Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 45

 

| PN | Staying Up | 45

“Since the machine developed by the mainframe headquarters has recognized this design, it must have its merits,” Bugu said with a smile. She reached out her right hand, adorned with a glittering gold bracelet, and lightly tapped the paper a few times, her eyes filled with determination. “Let’s proceed with the scoring.”

Bugu made this statement without consulting the two men beside her. Seeing this, both Qing Yu and Lang Chuan’s expressions darkened.

After a moment of hesitation, the host followed Bugu’s instruction and gestured to the staff to begin the scoring process.

The scene at the judges' table was captured by the camera, and the live broadcast room buzzed with speculation. Viewers were curious about what had happened to prompt such an unusual situation.

【Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen the host consult the judges. Did something go wrong with the verification machine?】

【It shouldn’t be an issue; do you not trust the mainframe headquarters? Maybe the design is just too unique for the organizers to understand!】

【Haha, the previous comment is too optimistic. It doesn’t align with reality at all.】

As the comments continued, the live broadcast screen suddenly went blank. The system then automatically selected one thousand online viewers as representatives to cast their votes, based on the audience ratio.

【Damn! I got selected!!!】

In the live broadcast room, fans selected as representatives screamed silently with excitement, while those who weren't selected flooded the comment section with a series of envious and jealous crying emojis.

In stark contrast to the cheerful atmosphere of the comments, the mood among the contestants was grim.

“My proportionate design isn’t finished.”

“I just completed the character background; I haven’t even started the design.”

“How could three hours possibly be enough?!”

This was the prevailing sentiment among most of the contestants.

Certified human-shaped puppet designers were highly sought after. Not only did they enjoy high social status, but third-level and above designers also received a monthly stipend from the association. They could live comfortably even without working for several months.

This meant that most human-shaped puppet designers worked at a slow pace, sometimes taking a whole month to complete a single design. 

Given this, creating a complete puppet background and proportionate design within three hours was practically a fantasy. Many designers had barely finished half of their work.

Sitting at his seat, Qi Chao rubbed his right wrist. Due to the high pressure he endured in his previous life, his speed was much faster than that of ordinary designers, but it also put a lot of strain on his wrist.

He looked up at the public screen at the judges' table, which displayed ten evenly spaced empty slots.

This time, the number of puppet makers participating in the competition is too large. Even the first round of the competition is divided into morning and afternoon sessions. 

Only the top ten from each session can advance to the second round. 

【I’m reserving my seat first! The top spot is definitely going to Professor Qiao!】

【Why should it be? My Beben can definitely be first!】

【Let’s celebrate in advance~ Our Qi dad will definitely make the list!】

【LOL, I haven’t even seen Qi Chao’s S-grade puppet, so who says he will definitely make it? Yawn.】

In the morning session of the competition, only three puppet makers have actually created S-grade puppets. However, to the fans of other puppet makers, the first two, Professor Qiao and Zhao Beben, are both industry veterans. Even if they win, it wouldn't be surprising. 

But Qi Chao, who is new to the scene, suddenly revealing that he has made S-grade puppets, might push their idols off the list. Under such circumstances, they obviously can't stand Qi Chao. 

As soon as this was mentioned, the chat exploded. Although Qi Chao had only started his livestreaming not long ago, he already had quite a few fans. With the support of the doctor fans, the chat quickly became evenly matched, making it hard to determine a clear winner.

Of course, the puppet makers participating in the competition were unaware of the chat. The judges quickly projected the puppet makers’ works onto the screen. 

This was Qi Chao's first time seeing other puppet makers' designs on Blue Star, and he couldn’t help but examine them closely. 

Then Qi Chao realized that the designs of Blue Star puppet makers were quite simple.

For example, regarding the element of “moon,” many puppet makers focus on details like hair color, clothing, and accessories, such as clothes with moon patterns or moon-shaped earrings. 

The background design is also particularly simple. For instance, the background for the puppet currently being projected is just a straightforward sentence: "A girl born on a moonlit night."

