Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 75

 

| PN | 16 or 17 | 75

【Host, has something happened?】

The system was eager to know what those devilish puppets had done. As soon as the host returned to his room, the system immediately asked.

Qi Chao didn’t go into detail about yesterday’s events, simply stating, “The children lacked proper education and made mistakes.”

While Qi Chao was responding, the system was observing his expression. However, Qi Chao’s demeanor was very calm, as if it was just a minor issue. This left the system somewhat puzzled.

So, was the host angry or not?

The system couldn’t determine if the host realized that those puppets were essentially a group of demons.

It paused for a moment before tentatively asking, 【Did they make a serious mistake?】

Qi Chao remained silent.

【Host?】

The system was a bit confused. A few seconds later, Qi Chao spoke, bypassing the system’s question, and in the darkness, his voice was low and somber: “Yes, it’s serious enough to warrant a seven-day detention in a juvenile detention center.”

The system was delighted to hear this. Detention in a juvenile detention center? That must mean they did something illegal! It immediately hinted, 【It’s so serious? I always thought the puppets were kind and well-behaved, and couldn’t possibly do anything bad.】

Qi Chao wouldn’t ignore the puppets just because they made mistakes. He had been in juvenile detention before for hitting someone, and he didn’t think of himself as a bad person. 

In Qi Chao’s view, the puppets were very innocent, and their actions were meant to make themselves happy. 

Although he was angry, he wouldn’t label the puppets as bad just because of this incident.

After all, the puppets didn’t even know that what they were doing was wrong.

Qi Chao understood that puppets were like blank slates, were simply lacking education and guidance. He didn’t explain this to the system; as long as he understood this in his interactions with the puppets, it was enough.

The system was waiting for the host to reveal his thoughts on the malicious puppets. After a few seconds, it heard the steady breathing of the host and realized it was almost 3 a.m. It decided not to wake the host.

The system speculated that although the host hadn’t spoken, he must have noticed the demonic nature of the puppets due to their extreme behavior and would definitely find a way to escape.

Perhaps the previous severe teachings were all a facade.

The system suddenly understood. Was the host now planning to use a disguise to lull the demons into a false sense of security and then seize the opportunity to escape? 

The system felt that any normal person would choose to do so and thought it was a highly likely scenario.

According to its analysis, the host was currently in the villain’s villa. Although escaping would be challenging, as long as the host had the awareness to escape, there would definitely be a way.

With this thought, the system was thrilled and decided to continue monitoring this dimension the next day. As long as the host stayed away from the villain and lived a peaceful life, his life would surely be safe!

The next day, under the system’s eager anticipation, Qi Chao opened his eyes and got up to knock on the doors of the puppets’ rooms one by one.

The system remained silent. Since it was a disguise, it needed time. Qi Chao was unaware of the system’s thoughts. He ordered several books from the store and, after waking the children, prepared to give them a lesson.

Agu was the last to come out. He followed behind Qi Chao to the “study room” and looked at the table full of books with a gradually fading smile.

Why are there so many books? There were only a few yesterday. How long will it take to memorize all these?

"Are all these for recent studies?"

Qi Chao glanced at Agu’s empty hands and smiled at him, “Yes, no need to rush, just learn slowly.”

Hearing this, Agu fell silent.

He hated studying. Unlike Shen Yuxi, who enjoyed reading, Agu lacked patience. He preferred tasks over memorizing books.

To appease his father, Agu decided to approach Qi Chao. As long as he could win Qi Chao’s favor and earn his forgiveness, even if his father stayed angry, it wouldn’t last long. 

Agu knew that his father valued Qi Chao highly.

This was also why he agreed to come and study.

He smiled at Qi Chao and said, “Agu will study hard.”

Qi Chao, recalling that Agu was the only child who couldn’t memorize a single law yesterday, didn’t want to undermine his confidence. He simply responded, “Keep it up.”

Sitting at his own desk, Agu opened the book and quickly sensed a gaze fixed on him. He glanced back and, as expected, saw Li Bai.

