Lonely Rock: Love Songs Dedicated to the Stars

“That’s not necessarily true.” Yuuma stopped in his tracks, remembering the day they confessed to each other. “Think about it, there’s only one Kenzaki Yuuma in this world, and only one Iji Tomoka. I actually got the only Iji Tomoka in the world to be my girlfriend. I’m so amazing.”

"That's all they say, hurry up and go."

"Wait for me, senior."

……

A few days later, during a break between classes, Youzhen was resting on his desk. He suddenly felt someone tapping his shoulder, and when he looked up, he met Xingge's eyes.

"Senior Xingge, what's wrong?"

Who is that boy?

Xingge's face was very ugly, and Youzhen really didn't know who had offended her again.

"Huh? Who?"

Yuzhen didn't understand what she was saying.

"Someone said they saw you holding hands with a boy." Her expression remained the same, but Yuzhen felt she might burst into tears at any moment. "When did you develop this kind of fetish?"

"Senior, are you crazy?"

Yuzhen knew what she was talking about.

"That's you, senior."

"Huh? It's me? But I remember the day we got together was a Thursday, and my friend told me it was a Wednesday, so it doesn't match up."

"You must be mistaken, that day was clearly a Wednesday."

She later asked the boys who had gone to the social event with her and realized that she had made a mistake.

Chapter 45 The Morning Exercise That Is About to Begin

Ijichi Hoshika has two beautiful legs.

This is what Kenzaki Yuuma couldn't help but think as he felt the softness on both sides of his neck.

Ijichi Seika was currently riding on his shoulders, wearing athletic shorts. An old woman's cat had climbed up a tree and wouldn't come down, so the two people who were jogging by helped it, and that's how this happened.

As for why they were jogging together in the morning, that story begins a few days ago.

At the end of April, the weather suddenly turned hot. Usually, students would wear school uniforms at this time of year, just like usual, but Yu-ma and Hoshika's school didn't have this requirement.

Summer is truly the best season.

During gym class, Aikawa Mo and Kenzaki Yuuma sat together on a bench inside the school gymnasium. This popular guy had become close with Yuuma after that matchmaking incident.

"Why do you say that?" Yuzhen didn't understand why he liked summer. "Summer is so hot, and there are mosquitoes too. I find it annoying and I can't like it."

"Kenzaki, you need to learn to change your perspective."

Aikawa smiled and pointed to the tennis court next to them. Yuuma turned to look where he was pointing and saw a group of girls in shorts and t-shirts playing tennis. What he said seemed to be true.

"Wow, what a white racket!"

"It seems you understand me now."

However, Yuuma got bored after watching for a while. He turned his head back to stare blankly at the ground, and then a pair of familiar sneakers came into his view. Moreover, the person who came was wearing long pants in this weather. He looked up and found that standing in front of him was Ijichi Hoshika with an unfriendly expression.

When Aikawa saw it was Hoshika, he patted Yuuma on the shoulder and left to play tennis with the other boys.

"Senior Xingge, weren't you feeling unwell and not coming to the gymnasium?"

Xingge sat next to Youzhen, but ignored him, just sitting there.

Yuzhen understood; girls always have a few days each month when they're more irritable. She was definitely angry because she caught him secretly looking at those girls. Thinking this, he handed the thermos cup next to him to Xingge.

"what is this?"

In Xingge's opinion, this guy would usually explain to her in this situation to avoid misunderstanding, but now he just handed her a thermos, which was puzzling.

She took the cup, opened the lid, and found that it contained steaming hot brown sugar ginger tea.

Before class, Yuzhen gave Xingge a thermos, but when she opened the lid, she found it contained only regular hot water. She didn't understand what he was going to do with it, and what would he drink if he got thirsty during PE class if he gave it to her? She came over to bring Yuzhen some water.

"You brought two cups?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, I was in too much of a hurry just now. Actually, this is the cup I wanted to give you."

"What's a cup of hot tea on such a hot day?"

Xingge looked at the steaming brown sugar ginger tea in the cup, gently blew on it, and then slowly took a sip. It was very sweet; she felt that Youzhen must have put in a lot of brown sugar, as she could hardly taste the ginger.

"You haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I prepared this."

"You still remember this kind of thing?" Xingge took another sip of the brown sugar water in her cup. "Wait, I don't think I've ever told you anything like this before. How did you know?"

"My aunt told me. She said that if I prepare these things for you, you will feel better, and you will definitely be very touched."

Why does she tell everyone everything?

Xingge looked at the thermos in her hand and felt much better. She then secretly glanced at Youzhen, who was sitting next to her drinking water.

"You're quite honest. In a visual novel, showing concern for a girl at a time like this would definitely increase her popularity, right? And you just told me the truth like that?"

"Since my senior's favorability towards me is definitely already at its maximum, I don't think it matters whether I say it or not."

"Hmph, you're far from being 'fully favored'." Xingge looked at this guy with a strange sense of self-confidence, then glanced at the thermos in his hand. "Why are you drinking hot water? Is your stomach upset?"

"I have a stomach problem. If I eat cold food or drink ice water in the summer, the pain will be unbearable in the winter."

