Lonely Rock: Love Songs Dedicated to the Stars

After a while, Yuuma recovered and slowly stood up to move around. But Xingge looked at him for a moment and then followed him with her hands behind her back. She didn't do anything else, just gently touched Yuuma's leg with her foot when he wandered around the room.

"Don't do this, senior, my legs are still weak." Yuzhen accidentally bumped into the bed leg while trying to avoid Xingge's harassment and fell down.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying on Xingge's bed. When he fell, he instinctively closed his eyes and tugged at something next to him, which resulted in him grabbing Xingge's hand. Now Xingge was lying on top of him.

Xingge rubbed her head, her other hand resting on the bed beside Youzhen's head. Their current position was rather awkward and looked quite ambiguous. Both of them stared at each other's faces so close, their minds blank. Neither of them heard the door open.

"Brother, Hongxia brought back cookies for you and sister."

Hongxia opened the door to Xingge's bedroom and saw Yuzhen being pinned to the bed by her older sister. Hongxia quickly ran to find her mother.

"Mom, it looks like my sister and brother are fighting on the bed!"

"Hongxia, what did you say!?"

Hoshika and Yuuma quickly separated, straightened their clothes, and walked out of the room together. They ran into Nijika, who was bringing Mrs. Iji back with her, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.

"What were you two... just doing?"

Mrs. Ijichi looked at the two people who had just come out of the house.

Yuma and Hoshika quickly explained what had just happened, only mentioning that Yuma's legs had gone numb and that Hoshika's prank had caused them to fall onto the bed.

After explaining everything, the aunt took Hongxia back to her room; she wanted to teach Hongxia how to speak properly. Youzhen and Xingge also returned to their room and sat facing each other at the table.

'Why do I always get seen doing these embarrassing things? Am I some kind of male protagonist in a light novel?' Yuuma really didn't understand.

"Let's continue with the tutoring; we can't waste any more time." Ijichi Hoshika looked at Yuuma, who was spacing out, and rubbed her forehead. "Let's get started."

She also hoped to distract herself in this way and quickly forget about it.

……

Final exams are the biggest challenge for students before the holidays. Good grades mean a happy new year, while bad grades mean they have to bear the consequences. Of course, this excludes some families who don't care much about grades.

Yuzhen sat in the examination room looking at the math test paper on the table. He felt okay. He had seen most of these math problems before, and at most, he had changed a few numbers. The difficulty was not high.

He and Xingge weren't in the same exam room, so he didn't know how Xingge was doing. He could only ask her after the exam. Hopefully, she won't mess things up.

"Finally, the exams are over."

In the club activity room, Senior Umino slumped unceremoniously in a chair, while Hoshika lay sprawled on the table.

"They both worked very hard," Senior Tokita remarked, looking at the two of them.

"How did Xingge-senpai do on the exam?" Youzhen returned to the activity room with several kinds of drinks and sat down next to Xingge.

Xingge sat up, took the apple juice that Youzhen handed her, inserted the straw, and took a big gulp.

"It's alright. The questions are mostly the types you've talked about before, and I can solve most of them."

"That's good. In that case, the parent-teacher meeting tomorrow shouldn't be a problem."

After giving his drinks to the others, Yuma opened the remaining coffee in his hand and took a sip. This coffee was so sweet; it was the first time he'd ever had it, and it didn't even taste like coffee anymore.

"Parent-Teacher Conference!?"

Umino-senpai and Hoshika's voices startled the other three, and Yuuma almost dropped her coffee.

"Neither of you knew?" Senior Omori took out a handkerchief to wipe the orange juice that had splashed on his hands. "Didn't your class mention it before the exam?"

“Our class did say that, but it was right after the exam,” Yuzhen replied. “As soon as Hoshika-senpai got back to the classroom, she lay down on her desk, and I thought you heard her.”

"Not at all, I was trying to clear my head of those math formulas." After finishing her juice, Xingge collapsed onto the table, completely exhausted.

"I've tried so hard to tutor you, but you still managed to remember it?" Yuzhen looked at Xingge, feeling utterly exhausted.

"And what about you, Umino? I remember you were in the classroom too." Senior Omori turned to look at Senior Umino.

"I don't know when I said it. I don't remember."

Senior Umino tried to recall carefully, but had no recollection whatsoever.

“Our class talked about it yesterday afternoon before school ended. Umino, you were staring blankly at the blackboard, I thought you could hear me.”

Tokita-senpai scratched his head. Umino was indeed in the classroom at the time, so why couldn't he hear her?

"Maybe it's because I was distracted at the time, but I've been studying from morning till night for the past few days."

"Speaking of which, is the parent-teacher meeting tomorrow? Will the results really be available tomorrow?"

Xingge still held onto a sliver of hope.

"Senior Xingge, don't underestimate your teacher."

"Ok."

Chapter 32 Parent-Teacher Meeting

The next morning, Kenzaki Yuuma arrived at the classroom early. Several classmates were already there cleaning.

According to the school's arrangements, students should arrive at school as early as possible this morning to clean and tidy up the classrooms before welcoming their parents at 10:00 AM.

Yu-zhen yawned, picked up a broom, and started sweeping. Later, more classmates arrived, greeted the others, and then picked up tools to help. Everyone in the class was excited because after the parent-teacher meeting that morning, they would have a winter break of over ten days; New Year's Day and Christmas were both highly anticipated holidays.

Xingge arrived very early today as well. She went to bed early last night on purpose.

After sweeping the floor clean, everyone left the classroom together, leaving only the students who arrived late to mop the floor clean.

The two of them strolled over to the bulletin board on the first floor and saw that the senior students from the student council had just posted the report cards on the bulletin board.

"The results are actually out!" Xingge searched for her name on the list. "Found it. My ranking isn't bad."

