Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 54

 

| PN | Another Blow | 54

After happily shouting out loud in his newly changed floral shirt, the "boy" quickly ran to Shen Yuxi's side and directly jumped onto him.

“Father, Agu has come to play with you!”

The black-haired "boy" seemed to carry joyful little waves in his tone. He hugged Shen Yuxi’s neck and, with a subtle glance, looked towards Qi Chao. When their eyes met, his smile grew even wider.

“Are you a good friend of Father’s?”

Agu jumped off the doctor and circled around to the front of the wheelchair, pulling down his sunglasses. His emerald-green eyes sparkled with a strong sense of amusement.

Noticing the spherical joints on the boy’s body and recalling his reference to Shen Yuxi as "father," Qi Chao concluded that this puppet named Agu was clearly crafted by the doctor. He looked at Shen Yuxi and smiled at the puppet in front of him, saying, “Yes.”

Although Shen Yuxi maintained his smile, Agu could detect the deep displeasure hidden beneath his father’s expression.

However, provoking his father’s unhappiness was an everyday occurrence for Agu. He wasn’t afraid at all, knowing that his father wouldn’t punish him in front of Qi Chao.

Thinking this, Agu’s smile grew even wider. He said to Qi Chao, “I’m Agu, the second puppet made by Father.”

“Agu, that name is really cute,” Qi Chao said with a smile. He was about to continue speaking when the doctor’s voice cut in from the side, “How did you get here?”

Agu maintained his unchanged expression, still smiling cheerfully. “Agu came here by spaceship. I missed Father so much.” His voice was stretched out as if he had suffered a great deal.

Shen Yuxi’s smile tightened, and though he still had a smile on his face, his eyes were noticeably colder.

Qi Chao, naturally, noticed the subtle shift in the atmosphere between the father and son. He paused for a moment before smiling and saying, “Agu is amazing, coming all the way here alone by spaceship to find Brother Shen.”

“Yes! Agu is super amazing!”

Upon hearing this, Agu didn’t feel shy at all. Instead, he nodded in agreement, his emerald-green eyes narrowing as he proudly told Qi Chao, “To come here, Agu even disguised himself as a human when boarding the spaceship.”

“Agu doesn’t have identification. How did you buy a ticket for the spaceship?” Qi Chao asked with interest, playing along.

“This is very simple.”

Although he claimed it was simple, Agu didn’t actually reveal how he managed to get the ticket. 

This part involved the trial grounds, and Agu was always aware of his father’s limits. He cheerfully shifted the topic to interesting things he saw on the spaceship.

Qi Chao was always very tolerant of the puppets. Noticing Agu’s attempt to change the subject, he said nothing and continued to smile encouragingly.

As expected of Brother Shen’s child.

Seeing Agu’s energetic appearance, Qi Chao couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.

Shen Yuxi, observing the cheerful interaction between Qi Chao and Agu, slightly fluttered his eyelashes. Intentionally placing himself between Qi Chao and Agu, he said to Qi Chao, “The association’s leader is still waiting for us. We can continue chatting about this later. Agu won’t be leaving for the time being.”

He then gently looked at Agu and asked, “Right, Agu?”

Agu, recognizing the warning in his father’s eyes, smiled and nodded, “Yes, that’s right.”

Then, feigning curiosity, he asked, “Where are Father and Uncle going? Can Agu come along?”

“It’s been hard for Agu to come by spaceship, so let’s not ask too many questions.” Shen Yuxi glanced at Agu, his peach blossom eyes slightly curving with a gentle expression.

Agu had anticipated that his father wouldn’t tell him, so he turned to Qi Chao, removed his sunglasses to reveal his emerald-green eyes, which, contrasted with his tanned skin, had an exotic charm. “Uncle, can you tell Agu?”

Agu didn’t know much about Qi Chao, but he was always skilled at leveraging his appearance. His eyes squinted with a smile, and the blue earrings sparkled under the sunlight.

