Chapter 82: Strengths and Weaknesses
Hasegawa wasn't a literary person, and he didn't understand ballet. He preferred a beer at home to a thrilling game to falling asleep to a symphony at the theater. His only experience with ballet was a few unpleasant blind dates. The high ticket prices for ballet made him drowsy in the theater, and naturally, the blind dates didn't end well.
Fortunately, his current girlfriend doesn't have such elegant hobbies, so naturally, they won't go to places like the theater when they go on dates. Hasegawa once thought that he would never have anything to do with the theater again in his life.
But he has been coming quite frequently recently...
Lately, after work, Yuzuru Hanyu has often asked him to drive to the theater to pick up Ms. Suginohara. Coming to the theater for his boss's business isn't unusual. But now, Hasegawa is sitting in a second-floor box, and even thinking about it, it seems unbelievable.
Incredibly, the reason for coming here to watch the performance was not because of the boss's request, but because Hasegawa took the initiative to ask the boss for the benefit.
Hasegawa looked at the brochure in his hand and silently sighed that humans really do change.
"It's about to start, right? When will Le-chan come?" Morimoto Kosuke, who was sitting in the back, leaned over to the front seat, patted Yuzuru Hanyu's shoulder and asked.
"She might not come up until after the show starts," Hanyu replied, looking at the thick red curtains on the stage. "Listen carefully, you can hear the sound of someone warming up on stage."
"Not everyone has sharp ears like you." Xiaojie curled his lips, "Besides, Le-chan won't be on stage, and she's not a stage executive, so she should be able to come up earlier."
"You just want to see Miss Hinata as soon as possible, why are you kidding me..."
Yuzuru Hanyu's words pierced through Kosuke's subtext, causing him to quiet down for a moment. Unable to bear the loneliness, he went to talk to Hasegawa again.
"Hasegawa, I didn't realize you also like ballet?"
"Ahaha, not really. I just suddenly became interested in it recently... It's all thanks to Ms. Suginohara." Hasegawa smiled innocently and scratched his head. Seeing Yuzuru Hanyu looking at him curiously, he realized that he had not spoken clearly and it seemed not very good, so he hurriedly began to explain.
Hasegawa's interest in ballet, or more precisely, his interest in the Giselle ballet, is indeed due to Suginohara Raku.
Two days ago, after finishing work at his company, Yuzuru Hanyu had Hasegawa drive a short distance to pick up Suginohara Raku, as usual. This time, they weren't going to the company's rehearsal space, but to a ballet school. Hanyu said the teachers at the ballet school were familiar with them, and since the K-Pop company was invited to participate in the Tanabata Arts Festival, they had invited Suginohara Raku to give a masterclass to the students.
Perhaps because they arrived a little early, Hasegawa and Hanyu waited in the parking lot for a while, but they didn't see Le come out of the classroom. Furthermore, they didn't see any students leaving class either.
"Hasegawa, why don't you go check it out? I don't think Le has replied to my message."
With Yuzuru Hanyu's help, Hasegawa entered a ballet school for the first time. The simple wooden floors and small classrooms completely changed his perception of ballet's extravagance. In the largest classroom, young girls in a variety of leotards were listening attentively. They formed a semicircle against the back wall, with Ms. Suginohara teaching in the empty space in the middle.
It turns out that the class was overdue.
Hasegawa reported the situation here to his boss and continued to wait in the corridor.
Through the window, I could see Suginohara Raku, also wearing a leotard, though unlike the preppy-looking students, hers wasn't the suspender-style leotard of the students. The lace print was more elegant, with a subtle pattern. She wore long pants over her stockings, the cuffs rolled up above her calves. She exuded the relaxed, casual aura of a high-class boss.
Not only is the clothing different, but a bigger difference is the hairstyle.
Her long hair draped over her shoulders stood out from the crowd of students with their hair tied close to their heads. She stood among the students, speaking, and Hasegawa, standing outside, could only hear her fragmentedly. Curious, he was spotted by Suginohara Raku.
"Hasegawa-san, I'm sorry, it will be over in a while. Why don't you come into the classroom and wait? There is air conditioning in the classroom." Le opened the door and explained to Hasegawa, and invited him into the classroom and sit next to the pianist by the mirror.
