Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 83

 

| PN | My Property | 83

Shen Yuxi hadn’t specified exactly when he would arrive at the villa. 

Although Moss’s space-traveling ability was quite convenient, based on Qi Chao’s understanding of him, he probably wouldn’t be coming in the evening.

To be on the safe side, Qi Chao sent a message to confirm. His communicator buzzed, and a new message quickly appeared in the chat.

Doctor: [I’ll be there tomorrow morning. Have you gotten home yet?]

Qi Chao: [I’m home now.]

Seeing Brother Shen’s reply, Qi Chao realized that Brother Shen hadn’t responded immediately earlier because he was likely busy.

Turning off his communicator, Qi Chao prepared to go upstairs to set up the beds for Moss and Shen Yuxi. 

As he passed through the living room, he saw the three children still watching cartoons and called out, "Stop watching, it’s already eight o'clock. Time for bed. Brother Shen is coming tomorrow, so no sleeping in."

"Daddy, is Godfather coming?" 

Li Bai's golden eyes sparkled behind his mask. He really liked Shen Yuxi and Moss. The thought of their arrival made him show a grin with his tiny fangs. "Is Brother Moss also coming?"

"Yes," Qi Chao replied with a smile.

Qi Chao nodded, his deep brown eyes twinkling with amusement. "He should be coming. The house will be lively again."

Lan Luo looked up at Qi Chao, his smile bright. "Will Agu come?"

Upon hearing this, Li Bai also seemed concerned, appearing to care about the matter.

"He won’t be coming."

Since Brother Shen hadn’t mentioned whether Agu would be arriving, Qi Chao guessed he probably wouldn’t. 

However, it didn’t matter much; there were plenty of rooms in the house, so even if Agu did come, there would be space for him.

Lan Luo and Li Bai seemed pleased by this answer.

Not giving it much thought, Qi Chao assumed they were just excited about Shen Yuxi’s visit. He patted their heads, urging them to rest quickly, and went upstairs to prepare a room for Shen Yuxi.

Watching Qi Chao’s figure disappear around the corner of the second floor, Xiang Yue looked at the two puppets with a neutral expression. His tail twitched slightly as he asked in a puzzled tone, “Who is Agu?”

Shen Yuxi is the one who gave medicine to Dad, and Moss is the puppet from the last time. 

So who is Agu? 

Xiang Yue had sensed that the mention of “Agu” evoked some negative feelings from the others.

Li Bai and Lan Luo exchanged glances. Li Bai took a few steps forward and tugged at Xiang Yue’s clothing.

Xiang Yue, quick to understand, calmly squatted down, letting his black robes fall to the ground.

Li Bai leaned closer to his ear and told Xiang Yue about how Agu had knocked out his father. 

Xiang Yue was originally calm and indifferent, his eyes flashed with a trace of murderous intent upon hearing this, and his tail behind him stopped swaying, its fur bristling.

"He harmed Father?"

Xiang Yue's jawline tightened, his voice becoming somber. He looked at Li Bai and Lan Luo, his red eyes darkening and his demeanor becoming increasingly grim. 

If Agu were to appear before him now, there was no doubt he would tear Agu apart piece by piece.

Normal people would certainly be frightened by Xiang Yue’s now gloomy expression, but neither Li Bai nor Lan Luo were. 

Lan Luo, with a bright smile on his face, said, “We’ve taught Agu a lesson before, but that guy has a poor memory. If you ever meet him, don’t hold back, just beat him up.”

Xiang Yue looked at Lan Luo, seeming to gauge the truthfulness of his words. After a few seconds, his tail's fur softened, and he calmly nodded, “Hmm, I won’t hold back.”

Qi Chao was unaware of the decision the three kids had made behind his back.

After changing the beddings in the two rooms, he specifically walked around the living room to confirm that the kids had all gone upstairs to sleep. 

He sighed internally, thinking his kids were really well-behaved, and then went upstairs to sleep himself.

The next morning, Qi Chao woke up and went to the kitchen to prepare some sweet treats for Shen Yuxi. He remembered that Brother Shen didn’t like things too sweet, so he only added a little bit of sugar for flavor.

Just as he put the cookies into the oven, Qi Chao turned around and saw Xiang Yue. He didn’t know when Xiang Yue had come up behind him, and seeing Xiang Yue’s tail wagging, Qi Chao paused for a moment, then smiled, “Xiang Yue, you’re up so early?”

Xiang Yue, holding the baseball Qi Chao had given him the day before, twitched his dog ears slightly and stared intently at his father, responding seriously, “Yes, Xiang Yue woke up very early.”

Qi Chao glanced at the oven behind him and then had a thought. He patted Xiang Yue on the head and said, “That’s perfect. How about going to the basement with Dad to test your level?”