Qi Chao had a poor impression of the association. He had kept the children at home on the spacecraft to avoid too much interaction with the association. 

Although it was his first time meeting Agu, Qi Chao regarded him as a junior and naturally wouldn’t take him to meet people from the association.

“Agu should listen to your father and rest well on the spacecraft. I’ll make you something delicious tonight.”

Qi Chao smiled as he declined.

Hearing this, Agu’s smile faltered. He put his sunglasses back on, stood up, and, with his hands behind his back, kicked at the non-existent stones on the ground, mumbling, “If you don’t say, then you don’t have to say it. Agu isn’t that curious anyway.”

Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of helplessness. They turned and prepared to take Agu back to the spacecraft.

Despite not knowing where the spacecraft was parked, Agu continuously walked ahead of them, sometimes speeding up to dig imaginary pits or standing still to look at the sky, displaying a somewhat neurotic behavior.

“Agu is really lively.”

Qi Chao whispered to Shen Yuxi.

Shen Yuxi’s gaze fell on Agu, who was wearing a floral shirt and shorts. After a few seconds, he slowly withdrew his gaze and said, “Yes, he is the most lively among my children.”

As he spoke, Shen Yuxi’s eyelashes shielded the darkness in his eyes. He had been too lenient with Agu, allowing him to stray from his duties and ignore his orders.

Inside the spacecraft, Lan Luo and Li Bai were watching a cartoon on a small projection screen, while Moss was tidying up the hair of his doll.

“Brother Moss, the hairstyle you did for the puppet today looks so nice!” During an advertisement break on the cartoon, Li Bai’s attention shifted to Moss’s doll.

Moss’s thin lips beneath the bandages slightly curved into a smile, clearly pleased by Li Bai’s compliment.

Lan Luo glanced at the doll. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t see anything special about the hairstyle his elder brother had done, nor could he understand why his brother still hadn’t grown tired of the doll after so long.

“The cartoon is starting.”

Lan Luo watched the animation on the screen come back to life and tapped Li Bai beside him, who instantly refocused on the projection.

Inside the spacecraft, a quiet atmosphere settled in, but it felt unusually harmonious. At that moment, a knocking sound came from the window.

Li Bai was the first to hear the sound and looked over, seeing an unfamiliar “boy.”

“Second Brother?” Lan Luo was puzzled by the face outside the window. Why was his second brother here? Was it an order from Father?

Moss, who had not reacted to the knocking sound, continued to tend to his doll. But when he heard Lan Luo’s words, he immediately looked up. Seeing the smiling face outside the window, his black eyes darkened.

Agu had disobeyed Father’s orders.

Moss thought that even if he were to deal with him now, Father probably wouldn’t blame him.

However, Moss did not take action immediately, as he noticed that Shen Yuxi and Qi Chao were standing behind Agu.

He lowered his eyelashes, his bandaged fingers tightly gripping the doll in his arms. Once Father and the others left, he would handle this troublesome and useless puppet himself.

Unaware of Moss’s dark thoughts, Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi escorted Agu back to the spacecraft and then returned to the venue to meet with the association’s leader.

When they arrived, they found an elderly man with white hair and glasses sitting on the sofa. 

This was Vice President Li of the Puppet Masters Association, who would also be one of the guests presenting awards at the ceremony later.

Seeing the two men outside the door, Vice President Li greeted them with a kind smile and stood up. “I heard from the staff that the champion of this competition wishes to discuss something with us.” He looked at Shen Yuxi with some confusion and asked, “Who is this?”

Qi Chao replied calmly, “He is my friend; there’s no need to concern yourself with him.”

Qi Chao knew there was a grudge between the doctor and the association. He hadn’t planned to bring the doctor along, but Shen Yuxi had insisted on accompanying him to meet the Vice President.

“I have not had direct contact with the association; they do not know my identity.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Chao considered it for a moment and decided not to refuse.