Once inside, Hasegawa noticed another person in the blind spot just outside the window. It was Tohara Kazuki, also attending the master class. The scars on his face had mostly healed, and he stood by the piano, watching Hasegawa approach with a simple nod.
"The get out of class was about to end, but the students said they wanted to learn what it's like to perform a play on stage. So we delayed it for a while." The older woman sitting at the piano explained to Hasegawa in a friendly manner.
Dramatic interpretation?
Before Hasegawa could ask clearly, the older woman next to him received the signal and started adjusting the music playback.
The music was still in its prelude, and Suginohara's steps had already begun to slowly catch up with the rhythm of the music, but she continued to explain to the students: "Giselle's movements are very different from those of Gloria. They are not natural, everyday movements. She is suffering from a great mental shock at this time, and her brain is in a mess, so her behavior is abnormal."
She finished, then collapsed in the middle of the classroom. Hasegawa was still perplexed when he saw Tohara and Jiu approach to help her up. She pushed him aside and stumbled to her feet. The emptiness in her eyes made her look like a doll with its soul drained away. Music seemed the only thread in the air that held her still. She tapped the notes on her toes, swaying to the beat, as if recalling some beautiful memory.
If Hasegawa hadn't just seen her giving a lecture, he would have misunderstood. But why was she clearly acting out a mentally ill person, yet the sense of brokenness in her was so beautiful, so beautiful that he had to breathe cautiously as he stood beside her.
The music was a chaotic flash of images in her mind, its rapid pace leaving her disoriented. She fled through the crowd, seeking help. The woman who had just stood beside Hasegawa had somehow also moved onto the "stage," and Suginohara Raku threw herself into her arms. After hugging her, she turned and looked at Kazuki standing in the center.
At that moment, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she ran towards the man standing in the center. However, before he could hug her tightly, she slipped from his arms like a puppet with its strings cut, and lay lifeless on the ground.
Hasegawa didn't know if it was the emotional ups and downs brought by the music or the shock of the live performance, but he felt a tightness in his chest at that time.
It turns out that ballet is not just a slow, chin-high, arrogant art form. It can also tell such a wonderful and gripping story.
This made him very curious about the ballet called Giselle.
"Ah... that's great... I also want to see Le perform Giselle, even if it's just a master class demonstration." After listening to Hasegawa's explanation, Yuzuru Hanyu leaned back in his chair and acted like a spoiled child.
"You haven't seen it?"
"No... I only saw it when I was helping her edit her vlog footage... I still want to see it live."
"Do you want to see it? It's performed with Kazuki. Aren't you jealous?" Xiaojie said what Hasegawa dared not say, and received a look of admiration and approval from the other party.
"Tsk, I'm not that petty. This is all professional cooperation." Yuzuru Hanyu snorted with disdain.
"What professional collaboration?" Suginohara Raku's intervention ended the meaningless bickering before the curtain rose. After the lights dimmed, Hasegawa tactfully gave up his seat next to Yuzuru Hanyu and let Raku sit next to his boss.
In the darkened theater, the stage was the only light source. Hasegawa wondered if the two people in the front row were whispering to each other. That was all he could remember.
"Hiroshige-san, I absolutely don't want to go to the theater with you anymore," Yuzuru Hanyu complained to Hasegawa, who was skipping stones on the riverbank. He was wearing a crimson yukata with dark patterns, and the wide cuffs forced him to hold onto his sleeves while skipping stones to avoid affecting his performance.
The stone jumped twice on the water surface and then fell to the bottom of the river with a splash.
"I didn't expect that I would fall asleep..." Hasegawa defended himself embarrassedly, although it was useless.
"It's okay to fall asleep, but you snore so loudly." Yuzuru Hanyu said exaggeratedly.
Hasegawa curled his lips and stopped arguing. After all, the boss didn't really want to settle the bill now; he was just getting a little impatient waiting.