Xiang Yue didn’t understand what Dad meant by “level,” but he was just happy to be by Qi Chao’s side and naturally had no objections.

The last time, the instrument for testing levels was put in the basement. After Qi Chao dragged the instrument out of the glass cabinet, he placed a rubber sensor on Xiang Yue’s chest and comforted him, “This doesn’t hurt, Xiang Yue, don’t be afraid.”

“Mm, Xiang Yue isn’t afraid.”

Xiang Yue wasn’t afraid of pain. In the long darkness of the mother stone, the only thing he feared was his father suddenly disappearing. 

Everything else was unimportant in Xiang Yue’s eyes.

Seeing his calm expression, Qi Chao couldn’t help but pat his child’s head and praised, “Xiang Yue is really brave.”

Qi Chao was quite laid-back about the levels of the puppet; no matter what level they were, they were still his children. 

However, to become a Master-level puppet master, the strict requirement is to make five S-level puppets, which made Qi Chao have to pay attention to their levels.

When Qi Chao praised him, Xiang Yue’s dog ears twitched with joy, and his lips curved into a pleased smile.

The data on the instrument kept flashing. Qi Chao walked to the screen, pressed a few buttons, and the fluctuating values suddenly skyrocketed. 

After reaching a certain point, it seemed to malfunction, slowly decreasing until it finally settled at 9604/S.

A value above 9000 is S-level. The previous result for Li Bai was 9704/S. This value was 100 less than Li Bai’s, but as long as it reached S-level, Qi Chao didn’t mind.

He downloaded the report, then removed the sensor from Xiang Yue and praised, “Xiang Yue’s level is very high, it’s S-level. Great job.”

Noticing the smile in his father’s eyes, Xiang Yue’s tail wagged vigorously. He got off the instrument, stood beside the fish tank, and a few seconds later, clumsily followed Qi Chao in tidying up the equipment.

Qi Chao saw Xiang Yue’s actions and didn’t say anything. He just reached out and rubbed Xiang Yue’s head. The plan for today was to start making the Double Mirrors, but if Brother Shen was coming, it might be delayed for a while.

After tidying up the instrument, Qi Chao walked to the fish tank and slowly infused his mental energy into the two red crystals inside. 

Although the color of these two "Puppet Hearts" had long since turned bright red, given that they had previously shown problems, Qi Chao didn’t dare leave them unattended in the fish tank. He infused them with mental energy every day.

Standing behind Qi Chao, Xiang Yue watched his father’s actions and his gaze fell on the two Puppet Hearts in the fish tank.

When he was still in the mother stone, Xiang Yue could sense that the two awakened Puppet Hearts were receiving his father’s mental energy alongside him.

His father’s mental energy was abundant enough to meet the needs of three mother stones, but the two Puppet Hearts were very cautious. When replenishing mental energy, they would always absorb it slowly and cautiously.

Only after he had finished his replenishment did they start to absorb the mental energy in large quantities, as if testing his limits to avoid displeasing him.

Xiang Yue glanced at the two Puppet Hearts and then shifted his gaze away. He didn’t know what had happened to them and didn’t have much curiosity about it. 

However, he didn’t dislike them. With this thought, Xiang Yue’s tail behind him slowly wagged.

After infusing mental energy into the Double Mirrors, Qi Chao estimated the time and took Xiang Yue out of the basement. 

At this moment, Lan Luo and Li Bai hadn’t woken up yet. Normally, Qi Chao would wait for them to wake up naturally, but since Brother Shen was coming today, they probably wouldn’t want to show their lazy side to Brother Shen.

Qi Chao thought for a moment and assigned the task of waking up the two children to Xiang Yue while he began preparing breakfast for the kids.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuxi emerged from the spatial vortex with Moss, arriving at the room he had previously stayed in.

Looking at the room set up exactly as it was before he left, Shen Yuxi’s lips curved slightly. He led Moss out of the room and happened to encounter Xiang Yue, who was standing outside the door, looking slightly unfamiliar.

Shen Yuxi maintained a neutral expression and greeted him warmly, “Hello, Xiang Yue.”

Xiang Yue stepped back, nodded politely, and then turned to start knocking on Lan Luo and Li Bai’s doors.

Seeing this, Shen Yuxi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Moss behind him, vaguely sensing that the personalities of these two puppets were somewhat similar.

He said, “Moss, go with Xiang Yue to wake up Lan Luo and the others. I’ll head downstairs first.”

Moss remembered Xiang Yue, who had previously coveted his doll. He tightened his grip on the doll in his hand and was reluctant to go with him, but out of respect for his father’s orders, Moss pressed his lips together under the bandages and walked over to Xiang Yue’s side.

Shen Yuxi glanced at them and then headed downstairs.

A sweet aroma wafted from the kitchen. Qi Chao, wearing an apron, was carving an energy stone with a knife. When he heard the door creak open, he glanced back instinctively. 

