Chapter 58: Joshua’s Friend
Joshua’s neighborhood welcomed a new resident — one of his friends.
This friend was a bit older than Joshua and lived right next door.
While Joshua’s family was well-known in the business world, this friend’s family had a long-standing tradition in the military and politics.
He was the kind of child that every parent praised — a shining example often brought up when scolding their own mischievous, disobedient kids.
Joshua, however, was a good child. And even when he got a little playful, his parents never raised their voices at him. So, unlike the others, he didn’t dislike that friend.
"Why don’t you ever go out and play? There are so many fun things outside, way more interesting than this pile of books!"
It was summer break, and Joshua’s parents had brought him to that friend’s house. Joshua wasn’t picky about who he played with — as long as they were clean and didn’t do bad things, he was fine being friends with anyone.
But this friend was... simply too dull. Boring to the extreme. His entire life seemed to revolve around books!
When he heard Joshua’s complaint, the boy pressed his lips together, saying nothing. He was clearly still a child, yet his face was always serious — like a little older man.
Joshua couldn’t help but pinch his cheek a little, tugging at the corners of his mouth to make him smile, but the boy kept his lips firmly sealed and didn’t budge even a bit.
BANG!
A loud noise suddenly echoed, startling Joshua so much that he nearly fell backward.
It turned out the boy had slammed his thick book onto the floor. Seeing Joshua’s stunned expression, he pursed his lips again, walked over to his desk, took out a stack of papers and a pen, and handed them to Joshua.
Facing that stern expression, Joshua trembled and instinctively accepted them. One glance — and he realized it was a stack of math problems!
"Do them."
The cold voice rang out. Joshua looked up and saw the boy lowering his eyes to stare at him. That cold, serious face looked downright terrifying from this angle — just like his homeroom teacher.
Joshua gripped the pen tightly, his small hand trembling. He muttered under his breath, "Fine, I’ll do it... no need to be so fierce about it..."
But his mind was completely blank.
What even was this? What formula was that? Was this even human language? Joshua had never seen problems like these before!
His head started spinning — and then that cold voice spoke again:
"You got it wrong."
Joshua panicked. He looked up — only to see his friend holding a ruler!
At six years old, Joshua’s mouth fell open in terror, and he let out a loud, wailing cry. The friend seemed to freeze momentarily, standing rigidly, lips tightly pressed together. Face to face, Joshua looked at him — still so cold, the ruler clenched tightly in his hand.
What could he do? The house was empty, and he was much smaller than his friend... could he really get spanked? No, that would hurt terribly.
Joshua had been afraid of pain ever since he was little. Even the slightest bump would make him cling to his older brother, whining. Thinking about what would happen, he cried even louder, begging desperately: "I’m sorry! I’ll study hard next time! I won’t bother you again! Please don’t hit me, sob sob sob!"
The friend came closer and closer. Joshua pouted, trying to negotiate: "Can you not hit too hard..."
Just like a homeroom teacher — always threatening punishment, yet when they struck the palm, it didn’t hurt at all...
While Joshua was still speaking, he felt a considerable hand pause on his face. The friend was wiping away his tears.
Joshua’s eyes widened. The friend said, "The ruler is for doing your work."
Oh... so that was it.
Looking at the stern face before him, Joshua instinctively clung tightly to this boy a few years older, pouting and whining: "I don’t want to do work, okay? I want some soda, snowpeach flavor!"
"No, sweets aren’t good for your health," the friend said firmly, stiff as ever.
Like a little puppy, Joshua nuzzled his soft hair against the boy’s collarbone, murmuring: "Just a little sip, okay? Please, big brother, dear big brother, cute big brother, just a little sip..."
The friend pressed his lips together, furrowed his brows, and let his arms hang at his sides before finally lifting them to pat Joshua’s soft hair gently.
From that day on, Joshua learned how to get everything he wanted.
His parents believed that letting him play with this strict older boy would make him study hard and improve his manners.
Until the day the koi in the tank got roasted, the families finally realized what had really happened.
Joshua was brought home for a proper scolding for damaging the "national treasure" flower and forced to copy books for a week without going outside.
But the friend came to see him, sneaking in through a secret dog hole only they knew about.
Joshua saw him, covered in dust, yet with that same serious expression, saying he would take Joshua out — and he couldn’t help but laugh.
The boy frowned, but Joshua was no longer afraid of him.
"Let’s go."
Joshua grabbed his friend’s hand and watched the tall figure walk ahead. He would always be tall like that — no matter how much Joshua grew, he would always be taller. Even if the sky fell, he could shelter a peaceful ground just for Joshua.
Thinking back now, what did that person really look like?
Only the three years trapped in the laboratory remained clear in Joshua’s mind. The pain was vivid, so vivid that just thinking about it now made his whole body tremble instinctively, his bones feeling gnawed at.
Even though the faces of those people had faded from his memory, the pain remained.
Joshua opened his eyes wide, trembling as he sat up, slowly climbing from the bunk bed.
He didn’t go anywhere. He just lowered his gaze and looked at Henry, staring blankly. He didn’t know what he was thinking; it was as if he had just woken from a dream — a strange dream he couldn’t remember clearly. In the dream, there was happiness, but there was also suffering. It was strange.
The darkness before him seemed to coil around Henry, twisting like a demon, mouth wide open as if to devour him.
Joshua looked at the pale blood before him; everything in his vision seemed hazy and gray, error streaks flickering like a broken screen.
"No... don’t... wake up, I’m scared, they’re going to take me... it hurts... take me away, I want to go... please... don’t leave me, don’t leave me..."
Henry felt someone pressing heavily against him, held tight, warm liquid flowing down his neck.
Joshua’s shoulders trembled in rhythm. Henry’s gaze was unnervingly clear in the darkness, not like someone who had just woken.
He lifted his arms to hold Joshua gently, patting him softly. He didn’t know who Joshua was calling, but it was clearly his last hope.
He spoke with assurance: "Sleep. Tomorrow I’ll take you away. No one will catch you."
Joshua clung to Henry, not letting go, his sobs so soft they were almost inaudible.
Instinctively, Henry held him tighter, running his hands through his soft hair.
Sleepiness surged, and Henry closed his eyes in relief. He knew that as long as Joshua was by his side, the twisted, terrifying nightmares and the pain he couldn’t remember clearly upon waking would no longer haunt him. It was as if a fragment of his shattered soul had been filled.
From the moment he first saw Joshua, Henry had known he had found what he had always been searching for.
Wasn’t this... their fate?