My Idol System: An Idol, But Also A Savior-Chapter 181: Late-Night BBQ

[After enduring countless hardships, Gon’s group finally managed to reach the village. The village chief, who had been guiding them, said that Alex was currently trying on clothes, and invited them to come and witness the scene.

Along the way, Gon’s group remained silent as they observed everything around them. All they could see was a desolate, impoverished village, filled with ancient, hard-to-understand structures.

Many people were staring at them, those fixed gazes gnawing at them like silkworms devouring mulberry leaves, bringing with them an indescribable sense of unease.

At last, they arrived at the largest house in the village. It was exceptionally grand, completely different from the surrounding poverty.

The walls were inlaid with gold, and atop them stood statues hidden among clouds and mist, making them difficult to see clearly.

"Creak..."

The door was finally opened.

The village chief smiled. "Go on in."

Having come this far, there was no way back. They exchanged glances, then walked straight inside.

"Aaaa!"

Suddenly, a scream rang out. Robert turned pale and pointed straight ahead, so frightened that he collapsed onto the ground.

The others followed his gaze and saw a group of maidservants surrounding a flamboyantly dressed figure. The attire looked more like that of a bride than a groom. What was most striking, however, was the demon mask worn on the face.

On a closer look, it was indeed somewhat frightening, though Robert’s overreaction was probably partly due to how tense he already was.

As if drawn by the sound, the demon mask suddenly moved and turned around.

It turned out that the mask was not on the face at all, but on the back of the head. On the front was another mask, white in color, yet even more eerie than the one behind.

"Tap, tap."

Footsteps echoed as the person slowly walked toward them. The bright red hem of the robe trailed along the ground, leaving behind a vivid streak of color in their eyes.

Robert parted his lips, but before he could scream, Gon clamped a hand over his mouth.

He frowned, his resolute gaze fixed forward, waiting to see what this mysterious "younger brother" intended to do.

Yet the person merely raised a hand, gently removed the mask, bent forward slightly, and extended one hand while smiling at Robert. In a soft voice, he said, "Father, don’t be afraid."

Robert and Gon stared at the scene in shock at the same time, and the others were no less astonished.

Out there earlier, most of the villagers had been thin and ashen, like a pack of starving ghosts. None of them had expected Alex to look like this.

He smiled at them, innocent and childlike. When Robert refused to take his hand, he even tilted his head, looking a little puzzled.

Robert swallowed, his mind lagging behind what was happening. At that moment, Gon firmly took hold of Alex’s hand.

The sudden force made Alex look back in surprise.

Gon said softly, "Father isn’t feeling well. You won’t mind, right, Alex?"

Alex looked blankly at Gon, then nodded. "Yes... big brother..."]

"Cut!"

The sound of the clapperboard rang out, followed by Lance’s loud, casual shout.

"Everyone did great. Joshua, Luis, come over here for a moment."

Being singled out by Lance, Joshua pressed his lips together, feeling a little nervous, simply because he knew exactly where he hadn’t done well just now.

At that moment, someone suddenly patted his back. He turned around and saw Luis smiling at him. "It’s fine. I’m here. Let’s go."

Joshua looked at Luis, parted his lips, but in the end said nothing, only nodding gently.

On the other side, a small monitor replayed the scene they had just filmed. Lance kept talking. "Very smooth overall, but Joshua, do you have some issue with calling Luis ’big brother’?"

As he spoke, Lance smiled. "Then again, at Luis’s age, maybe he should be called ’uncle’ instead."

Luis frowned. "Don’t talk nonsense."

Joshua lowered his gaze and said softly, "I know. It was my fault..."

But Joshua truly did not know how to explain it.

Just then, his head was suddenly ruffled lightly. Joshua looked up and saw Luis gazing down at him, smiling faintly as he said, "Could it be that our Joshua really wants to call me ’uncle’?"

Joshua pressed his lips together and stared at Luis in a daze. Seeing the sudden redness at the corners of Joshua’s eyes, Luis froze. "Joshua, what’s wrong?"

Joshua shook his head. "No. It’s just that you and my big brother have very similar names..."

So was that why Joshua’s emotions were always misplaced at moments like this?

Luis knew this was probably a sad story. He smiled. "Then just think of me as your big brother, all right?"

Lance nodded. "That’s right. Just treat Luis as a substitute."

Luis really wanted to shut Lance up.

But at this moment, Joshua was not paying Lance any attention at all. He looked at Luis, smiled, then suddenly shook his head. "My big brother doesn’t like smiling the way you do."

"Then think of me as your second older brother. Is that okay?"

Joshua stared at Luis blankly, then suddenly broke into a bright smile and nodded vigorously. "I like that a lot too."

Seeing Joshua’s beaming smile, Luis and Lance could not help but feel that Joshua was truly hard to read. Just moments ago, his eyes had been red, looking as though he was on the verge of tears, yet now he was smiling so brightly that no trace of gloom remained.

