After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

She then changed the subject and continued, "But in terms of the performance itself, it was very good. Everyone in the band was very coordinated and did their best to play. At least it made me want to vote for them."

Stage Climax: Chapter Twenty-Four - Sleeping Beauty Li hope

Yue yawned as she walked out of her room, her eyes still half-open, clearly not fully awake. According to her usual routine, this should be the best time for her morning run. However, as soon as she entered the living room, she saw a scene that made her frown slightly.

Lixi was already sitting on the sofa in the living room, the laptop screen emitting a dim light that reflected on her tired face.

Her eyes were visibly dark-rimmed, and her gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if she might faint at any moment, but she still persisted in typing on the keyboard.

"Good morning, Yue." Li hope, with dark circles under her eyes, turned around and greeted her.

"Lixi... what's wrong with you?" Yue looked at Lixi's slightly haggard appearance, and her dissatisfaction became more and more obvious.

She clearly remembered that she personally watched Lixi shut down the computer yesterday before she could go to sleep with peace of mind.

To prevent Lixi from staying up late again, she specifically set a timer to turn off the home WiFi.

Li hope raised her head, her eyes looking tired, and the dark circles under her eyes were even more obvious. She explained, "Ah... I did sleep, but... I woke up at four o'clock."

"Huh?" Yue's face was full of confusion and bewilderment. She couldn't understand Li Xi's routine for a moment. "Wait a minute... what time did you go to bed yesterday? Also, how are you online? Wasn't the WiFi at home turned off?"

“Yesterday… I probably went to bed around midnight.” Li hope thought for a moment, her voice tinged with hesitation, as if she herself wasn’t quite sure what time she went to bed. “As for the internet… I used my phone’s hotspot.”

Yue placed her hand on her forehead, letting out a helpless sigh. She had planned everything, but she hadn't expected Lixi to use this method to bypass her restrictions.

"Are you really okay continuing like this?" Yue asked, looking at Li hope's expression, which seemed as if she were about to collapse at any moment. "And hasn't Xiao Deng written any new lyrics lately? Li hope, what have you been busy with?"

"Um...holiday homework." Li hope said something that Yue didn't expect.

Yue was stunned, completely unexpected to hear such an answer. Her brows furrowed even more, her face full of confusion: "Holiday homework?...But summer vacation has only just begun in its first week!"

"Hmm... but I want to free up the remaining time so that I can use it more for performances and practice."

Lixi's hands flew across the keyboard, her eyes focused and determined, as if she had forgotten everything around her. Her fingertips danced across the keys, and only after typing the last letter did she let out a long sigh of relief.

"Okay... the last argumentative essay... is finished too." Li hope muttered softly, then slumped back wearily on the sofa. A few seconds later, she fell into a deep sleep.

Yue stood to the side, her brow furrowed, her heart filled with worry. She gently stepped forward, looking at Lixi's exhausted sleeping face, and sighed inwardly, "If you can't handle it, don't force yourself..."

She bent down, wanting to pick up Qun Yi Er Ming Wo Ling Qi Si 8 Li hope and take her to bed to rest.

But when her arm touched Lixi's arm, she unexpectedly felt a firm touch.

Yue raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise on her face: "Hmm?"

Not sure... let me squeeze it again.

Her fingers continued to gently poke at Lixi's triceps, and as she felt the firm muscles, her surprise grew even more pronounced.

Lixi usually wears loose clothes and always looks so slender and delicate, but Yue only now realizes that Lixi has an unexpectedly good figure.

Yue's fingers slid back and forth on Lixi's arm, feeling the firm and powerful muscles. Her smile deepened: "I didn't really notice it usually, but you have a surprisingly good figure..."

However, considering Lixi's usual high-intensity drumming training, some of the muscles in his arms seem perfectly normal.

Her gaze slowly moved down, settling on Lixi's slightly exposed abdomen. That smooth belly had not an ounce of fat; instead, the outline of several abs was faintly visible. It looked both slender and powerful, clearly the result of intense training.

"Should we... look at other places?" This bold thought popped into Yue's mind, and she couldn't help but swallow. Her fingers involuntarily reached towards Lixi's lower abdomen. She gently poked that soft skin with her index finger. The touch from her fingertip was both soft and elastic, like touching a piece of warm silk.

Lixi's abdomen rose and fell slightly with her breathing, and Yue's fingers almost involuntarily slid down, feeling the subtle power beneath her skin. That feeling made her heart beat faster involuntarily, and her chest began to feel faintly warm.

