CHAPTER 139: FALSE RUMORS

In the end, the predictable outcome always unfolded according to routine. Joshua lost all his chocolate to Luther.

Joshua stared blankly as Luther scooped the chocolate away, mumbling, "This is really too much, you don’t even eat sweets..."

His cheek was suddenly pinched. Luther laughed, "That’s right, I don’t eat sweets, but I like bullying you, ha ha ha."

Joshua pulled his hand away, frowned, and looked at his phone screen. "Everyone, write me a post exposing my teammate’s crimes. This is way too much!"

[ha ha ha, Joshua, don’t cry, Luther will definitely return the chocolate tomorrow]

[I bet Joshua only needs to act cute a little]

Right at that moment, something was brought to Joshua’s lips. Joshua lowered his eyes, didn’t even see what it was before opening his mouth.

Henry felt the soft, moist lips brush against his finger. He paused for a second, then calmly withdrew his hand, but his fingers still tensed up uncontrollably.

By then, Joshua had already tossed Luther aside and run to sit next to Henry.

He rubbed his face against Henry’s shoulder, a peach-flavored candy still in his mouth. "As expected, leader is still the best."

"The best what? I’m the best!" Luther shouted angrily.

Joshua glanced at him once and said nothing.

[Ha ha ha, I’m dying of laughter]

[Joshua curling up next to Henry is too cute, ha ha ha]

Even with the bickering, the livestream still ended smoothly. Everyone returned to their rooms to rest. No one knew that a sudden post had exploded online.

Topic: [I just accidentally got these photos and accidentally made a few connections. But this is hilarious. Is this Joshua’s boyfriend? Already has a boyfriend, but clings to his group members every day, and all those CP fans keep shipping them, so disgusting! Photos photos photos]

In the photos, it was clearly Joshua hanging out with Nine back when Nine had just gotten his new body. Nine’s ugly and ragged appearance left a deep impression on viewers.

Another photo was from a fan sign showing Nine and Joshua.

The original poster added: [That day I even heard them talking to each other, super close ha ha ha, turns out even beautiful people can have such strange taste]

Right after that, another close-up photo of Nine’s face was attached.

Joshua was the center of ShineOn, and ShineOn was one of the groups with the highest traffic at the moment. They’d barely debuted, yet with their perfect lineup and talents, they had already attracted countless passionate fans. Among them, Joshua naturally had the most fans, and the number of antis he had was second only to Leonard.

Almost the moment the post was uploaded, countless comments surged in like a flood.

[What the hell is this? That face is way too ugly, and what’s with that ragged outfit, ha ha ha, looks like he hasn’t showered in ten days]

[I think I’ve seen this guy at a train station before, that rat face looks familiar]

[Hold on, this is literally body shaming, so what if someone looks a bit ugly? And where did the idea that Joshua and this guy are dating even come from? They could just be friends]

[That looks like Joshua back when he was still a trainee]

[Joshua, if you’re being threatened, please blink, I’m begging you!]

[But why is he that ugly though? If Joshua hangs out with someone like that, he probably isn’t any better...]

[He used to be really fat, right? That face must have been completely reconstructed, ha ha ha, only fan girls would like this]

[Can they sue for this? This is clearly bullying. Where did these photos even come from, and why say they’re dating...]

The topic starter spoke up: [Looks like the fans still can’t accept the truth. How about this? image]

The picture indeed showed Joshua and Nine entering a restaurant. They were sitting on the same side of the booth; from this angle, it really looked as if they were kissing.

Even though the fans had strong faith, that picture was practically a bomb.

[No way, this is obviously an angled shot!]

[But what were they doing to get photographed at such an angle? They must’ve been really close!]

[Is this real? Ha ha ha, fans go cry, your idol barely debuted and is already caught in dating rumors, and the guy is unbelievably ugly ha ha ha]

[Is Joshua’s taste really like this?]

Yes, that’s right. Joshua’s taste was exactly like this. What the hell do you all know!

Nine suddenly jolted awake in the middle of the night, as if he had a Joshua radar.

Just a feeling — and the moment he opened his phone, that feeling proved to be absolutely correct.

Alright, this is a dating rumor, and Nine will not deny that he actually likes the fact that the very first person to have a dating rumor with Joshua turns out to be him.

But! Why did those idiots dare to curse at Joshua like that?! And besides, he is only a little ugly, that bunch only knows how to shame other people’s appearance!

Nine’s expression turned cold. He wanted to crush this whole thing immediately, but doing that would only make it look like the rumor was true and the company was just trying to cover it up.

[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat Meat]: Everyone, please take note, a baseless rumor is nothing but an unfounded rumor. Joshua can be friends with anyone he wants. The ones who insult other people’s appearance and use this as an excuse to curse at Joshua are the ones in the wrong. Hoping CM broadcasting will speak up soon.

[Exactly, they chose to drop this late at night, what a bunch of crooks]

[Looking at the comment section under that post feels like staring at a swarm of bots, all they know is to repeat appearance shaming and cursing]

[But I am a bit surprised about Joshua’s friend, to be honest, it seems like they are pretty close]

[Maybe they are best friends]

By the next morning, all kinds of information had already fermented. Joshua still had no idea what was going on, and only when he stepped outside did he notice Justin looking at him with a mix of worry and hesitation.

Today, they had a performance on a music show, the final stage of their promotion cycle. Noticing Justin’s gaze, Joshua couldn’t help but ask, "Justin, did something happen?"

Leonard honestly just wanted to kick Justin.

At that moment, Luther also came over, slinging an arm around Joshua’s shoulders, cheerfully saying, "Forget it, let’s go, Ms Elly is definitely already waiting for us, if we’re late, she’ll be mad."

Justin scratched his head, "You just slept a bit late yesterday, and we have to get up early today, so I was worried you might be tired."

Hearing that, Joshua gave him a thumbs up, "I’m not that weak, let’s go. Oh, right, where’s the leader?"

Luther answered without a care, "He went to see Ms Elly first, heard there was something they needed to talk about."

Henry always had duties they didn’t, so Joshua didn’t think much of it.

And indeed, Ms Elly had been waiting for them early. She looked over the group and nodded, "Let’s go. Once we finish this last promotion schedule, we can start preparing for the year-end award shows. Still busy but much better than right now."

Joshua nodded obediently and sat beside Henry.

He lowered his gaze to his hands. Even though everything seemed normal, he still felt a faint sense of unease for some reason.

Maybe Justin was right, waking up early affected his mood...