"I had no idea. You kept this from me?"

"It's not a big deal." Yuzhen blew on the hot water in her thermos and slowly took a small sip. "I've been like this since fourth grade, and I'm used to it now, so it doesn't bother me."

"Drinking hot water in the summer sounds painful."

The two sat on the benches, watching the other students having free time, occasionally sipping hot water from their cups. This continued until the PE teacher called everyone together before the end of get out of class.

"Next week is the sports meet. After you go back, think about whether you want to sign up, and if so, which events you want to participate in. Each person can sign up for a maximum of two events. Submit your names to the sports committee before Friday. Okay, get out of class dismissed."

……

There were enough people who had signed up; Yuzhen and Xingge didn't need to, and didn't want to, get involved in this troublesome matter. However, the girl who was supposed to participate in the three-legged race injured her leg on Thursday and couldn't do any strenuous exercise for at least a week. There was no other way but to choose another girl from among those who hadn't signed up.

"So, who wants to partner with me for the three-legged race?" Aikawa Mo stood on the podium and looked at the students sitting below. No one raised their hand to sign up. "If no one signs up, we'll have to draw lots to decide."

He wrote the names of several girls who didn't have any projects on slips of paper, then shuffled them. He pulled one out, opened it, and saw that it was Ijichi Hoshika.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Ijichi-san..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yuma, who had appeared behind him at some unknown time, put his arm around his shoulder.

"Your leg is injured, I'll participate in your place."

Looking at Yuzhen's kind smile, he couldn't help but shiver.

"Okay, I understand."

So in the end, Kenzaki Yuuma and Iji Tomoka participated in the three-legged race. Later, they drew lots to choose who would participate in the borrowed object race, and Yuuma was chosen by lot.

"But I feel that I might not be able to keep up with you when the time comes."

On her way home, Xingge glanced at Youzhen. This guy had been consistently working out, so she was sure she would be dragging him down again.

When do you usually go out to exercise?

She remembered that Yuuma regularly did outdoor exercises, and thought that if she practiced with him for a few days, they would probably be more in sync.

“Now that the weather’s warm, I usually go for a morning run,” Yuuma replied after thinking for a moment. “Would you like to join me, senpai?”

"Take me with you starting tomorrow."

"Sure," Yuma said, pleased that she was willing to start exercising. "But, senpai, are you sure you can get up?"

"Are you underestimating me? It's settled then, no lateness tomorrow."

Chapter 46 Morning Run

The next morning, Ijichi Hoshika was woken up early by the ringing of the phone. She picked up the phone, glanced at the contact name as Kenzaki Yuuma, and then checked the time—it was only 5 a.m. She answered the phone:

Why are you calling so early?

"Senior, didn't you say you wanted to do morning exercises with me?" Yuzhen's voice came through the phone to Xingge's ears: "Are you giving up before you've even started? Ha, what a spineless senpai."

"Huh? What are you saying?!" Xingge sat up in bed, still grumpy from being woken up. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm almost at my senior's building."

"Wait here, I'll come down to find you right away."

Xingge hung up the phone, put on the sportswear she had found yesterday, and then quickly washed up and went downstairs.

Yuzhen had already arrived downstairs and was sitting on the stairs waiting for Xingge to come down.

He turned around when he heard the sound, and the first thing that caught his eye was Xingge's legs. They weren't the kind of legs that were as thin as bamboo poles; Xingge's legs were very well-proportioned, and just looking at them, you could tell they would feel wonderful to the touch.

She was still wearing shorts, and in the short time she walked down the stairs, Yuzhen had already had a feast for the eyes.

"Stop looking and let's get started."

Xingge walked over to Youzhen and gently nudged him, who was still sitting on the stairs, urging him to hurry up.

"Let's get started then." Yuzhen stood up, turned on the music on her phone, and put one of the Bluetooth earphones into Xingge's ear. "Get moving, get moving, the sooner we finish running, the sooner we can come back for breakfast."

The song playing in the headphones was one that Yuzhen often listened to. He liked listening to theme songs from tokusatsu and anime, as well as some piano music. Xingge was listening to a tokusatsu song that the two of them had just recorded a few days ago. She remembered that it was called "EXCITE," and it was quite catchy.

Even after the Light Music Club disbanded, they didn't stop. Yuma recently started posting her covers of tokusatsu and anime songs online. When Hoshika found out, she said she wanted to join him, so she played the guitar in the videos to accompany him.

However, Yuzhen's videos didn't show his face. He recorded the audio and then uploaded it along with a montage of scenes he created, which garnered quite a few fans. He later inserted some commercials at the end of the videos, earning some money in the process.

The two jogged to the music and ran into Uncle Jingtian, who was walking Blues, at the park entrance.

"Good morning, Uncle Ida. And good morning, Bruce."

Yuzhen and Xingge stopped to greet the uncle, and the two of them even squatted down and rubbed Bruce's dog head.

"Oh, it's you two! Are you jogging in the morning? Young people are so energetic."

"Yes, the two of us are preparing for the sports meet."

After exchanging greetings, the two were about to continue, not intending to chat with the older man for too long.