CHAPTER 86: NINE’S NEW BODY - [200PS BONUS CHAPTER]

"Justin, I’m sorry."

At that moment, a voice suddenly came from in front of Justin. He looked up to see Will standing before him, face stiff and serious as he spoke.

Hearing that, Justin couldn’t help glancing at him. Will seemed about to say something else when Justin suddenly chuckled.

"You know what? I was there that day too. I heard everything."

Will froze, looking at him in surprise.

Justin spoke casually, "Compared to what I’ve been through, the things you said were nothing."

He lowered his gaze to his shoes, smiling faintly. "The only difference now is that someone is willing to stand up for me." Seeing Will’s astonished face, he smirked, "Anyway, thanks to you and your friends. Because of you, Joshua bought me a pair of shoes."

Will frowned tightly, his eyes drifting down to the pair Justin proudly showed off.

But before he could speak, Justin suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

He looked down at Will, his tone slow and steady. "You should be grateful that we’re still in the same place, Will. You’ll never know what happened to the ones like you that I met before. Cowards—they talk a lot, but most of them shut up after a single punch. Oh, but of course, that’s not really allowed here. I’m not good with words anyway. Joshua really is like my hero."

Will stared at him in disbelief. "You... Does Joshua know you’re like this?"

"Joshua doesn’t know. But he wouldn’t care, either," Justin replied. "You can try telling him if you want."

Will’s expression hardened as he recalled how Justin acted whenever he was around Joshua. "I’m not going to tattle. I only apologized because Joshua told me to. I don’t think I did anything wrong."

With that, Will turned to leave. The only thing he’d said that day was that Justin was deliberately flattering Joshua to force his way into a group of talented people. And he didn’t think he was wrong—Justin was obviously manipulative, yet Joshua thought he was some clueless guy who needed protection!

The photoshoot ended quickly, but before everyone left, they each came to ask Justin about Joshua.

Justin could only repeat what he’d said earlier: "Joshua said he probably won’t eat lunch at the company today. He’s going out with a friend."

"A friend?" Luther’s ears perked up.

"The one he shared his cake with the other day?" Leonard crossed his arms, muttering.

Henry gave the group a look before taking the lead to head out.

Meanwhile, Joshua had already left the company.

Not far away was a large plaza—the intersection of several tall buildings, usually quite crowded.

However, most people in the area were office workers, not fans chasing idols, so Joshua didn’t bother wearing a mask or sunglasses.

Alright, he was just too lazy to go back to the dorms...

Joshua silently reflected on himself, lowering his head to look at his phone. A few lines of Nine’s messages appeared clearly on the screen:

[You have to come here! I’ll only wait for you for 30 minutes!]

[Alright, I’ll wait for you for an hour. Make sure you take good photos!]

[Finished taking pictures yet? Also, what did you reward? You were asleep that night, so I didn’t know.]

[Where are you now? I’m sitting on the chair, right in the centre!]

The messages kept coming every few minutes, as if Nine would keep spamming until Joshua fully appeared.

At that moment, Joshua finally caught sight of the figure sitting on the chair. He could only see a head of somewhat golden hair—probably dyed. He even noticed that passersby couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the person on the chair.

Could he really be that handsome? Well, it made sense—someone as vain as Nine would never let himself look ugly.

Joshua knew Nine must still be very angry. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, smiling as he stepped forward, suddenly throwing an arm around Nine’s shoulders, causing them to lean forward slightly.

"Nine-senpai~ Have you been waiting long?"

The group of onlookers sneaking glances at Nine paused, unable to stop their eyes from being drawn to Joshua and Nine, their expressions full of astonishment.

At this moment, Nine finally turned his head, immediately standing up and pushing Joshua away.

"Of course, it’s been a long time! Why didn’t you answer my calls or reply to my messages?"

Joshua finally got a clear look at Nine. He was slightly shorter than Joshua, extremely thin and frail, with a face that looked sinister, giving off the vibe of a junkie who might lash out at any moment. His hair wasn’t dyed—it was a dry, pale yellow, brittle and lifeless. Only his pale red eyes flickered with a faint light, unlike the eyes Joshua had seen in the Sea of Consciousness. His candle-yellow skin bore bruises and stains that hadn’t been cleaned.

Nine’s clothes were dishevelled. His inner shirt had lost its original colour, and his outer jacket was stained with mud, showing obvious tears. Notably, his jeans were tight, revealing legs with no trace of flesh.

Joshua couldn’t help but be slightly stunned by Nine’s appearance. Nine, however, was fuming:

"If it weren’t for you, how could I be stuck in this body?!"

Joshua couldn’t help asking, "You didn’t... kill someone to steal their body, did you?"

Nine immediately jumped up, indignant.

"Do you really see me as someone like that?! I just happened to pass by when this person died!"

"Alright, sorry. Don’t be mad anymore." Joshua grabbed Nine’s hand and led him along. "Are you hungry? Let’s go eat."

Nine still looked annoyed, but when he heard the word eat, he completely forgot about the plan and the speech he had prepared for coming here.

He swallowed hard. "Being human is tough... I almost starved last night, and you didn’t even answer my calls or messages."

The more he spoke, the more pitiful he felt.

Joshua momentarily said, "I thought you’d be living in the castle."

Nine: "..."

Nine held Joshua’s hand tightly, secretly thinking that once he finished eating, he would deal with Joshua later!

"Boss, aren’t we going?"

Anna asked, glancing at William. They had been standing there for a while. Clearly, William had been criticizing Joshua’s photos in the room, so why was he standing there now, staring at his back?

William lowered his eyes, then suddenly lifted his hand to touch his face. His ten fingers came before his eyes, indeed covered in white powder.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he adjusted the bow at his neck and examined himself in the mirror. Anna stayed silent. Why was the boss like this again? Nobody had criticized him today, even outside.

Considering William’s status, very few people dared to criticize him—he was usually the one doing the criticizing.

"Alright, let’s go! You’re being way too nosy lately, Anna."

Anna: "..." I didn’t even say anything.

Meanwhile, Joshua had already brought Nine to a more private restaurant.

"I want fried chicken!"

As soon as he sat down, Nine blurted it out.

The server couldn’t help but glance at him and then at Joshua, quickly retreating outside despite trying to hide it.

Joshua browsed the digital menu on the table and shook his head. "No, you’ll hurt your stomach."

"How can that be? Only weaklings like you..." Nine raised his voice.

Joshua glanced at him. Nine’s tone gradually softened, and eventually, he pressed his lips together, his eyes staring intensely at Joshua, but he could only stay silent.