Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 100

 

| PN | Dad? | 100

The plush doll had been accompanying Moss for nearly two years. 

During these two years, Moss had kept the doll close to him, never letting it go no matter where he went. 

Every day, he carefully brushed and braided its hair, and gave it baths.

Under Moss's care, the golden plush doll remained clean and adorable, just as it had been when Qi Chao first made it.

Until this moment.

Moss looked at the doll in his arms, his fingers, wrapped in bandages, trembling as he picked up the golden hair that had fallen onto his lap.

Seeing Moss like this, Agu thought for a moment, then took a few steps back. 

As soon as Moss stood up, Agu quickly turned and ran into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Agu rush in and nervously lean against the door, Qi Chao asked in confusion.

Xiang Yue, who was standing next to his father while he cooked, also looked puzzled.

"It's nothing," Agu replied.

Agu appeared to be smiling on the surface, but he was actually a bit apprehensive. 

He was well aware of how important the plush doll was to Moss. Now that the doll had lost its hair, Agu knew without thinking that Moss would surely be angry.

He had only been joking, but who would have thought Moss would be so easily upset? 

Agu felt somewhat justified.

The hair was pulled out by Moss himself. What did it have to do with Agu?

His smile became more natural, and he said with an innocent expression, “Big Brother pulled the hair off his own doll. Agu was worried Big Brother might take his anger out on me, so I ran in here.”

“Really?” 

Qi Chao was a bit surprised. He knew how much Moss loved that doll. Hearing Agu’s words, he put down the knife he was holding and planned to go check on Moss.

Seeing Qi Chao preparing to go look for Moss, Agu’s smile became a bit strained.

He reluctantly stepped aside to let Qi Chao pass.

Xiang Yue followed closely behind Qi Chao, not leaving his side.

Agu watched them leave and pondered for a moment.

Moss was fierce when he fought him. Just from the way he had mercilessly severed his own arm in the past, it was clear he had no sense of brotherly affection. 

However, in front of Qi Chao, Moss definitely wouldn’t hit Agu. With this thought, Agu instantly perked up and hummed a cheerful tune as he followed.

In the living room, Moss had originally intended to draw his weapon against Agu, but Agu ran too fast. 

Before Moss could even take his weapon out from the vortex, Agu had already darted into the kitchen.

Qi Chao was in the kitchen.

Moss couldn’t show his fierceness in front of Qi Chao. He pursed his lips and put the weapon back into the vortex.

A few seconds later, Moss looked down at the plush doll on the sofa with a patch of baldness and reached out to touch its hair.

So ugly.

He felt a bit sad.

Moss thought the doll now looked as ugly as he did. He placed the fallen hair on the doll’s head, but as soon as he let go, the hair fell off again.

Moss’s fingers trembled slightly, and his dark eyes showed some self-reproach. It was he who had hurt the doll. If he had been gentler, the doll wouldn’t have gone bald.

When Qi Chao came out of the kitchen, he saw Moss standing still, motionless, and staring at the bald doll on the sofa.

Just by looking at his silhouette, one could feel his sadness. 

Qi Chao was momentarily unsure whether to laugh or to feel sorry. He walked over to Moss’s side, patted his shoulder, and when Moss turned to look at him, Qi Chao said, “I’ll see if I can fix it.”

Moss’s usually dim eyes brightened slightly. He bit his lip and stared at Qi Chao without blinking.

Although Qi Chao had not been at the villa for long, he was not unfamiliar with it. He took out a sewing kit from a drawer, and after briefly measuring the size, he began to sew.

“Don’t overthink it,” Qi Chao said while sewing the doll. “The fabric of the doll is quite durable, but after two years, it’s normal for it to wear out and tear.”

Normally, fabric wouldn’t easily be torn apart after two years.

But since Moss was so upset, Qi Chao clearly wouldn’t tell the whole truth. 

Wasn’t it caused by Moss’s own excessive force?

