Lonely Rock: Love Songs Dedicated to the Stars

"Isn't that because you, the store manager, led him astray?"

"Stop nagging, or I'll dock your pay."

Yuzhen sat down next to them, ignoring their conversation, and turned on his computer to start planning the trip.

There are seven of us, so we need to rent a larger car. It seems I'm the only one with a driver's license here, but I haven't driven in a long time, so I'll have to find someone who can drive. The villa hasn't been lived in for a long time, but we have someone cleaning it regularly, so it shouldn't be a problem. We also need to buy ingredients and a barbecue grill so we can all have a barbecue together.

And then, the most important point!

"My dear Miss Xingge, how about I buy you your swimsuit?"

“I refuse. I have a feeling you’ll definitely buy something weird.”

Hoshika rejected him without hesitation. The most important part of Kenzaki Yuuma's plan ended before it even began.

"Why is Mr. Kenzaki so fixated on the manager's swimsuit? You two are both experienced."

PA was completely baffled by Yuuma's thoughts. They had both been completely honest with each other, so why was he still so fixated on this?

“I think you don’t understand at all, PA.” Kenzaki Yu’s eyes sharpened. “The tight, fleshy feel of a swimsuit is something that other clothes don’t have. It’s a unique visual experience that only swimsuits can provide, a spectacular sight that can only be experienced at the beach.”

"This guy's beyond saving, let's stay away from him." Hoshigo looked helplessly at Kenzaki Yuuma, who was immersed in his own world, and pulled PA away from him. "I have a swimsuit, you don't need to worry about it."

"Okay, then I'll continue making plans."

Hoshika and PA looked helplessly at Yuuma, who had clearly become a little listless, and exchanged a helpless glance.

"Speaking of which, private beaches seem a bit deserted, why not go to a public beach?"

PA and Hoshika were sitting at the bar when they saw the four members of the band come out of the rehearsal room to start working. Then they heard Kita's question: she still preferred a more lively setting.

“Kita, you need to understand something,” Yuma appeared behind Kita at some point, looking down at her with his eyes that had lost their luster, taking advantage of his height, “on a public beach, I have to resist the urge to gouge out the eyes of those men who are looking at my girlfriend’s swimsuit with lewd eyes, and that’s really tough.”

Yuma immediately regained her usual gentle smile: "Of course, Pochi is also very shy, so this is to take care of her."

'He was terrifying today.' This was the unanimous thought of everyone in the performance hall.

……

Yu-chan's plan was finally completed by evening.

"Who is this driver looking for?" Xingge asked, pointing to the third option on the computer screen.

"You don't need to worry about that, I'll take care of it."

"alright."

After a day of business, everyone went home.

Nijika and Kita made plans to go buy new swimsuits together tomorrow morning, and PA said she wanted to come along too. However, Hoshika said she already had a swimsuit and didn't plan to buy a new one.

"Does your swimsuit still fit you, sister?" Hongxia asked Xingge after dinner. "After all, you bought it a long time ago."

After listening to Hongxia's words, Xingge also felt that they should try it first just in case.

Then, Yuma and Nijika saw Hoshika struggling to lift her swimsuit up by pulling on her lower body with both hands.

"Let's go buy a new one together tomorrow."

Xingge tugged at her swimsuit, which was clearly too small, feeling ashamed.

“No, I think this one is fine.” Yuzhen looked at her with a serious expression, her tone unexpectedly earnest.

"Shut up, you/brother!"

To ensure her older sister's sleep quality and prevent her from oversleeping the next day, Hongxia took the swimsuit and put it under her own pillow. Then, the two of them heard Yuma click her tongue in displeasure and go back to their own homes to sleep with disappointed looks.

The next morning, everyone went to the mall together.

What are you doing here?

Kenzaki Yuuma followed along with Hoshika, looking disgusted.

"Don't worry, I won't go swimming with you guys." He said it as if it were a perfectly reasonable thing to do, like a true gentleman. "It's like opening a Valentine's Day chocolate before Valentine's Day—it becomes meaningless. I won't look at it beforehand; I want to save the surprise for the beach."

After the group arrived at the swimsuit shop on the second floor, Yuzhen and Xingge parted ways, and Yuzhen went to the third floor by herself.

The girls didn't pay attention to what this guy was going to do and went into the store to start picking out their favorite swimsuits.

"The store manager has already made her choice so quickly?" A moment later, PA saw Xingge take a very ordinary swimsuit into the fitting room, try it on, and then pay for and pack it up. "Aren't you going to try on some other styles?"

Xingge, carrying her swimsuit bag, glanced at the four energetic children and the PA in front of her, indicating that it wasn't necessary. Was she supposed to show off her figure in front of these vibrant young people? What a joke! Lacking exercise, she had absolutely no confidence in that area; only Kenzaki Yuuma would be so forgiving. She decided that she would start exercising as soon as she got back.

"Are you sure it's okay? Kenzaki-sensei seems really looking forward to it." PA didn't continue picking, and sat with her in the store's rest area watching the four little ones.

"Anyway, he won't mind what style I buy, right?"

"What's this? Are you fearless?" PA smiled as she looked at Xingge in front of her.

"If you mock me again, I'll beat you up."

"Oh, how scary."

After ending their conversation, the two sat in the rest area in silence for a long while.

They saw Kita and Nijika trying to help Pochi choose a swimsuit, and in his haste, Pochi grabbed a strangely colored one-piece swimsuit from the hanger and said he really liked it.

PA couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"I'm so envious of the store manager. I also wish I had a boyfriend who would pamper me like that."

"Hurry up and pick out a swimsuit, don't waste time."