Agu ignored him, knowing that Li Bai wouldn’t act out in front of Qi Chao. His immediate concern was to focus on studying and win Qi Chao’s favor.

Since Qi Chao had imposed the punishment of studying, Agu believed that if he studied hard enough, Qi Chao would surely forgive him.

Agu had good intentions, but oddly enough, he felt completely clueless when it came to studying. Just looking at the book gave him a headache and made him drowsy. Reading a line of text was exhausting, let alone memorizing so much.

Throughout the morning, Agu’s desk was struck by the bamboo rod around ten times. By the end, he felt a pang of dread whenever he saw the rod.

During the break, Agu didn’t sing his usual songs to ease his emotions. His smile had faded, and he stood blankly against the wall, his spirit flagging. 

He thought he really shouldn’t have provoked Qi Chao. If he hadn’t, his father wouldn’t be angry, and he wouldn’t have to study these dreadful things.

This was the first time Agu experienced the feeling of regret in his life.

Qi Chao naturally noticed that Agu didn’t enjoy studying. However, some things can’t be avoided simply by disliking them. Qi Chao checked the time, took a ten-minute break, and then began teaching the children other knowledge.

Lan Luo listened attentively, occasionally glancing at Qi Chao’s face, seemingly trying to discern his emotions.

However, Qi Chao’s expression during the lesson was rarely expressive, and no matter how much Lan Luo analyzed, he couldn’t figure out what Qi Chao was thinking.

Yesterday, Qi Chao had even rubbed his own head. Lan Luo thought that, in Qi Chao’s eyes, he might still be the most well-behaved child. He tightened his grip on his pencil, but his eyes were filled with anxiety.

In the previous lesson, Qi Chao had explained the difference between human love and affection and had also mentioned that imposing one’s own thoughts on others was wrong. 

Lan Luo had wanted his father and Qi Chao to marry, without considering whether Qi Chao actually wanted that. 

At the time, Lan Luo had no ill intentions; he just thought that if they married, he would be with both of them forever.

He felt a bit uneasy, his fingertips fidgeting on the paper, showing signs of anxiety and tension.

Nearby, Li Bai was alternately reciting and looking at Agu, clearly scheming something. 

Lan Luo felt a pang of discomfort in his heart and his eyes filled with tears. He lowered his head, trying to hide his emotions behind the book, afraid of being noticed.

When Qi Chao announced a short break, Lan Luo’s heart sank, and his limbs felt a bit weak. 

After a few seconds, he bit his lip as if making a resolution and got up to follow Qi Chao out of the room.

Qi Chao had originally gone out to use the bathroom. Noticing a small following behind him, he paused, turned around with some confusion, and asked, “Lan Luo, what’s wrong?”

Lan Luo, gripping the front of his clothes, kept his head down and shook it. From Qi Chao’s angle, he could only see the top of Lan Luo’s head. 

Qi Chao thought for a moment, then crouched down, rubbed Lan Luo’s head, and only then noticed that Lan Luo’s face was covered in tears for some reason.

“Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

Qi Chao chuckled, pulling out a tissue from his pocket to wipe the tears from Lan Luo’s face.

Lan Luo hadn’t intended to cry. He wasn’t like Li Bai, who was prone to tears, but just the thought that he might no longer be seen as a well-behaved child in Qi Chao’s eyes made tears well up on their own.

As the tissue rubbed against Lan Luo’s face, he saw the smile in Qi Chao’s eyes and, feeling flustered and timid, pulled off his deer antler headband, which was soaked with tears. 

He clung to the hem of Qi Chao’s shirt, crying and hiccuping, “Please don’t think I’m not good, okay?”

Lan Luo pushed the deer antler headband towards Qi Chao, crying pitifully with snot running down, looking nothing like his usual angelic self.

Lan Luo wanted to give Qi Chao his most cherished possession, hoping to make him continue to like him and not dislike him. 

But upon reflection, his most treasured item was still the deer antler headband Qi Chao had given him.

The deer antler headband was his favorite and the only thing he cherished.