Moss’s remaining eyelash trembled slightly. He was still very sad, but the guilt in his heart had lessened considerably.

“The tools at home are limited, so let’s leave it like this for now. I’ll order some materials online later, and tomorrow I’ll make the doll look even better,” Qi Chao said with a smile.

“Look even better?” 

Moss immediately looked up. When he saw Qi Chao’s eyes, he parted his lips slightly and said a sincere thank you.

Xiang Yue, who was standing by, watched the scene without speaking. 

Meanwhile, Agu, who was behind him, was about to make a teasing remark. 

However, upon hearing familiar footsteps from the stairs, Agu quickly shut his mouth.

It was one thing to tease Moss, but if his father found out what he had said to Moss earlier, it would be a problem. 

He’d surely get a beating.

Qi Chao handed the repaired doll back to Moss. On the surface, the Q-version plush doll with golden hair and blue eyes looked just as cute as before.

When Shen Yuxi entered the living room, he saw Moss hugging the doll. He paused for a moment, looking at them with a puzzled expression, and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Moss’s doll was broken, so I fixed it,” Qi Chao explained briefly.

Shen Yuxi’s gaze briefly flickered over the guilty-looking Agu before settling on the doll in Moss’s hands. His peach blossom eyes curved slightly as he spoke softly, “I see.”

Qi Chao smiled and prepared to return to the kitchen to continue cooking. Shen Yuxi naturally followed him.

Seeing his father leaving, Xiang Yue, who was standing by the sofa, instinctively wanted to follow, but Agu put an arm around his shoulder and said in a friendly manner, “Xiang Yue, let’s play together.”

Xiang Yue was momentarily pulled and frowned, about to pull away. 

However, he saw Qi Chao turn around and reassuringly say, “Xiang Yue, just spend some time with Agu and Moss. I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner.”

“Okay.”

Xiang Yue glanced at Agu’s arm on his shoulder, his red eyes darkening slightly. His ears trembled slightly and nodded in agreement.

After Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi entered the kitchen, Agu finally removed his arm from Xiang Yue’s shoulder.

“Why did you stop me?” Xiang Yue could tell Agu had done it on purpose.

Agu seemed surprised for a moment, then his green eyes narrowed with meaning as he replied, “You should be able to see why without me saying anything, right?”

At this, Moss shifted his gaze from the doll to Xiang Yue.

“Are they together?”

Xiang Yue looked toward the kitchen door. He had had a vague suspicion ever since Moss had stopped him from entering the living room twice in a row.

“Yes,” Agu said with satisfaction. He liked Xiang Yue very much. 

Although Xiang Yue had hit him before, Agu didn’t mind because everyone in the house had hit him at some point. 

But, it was the first time anyone had praised him.

Upon hearing Agu’s response, Xiang Yue gave a slight nod, and his gaze unconsciously moved toward the kitchen. 

He forced himself to stop, his tail flicking a few times as if he were very curious about his father and his godfather’s interaction.

Agu saw Xiang Yue’s flicking tail and felt his hand was a bit itchy. Just as he was about to reach out and grab it, he suddenly sensed a murderous intent from behind.

He turned his head and saw Moss staring at him intently.

Clearly, even though the doll had been repaired, Moss had not let go of the matter.

Agu’s smile stiffened slightly, and the next moment he heard Moss’s hoarse voice, “Shouldn’t we have a serious talk about what you said to me earlier?”

“What did I say?”

Xiang Yue tilted his head, looking curious.

As soon as he spoke, four more puppets appeared on the stairs: Li Bai, Lan Luo, Xuan Jian, and Shuang Jian. Each of these puppets, to varying degrees, had a grudge against Agu.

Agu: … 

If he really repeated what he said before, maybe, just maybe, he’d never see the sunlight of tomorrow.

...

In the kitchen, the sound of the running faucet did not drown out the conversation between the two.