Luis gently touched the dimple on Joshua’s cheek and said softly, "All right. Do you feel better now?"

Joshua’s eyes sparkled. "I’ll do my best!"

Watching the interaction between the two of them, Lance could not help feeling a little jealous. Fine, this was a film set after all, so was he the only one stuck playing the villain here?

In any case, after that, the interactions between Joshua and Luis truly became much smoother.

The first day went more smoothly than anyone had expected, and the others also realized that Joshua’s talent genuinely deserved to be chosen.

The only thing Joshua was dissatisfied with was probably the boxed meals provided by the film crew.

In the early evening, there was a sudden knock on Joshua’s door. Luis was fully geared up, wearing a hat and a mask, with a pair of glasses in his hand.

Joshua’s hair was still a little damp, and he was dressed in soft pajamas, looking completely ready to go to sleep.

Luis could not help laughing. "Joshua, are you really a young person? You’re already getting ready for bed at this hour?"

"Gurgle~"

Just as Luis finished speaking, a sudden sound rang out.

Both of them froze. Joshua clutched his stomach, so embarrassed that his whole face looked as if it had ripened red.

Seeing Joshua’s ears burning red, Luis pressed his lips together. In the end, he still could not help letting out a small laugh, though he quickly stopped himself.

Joshua lifted his head. His already watery eyes now looked even more so, his entire face flushed. "If you want to laugh, then laugh."

Luis looked at Joshua’s cheeks and truly could not resist raising his hand to touch them lightly. At last, he understood why the members of ShineOn often lost control on camera. Joshua was simply too cute.

Joshua turned his face away in slight annoyance, clearly unwilling to pay Luis any attention.

Luis smiled. "Sorry. Isn’t that why I’m here? Go change your clothes. We’re going out for barbecue."

The moment Joshua heard the word "barbecue," his eyes immediately lit up as he looked at Luis, as if asking to make sure he had heard correctly.

Luis found it a little funny. He had barely nodded firmly when the door in front of him had already closed. Before shutting it, Joshua did not forget to remind him, "Wait for me a bit."

Joshua was really fast.

Before long, the door opened again. This time, Joshua was already changed, wearing black jeans and a black hoodie, plus a hat and a mask, leaving only a pair of sparkling eyes looking at Luis.

Just from those eyes alone, Luis could already imagine Joshua’s eager, urging smile.

"All right, let’s go."

As they walked, Luis added, "But it’s best not to let Lance know about this."

Hearing that, Joshua could not help feeling a little puzzled. "What would Lance do?"

Luis replied directly. "He’d scold us from morning till night for not maintaining our figures."

Hearing this, Joshua clasped his hands together and muttered, "That’s good. I won’t gain weight."

Luis chuckled and lightly patted Joshua’s head.

Joshua immediately grew dissatisfied. "Don’t pat my head. I won’t grow taller."

Luis could not help laughing. "Height isn’t something that grows through faith, Joshua."

Joshua: "..."

Luis seemed very familiar with the area outside the film set. He directly led Joshua to a barbecue stall in the night market. The place was extremely crowded, and the owner grilling the meat did not stop for a moment.

After ordering, Luis returned to their seats and noticed that Joshua had already wiped the table clean, hands resting on his thighs, sitting properly and waiting.

Luis found it quite strange. He did not know if it was his own problem, but he had to admit that no matter what Joshua did right now, he found it adorable.

"Have you eaten at places like this before?" Luis suddenly asked.

Joshua nodded. "A friend took me once."

Luis continued, "About what happened last time, I’ve always been thinking about how to thank you. Joshua, in the future, no matter what happens, you can just come to me. I’ll handle it."

It was a promise with a very broad scope.

Joshua could not help asking, "What if I break the law?"

Luis frowned and lectured him. "Don’t think about such nonsense."

Joshua smiled. Luis lightly tapped Joshua on the forehead. "Anyway, with me here, I won’t let anyone hurt you."

Hearing Luis’s promise, Joshua did not know whether he truly believed it or not. He only nodded firmly. "I understand, big brother."

Luis rubbed Joshua’s head lightly. At that moment, the barbecue was served. Fat dripped from the meat with a constant sizzling sound, the aroma rich and mouthwatering.

Joshua licked his lips and looked toward Luis.

Luis smiled. "Careful, it’s hot."

Of course, Luis was worrying too much. With Joshua’s eating speed, there was definitely no risk of getting burned.

At first, Luis thought Joshua must be starving. But when he saw Joshua blowing on the meat for nearly a full minute, he could not help saying, "Do you have a cat’s tongue, Joshua?"

By then, Joshua had already put the meat into his mouth. His eyes immediately squinted in happiness, and only then did he look at Luis in confusion.

Facing Joshua, Luis finally just shook his head. "Eat up so we can go back and sleep."

At this rate, who knew how long Joshua would take to finish eating.