Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 70

 

| PN | First Gift | 70

Lan Luo now regretted not falling asleep and coming outside. He glanced at the smiling Agu and then looked up at Chi Yao. 

After a brief pause, he put on a bright smile as if he was very happy to see them.

However, his anxious mood was evident from the way he kept fiddling with his pants.

“Is there a task from Father?” Lan Luo’s blue eyes curved into a cute arc. “If you need help, I’ll assist you so you can return to Father sooner.”

He hoped they would finish their task tonight and leave quickly, so it wouldn’t delay their trip to the amusement park the next day.

Agu naturally sensed Lan Luo’s desire to rush them off. Although Agu didn’t know why Lan Luo was in such a hurry, the more Lan Luo acted this way, the more Agu didn’t want to fulfill his wishes.

“No need, we’re not in a hurry. Big brother still wants to have a good chat with you. A Gu really misses Lan Luo,” A Gu said with a smile.

Lan Luo’s smile stiffened, and the next moment, Chi Yao jumped from the third floor onto the balcony of the room. 

Upon seeing Chi Yao standing in front of him, Lan Luo’s spine instantly stiffened.

“Brother Lan Luo,”

Chi Yao swung her large blade in the air, and the two-meter-long sword immediately disappeared. She nodded at Lan Luo and then turned to look at Agu with displeasure, saying, “Move faster. I’m in a hurry.”

Chi Yao used the trial grounds as an excuse to leave, and if she didn’t return by tomorrow, it would definitely arouse her father’s suspicion.

Agu pouted but didn’t argue. Compared to Lan Luo, watching their father’s mood swings was more entertaining.

“In a hurry?” 

Lan Luo was intrigued by their conversation. His eyes showed confusion. This was Qi Chao’s villa—could the task from Father be related to Qi Chao?

Chi Yao didn’t answer, but Agu, seeing Lan Luo’s puzzled expression, bent down in front of him with a wicked smile in his green eyes. He said, “Don’t you know? Father has taken a liking to Qi Chao.”

Taken a liking to Qi Chao?

Lan Luo’s confusion deepened.

“Don’t you understand?” Agu exaggeratedly sighed with a teasing look, intending to keep Lan Luo in suspense, but was quickly interrupted by the impatient Chi Yao.

“Father wants Qi Chao to be his partner. We need to take Qi Chao away now.”

Hearing this, it seemed that Shen Yuxi had ordered them to do this, and Lan Luo was no exception in thinking so.

His blue eyes widened in shock and disbelief. “Father wants him to be his partner?”

Unlike Chi Yao, who thought a partner was merely someone to shield from danger and engage in activities with, Lan Luo, who frequently watched animations, understood that a partner was someone meant to walk through life together.

In animations, Brave Bear’s parents are a pair of partners, and most human children have parents who are partners.

Human children...

Lan Luo paused. Human children have parents; he wanted one too.

His focus completely shifted. Lan Luo pressed his lips together, and his initial shock turned into a competitive desire not to be outdone by human children. He looked up at Chi Yao and Agu and asked, “When will the ceremony be held?”

Humans have a ceremony when they become partners.

Lan Luo thought to himself.

Ceremony? Is it an activity?

Chi Yao paused for a moment. “The ceremony will be held after we take him back.”

Agu, who had hoped Lan Luo would reject the idea, found it quite boring when Lan Luo accepted it so easily. He jumped back onto the tree, hanging upside down and swinging around in the air.

Lan Luo ignored Agu. He calculated the distance from here to Ganfen District and felt somewhat satisfied. However, thinking about the amusement park he had been looking forward to, Lan Luo hesitated.

“Can we hold the ceremony the day after tomorrow instead?” He still didn’t want to give up the amusement park. Seeing that Chi Yao wasn’t showing any signs of agreeing, Lan Luo felt a bit anxious but still tightened his grip on his pants and said earnestly, “Tomorrow, Qi Chao promised to take us to the amusement park. I want to go to the amusement park.”

Amusement park?

Chi Yao tilted her head and looked puzzled, her eyes showing a lack of understanding. What is an amusement park?

