Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 61

After all, they're going to spend most of their summer vacation playing, and it's a trip organized by these underage teenagers themselves, without any adults accompanying them. It's normal for their parents to be worried about this.

Moreover, Ms. Nagasaki is the type who dotes on her children very much, so it's hard to imagine that she would easily accept the fact that her daughter would be away from her for more than half a month.

Also, I don't know how Lixi and the others convinced their families...

"Ah...this..."

When asked about this, Nagasaki Motoyo paused for a moment, and then her fair cheeks began to blush for some reason.

She awkwardly smoothed the strands of hair that fell to the side of her face and answered in a muffled voice.

"Anyway... after I talked to my mom, she agreed."

Of course, things are not that simple.

When Nagasaki Motoyo told her mother that she was going on a trip to escape the summer heat and wouldn't be back for almost a month, Mrs. Nagasaki was very sad. After all, she and her daughter finally had the opportunity to spend more time together during the summer vacation, but she was told that Motoyo was leaving alone, leaving her to stay in an empty house... Mrs. Nagasaki almost faked crying.

However, after learning a little more about the girl and discovering that she was traveling with the bandmates she had met before, including Genjiro, Ms. Nagasaki was no longer disappointed. She readily agreed to her request and even enthusiastically helped her pack some of her luggage, looking quite satisfied.

Nagasaki Motoyo was also somewhat surprised by this, and afterwards she secretly checked the items that Motoyo had helped her organize.

...Then, as expected, they discovered the existence of a strange object like a box containing 0.01.

While inwardly condemning her mother's actions as facilitating her daughter's advances, the girl obediently placed the small umbrellas into the deepest, separate compartment of her suitcase and sealed it away.

Anyway, there's no way I'll ever use it if I take it out and leave it at home; it'll only cause embarrassment. Throwing it away is a waste of resources... Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, at least carrying it along is a precaution.

Although she didn't really want to use this kind of thing... she couldn't resist the thought of it being a gift from her mother.

It was because of these experiences that Nagasaki Motoyo felt as if her cheek was being burned by flames, turning red and almost burning hot.

Fortunately, Yuan Xudou was only confirming whether she had properly informed her family. Seeing that the girl didn't intend to elaborate, he didn't press the matter further.

"It's good that you've already said that." He nodded calmly.

Just as Nagasaki Motoyo breathed a sigh of relief and secretly rejoiced.

A slender, smooth hand reached out and gently tucked the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear.

The girl turned her head blankly, casting her slightly dazed gaze at the owner of the hand.

There, with a bright smile, Gen Xudou gently brushed his warm fingertips across Nagasaki Motoyo's sensitive earlobe, sending shivers down her spine.

"After all, I made a promise with your aunt to take good care of you."

"We must tell her about this."

Amidst the sudden, rapid, muffled heartbeat, the dizzy girl felt a dryness in her mouth.

Then, a strong thought vaguely arose from the bottom of my heart.

—How about we use that now…?

—No, calm down. If we do it, things will get really bad tomorrow…

"……Um."

With great difficulty, Nagasaki Motoyo suppressed the pounding in her heart and tried to look away.

The girl, who had taken his outstretched arm and pulled it into her soft embrace, breathed out a soft murmur, feeling a little comforted.

"Xu Doujun, let's continue tidying up..."

Despite saying this, she showed no sign of giving up.

...I teased her a little too much.

In their current positions, he couldn't make any big movements, let alone pack his luggage. Yuan Xudou had this thought with a bit of helplessness, but he didn't feel much regret.

The boy did what he just did to distract Nagasaki Motoyo, who was too excited about tomorrow's journey. The effect was remarkable; her mind was now completely focused on something else.

Then, the question becomes how to handle the girl's current feelings.

Anyway, there's still plenty of time today... It's no big deal to let her act cute a little.

Chapter 87 The Joys of the Journey

"Suitcases, musical instruments, parasols..."

Following the order, in front of Shiina Tatsuki's house, the last person to board the vehicle, Toyokawa Shoko carefully counted the supplies on her fingers.

