Chapter 31 "Thank you for your hard work, God of War."
More than a month ago, at a project team dinner, Brother Wan shared a life philosophy based on the stock market: If you feel that everything is going well and the situation is good, then you are actually about to encounter the biggest difficulties and challenges.
Now Le just wants to grab Brother Wan and give him a good scolding, and summarize some messed up theories for no reason.
The executive team held a meeting this morning. When Le arrived at the training annex, he didn't see the black figure skating freely on the ice. He was crouched by the side, expressionlessly tying his shoelaces. The surrounding reporters' cameras were snapping at him, and the sound of clicks echoed in the gym, as if they were trying to read something from his expression. But there was nothing to read on his face; the answer was clearly in his hands.
He laced his shoes quickly and vigorously, even pulling hard to tighten them around his ankles before tying the knot.
Even without seeing the whole process, Le knew he had sprained his ankle. This is how he would tie his shoe when he sprained his ankle.
He couldn't help but curse "damn it", which attracted the attention of the volunteer next to him. Le touched the mask on his nose and hurriedly turned around and left the venue.
Standing at the hotel's 21st-floor emergency staircase, Le held onto the room card he'd received from Aunt Yumi, waiting for the hallway to quiet down. Hanyu Yuzuru was escorted back to his room by staff. Doctors and volunteers delivering ice packs were pacing the hallway. Finally, after the last round of footsteps, the hallway fell silent. He reached for the doorknob, and the video call rang.
Yuzuru Hanyu's smile appeared on the phone screen, although his face was obviously a little pale.
"Is today's OP over?" she asked knowingly.
"Well, I confess, I fell when I landed on the 4A ice just now." He made a helpless expression of surrender, but still smiled, "But don't worry, Le~ I will definitely win it back tomorrow!"
"Well, I believe you." The hand holding the door handle loosened, and Le leaned against the wall of the safety stairs, took a deep breath and exhaled carefully, trying to keep the camera of the mobile phone stable, but he still seemed to notice the difference in the background.
"Where are you? Aren't you in the quarantine hotel?"
"It's the hotel. It's too boring to stay in the house, so I climbed the stairs for exercise." She turned the camera and said something incoherent. The two of them chatted in this incoherent way. Perhaps it was because the pain in his ankle was becoming more and more unbearable, but his expression became more rigid. Le, while she could still hold back from exposing him, was about to hang up the video.
"Le, for tomorrow's game I..." Before hanging up, he called out to Le without thinking.
"You must go, you will definitely win, come on!"
Her voice was firm, echoing in the empty secure stairwell.
At the Winter Olympics men's singles free skate competition, Le deliberately changed her seat, away from the "best viewing spot" she'd had the day before, and away from Aunt Yumi's seat to avoid being spotted by Yuzuru Hanyu. She couldn't help but tremble with nervousness as she sat there. She suddenly regretted mocking Hanyu's superstition. Now, she didn't know who to pray to, and could only clasp her hands over her chest, nervously waiting.
He was the second to last group to appear.
【负けないで！】 Le shouted silently in her heart. As if a little kid next to her heard her, she shouted in her childish voice to the god of war in the middle of the ice rink, "Come on, Yuzuru Hanyu!"
The baby's voice echoed in the quiet meeting room. The people in the room glanced over here, then quickly looked away and got back into their roles.
Le had watched the choreography for "With Heaven and Earth" countless times, practically knowing it by heart. Watching him enter the 4A jump's sliding track, Le clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. "Please! Any god, anyone! Please help him succeed!"
If there was ever a time when Le regretted not being a believer in any particular deity, it was probably now. Her prayers, unspoken, went unheard by any deity. Even though he landed a single-footed quadruple axel, he still landed heavily on the ice.
"Beautiful sister, why are you crying?" The little kid who had just cheered for Hanyu was not shy at all. He squatted in front of her, holding his chin and looking at her curiously.
She quickly wiped away her tears, and before she could say anything, the child took a mask with small flowers printed on it from her mother and handed it to Le.
"Beautiful sister, your mask is wet, this is for you~"
"Thank you."
Yuzuru Hanyu sat in the green house with his mind a little confused. His competition was over, the effects of adrenaline and painkillers were slowly fading, and the pain in his ankle was gradually getting stronger.
He applied an ice pack to his ankle. He was already accustomed to the camera and could mobilize his emotions to greet the camera at any time, and return to a dazed state the moment the camera turned away.
If I hadn't gotten stuck in the ice hole in the short program, if my short program score had been higher, if I hadn't sprained my ankle, if I had landed the quadruple axel as I practiced, if I hadn't fallen in the quadruple sprint...
Many "ifs" flashed through his mind, and after each "if", he couldn't help but curse in his heart, "Kuso!"
The match was drawing to a close, and Jin Boyang left the green room. Soon after, Shoma Uno came in. He was running out of time; he needed to get ready quickly. There would likely be many people waiting for him after he left the room.
But he never expected that there was a familiar figure among these people.
As he calmed down by facing the wall and turned back to face the camera, he saw her. She stood quietly a short distance behind Arakawa Shizuka-senpai, wearing a staff tracksuit, a small floral mask covering most of her face, revealing only a pair of slightly red eyes. The brief moment of eye contact was quickly blurred by welling tears. He quickly turned his head away, but when he looked back, she was gone, as if it had all been an illusion.