Chi Yao had been sent to the trial grounds shortly after her creation, and the only enjoyment she had during her brief “existence” was playing chase games with the humans in the trial grounds.

Agu, however, knew what an amusement park was but had never been to one. Upon hearing the word, Agu stopped playing around in the tree and eagerly jumped onto the balcony.

“I want to go to the amusement park too.”

Agu's eyes lit up like a big cat attracted by a ball.

Lan Luo looked at Agu with some disdain, but since agreeing to postpone the task meant that Agu would be pleased, he put on a bright but insincere smile and said, “Sure, as long as Qi Chao agrees.”

On the other hand, Chi Yao glanced at Agu. She was not interested in the unfamiliar term “amusement park.” Instead, she was concerned that delaying the plan for a day might lead to their father discovering something was amiss. 

Since Agu wasn’t willing to take Qi Chao away, she decided she could do it herself.

With that in mind, Chi Yao extended her right arm, and in the next moment, the two-meter-long blade gradually took shape. She lifted her chin slightly, her crimson eyes glowing like fire. “I don’t care. I’m taking Qi Chao away right now.”

Just as she finished speaking and prepared to leave the balcony, she was stopped by Agu.

“No.”

Agu said with a smiling face, “Both Lan Luo and I want to go to the amusement park. If you take Qi Chao away now, we’ll have a big problem.”

Agu was a very carefree and changeable puppet.

In one moment, Agu could form an alliance with Chi Yao to kidnap Qi Chao for the sake of fun, and in the next moment, he could betray Chi Yao just to go to the amusement park.

Chi Yao looked at him coldly, tilting her head. Her red hair and eyes resembled a blinding blaze. “Are you threatening me?”

Chi Yao’s two-meter-long blade had never feared anyone. She smirked, leaning slightly forward, her eyes filled with a wild grin. “You can try to stop me if you can.”

Agu continued to smile, completely unafraid. “Alright, let’s see.”

Compared to the fearless Agu, Lan Luo’s bright smile began to stiffen as Chi Yao prepared to take action against them. 

If they did end up fighting...

Qi Chao would definitely notice something was wrong and might change his attitude towards Lan Luo.

Just the thought of Qi Chao looking at him with suspicion and fear made Lan Luo anxious. Suddenly, a burst of black mist erupted around him, quickly wrapping around Agu and Chi Yao.

“Have you got it wrong?”

Agu looked at the black mist surrounding them, his green eyes forming a cold arc. “You only need to deal with Chi Yao.”

“Is Lan Luo also going to help him?”

Chi Yao said unhappily.

“No, I’m not helping, but I won’t allow you to fight here,” Lan Luo said, pressing his lips together. “Even if it’s Father’s order, I want to go to the amusement park.”

This was Lan Luo’s first time defying his father’s orders, and he felt a bit guilty. He gave himself an excuse: “The amusement park is a lot of fun.” He added, “The antler headband was also bought by Qi Chao at the amusement park.”

To Lan Luo, the antler headband was very precious. 

An amusement park where he could buy such a headband was something he couldn’t miss.

“Antler headband?”

Chi Yao paused, she put away her blade and squatted down in front of Lan Luo, poking at the antlers on his head. “Is this something humans buy at the amusement park?”

“Yes.”

Seeing Chi Yao so close, Lan Luo took a step back to create some distance. 

Chi Yao was interested in human gifts.

Her eagerness to take Qi Chao away was partly to please their father, but another important reason was her fascination with gifts from humans.

Pleasing their father could be done at any time, but opportunities to obtain human gifts were rare.

In the curious gazes of Agu and Lan Luo, Chi Yao put away her blade again, her red hair covering her cheeks. She said, “I’ll go tomorrow as well.”

That night, Chi Yao spent the night in a tree, while Agu, showing no sense of responsibility as an older sibling, quietly sneaked into the room Qi Chao had prepared for him and slept comfortably.

Lan Luo watched Chi Yao sleeping on the tree branch outside his window in silence. He didn’t understand why Chi Yao had to sleep right in front of his window.

