The battle in the comment section only paused when Mrs. Emilia forced Joshua to sing a song.
[L2999: Hahaha, since the last live broadcast, I had a hunch Joshua couldn’t sing!]
[L3000: For sure—otherwise he would’ve volunteered to sing earlier to rack up extra points!]
[L3001: Wait, he’s holding the mic now—but that expression is adorable, hahaha!]
[L3002: He looks embarrassed... why though?]
[L3003: Now I get why Leonard kept calling him cute. This scene proves it, no doubt!]
Finally, the performance that almost made Joshua faint from embarrassment aired.
The screen comments seemed to freeze momentarily, then suddenly refreshed at breakneck speed as if the system had glitched!
[L4089: Hahaha, I’m dying, someone save me! If only I could record my laughter and post it as a comment, hahaha!]
[L4090: Seriously, look at his face—it’s red from embarrassment, not exhaustion, hahaha!]
[L4091: He’s actually knocking out his competitors indirectly.]
[L4092: Why doesn’t my boss watch this show? He deserves to hear this song!]
[L4093: +1 I want to show my boss too, but I don’t dare...]
[L4094: The thing is, Joshua’s stiff voice makes the song even funnier—and he even added some dance moves! First time I’ve seen someone turn a weakness into a strength, hahaha!]
[L4095: This proves he really can’t sing though...]
But the flood of noisy reactions instantly drowned out any such comments.
[L4888: Now I finally get why Leonard suddenly screamed like that—Joshua is adorable, hahaha!]
[L4889: I knew Joshua would win everyone’s hearts! Pick pick pick! Baby has to debut!]
After that came a series of other performances. Whenever a trainee with outstanding skill or striking visuals appeared, the comment feed would flare up again.
Nine kept a close eye on the internet. Almost the moment Joshua’s performance was broadcast, he began carrying out his top priority.
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat Meat]: Did Joshua’s performance on #Shining_path_III make your heart waver because of his cuteness?! >video.
[I hate veggies]: Whoa, that was so fast! As expected of Joshua’s No.1 fan—I knew I could count on you!
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat Meat]: I’m not a fan...
[Love is X]: Didn’t you say you were only a "solo fan" the other day? Honestly, Wolf never wants to admit it...
[Joshua 1st support]: Tsundere core, hahaha.
[Took Two Bites of Joshua’s Bun]: Omg that was fast. Joshua is seriously adorable!
[Chupa Chu]: Wow, I thought liking Joshua would feel lonely since it’s his first time in public—but turns out...
[Love is X]: We’ll never be lonely with Wolf here!
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat Meat]: I’ll disappear soon!
Tons of new fans flooded under Nine’s post.
His fame peaked when a small entertainment page picked up Joshua’s singing performance under a humorous headline.
Most commenters didn’t know who Joshua was, but they knew about Shining Path.
Nine hardly let a single chance slip by to promote Joshua.
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat Meat]: Joshua, 17 years old, an earnest, hardworking, adorable younger brother—his first time on Shining Path. Has anyone already fallen for this cuteness?
[Working is exhausting]: He really is adorable. To sing that song without bursting into laughter...
[Capitalist slave]: That’s definitely the truth from him.
[Love is X]: Am I the only one noticing how well he kept in sync while dancing, too? Those little moves of his were to die for!
Joshua slept that night and woke up the next morning with nearly 2000 fame points.
He blinked and whispered, "Thank you, Nine."
Nine, frantically scrolling the net, almost jumped out of his skin when he heard that. If he had held a phone, it would’ve slipped from his hands and shattered on the floor.
He coughed lightly: [It’s nothing, just a few comments, that’s all!]
After all, he wasn’t a fan!
Joshua smiled but said nothing more.
He climbed out of bed just as Arthur was also getting up. Arthur’s brows were furrowed so tightly they looked ready to kiss, his eyes awkwardly fixed on the floor.
Joshua couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Tilting his head, he asked, "Arthur, what’s wrong?"
It was only then that Arthur seemed to notice Joshua. The irritation on his face shifted into helplessness as he muttered softly, "My slippers are gone."
Across the room, Luther didn’t bother hiding the grin tugging at his lips.
Joshua: "..." Doing something bad this blatantly—was that really okay?
Without a word, Joshua walked over to Luther’s bed and directly pulled Arthur’s house slippers from underneath it.
Luther stared at Joshua in disbelief, his eyes going wide. "Joshua, can you read my mind?"
Joshua pouted. "Stop bullying people. What are you, a child? Even pulling this kind of prank?"
Luther found his expression so amusing that it made his heart itch. He jumped up and grabbed Joshua’s face, shaking it back and forth. "Then I won’t bully others—I’ll just bully you, okay?"
Joshua immediately struggled to rescue his poor face from Luther’s devilish hands. In the end, as always, he could only shout:
"I’m sorry already, let me go, my cheeks hurt!"
Sure enough, the moment Luther heard that, he released him. Joshua pounced and jabbed him in the stomach at once before darting away.
Luther clutched his stomach with dramatic flair, retreating a step, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Joshua.
Joshua returned happily, tapping Arthur’s slippers against the floor. "They’re not dusty. Go on, put them on."
Arthur lifted his gaze toward Joshua.
The boy was smiling at him, eyes curved like crescent moons, sparkling clear as water. His lips were the color of ripe plums, and when he smiled, a faint dimple appeared on his right cheek. Both cheeks puffed slightly, his whole face carrying not the slightest trace of confusion or annoyance.
Still holding his stomach off the side, Luther gave a cold laugh. "Why bother with him? He’s always like that. Who knows why he suddenly came here—looking for trouble himself, haha."
Joshua arched a brow inwardly. The way Luther said it... It sounded as though he and Arthur had known each other before.
Just then, the door opened. The only person who never knocked was, of course, Justin.
He carried breakfast over to Joshua. "Here, this is for you. Oh, right—episode 1 is out already! I just came down the street and everyone was talking about it!"
His eyes were burning with excitement—he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.