After the performance, everyone went home, changed into their yukata, and made plans to go out and watch the fireworks display. The dazzling display was enviable, and Yuzuru Hanyu was also envious, but he didn't get the chance to experience the atmosphere.
then--
"Le, go hang out with them. I'll wait for you at the fireworks display later."
He'd spoken so righteously then, but now he was using himself as a tree hole. Hasegawa grumbled quietly in his heart, lowered his head, picked up a stone, and flicked his wrist with a calm composure. The stone traced a perfect parabola in the air and fell straight into the water.
"Hahahahahahaha—Hengxiong, you're such a wimp! You might be on par with Le in this aspect!"
A-choo——
Le sneezed and his hand shook. The goldfish that was about to be caught broke through the paper net with a splash and escaped back into the water.
"Hahahaha, Le-chan, you really are not good at this kind of game!" Morimoto Kosuke laughed and mocked beside him, and handed the packaged goldfish handed by the boss to Rio beside him.
"Thank you~"
Lio took the fish, her smile sweet, her voice the same. Le, watching from the side, pursed his lips, rolled up his yukata sleeves tighter, and took the seventh paper net from the boss.
"Do you need my help?" He Jiu squatted down and asked.
"No need." She had a serious expression, as if she would not give up until she got what she wanted today.
He Jiu raised an eyebrow and squatted aside, silent. He watched her stare intently at the fish in the small pond, her brows furrowed slightly, the strands of hair hanging down her forehead dampened by tiny beads of sweat. Finally, she made up her mind to quickly lower the net, and the fish finally gave in, unable to bear the torture.
"Wow! I caught it!" She carefully handed the fish in the net bag to the boss before starting to cheer.
She happily took the bag from the boss and held it up to the light. The bag was mostly filled with water, which sparkled crystal clear under the light. The little goldfish inside was waving its bright red tail, looking particularly adorable.
"Senior Suginohara, look at me~"
Lixu called her name, and she turned around, only to find that Lixu had taken pictures of her catching fish just now.
"Hey, this can be used as material for your vlog~"
"Um... I don't think that's necessary..." Morimoto Kosuke, who had been standing next to Rio, suddenly spoke up. He had been watching Rio film the scene she had just taken. In the scene, Suginohara Raku, wearing a yukata and a bun, had completely changed her usual aloof demeanor. She looked serious as she wrestled with the goldfish. It was a truly adorable contrast. But in Rio's shot, she could also see another person in a yukata, squatting nearby...
Crouching aside was not a big deal, the main thing was that there seemed to be nothing else in his eyes.
"Eh? Why..." Li Xiao had just asked when Xiao Jie came over, covering his mouth with his hands, and whispered what he was thinking. She glanced at He Jiu, who was standing behind Le, and the wound on his face had just healed. She immediately understood, "Oh, right, this is too ordinary, not suitable for a senior's vlog. I'll delete it later."
Le was so busy taking pictures of the goldfish on her phone, sending them to Yuzuru Hanyu to show off, that she completely ignored Rio and Kosuke's antics. The money she'd spent on catching the fish had already surpassed the price of this tiny red-tailed goldfish, but she was as happy as a child.
Lixu held the phone, looking at the pictures inside, reluctant to delete them.
When a few people were walking towards the agreed place to watch the fireworks display, she deliberately walked to Le's side.
"Senior, I... I'm curious about something..." She tugged at Le's sleeve, asking her to slow down and listen closer before continuing her question. "Being in a relationship with Hanyu-san must be very difficult, right? Even a date like a fireworks festival can't allow you to get along naturally..."
Le had never thought that Li Xu would ask him such a direct question. He was stunned for a moment and blinked blankly.
"Ah, I know I'm too nosy, and this is not something I should ask. It's just that I thought you looked so lonely in the market just now..." Seeing that Le didn't answer, Li Xu hurriedly explained.
"Hey... you say that, it seems a little lonely... so we are all working hard." Le Xiao looked at her with curved eyes, "We can't never go to the market together, right?"
As he was speaking, a message came on the phone in his hand.
Yuzu: Wow! Raku is awesome! This goldfish is so beautiful! But, Xiaojie told me you caught it so many times. Let me do it next time, hahahaha, I'm sure I'll be good at it!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