"Xu, Xu Dou, be careful... I'm begging you."

As the only male among the six, Yuan Xudou naturally took on the responsibility of carrying the heavy items. The agile young man effortlessly stuffed the large and small bags into the carriage, looking as relaxed as if he were tidying up books on a school desk.

Shiina Tatsuki, standing to the side, watched him move his drum kit with such a sweeping and powerful motion, and broke out in a sweat.

Without responding to her nervousness with words, Yuan Xudou simply waved his hand to reassure her, and continued to exert force quickly and precisely, like a human crane, neatly placing all the luggage in place.

In the sweltering heat of July, the Tokyo sun at nine or ten o'clock in the morning was so intense that even he didn't want to linger under it.

"OK, it should be fine."

On the other side, Shoko Toyokawa, having verified the information, also put away the handwritten list.

Adjusting her straw hat and wiping away the beads of sweat from her temples, she made a triangle with her hands and brought them to her mouth, shouting to the two people behind the car.

"Xu Dou—is everything settled? Let's get ready to set off!"

It was only a few steps away, yet she shouted so loudly that her voice echoed through the air.

The girl's excitement and exhilaration were clearly evident in her actions.

After settling the last piece of luggage, Gen Xudou and Shiina Riki closed the trunk together, and Gen Xudou waved to the other.

"All done, get in the car."

Back in the car with the air conditioning on full blast, the boy finally let out a long breath, exhaling all the heat that had been lingering in his lungs.

Sitting next to him, Nagasaki Motoyo immediately and considerately picked up a towel and wiped away the water stains that had rolled down his back.

"Xu Doujun, you've worked hard."

"fine."

He shook his head, leaning back against the chilly leather chair back. He felt the coldness mingling with the lingering warmth on his skin, letting the girl's soft fingertips trace her fingers across his handsome face.

With his eyes slightly closed, Yuan Xudou slowly allowed his breathing to return to normal.

"This summer is hotter than usual at this time of year..."

Fortunately, the place they were going to wasn't a crowded street, but rather the suburbs with a decent vegetation coverage; the temperature at the seaside would be a few degrees lower than inland, so everyone would probably be able to tolerate the outdoor environment there and wouldn't have to hide in an air-conditioned room as soon as they arrived, wasting their precious travel time.

Just as he closed his eyes to rest, intending to wait for the heat in his body to subside before finding something to do to pass the time in the car, a hard, cold touch pressed against his bare arm from behind.

Looking back in surprise, he saw Mutsumi Wakaba holding a can of beverage and presenting him with an opened tin can.

Today, she wore a cool, off-the-shoulder pure white dress, looking even more exquisite and beautiful than usual. Like a flawless flower, the young girl pursed her delicate, pale pink lips, her long eyelashes covering her earnest golden eyes, and whispered her concern.

"Xu Dou, water."

"...Thank you, Mu."

After a brief moment of surprise, Yuan Xudou quickly recovered and smiled as he accepted the chilled drink from her hand.

Seeing his smile, Ruoye Mu placed her withdrawn hand on her knee, lowered her head quietly, and a faint blush rose on her fair cheeks.

The boy tilted his head back and gulped down half a bottle of beverage in one go. The slightly sweet, icy liquid flowed into his stomach from his heated throat, and the sudden cooling effect made him exhale a comfortable breath.

"Xu Doujun, this is bad for your stomach."

Seeing this, Nagasaki Motoyo, standing to the side, put her hands on her hips with slight displeasure and reminded him in a gentle admonishing tone.

Yuan Xudou nodded dismissively, setting aside the half-empty bottle.

"Fortunately, my body has a relatively strong tolerance."

"...You two even have to meddle in things like this..."

Shiina Ritsuki, pressing her forehead against the back of the seat in front of her to dispel the heat in her body, turned her head to look at the two of them and uttered a quiet remark.

"Hmm—? Li Xi, did you just say something?"

