Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 38

 

| PN | Agu | 38

Moss was studying the usage of his new comb when he noticed his father sitting quietly beside him, seemingly lost in thought. Cautiously glancing over, Moss stiffened as he saw the dazzling diamond in his father's hand.

"Did you get this from the auction?" he asked.

Hearing his father's gentle voice, Moss immediately sat up straight, nodding quickly. His lips moved slightly under the bandages, as if afraid of his father getting angry, explaining, "Yes, Lan Luo's master took me there and wanted to buy you a diamond."

So it was Moss who revealed his father's fondness for such things?

Shen Yuxi glanced at Moss with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, his slender and fair fingers tracing the diamond's hard contours, his gaze fixed on the gem.

Moss didn't hear his father speak for a while. He lowered his head to tidy the doll's hair. Just as he was feeling uneasy, his father's smiling voice broke the silence.

"The diamond looks very nice."

Moss's tense shoulders instantly relaxed. The next moment, he heard his father add casually, "However, your dinner tonight will be energy stone-infused water."

Sure enough, he was being punished.

Moss's lips under the bandages tightened slightly. His voice was hoarse as he replied, "Yes, Father."

Shen Yuxi glanced at Moss but said nothing. Leaning back in his seat, he placed the diamond near his right eye. Through its pure and translucent shell, he could see a faint hint of blue inside the diamond, which looked very beautiful.

Moss noticed his father's actions nearby and lowered his head to continue combing the doll's hair, a barely perceptible arc forming under his bandaged lips.

Father was pleased.

Suddenly, Moss didn't feel so upset about being punished by his father.

Originally, they didn't need to take a spaceship, but because Qi Chao wanted to send them, Shen Yuxi and Moss booked tickets for the spaceship. If anyone saw the location printed on the spaceship ticket, they would know their destination was Ganfen District, the poorest place on Blue Star.

After the father and son got off the spaceship, they walked into a secluded alley. They calmly passed through the spatial vortex on the wall and appeared outside the deep and dim forest the next second.

The forest was eerily quiet, but Shen Yuxi and Moss seemed unperturbed, as if they had long been accustomed to such environments. They didn't pause but walked straight ahead.

As their footsteps echoed, there suddenly came a rustling sound all around. A few seconds later, a figure drilled out sporadically from the forest.

They had bizarre and deformed shapes, twisted limbs that could only crawl on the ground like some kind of terrifying insect. They moved incredibly fast, and there were many of them, hiding in the bushes in groups.

Shen Yuxi paused, approached the nearest life form, and gently patted its shoulder. In a warm tone, he said, "Well done."

The creature had dry hair and twisted, crossed arms. Upon hearing these words, tears actually welled up in its hollow eye sockets, and it emitted a whimpering sound. It crawled forward and lightly rubbed Shen Yuxi's knee with its peeled, bluish face, seeking comfort and encouragement.

The other creatures around emitted whimpering sounds, seemingly discontented. These strange creatures were difficult to read emotionally, but without exception, they regarded Shen Yuxi with a fondness akin to that of younger ones towards an elder.

Shen Yuxi lightly patted the shoulder of one of the creatures without saying a word. As if receiving an unspoken command, the group dispersed.

"Father, they seem to have become dull again," Moss observed, his voice husky as he looked at the traces left on the ground by the climbing creatures.

Shen Yuxi responded with a nonchalant "Mm," showing no surprise. They walked to a villa deep within the forest. While the villa was similar to those outside, it exuded an abnormal sense of tranquility.

Upon entering the villa and taking a few steps, Moss immediately rushed in front of his father. He pulled out a knife from somewhere, spun around, and slashed it into the air. The collision of metal in the air sparked a few sparks, and with a twist of his wrist, he deflected a projectile coming from upstairs onto the floor.

Moss held the knife and stared at the fallen weapon on the ground, his eyes ominously shadowed. Shen Yuxi glanced at him from behind, his expression unchanged. He looked towards the second floor and calmly said, "Agu, if you dare to play like this again next time, you won't be allowed home."

On the second floor, a "young man" with a black ponytail and wheat-toned skin leaned on the railing. His emerald eyes narrowed slightly, showing joy after a successful prank. The blue earrings swayed slightly, emitting a faint glow under the lamp.

He tilted his head slightly and exclaimed, "Alright~" 

The tone was like he was acting coquettishly, a simple word was stretched out very long, with the ending sound winding and twisting.

Shen Yuxi chuckled softly, his blue eyes curving gently.

Moss, meanwhile, kept a vigilant gaze on Agu, wary of him causing any more uncontrollable incidents.

"I'll go to the basement first. Agu, prepare some energy stones for yourself to soak in water. Moss, you don't need to do that anymore," Shen Yuxi said, gently caressing the diamond in his hand with a tender and affectionate expression.

Upon hearing this, Agu exaggeratedly expressed his disappointment, while Moss, his voice husky, thanked his father, "Thank you, Father."

After their father's figure disappeared from the living room, Agu reverted to his cheerful demeanor and ran barefoot down from the second floor.

His height was similar to Moss's, and he leaned his arm on Moss's shoulder, tilting his head to look at him, "Big brother, how is Lan Luo? Is he still as foolish as before?"

Moss's eyes darkened.

Thinking of the danger their father had narrowly escaped earlier, he grabbed Agu's hair forcefully with his right hand and spoke with a harsh and resolute voice, "If it happens again, no matter how much Father likes you, I will rip out your heart and crush it."

Agu's blue earrings swayed slightly. Despite being pulled by the hair, he didn't get angry; instead, he laughed, "Father won't let you do that. After all, compared to you, I am more valuable to Father."

