Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 72

 

| PN | ...Surprise? | 72

After combing the hair of the four children, Qi Chao put the comb into his pocket and leisurely followed the children.

It wasn't uncommon to see an adult with a few children at the amusement park, but it was rare to see a group as good-looking as theirs. People around them occasionally looked their way, and some even took photos of the children.

Qi Chao didn't care about the gazes and discussions of others, but it was a bit too much to take pictures of his children without permission. When he noticed a man not far away taking a photo of Chi Yao, he walked over and politely asked the man to delete the photo.

Although Qi Chao had a good temperament, his single eyelids and slightly drooping eye corners made him look a bit fierce when he wasn't smiling. Coupled with his tall stature and calm dark brown eyes, he appeared quite intimidating when looking down at someone.

The man who had taken the photo of Chi Yao immediately deleted it upon seeing Qi Chao, apologizing, "I just thought she was very pretty."

"Yes, she is indeed pretty."

However, that was not a reason to take photos without permission. Qi Chao didn't press the matter further. After seeing the man delete the photo, he casually exchanged a few words and then slowly caught up with the four children who were waiting for him up ahead.

Li Bai didn't know what his father was saying to the stranger. Seeing his father walking so slowly, he raised his voice and urged him to hurry up. 

Eventually, he ran up to Qi Chao and directly grabbed his hand to pull him forward.

Looking up, he revealed two small tiger teeth and urged, "Daddy, walk faster!"

Qi Chao was dragged forward a few steps, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, his eyes full of doting affection, with not a trace of impatience.

Lan Luo, seeing Li Bai's actions, thought for a moment and then ran over as well, taking Qi Chao's other hand. Feeling Qi Chao's hand gently squeeze his own, Lan Luo's bright smile became even more genuine.

Chi Yao watched their hands intertwined with the human's, she tilted her head slightly, not understanding why Lan Luo wanted to get close to this human. 

Although she had received gifts from the human, to Chi Yao, receiving gifts only meant that the human was nice; there was no need to get close to him.

In Chi Yao's limited memory, Lan Luo had never been this close to a human, not even with father.

Agu, walking ahead, was humming a tune off-key as usual, carefree and oblivious. However, if one looked closely, they could see that Agu's bouncing movements had lessened significantly, as if he wasn't used to his new hairstyle.

"Does Agu's hair look nice?"

As Chi Yao walked past, Agu draped his arm over her shoulder, smiling cheerfully, showing no hint of what he was thinking.

Chi Yao looked at him with her red eyes, slightly disdainful, and ignored him, walking straight towards the giant swing ride.

Agu, not upset by being ignored, glanced at Qi Chao, who was holding hands with the two puppets. He then quickly caught up with Chi Yao, a smile in his voice, "When do we start?"

Hearing this, Chi Yao looked back at the human, her red eyes contemplative for a few seconds. 

She then put her hand in her pocket as if preparing to take something out, nodding heavily, "Anytime."

"Alright then, let's start after Agu rides the giant swing!" Agu reverted to his usual cheeky self, turning around to wave energetically at Qi Chao and the two puppets behind him. He then excitedly pointed towards the giant swing, his green eyes narrowing like a big cat's, shouting loudly, "Agu wants to ride the giant swing, hurry up and come!"

Lan Luo felt embarrassed and didn't respond, but Li Bai enthusiastically replied, "We're almost there!"

Qi Chao glanced at the giant swing and the screaming tourists inside. He then scratched his head; they had been riding thrill rides all day, and he now wanted to play something more peaceful. The bumper cars next door seemed like a good option.

However, seeing Li Bai and Agu so excited, Qi Chao decided not to say anything and followed them onto the giant swing.

The giant swing swayed violently in the air. Qi Chao didn't find it particularly terrifying, but his eardrums were pained by the screams of the man next to him. When they finally stood on solid ground, his head was buzzing, and he felt a bit dizzy.

