Luther looked at Joshua's bewildered expression and could only feel his teeth itch with resentment. He had suffered the whole night, unable to get a good sleep, yet the moment Joshua opened his eyes, he wore the look of someone who had forgotten everything—ungrateful and disloyal!
Rubbing his head, Luther got out of bed with a displeased face, his cold gaze locking onto Justin.
He wasn't short, and regardless of how beautiful his face was to the point of blurring the lines of gender, his unclothed body still revealed strong, well-defined muscles.
He shoved Justin aside directly and sneered, "So what if I slept with him? You're whining and howling like a lunatic!"
With that, he picked up his clothes and went into the bathroom. Justin clenched his fists, worry written all over his face as he looked at Joshua. "Joshua, are you okay?"
Joshua rubbed his temples, his head still aching. He glanced at Justin, shook his head, and said, "It's nothing..."
He then tried to get out of bed, but the moment his foot touched the floor, a sharp pain spread, shooting up his calf and into his central nerves.
Joshua's toes curled instinctively, his eyes filled with fear. Just what on earth had happened last night?
He only remembered talking with Nine, and then… then Nine mentioned the hospital...
Only now did Joshua realize that merely thinking of those words made his limbs tremble uncontrollably. Clearly, he knew it wasn't the laboratory.
A wave of nausea surged up again. Joshua could only shut his eyes tightly, struggling to steady himself.
Justin noticed the bandages wrapped around Joshua's foot and knelt worriedly, asking, "What happened? Let's go to the hospital, okay?"
Joshua shivered, his face pale. "No… there's no need, I'm fine."
Seeing Joshua like this, Justin grew even more anxious but didn't dare say anything further.
Just then, the bathroom door swung open. Luther came out with water still dripping from his hair, only to be met with Joshua's pale face and tear-brimmed eyes.
He had looked so comfortable sleeping just moments ago, yet now his eyes brimmed with fear and unease.
Luther couldn't help but cast a look of disdain toward Justin, who was kneeling on the ground. As expected, he was nothing more than a useless stupid dog.
Luther curled his lip, glaring fiercely at Joshua. "Handle it yourself."
With that, he kicked the door open and stormed out, not caring about the water still dripping from his hair.
Justin frowned at the closed door. "What's his problem? Acting like he swallowed gunpowder or something!"
Joshua gave a wry smile and began unwrapping the cloth around his foot. He recognized the color and pattern of the fabric. Combined with the image of Luther's bare upper body, this was most likely his pajama shirt.
At that moment, Justin also caught sight of Joshua's foot. A long gash stretched from the sole up to the instep. It looked deep, with dried blood turning into a dark crimson crust, sending out waves of dull pain.
Justin was dumbfounded. He lifted his hands, wanting to touch but afraid of hurting Joshua, so flustered that he seemed ready to faint from panic.
"H-how… this… how did this… Joshua…"
Seeing Justin like that, Joshua tugged at the corner of his lips. "Go to training first. I don't think I can film today. I need to go… to the hospital…"
Justin couldn't possibly be at ease with that, but Joshua repeated himself this time with a pleading note before he could speak. "Please, just leave me be."
Justin looked up at him in shock, only to see Joshua staring back, eyes wide. They weren't simply wet anymore—tears welled up, rimmed in red, as if he was forcing himself to endure.
Startled, Justin scrambled to his feet and hurriedly said, "If anything happens, you must call me!"
With that, he rushed out, grabbing the breakfast he had dropped by the door.
It was initially meant for Joshua, but Justin felt something was terribly wrong given his current state. He had the dreadful sense that if he let his guard down even a little, he might lose Joshua forever...
[Joshua, are you alright?] It wasn't until a long while later that Nine dared to speak up.
Joshua had been staring at his wound for five minutes straight by then.
He closed his eyes tightly before opening them again, much calmer now. His voice was soft. "I'm fine."
Nine wanted to ask what exactly made Joshua so afraid of hospitals, but since it had taken him so much effort to calm down, he didn't dare risk triggering him again.
Sensing the caution in Nine's tone, Joshua couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "It's fine. Maybe it's just that I lose control of my emotions more easily at night. Now, tell me what exactly happened yesterday."
Seeing Joshua regain his composure, Nine finally let out a quiet sigh of relief and quickly recounted everything. At the end, he couldn't help but sigh in amazement: [Who would've thought that Luther, always putting on that arrogant face, could actually be so patient…]
"I need to find a chance to thank him," Joshua spoke softly, then began scrolling through the Store to look for medicine for his foot. However, ,he only had 1,000 Fame points to use now—nowhere near enough to buy any high-grade medicine.
Nine was also annoyed, inwardly cursing his lack of wealth.
Joshua's voice was soft again. "Actually, it's not that big of a deal. After all, both Luther and Justin already know about my injury. Even if I wanted to, we couldn't heal it like nothing happened. Buying this one is just right."
Ultimately, Joshua bought a small bottle of healing ointment with pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects.
The bottle was only about ten milliliters, yet it immediately devoured 600 Fame points from Joshua's balance.
But of course, you got what you paid for. The moment Joshua applied it to his wound, he could feel the pain ease, and even stepping on the ground didn't hurt anymore.
His round eyes widened. "This must be miracle medicine…"
Nine couldn't help but sneer: [Wait until the day you're rich—then you'll know what real miracle medicine looks like!]
Joshua chuckled, quickly purchasing a roll of bandages to rewrap his wound before putting his shoes on.
Seeing Joshua's flurry of actions, Nine couldn't help blurting out: [What are you trying to do? You're not resting today?]
He thought Joshua should take at least a week off!
Joshua shook his head. "The first public performance starts at the end of this week. By then, there will be a live audience, which'll be recorded too. If I don't show up, I'll fade into the background…"
[Stop, stop, stop. What's more important than your health…]
Nine rambled on and on, but Joshua furrowed his brows in silence.
Nothing was more important than health—but if he failed the mission, he would be erased along with this world. He had fought so hard to live, to gain his freedom; how could he willingly let it all end?
Besides, he already had the medicine. No matter what, he wouldn't die.
He needed to train, memorize the lyrics, perfect the choreography, and have the best stage expressions—only then would he not waste the spotlight shining down on him!
Seeing Joshua remain silent, Nine seemed to realize the futility of his own words. He stayed quiet for the rest of the long walk, lost in thought.