Vice President Li, thinking that Qi Chao was there to address an injury sustained at the venue, said seriously, “After you were injured at the association, we reviewed the surveillance footage as soon as possible. The association deeply regrets the incident and is willing to cover your medical expenses and compensation for emotional distress.”

“We had originally planned to send a representative to visit you in the hospital, but Mr. Qi was concerned about disturbing your peace, so he declined the association’s offer.”

“It’s fine.”

Qi Chao smiled. “I’m not here for that.”

Vice President Li’s smile remained unchanged. “You are the champion of this puppet master competition. According to our rules, if you join the Puppet Masters Association, you can directly obtain the title of Level 1 Puppet Master. If you have any requests, feel free to mention them.”

The highest rank in the Puppet Masters Association is the Special Grade Puppet Master, and Level 1 Puppet Masters are also rare. There are fewer than fifty such titled puppet masters in the entire association. His statement clearly intended to invite Qi Chao to join the association.

Vice President Li continued, trying to gauge Qi Chao’s emotions. Initially, he thought Qi Chao had come to address the injury issue, but it seemed that the injury was not important to him.

As the champion of the Puppet Masters competition, Qi Chao’s achievement spoke volumes. It was enough to outshine most puppet masters in Blue Star. 

Although the competition had just ended and the full extent of his influence wasn’t apparent yet, Qi Chao’s impact in the puppet master community was rapidly growing. If the fans learned that he had been injured by an association puppet master at the venue, the association would likely face significant public criticism.

Furthermore, Qi Chao’s father is the richest person on Blue Star. The richest person’s side has always suspected there might be accomplices involved and has been persistently investigating further.

It all comes down to that fool, Zhang Ya. Thinking about Zhao Benben’s honest revelations made Vice President Li even more troubled. They had already lost a Level 1 Puppet Master and couldn’t afford to lose Zhao Benben as well.

Vice President Li continued to say a few more flattering words to Qi Chao. If he could persuade Qi Chao to join their association, all problems would be easily resolved, making everyone happy—both the association and the richest person.

With this in mind, Vice President Li eagerly responded to Qi Chao’s request: “If there’s anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Qi Chao understood that Vice President Li’s enthusiasm wasn’t solely because he was the champion. He subtly touched his chest, a smile on his lips, finding some unexpected benefit from this injury.

“A long time ago, I saw a puppet named Double Mirror at an auction.” Qi Chao leaned back in his wheelchair and smiled at Vice President Li. “I really like that puppet. I heard from the auction house owner that Double Mirror was purchased by your association. If possible, I would like to meet him.”

Qi Chao knew that negotiating to purchase a puppet from the association could be a lengthy process. It was better to meet Double Mirror first. If Double Mirror was indeed being tortured as he and Shen Yuxi had suspected, no matter how difficult it was, he would rescue Double Mirror.

Thinking about the S-level puppet that had endured deforming pain since birth, Qi Chao pressed his lips together.

However, he was surprised when Vice President Li’s expression turned somewhat grim at the mere request to meet Double Mirror.

“Is it not possible?” Qi Chao’s deep brown eyes darkened a bit, but the corner of his mouth curled up.

“It’s not that it’s impossible,” Vice President Li quickly regained his composure, smiling as he said to Qi Chao, “As you know, deformed puppets have short lifespans. Three months is enough time for their life to go from flourishing to withering.”

Withering? Qi Chao frowned at this statement.

“If you want to meet him, I’ll arrange it right away.” Vice President Li stood up, said a few words to someone at the door, and then turned back.

“Their hearts are still kept in storage. If you want them, you can take them directly.” Vice President Li offered with a friendly smile. “This is a favor on your behalf. If it were someone else, our association would never hand over the heart of Double Mirror’s puppet.”

Vice President Li thought it was a worthwhile trade to exchange two useless hearts for Qi Chao’s favor. He looked at Qi Chao, but was startled by the man’s somewhat frightening gaze. 

He forced a smile and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Qi Chao looked away, ignoring the dull pain in his chest. He merely found the situation a bit amusing.

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