CHAPTER 40: SPLITTING LINES ON STAGE

Justin also felt utterly foolish. Joshua’s words brought him back to his senses—as if he had never truly been completely bewitched, as if he had been waiting for his own hero, a sliver of light to reach out and grasp. Ultimately, he was just a coward—terrified of a world that wouldn’t spare a glance for a speck of dust like him.

"Everyone has their own thoughts, Justin. You’re the victim here, don’t cry." Joshua’s voice suddenly rang out—gentle, soft.

Instinctively, Justin straightened his back, blinking as he wiped his face. His hand came away completely dry. Clearly, Joshua was teasing him.

He pressed his lips together, looked at Joshua, and said softly, "I’m not crying."

Joshua smiled at that. "That’s good. You said you wouldn’t ever let that friend affect you again, so I hope you can keep your word."

The life he was granted ten years ago now felt like a massive stone—a chain around his neck that he could never break free from, forcing him to repay it with both his soul and his flesh.

Ten years of life. He had done everything he could. John was in his second year of university now. After all that, Justin wanted never to see John again.

He lifted his gaze, watching Joshua’s back as he walked ahead. The corners of his lips curved slightly. Then, quietly, he reached out and gently—almost imperceptibly—grabbed the edge of Joshua’s shirt.

Joshua... my hero... lead me toward the future, okay?

Luther had no idea what had happened. All he could tell was that Justin seemed even clingier toward Joshua after they’d gone out to eat together. No matter how close friends were, there should be a limit to that kind of stickiness...

Henry quickly finished revising the song. Everyone was amazed—there was almost nothing to criticize.

Now it was time to divide the lines.

One of the members suddenly raised his hand, his gaze fixed directly on Joshua. "Joshua, could you give me the dance break part?"

Everyone there knew that Joshua had shone during the dance break in the previous performance, so the one making the request looked a bit uneasy.

Before Joshua could respond, Henry’s cold voice cut in: "No matter how Joshua divides the parts, none of you have any right to object."

All eyes turned toward him.

"And that goes for the vocal lines too," Henry continued coolly. "No matter how I assign them, none of you has the right to object."

Henry lifted his gaze and swept it across everyone. "We’ll take the parts worth what we’ve put in."

Even Joshua couldn’t help feeling a bit startled. He quickly added, "And of course, we’ll divide everything fairly so everyone has their own moment to shine on stage."

Still, all the attention remained fixed on Henry.

Among them, one trainee—who used to be Henry’s old dorm roommate—couldn’t help speaking up: "Henry, don’t you think you’re being too domineering? You weren’t like this before. You’re not letting anyone else contribute at all!"

Henry looked at him calmly, his tone as even as if he were merely stating a fact. "If I handed it to you, could you do it?"

And the truth was—they couldn’t. Henry knew it clearly. Only he and Joshua could revise the song and choreography among those he had chosen. After all, he personally selected each member.

The trainee’s face turned red—whether from embarrassment or anger, perhaps a bit of both.

Lucen raised his hands slightly, as though trying to ease the tension, smiling as he said, "Alright, alright. We’re a team now. Let’s listen to our leader. Joshua already said it—everyone will get their moment to shine!"

Joshua spoke again, "We haven’t even divided the lines yet, and everyone’s already complaining? Why not wait, see what parts you get, and then discuss adjustments afterward? Clearly, none of you respect the leader’s effort."

"And Joshua’s," Henry added.

Joshua: "..." Please, stop talking for a second, leader.

Hearing that, the others fell silent. Finally, one of them laughed awkwardly to break the tension. "Yeah, no need to get so worked up, haha."

The atmosphere quickly returned to normal, though the trainee from before still frowned slightly. His gaze toward Henry wasn’t exactly friendly—but he didn’t dare make it too obvious.

His fear and wariness of Henry were plain as day.

They soon went over the vocal lines. Joshua looked at Henry in surprise, eyes wide and round. "I’m taking the bridge part?"

Although Joshua’s singing had already improved to a B-rank and his voice was indeed different from before, he had never showcased it yet. He had planned to fight for the bridge line this time—but he hadn’t expected Henry to give it to him directly.

"With what kind of faith did you choose me?" Joshua asked, genuinely doubtful—more doubtful than he’d ever been toward Henry.

Henry only looked at him steadily and replied softly, "I’m never wrong."

Joshua: "..."

Nine burst out laughing: [This man is seriously entertaining.]

Joshua couldn’t help saying, "Stop reading so many random novels, Nine."

But honestly, Henry’s line distribution was perfectly reasonable. He didn’t hog the spotlight or resources for himself. His words had just crushed a few people’s pride into dust.

Still, Joshua didn’t think Henry was wrong—he wasn’t the talkative type and didn’t bother with polite niceties.

"Why aren’t you taking the dance break part?" Henry suddenly asked, frowning slightly. "Don’t worry about the others."

Everyone went silent. Joshua shook his head. "I wanted to handle the bridge part this time, so I didn’t choose the dance break. I was still thinking about how to tell you that, but I didn’t expect you to assign it to me already. Thanks."

Henry looked at Joshua’s dimples but said nothing.

The others stayed quiet, too. Not only had Henry and Joshua divided the lines fairly, but the rest looked like an unreasonable bunch after that little argument earlier.

Especially Henry’s old dorm roommate—everyone’s gaze toward him had changed.

He frowned, glaring back at them momentarily before storming off angrily. Some people were just like that—clearly not that capable themselves, yet they couldn’t accept it, and they couldn’t stand being proven inferior.

No one paid him much mind. After confirming everyone’s lines, Joshua began adjusting the choreography for each individual and the group.

Lucian couldn’t help commenting, "You make everything look so easy, I almost forgot how hard this stuff actually is."

Joshua smiled confidently. "That’s because it’s my specialty!"

"Ugh, I can’t stand him! Who does he think he is? I knew something was off about him the moment he joined us! Just because he’s a bit better than everyone else doesn’t mean he’s all that!"

"Exactly! Back then, he wouldn’t even talk to us, and now he’s acting all buddy-buddy with that kid Joshua—clearly looks down on us!"

"You know what’s even funnier? He gave Joshua the bridge part, hahaha! Last time Joshua went on stage, he barely sang a few lines. The only reason he stood out was because of that dance break. This time’s going to be a total disaster!"

"Yeah, that voice of his might be good for a comedy skit. Sure, his speaking voice isn’t bad, but when he sings? Sounds like a duck quacking, hahaha!"