Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Facade
(TW: Mentions of abuse and homophobia)
LI WEI IS EVERYTHING SOMEONE WANTS TO BE WITHIN THEIR LIFE-beautiful, driven, and academically advanced compared to his peers. He has not just wealth, but status within his homeland China. Someone as perfect as he is, with long flowing hair as dark as the night sky and beautiful emerald green eyes that shimmer in the moonlight, should have absolutely no issues. No, of course not, those with everything must be happy.
On top of all of that, Li Wei is also an accomplished figure skater, having competed all over the world and winning medals upon medals. His status is that of a celebrity and he is constantly surrounded by the higher echelons of society.
His family is perfect to the outside world. Li Na, his mother, is one of the top actresses in China, stunning the masses with her powerful acting that has even the most powerful of men shaking in fear and awe. Li Jie, his father, is a politician whose popularity amongst the people is so elevated that he could simply do no wrong. In a family such as this, there is no room for mistakes.
Behind closed doors, his mother and father go from loving people to demons who salivate at his pain. Mistakes were considered sins within the Li household and if Wei were to ever make a mistake, he would be due for a whipping.
The first mistake Li Wei ever made was at 5 years old, when he told his mother that he found a boy from class pretty. It was the first time he'd ever been hit and he would never forget it. His parents had thrown him into conversion therapy and by the age of 6, the mere thought of looking at a boy in any light other than platonic was no longer heard.
The second mistake Li Wei had ever made was when he told his parents he no longer wanted to learn to figure skate at the age of 8. He instead wanted to learn volleyball, after having watched the national team of China win at an international level. The fast paced movements and utter teamwork shown within that final match awed Li Wei. However, his parents yelled at him for such a notion. It was also the first time he was truly beat. From then on, Li Wei pretended that figure skating was the only sport he would ever turn to within his lifetime.
From then on, the mistakes grew worse and worse, as well as the punishments. It wasn't until Li Wei fought back for the first time, at the age of 12, that he was introduced to the basement. It was the one location of his large household that was rarely used and unfinished, something he had not understood until he was harshly thrown down the stairs.
It was the only area within their mansion that had yet to be completed and was never shown to guests. The entire room was draped in darkness, with a cold air harshly breezing throughout the area, which only added to the eeriness of the place. He never wanted to go down there.
His father beat him up for good measure, before locking him into a closet. For days on end, Li Wei would continually scratch at the closet door, hoping his father would finally let him out. It was disgusting in the closet by the third day as he had no bathroom, no food, nor no water. For the first time in a long time, Li Wei had become even more frightened of what his parents were capable of.
That was not the only time that he was put into the basement, but Li Wei had gotten better at playing the game. He would go to his prestigious middle school, surpass his peers in all aspects, and be far more gentlemanly than necessary towards the female population. Li Wei hated it, but he had no choice as he later found out his every action was being reported to his father. He felt absolutely caged.
The only times Li Wei felt the taste of freedom was whenever he travelled for competitions. Every country was different and he found himself time and time again falling in love with the many different cultures he'd come across. The last beautiful country he visited was Japan, where he utterly obliterated the competition. Truly, he wanted to go back and explore the country, but such a suggestion would surely get him locked in the basement...unless he made a foolproof plan.
Ecstatic at his idea, Li Wei quickly got to work, researching ways to present the idea of studying abroad to his father and show him exactly how beneficial it would be. Not just to his status, but to his character overall. If his father or mother wanted him to become more "influential", the best way to go about it would be to have experience outside of the country long-term. His parents had already been training from a young age in both the arts of acting and politics. With the skills of an actor, Li Wei would be a far better manipulator even if he absolutely hated those skills. On the other hand, his father threw him into politics, economics, and languages, the last skill was his favorite. He absolutely adored both Japanese and English and with knowing Japanese, his plans had far more merit.
At first, both his parents vehemently disagreed, stating that it would simply be detrimental to his academic career. Li Wei however would not give up his only chance of freedom and therefore presented Shiratorizawa, the top school within the Miyagi prefecture. He rationalized his decision by stating that if his parents wanted no one to know where he went, it would be the perfect place to lie low but also still an academically challenging school at his level.
