Joshua arrived to find his teammates already drenched in sweat from practice.
As soon as Will saw Joshua appear, he quickly came over, concern written all over his face: "Joshua, I heard from Justin that you were injured. Are you okay?"
Joshua lowered his gaze. It seemed Justin hadn't mentioned where he was hurt.
He waved his hand lightly and said, as if it was nothing: "Just had a nightmare while sleeping, accidentally scratched myself a few times, that's all."
The others also noticed the gruesome claw marks on Joshua's arm at this point. Will frowned: "What kind of nightmare was that terrifying? Be careful, or it'll leave scars."
Leonard also walked over, pursing his lips slightly when he saw it: "With injuries like that and you still show up late—aren't you a bit too precious?"
Joshua only smiled without replying.
Leonard narrowed his eyes. He had initially wanted to ask Joshua if he'd seen the teaser yet, or if he had checked out the fans' reactions.
But then he thought—why should he even ask? With Joshua's could n't-care-less attitude, if Leonard brought it up, it would feel like he was the one overly concerned about him.
Someone as insensible as Joshua didn't deserve his attention!
Leonard told himself this, pressing his lips tightly together, though the displeasure in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
After all, he had always been this way—teasing others like a sly fox, then immediately wearing a scowl whenever something irked him.
Joshua paid Leonard no mind and moved into position with the training lineup.
Nine secretly felt relieved—if Joshua and Leonard barely interacted like this, then in the next episode the CP-shipping fans would surely back off, ha ha ha!
What Joshua needed were career fans; shipping only hindered his growth!
Nine thought this with absolute conviction.
Thanks to the medicine he had purchased with Fame points, Joshua managed to get through a full day of training without any problems.
Will exclaimed loudly: "Joshua, your dancing has really improved! Tomorrow, Mr. Benjamin is definitely going to praise our group, ha ha ha!"
Tomorrow was the final rehearsal for the choreography, when Mr. Benjamin would point out areas that needed fixing.
But Will felt that maybe only the rest had things to fix—Joshua was clearly the exception!
As soon as Joshua returned to the dorm, he saw Luther sprawled comfortably on his bed. Justin was in the bathroom, while Arthur's bed remained empty.
Joshua couldn't help but remark, "Arthur's not coming back to the dorm again today..."
At that, Luther lifted his eyes and gave a cold snort: "Young master temperament—who knows what he's even here for."
The disdain on Luther's face wasn't concealed in the slightest.
They were supposed to be a team, yet Arthur was always immaculately neat. Others might not notice, but Luther could feel the loathing in Arthur's gaze toward them.
By now, Joshua had walked over and stood beside Luther's bed.
Luther looked up at him, slightly on edge. After all, Joshua had already left him with a kind of lingering trauma—he was only afraid Joshua might start crying again.
"What is it?" he said, then curled his lips: "Don't tell me you still want to sleep with me. What are you, some kid who hasn't been weaned yet?"
Joshua's lips twitched. He thought Luther wasn't his mother anyway, but he knew that if he said that, Luther would definitely blow up again.
Instead, he shook his head, handed Luther a small medicine bottle, and said softly: "If you apply this on the wound, it won't leave a scar."
Luther seemed a little surprised by Joshua's attitude.
Joshua then smiled faintly: "I'm sorry for yesterday. Thank you for yesterday. Also... I won't call you a princess anymore. Sorry."
Hearing this, Luther arched a brow. Suddenly, he shot up from the bed with explosive force—within the blink of an eye, he was standing tall, and Joshua naturally became the one who had to look up.
Luther's long hair fell forward, brushing across Joshua's dazed face.
He looked at Joshua's slightly parted lips and wide, round eyes, and in that moment, he suddenly understood why Joshua's fans always called him adorable.
His lips curved: "Is that so? Then why don't we discuss your great black dragon that could make me feel inferior?"
Joshua froze, instantly going up in flames, his entire face turning scarlet. He almost immediately snapped his head away, unable to meet Luther's eyes. The tips of his ears, red enough to bleed, were reflected clearly in Luther's gaze.
Luther ground his teeth, and for some reason, suddenly felt an odd itch in them.
"I-I was just joking, really... ha ha..." Joshua stammered, so embarrassed he wished to dig a fortress out of the floor and crawl inside.
Luther found it funny, but his tone sounded serious: "So you don't have a great black dragon? You mean it's small?"
[What the hell is this? This is sexual harassment! This is definitely sexual harassment!] Nine screamed internally.
Joshua couldn't help but feel a flicker of anger as well. He lifted his head to glare at Luther, brows furrowing: "You're the one who's small!"
Luther's lips twitched at that, and he raised his voice: "You wanna compare?"
"Huh?" Joshua almost couldn't understand what on earth Luther was talking about.
Luther narrowed his eyes, and the next moment, he was already dragging Joshua into the changing room.
"I've already compared with my classmates," Luther said gleefully. "So far, no one's beaten me. I want to see how 'majestic' the first person to mock me can be!"
Compare what, exactly? Joshua stared at the cascade of long hair before him, then thought about what he had just heard. His head was spinning.
But something even more worrying was happening.
He braced himself, grabbing the doorframe with one hand, and shouted: "No—let me go! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You're the one with the great black dragon! You're big, I'm small, just let me go!"
Seeing Joshua like that, Luther had no real intention of doing anything, but still raised his voice: "We're both guys, what are you so scared of? Hurry up!"
Meanwhile, in the recording room, the director was staring at the screen, at a loss for words as he watched the supposedly gender-neutral "princess" image they had built for Luther and the contestant they thought would be eliminated in the first round, tugging at each other—while their conversation contained things that could never go public.
The assistant director at his side muttered, "Should we tell him to stop? Does he even remember there are cameras in the room...?"
The director looked thoughtful momentarily, then suddenly said, "This will be an extra episode."
Assistant director: "..."
In the end, Joshua was still dragged off by Luther.
Luther held Joshua's face in one hand, forcing him to look straight at him. Joshua's brows were drawn so tight they were almost touching, his face filled with panic and fear. His eyes shimmered with water, the corners even damp, and his lips were pressed tightly together as though on the verge of tears.
Luther honestly wanted to burst out laughing. Yes, this was exactly it!
And he did laugh outright: "You're that scared of me pulling your pants down? Ha ha ha, idiot."
Then he rubbed Joshua's cheeks, laughing louder: "Stupid little doughball, say it—will you dare to spout nonsense again next time?"
Joshua really wanted to hit him, but thinking of the difference in strength between them—and afraid Luther might actually pull his pants down right then and there—he finally gave in and said hoarsely, "I'll never say anything like that again."
Luther laughed even harder, finally letting Joshua go. But just as he did, Joshua suddenly grabbed his hand.
Luther raised a brow, curious what Joshua might do, but Joshua only took out his tube of ointment and quickly smeared some on Luther's hand—on the spot where he had bitten him and drawn blood the day before.
"This way it won't leave a scar and won't hurt anymore."