Yuma looked at Hoshino's smug expression and then at her ranking, which was roughly in the middle. That was indeed quite good; it was a huge improvement for her.

"I've tutored you to this extent, shouldn't you thank me?"

"Thank you."

"What? Just a verbal thank you?" Yuma looked at Hoshika with dissatisfaction. "Shouldn't you at least show some sincerity?"

"Don't push your luck..." Xingge muttered softly, her face flushed, her back to Youzhen. She already knew what he was up to, but they were at school after all. She looked around; there didn't seem to be anyone else nearby.

"What did you just say?" Youzhen didn't hear what Xingge mumbled. He walked around to Xingge and leaned down slightly to find out what Xingge had just said. "Senior, could you say it again?"

……

"Stop laughing, it's embarrassing."

Hoshika complained, nudging Yuuma's arm with her elbow. This guy had been touching his cheek every now and then since earlier, and then a happy smile would spread across his face. She felt like everyone was staring at them as they walked down the hallway.

He touched the spot Xingge had just touched, and it just so happened that the student council members who came to post notices saw it, yet this guy could still laugh. Xingge got angry just thinking about it and nudged him with her elbow again.

"Ouch. What are you doing?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Go back now."

The students were standing in the hallway outside the classroom, while the parents, after arriving, sat down in their children's seats under the guidance of the homeroom teacher. They chatted with the people next to them, waiting for the meeting to begin.

When Yuuma and Hoshika returned, they were standing in the corridor when they saw Hoshika's mother bringing Nijika over. After exchanging greetings, Mrs. Ijichi left Nijika outside for the two of them to look after.

"Yuma! I'm here!"

Yuuma had just taken Nijika's hand when he heard a voice that gave him a headache. He turned around and saw that it was Kenzaki Yuuki. This guy was even wearing a suit, and his hair was styled. He looked quite presentable.

"Hey, big brother? What brings you here?"

Yuzhen couldn't argue with him in front of Hongxia and her aunt, so she could only try to be as amiable as possible.

Yuuki noticed that Yuuma's tone was off. He glanced at Nijika, who was being led by Yuuma, and Hoshika, who was standing next to them, as well as a gentle-looking aunt who resembled Hoshika. He quickly realized what was happening and then swiftly adjusted his previously casual posture.

"Father and Mother went to Osaka, Yuuma, have you forgotten?" Yuuki stood up straight and put on a social smile that Yuuma had never seen on this guy before. "Of course I have to come on behalf of Father and Mother to find out how my younger brother is doing at school. It is my duty as an older brother."

'He almost did a full prostration when he borrowed money from me yesterday, what's with this act now?' Yuzhen looked helplessly at his pretentious older brother. But he couldn't just say it out loud; he had to save face for Yuxing.

"Nice to meet you, Aunt Ichichi. Yuzuru has been well taken care of by you these past few days." Yuzuru even gave a slight bow in a perfunctory manner.

Several girls nearby were watching Youxing, huddled together discussing something, and occasionally glancing over in their direction.

Yuuki is, after all, Yuuma's older brother, and the two brothers are both quite good-looking. Yuuki is actually a little taller than Yuuma; Yuuma is 1.82 meters tall, and Yuuki is 1.84 meters tall, both of them are considered quite tall. However, their father is 1.9 meters tall.

Yu Xing had previously speculated that the reason he and his sister weren't as tall might be because their mother had diluted some of their father's genes. Later, his angry father chased after him and beat him up.

Yuuma was a little uncomfortable with Yuuki's affected manner. He had never seen Yuuki like this before; how could this guy control himself so easily?

He also overheard the whispers of the girls around him and thought to himself, "Don't let this guy fool you."

Yuuki chatted with Aunt Ichiji for a while, then turned around and looked at Hoshika.

"Please take good care of my younger brother."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and went into the classroom with Mrs. Ijichi to prepare for the meeting.

"Has your older brother always been like this? He seems like a very serious person."

"Don't be fooled by him, he's just putting on an act. This guy can talk to anyone, no matter who they're talking to. But this is the first time I've seen him do it, he seems very skilled."

Yuma and Hoshika explained it to each other.

"Really?"

"Trust me, that's the right thing to do."

While Yuma and Hoshika were talking, Hongxia was surrounded by the girls in her class. Hongxia was a well-behaved, cute girl with a sweet voice, and she was very popular with the girls; everyone liked her.

During the parent-teacher conference, Yuma and Hoshika brought Nijika to the Light Music Club's activity room. The senior members weren't there; they were probably waiting outside the classroom.

Hongxia wanted to explore the school a bit more, so they didn't linger and took her downstairs to begin her tour. Later, Hongxia got tired, so Youzhen carried her around the entire school.

"This place is wonderful! Hongxia will come here to study in the future!"

When they got back, Nijika, who was nestled in Yuuma's arms, was still telling her mother about what she had seen at school. Mrs. Ijichi listened to Nijika's excited voice with a smile and nodded from time to time.

"Let's part ways here then. I have plans with my classmates, and I also need to check on my shop later." Yuuki stopped at the intersection. "Everyone, please be careful. Yuuma, don't cause any trouble for others."

"I know without you saying it." Yuzhen looked helplessly at the guy in front of her who never stopped acting. They were supposed to be going to a bar to drink with friends, but he managed to make it sound so serious.

"Goodbye, Yuxing-nii-san." Hongxia waved her little hand and said goodbye to Yuxing.

Goodbye, Xiaohongxia.

After seeing Yuuki off, Yuuma originally wanted to go home, but Hongxia clung to him and wouldn't let him leave, so he had no choice but to go back with Xingge and the others first.

"I'm so sorry, Hongxia has caused Yuzhen trouble again."

"It's alright, Auntie. I'm happy that Hongxia likes me."