Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 69

Yuan Xudou reached out his hand.

So, gazing at him with moist, amber eyes, the girl instinctively moved closer.

He placed his hand on her small head, which was covered by soft gray hair, and stroked it back and forth like grooming a small animal.

"You are not actually weak."

"You have something unique that sets you apart from others, which is why you feel lonely."

“But that’s not something that can’t be understood… I can, through singing, and so can others.”

"And, lamp... the way you work so hard is dazzling."

To shout out your feelings with all your might, touching the softest spot in someone else's heart... This is something only someone special like you can do.

Genjiro Tou shifted his gaze from the stunned Takamatsu Akari to the last two people.

"Mu."

A serene, inorganic, indifferent doll-like girl.

A broken, shattered, and oppressive pitiful doll.

Now, it seems that it has begun to find what it truly wants, and life and vitality are emanating from its golden eyes.

He nodded to Wakaba Mutsu, genuinely pleased with the other person's change.

"For you, just staying true to yourself is good enough."

Compared to his conversations with the previous three girls, his simple and ordinary words struck a chord with them, causing ripples to spread through their hearts.

Only the two of them understood the meaning of that "self"—it was the one and only silent girl he had identified with.

With her hands gently resting on her knees, Ruoye Mu gazed at the other person with rapt attention, and nodded slightly.

Finally, there was Shiina Tatsuki, the one who initiated this candid late-night talk, facing the boy and watching him effortlessly break down the defenses of everyone except himself, his expression dazed.

"Lixi, you're the last one."

Straightening his back, Yuan Xudou looked at her solemnly and reminded her in a calm tone that remained consistent throughout.

An excessive sense of baseness, a coy yet arrogant personality, a tendency to argue, and a tendency to speak bluntly...

They want to care about others, but end up doing awkward things; they want to express their gratitude, but refuse to say it properly; they actually care most about the warmth that the group brings, but they will never admit it.

"……ha."

"What are you laughing at?"

Seeing the smile that suddenly appeared on the boy's face, Shiina Ritsuki felt a little embarrassed and annoyed.

She bit her lip, somewhat unwillingly.

—He's so gentle to everyone else, but why is he so...?

"not like this."

Sensing the girl's emotions, Yuan Xudou suppressed his smile and shook his head seriously.

Then, her dark, watery gaze fell upon her.

"Lixi, you are the most serious one of all."

"...Me? Me?"

Shiina Tatsuki instinctively wanted to refute.

Of the six, Toyokawa Shoko personally formed the band, Genji Koto devoted himself to everyone, and Takamatsu Akari sang with all her might—how could she be the most serious one?

Seeing through her self-doubt, Yuan Xudou shook his head again.

"Xiangzi and I weren't that serious; the band wasn't a burden for us."

Because they are both so talented, they don't need the band's achievements to prove their worth, so they naturally won't take it too seriously.

"That lamp..."

“As for the lamp,” he glanced sideways at the still somewhat dazed gray-haired girl, “of course you try very hard. But rather than being serious, it feels like your body is being led by your emotions, doesn’t it?”

They don't think things through very carefully, letting impulses dictate their behavior—they are the type whose instincts outweigh their reason.

"So, you really are the most conscientious person."

"Whether you feel you can't keep up or you can't play as well as others... Lixi, you didn't give up, but practiced and tried more."

"This is enough proof."

In the interplay of light and shadow between the bright moonlight and the darkness of night, only his eyes shone brightly.

The boy, as radiant as a star, confidently uttered his final assessment.

"You are no worse than anyone else."

"Lixi, you are a companion to be proud of."

She recognized the value of young girls even more than she did herself.

Amidst a sudden, rapid heartbeat that almost filled her eardrums, Shiina Riki silently turned her head and looked out the window.

The silvery crescent moon illuminated her melting smile.

—We lost.

Even with five against one, even with the boy speaking first, even with so many advantages… they still lost. Yuan Xudou showed not a single trace of hesitation or awkwardness from beginning to end. There was no doubt that they had lost.

Losing with satisfaction, losing to the point of ecstasy, losing with bewilderment.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Su Shi Wins First Place, and the Lamp of Peeping

After their heart-to-heart talk, the girls, who had no desire to continue playing the game, said goodbye to each other early on. After taking another bath, they returned to their rooms, each lost in their own thoughts.

Yuan Xudou was no exception. After returning to his room, he took off his bathrobe, changed into his usual pajamas, and quietly lay down on the luxurious bed in the center of the bedroom, a bed large enough for three or four people to sleep on.

The boy, who wasn't sleepy yet, scrolled through his phone for a while. When it was almost time, he turned off the bedside lamp and silently closed his eyes in the darkness that followed.

After a while, he turned over in the soft, comfortable bed.

…I can't sleep.

I rested in the car at noon, and there weren't any energy-consuming activities in the afternoon, so going to bed at 10 pm was still too difficult.

He sat up in bed with a sigh, his dark eyes, perfectly blending into the night, opened again, gazing aimlessly at the emptiness of the room.

I'm tempted to find something to do, but I just don't feel like it.

Just as he was feeling slightly troubled by mild insomnia, he suddenly heard a very faint, careful turning of the handle and the rubbing of the mechanism.

--who is it?

The answer was self-evident the moment Yuan Xudou raised his eyes and met the gentle, azure gaze of the newcomer.

