Chapter 73: Next Year~
The room was lit only by a small nightlight by the bedside. Yuzuru Hanyu leaned against the bed, staring blankly at his phone. The game console beside him had been off for a while, and its owner hadn't woken him up yet. He was still pondering the recent conversation.
[Naoki Fukutani: Senior! I know you're happy to bring your girlfriend to the ice show rehearsal, but please don't show off too much.]
Hanyu: I didn't... She was sitting in the audience, hiding from the cameras.
[Naoki Fukutani: I believe that. Ms. Suginohara even asked me seriously about the camera position before. She's quite camera-aware. But you definitely showed off.]
[Naoki Fukutani: Someone has already heard about my whereabouts.]
Yuzuru Hanyu: Who is it?
[Naoki Fukutani: Um...you don't need to know that.]
He looked through the chat history again and frowned.
Back when he was at CWW, he'd interacted with Le so much on set and never encountered any trouble... Now, even though he's clearly being very careful, he's still being questioned. It's really weird...
Le, who was sleeping soundly next to me, adjusted his sleeping position in his sleep and lay on his side.
He adjusted his position, leaning against the headboard, to dim the nightlight a little more for her. Watching her slightly furrowed brow gradually relax, he reached out and touched the center of her brow. The redness from crying hadn't completely faded, and her eyelids were swollen.
Tomorrow morning, I must stop her before she sneaks out for an iced Americano, Yuzuru Hanyu thought silently, his lips curled. He tucked the air-conditioned blanket in for her and continued to scroll through his phone.
If Fugu had been in his element, he would have readily admitted what he had just said. Rather than letting others speculate, he preferred to be open and honest, allowing others to understand. This was his way of life.
But… Naoki Fukutani's words reminded him that Le had always been camera-shy. Even if he was confident he could protect her, even if she was now trying to face the media, he didn't want to disrupt her acclimatization. Yuzuru Hanyu looked at the sleeping figure beside him, her peaceful face slightly obscured by her loose hair. He reached out and gently stroked the hair at her temple with his fingertips, smoothing the slight frown thoughtfully.
"Mr. Suginohara, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning, so we might have to leave early." As usual, Naoki Fukutani took Le and Yumi Hanyu to the backstage rest area before the ice show ended. Before leaving, he remembered the arrangement he had made with Yuzuru Hanyu and said a few more words.
His words confused Le. Before he could ask any more questions, he saw him hurried off to arrange media interviews for the Kobe final match.
Yuzuru Hanyu finished the interview and returned to the rest room. Le Zheng was sitting at the table in the dressing room, holding his mobile phone in both hands, shaking his feet, typing with relish, as if he was chatting.
"Hey? Where's Mom?" he asked, leaning closer. He couldn't understand the large amount of Chinese text on her WeChat chat screen. He could only pout, push himself up with one hand and sit next to Le, nudging her head with his to protest.
"Uncle Xiu Li came just now and disturbed Aunt Yumei. Wasn't it you who arranged it?" Le put away his phone and pushed his head with his finger.
With this push, he playfully swayed like a tumbler, then leaned over and hugged Le's waist with a grin.
"Fugu told me that he had made a reservation with the help of a friend at Rokkosan Ranch, which is closed to the public, to take wedding photos with his fiancée tomorrow. Let's go together and have some fun~"
Le heard about the situation he described when Hanyu Hidetoshi came to pick up Hanyu Yumi.
Yuzuru said you two have been under a lot of pressure lately and wanted to find a chance to relax. It just so happens that they're a couple, and you're a couple too, so it won't be awkward. Let's have some fun and relax.
She looked at Yuzuru Hanyu, who was holding her, and with a smile that seemed to be asking for a reward, she couldn't help but smile. She leaned over and rewarded him with a kiss on the tip of his nose. He wrinkled his nose in dissatisfaction. He put his hand on the back of Le's head and stole a kiss on her lips. Only then did he jump off the table in satisfaction and pull Le out.
"Wait a minute..." She pulled her hand back, "I'll go to the car first, come back later~" After that, she picked up her bag and opened the door to go out.
Yuzuru Hanyu was left alone in the room, staring at his empty right hand in a daze.
The Rokko Mountain pastures in June were lush and green. After a heavy rain the previous night, the weather was exceptionally cool today. Nearby, a few adorable lambs roamed the grass. Under the blue sky and white clouds, a beautiful bride-to-be, dressed in a gorgeous gown, smiled sweetly. Naoki Fukutani, dressed differently than usual, sported a freshly slicked-back hairstyle and a well-tailored suit. He held his fiancée's waist, his face radiating happiness.
"Yuzuru? Yuzuru?" Le squatted before the lamb, her hand already devoured by the fodder it held. Her empty hand lingered for a moment, and Hanyu Yuzuru didn't offer her a fresh hand. She turned her head, only to find him standing nearby, his eyes fixed on the newlyweds on the lawn.
"Fukutani is really happy. His fiancée is really beautiful, right?" She stood up and looked in the direction of his gaze. The bride-to-be was smiling like a flower. Her happiness seemed to be contagious, making her unconsciously reach out and hold Yuzuru Hanyu's hand hanging by her side, and her lips curled up.
"Yeah, that's right." He shook her hand back and turned to look at her. The bright sunshine unique to summer spread over Le's body, the sunlight wrapped around her hair, and the whole person was a little dazzling.
"Fugu looks handsome today too~" Le smiled, "but not as handsome as you in a suit~"
This sentence was like a crystal-clear pebble dropped into a pool of envy, stirring up ripples and causing his heart to beat faster. He remained silent, anticipating what she would say next.
