CHAPTER 157: TEASING

Justin had barely stepped out of the room when he saw Joshua and Luther both sitting on the floor—well, no, at least Joshua still had a small stool.

One of Joshua’s hands was holding Luther’s, his expression serious and intensely focused as he used a thin brush to paint some kind of pattern. Justin came close and still couldn’t tell what it was.

Joshua was looking at Luther’s nails, while Luther tilted his head up to stare fixedly at Joshua. He was even leisurely admiring how long Joshua’s eyelashes were before he casually started counting them. He’d already counted more than two hundred!

But clearly, Luther wasn’t the type who could stay focused, especially when it came to Joshua. Very quickly, his gaze drifted away from Joshua’s eyelashes, down to his nose, and then a little lower... his lips...

Justin saw Luther inexplicably start blushing, so he cleared his throat softly, as if to snap them all back to reality.

Luther shot Justin a secret glare. At that moment, Joshua also looked up, his eyes a little sore from staring at one point for too long.

He looked at Justin and said quietly, "You’re done showering..."

While speaking, he held the lamp over Luther’s hand. "I think painting one nail is already pretty. After it dries, go take your shower."

He nudged the lamp closer to Luther, then examined his own nails and finally decided to paint his ring finger.

Luther’s eyes lit up. "Then we’ll match!"

He was overjoyed, but Joshua only nudged him with his foot. "Don’t bump your nail into the lamp, and go shower already. Everyone’s waiting for us!"

Luther nodded like a silly puppy, waited a moment, then quickly rushed into the bathroom, humming some unidentifiable tune.

He had no idea that the moment the bathroom door closed, Justin crouched down, hugging his knees, tilting his head at Joshua. "Joshua, can you paint mine too?"

Joshua’s eyes lit up. "Of course."

He even started wondering whether Henry and Leonard might want theirs painted as well.

By the time Luther came out of the shower, Joshua had already finished painting Justin’s and Leonard’s nails, and was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, carefully painting Henry’s.

Luther: "..."

His icy gaze swept over Justin and Leonard as he wondered which of them had dared ruin the one and only special thing between him and Joshua!

Joshua fell quiet for a moment, maybe because he was holding Henry’s hand with one hand and a brush with the other.

It made him think of when they were little.

Back then, Henry’s hands were already bigger than his, but not this much bigger, and definitely not this rough.

Because she saw he liked makeup, his mother had bought him a toy makeup kit, and of course it included nail polish. Joshua used to drag Louis over to be his model, though Louis was always busy studying at the company.

The happiest year of Joshua’s childhood was the year Henry came back to rest at the old house. Joshua could pull Henry along to do anything, and Henry would just quietly watch him. Even when Joshua smudged color all over Henry’s hands, Henry would still nod and praise him with that serious face of his, telling him he did great.

Thinking about it, Joshua couldn’t help finding it a little funny. He really couldn’t understand what exactly Henry liked about him...

But the more he thought, the more an odd ache rose in his chest. He remembered everything—yet Henry remembered nothing. Henry was clearly the only person here with him, the only person he had known from a previous world.

But only he... only he remembered it all.

A single tear suddenly fell onto the back of Henry’s hand.

Henry froze, genuinely startled. For a split second, he felt as if his entire heart tightened. The tear landed on his skin and then slid down, like molten lava, burning straight into his heart, scorching his flesh and blood with a strange, painful intensity.

Nine, who was sitting by the side, felt his own heart thump loudly for no reason at all. Almost on instinct, he looked toward Henry—and sure enough, saw Henry watching Joshua with deep worry written all over his face.

Joshua blinked. He hadn’t expected that just thinking a little would make him cry. Clearly, normal people shouldn’t overthink, and especially someone with his "issues" really shouldn’t dredge up the past.

Suddenly, two different hands reached out and touched his face at the same time.

Joshua looked up in surprise, staring at Nine and Henry.

Luckily, he’d only shed a single tear. Now there was just a faint damp trace at the corner of his eye, nothing serious at all. Yet looking at Nine and Henry... it was as if their entire world was about to collapse.

"What’s wrong?"

Joshua tilted his head a little, his cheek nuzzling lightly against Henry’s hand as he asked softly.

Henry simply brushed his thumb across the corner of Joshua’s eye, saying nothing.

Right then, Joshua suddenly smiled and said in a teasing, half-joking tone, "Don’t look at me like that, or I might start having bad intentions toward you."

Nine withdrew his hand. Even though he knew Joshua was spreading the blanket to complete his mission, being completely ignored the moment Henry entered the picture still left a heavy knot in his chest. It felt as if reality itself were telling him that compared to Henry, he meant nothing in Joshua’s eyes—even though he and Henry might very well share the same soul.

At that moment, Henry lowered his hand. His dark eyes locked onto Joshua’s, deep as a bottomless abyss that seemed ready to pull Joshua’s soul straight in. "What would you do?"

Quiet, steady—like a silent challenge.

Joshua pressed his lips together, then suddenly smiled. His hands dropped in front of him as he leaned forward, his whole body shifting toward Henry. In an instant, their faces were so close they were practically nose-to-nose.

Henry’s eyes widened slightly. He almost stopped breathing, staring at Joshua and only Joshua.

Then Joshua burst into delighted laughter. "I can hear your heartbeat from here, Henry."

Henry instinctively lowered his gaze, which only made Joshua want to laugh harder. He suddenly raised his hand and pressed it to Henry’s chest. Henry’s pectoral muscles trembled. Joshua pushed his hand down more firmly, feeling the chaotic, powerful thudding beneath his palm. And Henry still stared at him, jaw clenched tight, eyebrows not even twitching.

How annoying. Joshua thought. It felt like a cat inside him was scratching around in frustration, desperate to make Henry’s expression change.

Beside them, Nine had only one thought: Joshua was playing with fire. And Henry—Henry was definitely a fire that knew exactly what it was doing.

Silent. So silent. Letting Joshua tease him, letting the tension build, waiting—waiting to ignite the moment Joshua crossed the line.

Joshua probably thought he was safe. Maybe he even thought he was the fire. But by the time the real flames swallowed him whole, he’d realize it too late. Joshua really was an idiot.

Nine was about to step forward to pull Joshua away—he really couldn’t stand watching Joshua get this close to Henry anymore.

But just then, Henry suddenly grabbed Joshua’s wrist. Before Joshua could even react, Henry twisted his arm behind him, one hand gripping the back of Joshua’s neck and pressing him down, pinning him like he was subduing a criminal.

Joshua felt his face sink into the soft sofa cushions. Bold as ever, he still managed to say, "Looks like you’ve got tricks even more exciting than mine."

Nine: "..." Truly, he won’t cry until he sees the coffin.