Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 74

 

| PN | Horrible | 74

After leaving the room, Qi Chao raised his hand to rub the back of his neck, his eyes gazing at the ceiling. His deep brown eyes appeared somewhat pensive.

According to what Shen Yuxi had said, in order to keep them together, the children had even resorted to drugging him. This was something Li Bai had not told him.

If tying him up to force a marriage was because the puppets couldn't differentiate between different emotions, then Qi Chao couldn't understand the act of drugging him.

He thought he should talk to a few of the children. Qi Chao's initially contemplative gaze became somewhat distracted. He scratched his head and was about to go downstairs when he suddenly sensed something was off. Turning around, he saw Chi Yao standing behind him at some point.

Chi Yao's hair was disheveled, and there were obvious tear stains on her face. Her red eyes looked bewildered as she gazed at Qi Chao, asking, "Did Chi Yao do something wrong? Why is father angry?"

Chi Yao didn’t know what she had done wrong.

She only wanted to make her father happy. Chi Yao couldn’t understand why her father was unhappy.

Seeing the tears welling up in Chi Yao's eyes, Qi Chao patted his pockets but found no tissues. 

So he took Chi Yao back to the room where he had woken up earlier and wiped her face with a tissue.

"Why do you think Shen Yuxi and I need to be together?" Qi Chao squatted down beside Chi Yao, wiping her tears. It was the first time he realized that when some puppets cried, the tears just wouldn't stop.

"Because father really likes you."

Chi Yao continued to cry, stammering, "I want to make father happy."

As she felt the tissue brushing against her face, Chi Yao didn't understand why her eyes were producing even more tears. She clutched Qi Chao's sleeve tightly.

From last night until now, the fear and confusion she had been harboring about her father's coldness had been accumulating, and it seemed to reach a tipping point at this moment.

"Father really likes you, so I wanted to make him happy, so I brought you here. I even went to find some Joy grass." Chi Yao didn't know why she was explaining so much to a human. She said blankly, "Why is father unhappy?"

"What is Joy grass?"

"It's a type of grass that makes people very happy when they eat it."

Qi Chao paused, realizing that in Chi Yao's eyes, the use of this grass was quite simple. She just wanted to make her father happy.

"How did you learn about this grass?"

Chi Yao didn't say anything more.

The tissues in Qi Chao's hand piled up. He knew that in this world, puppets had a high level of attachment to their creators. The Wolf King was an example of this, and it seemed to be an instinct ingrained in the puppets' bodies.

He fell silent. Chi Yao simply wanted to make her father happy, which wasn't blameworthy, but clearly, there was an issue with her method.

Looking at Chi Yao, who had her head bowed, only showing her red hair, Qi Chao thought for a moment, then reached out and ruffled her hair. Under her bewildered gaze, he said, "Don't cry anymore. Stay in the room for now. I'll tell you why it was wrong later."

The warmth on the top of her head vanished in an instant, leaving Chi Yao feeling lost, unsure whether she should listen to Qi Chao. She gazed at the closed door, slowly placing her hand on her head before finally pursing her lips and sitting back down.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Agu was clutching his right sleeve with his left hand, leaning against the sofa, his emerald eyes slightly narrowed.

Agu's arm hurt a lot.

Father hadn’t treated his injury. Agu had already learned his lesson, so why was he still being ignored?

This was the first time Agu had been so thoroughly disregarded. He knew that as long as he remained useful, father wouldn't easily abandon him. If father calmed down, he should immediately heal Agu’s arm.

Knowing that if the wound didn't heal, he wouldn’t be able to complete tasks, Agu thought that without him, father would surely be troubled. But as he pondered this, a realization seemed to dawn on him, and his eyes gradually widened.

He sat up, biting his nails, the smile on his face fading. No, that couldn't be right. Father wouldn't abandon him, Agu was certain of his high value.

If he couldn’t perform tasks, father would suffer a great loss.

Father wasn’t someone who liked taking losses.

Despite trying to reassure himself, there was an almost imperceptible panic in Agu’s eyes. He knew Shen Yuxi's temperament well; such cold indifference and the refusal to heal his injury seemed to be signaling to Agu that he was no longer of any use.

Agu thought he might be overthinking, but the fact was, he rarely misread Shen Yuxi’s intentions. Clutching the empty sleeve of his right arm with his left hand, Agu's growing anxiety over his suspicions made his usually smiling face devoid of any trace of joy.

Just then, a sound came from the second floor. Agu looked up and saw Qi Chao’s figure. He quickly reined in his outward emotions, putting back on his smiling facade.

He had attacked Qi Chao, and knowing father's temperament, to avoid trouble, Shen Yuxi would definitely reveal the truth to Qi Chao.

Agu smiled broadly at Qi Chao, expecting to see a look of disgust on the man's face. To his surprise, Qi Chao sat down right next to him.

Agu was momentarily stunned. Just as he was about to say something, the man leisurely reached out and tapped the back of his neck a few times.

