Chapter 86: Dance at 12 o'clock
"You're transferring to the Tokyo Ballet? Why not the Royal Ballet?"
He Jiu's voice came over the phone, but his emotions were barely discernible. Le, packing her belongings at home, told him of her decision to stop performing on stage as a dancer. This was met with a long silence on the other end of the line.
"Hello? He Jiu? Are you listening?"
"Um."
"Oh..." Le didn't know why there was no response from his end, "Is it inconvenient for you to talk?"
"Just make up your mind. I'll hang up first."
He Jiu hung up the phone decisively, and Le assumed he was busy with other things, so she didn't pay much attention. Unbeknownst to her, He Jiu, back in England, was staring blankly at the ended call screen on his phone. His emotions were unclear, whether he felt regret for his unspoken hope of sharing the stage together, or heartache for her giving up her dream.
In short, it took Tohara and Jiu a long time to convince themselves to accept this news and emotions.
And now, as he watched Suginohara Raku warming up on the stage before the curtains even opened, he felt a moment of trance. Her meticulous classical ballet bun was adorned with a lovely garland. If it weren't for the stage makeup that sculpted her features, removing the childish look of her childhood, he wouldn't have been able to tell if it was the current Raku or the one he remembered. The stage was filled with mostly young, inexperienced performers, and Raku stood among them, oblivious to anyone's gaze, repeatedly standing on pointe to reassure herself, using light, gentle jumps to keep her body warm.
For a moment, Tohara and Jiu had the illusion of going back to their childhood to participate in the competition.
The show was about to begin in 20 minutes. The audience, staring intently at their tickets, searched for their seats. The occasional sound of the stage was muffled by the movement and chatter of the audience. A thick curtain separated the gradually arriving audience from the performers, who were making their final adjustments on stage.
Yuzuru Hanyu, bundled up in a hat and mask, also changed his usual style, donning a loose-fitting sweater. Without a closer look, he looked like an ordinary college student. He and Kosuke sat in a corner of the ticket giveaway area, chatting quietly.
"I've never understood why the actors still have to practice on stage when the show is about to start, even though they practice so much during normal times. Is it because they are nervous?" Xiaojie raised his doubts in a low voice.
"Le mentioned to me before that the slope of each stage and the hardness of the floor are different, and the actors need to adapt. Although there will be rehearsals, this kind of adaptation probably is not too much for anyone. It's probably similar to our six training sessions." Yuzuru Hanyu explained to Xiaojie.
His answer was not wrong from a scientific point of view. However, as to whether they were nervous, Yuzuru Hanyu could not answer, but Le must have been a little nervous.
At least that's what he thought.
Yesterday evening, Yuzuru Hanyu was awakened by the banging sounds in the living room. He came out to check with sleepy eyes and saw Le sitting cross-legged on the floor, tapping the floor with his pointe shoes in his hands.
"Le, are you taking off your shoes?" He rubbed his eyes and came over barefoot with a dragging tone.
"Well, did I disturb you?" Le looked at him apologetically, "Hey, watch out for the needle on the floor."
Following Le's reminder, Hanyu Yuzuru carefully found a clean space between the needle and thread and the ribbon and sat down next to her. He looked around and scratched his head.
"How many pairs of shoes have you prepared?" He picked up a pair and played with it. The toe and ribbon were already sewn, and it stood firmly on the floor. She had sewn it very carefully. But she was only doing a duet that lasted less than five minutes. Did she need to prepare four pairs of pointe shoes?
He remembered that when she was in Finland, even if she was going to perform in a ballet, she would not prepare so many pairs of new shoes at once.
"Ah..." Le looked as if he had been reminded suddenly. He uttered a stunned "Ah" before putting down the fifth pair of shoes he was about to sew. "I sewed too many without realizing it..."
Hanyu watched in silence as Le took a pair of shoes from the already sewn shoes and put them on. He fastened the straps and, with practiced technique, crossed his left and right feet to press the support plate on the soles of his feet.
"Le, are you nervous?" The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he held them back.
He also grabbed a pair of shoes. Following the method Le had taught him, he pressed his palm against the edge of the shoe box to help her soften it. When she felt the shoes on her feet were fine, he handed her his. He prepared the shoes one pair at a time.
While answering Kosuke's question, Hanyu Yuzuru kept his eyes fixed on the dark red velvet curtain before him. He was sure that among the dancers behind the curtain, actively adjusting their posture, there must be Le. He wondered what pair of shoes she was wearing.
The dark red velvet curtain slowly opened, but Yuzuru Hanyu's curiosity remained unsatisfied. He hadn't enjoyed the opening performance. The rescue had been arranged so hastily that Le hadn't even had time to tell him the order of the programs. So before the first note of each program, Hanyu held his breath, then relaxed his tense shoulders in disappointment.
Ballet performances are also important learning opportunities for Yuzuru Hanyu today. The dedication of each dancer, the exquisite fusion of body language and musical notes, are all worthy of his inspiration. However, every time he sees someone other than Le on stage, his mind wanders for a second, and the expression on Le's face when he refused the free ticket from FaOI that year always comes to mind.
