Chapter 50: Henry’s Post
"Joshua, it’s dangerous out there, but don’t worry—I’ll protect you."
"Joshua, we’re a team. We’re one. We’ll definitely reach peace together!"
"That’s right, you just have to trust me and me alone."
...
Voices from the past overlapped with Nine’s voice in the present. Joshua ran a hand through his hair and slowly walked out.
No matter what, Nine was the last thing Joshua could ever truly trust.
He glanced toward Henry’s room. The decor was plain and straightforward, much like the impression Henry gave—nothing extravagant, nothing unnecessary. Only a few small decorations sat on the bookshelf, cute little collectibles that added a touch of warmth.
Just then, a knock came at the door, followed by Henry’s voice:
"Joshua, the hangover soup’s ready. Come eat breakfast."
Joshua quickly opened the door.
There stood Henry, tall and serious as always—except this time, he held a spatula in one hand and wore a pink apron decorated with a cheerful cartoon bunny shooting hearts.
The contrast was so striking that Joshua froze for a second before breaking into a smile. "Henry, you look adorable."
Henry frowned immediately. "Don’t say nonsense."
Joshua nodded rapidly. "Sorry."
Joshua hurried after Henry, helping to set the food on the table. He asked quietly, "Did I say something wrong?"
Nine replied without much concern:
[How should I know? Maybe he doesn’t like being called adorable.]
Then, after a pause, Nine added:
[Anyway, Henry has debut potential, and his character seems reliable. The two of you will be perfectly pure friends!]
He mentally placed Henry’s name right below Luther’s on his list of "trustworthy people."
Joshua nodded absentmindedly, glancing at Henry. He still didn’t understand why that side mission had said Henry wanted a kiss from him.
[Who cares about that weird mission?] Nine grumbled. [There’ll probably be even stranger ones later.]
Joshua frowned. "I don’t want to turn into some creep. It’s not like I can get drunk all the time."
Nine found that reasonable—but for him, mission completion was absolute. So after a moment, he snapped:
[What, do you want to die? You want to drag this entire world down with you?!]
Joshua frowned deeper. "Is that really true? If this world is destroyed... will it be my fault?"
Nine froze, seemingly unsure how to respond. After a brief silence, he only let out a sharp huff:
[Focus on your missions!]
And with that, he vanished—probably off to scroll through the web again.
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat Meat]: We had another disagreement today :((
[I hate veggies]: Don’t be sad, Wolf. In love, there are always moments like this.
[Love is X]: Are there still people who believe in love today? My vote’s for breaking up!
[Anti X]: Someone tell X that Foby’s broken up—let’s see if she doesn’t flip out like a salted leech!
[Love is X]: OTPs are different from real life, okay? You people who don’t ship wouldn’t get it.
[Joshua 1st support]: Wolf, drop some videos for the bros—let’s cheer up a bit!
Ever since Joshua’s last performance, his popularity had exploded. He now had major fan sites and dedicated fan leaders, yet people hadn’t forgotten about Wolf either. Many still visited his channel regularly, and Wolf continued to upload videos as usual—never missing a single moment of Joshua’s.
That viral image of Joshua standing with his back to the pillar had spread far beyond the fandom. Even those who didn’t know who he was had likely seen that picture somewhere online.
[Topic: Predicting the Round 2 Rankings for Shining Path Trainees—Have You Made Your Picks Yet?]
The comment section was flooded—mostly with speculation and heated debates. It had become a full-blown fan war, like World War III was about to break out.
[Not joking, but I feel like Joshua’s easily Top 2 this round.]
[Top 2 at least? So what, Top 1 at most? Haha.]
[Fans are delusional—there’s no way Joshua’s surpassing Leonard.]
[No one’s even competing for Leonard’s spot. His fans are way too sensitive.]
[Because they feel the threat, haha.]
[Not my fault, my boy’s too talented. It’s not the final round yet, but I’ll vote with everything I’ve got. Wait till the finals.]
[Are those guys declaring war or something?]
[Idols act all brotherly, but their fans are ready to tear each other apart, haha.]
[Foby’s here to bring peace to everyone.]
[Get lost. Leonard’s mine.]
[Get lost. Joshua’s mine.]
Clearly, the "solo stans" on both sides had zero love for the shipper fans.
[Already voted. Screenshot posted.]
[Can’t wait anymore—Shining Path, hurry up and release the results already!]
[Let the kids rest, woman! Are you trying to squeeze the last drop of labor out of them?!]
By now, the internet was flooded with speculation about Shining Path’s upcoming Top 10 rankings. Fans were lurking and bickering in every corner of the web—a noisy, chaotic mess.
Meanwhile, Joshua scrolled through his phone while eating, silently marveling at Henry’s cooking skills—and even complimented him aloud.
Henry glanced at him and said softly, "You shouldn’t be on your phone while eating. It’s bad for your stomach."
Joshua pursed his lips, obediently setting the phone down.
After the meal, he immediately grabbed his clothes, bowed politely to Henry, and said, "Thank you for taking me home. I probably would’ve slept on the streets last night if it weren’t for you. I’ll wash your clothes and bring them back later. Bye-bye!"
Henry watched as Joshua waved at him. He didn’t say anything—just gave a slight nod before returning to the kitchen.
Joshua was already used to Henry’s cold demeanor, so his mood wasn’t affected in the slightest.
He wanted to get home quickly to change his clothes.
Henry’s clothes were a little too big on him, but what really bothered him was the underwear—it felt like it was about to slip off any second!
Henry glanced at the empty dining table before him, his eyes lowering slightly. He picked up the phone lying beside him and unlocked it.
The lock screen was a photo of Joshua wearing black bunny ears, his dark hair slightly tousled. One hand held the drooping ear while he tilted his head and winked—his lips didn’t even curve into a smile, yet the playful mischief in his expression was crystal clear.
Expressionless, Henry opened his official Shining Path account, tapped on "Post," and scrolled through his photo gallery. Eventually, he stopped at a picture of Joshua sleeping soundly against his chest.
[Joshua, Henry just posted something!] Nine’s voice nearly shattered Joshua’s eardrums the moment he stepped through the door.
Joshua instinctively pressed a hand to his ear and said softly, "What’s the big deal? I post things too."
As he spoke, he logged into his own account. His last post was from the previous day—a picture of him in his performance outfit, captured at the bridge of his song. The photo had been gifted to him by a fansite named Andy. Joshua thought it looked nice, so he uploaded it directly.
The comments underneath were overflowing with praise—so much so that Joshua’s cheeks turned a little pink as he read them.
[Search Henry_Shining Path, it’ll show up immediately,] Nine continued.
When Joshua opened Henry’s profile, he saw the most recent post, uploaded just thirty minutes ago.
[Henry_Shining Path]: Breakfast with a teammate. (Image, image)
[Two breakfasts...]
[Teammate? Who? Joshua?]
[You’re jumping to conclusions, sis, haha!]
[Henry is showing off his cooking skills again. Who gets to eat his food this time?!]
[Look at that hand! Sisters, zoom in and investigate!!!]