For a puppet, this level of force didn’t hurt. To cause real pain, it would require a machete. Agu knew he would face punishment once his plan was exposed. Since Qi Chao was someone father valued, Agu needed to behave well to avoid further angering his father.

Just as he was about to remind Qi Chao of this, he heard Qi Chao say, “How many times did you hit me?”

“Twice,” Agu replied with a cheerful smile, not sure why he was being asked.

“That’s good. I hit you three times.”

Qi Chao had gained one more hit, but the force was different.

Agu thought humans were a bit slow; he had knocked Qi Chao out at the time, but he didn’t mention this because he was afraid of pain.

Qi Chao naturally knew the difference between the two. He withdrew his hand, his gaze unintentionally falling on Agu’s right arm, only then noticing that he was missing an arm.

“Where’s your arm?”

Qi Chao remembered that yesterday, Agu’s arm was still intact.

“Agu broke it himself,” Agu said, his smile fading. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have messed with my arm.”

Broke it?

Qi Chao looked at Agu, pursing his lips. “You broke it yourself?”

Agu nodded, thinking that this statement wasn’t wrong.

Qi Chao felt there was more to the story. He thought for a moment but decided not to ask about it. Instead, he brought up what happened yesterday.

“Agu did something wrong. I’m sorry.”

Agu thought Qi Chao had come to hold him accountable. He realized that the taps on the neck weren't a real punishment; no punishment would be so gentle.

“What was wrong?” Qi Chao asked with a smile.

“I shouldn’t have made you and father unhappy,” Agu replied, thinking his answer was correct.

Qi Chao looked at the serious expression on Agu’s face, realizing that Agu genuinely believed that.

So, does this kid not think that drugging and knocking him out were not wrong?

Qi Chao wasn’t surprised. He knew that the puppets lacked legal knowledge and moral awareness, and he had been prepared for this. He chuckled lightly, “Do you want to go upstairs and sit?”

“Upstairs?” Agu was puzzled.

“Yes, the room where you knocked me out and brought me in,” Qi Chao said, standing up. “I’ll be back soon. If you’re bored now, you can go in. Chi Yao is also inside.”

Chi Yao? 

Agu paused. “Uncle, where are you going?”

"To find Lan Luo and Li Bai," Qi Chao replied.

Agu guessed that Qi Chao wanted to gather them for something. He stared at Qi Chao intently, and after a few seconds, his smile widened, “Okay, Uncle, come back soon.”

Qi Chao glanced at Agu, thought for a moment, then lightly patted the back of his neck again, “Don’t get any funny ideas.”

Agu paused. Despite being tapped on the neck and warned again, this warning felt different from his father's cold admonitions. 

Agu couldn’t pinpoint the difference, but he surprisingly didn’t dislike it.

“Don’t worry, Uncle,” Agu said, his cheerful demeanor unchanged.

Qi Chao nodded casually and left the villa, intending to find Li Bai and Lan Luo.

He wasn’t sure where the two had gone. Qi Chao searched upstairs but couldn’t find them. 

He thought they wouldn’t have gone far from the villa, but even after circling the area, he still couldn’t locate the two puppets.

Shen Yuxi's villa was situated in a forest. Occasionally, Qi Chao heard rustling noises, but whenever he looked, there was nothing there.

Maybe it’s just some small animals?

Qi Chao continued deeper into the forest, contemplating as he walked.

Meanwhile, Moss, having received a message from the deformed puppet, he quickly located Qi Chao nearby and intercepted him. Another step forward would have brought him to the trial ground's boundary.

Moss thought about this and then said to Qi Chao, "Are you looking for Lan Luo?"

"Yes," Qi Chao replied, feeling a bit relieved to see Moss. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Have you seen Lan Luo and Li Bai?"

Moss didn't know where Li Bai was, but he had just given Lan Luo a beating. Nodding, he led Qi Chao back.

Qi Chao followed behind Moss, somewhat lost in thought. Moss was well-behaved; maybe he could also attend the lessons to gain more knowledge.

Meanwhile, Li Bai finally found Lan Luo and was preparing to discuss how to punish Chi Yao and Agu.

Lan Luo's hair was a bit messy, and he looked dirty, as if he had been rolling in the dirt, though his face was uninjured.

"Why did Brother Moss hit you?" Li Bai asked, using a towel to wipe Lan Luo's face.

"Because I caused trouble for Father," Lan Luo replied, his eyelashes trembling slightly as he looked at the gaps in the trees, his blue eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions. 

He just wanted Father and Qi Chao to get married, so why did things turn out this way?

"It's all because Chi Yao and Agu tricked us."

Li Bai pursed his lips as he spoke, clutching the towel tightly. He knew deep down that he was too foolish to have been deceived by them.

Lan Luo didn't respond. He covered his eyes with his arm. In his heart, the hardest thing wasn't the deception but the realization that Qi Chao and Father getting married was a lie.

He really liked Qi Chao and Father. If Qi Chao and Father got married, he would be like an ordinary human child, living forever with the two people he loved the most. 

But now, it seemed that this dream was impossible.

Li Bai continued chattering beside him, planning how to punish Agu, the puppet who had deceived them. Lan Luo occasionally nodded but didn't really listen to much.