He was a little unhappy at the time, but now he seems to understand a little bit. Because this roller coaster of emotions during the wait is really hard to endure.
"Is Le-chan's show the finale?" Xiaojie came over and asked in a low voice.
Yuzuru Hanyu was about to say he wasn't sure when the all-too-familiar notes of the symphony answered his question. Tohara and Kyu and Raku, both wearing matching cream-colored performance costumes, nimbly stepped from the side curtains into view, stepping on the notes. Yuzuru Hanyu quietly slid forward half an inch in his seat, unconsciously straightening his back and leaning forward, sinking his attention into the performance he'd been anticipating all night.
Lifted high, Le wore a sweet smile, the garland above her head particularly adorable. The "petals" falling from her hands and the flowing hem of her skirt embodied the spring breeze on the stage. Her dance moves were perfectly timed to the music, her graceful, slender limbs acting as a sensor of her expression, allowing even those in the farthest reaches of the audience to sense her charming, adorable, and lively expression as "Spring."
She wasn't dancing so much as leaping onto the stage like a fawn, frolicking with her companions to the rhythm of spring. She was so completely immersed in her performance that even her partner He Jiu couldn't help but pause to admire her, only returning to their roles under her guidance.
In the final phrase of the waltz, the two quickened their pace. Le held onto He Jiu's hand and lightly leaped. He then lifted her steadily over his head. Like a bird with wings, Le flew off the stage under He Jiu's protection.
From the moment he landed, his tense muscles finally had a chance to relax. Finally able to lower his weight, his feet still confined in their pointe shoes, Le relaxed, his hands on his hips, hunched over, and gasping for air. He generously pulled several sheets of tissue paper from the box hanging on the side curtain wall, casually wiped the sweat from his neck, and tried to catch his breath.
I'm so tired. It's been a long time since I've been so tense and yet had to release so much emotion to perform.
Le gasped for breath, her throat tightening with tension, causing her to experience the pain of breathing. Her physical fitness really needed rehabilitation, she thought as she panted.
BRAVO——
Applause and whistles shattered the silence in the audience like a cauldron. The two glanced at each other from the sidelines. He Jiu was the first to catch his breath, then stood up and held out his hand to her.
Amidst everyone's applause, Le placed his hand in He Jiu's palm and was led onto the stage by him to salute.
[Raku: I need to attend the company dinner tonight. You and Xiaojie should go back and be careful.]
Yuzu: Okay, I'll wait for you to come back~
[Raku: Yeah. 】
The last message on the chat screen was a reply from Le Zai three hours ago. Yuzuru Hanyu placed his phone upside down on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, and sighed softly. His packed suitcase was still in the entrance, and Hasegawa was already on his way. They would soon return to Sendai to prepare for tomorrow's show recording.
But he hadn't yet told Le in person how great the performance was. The text box on his phone was too limited for him to praise the performance's excellence. Every detail she worried about was exceptionally well executed. Even the moments where He Jiu nearly made mistakes were skillfully resolved, adding even more story to the dance.
The sound of footsteps at the door caught Yuzuru Hanyu's attention, and he immediately went to the door and opened it.
"You come back...ah...Hyung-hyung-san, you're here."
Even Hasegawa noticed the change in tone.
"Hanyu-san, are you waiting for Miss Suginohara?" He asked knowingly. He walked into the entrance and picked up the suitcase at the door, but was stopped by Yuzuru Hanyu.
"Um, wait a little longer, Le should be back soon."
Hasegawa entered the house and joined the waiting group. Time ticked by, he calculated the time it would take to reach Sendai, and hesitated over whether to suggest setting off. Finally, as he hesitated, he heard some movement at the door.
A girl's voice became clearer along with the sound of footsteps.
"You really don't have to send me off. I'm fine." She seemed to be repeating this, and the combination lock dinged and woke up. "Look, I still remember the combination to my house."
Before she could finish her words, the door was opened by Yuzuru Hanyu.
Suginohara Raku, who was standing at the door, had slightly red cheeks. He stared at the person in front of him for two seconds, then smiled brightly, a smile that Hasegawa had never seen before. He opened his arms and put his arms around Yuzuru Hanyu's neck and hung on him.
"Yuzu~ I'm back~ I left the party before 12 o'clock, pretty punctual, right~"
The sudden hug and words left Yuzuru Hanyu stunned, "What's going on?"
He Jiu watched this scene with a raised eyebrow, and he only regretted that he had not recorded Le's repeated emphasis on not being drunk, so that she could slap him in the face.
"She didn't eat much before the performance and got hungry at the banquet..." He was interrupted by Le before he could finish his explanation.
"I ate a lot of strawberries!" She smiled like a satisfied child who had eaten candy.
"Strawberry?" Yuzuru Hanyu was a little confused.
"Strawberries soaked in champagne..." He Jiu added speechlessly, hanging Le's handbag on the hook at the entrance, "I'm leaving first, you take care of it... Are you going out?" Obviously, he saw the suitcase.
"Don't worry, I will take good care of it." Yuzuru Hanyu raised his eyebrows and ordered him to leave.
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