, hugging her from behind. The two of them were wet and pressed together, and his breath was exceptionally hot, falling on her ear.
"The research project is over. Can we talk about some private topics?" he asked seriously.
With her tacit consent, the subsequent developments naturally became private.
【Big Eyes: There will always be a moon hanging in the sky】
That night was a memorable one, but the consequences were also rather troublesome. When Le turned his back to him at bedtime, refusing to look at him, Hanyu Yuzuru realized he had gone too far. He silently noted Le's dislike for reflective objects.
Hanyu Yuzuru reflected, but not much.
After all, her eyes that night were too charming, and the wet hair between her eyebrows were too tempting.
I just remembered this incident and made a joke, and then I was hung up on the video.
He stared at the ceiling for a moment, reflecting silently. He quietly put away the image of her from that night in his mind, sat up, and dialed the video call again. As expected, it was hung up. He tried again, but it was still hung up.
After going back and forth a few times, Yuzuru Hanyu sighed, turned over to the bedside, took out his charging phone, and made a call.
After the busy tone, Le finally picked up the phone.
"Le, don't be angry, I won't make this joke again." He spoke before she could say anything.
"Yeah." Her voice was a little muffled and nasal.
Now Yuzuru Hanyu was a little nervous. He sat cross-legged and held his phone to his ear nervously.
"Le? What's wrong with you?"
"It's okay..." She answered quietly, but Yuzuru Hanyu, with his sharp ears, still noticed something and chuckled on the other end of the phone.
"I didn't expect that. I was worried that you would be angry. Le was actually doing something bad over there secretly."
"You're talking nonsense!" she retorted eagerly.
"Then we'll find out after we change the video~" Yuzuru Hanyu smiled confidently.
"No..." Le's voice clearly lost its confidence. She huddled on the bed, refusing to agree. "It's all your fault..."
Just now, during their video call, Yuzuru Hanyu had deliberately teased her, causing her to end the call out of embarrassment and angrily rush to the bathroom to wash up. The cool water quickly washed away her little emotion, but her reflection in the mirror, with water droplets on her face, made her involuntarily recall the love affair he had just mentioned. The sweet words he whispered in her ear were like a replay in her mind, causing her cheeks to heat up.
When I returned to bed, the bedding still seemed to have his scent.
The feeling of missing him was overwhelming, but he kept calling me at this moment...
"Okay, blame me~ Then...are you feeling better now?"
"If not, how about we do it together?" He said gently, "I miss you too..."
The call environment is very quiet, and the breathing sounds of both parties are clearly transmitted to the other party.
He spoke in a whisper, neither hurried nor slow. Every subtle change in Le's breathing rhythm was a token of his approval.
【Big Eyes: There will always be a moon hanging in the sky】
He was breathing heavily, and the physical and mental relaxation did not make him forget his girlfriend on the other end of the phone who was also breathing heavily to adjust herself.
"Is Le okay now?"
"Hmm..." She buried her face in the pillow and answered muffledly.
"Le seems to be particularly responsive to certain words," he teased. "Then let's try again when I get back?"
"You're so annoying!"
Yuzuru Hanyu simply ignored this shy protest with a smile.
"I miss you too~ Go to sleep, good night~" He was so unreasonable that he stamped and signed all the reservations that were beneficial to him.
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