Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 79

 

| PN | Coward | 79

Xiang Yue stood there, his body still damp from the soothing solution. As it evaporated in the air, some droplets clung to his feathers, trailing down the curve of his wings. His feet pressed into the soft carpet, unfazed by the water dripping from his feathers. 

With an expressionless, he tilted his head up to look at his father.

The black-haired boy’s canine ears twitched slightly. After a few seconds, he looked at Qi Chao and, with a hint of nervousness, whispered, "Dad."

As soon as he uttered those words, the tail behind Xiang Yue gave a slight wag. 

When he heard the man respond with a gentle "hmm," the tail began wagging more energetically, though Xiang Yue maintained a calm exterior.

Qi Chao couldn’t help but smile at this sight. It seemed he was beginning to understand the personality of his new child in the house. He reached out and ruffled Xiang Yue’s hair, catching the boy off guard. "Xiang Yue, wait here for a moment," Qi Chao said.

With that, Qi Chao turned and walked over to a glass cabinet, rummaging through it. He remembered storing a new hair dryer and towels inside.

Xiang Yue obediently stayed in place, as instructed, but his gaze never left Qi Chao. Watching his father’s back, Xiang Yue’s tail continued to wag slightly.

The black wings hung from his shoulder blades to his ankles, giving Xiang Yue a delicate and obedient appearance. 

Yet, the subtle ferocity in his eyes revealed that this gentleness was reserved only for a select few.

After a few minutes, Qi Chao found the hair dryer. Smiling, he returned to Xiang Yue's side. "Let Dad help dry your wings and hair first."

Xiang Yue nodded and, to make it easier for his father, sat down directly on the carpet. Qi Chao chuckled softly and sat on a chair, beginning to dry the boy's hair.

The warm breeze from the hair dryer hummed softly, causing Xiang Yue's ears to tremble slightly. His lashes lowered, hiding his red eyes, as if he felt a bit nervous. 

Qi Chao noticed this and turned off the dryer, his deep brown eyes full of concern. "Is the wind too strong?"

Xiang Yue looked up at his father and shook his head. After a few seconds, he leaned back, resting his head on his father’s leg, and his red eyes contentedly narrowed. "The wind isn’t too strong, Dad."

As he repeated those last two words, his tail wagged a bit faster. Hugging his knees, the wings on his back folded inward, wrapping around him slightly. The warm fingers on his head brought back faint memories from his time within the mother stone.

His mother stone was unique.

Xiang Yue remembered how he couldn’t break free, even though he had gathered enough energy. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t transform. It was then he realized that maybe he was inherently unable to change.

Unlike other puppets, Xiang Yue’s memories within the mother stone were remarkably clear. 

The endless solitude and darkness gnawed at his sanity like ants, slowly eroding his resolve. The only thing that kept him calm was the spiritual energy that had fused with his body.

The warm green light always conveyed one message: someone was waiting for him.

His father was waiting for him.

That was Xiang Yue’s only motivation to hold on.

After Qi Chao finished drying Xiang Yue's hair and wings, he gently patted his child who was still leaning against his knee. With a smile in his voice, he said, "All done, you can get up now."

Once Xiang Yue stood up, Qi Chao also rose, placing the hair dryer back in its place. He was just about to take the boy to meet his two brothers when he turned around and saw Xiang Yue plucking a black feather from his wing and holding it out to him.

Qi Chao looked at the palm-sized feather, momentarily stunned before smiling. "Is this for me?"

Xiang Yue nodded, his red eyes fixed on Qi Chao.

He liked his feathers, but he liked his father even more. This was the most beautiful feather on his body, and Xiang Yue thought his father would surely like it.

Noticing the wagging tail behind Xiang Yue, Qi Chao's eyes softened with amusement. "Thank you, Xiang Yue, I like it very much."

Though Xiang Yue’s face remained expressionless, his wagging tail betrayed his emotions.

In front of the child, Qi Chao carefully placed the feather into one of his work drawers, storing it with care. 

Before closing the drawer, Qi Chao gently touched the black feather, knowing that Xiang Yue had given it to him out of affection. His heart warmed at the thought, appreciating what a good child Xiang Yue was.

