Wang Jiexi woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. He wanted to blame it on a hangover, but knew it wasn't so. After Ye Xiu had left, he had left the bar with his drink sitting unfinished on the table.
He sluggishly roused himself out of bed and dragged his body to the bathroom. He ran the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face. His gaze lifted up to the mirror as the round droplets rolled off his cheekbones.
Why did you do that? Why did you have to go so far?
His uneven-eyed reflection silently stared back at him.
He felt his head begin to throb. With a deep sigh, he turned his back from his mirror image, and went to rummage through his luggage for some aspirin. He found his two sons already up in the common area of the hotel room, munching on some whole grain cereal and fruit he had left for them the day before.
"Morning," mumbled the younger through his mouthful of cereal when he noticed their father's approach.
"Are we... going to visit Ye Xiu again today?" asked Yifan in a quiet voice.
Jiexi made himself some instant coffee and swallowed his pill with a bitter smile. He didn't think he had the courage to face Ye Xiu again after last night. Perhaps it was best if they took a short break. He did say that he would back off for now.
"No, he's a bit busy with his other classes. I thought we could do some shopping today for the apartment."
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. It was a text from Su Mucheng.
Su Mucheng: Good morning! Ye Xiu realized that he didn't have your number, but he wanted to let you know that he got back safely last night. I gave him your number, but he said that it might be weird to get a text from an unknown number, so he asked me to do it. He said it's fine to give you his number though, so here it is: XXX-XXXX. I also heard about Yifan! I'm sure he'll love learning under Ye Xiu. Let me know if you need any more information about City H!
It seemed that Ye Xiu had not told Su Mucheng about his blunder. Wang Jiexi felt a sick kind of relief. He couldn't bear to have things be awkward with both Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng.
In the end, he managed to avoid seeing Ye Xiu again until it was time for Wang Jiexi and Yingjie to return to City B. Every morning, he would work up to the courage to type in the phone number, but when it came to sending a message, his thumbs would hang hesitantly in the air, cursor left forever blinking in an empty text message box.
Instead, they had spent the rest of their break buying various pieces of furnishing and necessities for the apartment, including a couple of floor length mirrors and a metal freestanding barre to add to the practice room. Ye Xiu had messaged him just once this whole period, telling him to bill him for half of his purchases. Not daring to make things worse between them, he had only replied with the exact number.
Jiexi berated himself for being such a coward. But how should he act when seeing him? He couldn't make pleasant small talk or go out for meals just ignoring that he had not hurt one of his precious few friends. He couldn't pretend that it was like before. He could not and yet, he couldn't rid the feeling of wanting to support him.
How can I even think about being his support if I'm one of the ones who's hurt him?
The day of their departure, Ye Xiu came to see them off at the airport and take Yifan back with him to the newly furnished apartment. Wang Jiexi shifted his gaze awkwardly as Ye Xiu greeted them.
"Big-eye. Xiao Yingjie, Xiao Yifan." Ye Xiu's voice was level, but Jiexi could tell from the practiced speed that he too had not forgotten about what had happened that night.
Avoiding the other man's eyes, he turned to his older son. Although he still felt the wave of helplessness that he could only watch as Yifan tried to heal his mental scars, at least he knew where the relationship between them lay.
"We'll call you every Sunday, okay? But you can call whenever you want. And if you ever need or want to come home for any reason, just say the word and we'll come get you."
The dark haired boy nodded. "I-I'll be okay. I'll miss you and Yingjie, but I'm going to work hard."
Yingjie hugged his brother with misty eyes. "I'll miss you Yifan," he murmured softly, "I'm going to work hard too, so you better get even better than before." Yifan patted his brother gently on the back, comforting his younger brother even as his own eyes became a bit moist.
And just like that, it was time to go. Yifan waved as they headed to the gate, and from Jiexi's peripheral vision, he could see Ye Xiu watching them as well.
Those two, together. The only thing he could do now was have faith. And yet, he still wanted to be able to do something, to say something, even if it was just, 'I'm here.'
How can I show them I care?
The two of them reached the waiting area at the gate with little difficulty. Yingjie had been unusually quiet since leaving Yifan, probably still processing the feeling of being separated from his twin. He had curled his legs up into his chair and was mindlessly flicking around on his phone trying to distract himself. Jiexi felt himself sigh as well. It felt different, quieter, with only one child instead of two. He settled into the chair beside his younger son and wrapped an arm around him, gently rubbing his shoulders as the child snuggled his head into his side seeking comfort.
