CHAPTER 140: SUDDENLY ATTACKED

The successful performance marked the end of ShineOn’s album promotion period.

Joshua and the others stepped off the stage amid fresh flowers and the thunderous applause of the Polaris. Outside, even more Polaris were already waiting for them along the path to their van.

They were long used to this kind of situation. After all, it was only a short walk from the gate to the vehicle.

The moment the doors opened, fans erupted into excited screams and cheers.

The group kept their professional smiles in place as they accepted letters from fans. Joshua nodded nonstop. "Thank you all for coming to watch our performance."

"Joshua, look this way!"

At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly rang out. Joshua turned, and sure enough, he spotted Anddy there, camera pointed directly at him.

Joshua immediately brightened with a warm smile and tilted his head slightly. The nearby fans screamed even louder.

The others were receiving just as much attention, but before long, they reached the van. Joshua could only wave goodbye to everyone.

But right then, someone suddenly shouted. Joshua flinched instinctively, and before he could react, a still-sealed bottle of water—ice-cold as if pulled straight from a freezer—came hurtling toward him.

Joshua tried to dodge on instinct, but he couldn’t react in time. He only felt a sharp pain explode across his face, followed by chaotic screams all around him.

He looked toward the direction the frozen bottle had come from and saw a heavily covered figure yelling hoarsely, voice ringing out: "Get lost, you bastard! I loved you so much, and you dare to have a boyfriend?! Disgusting..."

Boyfriend?

Joshua hadn’t even processed the words when someone yanked him backward, covering his ears. At the same time, the van sped off, blocking the view of everyone outside.

Henry held Joshua tightly, pressing Joshua’s head against his chest. The others quickly crowded around as well, panic and confusion swirling.

Leonard roared, "Damn it, why won’t they let me beat the crap out of that person?!"

He had almost rushed out just now, but the security guards pulled him back, and the van door immediately shut, leaving him with no chance at all.

Luther patted Joshua’s back. Justin, flustered at the side, asked, "Joshua, are you okay?"

Henry supported Joshua as well. Joshua sat up, face still dazed as if he hadn’t yet processed what happened. The corners of his eyes were red. His lip was slightly swollen, blood seeping from the inside of his mouth, dripping down his chin and onto the floor with quiet taps. Joshua simply lowered his gaze, as though he couldn’t even feel the pain.

Even Elly’s expression changed. She stepped forward, gently held Joshua’s chin for a moment, then immediately went aside to make a phone call.

Joshua had been injured like this. No matter what, they had to sue. Those guards had better restrain that lunatic.

Henry took a cloth and gently dabbed the blood on Joshua’s lip. Joshua seemed to feel a jolt of pain and flinched slightly, finally letting out a quiet hiss as he blinked up at Henry.

Joshua’s eyes were always soft and clear, and now the corners were even redder, yet he stubbornly refused to let the tears fall. Henry narrowed his eyes, suddenly lowered his head, and kissed Joshua’s hair, speaking softly. "It’s okay. It’ll be over soon."

Everyone else saw this scene. Luther immediately shoved Henry’s shoulder. "What the hell are you doing? If you can’t clean it, then move aside!"

Justin stayed silent while Leonard obviously agreed with Luther.

Henry shot Luther a look and said quietly, "Now isn’t the time to lose your temper."

Luther almost laughed from sheer anger. "Henry, I never knew your skin was this thick."

He glared coldly at Henry. "Don’t take advantage of Joshua."

"What is wrong with all of you?!"

Elly’s sharp shout cut through the air.

She glared at the four of them, then marched over and snatched the cloth from Henry’s hand. "Go argue somewhere else!"

As she spoke, she checked Joshua’s wound. Because of the impact, the inside of his mouth had slammed into his teeth, and it was still bleeding nonstop.

Holding a cotton swab, she said softly, "This is going to hurt a bit."

Of course, that "bit" was anything but small—especially for someone as sensitive to pain as Joshua. But he endured it. His hand, clenched tightly at his side, had nails digging so hard into his own skin that blood began to bead.

It hurt so much, yet he couldn’t even tell where the pain was coming from.

Why did that person say such things...

Elly noticed the silent tears rolling down Joshua’s cheeks and paused for a moment.

Joshua had been dazed ever since the incident. He only reacted when the pain startled him, and now he was finally crying—it seemed he had only just processed what had happened.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

"Joshua, don’t cry. What’s there to cry about? That wasn’t your fan!"

The moment Luther saw Joshua’s tears, he panicked. His hands flailed uselessly, and he didn’t even dare touch Joshua.

Joshua pressed the towel to his mouth, and when he saw how flustered Luther was, he shook his head, sounding calm. "No, I’m fine. My tears just fall on their own sometimes, you know that."

No, you were clearly not fine.

Luther thought this silently. Even though he knew he couldn’t wipe Joshua’s tears away entirely, he still kept trying.

Joshua shook his head again, grabbed Luther’s hand, pushed him away, then took out his phone.

His vision was blurred by tears. He blinked rapidly, and with barely any searching needed, his own name was sitting right at the top of the trending list.

The most recent posts were all about the incident.

In the photos, he stood frozen in place, hand raised to his mouth, blood spilling from between his lips. Even though Henry had pulled him into the van as fast as he could, nothing was faster than the reporters’ shutters.

Then came the link explaining the cause of everything—it turned out to be nothing more than a photo of him and Nine.

It was obviously simple—they were just friends. Yet someone behind the scenes had clearly fanned the flames, turning a tiny spark into a raging fire.

Elly spoke softly from the side. "The company has taken care of it. This time, you’ll definitely get a satisfactory outcome, Joshua."

After a pause, she added, "And the boy in the photo—what’s your relationship with him?" just to confirm.

But Joshua hadn’t even answered before the other four frowned at her.

Joshua answered quietly, "He’s my friend."

His voice was slightly slurred because of the injury.

Elly said gently, "You didn’t do anything wrong, Joshua. And don’t feel sad because of a troublemaker. That person might not even be your fan. And even if they were—once they have malicious thoughts and choose to hurt you, they’re no longer worthy of you."

She watched Joshua’s tears continue to fall nonstop, even though his expression looked calm.

Then suddenly, Joshua laughed. His eyes curved as he looked at her. "I know, Sister Elly. I’m not the type to fall apart over something this small."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, touching his thumb to his pinky, one eye squinting as if to show just how tiny today’s incident was.

Elly said nothing. She simply wiped the tears from Joshua’s face and then returned to her seat.