Although the puppet’s appearance is quite good, Qi Chao feels that something is missing.

He doesn't know that this puppet maker’s work received a warm welcome in the chat as soon as it appeared. To draw such a beautiful puppet in just three hours, only a highly experienced puppet maker could achieve such a level, right?

While Qi Chao is feeling a bit disheartened by the skills of his peers, the judges quickly announced Professor Qiao's name. 

This is the puppet maker who previously created the beast girl puppet.

Qi Chao straightened up, eagerly anticipating this colleague’s work.

The screen soon displayed a girl with deer antlers and a deer tail. She looked like a fawn drinking by the lake under the moonlight, with a serene demeanor, pure and unblemished eyes, and an untouched cleanliness that made her seem like a vision from a moonlit forest.

Impressive.

Seeing this forest-themed girl, Qi Chao couldn't help but exclaim. The design was exceptionally delicate.

At this point, the chat was going wild, with the screen filled with Professor Qiao’s fans showering him with praise. "So beautiful! This is what ‘white moonlight’ really means! The previous ones can't compare at all!"

Because this piece was so stunning, the reaction to the subsequent works was rather lukewarm. 

Even S-grade puppet maker Zhao Beben's piece didn't receive as much enthusiastic response as Professor Qiao’s design.

Zhao Beben’s work depicted a serene moonlight goddess, portrayed as gentle and beautiful. Qi Chao also found this design excellent, with outstanding composition and proportions. However, perhaps due to time constraints, some details weren’t as meticulous as Professor Qiao’s.

While Qi Chao was pondering this, he suddenly realized that from the beginning until now, no one had created a male puppet.

The theme of “moon” indeed easily evokes images of feminine softness and purity, but is it too coincidental that everyone has chosen female characters?

Could it be that he misread the theme?

Qi Chao couldn't help but wonder if the organizers had stipulated the gender of the puppets. Realizing this possibility made him a bit anxious.

Fortunately, the screen soon displayed a design of a soft-tempered male puppet.

Seeing this, Qi Chao immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to know that he hadn’t made a mistake. It seemed that Blue Star puppet makers had a tendency to choose female figures to represent the moon.

Gradually, all eighteen design drafts had been displayed. When the nineteenth design appeared on the screen, it still wasn’t Qi Chao’s work.

Seeing this, Qi Chao started to feel a bit nervous, but his fans still blindly believed that the twentieth design would definitely be from Qi Chao.

What a joke! How could a genius puppet maker who could give up vast fortunes possibly lose in such a minor competition!

Even though their rivals were flaunting themselves in front of them, the fans were undaunted and continued to retaliate by furiously typing on their keyboards.

【Ridiculous, I don’t know where you get your confidence.】 The rival trolls had just typed this.

The next moment, the screen suddenly displayed a pitch-black design, completely different from all the previous soft and serene styles, with Qi Chao’s name on it.

Trolls: 【Damn!】

The design featured a young male puppet with dog ears and a dog tail, a defiant appearance, and red eyes that seemed to disdain everyone. A pair of long black wings extended from his back, and his black clothes were adorned with dark red patterns. 

At first glance, it looked very intimidating. If the previous nineteen puppets were gentle “white moonlight,” this one was like the dark night—dangerous yet stirring.

Damn! So cool!

The fans were captivated by this cool design and began showering it with praise.

The trolls were also amazed by the design. Once they snapped back to reality and remembered their earlier comments, they felt a bit guilty and quickly examined the design for flaws. Sure enough, they did find something to criticize!

The theme was “moon”! How can this appearance and design fit the theme? There isn’t even a moon pattern on it—what a scam! Black curtain!!!

Seeing the trolls being so rampant, Qi Chao’s fans wanted to fight back but didn’t know how to respond. Although the design was particularly stunning, the issue with the theme was indeed a bit hard to refute.

As the fans in the comments section fell silent, the trolls became smug. However, before they could gloat for long, the design’s background story was slowly announced: “A lunar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon, but in ancient times, people, due to limited technology, did not understand how lunar eclipses occurred and mistakenly believed that the sudden disappearance of the moon was because a divine dog in the sky had swallowed it, known as ‘Celestial Dog Eating the Moon’.”