"Honestly, we were just talking to her and now you're kicking her out." PA smiled as she looked at Ijichi Hoshika, whose ears were slightly red. "Then I'll go over there."

They spent quite a while choosing swimsuits, especially Kita. When she tried on the first swimsuit, Ryo casually complimented her, and then she kept trying on various styles. While Ryo was trying on swimsuits, Kita started taking pictures non-stop. Because the two of them were occupying the fitting room, the shop assistants subtly reminded them.

PA finally chose a black two-piece swimsuit that perfectly accentuated her figure. Then, Nijika picked out a pink lace swimsuit for Pochi, which was relatively conservative, but it still couldn't hide her figure. Nijika and Kita were so impressed by the two that they just randomly picked two swimsuits and paid for them.

After leaving the shop with their packed swimsuits, the group was pondering where to have lunch when they remembered Kenzaki Yuuma, who had disappeared. Hoshika called him and learned that he was on the third floor, saying that they could see him as soon as they got off the elevator.

As soon as they got off the elevator, they saw Kenzaki Yuuma. He was playing with a spinning top with some children in front of the toy counter on the third floor. There were also several boxes in the shopping cart next to him, which contained the figurines he had bought.

"Hey, you guys have all bought everything? I can't believe I've been playing for so long?" He looked down at his phone and realized that a lot of time had indeed passed. "Wait a minute, there's one more thing I want to buy."

He then went into the toy store next door and picked up the last magical girl plush toy on the shelf. But just as he was about to turn around to pay, he saw a little girl looking pitifully at the toy in his hand.

“This…” Yuzhen hesitated, looking at the girl and the doll in her hand, but finally gave the doll to the little girl. “You have to treat her well.”

"Thank you, big brother."

The girl skipped and hopped as she went to pay the bill with her mother.

After paying the bill, Yuzhen walked over to Xingge and the others with the figurines she had bought.

"You came here with us just to come up to the third floor and fight with the little girl for toys?" Ijichi Seika looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"I didn't manage to snatch it either, did I? It's all those brats' fault for wasting my time. Anyway, I'm starving. What should I eat?"

"I want to go to the fourth floor to eat sardine rice," Hongxia said first.

"Hey, that sounds good."

"Goto-kun, hurry up, hurry up, or there might not be any seats left."

"Ah good."

"Who can treat me to dinner?"

Xingge was left standing there looking at her boyfriend standing next to her. She sighed, then helplessly dragged him along to the fourth floor to have lunch with the others.

"By the way, have you decided who will drive tomorrow?"

Xingge swallowed the food in her mouth and looked at Youzhen sitting opposite her.

“My older brother said he would drive us there; he’ll pick us up in his car tomorrow morning.”

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for Yuuki-nii?" Hongxia looked up at Yuuma.

"It's okay, after all, he said he was just going that way and would give us a ride."

"Ok."

In the afternoon, the performance hall simply didn't open for business. Xingge told everyone to go home, check their luggage, get some rest, and not be late tomorrow. Youzhen also gave the employees of her family restaurant and izakaya the day off.

"Hey! Yuma, over here!"

Everyone gathered at the entrance of the performance hall early in the morning, and then Yuzhen heard her older brother calling her.

Yu-chan and Yu-yu put everyone's luggage and the barbecue grill into the trunk, then Yu-yu sat in the driver's seat and Yu-chan sat in the passenger seat.

"It's so convenient to be able to drive. I want to get a driver's license someday," Hongxia said to Xingge next to her.

“Indeed, he gives off a very reliable feeling.” Xingge yawned and responded to Hongxia.

Yuuki's wrist, which was fastening his seatbelt, was suddenly grabbed by Yuuma. He looked up helplessly and met his younger brother's gaze.

“Let me drive.” Yu’s eyes were firm.

After Yuzhen and Yuxing switched seats, Yuzhen fastened her seatbelt, started the engine, released the handbrake, shifted gears, and then... the car turned off.

"Why isn't it moving?" Hongxia felt the car jolt, but it remained stationary.

"The engine stalled." Xingge looked at Youzhen helplessly. "Do you even know how to drive?"

"I...I've had my driver's license for three years," Yuzhen retorted defiantly, but she still succumbed to everyone's questioning gazes. She quickly came up with an excuse to save face, "Okay, I've only driven automatic cars in these three years. Why would I rent a manual car?"

“This is the only one with a relatively large interior.” Yu Xing was speechless at his younger brother. He looked at Xing Ge and said to her, “Don’t say anything that would upset him. And Yu Zhen, give me back the driver’s seat.”

As Yuuma, now seated in the passenger seat, was still questioning her driving skills, the car had already been started by Yuuki and began to drive smoothly toward its destination.

Chapter 22 Beach, Ocean, Swimsuits

Because they got up so early in the morning, everyone in the car except for Kita, Yuuma, and Yuuki who was driving was asleep.

Nijika's head rested on Hoshika's shoulder, and Hoshika's head rested on Nijika's head. PA, in the back seat by the window, leaned to one side, using the small cushion she'd brought between herself and the window. Kita sat between Pochi and Ryo; Pochi's head was tilted against Kita's left shoulder, and Ryo's head was tilted against Kita's right shoulder. Kita wanted to sleep too, but she found she couldn't fall asleep at all.

"We can already see the sea."

As Yuuma's voice came, the sleeping group woke up groggily.

"Why are my clothes a little wet?" Xingge felt that her shoulders were a little wet, so she took out a tissue and wiped them.

"It's because Hongxia was drooling after she fell asleep." Yuzhen's voice was filled with laughter.

"Oh, brother, don't say that!"