Upon spotting the familiar figure, Qi Chao’s hand holding the knife paused slightly, and he smiled, “You’re here?”

“Mm.”

Shen Yuxi curved his lips slightly.

The two had known each other for nearly a year, and their interactions had long since become less formal. 

Qi Chao placed a freshly baked cookie in front of Shen Yuxi, saying, “Try this. It’s not too sweet.”

When Shen Yuxi heard that it was not too sweet, he glanced at Qi Chao and then lowered his eyelashes. It seemed that Qi Chao was quite familiar with his preferences. 

Shen Yuxi picked up a cookie and took a bite. It was indeed not too sweet, just the level he could tolerate.

“It’s very good.”

Shen Yuxi’s peach blossom eyes curved slightly. When he looked up, he met Qi Chao’s deep brown eyes, which were full of warmth. 

An inexplicable emotion suddenly surged in his heart, but as he tried to sort it out, the feeling vanished.

“That's good,” Qi Chao’s voice was a bit low, and he didn’t notice Shen Yuxi’s unusual reaction. He lowered his head and continued preparing the meal.

Shen Yuxi also returned to his normal demeanor. Thinking about the purpose of his visit today, he decided to temporarily set aside the strange emotion and said casually, “Are you still picking up San Yue today?”

“No, my younger brothers have a day off today,” Qi Chao replied casually. 

Picking up San Yue yesterday was actually a coincidence. He had been busy for the past few months and hadn’t had time to introduce San Yue to the kids at home. When he finally had some free time yesterday, he spontaneously decided to do it.

Shen Yuxi wasn’t surprised. He lowered his eyelashes and smiled, “If you have time another day, you can bring him over again. I’d like to see how the puppet you personally healed is doing now.”

His purpose for coming here was to see San Yue, and Shen Yuxi knew he didn’t need to overthink things with Qi Chao. 

As long as he expressed his wishes, Qi Chao would agree.

Sure enough, the next moment, Qi Chao said, “Sure, I can bring him over when I have time. San Yue has a unique personality but is very well-behaved.”

Shen Yuxi nodded, and soon heard Qi Chao ask, “Do you have any business in the Jing District this time? Is there anything you need help with?”

“No need.”

Shen Yuxi looked at Qi Chao, his blue eyes gentle and affectionate, as if filled with tender emotions. “I’ll just be going out for a bit later.”

This wasn’t an excuse; Shen Yuxi did indeed need to go out to meet someone.

Qi Chao nodded in understanding and then added, “I tested Xiang Yue’s level this morning. It’s S-level.”

Shen Yuxi wasn’t surprised and smiled, “Xiang Yue is very outstanding.”

Qi Chao didn’t deny it. His eyes reflected the pride and satisfaction typical of an elder. Seeing this, Shen Yuxi’s peach blossom eyes curved into a smile, seeming to think that Qi Chao was easy to please.

When the puppets came downstairs, Lan Luo and Li Bai greeted Shen Yuxi. 

Lan Luo was particularly happy today. He liked Qi Chao and his father, and as long as the two of them were with him, he was happy even if he didn’t watch cartoons.

After breakfast, Shen Yuxi joined Qi Chao in the kitchen to wash the dishes. Qi Chao planned to start making the Double Mirrors today and didn’t hide his intentions, directly telling Shen Yuxi about his plans.

“Won’t you take a few more days to rest?”

Shen Yuxi was somewhat surprised. In his impression, Qi Chao worked almost continuously and had only rested for two days before resuming puppet-making. 

He knew Qi Chao wanted to become a Master-level puppet maker, but he hadn’t expected him to be so eager.

“No, aren’t you going out for errands today? I’ll be working all day too. Tomorrow we can take the kids out to play together.” Qi Chao’s plans were well thought out.

Shen Yuxi nodded and curved his lips into a smile. “Alright.”

If it had been in the past, Shen Yuxi would never have agreed to such a trivial request. Thinking about Agu’s comment that he was a coward, his lips pressed together in slight displeasure, and his peach blossom eyes narrowed. 

However, when Qi Chao turned around, Shen Yuxi quickly composed himself and smiled at him, “Are you starting work now?”

Qi Chao nodded and then said, “If you’re not going out now, would you like to join me in the basement?”

Since Shen Yuxi hadn’t planned to go out this morning, he agreed to Qi Chao’s suggestion.

The design for the Double Mirrors was already completed. The next step was to start shaping the contours. 

Although Qi Chao had actively invited Shen Yuxi to the basement, he only chatted briefly at the beginning and then focused intently on his work, not looking up.

Shen Yuxi watched his silent back without speaking, simply observing him quietly. In Shen Yuxi’s eyes, Qi Chao’s dedication to his work was exactly how he should be when he was passionate about puppets.

