Lonely Rock: Love Songs Dedicated to the Stars

Xingge reluctantly unlocked the door and let him in.

What are you doing here in the middle of the night?

"I couldn't sleep, so I came here."

Xingge sat on the bed, while Youzhen sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Be serious, what brings you here in the middle of the night?"

"I just can't sleep."

"And then you jumped down from your windowsill and disturbed my sleep?"

"You're still awake, aren't you?"

Ijichi Seika stared at Kenzaki Yuuma with an unfriendly expression.

"Okay, okay, I clearly sent you a message saying I wanted to come over. And I saw that it was marked as read, but you didn't reply, so I came over in person."

"that's it?"

"Yes."

"So you see, I really can't sleep. What are you going to do?"

"I'll stay with you."

"You're so boring."

"Do you want me to lull you to sleep?"

"unnecessary."

Xingge ignored him and lay on the bed with her back to him. She heard Youzhen get up and walk over, and felt him climb onto the bed and lie down next to her, hugging her from behind.

"Didn't you say you weren't staying at my place tonight?"

"Then I'll go?"

Xingge didn't make a sound. She turned around, then hugged Youzhen, buried her face in his chest, and pinched his waist, but not very hard.

"Aren't you going to sleep with your plush toy tonight?"

"Shut up and go to sleep."

Chapter 15 You are qualified

"Didn't my brother go to his own house to sleep yesterday?"

As soon as Hongxia brought breakfast to the table, she saw Youzhen and Xingge come out to wash up together.

"Never mind that. How's the band doing lately? We're going to audit you guys this afternoon."

Kenzaki Yuuma finished washing up and sat down in a chair next to the dining table.

"No problem, that's what I wanted to say, but I'm actually really nervous."

Hongxia sighed as she thought of Boqi and Liang, who were always causing her trouble.

"Just do your best. You have to show me how much you've grown."

Ijichi Hoshika finally came out. She had been fiddling with skincare products for a long time; she had asked Yuma to go with her to buy them before she went home last night.

After finishing breakfast, Hongxia covered the remaining portion, which she had saved for her father who was still in bed. Then she packed her lunchbox and went to school.

Yu-ma and Hoshika also went downstairs to Yu-ma's shop. The renovation of the performance hall would not be completed until the afternoon, so Hoshika would spend the morning with Yu-ma to pass the time.

"Aren't your family members still at your house? Aren't you going to make them breakfast?"

"With Mom here, there's nothing to worry about."

The two chatted as they went downstairs, and after turning a corner, they arrived. Youzhen sat behind the counter, handed Xingge a box of apple juice, and then began organizing the inventory list, chatting with Xingge every now and then.

This is how the two get along after getting back together, not much different from before, but they both quite like this peaceful way of getting along.

After lunch, they went to the performance hall together. Although it was called renovation, it was actually just repairing some parts that were about to break down and replacing some equipment, so there was no problem putting it into use immediately.

"Good afternoon, store manager, Mr. Kenzaki." PA arrived earlier than usual, since some equipment had just been replaced today and needed her to adjust it.

Good afternoon, PA.

"good afternoon."

After exchanging greetings, Hoshika took PA to work. Yuuma walked over to the bar and sat down, watching Hoshika's focused expression. The once unreliable "Ochanomizu Demon King" had become so dependable; Kenzaki Yuuma now felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Everything was ready, and the performance hall reopened. Although that was the case, no one would come at this time, so after cleaning up the performance hall, the three of them went to Yuzhen's restaurant to pass the time.

"We are the End Band."

After school, the band gathered at the performance hall, prepared briefly, and then went on stage for their audition. Yuzhen, Xingge, and PA sat in the audience, watching the four nervous little ones on stage.

"Now, let's start playing the song 'Guitar, Loneliness and the Blue Planet'."

After Hongxia announced the song title, the four of them looked at each other, and then the music filled the entire performance hall, starting with Hongxia's drum.

Watching them on stage, Yuuma began to reminisce about his own band, and the recording of Momoka Kawahara's band's performance he had watched a few days ago. He snapped out of his reverie and shook his head. There was no need to dwell on things that were over. He was content just to protect these little ones who were just beginning to thrive.

Although there were still quite a few problems, the band standing on stage was undoubtedly competent. Pochi's lyrics had a very personal style, but it seemed she still couldn't unleash her full potential. Looking at Pochi on stage, Kenzaki Yuuma couldn't help but imagine the overpowered protagonist who had seen online a few days ago—a character pretending to be weak while actually being strong, showing off and getting slapped in the face.

The band ended a performance, and then an audience member threw a plastic bottle onto the stage.

Suddenly, a group of fans wearing jerseys and merchandise from the disbanded band walked in and shouted, "The March deadline has arrived! Welcome back to STARRY, guitar hero!"

Yuuma imagined that the performance would have ended by the time Emperor Pochi unified the Budokan, and Hoshika didn't rush to comment. She nudged the engrossed Kenzaki Yuuma with her elbow, then glanced at the closing band on stage who had just finished their performance.

"I see."