"What are you watching?"
Yingjie popped out one of his earbuds and paused the video, freezing the young boy on screen midway through extending his leg through developpe. Yingjie's hair brushed against his chest, as he craned his neck back to look at him. "...It's Liu Xiaobie. He sent me a video of him practicing his solo."
Jiexi's eyes transfixed on the tiny screen as he felt the pieces come together in his mind.
"Yingjie, will you help me with something once we get home? We'll send it to Yifan afterwards."
"To Yifan?"
"Yes. To Yifan."
"...Okay."
Jiexi opened up his music app and began scrolling through the songs on his phone.
What can't be communicated through words...
The apartment he was living in with Ye Xiu was nice. Quiet. A bit too quiet.
Although Yingjie and their father both dominated the dancefloor with their stage presence, at home, they were more of a relaxed existence. Yingjie's passion came out only for topics related to dance. He did his online coursework just fine, excelled even, but generally stayed pretty quiet as he focused on his work. Their father was always so busy with his rehearsals and sponsorships and promotions that he was hardly home during the day, but he'd always take the time to come home and silently unwind for the day by reading the news, or watching new dance videos with them, or watering his plants. The three of them together made for an odd, introverted family.
Yesterday, they had gotten back from the airport pretty late, so there was only time to have a quick dinner with Ye Xiu before heading to bed. But today, he had had the whole day to miss his father and brother. He wasn't even living alone by himself, but somehow it was still different having two people instead of three. It felt quieter. Lonelier. He curled up on his bed and flipped open the cover on his tablet, idly tapping around looking at old photos and messages between him and his brother.
As if some god were listening, suddenly, a red blinking notification appeared. A message from Yingjie?
Yingjie: Check your Weibo!
He was puzzled until he navigated over to said social media app, and found he had another notification.
[A person you follow [Wang Jiexi] posted a new video!]
A video?
He tapped the link, bringing up the video player.
Their father was sitting on a stool in the middle of their practice room at home. He felt a fresh wave of homesickness wash over him as he stared at his father's familiar face.
"Hello, everyone. Today I wanted to announce that I'll be sharing a new video dedicated to my son. Yifan, we miss you already here in City B. Since we can't meet in person, I thought I would give you a tiny bit of home."
For him?
"I promise I will try to be a better father, so by watching this, I hope you'll remember that you can rely on me, and that I will always support you in any way that I can."
His father hopped off the stool and bowed. "And with that, let's begin."
The video cut such that the stool was put away and Wang Jiexi was centered in fifth on the floor.
The intro of the music began, and the ballet dancer gently breathed his arms in preparatory.
I can't unfeel your pain
I can't undo what's done
I can't send back the rain
But if I could, I would
My love,
My arms are open
The dancer paused in a tendu, showing off his long lines as his upper body moved to cambré forward, side, and back in a circular port de bra. He stepped forward into a pique arabesque, bringing his arms into an open second position.
So when you feel like you can't take another round of being broken
My arms are open
And when you're losing faith and every door around you keeps on closing
My arms are open
This style of ballet...compared to the classical style that Yifan has practiced in class, it felt softer, more lyrical, but of course it was still perfect in its technique. The soft and delicate movements combined with the precise timings and technique fit well with the soft pluckings of guitar in the music.
I can't uncry your tears
I can't rewind the time
I can't unsay what's said
In your crazy life
My love, my arms are open
Oh, and when you're cursing at the sky
And thinking, "lord, you must be jokin'"
My arms are open
And, and when you're looking in the mirror
Thinking that, "my life is over"
My arms are open
He watched his father- the magician, his mind whispered seeing the precise footwork- create graceful lines and stills. He could feel the love, for him, for ballet, permeating through the video. It felt like an embrace.
When the dance ended with a flourish of arms and a soft look toward the camera, he immediately pressed the replay button watching the whole thing again from the beginning.
Yifan watched the dance again and again, until it was late, feeling all the love that Wang Jiexi had packed into these three and a half minutes and admiring his father doing what he did best. He was almost about to roll over and contentedly drop right to sleep when he remembered there was still a good thirty seconds left in the video. He settled back onto his previous position and tapped the play button.