In Shen Yuxi’s view, Qi Chao was a simple and naïve person, displaying an attitude and approach to puppets and work that was different from the norm.

After an unknown amount of time, the spatial vortex slowly appeared on the basement wall. 

Shen Yuxi left a note, then quietly got up and left.

...

On the other side, Qiao Sheng was lying on his wheelchair, counting his fingers and watching his daughter, Chao Yang picking out skirts with his light brain. 

His voice trembled a bit, “Daughter, take it easy. My bank card’s been a bit tight recently.”

Chao Yang nodded cautiously, hesitating a lot when making her choices.

“Never mind, I’ll just borrow from Uncle Lu. Buy whatever you like!” Qiao Sheng waved his hand dramatically, enduring the pain.

Chao Yang was immediately excited. She exclaimed in delight, her tail wagging rapidly. 

However, just as she was about to look down and continue shopping for clothes, she suddenly sensed something wrong. Seeing the spatial vortex, she became alert.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Qiao Sheng wasn’t surprised. Seeing Shen Yuxi emerge from the vortex, he clutched his chest and pretended to be in pain, “Why are you here?”

Shen Yuxi’s expression was gentle, with his golden hair resting on his right shoulder and a soft smile on his lips. “Long time no see.”

The bandaged puppet standing behind him had an unfriendly expression, clearly dissatisfied with Qiao Sheng’s “affected” demeanor.

Seeing this, Qiao Sheng turned to see his daughter’s worried expression. He sighed, giving up on pretending, and leaned on his head, “What are you here for?”

“I need a list of all the puppet masters who recently created S-level puppets at the research institute.”

“Why should I help you?”

Qiao Sheng found it somewhat amusing. He didn’t understand why Shen Yuxi was asking him for this information. 

After all, he and Shen Yuxi were on opposing sides.

Shen Yuxi’s lips curled into a slight smile, not saying anything. Qiao Sheng, however, seemed to realize something and clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

He hated being threatened, especially by someone like Shen Yuxi.

Although Qiao Sheng didn’t explicitly agree or refuse, his demeanor clearly indicated his stance. Seeing the smile on Shen Yuxi’s face made him even more irritated. 

After a few seconds, however, he seemed to remember something amusing and gave a look as if he was enjoying the show.

“The association has recently produced quite a few S-level puppets. There are many puppet makers on that list of yours. If those puppet makers were taken away by you, the association would certainly be troubled. What do you think they would do?”

Shen Yuxi’s smile remained unchanged.

Qiao Sheng clicked his tongue again, clearly dissatisfied with Shen Yuxi’s reaction.

“It’s up to you then.”

Shen Yuxi said slowly, then got up and left, ignoring Qiao Sheng. However, once he entered the vortex, his expression suddenly turned somber.

Shen Yuxi knew exactly what Qiao Sheng meant.

His gaze turned cold. After losing a large number of puppet masters, the association would surely try to recruit new ones. 

Qi Chao, the champion of the previous competition, would definitely be a prime candidate.

He wasn’t planning to take the puppet masters away just yet, but Qiao Sheng's teasing words had successfully irritated Shen Yuxi.

Shen Yuxi hated others coveting his possessions.

No, or rather, Qi Chao didn’t belong to him just yet, Shen Yuxi’s lashes fluttered.

In the previous videos, Shen Yuxi had sensed Qi Chao’s interest in his body, but what frustrated him was that Qi Chao’s interest would quickly fade, as if his brain had some kind of filter that automatically purified the information that might “confuse” him.

This immobilizing feeling made Shen Yuxi extremely uncomfortable. Even though Ayu, a puppet, could handle the situation, Shen Yuxi chose to come in person to see San Yue.

The spatial vortex connected to Qi Chao’s living room. When Shen Yuxi saw the figure lying on the sofa, he paused. He glanced at Moss, who nodded and left the room, as if deep in thought.

It was already late, and the living room was dimly lit. Shen Yuxi walked over slowly. 

Upon seeing the man’s eyelashes fluttering on the sofa, Shen Yuxi seemed to have guessed something.

He continued his movements without hesitation, walking straight to the front of the sofa. His pale, cool fingers traced down his brow bone, brushing over his lips.

After a moment’s pause, Shen Yuxi seemed to remember something, got up, and left the living room.

After Shen Yuxi left, Qi Chao slowly opened his eyes and lifted his hand to touch his lips.

He was woken up by the disturbance from the spatial vortex, Qi Chao had intended to play a prank on Shen Yuxi to surprise him. 

However, it turned out he was the one who got startled.

Recalling Shen Yuxi's cold, soft fingertips, Qi Chao’s ears felt warm, and his expression was a bit dazed. 

Why did Brother Shen do that?

Previous TOC Next