CHAPTER 155: MAKING PASTRIES

Joshua hadn’t decorated the house at all — literally nothing had been set up yet!

Luther swept his gaze around the place and said in a deep voice, "This place really is covered in dust, Joshua."

Joshua shoved him lightly. "Stop talking nonsense. I’ve only been away for a few days."

He walked over to Henry, who had already set the tree aside. Luther quickly followed, setting down his large box filled with all kinds of decorations.

Joshua pulled out a bag of flour, stared at Luther, and asked, "Are you planning to use flour as fake snow? That’s kind of dangerous."

Luther flicked Joshua’s forehead. "Is that tiny brain of yours only filled with stupid ideas? We’re going to bake."

"Bake? You know how to bake?" Joshua couldn’t help being startled — Luther didn’t even like sweets.

Luther waved him off. "I can learn. Come on, let’s go to the kitchen."

Joshua grabbed his hand. "Decorate the tree first."

Luther looked at Joshua holding his hand, eyes shining, and immediately nodded. "Of course, of course!"

Joshua carefully hung tinsel on the tree while Luther and Henry tied on small ornaments. Under the lights, they gleamed brilliantly.

Leonard and Justin were decorating the sofa they would be using for tonight’s livestream. Nine was putting up window stickers — earlier they had all tried crowding around Joshua until he kicked them away to make them actually work.

They were quick and efficient; soon, the lush green tree was covered in ornaments.

Joshua held the large star in his hands. Naturally, it had to go at the very top. He felt slightly childish, but he couldn’t deny that it always gave him a special feeling.

He turned around to grab a chair.

But at that moment, two strong arms suddenly slid under his arms, and before Joshua had time to react, he was lifted clean off the ground!

Joshua’s eyes widened in shock. He wobbled a little in the air, his shirt riding up slightly to expose a bit of his stomach.

Instinctively, he looked down — Henry was staring up at him. When their eyes met, Henry spoke softly, "What’s wrong? You want to put the star at the very top, don’t you?"

Joshua nodded, though clearly not like this.

He could even see the tense corded muscles of Henry’s arm, veins standing out.

Joshua couldn’t help raising a hand to poke lightly at Henry’s bicep, mumbling, "How long do you think you can keep this up?"

Henry asked, "How long do you want?"

Joshua pressed his lips together, not even sure what on earth he was thinking anymore. He only felt that this conversation was getting stranger by the second.

He quickly placed the biggest star on top of the Christmas tree, then wriggled his body. "Put me down."

He couldn’t help marveling at Henry’s strength. Was Henry even human? Didn’t his arms get tired?

Joshua was light for Henry, but Joshua himself was still a grown man. He had no idea what Henry ate to grow up like this.

Henry lowered Joshua until the latter was settled against his chest, then lifted a hand and gently rubbed his head.

At that moment Luther suddenly spoke up: "Ready?"

At the same time, the switch was flipped on. In almost an instant, a burst of light—warm, dazzling—spread across the large room from the decorated tree.

The twinkling lights reflected off the glossy ornaments, making everything seem even more brilliant and eye-catching.

Joshua stared wide-eyed without blinking, then clapped his hands. "We are seriously amazing!"

Henry chuckled, and Luther lifted his chin. "You should know who crafted most of these decorations."

Nine snorted coldly, muttering, "Obviously the tree at our place is way nicer."

He made no attempt to hide his disdain for Joshua’s idol friends.

Leonard quietly shot Nine a sideways glare.

Just then, a gift box was suddenly placed under the tree.

Joshua turned to look and saw Justin crouching on the floor, raising his head to smile brightly at him. "Christmas present."

Right after that, more gifts began appearing one after another—most of them pulled out from Luther’s enormous storage box.

Joshua was completely speechless. "What on earth is in that box of yours?"

Luther clutched his stomach laughing. Joshua crouched down, touching the colorful gift boxes under the tree, and said a bit shyly, "But I didn’t prepare any presents..."

Justin, beside him, suddenly reached out and brushed Joshua’s hair lightly, smiling softly. "You’re already the biggest gift, Joshua."

Joshua couldn’t help looking at Justin. For a brief moment the entire room seemed to fall silent.

Then, a sudden roar broke the quiet. Nine yanked Joshua straight up from the floor, shouting, "Who’s anyone’s gift?! Who wants to be your gift?! Huh?!"

Justin wasn’t good with words, so being accused out of nowhere left him completely lost.

He jumped to his feet in a panic, hands flailing as he looked at Joshua anxiously. "I... I really didn’t mean it that way, Joshua..."

"Your best friend seems to have misunderstood me somehow..." Justin muttered, eyes dropping, the corners already red.