Trolls: This works too?

Impressive storytelling.

Fans burst into laughter after hearing the story. Looking at the dog-eared puppet on the design, they thought, yes, it's a powerful dog that can eat the moon.

Compared to most previous soft and delicate male and female figures, a moon-eating dog was clearly the most unique and eye-catching. With the level of detail in Qi Chao’s puppet matching or surpassing Professor Qiao’s, the support for Qi Chao in the comments section grew, eventually surpassing that for Professor Qiao and Zhao Beben.

After all twenty design drafts were displayed, the audience scores quickly came out. 

Unsurprisingly, Qi Chao topped the list, followed by Professor Qiao, with Zhao Beben in third place.

According to the fans’ expectations, this result should have been final. However, after the judges scored, the rankings changed instantly, and Qi Chao ended up in third place.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Bugu looked displeased at the two men beside him. “Deliberately giving low scores?”

Lang Chuan and Qing Yu looked innocent. “How could that be? We were just giving normal scores. After all, this puppet maker named Qi Chao had an advantage with the background story. It’s hard to see the moon element just from the design itself, isn’t it?”

Nonsense.

Bugu seethed, thinking that even machine scoring recognized the combination of elements. How could these judges be worse than machines?

“Then I want to ask, don’t you feel guilty giving Zhao Beben such high scores?” Zhao Beben’s work was indeed subpar, with many important details poorly executed.

“Of course not, Beben’s skills have always been high!”

High my foot, not even close to mine.

If Bugu weren’t holding back for the sake of money, she would have definitely beaten up these two annoying judges by now.

The judges’ scores were out. Even though the viewers in the chat were flooding the screen with protests, the scores couldn’t be changed. After Qing Yu, who was skilled in rhetoric, came forward to explain, the matter was left as it was.

Qi Chao looked at his third-place result with a frown. He glanced at the slightly plump Zhao Beben not far away, who seemed to be looking at him and even smiled.

Qi Chao returned the smile and then neatly folded his design draft and put it in his pocket.

Qing Yu’s explanation was a bit flimsy, but not entirely without reason. However, in Qi Chao’s view, his puppet design was not inferior to the top two.

After leaving the competition venue, Qi Chao met up with Shen Yuxi and a few others in the parking lot.

“Congratulations.”

Shen Yuxi smiled and said.

Qi Chao smiled and thanked him. Even though he only placed third, making it to the next round was indeed a good result.

Li Bai rushed up and hugged Qi Chao’s waist, showing two small tiger teeth and said crisply, “Daddy is awesome!”

“Thank you for the compliment, Li Bai.”

Qi Chao ruffled Li Bai’s head. Noticing Lan Luo and Moss standing beside him, looking up at him, he gave a light smile and ruffled their heads as well.

Shen Yuxi watched Qi Chao’s actions and suddenly said as Qi Chao was about to take them home, “I’ll head back later. You take them home first.”

Hearing this, Qi Chao was momentarily surprised, and then the doctor gently explained, “I’m going to see a friend.”

“Alright.”

Qi Chao nodded. Initially, he didn’t think much of it, but once he got on the flyer and noticed that Lan Luo and Moss both had somewhat strange expressions, he realized that the doctor’s visit might not be as simple as seeing a friend.

That evening, Moss and Lan Luo stayed on the sofa, seemingly waiting for their father to return. Qi Chao glanced at the time and told them to go back to their rooms and sleep.

Both brothers were a bit reluctant.

“Go to bed, and when Brother Shen comes back, I’ll wake you up,” Li Bai had already gone to sleep, and Qi Chao made a serious promise to the two children.

After Lan Luo and Moss looked at Qi Chao for a few seconds, they finally nodded.

It was now nine o’clock in the evening. Qi Chao sat on the sofa, watching an animation but absentmindedly thought that he should have asked more questions earlier.

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