Chapter 5

Joshua's expression instantly darkened. He clearly hadn't expected me to know anything about Spring Harvest Agro-Tech, but when Zack and Louis turned their curious gazes toward him, he quickly tried to regain his composure. "You don't know anything! Sure, the company's owner's last name is White on paper, but my dad owns over thirty percent of the shares." "Please don't talk like you understand when you have no clue! You're just embarrassing yourself!" Joshua snapped before storming out of the dorm room, not daring to stay a second longer. Watching him leave in such a hurry, I couldn't help but find it amusing. "But Joshua, this is just the beginning of your downfall," I thought. Over the next few days, Joshua was in a constant rush, barely spending any time in the dorm. And even when he did come back, he was glued to his phone, biting his nails as he furiously sent messages. Zack and Louis tried to talk to him and even invited him out for drinks, but he turned them down every time. I knew exactly what was going on. Two days ago, the foundation sent out the student stipends, but Joshua hasn't received a dime since I cut off his funding. Of course, suddenly losing his financial support had him panicking. With him too busy worrying about his lack of money, I finally had the peace of mind to focus on my startup project. Dad had always been there for me, supporting my studies and life, and I wasn't about to let him down. That evening, I returned to the dorm with my laptop and found Zack and Louis huddled around Joshua, trying to console him. His eyes were red like he'd just finished crying. As I walked in, Zack suddenly piped up. "Look at William—he's got nothing, broke as hell, and he's still doing just fine!" "Exactly!" Louis agreed to it. "If someone like William can make it, what are you even worried about? It is just your family that cut off your allowance, and we can lend you some money to get you through this rough patch. You can sort things out with them later." After hearing this, Joshua's eyes lit up, and he immediately looked at them. "Really? You guys are willing to lend me the money?" Zack and Louis, who had been talking big, started to hesitate when it came down to actually lending the money. "I don't have that much left myself," Zack mumbled. "I could lend you a thousand dollars, but you've got to promise you'll pay me back by next week, or I'll be starving," Louis offered. Joshua slapped their shoulders with a confident grin. "Don't worry! My parents just wanted me to learn to be independent, so they froze my card for a while. It'll get unfrozen once I talk to them in a few days. Not only will I pay you back the money, but I'll even throw in some interest." As soon as they heard there'd be interest, they quickly transferred one thousand dollars to Joshua without hesitation. I watched the whole scene unfold, opened my mouth to say something, but then decided against it. They were completely brainwashed by Joshua. Even if I told them the truth now, they'd just accuse me of being jealous and trying to sabotage him. I could already picture the whole mess, with them attacking each other later. So, whatever. Let them go ahead and play their game of brotherhood. The next day, I had just taken a seat in the back row for class when I noticed Joshua walking around the classroom, phone in hand, borrowing money from everyone. I couldn't help but feel puzzled. Didn't Zack and Louis just lend him two thousand dollars last night? "Sorry, guys. I'll pay you back in a couple of days. My mom froze my card, and it is Lina's birthday today. I need to scrape together some cash to buy her a gift, or she'll definitely throw a fit," Joshua said. I froze for a moment and glanced at the date, realizing it was indeed Lina's birthday today. I had already prepared a gift for her in advance, a handbag I designed myself, with a custom logo from one of my favorite brands. But now, it seemed like there was no point in giving it to her anymore. After class, I immediately met with the staff to discuss my startup project. They sent me a concept image and said, "Mr. White, the version is nearly complete and ready for testing." I was excited. This was the first time I had developed something entirely independently, and I was eager for it to succeed. "Great, keep pushing forward," I replied. With their top-tier talent on board, everything was progressing smoothly and efficiently. Just then, a round of applause erupted from the front of the classroom. I looked up to see Lina had walked in at some point. Lina was wearing a light blue skirt, her long hair cascading down her shoulders. With her fair skin and shy smile, she looked as pure and innocent as ever. In the past, seeing Lina blush like that would've made my heart skip a beat, and I wouldn't have been able to resist hugging and kissing her. But now? I didn't even care to spare her a second glance. "Joshua, you're too sweet to me." Lina held a necklace encrusted with small diamonds, and she was thrilled. "Can you help me put it on?" Joshua grinned, and amid the clapping and whistling from the crowd, he fastened the necklace around her neck. The people around them immediately started cheering. "Kiss her! Kiss her!" As Joshua and Lina slowly leaned in closer, I thought I wouldn't care. But just before their lips met, I found myself feeling uncomfortable. I was about to look away when Lina suddenly pushed Joshua away; her face flushed, and she ran out of the classroom in embarrassment. It turns out that Brandon has just walked in. Seeing the commotion, Brandon wasn't upset at all. He glanced at Joshua with a smile and said, "No dating in the classroom, Joshua. It's fine that you're popular, but at least think about the feelings of the single guys here." Everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere was light and cheerful. But I just sat at the back, completely disconnected from this fake sense of joy. After school, I had just stepped out of the classroom through the back door when I ran right into Lina. The hallway was empty except for the two of us. Instead of giving me her usual scornful look, she paused and glanced at me with a hesitant expression, like she wanted to say something but couldn't. Before I could make sense of it, Joshua and a few other classmates appeared. Lina quickly ran over to him, leaving me utterly confused. Back at the dorm, I was about to change my shoes when I noticed something off. My limited-edition sneakers were missing. I searched everywhere but couldn't find them. When Zack and Louis returned, I could only ask them. "Who would wear your shoes? Are you out of your mind?" Zack snapped. Unsurprisingly, a simple question turned into an insult. Louis, who was sipping his soda with a serious face, chimed in, "There are only two possibilities here. The first possibility is the dorm manager tossed them out as trash; or the second is you made this up just to blame us." I gave him a cold stare. "There's a third possibility that Joshua took them." There were only four of us in the dorm. If Zack and Louis hadn't touched them, then left only Joshua. I avoided using the word "stole" to spare him some dignity. As soon as I said that, Zack and Louis looked at me like I'd just told them the wildest joke they'd ever heard. Louis even spat his soda all over the floor and laughed. "Are you serious? Do you think Joshua would wear your shoes? Oh man, I must post this joke in the group chat!" Louis howled. Zack shot me a disgusted glare. "Do you even realize how much Joshua hates knock-offs? He was a guy that worn designer brands his entire life! You said that Joshua was wearing your shoes? I'd sooner do a headstand and puke."