Li Bai and Lan Luo surrounded him, their eyes filled with concern. 

Agu, seeing Qi Chao's condition, seemed to have come up with some mischievous idea. He smiled and offered, "Uncle, let me help you rest."

"Thank you."

Qi Chao thanked Agu for his kindness but didn't actually lean his weight on him. Agu was thin and only reached Qi Chao's shoulder; Qi Chao was afraid of crushing him.

Lan Luo, observing Agu's actions, seemed to realize his intention. His blue eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. 

In his opinion, there are only benefits and there was no harm in Qi Chao marrying his father.

On the other hand, the naive Li Bai thought Agu was genuinely trying to help. 

Ever since Agu mocked Moss for being ugly, Li Bai hadn't liked him much. However, seeing Agu help his father, Li Bai's opinion of him improved.

In Li Bai's eyes, anyone who liked his dad was a good person, including Agu.

Li Bai followed Agu closely, his golden eyes under the mask filled with concern as he looked at his father. 

When they reached a secluded grove, Li Bai's sharp eyes spotted a bench. His eyes lit up, and just as he was about to say something, he turned and saw Agu deliver a karate chop to Qi Chao's neck with the back of his knife.

Qi Chao, already feeling a headache, felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck and immediately lost consciousness.

To Li Bai, his father looked eerily similar to the last time he had been attacked by the Wolf King: his eyes were tightly closed, lips pale from dizziness. That had been the first time Li Bai almost lost his father, and since then, he had vowed never to let his father get hurt again.

But now, his father was hurt once more.

And the one who hurt him was Agu, whom Li Bai had considered trustworthy.

Li Bai's eyes turned empty and dazed. While Agu, Lan Luo, and Chi Yao were unaware, his golden eyes silently took on a red glow, and ominous black patterns slowly crawled up his face.

"How do we take him away?" Chi Yao measured Qi Chao's height with her hand, realizing that carrying a human would be challenging for her.

Agu, who enjoyed being lazy, liked doing things that made him happy even more. He eagerly hoisted Qi Chao onto his shoulder, about to show off his hard work to Chi Yao. 

But the next second, he sensed danger and quickly dodged to the right.

Simultaneously, a massive pit opened up where Agu had been standing. A figure, exuding a strange and ominous aura, stood above the pit.

The figure had white hair, and his once brilliant golden eyes were now stained with a bloodthirsty red glow. His cute little tiger teeth had become incredibly sharp, and his expression was crazed. He clawed at his face with long fingernails, his voice filled with madness, "Anyone who hurts Daddy must die."

Lan Luo had never seen Li Bai like this. In his memory, Li Bai was just a puppet who only knew how to smile foolishly like Qi Chao. 

Staring at the figure above the pit, Lan Luo was momentarily stunned.

On the other side, Agu and Chi Yao reacted differently to seeing Li Bai in his berserk state. 

Agu looked at the deep pit, whistled with interest, and said, "Li Bai, I didn't know you were so strong!"

Chi Yao, on the other hand, pulled out her two-meter-long sword. In her view, anyone who hindered her mission deserved to die, even if the puppet was created by this human. 

Among all the puppets created by Shen Yuxi, Chi Yao wasn't the strongest in individual combat, but since she could always produce a weapon, even Moss was reluctant to fight her. She looked at Lan Luo and said, "If you dare to stop us, you'll die too."

The next second, both sides suddenly disappeared, and sparks flew in the air. Human eyes could barely catch their movements, but to Agu and Lan Luo, seeing their actions was simple.

"Aren't you going to stop them, Lan Luo?" Agu said with a smile, noticing a small tuft of Chi Yao's hair being pulled out. "If this drags on, Qi Chao will wake up."

Lan Luo knew well that Qi Chao marrying his father was more important. He looked up at the two fighting puppets in the air and, seeing Li Bai use his claws to slice Chi Yao's sword in half, he quickly used his black mist to restrain his movements.