The moonlight filtered through the branches and illuminated Chi Yao’s face, making it clear that she was already deep asleep.

Lan Luo, pursing his lips, lay down on his bed as well. However, with the unsettling presence outside his window, he found himself unable to sleep, his mind endlessly turning over the events of the day.

Their father wanted to become Qi Chao’s partner.

In Lan Luo’s mind, there was no option for Qi Chao to refuse. To him, it seemed impossible that anyone wouldn’t like their father.

If they were married, then Qi Chao and their father would be a family. Thinking about this, Lan Luo displayed a genuine smile that even he wasn’t fully aware of.

Qi Chao was a good person.

Lan Luo thought that if he and his father were married, he would definitely be very happy, though he didn’t delve into why he felt this way.

The next morning, when Qi Chao woke up and went downstairs, he saw Agu sitting in the living room with his legs crossed.

Agu waved at Qi Chao as if he were at home, greeting him casually. “Hello, Uncle~ Agu has come to play with you.”

His voice was drawn out in a way that sounded somewhat coquettish but also gave off a mischievous impression. If Chi Yao had heard him, she would have certainly shown a look of disdain.

But since it was Qi Chao who heard Agu, he instinctively smiled at him. “Hello, Agu.” 

Qi Chao’s expression was a bit puzzled as he asked, “How did you get in?”

In reality, a normal person would have called the police by now; Agu’s behavior was akin to breaking and entering. However, Qi Chao, treating Agu as a junior, naturally didn’t think of that and was just a bit curious.

Agu, smiling, said, “Lan Luo let me in.”

Qi Chao didn’t suspect anything. He smiled and asked, “Does Shen Yuxi know you’re here?”

“No, he doesn't,” Agu answered honestly, then winked at Qi Chao. “We sneaked out, so don’t tell Father just yet.”

We...?

Qi Chao naturally noticed that “we” obviously didn’t just refer to Agu himself. He asked, puzzled, “Who else is with you?”

“Chi Yao.”

“Where is she now?”

Qi Chao was a bit confused.

Agu’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he said, somewhat apologetically, “She has a strange habit of climbing trees. When she saw the trees in the yard, she climbed up and now won’t come down, acting like a monkey.”

Seeing the mischievous glint in Agu’s eyes, Qi Chao knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth. 

While Chi Yao might indeed be in the tree, the rest of Agu’s story was likely fabricated.

He smiled nonchalantly and went outside, where he indeed saw a red-haired puppet perched high up on a tree branch.

Qi Chao wasn’t sure if the puppet climbed up using some special ability, but given the height, coming down without such an ability would be quite difficult.

“Chi Yao, do you need me to get a ladder for you?” Qi Chao called up, looking up at the red-haired puppet.

Chi Yao, just waking up from her sleep, was slightly grumpy. She frowned as she looked down at Qi Chao, her father’s future partner.

A ladder?

Was this her first gift?

“Yes, please.”

Chi Yao nimbly stood up from the branch, holding onto the tree trunk, and looked down at Qi Chao with her deep red eyes. She said seriously, “You’re very good.”

Gifts on their first meeting.

Chi Yao was very pleased. She thought that once her father and this human became partners, she would receive even more gifts.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuxi received news from Moss about Agu’s disappearance.

Agu’s behavior, driven by his own whims, made his disappearance somewhat expected. 

However, disappearing at such a critical time, especially after the punishment he received for that incident, was intriguing.

Shen Yuxi paused briefly while flipping through his book. He looked at Moss with a cold voice, “What about Chi Yao?”

“The puppets said that Chi Yao has not joined them,” Moss said, pursing his lips. This was unusual; normally, Chi Yao would have gone to find those puppets first upon arriving at the trial grounds.

Shen Yuxi’s gentle smile slowly faded, as if he had guessed something. He instructed Moss, “Bring Ayu to me.”

After Moss left, Shen Yuxi gazed at the terminal beside him with a somber expression. After a long pause, he picked up the terminal and opened a familiar name.

He hoped his suspicion was not true.

Otherwise, he would be very angry.

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