Of course, his parents had no idea about what his plan really entailed, but he was finally able to convince them. He told his parents that he wanted to be independent and figure everything out himself, from applying to the school, as well as finding a place to stay. Clearly, his parents did not want him to go alone or not have anyone to report his actions back to them, so they told Li Wei he had to take one of their bodyguards with him.
It was beyond frustrating, but Li Wei knew his plan would be flawless. When he applied to Shiratorizawa academy, he also applied to Karasuno, another school within the Miyagi prefecture. Li Wei's plan was to completely escape his parents by applying elsewhere and escaping the bodyguard, therefore allowing him to be on his own. He had plenty of money saved up from his competitions, therefore he knew he could survive on his own. When he went to purchase the airplane tickets for both himself and the bodyguard, he altered the bodyguard's ticket to bring him to a completely different prefecture, as they had a connecting flight. Neither his parents nor the bodyguard would notice until it was too late.
In order to further convince his parents, Li Wei made sure to show them his acceptance letter to Shiratorizawa and let them know he accepted a place within their academy, while simultaneously agreeing to Karasuno.
What they didn't know couldn't hurt him. Finally, it was all coming together and Li Wei would soon be free. He was no fool however, as he realized he would struggle with his mental state once he was free of his parents grasp. Never was he allowed to attend therapy, as according to his father, that would make him seem weak. Whenever Li Wei felt completely listless and down, he would have to shove in into the back of his mind and never revisit it, pretending as though he were perfectly okay despite the nagging thoughts about how wonderful death would be creeping in his head.
Li Wei would not miss China by any means, as the only life he had there was fake and made him feel sick. His friends only stuck by him for the status and popularity it provided them, but once the public was no longer in the picture, they'd abandon him. His parents were abusive and saw him as a product, not a person. All he would truly miss are the landscapes he'd rarely come across, presenting a beauty that could only be found in the darkest of times.
With all of his belongings packed and his mind in a more stable place, Li Wei bid adieu to his loving parents, bodyguard in tow. The anxiety Li Wei felt was becoming more and more prominent, as he knew he had only one chance to pull off his plan.
The airport was bustling with people from all different directions and it overwhelmed Li Wei. He wore a mask, cap, and glasses in order to hide himself as the media could be relentless, nor did he want to explain to anyone where he was going. His parents would surely keep quiet about his studying abroad, as they would not want anyone to question their decisions.
After having checked in and gone through security, Li Wei waited by his gate to South Korea, where he would then take another plane straight to Narita, Japan. Within South Korea's one of many airports, Li Wei would quickly lose his bodyguard, who had no idea where they were going. His father had told the man that his son would be studying abroad in Japan, just not where. That was supposed to be his job, so instead he mentioned the name of the prefecture on the bodyguard's plane ticket. Freedom was so close yet so far, Li Wei could almost taste it.
The flight had only taken 3 hours, not that Li Wei truly cared for the amount of time as he relaxed within the confines of his business class seat. He kept himself busy by watching a documentary on polar bears to take his mind off of the impending panic attack he would surely have once he was in his new home. The day was taking a large toll on him mentally and for the first time, he'd be able to break down without worry. However, that time was still far away.
The second the flight had landed in South Korea, Li Wei frantically sped off the plane, getting as fast as he could from the bodyguard without being noticed. He was so close, so close, he just needed to board the plane that was set to leave in 20 minutes. There were two flights with a path towards Japan, he took the first one, while his bodyguard would end up on the second.
Unfortunately, Li Wei had to slow down a bit but he was successful in his endeavors. He could feel the high that was on the rise, giddy at the fact that he succeeded. He made it just in time as well, as the plane was boarding passengers. This time around, he chose to sit within the economy class as a symbol of his new life, living as the average person.
No longer would he be Li Wei, the figure skater with the perfect life, but Li Wei, the one who finally broke free.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Floofybirb
Floofybirb I'm supposed to be working on my original story but..this idea popped in and I couldn't help but write it.
Hope ya'll enjoy!
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