After closing the drawer, Qi Chao led Xiang Yue out of the basement. He kept an eye on Xiang Yue's reactions, recalling how Li Bai had been both scared and curious when he first saw the flowers and plants outside. 

The memory brought a smile to Qi Chao's face.

However, Xiang Yue showed no reaction at all; his tail remained still, as if he had no interest in any of it.

Qi Chao found this intriguing and ruffled Xiang Yue's hair with a smile tugging at his lips.

"You have two brothers, Lan Luo and Li Bai. They're both very gentle, so you should get along well with them."

"Mm," Xiang Yue responded with a simple nod.

Xiang Yue’s tail wagged slightly as Qi Chao ruffled his hair once more. Hearing the instructions, he nodded solemnly.

Qi Chao wasn’t really worried about how the children at home would get along; he had just mentioned it casually.

Meanwhile, Li Bai and Lan Luo were enjoying a rare break, watching cartoons together. It was their rest day, and on such occasions, the two puppets would be especially excited.

Li Bai usually had an easygoing nature, always smiling, but Lan Luo could tell that something had been off with him lately. 

It seemed to start when Qi Chao began working on the new puppet.

"What’s wrong?" Lan Luo asked, turning off the projector and tilting his head to look at Li Bai.

Li Bai was caught off guard by the question, but then he flashed a grin, showing his small tiger teeth and smiling with his golden eyes. "Nothing."

Lan Luo didn’t respond, just kept staring at Li Bai. Under Lan Luo's gaze, Li Bai’s smile gradually faded. 

After a pause, he whispered, "I feel like this can’t go on."

Lan Luo looked puzzled.

"Dad is working really hard every day," Li Bai continued.

Li Bai thought about how Qi Chao stayed up late making the puppet, woke up early to help them with their studies, and now had to worry about the new brother's mother stone. 

During such moments, Li Bai felt that his own existence was somewhat useless.

"I want to help Dad," Li Bai said, his gaze filled with uncertainty. "But I don't know how."

Li Bai had been studying hard, aware that it wasn't enough, but he was at a loss about what specific actions to take next.

Lan Luo, too, was at a loss. He was surprised by Li Bai’s depth of thought, as he had always been the one to follow orders and be obedient without much thought. He never considered what else he could do beyond completing tasks and being well-behaved.

The two puppets sat quietly on the sofa. When they heard the commotion from outside, they instinctively put aside their concerns, smiled, and jumped off the sofa to greet Qi Chao at the entrance.

Both puppets were momentarily stunned when they saw Xiang Yue next to Qi Chao, their attention entirely captured by the new addition.

Xiang Yue looked down at the unfamiliar puppets. Qi Chao, noticing the interaction, smiled and took a picture of the scene with his light brain, finding it amusing. He then proceeded to introduce Xiang Yue to his two older brothers.

Li Bai and Lan Luo had been studying in the basement and were familiar with Xiang Yue's transformation from clay to his current form. Seeing the beautiful black wings behind Xiang Yue, Li Bai’s eyes lit up with excitement.

When Qi Chao introduced Xiang Yue, Li Bai immediately ran up to him, looking up with a bright smile, “Xiang Yue, I’m Li Bai!”

Xiang Yue looked down at the white fox-like Li Bai and nodded, saying seriously, “Brother Li Bai.”

The scene of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old calling an eleven or twelve-year-old “Brother” was amusing, and Qi Chao, unable to hide his amusement, quickly recorded the moment.

Li Bai was relieved to see Xiang Yue awake and excited to be an older brother for the first time, showed his usual goofy smile, revealing his small tiger teeth.

Lan Luo, observing Li Bai’s reaction, was usually indifferent to new things, focusing only on his father, Qi Chao, and Li Bai. 

However, seeing Li Bai so happy made Lan Luo feel a sense of happiness himself.

He took a step forward, his golden hair and translucent blue eyes giving him a cherubic appearance as he smiled brightly, “I’m Lan Luo.”

This time, Xiang Yue didn’t respond immediately. He studied Lan Luo for a few seconds before finally saying, “Brother Lan Luo.”