Qi Chao looked at the deer antler headband in his hand, then at Lan Luo’s timid and fearful expression, still not fully understanding what was wrong with Lan Luo.

Lan Luo, however, misinterpreted Qi Chao’s silence as disapproval and tightened his grip on Qi Chao’s shirt.

His eyes were filled with helplessness, and his voice was choked with emotion, “Lan Luo really made a mistake. Please don’t dislike me. I’ll be good and listen carefully. Can you still continue to like me?”

His voice trembled, as if he was extremely afraid of being abandoned.

Made a mistake?

Qi Chao seemed to understand why Lan Luo was upset. He asked softly, “Where do you think you went wrong?”

“I shouldn’t have imposed my own ideas on you without your permission,” Lan Luo stammered, his voice still choked with emotion. He stared intently at Qi Chao, trying to read his feelings.

Qi Chao paused for a moment, then continued to wipe Lan Luo’s tears with the tissue. “Once you know your mistake, don’t repeat it, understand?”

Lan Luo nodded heavily, his eyes showing deep relief as Qi Chao continued, “In my heart, Lan Luo is very good. The Lan Luo who knows his mistake and corrects it is the best.”

Lan Luo still had tears in his eyes. 

Hearing this, he paused, looked up at Qi Chao who had risen, still clutching his shirt. Hesitantly, he asked, “Do you really think Lan Luo is very good?”

Qi Chao nodded, ruffling his hair with a warm smile, “Yes, very good.”

From the beginning, Qi Chao was aware that the puppets' personalities were not fully developed. 

When Lan Luo was repeatedly beaten by the original host but still remained very close to him, Qi Chao knew that the puppets were different from humans.

But Qi Chao knew that the puppets had emotions, so he always treated them like children. Even if the puppets didn’t realize they had hurt him, Qi Chao would still feel sad and angry. 

However, he also understood that showing anger was unnecessary. In his view, getting angry was not useful.

His experience from his previous life in the society taught him that rather than getting angry, it was better to think about how to solve the problem. This was also the reason Qi Chao suggested the juvenile detention center to Shen Yuxi.

Lan Luo’s answer reflected the knowledge Qi Chao had taught during the class, and Qi Chao thought to himself that his approach to teaching the children was correct.

Unable to resist, he rubbed Lan Luo’s head again and placed the deer antler headband back on him, saying, “You’re really great, Lan Luo. You’ve already realized your mistake so quickly.”

Lan Luo, who had been anxious, felt a sense of joy when the headband was put back on and received the praise. He looked up at Qi Chao’s warm smile and, after a few seconds, his face broke into a bright smile. He nodded vigorously.

He would not make the same mistake again.

Lan Luo thought to himself that he would definitely become the best child in Qi Chao’s eyes.

After making his decision, Lan Luo went back to his room, and Qi Chao went to the bathroom. 

Seeing Lan Luo’s smile, Li Bai breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew Lan Luo had been troubled and, as Lan Luo was unwilling to share, Li Bai had also tactfully refrained from asking. It seemed that the issue had been resolved.

That’s good.

Li Bai thought to himself. He remembered the matter he had been holding onto and approached Lan Luo, whispering, “Let’s go teach Agu a lesson tonight.”

Earlier in the morning, Qi Chao had taught Li Bai that fighting was wrong, and he usually avoided making Qi Chao angry. 

Therefore, Li Bai planned to place a duel letter in Agu’s room during the evening rest time.

A duel isn’t considered fighting.

Li Bai thought.

Lan Luo agreed to Li Bai’s plan and nodded. However, unlike Li Bai, he did not write a letter. 

Lan Luo believed that it was right to punish Agu, and not writing a letter wouldn’t affect his behavior as a good child.

After making their plans, the two puppets went to Agu’s room, placed the letter, and sat by the bed waiting for him to return.

That's right, Agu, the fool, had been kept behind today for not finishing his book.

At 2 a.m., with his mind full of virtue and propriety, Agu dragged his exhausted body from the third floor down to the second. He could still hear the crisp sound of the bamboo rod in his ears.