Luther grumbled under his breath in dissatisfaction. "I’m Joshua’s best friend."

Leonard, meanwhile, just felt that this scene was all too familiar.

Nine also suddenly felt that this situation was a bit familiar.

Sure enough, the next second Joshua patted Nine’s hand and said seriously, "Nine, don’t overreact like that. Everyone’s a friend, and you know Justin didn’t mean it that way."

Nine pressed his lips together, unable to get any words out.

He watched Joshua walk over to comfort Justin and felt a strange tightness in his chest.

Was that big idiot really that fragile? He really didn’t mean it, right? Right? No, he definitely meant it.

He must have done it on purpose to make Nine look like the bad guy. Definitely. Nine was sure of it.

Nine ground his teeth in anger, while Leonard, watching him take the bait yet again, could only let out a cold laugh.

At that moment Henry suddenly grabbed Joshua’s hand and said, "You said you wanted to make pastries, so let’s go."

Joshua stared blankly at Henry, and Luther instantly jumped up. "That was supposed to be my private baking date with Joshua!"

But no matter how they argued, the kitchen ended up with three people in it.

Joshua even opened a separate livestream room. Fans who were free and bored saw the notification and flooded in almost immediately.

[Aaaaa, a Christmas livestream? This is more than I hoped for!]

[Look here Joshua Joshua, aaaa mama’s bunny, come here and let mama give you a kiss.]

[The one above is too ambitious. I’m Joshua’s girlfriend and I haven’t even gotten a kiss yet.]

[Hahaha are we roleplaying now?]

Joshua watched the comments fly by so fast he could barely read them. He leaned closer to the camera, raised his hand in a V-sign, and smiled. "Hello, everyone."

[Hahaha, Bunny, you’ve got flour on your face.]

[Not bunny, this is kitti hahaha]

[Come a little closer, Joshua, I’m ready—this is the perfect moment for a kiss!]

[Life is too competitive... I’m exhausted.]

[Bunny, you’re too cute.]

Comments spammed wildly, nearly nonstop.

Joshua frowned slightly, focusing hard, trying to catch a few messages.

[Even the serious expression is cute!]

[This is the common fan condition. It’s fine. I’m a fan too, I get it.]

[He could be sitting on the toilet right now and people would still think it’s cute. I’m a fan, so I understand.]

[We need to limit some vocabulary, seriously!]

At that moment, a large hand suddenly appeared in the frame, wiping the flour off Joshua’s cheek. The comments froze for a split second, then exploded, as if determined to crash Joshua’s entire connection.

[INSANE—INSANE!! Five minutes, I want every bit of information on the person who just touched my wife!]

[As a Honey-con, I confirm that is the leader’s hand.]

[Please don’t say ship names in here, I beg you.]

[Waiting for Wolf to show up and tear apart all these clowns hanging around!]

[Now that you mention it—why is he so quiet today? Don’t tell me Wolf is actually busy and can’t watch Joshua’s livestream?!]

[LMAO careful or Wolf will eliminate you all.]

[Joshua honey, who was that?]

The camera lifted and switched to the rear cam. Instantly, Henry appeared in full view.

Truly tall, with sharp jawlines. He lowered his gaze slightly, and from this angle, his naturally stern features looked even more severe and striking.

Muttered screams filled the chat.

[Mother of god I almost had a heart attack WHO UNDERSTANDS ME RIGHT NOW?!]

[LMAO so this is Joshua’s POV every time he looks at Henry? I’m dying.]

[Beautiful people really don’t have bad angles...]

The camera swung away again, this time landing on Luther, who was aggressively kneading dough. His face was even messier with flour than Joshua’s, brows furrowed, looking like he was seconds away from hurling the dry lump across the room.

[HAHAHAHAHA]

[I heard there was a big event going on here so I came searching.]

Other fans from different member rooms saw the commotion and rushed over, arriving just in time to witness Luther’s battle-to-the-death expression against the dough.

[Luther’s face like this... is truly rare.]

But right after that, fans witnessed a miracle.

Joshua called out, "Luther, say hi."

The moment Luther heard his name, he spun around immediately. His annoyed expression flipped into a bright grin on the spot. He made a V-sign with his fingers and said cheerfully, "What’s up? Have you finally realized how handsome I am? Go ahead, take all the pictures you want. Enjoy."

Clearly, he had been so absorbed in his dough war that he didn’t even realize Joshua was livestreaming.

[The narcissism is unreal LOL]

[His face-turn skill is LEVEL MAX]

[They’re all so adorable—someone please save me from this group!]

[No saving. You’re Polaris for life.]

[Exactly hahaha]