"Joshua, what are you spacing out for? Let’s go!"
Joshua stared fixedly at the pop-up before him when he suddenly felt a chill against his cheek.
He saw Justin towering over him, pressing a cold soda can to his face.
Before Joshua could react, Justin shoved the can into his hand, then slipped both arms under Joshua’s armpits and directly hauled him up.
The muscles in his arms bulged, glistening with post-workout sweat, brimming with energy.
Joshua wasn’t exactly light at this point, yet Justin lifted him easily—so easily, in fact, that his feet dangled off the floor!
Justin shook him and chuckled: "I don’t think you need to lose weight. You’re light as a feather."
Feeling the stares coming from all around, Joshua pressed his lips together, the tips of his ears turning a little red. "Put me down."
Justin laughed carefreely, his expression utterly unbothered. As he walked, he kept chatting: "Have you seen the teaser yet? I heard people are saying it got an excellent response. I haven’t watched it, so let’s check it out later. Oh, right, has your group decided on a name yet? I came up with one, but the leader and the others just shot it down—clearly it was a great name..."
The two of them strode quickly out of the training room, and just from Justin’s voice alone, you could hear the cheerfulness and excitement bubbling within.
Meanwhile, Joshua walked beside him, occasionally glancing at him, nodding thoughtfully, and the corners of his lips curved upward.
"Squelch!"
The sharp sound of a crushed soda can rang out. Leonard lowered his eyes, letting the spilled drink splash onto his pants without a word.
His teammate beside him couldn’t help but startle. "Leonard, are you alright?"
Leonard chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing, I just suddenly wanted to test my strength."
His teammate glanced at the crumpled soda can in Leonard’s hand and couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
Seriously, who on earth had managed to provoke this ancestor?!
At last, Joshua realized why the mission had suddenly been marked complete.
He couldn’t deny that the teaser was incredibly well-edited, packed entirely with climax moments. Especially at the end—Joshua had just finished performing his song, mouth slightly open as he panted, cheeks flushed, eyes shimmering as if he were on the verge of tears.
That scene was even slowed down and layered with the sound of a heartbeat, creating a tense, nerve-wracking atmosphere. But only Joshua knew that in reality, he had been so embarrassed he’d wanted to dig a hole and bury himself! Who would’ve thought the production team would edit it into the image of a terrified, fragile boy?!
And it didn’t stop there. When everything fell into complete silence, leaving only the sound of his heartbeat, a voice suddenly boomed from the audience.
"So adorable!"
Like the one spark of sound in this terrifyingly quiet world, it awakened Joshua. He lifted his head—and the camera shifted too—showing Joshua on stage and Leonard in the stands, their gazes locking across the distance.
Leonard wore a confident, carefree smile and was devastatingly handsome. At the same time, Joshua’s bright eyes, dumbfounded expression, and startled look made him seem as if he were about to cry from being moved. To make things worse, the editors even added glitter effects between them, and the sound of heartbeats turned downright bizarre.
Good grief! He’d only been confused back then—was this really okay?! Was editing a teaser like this really okay?!
Turns out, it was more than okay. The internet exploded, the pre-release mission for episode 1 was completed flawlessly, and projections showed that its ratings might surpass previous seasons’ premieres.
Nine raged: [This stupid show isn’t going to ship couples, right? Right?! Who permitted them to edit it like that?! Anyone watching would think you were falling for Leonard! Leonard?! He’s nothing but a piece of dog crap!]
Although Joshua didn’t like Leonard, he didn’t hate him either. And besides, Nine really needed to learn some self-control.
"Stop swearing."
[What? I’m on your side here! Or... wait, don’t tell me you actually like Leonard? Have you forgotten his attitude and the things he said to you?!]
"I only said to stop swearing," Joshua replied calmly. But this time, Nine went completely silent—probably sulking off somewhere again.
Justin, meanwhile, frowned slightly at his phone screen before smiling and saying, "Joshua, you actually got screen time."
Joshua nodded, smiling back at him. "Once episode 1 airs, we’ll all get screen time."
Justin pressed his lips together, secretly twisting the hem of his shirt. His luck was really rotten. They weren’t on the same team, and their daily interactions rarely got cut into the main screen. How could fans possibly know that he was actually Joshua’s best friend?
Clearly, Joshua didn’t even like being near Leonard. And as for him, Joshua even let him squish his cheeks without saying a word!
Nine, meanwhile, was stuck playing the role of an abandoned wife—or no, a husband... or maybe a friend... no, not even that!
He was nothing but a capitalist, and Joshua deserved to be exploited and oppressed by him!
Still, Nine kept cursing inwardly as he scrolled through the internet.
[Love is X]: Has everyone seen the teaser yet? Who understands this feeling, hahaha. I feel like I’ve been reborn, like I suddenly regained faith in human love again.
[I hate veggies]: To describe that scene—it’s like Bunny wasn’t singing all that well, and just when he was sad and anxious, Fox suddenly appeared like a ray of light in that terrifying world, sweeping everything away! Aaaaa, I can’t stop thinking about this storyline!
[What did Red Fox eat today?]: Leonard is absolutely the perfect lover, so thoughtful, so kind.
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat Meat]: Isn’t it just that Leonard fell for Joshua’s cuteness and couldn’t hold himself back?
[Delulu die]: Finally, the Wolf has appeared. Watching the other side open a zoo is hilarious. It’s just a teaser, and they’re already acting like they pick is the center of the universe!
[I’m the Red-haired Bang]: Leonard no.1 is a fact. I haven’t even had the chance to curse this stupid show for editing my boy into some random ship, and the opposing house is already complaining?
[Love is X]: Don’t be like that, everyone. Let’s enjoy it peacefully, okay? This is the house of people who’ve just been resurrected by love, please don’t shatter our fragile hearts!
[Has Fox eaten Bunny today?]: Official account promoting Foby, sisters, please support a little! Foby is real, love is real. When did love begin? Perhaps it was just one careless glance—yet out of thousands of people, we saw each other first. That’s how first love begins. Take your first step into Foby here >> link
[Love is X]: I don’t know who this sister is, but her poetic words move the heart. Hurry and drop that ABO fic for us!
Nine looked at the online reactions and felt his teeth ache from sheer hatred. What is the first love? What is falling in love with just one glance? What’s not good enough...? Idiots!
Joshua did everything well. Joshua didn’t even like Leonard! Besides, idols aren’t allowed to date—don’t these people know that? Delulu is a disease, untreated, it only harms themselves and others!
Nine had always wanted everything for one purpose: to speed up the progress of Joshua’s missions. True, Joshua being paired with Leonard did accelerate mission progress. But instinctively, Nine disliked it.
It wanted Joshua to rise to the top naturally—yes, absolutely, to rise with his strength! Fan training, fan training—CP shippers can scram, fan-onlys are eternal!