“I’ll be taking Moss out today,” Shen Yuxi said, standing beside Qi Chao and watching his actions.

“Where to?” Qi Chao asked in response.

“To meet a friend in the suburbs.”

Shen Yuxi was straightforward. He was indeed going to meet a friend, and he was also genuinely going to the trial grounds.

“Okay.” Qi Chao thought for a moment and then asked, “What time will you be back in the evening?”

“Probably around seven,” Shen Yuxi replied. Noticing the warm smile in Qi Chao’s eyes, he paused and added, “Agu will be staying at home for the next few days. He’s quite mischievous, so don’t spoil him.”

The term “mischievous” was too mild to describe Agu; “troublemaker” would be more fitting.

“Of course I won’t spoil him.”

Qi Chao smiled. Although Agu was quite likable, he could indeed be a handful, and Qi Chao still found Agu quite troublesome at times.

Seeing Qi Chao’s deep, smiling expression, Shen Yuxi’s peach blossom eyes also curved into a smile.

The clattering sounds gradually diminished, and the rich aroma of the congee simmering in the pot filled the air. 

After tidying up the meals for the dolls, Qi Chao turned and met Shen Yuxi’s gaze.

Looking at his warm, smiling eyes, Qi Chao paused for a moment, then leaned down and gently touched Shen Yuxi’s lips with his own.

This was the first kiss between the two of them in this villa.

Qi Chao placed his left hand on the edge of the cabinet, his right hand pressing against Shen Yuxi’s lower back, drawing him closer. 

What started as a simple touch deepened into a more passionate kiss with this movement.

Shen Yuxi was more than willing to kiss Qi Chao. Feeling the man’s heated breath, his heart gradually filled with joy. 

His cool fingertips lightly brushed over Qi Chao’s hot earlobe, and the smile in his eyes grew deeper.

“I really like kissing,” Shen Yuxi whispered close to Qi Chao’s ear after they finished. The warm breath made Qi Chao’s ear feel a bit ticklish.

Qi Chao had said this to Shen Yuxi before, and now it was being returned to him.

He looked down at Shen Yuxi’s misty, water-filled eyes and his soft, slightly flushed lips, and couldn’t help but smile. “I like it too.”

“We can continue when I come back tonight…”

As he said this, Qi Chao’s voice was a bit husky.

Shen Yuxi really liked how Qi Chao seemed to be able to understand exactly what he was thinking with just a glance.

After leaving the kitchen, the two adults tacitly refrained from showing any unusual behavior. 

However, the puppets outside the living room seemed a bit puzzled.

Qi Chao noticed that all the puppet's gazes were fixed on Agu, and Agu visibly sighed in relief when he and Shen Yuxi came out. 

There was definitely something suspicious.

Qi Chao thought to himself. Given that Shen Yuxi and Moss were leaving after dinner, Qi Chao chose to ignore the matter for now. 

Once they had left, he turned to Agu with a smile and asked, “So, what’s going on?”

Seeing the smile in Qi Chao’s eyes and feeling the gaze of two puppets behind him, Agu’s smile faded considerably. 

He grumbled in a somewhat aggrieved tone, “Dad, Agu didn’t do anything wrong.”

Qi Chao: … Dad?

…

On the other side, Shen Yuxi and Moss went to the trial grounds first.

Listening to the events of the morning, Shen Yuxi showed no change in expression. He knew that Agu was never idle. 

Even if he was confined to the villa, Agu would still find ways to entertain himself.

“Did he tell Xiang Yue and the others?”

“No.”

Moss shook his head and said hoarsely, “No matter how Xiang Yue and the others threatened him, Agu didn’t tell them what he said to me this morning.”

“He’s quite clever,” Shen Yuxi commented. 

As the person who knew Agu best, he could easily guess Agu’s thoughts.