Agu didn't want to study anymore.

If worse comes to worst, he could saw off another arm just to avoid studying.

The thought of returning to his room to sleep brought a small sense of relief to his tormented soul. Finally, he could lie down and rest.

Agu was so tired.

He walked like a zombie to his room, pushed open the door, and saw two puppets standing inside.

The two puppets said, “We can start the duel now.”

Agu's smile finally faded. Why did it have to be now?

A duel at 2 a.m.?!

He looked at the two energetic puppets with a trace of regret in his emerald eyes. If he had known, he would have avoided knocking out Qi Chao.

Agu just wanted to sleep.

…

Meanwhile, in a warehouse of a renovated building thousands of miles away, an adult male puppet lay on the bed, sweat covering his forehead. He frowned deeply, seemingly trapped in a nightmare.

In the dream, the figure of a female puppet with white skin and red eyes, previously blurred, became clearer.

In the dream, San Yue and this female puppet, named Ayu, were not very familiar but met frequently. 

Ayu appeared cold on the surface but was actually quite gentle. 

San Yue had a good impression of her, but as their meetings continued, Ayu's injuries grew more numerous, and she became increasingly gloomy and distant, like a hedgehog. 

San Yue, however, was not interested in Ayu. He was solely focused on avenging his master and knew that Ayu was searching for a traitor puppet. 

This traitor had betrayed her father, transforming her father into a completely different person.

According to Ayu, her father had been very gentle before. However, San Yue was uninterested in this story. 

During a subsequent encounter, Ayu had been disfigured. It was reported that the traitor puppet was dead, killed by her father’s own hands.

Ayu's face at that time bore a maniacal and happy smile, but to San Yue, it seemed as though she was crying.

He kept watching Ayu until she was violently torn apart, shattering into several pieces. As she broke apart, Ayu’s face showed a satisfied smile, as if she had achieved a lifelong wish.

San Yue was horrified by this scene and woke up, gasping for breath. 

Not far away, Ayu, having observed this scene, tilted her head slightly, jotted down a note in her book, and then disappeared from the tree.

At 7 a.m., Ayu calculated the time her father would wake up, entered his room, and informed Shen Yuxi of her analysis: "He has acquired a special ability, details unknown; further observation is needed."

Shen Yuxi, sitting at his desk, nodded without surprise and replied, "Continue monitoring him."

Ayu nodded and noticed her father’s pale complexion. She furrowed her brow, wanting to say something, but a knock sounded at the door.

Shen Yuxi glanced at the door, and Ayu swiftly climbed out the window. 

Shen Yuxi said softly, "Come in," and upon seeing who entered, he smiled slightly. Indeed, it was Qi Chao.

"Is there something you need?" Shen Yuxi asked, looking at Qi Chao with a gentle expression.

"Nothing much," Qi Chao replied, noticing Shen Yuxi's pale lips. "I woke up early and came to check on you, and also to bring you a cup of milk."

Shen Yuxi touched the warm milk with his cool fingertips and smiled, "Thank you."

"It’s just a small thing," Qi Chao said with a smile, sitting down beside him and starting a casual conversation. 

After a few minutes, he remembered something important. "I can't stay at your place for long. Remember the puppet we encountered earlier who was in a deep sleep? I was thinking of checking on him."

"A recheck?" Shen Yuxi was surprised. It's rare for a puppet to need a follow-up after recovery.

"Yes," Qi Chao explained. As an experienced puppet master, he knew that rechecks were usually unnecessary after treatment. "I just want to see how both the puppet and its owner are doing. The owner is only sixteen and still living in a dilapidated warehouse, which is quite concerning."

"Oh, I see."

Shen Yuxi maintained his smile, but his hand, which had been touching the cup, slowly withdrew.

Qi Chao was truly kind. If he had met someone like Qi Chao when he was sixteen or seventeen and helpless, it would have been very comforting.

But in reality, he hadn’t met Qi Chao, and the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy Qi Chao was helping was not him.

Shen Yuxi thought to himself, how laughable this situation was.

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