Chapter 51: Henry + Joshua = Honey
It couldn’t be denied that netizens were truly the greatest detectives in the world.
After 7,749 rounds of investigation and comparison, they finally concluded...
[That hand definitely belongs to Joshua!]
[Aaaaa, they had breakfast together, they had breakfast together, during the holidays?! What the heck, I mean, I mean...]
[Alright, they must’ve spent the night at Henry’s place.]
[Come on, it’s just friends hanging out and staying over, that’s all...]
[But it was only the two of them, you know? Just how close are they?]
[Ship ship ship ship!!!!]
[I’ve already thought of a ship name—Honey. How about it? Perfect, right?]
[Aaaaa so cute, imagine it! Henry’s always so cold and quiet. I used to think Henry and Joshua only had a strong teammate bond, but I didn’t expect them to be this close!!!]
[Got it, "team bond," hahaha.]
["Brotherhood," hahaha.]
[Can someone please tell us what Henry and Joshua played together? We demand answers!]
The fans were on the verge of losing their minds, but none dared to comment directly under Henry or Joshua’s posts. They only discussed it wildly within their own topic threads.
Most comments under Henry’s post were simply people asking if the one eating breakfast with him was Joshua, while others gushed over how good their relationship seemed.
After all, both Henry and Joshua were at the top of Shining Path. If the CP fans started a commotion in the comment section, they’d get shredded by the solo fans.
The "Honey" shippers were only emerging and wanted to maintain peace with the solo fans. Just look at the "Foby" side — huge, powerful, and already split into two rival factions against the solo fans of both Joshua and Leonard. It was chaos.
Nine scrolled through the web with pure rage, practically about to explode! Foby wasn’t even cooled down yet, and now there was Honey too?! Seriously, were that many fans into shipping CPs? This was supposed to be the story of the male lead rising to the peak of life and building a harem of 3,000 beautiful girls!
Of course, Nine would never allow Joshua to date—whether a girl or a guy—because career always came first! Nine fumed inwardly.
[It’s definitely Henry’s fault! Now the entire internet thinks you spent the night at his place!] Nine roared at Joshua, brimming with anger and frustration.
Joshua was lying on the sofa, scrolling through his phone, clearly unbothered. "What’s the big deal? It’s just a hand that happened to appear in a photo. And besides, people online are just guessing anyway. Why are you getting so worked up?"
Nine: [...] You don’t get it! You and Henry already have a CP name now!
He was furious but couldn’t say it aloud. He couldn’t let Joshua find out about these things. Thankfully, Joshua didn’t care much about what happened online; he only looked at...
The moment Nine saw what was on the screen, he nearly screamed.
[What the hell?! Why do you even have stuff like this?!]
On Joshua’s phone was a 2D animation of a beautiful elf girl with golden hair, stunning green eyes, and most notably, a very... vividly animated chest.
Nine gulped subconsciously but still tried to sound stern.
[Joshua, you can’t be looking at things like this. They’re bad for your brain...]
Joshua didn’t seem to expect such a dramatic reaction. He pouted and said, "Justin just sent it to me. And it looks good—the animation’s smooth, and she’s really popular... But honestly, you have no right to yell at me. I haven’t even said anything about your 2D waifu image folder."
Nine was struck speechless.
Sure, he did have an image folder, but he was an adult—it was just for fun. Joshua, on the other hand... well, Nine didn’t even know what was different, but it felt different.
Then, something clicked in Nine’s head.
[Wait a second, what do you mean by that? "You’re new" to this elf? You literally had her as your PC wallpaper before!]
Joshua didn’t even pause, replying calmly, "Really? Maybe I forgot."
Nine was left speechless, a strange feeling growing in his chest. The more he thought about it, the odder it seemed.
Joshua was undeniably talented and hardworking—no one could deny that. He could dance, even choreograph with bold ideas, and with that face of his, there was no way he should’ve ended up like some chubby shut-in living off instant noodles and soda in a dark apartment...
Just then, Joshua suddenly spoke. "Hey, Nine, is this your waifu?"
Nine snapped out of his thoughts immediately. "Where? Where is she?"
Joshua chuckled. "Just kidding. You reacted like a dog sniffing out a bone, idiot."
Nine: [...]
[Joshua, seriously, you’re getting less and less adorable! How could you say that to me?! Do you not even see me as human anymore?!]
Joshua raised an eyebrow. "So you’re human, then?"
Nine fell silent. Joshua smirked and went back to scrolling on his phone.
A moment later, there was a loud thud—as if something had been thrown in anger. Even though Nine said nothing, Joshua could tell he’d already stormed off.
Just then, the phone suddenly rang. Seeing the name flashing on the screen, Joshua couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly. Even though Luther wasn’t there in person, Joshua pretended to be annoyed as he picked up the call. "The user you’re trying to reach is unavailable..."
"Alright, Joshua, stop trying to sound cute," Luther’s teasing voice came from the other end.
Joshua immediately shot up from the sofa. "Can you be reasonable for once? Who’s trying to sound cute?!"
"Alright, alright. Come out and hang with me," Luther chuckled.
Joshua answered decisively, "No."
Luther replied, "Got it. So spending the night at Henry’s place and having breakfast together the next morning is fine, but you can’t go out with me, huh?"
Joshua frowned. If Luther were there in person, he definitely would’ve gotten punched by now. "I got drunk at the party yesterday, and Henry just brought me home, that’s all. Besides, why am I even explaining this to you? You sound like some abandoned wife."
Luther ground his teeth while Joshua grinned smugly. Since Luther wasn’t nearby, there was nothing to fear—no chance of getting his head dunked.
Then, with great mock benevolence, Joshua said, "Fine. Where are we going?"
Luther snorted but quickly replied, "Just give me your address. I’ll come pick you up."
Joshua eyed the phone warily. "You’re not gonna hit me, right?"
Luther was so irritated that he actually laughed. "Think about it—you’re the only one who ever resorts to violence!"
Joshua: "...No flicking my forehead, patting my head, or pinching my cheeks."
"Okay, okay, okay," Luther recited like a robot. Only then did Joshua give him the address.
At that exact moment, the Idol System—which had been silent since he completed his side mission—suddenly popped up a brand-new notification.
[Mission: Collect 200,000 Fame Points!
Time limit: 20 days
Reward upon completion: Lucky Spin x1
Punishment for failure: Be buried together with this world
Mission Progress: 0 / 200,000]
The Fame Points counter began to rise steadily as soon as the mission appeared. Joshua glanced at the reward and couldn’t help but sigh. "The harder the mission, the vaguer the reward..."
Just then, Nine reappeared out of nowhere, letting out a deep, almost philosophical sigh.
[You should be grateful the mission still only requires collecting Fame Points.]
Joshua immediately thought of his previous side mission, and goosebumps broke out all over his skin. Once again, he muttered a hundred apologies to Henry in his heart while cursing this perverted system.
"Please, just let it always be about collecting Fame Points!"