The video cut so that his father was back on the stool in front of the camera. Yingjie suddenly popped into the screen.
"Yifan! We miss you!"
Their father wrapped an arm around his brother while still talking to the camera. "I know that it's hard being away from home, but Yifan, you're so brave. As your father, it makes me want to work hard as well. We want you to know that we love you no matter what and that if you ever need comfort, Yingjie and I will welcome you back with open arms."
The ballet dancer then looked slightly askance and ran a hand through his brown locks. "And tell your coach...that I'm sorry about before, and that anything I've said applies to him too. If he ever wants to talk... whenever he's ready... I'll be here waiting."
"Thanks for watching everyone. I hope you enjoyed it."
As he sat on his bed contemplating the message from his father, Yifan wondered whether Ye Xiu had already seen the video. It had been a while since it first came out after all.
In the end, he creaked open his bedroom door and peeked into the hallway. The bathroom light was on, and the door open slightly. He tiptoed across and poked his head in. Ye Xiu was brushing his teeth, lifting his heels up and down practicing relevés at the sink.
Yifan's lips curled in a small smile. Maybe he'd tell Ye Xiu about it tomorrow.
The red haired girl towered over him.
When he came over to the studio after finishing his online coursework at the library, he hadn't expected to be ambushed by such a forceful girl. As soon as he stepped through the door, he had been grabbed by the shoulders and and examined with her piercing eyes from head to toe.
"I heard you're going to be Ye Xiu's student too."
So this is Ye Xiu's other student?
He gulped nervously. This girl was different from the girl trainees at Tiny Herb. Weren't girls supposed to be soft-spoken and elegant? What was this feeling like he was going to be eaten?
"Y-yeah. My name is Wang Yifan. I'll be learning under Ye Xiu starting today. Um..." His voice got quieter and quieter until he was a mumbling mess. He must look really stupid right now.
The girl stuck out her hand. "I'm Tang Rou. I guess that makes us rivals then."
He took her hand hesitantly. Rivals?
She grabbed it and gave it a firm shake.
"You're cute. Can I call you Xiao Yifan?"
He nodded, still a bit dazed.
Ye Xiu then came out into the lobby in his gray dance leggings and the standard black top and tan canvas ballet shoes. He had just finished teaching his class, judging from the stream of small children and their parents spilling out behind him.
"Bye bye Teacher!" The children waved their goodbyes excitedly.
"Thank you for teaching my daughter. She loves your class. It's a shame that you weren't teaching during parent's week. I would have loved to see you teach the children," one mother commented.
Ye Xiu smiled a bit helplessly. "Maybe another time. But your daughter is a pleasure to have in class. So full of energy."
The noise in the lobby soon returned to normal levels once everyone had trickled out. The dancer took one last sweeping look around the empty lobby before noticing the two of them in the corner.
"Oh, it looks like you two met already."
Ye Xiu took a swig from his water bottle and sat down on one of the benches as they came to greet him. He wiped some moisture from his mouth as he introduced them to each other.
"Xiao Tang, this is Yifan, my friend's son. He's ten, and I'll be teaching him ballet and contemporary with you. He's taken classes from a formal ballet academy, so if you have questions about ballet technique, you can ask him. Xiao Yifan, this is Tang Rou. She's a few years older, but she's still learning some of the basics, so please help her out if you can."
They both nodded.
The dancer stood back up and noted their eager looks.
"It looks like you guys want to get straight to dancing, huh?"
Yifan wanted to dance. He had been looking forward to contemporary lessons this whole time, and it seemed like Tang Rou had been too. Even though she seemed really intense and competitive, the atmosphere didn't feel as suffocating as it had at Tiny Herb. Maybe it had something to do with how she was less experienced than him? But that didn't feel quite right. He had a feeling that even if she had danced for ten years previously, she would still look at him the same way.
"I didn't know you two would be such birds of a feather," the older male chuckled, heading back into the hall toward the studios.
Tang Rou followed behind him. She held the door open, waiting for Yifan to come through. She grinned over her shoulder.
"We're rivals after all."
Yifan met her at the door and they went in together.
Rivals, huh?
/AN: Song this chapter is Arms Open by The Script. Their music just takes me back man