Qi Chao naturally noticed the earlier awkwardness but thought it was just that Xiang Yue was being a bit shy about calling Lan Luo and Li Bai “brother.” 

When they reached the living room, he patted Xiang Yue’s head and said with a smile, “Li Bai and Lan Luo are older than you, so it’s not a big deal to call them ‘brother.’ If you don’t want to, just let them know; they won’t mind.”

Upon hearing this, both Lan Luo and Li Bai nodded in agreement.

Xiang Yue didn’t say anything. In fact, whether or not he called someone “brother” didn’t matter much to him. 

For Xiang Yue, besides the term “Dad,” everything else wasn’t worth caring about.

The hesitation in calling Lan Luo was simply because Xiang Yue felt that the puppet’s smile earlier seemed a bit fake. 

Perhaps due to spending too much time in the dark, Xiang Yue was very sensitive to emotions.

Xiang Yue hated anything fake.

However, since this puppet’s smile towards Li Bai and Dad was very genuine, Xiang Yue could temporarily tolerate the pretense directed at him.

He followed closely behind his father. Noticing Xiang Yue’s trailing behind, Qi Chao turned and said, “You go play with Li Bai and Lan Luo first. I’ll go upstairs to prepare your room.”

Xiang Yue responded with a soft “Mm” but remained in place, clearly wanting to stay with his father.

Qi Chao also noticed that Xiang Yue was more clingy to him than Li Bai, possibly because he was still very young. With this in mind, Qi Chao didn’t say anything more. He patted Xiang Yue’s shoulder and turned back to the living room, gently rubbing Li Bai and Lan Luo’s heads.

“Come upstairs with me to help prepare Xiang Yue’s bed, okay?” Qi Chao said with a smile. 

Because he had been so busy lately, he hadn’t had a good conversation with his children for a few days. This was a good opportunity to bond with them and also to help Li Bai and Lan Luo get familiar with Xiang Yue.

Help out?

When Qi Chao said this, both Li Bai and Lan Luo’s eyes lit up, and they immediately agreed to help.

He led the children upstairs. As they entered the room, Xiang Yue was last in line. Although the door wasn’t narrow, getting through would inevitably brush against his wings.

Xiang Yue glanced at his wings with his red eyes. His wings, which reached his ankles, trembled slightly, and the beautiful black feathers turned into specks of green light before vanishing into the air. 

With a calm expression, he walked into the room under the gaze of Li Bai and Lan Luo.

“Wings can disappear too?”

Li Bai was somewhat surprised.

Qi Chao responded with a hum and smiled at Li Bai, “Did you forget that Professor Qiao’s beast puppet ears on her head and the tail on her back can also disappear?”

The characteristics of fantasy types can disappear. By using special potions during the creation process to merge feathers and tails with mental energy, puppets can control their physical features freely.

Reminded of this, Li Bai immediately recalled and focused on Xiang Yue’s back, curiously asking, “So can Xiang Yue’s tail and ears disappear too?”

With his tail hanging behind him, Xiang Yue nodded and replied, “Yes.”

As Xiang Yue spoke, he had no intention of demonstrating for Li Bai. In his view, he retracted his wings to prevent them from getting dirty, but that didn’t mean he would retract his dog ears and tail for anyone else.

Xiang Yue took pride in his uniqueness. In his eyes, only he and his father could control him.

Lan Luo noticed Xiang Yue’s indifference towards Li Bai, his blue eyes narrowed slightly, and a sense of displeasure arose in his heart. 

Meanwhile, Li Bai, being the sweet and naive type, didn’t realize anything was wrong. 

He ran around after his father, helping to open windows for ventilation.

Xiang Yue glanced at Lan Luo, and after seeing Lan Luo’s bright smile, he averted his gaze, expressionless, as he put the books from the table into the bookshelf, and then continued to help his father tidy up.

After finishing arranging the bed, Qi Chao saw that the three children were working hard to clean up. He sat on the bed, took out his holographic computer, and recorded a video of the children’s efforts, which he then sent to Shen Yuxi along with the previous videos and photos.

With the joyful news of Xiang Yue’s birth, Qi Chao wanted to share it with Shen Yuxi as soon as possible. 