The mixed interview area was packed. Experienced sports journalists had already arrived after Yuzuru Hanyu's Quad Axel fall. By the time Alice, a new sports reporter, arrived, it was already packed. She couldn't get to the front, or even get a chance to ask questions. She left the mixed interview area, cursing.
Journalism has always been a mixed bag, with upright reporters and naturally fabricated scoundrels. Alice falls into the latter category. Ever since she covered the Boston Ballet's biggest scandal in 2012, her career has been entwined with gossip. Despite her fame, she never expected to be invited by a prominent media outlet to cover the Winter Olympics.
But what did she know about winter sports? She had only come here because she heard Hanyu Yuzuru was a hot topic, and now she hadn't learned anything.
As she was fretting in the stadium lobby, she spotted a figure in a red tracksuit standing in front of a large screen showing game replays. Although a mask covered most of their face, Alice, with her years of candid celebrity gossip, was certain it was someone she knew and someone she had written about.
Then let’s shoot it first.
The elevator door dinged open, and there were finally no reporters or other people on this floor. Yuzuru Hanyu finally let out a sigh of relief, dragging his suitcase and limping towards the door.
He hadn't seen Le on the way back, and now he was at the door, still empty. He must have been mistaken... Anyway, it was better not to let her see him in such a mess. With that thought in mind, Yuzuru Hanyu swiped his room card, opened the door, tossed his suitcase in the hallway, and tiptoed to the sofa, half-hopping, half-moving.
My mind was uncontrollably recalling the games and training of the past few days. Emotions and memories mixed together, making my head swell, and tears took this opportunity to flow freely.
There is no one here anyway, so just forget it.
My feet hurt so much. Ah, I forgot to bring an ice pack, but I don’t want to move anymore. What should I do? Yuzuru Hanyu leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling and thinking.
Knock knock knock...
There was a knock on the door, and before he could respond, he heard the door being swished open.
If it weren't for the fact that she had just witnessed him lose the match, Le wouldn't have been in the mood to complain. His terrified expression would definitely rank in the top three of her memories of Hanyu athletes losing control of their management. Tears still clung to his face, and his expression seemed to change in a flash. "Who's here?" "Why are you here?" "How do you have my room card?" These few words.
Le walked silently to his suitcase, expertly pulled out a Pousan towel wrapped around an ice pack, and strapped it to his ankle. Hanyu Yuzuru quickly wiped his face with his sleeve, then tilted his head back and forced a rather awkward smile at the person standing before him.
Le didn't say anything, just stood in front of him, looking down at him.
"Why are you here?" Before he could finish his words, Le pinched his cheeks. She pinched so hard that the tone of his last two words changed a little.
"Your smile is too ugly." Le said with disgust, "Hanyu Yuzuru, are you crazy?"
His brain was indeed broken. Now his brain was like it was filled with paste and he couldn't think. He let her pinch his face and his cheeks felt a little sore.
"I'm not a reporter, don't give me that fake smile. I've seen you cry like that before!" Seeing this smile made Le even more furious. She had just heard too much nonsense from reporters in the mixed interview area, and on the way back to the hotel, she had also encountered many reporters talking at length. She really didn't get along with reporters.
"Could you please release it online first and get rid of me?" He couldn't even pronounce the words clearly.
She released the hand that was pinching his cheek, cupped his face, which was red and tear-stained from being pinched by her, and gently pushed aside his bangs, revealing his beautiful eyebrows. She lowered her head and placed a light kiss on his forehead, "Thank you for your hard work, God of War."
The last taut string seemed to be completely relaxed by her kiss. Yuzuru Hanyu put his arms around Le's waist and threw himself into her arms. Le hugged him and gently stroked his slightly trembling back.
The room was silent, and Hanyu Yuzuru was mesmerized by the sound of Le's heartbeat. From the initial rhythm of a rabbit's fluttering in his embrace, it gradually settled as her breathing became more steady. The hand caressing his back remained steady and gentle. Le's delicate fragrance filled his nostrils, and as he listened to the sound of her heartbeat, Hanyu Yuzuru gradually calmed down.
Her fingertips ran through his hair, gently caressing the back of his head along the direction of his hair. Feeling his breathing gradually become steady and long, she looked down to find that he had fallen asleep with his head tilted to one side in her arms. Le held his shoulders and head, carefully maneuvering herself to sit down, supporting his head so that he could rest comfortably on her lap. As she fiddled with him, he seemed to open his eyes a few times, but soon fell asleep again under her gentle patting.
In her haste, she hadn't had time to draw the curtains. The afternoon sun streamed in, illuminating Yuzuru Hanyu's face. He frowned slightly, and her cool fingertips covered his eyes, shielding them from the light. But he seemed unsatisfied. He lifted his hand, which had been resting on his eyes, and clasped it against his chest. He turned sideways, burying his face in her embrace.
The electronic lock on the door clicked open, and Yumi Hanyu found two children sleeping on the sofa. The setting sun shone on them, making them seem particularly peaceful and warm. She went over to Yuzuru Hanyu, who lay down, and placed a pillow under Le's head, who was resting on the sofa, before quietly closing the door and leaving.
"Mrs. Hanyu, is it time to prepare dinner for athlete Hanyu?" asked the team nutritionist.
"Let's go later. They probably haven't slept so soundly in a long time. Let them rest for a while."
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