"Maybe next year~" she said with a smile as she looked at the newlyweds.
His heart pounded in his chest. He waited eagerly for her next words, debating when to interrupt her and seize the initiative. His palms began to sweat, and just as he was getting nervous, his trouser leg was suddenly tugged. A hungry lamb was gnawing at Yuzuru Hanyu's trouser leg, trying to remind him to give it the fodder he was holding.
"Mee--" It noticed that Yuzuru Hanyu lowered his head, raised its mouth and called out.
"Oh~ I'm sorry~ I forgot about you~" Le said as he took the grass from Yuzuru Hanyu's hand, squatted down and continued to feed the lamb, still talking to the lamb from time to time.
It was an incredibly harmonious and lovely scene. Under normal circumstances, Yuzuru Hanyu would have taken out his phone to record it. But now, he was just anxious to know where the topic was going.
"What did you just say next year?"
"Meh?" After talking to the lamb for a long time, the language system seemed to have not yet switched back to normal. She was amused by her own strange behavior and laughed out loud, sitting down on the grass. Only under Hanyu Yuzuru's anxious gaze did she regain her composure and reach out for him to pull her up.
"Next year when we go to attend Guan Yue's wedding, you should wear a suit. I'll take more pictures of you then." After saying that, Le continued to squat down and play with the lamb, completely unaware of Yuzuru Hanyu's pouting mouth behind him.
“Mee——”
Another sheep bleated nearby. Hanyu looked down and saw another lamb, drawn to the grass in his hand, reaching up to eat. He also squatted down, imitating Le's example, bleating as he fed the lamb. But unlike Le's, his voice carried a hint of displeasure and resentment.
However, his resentment didn't last long. Escaping the daily grind of the lawn, the sky, and the adorable animals quickly soothed Hanyu's mood. Especially when Le seemed genuinely relaxed today, he couldn't help but feel that his decision had been the right one.
Kikuseidai boasts a night view worth millions, overlooking the dazzling lights of Kobe like a shimmering golden painting. The newlyweds, having finished their photoshoot, were enjoying their time away from each other, a relief from the socializing of the day. She sat on a bench by the wooden fence, closing her eyes and feeling the uniquely cool mountaintop summer breeze. The air carried the fragrance of the trees and grass, and for a moment, she felt like she was back in Finland. Just like that summer, a sudden, cool touch on her cheek returned. Yuzuru Hanyu sat down beside her, holding a can of iced Mr. Pepper.
The crisp sound of a can being opened broke the quiet night. She reached out to take it but found that he was holding the can tightly and he put the drink directly to her mouth.
"I can only drink a little, it's too cold."
Le glanced at him sideways.
"No more."
"Okay, okay, I'll give it to you~ You'll know..." He shoved the one in his hand towards her, then, like a magic trick, pulled out another can from his trouser pocket, opened it himself, and took a long sip. The cold, bubbly, sweet water slid down his throat, making the sweaty Yuzuru Hanyu feel incredibly refreshed.
Unlike the sweaty Yuzuru Hanyu, Le, while also afraid of the heat, doesn't sweat much. After a day of fun, he feels incredibly refreshed.
She pretended to be angry in exchange for the soda, but she only took a sip and held it in her hand.
"It's so beautiful! It's worthy of being called Japan's million-dollar night view!" Yuzuru Hanyu sighed. "Thank goodness you mustered up the courage to come and conquer your fear of heights. Our Le-chan is truly amazing!" He raised his hand with a look of satisfaction and rubbed her head, like a small animal's fur. Only when Le raised her hand to protest did he stop, and with a smile, he smoothed out his own messed-up hair bit by bit.
Since he was so self-aware, Le stopped playing with him and obediently lowered her head, letting him comb her hair slowly. His slender fingers carefully combed through her hair. The way she lowered her head and looked down was the same as when she took the cable car today, but also different. On the cable car, she half leaned into his arms, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, revealing her uneasiness.
He was clearly prepared to accompany her to climb the mountain slowly, no matter how far they went.
But she pulled him onto the cable car without any hesitation.
Thinking of this, Yuzuru Hanyu couldn't help but frowned slightly.
"Le... Actually, you really don't have to do this..."
"Hmm?" Le looked up curiously at Yuzuru Hanyu, who had suddenly become sentimental again. Reluctantly, he nudged his forehead with his finger. "Hanyu, what's on your mind now?"
"Le has been under a lot of pressure at work lately, right? But he still has to go along with me in order to make me happy..."
"I..." She suddenly panicked and didn't know where to start confessing.
"The choreography the group gave you recently is pretty depressing, isn't it? I saw your most-listened-to song on Spotify... If you're feeling uninspired, you can wait a while. There's no need to dig into your past to find inspiration..." He followed his own guess and offered what he considered the best solution. But Le's silence suddenly made him feel uneasy. "Of course, I'm no choreography expert, and I don't understand it. I'm just guessing... well..."
When he got nervous, he would start to talk nonsense, with a few screws mixed in between his dense words. When Le burst into laughter, he even reached out to cover her mouth out of shame.
With his mouth covered, Le's pair of bright eyes seemed to be able to speak, and the smile in his eyes made Yuzuru Hanyu let go of his hand in despair, waiting for Le to laugh at him.
"Who said I was just following your lead? I'm very happy today too. The lamb is so cute, and look!" She pointed at the scenery in front of her. "Such a beautiful view. I only came to see it because you were here. So~" She leaned over and pressed a lipstick mark on his cheek. "Thank you, Yuzuru. I won't worry about work, and you too, there's no need to worry."
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