CHAPTER 73: TRUST NO ONE

[What the hell, Joshua? Why is your face so red? What’s going on?]

[Are you tired? Joshua, answer me!]

Nine’s voice echoed nonstop, and Joshua wanted to beg him to shut up.

But with Nine’s kind of mind, it didn’t take long for him to jump to the wildest conclusion imaginable.

[That bastard Henry!!!! Aaaaaaahhh—are you serious? Is this for real?! Joshua, that dog’s always pretending to be all proper, but look at him now! Out of everyone here, I’m the only decent one!!]

[Damn it! If he’s that sensitive, why did he tell you to sit on his lap?! That guy clearly planned this! Men—men are all rotten, Joshua, have you finally realized that yet?!]

Nine ranted on like a broken record.

Joshua couldn’t help but mutter, "Then what are you? What am I? Aren’t we men too?"

But Nine didn’t even pause.

[I’m Nine! And you’re a man too, sure, and you’re terrible, but now Henry’s worse!]

[Damn it, I’m going to kill him!]

It sounded like he was already looking for a weapon.

Joshua sighed helplessly. "Calm down, it’s just between guys. Maybe he didn’t realize he was that... sensitive."

Nine didn’t reply.

Joshua wasn’t even sure when the live broadcast had ended.

Then, Henry’s voice suddenly came close to his ear:

"Alright. Just make it look accidental—hit it once."

Joshua’s whole body trembled.

"I’m sorry, Joshua. Don’t be uncomfortable," Henry added softly.

Joshua pressed his lips together. The strange feeling of someone whispering so close to his ear always made him uneasy. It was the same every time, so he hated people touching his ears or whispering suddenly.

Why couldn’t people talk normally instead of whispering?!

But right now, whispering was probably the only option.

From the corner of his eye, Joshua saw Luther walking toward them. It was definitely not the time to hesitate anymore.

He glanced briefly at his own palm, then abruptly stood up. In that motion, he turned slightly—appearing casual—but his hand came down sharply right on Henry’s "problem area."

"Ugh!"

Henry bit down hard, but a muffled groan still escaped his throat—and his "little brother" immediately wilted.

Luther, whose entire focus was on Joshua, paused when Henry suddenly flinched. He frowned slightly. "What’s wrong with him?"

"Henry suddenly said his stomach was acting up. Come on, let’s go buy him some medicine," Joshua said quickly, grabbing Luther by the arm and pulling him along.

Luther chuckled, but something about the situation felt off. Joshua usually wasn’t this eager to drag him anywhere.

Meanwhile, Henry was hiding his trembling hands, head bowed, his hair falling forward to obscure his expression completely.

Nine hesitated for a moment before speaking:

[You... hit him that hard?]

"One clean strike," Joshua muttered under his breath. "Can’t let anyone notice. If I hit him once and it didn’t work, and I had to do it again, no way’d look accidental."

If anyone had noticed, they’d both be doomed.

Nine fell silent for a beat.

[...] Aren’t you worried you might’ve, you know... crippled him?

After the ranking announcement, only the top 20 trainees advanced.

They were given an hour-long break before resuming filming for the next segment.

Word had it that today’s shoot would be nonstop—no breaks like before.

Joshua used the excuse of buying medicine to lead Luther out, then discreetly sent a message saying Henry didn’t need the medicine after all, looping back to the set soon after.

As they walked, Luther suddenly said, "Be honest, Joshua. You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?"

Joshua’s heart tightened, but outwardly, he said nothing—just blinked at him with a look of innocent confusion.

At times like this, silence was always the best option.

Luther suddenly pushed Joshua’s face away with one hand. "Don’t act cute with me."

Joshua: "..."

He kicked Luther in annoyance. "Who’s acting cute with you?!"

"Alright, fine! But those pants—I’m gonna be on camera later! Give me your pants so I can kick you back, come on!"

Luther lunged at him as he spoke, catching Joshua mid-step. Joshua had been trying to run ahead, but once Luther saw him, his balance faltered, and he tipped forward. Luther caught him, squeezing his cheeks and smirking.

"Just admit it," he said. "You dragged me out here as an excuse because you wanted to hang out with me, right?"

Joshua: "..."

So this was the "suspicious behavior" Luther had been imagining? Joshua was speechless at how far Luther’s delusions could go.

But if he denied it now, Luther would definitely start interrogating him. So Joshua could only keep a straight face and nod coldly.

Luther clearly hadn’t expected Joshua actually to admit it.

He widened his eyes, then wrapped himself around Joshua, refusing to let go. "Really, Joshua? You’re so clingy. But it’s fine, since I promised I’d protect you, haha."

Luther felt that if Joshua clung to him for the rest of his life, that would be perfectly fine. They would be best friends forever—no one could ever come between them!

He wouldn’t get married, Joshua wouldn’t get married either—they’d stay together forever!

The thought made Luther so excited he couldn’t help blurting out, "Joshua, we’ll be together forever!"

Joshua looked at Luther in confusion, wondering what was wrong with him this time.

Seeing that, Luther frowned. "What’s wrong? You don’t want to stay with me forever?"

Joshua glanced at him momentarily, then quietly said, "The future is never something we can predict."

It was rare for Luther to see Joshua like this—serious, calm, and quietly distant. He slung an arm around Joshua’s shoulders, leaning against him, and even pinched his cheek in passing.

"What, you don’t trust me? I said I’d stay with you forever," Luther muttered, his voice half-teasing, half-uncertain. Only he knew what kind of answer he was really hoping to hear.

But Joshua looked at him momentarily, then returned to the path ahead, saying nothing.

Luther, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone’s promises.

Time is the most brutally sharp knife. Looking back, you will see that those promises have already bled profusely. The ’us’ of tomorrow is not even the ’us’ of today, let alone the promises of the past.

Luther didn’t know what Joshua was thinking. He just stayed silent, watching him all the way back.

By now, the trainees who’d been eliminated had already left. Only the top twenty remained in the studio.

As soon as Joshua walked in, he saw Leonard heading their way.

Leonard frowned at Luther’s arm draped over Joshua’s shoulders. "Why are you two always glued together like that?"

Luther shot him a disdainful look. "Because we’re best friends."

Joshua nodded in agreement.

Leonard raised an eyebrow, tapping Joshua’s nose lightly with his finger. "Don’t act cute."

Joshua: "..." I’m not acting cute, he thought, but he didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. These people only believed whatever they wanted to see.

Leonard glanced at Luther and said meaningfully, "You’d better keep it that way."

"What do you mean, ’better keep it that way’? What else could it be except friendship?" Luther frowned, feeling annoyed at Leonard’s tone.

He didn’t like how others touched Joshua like that—but since Joshua didn’t seem to mind, he couldn’t say anything.

Luther rubbed Joshua’s nose again and said, "You’d better not hang out with Leonard. He’s mean—be careful, or he’ll bully you."

Joshua swatted his hand away, his nose red from all the rubbing.

"If you touch me one more time, I’ll stop being friends first," Joshua huffed.

Luther burst out laughing. "Joshua, how old are you? I thought that whole ’I won’t be your friend anymore’ thing was for preschoolers."

Joshua: "..." Luther is seriously insufferable!