Nagasaki Motoyo, who was not alarmed when she discovered that the boy was not asleep, entered the room and quietly closed the door.

"Xu Doujun".

A soft whisper, gentler than the melting spring water, drifted lightly through the quiet room.

A silk nightgown, so thin it almost revealed the girl's fair skin, covered her graceful figure, which was faintly illuminated by the pure white moonlight streaming in from the window, outlining a breathtakingly perfect curve.

The maturity and allure that she possessed was not something a girl of her age could pull off, yet her uniquely inclusive temperament and magnanimous spirit made it appear perfectly harmonious on the pure-faced young girl.

In the dead of night, with no one around, two girls dressed in only a single layer of clothing, their eyes meeting... No words are needed; a thick, ambiguous atmosphere spontaneously fills the emptiness of the night.

Wearing her most daring outfit for the final battle, Nagasaki Motoyo, blushing, slightly lifted the hem of her skirt as she came to fulfill her promise.

Originally, she wanted to do it in a more romantic setting... but she couldn't wait any longer.

On this moonlit night when we have been completely accepted... let's finish what we should have done long ago, but has been putting off.

Understanding the girl's true feelings from those swaying eyes, Yuan Xudou silently got out of bed and walked towards her.

He pulled that slender waist into his arms, gently inhaling the delicate fragrance wafting from the girl's hair, feeling the heat gradually rising from their skin.

Hot breath slapped against her face, and her trembling eyelashes were clearly visible.

Slender fingertips pierced through the black hair, a subtle yet firm force bringing the two face-to-face closer together.

Then, their lips touched.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"……Well……"

Takamatsu Akari, who was almost asleep, was suddenly awakened by a strange feeling rising in her lower abdomen.

My stomach feels so bloated…

The girl who drank a lot of beverages at the party has finally received the punishment she deserves.

Her urgent physiological needs led her to grope in the dark to turn on the bedside lamp. Her delicate little feet dangled on the edge of the bed as she put on her slippers. Still somewhat drowsy, the lamp slowly climbed off the bed.

Pushing open the tall, heavy door, the empty and silent mansion, adorned only by the dim light of the wall lamps along the corridor, came into view.

Slightly frightened by the unusually quiet scene, Takamatsu carefully pressed herself against the wall closest to the room, trying not to make a sound as she walked towards the toilet at the end of the corridor.

After passing the tightly closed door of Nagasaki Motoyo's room, the girl stopped in front of Minamoto no Koto's door and suddenly stopped, having noticed something.

'...Huh?'

The door doesn't seem to be closed?

Xu Dou shouldn't be such a careless person... Did something happen?

A mix of worry and curiosity welled up inside him, and almost unconsciously, Takamatsu pushed the half-closed door open a crack and peered inside—

The next moment, she forcefully covered her mouth, suppressing the gasp that almost escaped her lips.

His amber eyes were filled with a dazed shock, and the lingering sleepiness was instantly dispelled by the scene before him.

With her eyes trembling violently, the girl looked into the room.

—Under the dim moonlight, the two people, tightly embracing each other, are kissing.

Wearing a daring outfit she never dared to imagine, Nagasaki Motoyo, who was pressed against the wall, had long since lost her shoes. Her bare, snow-white feet were only touching the ground with her toes. She seemed to be hanging on Genjiro's body, barely able to stand up by relying on his arms for support and her hands tightly hugging his neck.

In Takamatsu Akari's memory, the girl's usual gentle, caring older sister demeanor had completely vanished. Completely immersed in the kiss, she revealed an incredibly alluring, yearning yet extremely docile, dreamy expression.

Even Yuan Xudou revealed an aggressiveness she had never seen before. With his hands embracing the girl's slender back and soft, upturned buttocks respectively, he pressed Su Shi against the wall and kissed her moist, pink lips with focused attention.

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

————————————————————————————————————②玖⒎轳⑼1III把liu

(This section has been deleted due to review reasons. Please see the book club for details.)

So engrossed in their pleasure, letting their bodies be controlled by emotions and restlessness, they failed to notice Takamatsu's spying.

Even though the girl outside the door was breathing heavily and looked around helplessly for a long time.

'Xu Dou and Su Shi are... are...'

His instinctive physiological needs were suppressed by the shock rising in his heart. Even though his lower abdomen began to ache slightly, Gao Songdeng did not move an inch and kept his eyes fixed on the two people in the room.

Her delicate little hands, resting on the doorframe, clenched involuntarily, so tightly that the skin on the back of her hands lost all color. Unaware of what was happening, the girl subconsciously bit her lower lip, a jumble of emotions churning within her.

'He clearly... promised to stay with me forever...'

'I...I want to do that too...'

Takamatsu Tomoe is not an innocent girl who is completely devoid of common sense, like a blank sheet of paper.

She knew very well what was going on between men and women. What dating was, what marriage was, where a baby came from... She knew all of these things with her comprehensive physiological knowledge.

Therefore, she was well aware of what was happening in the room—it was undoubtedly a passionate kiss that only lovers who had pledged their lives to each other could share. Su Shi and Xu Dou's relationship had progressed to the point where it wouldn't be surprising if they crossed the threshold of adulthood together at any time.

In a daze, Takamatsu Akari recalled Nagasaki Motoyo's probing of her.