After sending it, Qi Chao expected that the doctor would take a few seconds to reply. To his surprise, the holographic computer vibrated the next moment, and a video call invitation appeared on the screen.

“Xiang Yue has awakened?”

Shen Yuxi’s eyes curved with what seemed like happiness for Qi Chao.

“Mm.” Qi Chao angled the camera to include Xiang Yue in the shot. Hearing his name, Xiang Yue stopped his actions and nodded at Shen Yuxi.

Shen Yuxi observed Xiang Yue’s somewhat aloof demeanor with surprise. This type of puppet didn’t seem like something Qi Chao would create. He looked at Qi Chao and asked gently, “What are you doing right now?”

“Preparing Xiang Yue’s room,” Qi Chao replied with a smile, casually waving a cloth in front of the camera.

Shen Yuxi responded with a hum, glancing at Qi Chao’s hand holding the cloth. 

Craftsmen’s hands are rarely attractive, but Qi Chao’s hands had a good bone structure, though they bore numerous scars. Even through the projection, Shen Yuxi could see the faint scars on Qi Chao’s hands.

Shen Yuxi averted his gaze, exchanged a few more words with Qi Chao, and then ended the call, leaving Qi Chao to his work.

As he stared at the black screen of the holographic computer, Shen Yuxi’s expression was inscrutable. 

Nearby, Moss noticed his father was lost in thought and clutched the doll in his arms, unsure of what his father was thinking.

Agu, who was reading nearby, saw this and began to grumble again, commenting that his father was indeed a complicated human. Selfish and reclusive was one thing, but the way he dragged things out and hesitated after pursuing a relationship for so long was baffling.

Agu could vaguely guess that his father was likely afraid of Qi Chao affecting him. Essentially, his father was a coward. He pouted and mumbled, “So timid.”

When he realized his father’s gaze was on him, Agu straightened up and pretended to study diligently.

Shen Yuxi withdrew his gaze and, after a few seconds of silence, said, “Go get the ointment from my room and bring it to Qi Chao.”

Moss, hearing this, adjusted the puppet in his arms and said with a slight movement of his lips, “Alright, Father.”

After Moss left, the room fell silent again. Agu, feeling that Shen Yuxi wouldn’t pay him any more attention, looked somewhat dejected. He didn’t want to read anymore, but his father still hadn’t forgiven him.

While Chi Yao went out on missions and Moss had his doll, Agu felt he had nothing. He was truly tired and felt like he had endured enough punishment. 

Agu was feeling increasingly miserable.

As Agu sulked with his legs propped up and leaned on the table, he heard Ayu say, “The trial grounds have a few new puppets with special abilities that the current puppets can’t handle. They need help from Brother Moss.”

Before Shen Yuxi could speak, Agu’s eyes lit up, as if he had found the quickest way to earn his father’s forgiveness. He eagerly said, “Agu will go, Agu will go. No need for Big Brother to go himself; he still needs to keep Father company.”

With that, Agu, fearing rejection, quickly climbed out the window and ran to the trial grounds.

After running a fair distance, Agu looked back to find no sign of Ayu. He immediately felt relieved, knowing that as long as Ayu didn’t stop him, it meant his father had tacitly approved of this.

It seemed that his father was in a good mood today.

Agu, grinning, thought perhaps Qi Chao might finally have some free time starting today. But that was none of his business. 

To Agu, seizing the opportunity to avoid reading made him the smartest puppet in the world.

With this thought, Agu began to hum a tuneless song. Finally, he could avoid reading, and the people at the trial grounds surely missed him.

Meanwhile, in the living room, a space vortex slowly appeared on the wall. Xiang Yue, who was tidying up the room, suddenly perked up his dog ears, as if sensing something, and a hint of wariness flashed in his eyes.

Li Bai, seeing this, tilted his head and was about to ask when he noticed Xiang Yue’s wings behind him suddenly spread out, resembling the pitch-black night sky. The wings swiftly moved through the air, leaving only two black feathers on the ground, which then transformed into green light spots and dissipated into the air.

On the other side, Moss, holding the doll and the ointment given by his father, had just stepped out of the space vortex. 

As he looked for Qi Chao, he saw a pair of crimson eyes staring directly at him.

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