| PN | Mineral Veins | 23
Qi Chao found that the situation was a bit tricky.
If the puppet with low spirits was the innocent and lovely Lan Luo, Qi Chao could simply praise him a few times to uplift his good-natured spirits. But with Moss, Qi Chao wasn't sure how to handle the situation.
After all, he was still somewhat unfamiliar with Moss.
In the evening, Lan Luo woke up from his sleep.
Qi Chao took the opportunity while the Doctor and Moss were absent to quietly ask about Moss's preferences.
To make a puppet happy, it was important to know what they liked beforehand.
"Why is Master asking about Big Brother's preferences?" Lan Luo looked puzzled.
Qi Chao felt a bit embarrassed. He whispered, "I think I might have upset your Big Brother."
Big Brother? Upset?
Lan Luo looked even more puzzled. Could Big Brother be upset for someone other than Father?
"Big Brother likes Father the most."
"Is there anything else besides Brother Shen?" Qi Chao knew the answer without asking. What he wanted to know was if Moss had any other preferences.
Lan Luo shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Alright, Qi Chao rubbed Lan Luo's slightly curled hair and stopped mentioning Moss. He looked at the white ointment covering the cracks on Lan Luo's skin and asked gently, "How does it feel after applying the medicine, kiddo? Does it hurt?"
Lan Luo lifted his face, looking at Qi Chao, and after a few seconds, he nodded softly, "It hurts."
Qi Chao suddenly felt heartbroken. He racked his brains to comfort Lan Luo, and only when he saw Lan Luo squinting and smiling, he finally relaxed.
After dinner that night, the doctor and the puppets each returned to their rooms to rest.
Qi Chao thought about Moss. He took out a roll of bandages from the drawer and knocked on the doctor's door.
He only knew that Moss liked his father. If he wanted to make Moss happy immediately, he could only ask the doctor for help first.
Click, the door opened.
Qi Chao instinctively smiled, but before he could speak, he saw a golden-haired beauty dripping with water vapor.
Shen Yuxi seemed to have just showered, making his skin even fairer. His golden hair hung down to his waist, yet there was no hint of femininity. Seeing Qi Chao standing at the door, he asked in confusion, "Is there something?"
Qi Chao now had some resistance to the doctor's beauty. Seeing this scene, he sighed inwardly that the doctor was really good-looking, but he had no other thoughts.
Upon hearing the doctor's question, he immediately took out the bandage and vaguely explained that he had upset Moss. Then he said, "I want to cheer him up, but I can't think of any other way. Moss likes you the most, so I thought if Brother Shen could help change Moss's bandage, would it make him feel better?"
After Mos got caught in the rain yesterday, his bandages became wet. However, because Moss only accepts the doctor changing his bandages, the damp bandages hadn't been replaced.
Shen Yuxi paused and reached out to take the bandages. He looked at Qi Chao with a slightly strange expression.
Qi Chao felt a bit shameless for making Moss upset and asking his father for help. He quickly added, "Once Moss feels better, I will definitely apologize to him."
Shen Yuxi seemed amused by this and smiled gently, squinting his eyes as he said slowly, "I am Moss's father, so helping him change bandages is only natural. You don't need to be so humble."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "Although I don't know what conflict you have with Moss, if you came to me for him, there must have been reasons for the conflict. So, don't blame yourself too much."
How considerate.
"Brother Shen, thank you," Qi Chao said softly, pulling at the corners of his mouth, feeling deeply moved.
Shen Yuxi looked at him, still wearing a gentle smile on his face, and responded to the gratitude, "As long as I can help.”
The system in Qi Chao's consciousness was completely baffled by this scene. The villain showing such tenderness definitely had some ulterior motive. Its host was so pitiful; He might even be counting money for others after being sold.
Now the system was certain that the villain currently had no intention of killing the host. Although it didn't know why, the host was destined to die sooner or later. It could only take it one day at a time.
The relieved system sighed, feeling that it had finally stood its last watch. It turned and left this place of gossip. There was no choice; the delicate host next door was crying again, and it had to comfort them. It could only wish the host good luck.
The next day, when Qi Chao woke up, he found that Moss's bandages had been changed and were somewhat cleaner. Obviously, the doctor had replaced them for him.