Agu was the smartest puppet among them.

Regardless of the tasks given to him by Father, Agu always completed them perfectly.

Moss looked at his smiling face, his dark eyes deep. Finally, he let go of Agu's hair and turned to the basement, leaving Agu standing alone in the living room, his figure unusually lonely and desolate.

At that moment, Agu was thinking: Why does Moss have a doll in his hand?

Unlike Qi Chao's simple basement, Shen Yuxi's basement was filled with jewelry and diamonds. 

Under the lights, each jewel emitted a dazzling light. He sat on a lounge chair, looking at the diamond in his hand, lost in thought.

As Moss entered the basement, Shen Yuxi glanced at him, as if guessing the reason for his arrival. Shen Yuxi's lips curved slightly, his voice as soft as an elegant piano piece, "Are you upset with Agu?"

Moss remained silent.

Shen Yuxi chuckled lightly, patting his own leg. Moss, seeming a bit awkward, pursed his lips beneath the bandages. 

After a moment, he slowly walked over to the lounge chair and sat on the blanket beside his father's feet. Hesitating for a moment, he pressed his cheek against his father's knee. Shen Yuxi's cool hand gently stroked the back of his head, making Moss unable to help feeling somewhat happy.

"Good boy."

Father's voice was soft, with the usual gentle tone. Moss felt the comforting touch of his father's hand and thought to himself: Moss is very obedient, more so than Lan Luo and Agu.

After seeing off Brother Shen and Moss. Qi Chao returned to the villa. Just as he opened the door, a flash of white figure appeared before him. Before he could react, Li Bai had jumped onto him, excitedly exclaiming, "Daddy, you're back!"

"Yeah, Daddy's back."

Qi Chao hadn't expected Li Bai to be so agile. He supported Li Bai's back to prevent the energetic cub from falling off.

Glancing over, Qi Chao saw Lan Luo standing at the entrance. He smiled and walked over, ruffling Lan Luo's hair and softly saying, "Lan Luo, I'm back."

Lan Luo looked up at Qi Chao, then glanced at Li Bai in Qi Chao's arms. He opened his mouth as if to say something but swallowed it back, finally breaking into a bright smile, "Mm!"

Qi Chao put Li Bai down and took the two cubs back into the living room. He looked at the spacious room, feeling a bit lonely for some reason. Even though the two liveliest children at home were present, without Brother Shen and Moss, Qi Chao felt a sense of incompleteness.

He sat on the sofa, lost in thought, while the two children beside him showed no signs of such emotions.

Li Bai was happy because Daddy was home, and Lan Luo had long been accustomed to farewells. Besides, their father would return in two weeks. Compared to the past, two weeks was nothing.

Lan Luo glanced at Qi Chao from the corner of his eye, recalling the scene at the entrance earlier. He pursed his lips. Li Bai called Qi Chao "Dad" and was very close to him. In the past, Qi Chao had also referred to himself as "Dad" to Lan Luo. 

Lan Luo knew that "Dad" and "Father" meant the same thing, so he had never addressed Qi Chao that way, and Qi Chao had never forced him to.

Qi Chao is very good to Lan Luo now. Should he change his title to make Qi Chao happy?

Lan Luo fiddled with the sofa with his fingertips, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He seemed to realize that once he changed his title, something would have to change.

"I have something I haven't told you two," Qi Chao suddenly spoke up.

Both Lan Luo and Li Bai looked up at him, puzzled.

Qi Chao turned off the projection and explained seriously to the two children on the sofa about seeing Double Mirror and wanting Li Bai to participate in the competition. He said, "Li Bai, if you don't want to participate, I'll withdraw."

Although he wanted to use this to rescue Double Mirror, he couldn't ignore his son's wishes if Li Bai didn't want to participate.

Li Bai didn't quite understand everything, but he knew his father wanted him to compete. Li Bai was strong and sure he could win the competition. Then his father would be very happy!

Thinking this, he raised his hand excitedly, showing his small tiger teeth, "Li Bai wants to compete!"

Lan Luo looked at the man in front of him, tilting his head, not understanding Qi Chao's thoughts.

He understood, of course, that this was part of Father's plan, but he didn't understand why this man wanted to save a deformed puppet.

Lan Luo had seen many deformed puppets, many of which were created by puppet masters long ago and then discarded in junkyards. Father had picked them up, but these puppets had short lives, their movements slowing over time until they fell into eternal sleep.

Even if they were S-rank, as long as they were deformed, they couldn't live more than a year. 

Lan Luo didn't understand why Qi Chao agreed to participate in the competition because of that short-lived puppet. His fingertips fiddled with the sofa, his eyes murky and unclear.

Qi Chao noticed Lan Luo's head lowered in deep thought and was about to say something when suddenly his wrist communicator, the Light Brain, vibrated.

The screen displayed a video call from his original body's younger brother, Qi Feng.

Upon seeing his brother's name, Qi Chao immediately recalled the incident years ago when the twin brothers were set up in a hotel. Although they had been in touch over the past few months, it wasn't frequent.

So, why was his brother contacting him now?

With these thoughts, Qi Chao answered the video call.

The next moment, Qi Feng's anxious face appeared on the screen. He urgently said to Qi Chao, "Brother, dad just found out about you wanting to become a puppet master, and he somehow learned about you making puppets. He's really angry. He's on his way to your place right now! Qi Yue and I are also on our way to you. Be careful, brother!"

Before Qi Feng could finish his sentence, the sound of a door being unlocking echoed from the entrance with great force, seemingly to ensure that whoever was inside would hear it.

Qi Chao: ...

What kind of horror movie was this?

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