He secretly squeezed Xingge's hand, and then Xingge pulled her hand back immediately, propped her elbow on the table, and propped her face up with her palm, pretending nothing had happened.

"Cough cough... Not bad, but there are still some problems." He looked up at the band that had finished. "Nijika was too intense, her stamina will be depleted quickly; Ryo was completely immersed in her own world; Guitarist Ei... Pochi, be more confident, try to lift your head; and Kita, it's amazing that you can play the guitar so well so quickly, but your proficiency is still not enough. It would be better if you didn't look down at the guitar so often during the performance."

After listening to Kenzaki Yuuma's comments, the four members of the band nodded.

"So the result was..."

Hongxia still wanted to know if they had passed the review.

“I’m not the store manager here, you’ll have to ask her.”

After Yuzhen finished speaking, she gently nudged Xingge's arm, which was supporting her face, with her elbow. Xingge's balance was broken, and she glared at Yuzhen before looking at the closing band on stage.

"Anyway, I now understand what kind of band you guys are."

"Who would understand what you're saying?" Yuzhen turned her head and looked helplessly at Xingge, who was speaking in a roundabout way, and then looked at the four little ones on the stage who were still expectant. "She means that you have passed."

"I've made myself very clear, you're qualified."

"Sister, really, you put it so subtly!"

Yuzhen looked at the band members on stage, who were excitedly hugging each other, then looked at Xingge next to her, and gently flicked her forehead.

"what are you doing?"

Xingge rubbed her forehead and glared at Kenzaki Yuuma.

"This is telling you not to speak so cryptically in the future."

"I think I was pretty straightforward..."

"Only you think that way."

It was Boqi who interrupted their bickering; she seemed to have vomited on the stage because she was too nervous.

"Stop taking photos together, hurry up and clean up. We'll be opening soon."

Yuzhen got up and went to the storeroom to get her tools.

"Did the manager actually reserve a table for them all along?"

PA moved closer to Xingge and spoke to her in a very soft voice.

"How did you know?"

"Didn't you say you weren't feeling well that day, Manager, and asked Kenzaki to fill in for you?" PA looked at Hoshika meaningfully. "That day, when Kenzaki was arranging the performance order, he left a spot for me. I asked him about it, and he said it was you who asked me to leave it."

"Hmph, that guy tells everyone everything."

"Hehe, actually he didn't say that. The store manager is so easy to fool, he just admitted it."

"Get to work right now, or I'll dock your pay."

"Okay, I understand."

After PA left, Hoshika walked over to Yuuma's side. He and Nijika had just finished cleaning the stage. Hoshika took out the tickets that the band was going to sell after the event and handed them to Nijika. After explaining something, Pochi's demeanor suddenly changed.

"Can she really sell tickets?" Kenzaki Yuuma looked at Pochi, whose text was turning into gibberish, with a worried expression.

"We have to believe in Pochi-chan." Nijika still had hope for Pochi. She called Kita over and together they pieced together Pochi. Then Pochi just stared blankly at the ticket.

"Boqi, come here." Yuzhen couldn't stand it anymore, so he decided to teach her the secrets to selling tickets in the early days of the band. "If you really can't sell them, just pay out of your own pocket..." But before he could finish speaking, Hongxia Xingge covered his mouth and dragged him away.

Hongxia and Xingge couldn't let a seasoned veteran like Youzhen corrupt Boqi. Although it was cruel to Boqi, it was a good opportunity for her to grow. After that, Hongxia asked for five more tickets, so that even if Boqi didn't meet the target, she would cover for her.

Chapter 16 Change and Determination

Weekends always make people feel unmotivated, probably because there's so much free time. But the band finished their work and headed straight to the rehearsal room early the next morning.

Yu-ma realized he'd probably hired too many employees; the shop didn't really need him anymore. There was nothing to do at the shop anyway, so he figured he might as well go downstairs and tease Hong-xia or banter with Xing-ge.

"Isn't Pochettino here?"

When Yuma entered the rehearsal room, she saw the three members of the band besides Bochi. The three of them looked at Yuma when they heard her question, but they were all taken aback for a moment.

Yuu's sleep schedule has recently become more regular, so his complexion has improved a lot. Although he still has dark circles under his eyes, he doesn't look as gloomy as before. In addition, he specially got up early today to dye the white part of his hair back to black. If you ignore the red marks on his neck that haven't faded yet, this guy looks very... innocent, like a gentle older brother next door.

Is there a problem?

Although Yuuma's tone was matter-of-fact, his heart was not as calm as it appeared. A childlike thought, "Have you noticed my change? Praise me!" filled his mind.

"Oh! Brother dyed his hair back to its original color? Is it because of Sister?"

The first person to make Kenzaki Yuuma feel the value of emotions was Nijika.

"Well, I think now that I'm back to living my life, I should adjust my mindset and appearance." Yuzhen said, tossing his hair. He was only thinking about Xingge's touched expression when she saw the changes he had made for her, so he only asked the hairdresser Tony at the salon to dye his hair and forgot to get a haircut. His bangs were blocking his vision.