Moss, with bandages wrapped around his head, still showed only one eye, making it hard to read his emotions. However, there were noticeably more little actions from him, like occasionally adjusting the bow tied to secure the bandages.
The thirteen or fourteen-year-old "youth" was always quiet and reserved. Seeing such a cute action like adjusting the bow on him created an unusual contrast and cuteness.
Qi Chao turned to look at the doctor and received a gentle smile in return. He smiled back and then sat down on the sofa.
Moss was happy now, but it was thanks to Brother Shen. Qi Chao had made him upset and he knew he should apologize. He decided to prepare a gift for Moss in the next few days to express his apology.
On the projection screen, the animation that Lan Luo liked was playing.
But for the first time Lan Luo, sitting on the sofa, did not care about what was being played. He realized that he was sitting between his father and his master.
Big Brother sat on his father's right hand side, but that didn't matter. Lan Luo subconsciously ignored Big Brother's presence. He lowered his head, sometimes looking at the hand his father placed on the sofa, and sometimes looking at the hand his master placed on the sofa, feeling inexplicably happy.
However, neither the doctor nor Qi Chao noticed this.
Qi Chao watched the animation playing on the screen, almost falling asleep out of boredom. His child at home was really dedicated to this animation, not missing a single episode. He glanced over at Brother Shen and Moss.
Although the Brother Shen and Moss were also staring at the projection, their attitude was clearly not as focused as Lan Luo's. Qi Chao figured both of them were probably like him, not liking this animation but watching it just to accompany the child.
Qi Chao chuckled softly, rubbed the head of the nearby puppet, and took the initiative to start a conversation with the doctor about the key points of puppet-making.
Shen Yuxi sat upright, answering questions calmly and with a very gentle attitude, seeming quite willing to chat with Qi Chao.
However, if Qi Chao knew the doctor better, he would have noticed that although Shen Yuxi was talking with him, he wasn't particularly engaged. His attention shifted more towards their conversation only when the ending song started playing.
As the ending song faded away, Qi Chao heard a voice and unintentionally glanced over, then saw a large word flash across the projection screen.
"'Puppet Master Competition'?"
Qi Chao read it aloud in puzzlement. It was his first time encountering such a competition.
Shen Yuxi's gaze swept past at the mention of the competition, his eyes deepening momentarily from an angle Qi Chao couldn't see. However, by the time Qi Chao looked over, Shen Yuxi had already returned to normal, speaking gently:
“This is the Puppet Master Association's competition held every four years. Both professional and non-professional puppet makers can participate. Are you interested?”
“Not interested.”
Qi Chao had a negative view of the Puppet Master Association, whether it was their monopoly on online puppet-making information or the association's ownership of puppets made within two years of joining. All of it exposed the association's authoritarianism and flaws.
Qi Chao didn't trust competitions held by such an association.
Shen Yuxi smiled. “The Puppet Master Competition is open and transparent. The prizes are also very generous and attractive. If a non-professional puppet maker wins, they can be directly certified as a Level One Puppet Master.”
Qi Chao remained unconvinced.
“Not only can you receive a Mother Stone Vein, but also a high-grade Energy Stone Vein.”
Qi Chao: !!!
Stone veins?! Two of them?
Qi Chao instantly succumbed to the lure of money. He quietly asked, “Can you explain more?”
Shen Yuxi smiled faintly and continued, “I recall you're currently making a puppet, right? As long as a puppet maker can awaken the Mother Stone, they can sign up.'"
"The competition's content is updated every year, but mostly it compares various aspects of the participating puppets to select the ultimate champion."
The doctor's explanation was simple, quickly helping Qi Chao understand the rules of the competition. In essence, the competition was about determining which puppet was superior. Qi Chao was intrigued and decided to privately research more about the competition.
Shen Yuxi observed Qi Chao's intrigued expression. A fleeting smile crossed beneath his long eyelashes as he glanced at the projection, his lips gently curving upwards.
If the system were present here, it would probably scream immediately that the villain was definitely up to something. This was clearly openly trying to lure the host into a trap!
Unfortunately, the system wasn't there. Even if it were, it wouldn't matter. As long as the confidentiality agreement existed, everything would remain hidden in the dark.
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