Nagasaki Motoyo, her eyebrows raised and her voice suddenly rising, glanced at the other person.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of oppression emanating from her, Shiina Ritsuki swallowed the words she had blurted out in a moment of impulsiveness.

“…No, it’s nothing.” She awkwardly looked away.

"Everyone, let's officially begin our journey!"

Just then, Toyokawa Shoko, who had finished discussing matters with the driver assigned to her by her family, came over and eased the girl's unease.

With a smile brighter than the dazzling sunlight outside the window, she sat down in the empty seat on the other side of Yuan Xudou, wearing a fluffy blue and white dress, and announced the start of the journey with great energy.

"The driver said that because it was the first day of summer vacation, the road conditions might not be very good, and we would probably arrive around 5 or 6 p.m.

With the slight vibration of the vehicle's engine starting, the girl explained the information she had obtained to the other five people.

"We can have dinner there, it's okay if it's a little later. We'll have to eat lunch in the car, so let's have some snacks to tide us over."

There will be places to stop along the way.

"Then..."

She waved, signaling everyone to focus their attention on this side.

Then, Toyokawa Shoko tilted her head and smiled as she expressed her thoughts.

"It would be such a waste to just play on your phone or rest during such a long time."

"How about we play some games?"

"……game?"

Having grown accustomed to the girl's frequent sudden whims, no one was surprised when she uttered those words.

After a pause, Shiina Tatsuki asked a question in cooperation.

"It's not that it's impossible, but what games can we play in the car?"

Many of the party games that teenagers often play are not suitable for the limited space inside a car where they are now. If they want to play, they can only play verbal or card games.

As expected, under everyone's watchful eyes, Toyokawa Shoko, with a bright expression, took out several unopened boxes of playing cards from her shoulder bag.

"I brought playing cards."

"Everyone, let's play 'Draw the Joker'!"

"'Drawing the Ghost Card'...?"

Upon hearing Toyokawa Shoko's words, the other four all looked enlightened, except for Takamatsu Akari, who tilted her head slightly, seemingly not quite understanding her meaning, and uttered a soft question.

"Ah, doesn't Deng know what 'drawing jokers' means...?"

Now, it was unexpected that Toyokawa Shoko would be in a bind. She glanced around at the others, then instinctively looked to Minamoto Kōdō for help.

Noticing her gaze, the boy sighed softly, then nodded.

"You go shuffle the cards first, I'll teach Deng how to play."

The game "②T 鸠弃柳?久意（三）吧（六?。）〨抽鬼牌" means selecting one card from a deck of cards as the "joker," and then distributing the remaining cards to all players in turn. At the start, everyone must discard pairs of cards from their hands. Then, starting with one person, each player randomly draws a card from the next player's hand. If a card can be paired with another card in their hand, it is discarded. The first player to discard all their cards wins.

Generally, there are two modes: either remove the two Jokers, then take a "J", "K" or "Q" from the deck, and then deal the remaining 51 cards, ensuring that there is at least one card that cannot be paired; or do not take any cards, add a Joker or a Queen, and deal the remaining 53 cards as the bottom cards.

At the end of the game, the person who still has cards in their hand is the loser.

Judging from the way Toyokawa Shoko shuffled the cards, she must have chosen the first option, and at this moment she picked out a "K" and placed it aside.

He briefly explained the rules to Takamatsu, but seeing that the girl still looked a little confused, he could only tell her, "You'll understand once you try it out."

After all, this isn't a very complicated game... It's a bit difficult for the other person to understand it in such a short time just by talking, but once he tries it out himself, with Deng's comprehension, he should be able to understand it quickly.

"Okay, let's start with me."

After shuffling the cards and placing them in front of everyone, Toyokawa Shoko was the first to draw a card from the pile.

"In order, it's me, Xu Dou, Su Shi, Li Xi, Deng, and Mu, is that okay?"

No one objected, and the other five nodded.

The interior space is fairly spacious, and the partition between the front and rear seats is not too large, allowing them a certain degree of freedom of movement.