Watching Li Bai's excited expression and the smile on his face, Lan Luo felt a pang of envy for his carefree nature. 

Li Bai was a puppet created by Qi Chao, and without having to do anything, Qi Chao would like him. 

On the other hand, Lan Luo had to constantly pretend to be well-behaved to gain Qi Chao's affection, but in truth, he wasn't well-behaved at all.

Now, Qi Chao probably knew that he wasn't truly obedient. Maybe Qi Chao had already started to dislike him. This thought left Lan Luo feeling empty inside, and he pursed his lips again.

Li Bai noticed Lan Luo's distraction and was about to ask when he suddenly heard Father’s voice in the distance. A smile quickly appeared on Li Bai's face, but as he turned, he noticed Lan Luo’s body stiffen.

"Lan Luo?" Li Bai asked, puzzled.

Lan Luo forced a natural smile at Li Bai, who then didn’t question further and pulled him along towards Qi Chao. 

However, Lan Luo appeared somewhat hesitant.

"Why did you two run so far?" Qi Chao asked, patting the heads of both children.

"Why is Lan Luo so dirty?" 

When Qi Chao placed his hand on Lan Luo's head, Lan Luo’s fingers trembled slightly. He looked up at Qi Chao, and upon seeing Qi Chao's usual warm expression, Lan Luo felt as if he had been scalded, unsure where to place his hands.

"It's nothing," Lan Luo said, shaking his head and avoiding looking at Moss.

Seeing that Lan Luo didn’t explain, Li Bai also kept the matter a secret.

Qi Chao, seeing that the two children didn't seem to be in any real trouble, didn’t press further and took the children back to the villa. He first instructed Moss to take the two children to their room and then went to find Shen Yuxi to discuss matters.

Since Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi had previously discussed the "juvenile detention center" issue, the topic was not new to them.

"I never expected the children to behave like this. They've always been obedient," Shen Yuxi said, his peach blossom eyes darkening. He looked at Qi Chao and added, "Perhaps you're right. The children indeed need better supervision."

Qi Chao smiled at this, acknowledging, "They are quite obedient and innocent, but when they get riled up, they can be quite frightening."

Especially since the children at home have high attack capabilities, a lack of discipline and restraint could easily lead to disaster. Qi Chao knew that the puppets didn't have malicious intentions.

He then handed Shen Yuxi a time management chart he had prepared. "If there are no issues, we can follow this schedule."

Shen Yuxi was intrigued to see that Qi Chao had prepared a chart. He took it and examined it closely. 

Upon seeing the details, he was slightly taken aback but then chuckled lightly. "Let's go ahead with the plan."

Qi Chao's demeanor had been calm throughout their discussion, and even his proposed solution suggested that he wasn’t as upset as Shen Yuxi initially thought. 

Shen Yuxi glanced at the schedule, realizing that Qi Chao's calmness was part of his way of handling the situation. 

Shen Yuxi looked up with a smile, his eyes narrowing pleasantly. "There's a nice room on the third floor. Shall we start tomorrow?"

"No, today," Qi Chao replied with a smile in his deep brown eyes. "I've already arranged for the materials to be delivered. We just need to notify the children and we can begin the training."

Shen Yuxi nodded, acknowledging Qi Chao's readiness to handle the situation. "I'm still upset with the children and don't want to see them for a while. The training these next few days might be tough, but I'll take over once I'm ready."

Qi Chao understood and smiled, "It's no trouble at all. I'm happy to do this."

After leaving the room, Qi Chao went to the restroom to call the system.

He bought several books from the system mall, including legal texts like the Blue Star Criminal Code and Civil Code, as well as the previous life's "Disciple's Rules" in Blue Star text, and various books promoting truth, goodness, and beauty. He specifically chose Blue Star express delivery.

The system was puzzled by these purchases and actions. It watched as Qi Chao exited the restroom, received the books, and then organized the children to begin their lessons upstairs.

At first, the system was confused, but it soon grasped the situation. It became excited, realizing that Qi Chao had recognized the need for strict supervision of the puppets. 

However, its enthusiasm waned quickly, as it anticipated that Qi Chao might soon be deceived again by the seemingly innocent puppets.

That night at 10 p.m., the system returned to the puppet world and saw the puppets struggling with their books, while Qi Chao relaxed at his desk with tea. The system was convinced that the puppets had done something wrong to warrant such a reaction from Qi Chao. Amused, it left with a sense of satisfaction.

When arriving at the puppet dimension again, it was 2 a.m. The system thought that the puppets would surely be resting, but unexpectedly, there was still a puppet named Agu who had not left.

It was evident that Agu was very tired, with drooping eyelids, struggled to keep his eyes open while holding a book. Suddenly, a bamboo stick struck the table with a sharp, crisp sound, which was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Agu jolted upright.

"Quickly recite, there are still ten more criminal laws."

The system listened to the host's calm and gentle voice and fell into silence. It was curious about what these puppets had done to make even the usually good-natured host so terrifying.

Previous TOC Next