"Wait... Yue! What are you doing? Why are you acting like a pervert..." Yue suddenly came to her senses, her face flushed red, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

She shook her head, trying to banish the jumbled thoughts from her mind.

"How could you do this to her?" Yue silently blamed herself.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her breathing, then gently held Lixi's shoulders, picked her up, and prepared to carry her to the bed.

But just as she was about to get up, Li hope's arm suddenly moved, and her fingers unconsciously rested on Yue's hand.

The faint touch made Yue's heart skip a beat again. She subconsciously grasped Lixi's hand, feeling the warmth of his palm and the beating of his pulse.

"Never mind... Rikki is just too tired. I was just taking care of her. There's nothing between us." Yue comforted herself inwardly.

Carefully adjusting her position, she slipped her hands under Lixi's back and knees, lifting her up. Lixi's head rested gently on Yue's shoulder, her breathing steady; she had likely fallen into a deep sleep.

She carefully walked towards the room on the second floor, but when she reached the door, she realized a problem—she was holding Lixi with both hands and couldn't open the door at all.

Yue stood at the door, glancing helplessly at Lixi in her arms, and muttered to herself, "What am I going to do..."

She tried to push the door with her elbow, but it was tightly shut and she couldn't open it at all.

Yue bit her lip, quickly searching for a solution in her mind. Finally, she decided to let Lixi lean against the wall while she used one hand to open the door.

She gently leaned Lixi's body against the wall, supporting him from below with one hand, and quickly pushed open the door with the other.

"Finally..." Yue breathed a sigh of relief, then picked up Lixi again, walked into the room, gently placed her on the bed, and covered her with a blanket.

"Good morning... well... never mind, sweet dreams," Yue said softly, and quietly left the room.

After confirming that Yue had gone far away, Lixi opened her eyes, her face flushed.

Climax Stage: Chapter Twenty-Five - Miss Yue Escapes from Her Home

Sakura Sakura suppressed a laugh as she watched Hinasaki gulping down water in front of her, her smile almost overflowing from her lips.

After finishing her morning exercise, Yue instinctively wanted to go home, but when she reached the door, she stopped her hand from reaching for the doorknob. After thinking for a moment, she took the train to Sakura Sakura's place.

"So...you came all the way here?" Sakura Sakura asked again, suppressing a laugh, her tone slightly teasing.

Yue put down her water glass, turned her head slightly to the side, a faint blush rising on her cheeks, and said with a touch of arrogance, "I... just need some time to calm down, and I came to see you all."

Yue's fingers nervously twirled the water bottle in her hand, the bottle making a soft sound as it rubbed against her fingers.

She couldn't help but recall the scene when she opened the door. To make Lixi more stable, she had supported his buttocks with her hands. Although it was only a brief contact, the soft touch was deeply imprinted in her mind and wouldn't go away.

"We're all girls... why do I feel this way..." Yue scolded herself inwardly, feeling both ashamed and anxious, thinking that her face must be as red as a ripe apple.

She unconsciously tightened her grip on the water bottle, her fingertips touching the lingering cold water droplets on the bottle, but this did nothing to calm her down.

Seeing Yue's bewildered expression, Sakura couldn't help but chuckle: "I never thought... Yue... you could be so flustered."

"Tsk..." Yue's voice carried a hint of complaint as she looked up at the other person: "You had the same expression when you asked me for money back then, didn't you?"

"Alright, alright," Sakura patted Yue's shoulder, her eyes full of tenderness and understanding, seeing that Yue was already a little unhappy. "Actually, sometimes it's good to relax and clear your mind. You can stay here as long as you want, no one will bother you."

“But…” Sakura glanced at the time, a rather amused smile on her face: “Are you sure you can really calm down here?”

"What do you mean?"

As soon as Yue finished speaking, Sanka Chuka pushed open the office door, looking somewhat disheveled. She took off her sunglasses, mask, and baseball cap, and her short, golden hair was plastered messily to her forehead and cheeks with sweat.

She wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her hand and greeted everyone: "Good morning, Ms. Sakura... Tsuki-senpai?"

Misaki Hatsuka stood at the doorway, her face still showing signs of fatigue, but a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes when she saw Tsuki. Her gaze briefly swept back and forth between Tsuki and Sakura Sakura, clearly taken aback by Tsuki's presence.

Yue noticed her confusion, smiled slightly, and tried to hide her inner turmoil with a light tone: "I came over to sit for a while, and also to catch up with Sakura-nee."