Li Bai recognized the black mist as Lan Luo's special ability. The red glow in his eyes intensified, and the black patterns that covered half his face seemed to spread over his entire face. "Are you going to hurt Dad too, Lan Luo?"

Li Bai looked down at the golden-haired puppet standing on the ground, his eyes full of madness and hatred. 

It seemed that if Lan Luo so much as nodded lightly, his sharp claws would rip out the other's heart. 

This version of Li Bai was no longer the cute and silly puppet but rather a deranged beast, driven by a desire for revenge on behalf of his father.

"We didn't hurt him," Lan Luo said with a bright smile. "We just wanted to prepare a surprise for your father."

A surprise?

Li Bai, though naive, wasn't stupid. What kind of surprise involved knocking his father unconscious? 

He coldly stared at Lan Luo, waiting for an explanation. His sharp nails tore at the surrounding black mist, suggesting that if Lan Luo's explanation wasn't satisfactory, he would attack and tear apart all the puppets who had harmed his father.

Agu, watching the scene with amusement, his green eyes narrowed in delight. When he noticed Chi Yao standing beside him, he proudly said, "If I hadn't asked Lan Luo to stop that berserk puppet, you'd have lost another chunk of your hair."

Chi Yao glanced at him and then reassembled her broken sword before placing it back in her pocket.

"My father and your father both like each other very much," Lan Luo said to Li Bai. "They are going to get married, and we wanted to surprise them by preparing a wedding!"

Like? Wedding?

Li Bai was puzzled, as if he had never considered this reason. He recalled a cartoon where the characters talked about marriage, and Brave Bear had said that two people who love each other would get married and become closer. In Li Bai's memory, his father liked Uncle Shen very much, and Uncle Shen also liked his father. Their marriage didn't seem... so strange?

Perhaps because the shock was too great, the ominous markings on Li Bai's face gradually faded, and his eyes became clear and golden. "Really? Is it because you want to give them a surprise?"

"Of course!"

Before Lan Luo could speak, Agu eagerly answered, elongating his tone as if he were acting coyly. "If it weren't to give them a surprise, Agu wouldn't have come all this way."

Li Bai knew that weddings bring people joy, and surprises do the same. He wanted to make his dad happy. Thinking this, Li Bai hesitantly asked, "Can I join you guys?"

"Of course you can."

In fact, Agu thought that the more puppets participated in this, the less severe the punishment he would face from his father would be.

Li Bai was instantly delighted. Once the black mist dissipated, he excitedly ran to his father's side, staring at him intently. 

Although Lan Luo and Agu had said they just wanted to surprise dad, Li Bai still harbored some doubts. Seeing that his father's breathing was normal, he felt much more at ease.

"Where are we going now?"

Li Bai looked up at Agu.

"We're going to Ganfen District," Agu said with a beaming smile. Then he turned and left, moving so quickly that his full figure was barely visible.

But all three puppets behind him, without exception, followed closely.

"First, we'll take a spaceship, then we'll take a shortcut. We'll be home in three hours," Lan Luo explained to Li Bai.

Although Li Bai's berserk state was somewhat concerning to Lan Luo, the matters concerning Father and Qi Chao were more important right now. With that in mind, Lan Luo temporarily suppressed his curiosity about the berserk state.

The four puppets quickly reached the spaceship dock. Somehow, Agu managed to get them aboard the spaceship smoothly.

During the journey, Qi Chao showed signs of waking up. 

Noticing this, Agu used his knife to knock him out again.

Seeing his father get knocked out, Li Bai felt uneasy and glared at Agu. However, thinking about how happy his father would be with the surprise, he suppressed his displeasure.

Agu noticed Li Bai's gaze but paid no mind to it. After all, being disliked by puppets wasn't a new experience for him. He leisurely adjusted to a more comfortable position, finding such looks more like a compliment.