The reason Agu didn’t reveal to Xiang Yue and the others that he called Qi Chao “Dad” was because Agu knew that if he let that information slip, the puppets, who already had a poor impression of him, would become even more upset. 

Making the puppets angry wasn’t a big deal to Agu, but if several dolls caused a commotion, it would disrupt breakfast and definitely affect Qi Chao, which would in turn make Agu angry.

His eyelashes trembled slightly. Now that he had left, Agu would probably find some new mischief to engage in. 

However, such antics would serve to attract the puppet's attention, so Shen Yuxi could tolerate Agu's mischief for now.

He looked at the silent Moss, his peach blossom eyes narrowing as if he understood what Moss was thinking. He gently spoke, “Agu won’t replace your position, so don’t worry.”

For Moss, the part of Agu’s earlier words that he was most concerned about was likely the last sentence.

Moss clenched the doll in his arms and nodded, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

“There will be major changes at the trial grounds today. Go assist Ayu in recording data and deliver the data to the suburbs,” Shen Yuxi said, glancing at Moss before turning his gaze away, his tone calm.

“Okay.”

Moss nodded, then hesitated before asking, “Father, are you going to Old Liu that Agu mentioned?”

Shen Yuxi did not deny it.

The sky at the trial grounds was always dark, or rather, countless tall giant trees obscured the sky, encasing the trial grounds in an impenetrable cage.

Hearing the faint sounds coming from the grass, Old Liu, who had been crouched on the ground, trembled like a frightened bird. 

His eyes were vacant, his cheeks sunken, and his clothes were torn and tattered. He scrambled to escape on all fours in a desperate manner.

However, before he could get far, a group of deformed puppets, resembling spiders, pounced on him. 

They tore at Old Liu’s flesh, their bodies entwined with ominous black shadows. The shadows occasionally emitted terrifying laughter, seemingly delighted by the sight of the human’s misery.

The more the human suffered, the more excited the shadows became.

After Old Liu had been tortured to the brink of death, the deformed puppets left, leaving him a bloody and mangled mess on the ground.

If one looked closely, they would see that his horrific wounds were slowly beginning to heal.

Old Liu felt an itch like ants crawling over his skin. Tears flowed endlessly from his vacant eyes. 

He had had enough of this place. After being tortured by the monsters, he was unable to die. 

This cursed place seemed designed specifically to torment them.

No matter how severe his injuries were, they would gradually heal, and once healed, he would face the next round of torture. 

Looking up at the impenetrable sky, Old Liu clenched his fists. If this continued, he would surely go mad. Given the situation, he might as well return to the group of humans.

 At least there would be a slim chance of escape.

With this thought, Old Liu, after his wounds had barely begun to heal, struggled to his feet and began to stagger toward the place he remembered.

Shen Yuxi withdrew his gaze from Old Liu and turned to the nearby deformed puppets. “Keep an eye on him. Record every move he makes.”

Currently, Old Liu, as described by Agu, did not appear to be unusually different. However, according to Agu, he was supposed to be an experienced individual with special abilities.

It was uncertain whether he had refrained from using his abilities earlier due to exhaustion of energy or because he was no longer able to use them.

The deformed puppet with a missing left foot was only a C-class, but under the influence of the Mother Tree, it was much stronger than a normal C-class. It stammered, “O-okay…”

After saying this, the deformed puppet vanished into the thicket.

Shen Yuxi moved his feet slightly and slowly walked to the center of the forest. 

On the enormous Mother Tree, countless eerie human-shaped shadows were shouting, surrounded by green light orbs that seemed to be soothing their emotions.

Looking at the scattered white light points among the shadows, Shen Yuxi narrowed his eyes. 

Although the white light points were scarce and might easily be mistaken for illusions, it was clear that they were real.

It’s coming soon. The shadows should be growing stronger.

Shen Yuxi thought the trial grounds would likely be very lively tonight. 

However, he still needed to return home for dinner, so he wouldn’t be able to witness the excitement here for the time being.

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