"So that's how it is." Chu Hua smiled brightly, a smile that seemed to dispel the weariness on her face.

Her lips curled slightly upward, revealing her neat, white teeth, and her eyes curved into crescent shapes with a smile.

Sakura didn't expose her lie, but looked at Chu Hua and asked, "Little Chu Hua, is there something you need? Shouldn't you all be gathered in the training room?"

"Ah...right, I wanted to ask if Sumimi has any activities planned recently?" Chu Hua remembered the purpose of her visit.

Sakura shook her head and said helplessly, "Your work schedule has been entirely with Ave_Mujica lately."

"Well... Senior Yue, I'll go change into my rehearsal outfit. I'll take my leave now." After politely saying goodbye, Misaki Hatsuka gently closed the door, leaving only Yue and Sakura Sakura in the office.

As soon as I watched Chu Hua leave, I heard Sakura Sakura's smug voice.

"How was it? Pretty good, right? My judgment was good, wasn't it?" Sakura Sakura sat down next to Tsuki, a smug smile on her face, like a primary school student who had just received praise from her teacher, her eyes full of pride.

Yue was slightly taken aback, then nodded and said in agreement, "Hmm... As an idol, Chu Hua is indeed very good. She is very attractive, especially her sunshine and vitality."

However, she suddenly realized something halfway through her sentence, turned around, and looked at Sakura Sakura with a surprised expression: "Wait, why are you telling me all this now?"

Seeing Yue's expression, Sakura Sakura couldn't help but laugh. She crossed her arms and showed a somewhat childlike pride on her face: "Hmm~ I just wanted to show off to someone that I've trained a new idol." When she said this, there was a hint of smugness in her tone, as if she were showing off her own treasure.

Yue sighed helplessly, rubbed her forehead, and shook her head: "Really, you're still the same as before." She was clearly used to Sakura Sakura's personality.

Seeing Yue's expression, she didn't hold back; instead, she laughed even more triumphantly. She reached out and patted Yue's shoulder, saying with a smile, "Of course, can't I be proud a little?"

Looking at her childlike appearance, Yue felt helpless, but she couldn't help but be infected by her emotions, and her smile widened: "Good, good, good, you have the best eye, and the idol you've cultivated is the best."

She spoke earnestly, but her tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

Sakura Sakura nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, her smug expression undiminished.

But she quickly realized something was wrong. Yue was also an idol she had mentored. "Wait a minute... are you praising me or yourself?"

"Hehe~" Yue tilted her head slightly and said in a soft voice.

She didn't answer the question, but stared at Sakura Sakura with her bright eyes, as if to say, "Guess?" Her smile was sly yet childlike, full of pride and mischief.

Sakura Sakura was both amused and annoyed by Tsukishiro's appearance. In the end, she couldn't help but laugh, shook her head, and said with a helpless look in her eyes, "I really can't do anything with you."

What else can we do? After all, we raised them ourselves, so we just have to spoil them.

"Oh, right... there's one more thing I need to trouble you with." Yue glanced at the date on her phone and remembered something she'd been wanting to do for a while.

"Tell me... which place wants to borrow equipment this time?" Sakura Sakura was already used to Tsuki's requests; she had previously used the same method to get the drum from Tsuki's house.

Tsuki was a little embarrassed by Sakura Sakura's direct guess. Her lips twitched, and she smiled with a hint of helplessness.

She knew that Sakura Sakura was used to her little requests, but this request seemed a little different.

She glanced at the date on her phone, then looked up and said somewhat shyly, "Could you make me a record?"

Sakura Sakura raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes: "You're going to sing yourself?"

Upon hearing Yue's suggestion, Sakura Sakura's mind was instantly filled with many possibilities.

After all, although Hinasaki Tsuki has temporarily retired, her influence remains considerable. If she were to decide to make a comeback and record an album, it would undoubtedly be big news. Sakura has even begun to calculate how amazing the album's sales would be if it were actually released.

However, Yue gently shook her head, shattering Sakura's fantasy: "No... I want Afterglow to record an album as a birthday present."

"Oh..." Upon hearing this answer, Sakura's excitement vanished instantly, replaced by a helpless expression, as if a huge business deal had slipped through her fingers.

She waved her hand, her tone very calm: "It's not a big problem. You can use the equipment and resources anytime. Just let me know if you need them."

Seeing Sakura's dejected look, Tsuki couldn't help but laugh: "What were you thinking about just now? Why is there such a big difference between your thoughts and your expression?"