After disembarking from the spaceship, the puppets continued to take a shortcut back to the villa. However, Chi Yao was the first to stop.

"Why did Sister Chi Yao stop?" Li Bai asked, puzzled.

"I need to get some Joy Grass," Chi Yao responded seriously, her red eyes full of determination.

"Joy Grass?" Both Lan Luo and Li Bai were confused, but Agu showed a meaningful smile, his interest piqued even more. He cheerfully said, "Alright, be careful on the way."

Chi Yao nodded and ran in the opposite direction of the villa. The Joy Grass grew inside the trial grounds. This grass wasn’t originally called that; it was a name given by Agu and Chi Yao.

A long time ago, Agu and Chi Yao were on a mission in the trial grounds and accidentally saw humans eating this grass. 

Afterward, the humans seemed very happy and engaged in activities for days and nights without resting, as if they had endless energy. 

Thus, Agu named the grass Joy Grass.

Chi Yao thought that if humans were so happy doing activities after eating this grass, she also wanted to make Father and Qi Chao happy. She sped up significantly, determined to get the Joy Grass for both Father and Qi Chao.

Meanwhile, after finishing their tasks, Shen Yuxi and Moss quickly arrived at Qi Chao's house. They waited from 4 PM until 9 PM, but Qi Chao and the puppets did not return.

Shen Yuxi glanced at the time and realized something was wrong. Qi Chao never returned this late. Thinking of Agu's presence, he frowned and immediately made a video call to Qi Chao.

The call was quickly disconnected.

Staring at the darkened screen, Shen Yuxi coldly said to Moss, "Let's go back to the villa now."

There were only a few places Agu could go. They would find him by searching each one.

After disconnecting Qi Chao's communicator, Agu guessed that Father would come looking soon. He looked at Qi Chao, who was already lying on the bed, and his eyes curved in satisfaction. 

The plan was half successful, and he was very pleased.

"When will Sister Chi Yao be back?" Li Bai asked, eager to see what the Joy Grass looked like. 

After a pause, he added, "Where is Godfather? Aren’t we supposed to give him and Father a surprise?"

"Soon." Agu elongated his tone, speaking excitedly, "They’ll be here very soon."

Hearing sudden footsteps downstairs, the smile on Agu’s face grew even larger. "Looks like they’ve arrived."

At the same time, Chi Yao, who had returned to the villa from the trial grounds with the Joy Grass, opened the door and immediately bumped into Father. She paused, knowing he would be angry, and quickly decomposed the green grass in her palm into a colorless and odorless gas.

She had prepared enough for two people, but now she knew she wouldn't be able to go upstairs. With this in mind, Chi Yao left a portion of the Joy Grass scent on Father. This scent would dissipate over time, but as long as Qi Chao could smell it on Father, it would be enough.

The other portion of the gas seeped into Father’s bloodstream through his skin.

After Father finishes his activity, he’ll calm down, Chi Yao thought to herself.

"Where are they?" Shen Yuxi’s gentle expression was replaced with coldness as he saw Chi Yao coming in from outside. This time, he didn't even bother to fake a smile, clearly indicating his genuine anger.

"In Father’s room," Chi Yao replied in a low voice, feeling a bit guilty.

His room?

Shen Yuxi frowned slightly, sensing something was off. 

However, because Agu was more mischievous and Chi Yao was usually obedient, Shen Yuxi didn’t overthink it. He instructed Moss to keep an eye on Chi Yao and walked into the room himself.

Upon opening the door, he found that Agu was not inside. 

Shen Yuxi paused, his gaze falling on Qi Chao lying on the bed. He took a few steps forward, but his movements became slightly stiff as he felt something was wrong with his body. His lips pressed into a thin line, and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes. 

Just as he was about to walk back out, the door suddenly closed tightly and wouldn't open no matter how he tried.

Shen Yuxi: ...

What exactly are they planning?

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