Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 105

 

| PN | System | 105

Qi Chao quickly sensed the presence of the system. He nonchalantly rubbed his ear and continued eating with Brother Shen and the children.

Li Bai was the first to finish eating the energy stones on his plate.

“Dad, what is it you wanted to tell us?”  

Li Bai looked at Qi Chao, asking cheerfully. After him, the other puppets also put down their forks one after another.

Hearing this, Qi Chao glanced at Shen Yuxi beside him. Seeing the smile in Brother Shen’s eyes, he smiled as well. 

He knew Brother Shen was agreeing to share the news about the two of them now.

“I’m together with Brother Shen,” Qi Chao said, pausing after these words, worried that the children might not understand what he meant. 

He then explained, “Remember I taught you before that when two people love each other, they stay together? Do you still remember that?”

As he said this, he carefully observed the children’s reactions. 

Upon seeing Agu pretending to be surprised, he realized that if this child could definitely figure it out, Moss and Xiang Yue probably knew about their relationship as well.

Lan Luo, Li Bai, and Shuang Jing, Xuan Jian, on the other hand, seemed completely unaware of what was going on between them.

Shen Yuxi, sitting nearby, maintained a calm and gentle expression. However, when he heard Qi Chao mention that they were in love, his fingers, resting on his leg, trembled slightly, and a subtle emotion welled up in his heart. 

He pressed his lips together, realizing that Qi Chao meant much more to him than he had previously thought. 

But now, with Qi Chao already belonging to him, Shen Yuxi didn’t feel too anxious. 

He glanced at the puppet’s expressions and said softly, “Although Qi Chao and I are together now, it’s no different from before. You don’t need to overthink it.”

As he spoke, Shen Yuxi seemed to remember something and shifted his gaze to Li Bai, Xiang Yue, and the other puppets , his eyes showing the affection of an elder. “You can keep calling me godfather, or, like Moss and Agu, you can call me father—either is fine.”

Li Bai was the first to snap back to reality. He liked his dad, and he also liked his good-looking godfather. 

Now that the two of them were together, he wholeheartedly supported it.

Glancing at his dad and seeing the smile in his eyes, Li Bai grinned, showing his little tiger teeth, and cheerfully called out, “Father!”

“Mm.” Shen Yuxi's smile deepened when he heard Li Bai’s voice. 

If he had to pick his favorite puppet among those Qi Chao had created, it was undoubtedly Li Bai. 

Not only because Li Bai’s personality resembled Qi Chao’s, but also because of his perceptiveness.

Li Bai often displayed a sharp instinct, akin to an animal's intuition, in many situations.

Shuang Jian and Xuan Jian, upon hearing that Dad and Godfather were together, showed no change in expression. 

To them, no matter what decision Dad made, their role was simply to support him. 

The other puppets, having already suspected this for some time, reacted calmly.

Even though Agu tried to fake a shocked expression, it seemed exaggerated and somewhat insincere.

In contrast, the biggest reaction came from Lan Luo.

He looked at his father and the person he had only recently started calling Dad, his gaze blank and dazed, as if he hadn’t fully processed what was happening. 

It wasn’t until he heard Li Bai’s cheerful response that Lan Luo gradually began to comprehend.

Dad and Father were together?

Lan Luo felt a little disoriented.

Ever since he learned that human children typically have both a dad and a mom, Lan Luo had always hoped that Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi would end up together. 

In fact, this desire had once led him to follow Agu and Chi Yao in doing something wrong, angering both Dad and Father.

After that incident, Lan Luo learned to respect the wishes of the two, no longer pushing for them to be together. 

However, deep down, he still longed for the same thing human children had—a forever unbroken bond with both Qi Chao and Father.

Now that Lan Luo was suddenly being told his dream had come true, he found himself doubting whether it was all just an illusion. 

Even when Agu took off the antler headband from his head, Lan Luo merely glanced at him blankly, showing no sign of anger. 

After the family meeting ended, Lan Luo stood in front of Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi, nervously asking, "Dad, Father, are you… really together?"

He fidgeted with the seam of his pants, his voice uncertain. Behind him stood the other puppets, with Agu still clutching Lan Luo’s antler headband. 

Agu’s bright green eyes gleamed with amusement at the scene before him—it was truly fascinating. 

The fact that Father and Dad were now together had apparently caused Lan Luo’s intelligence to plummet.

Qi Chao could see the nervousness in Lan Luo's expression. He lowered his head and answered seriously, "Yes, we are together." His tone was sincere and solemn.

Qi Chao’s confirmation made Lan Luo’s eyes gradually light up. He cautiously turned to look at Shen Yuxi, and when he noticed Father gently nodding, Lan Luo’s excitement instantly bubbled over, his hands flailing as he didn't know where to place them.

Seeing this, Qi Chao's deep brown eyes glimmered with a hint of amusement. "Lan Luo, touch your head," he said with a smile.

Qi Chao knew that Lan Luo had always hoped for them to be together, so his excitement was understandable. 

However, Qi Chao didn’t like the children in his home being overly cautious. He preferred them to be playful and lively, which suited them better.

Upon hearing Qi Chao’s suggestion, Lan Luo reached up and touched his head, only to realize that his familiar headband wasn’t there.

 His heart skipped a beat, and when he turned around, he saw the headband in Agu’s hand.

The two puppets exchanged a glance before Agu, without a second thought, turned and dashed off, laughing mischievously as he sparked a chase. 

Lan Luo quickly ran after him.

On the surface, it looked just like ordinary brothers roughhousing.

Qi Chao was pleased. He glanced at the other children standing nearby and, smiling, said, "You all should go join them too, and try to keep those two from actually fighting."

Li Bai and the others nodded and followed them out. They knew what was coming next—a round of duels with Agu.

As Shen Yuxi watched the puppets leave without hesitation, he sensed something subtle, but it confirmed that the task he had entrusted to Agu had been completed perfectly.

Distracting attention was something that no puppet could pull off as skillfully as Agu.

"Brother Shen, are you heading out later?" Qi Chao asked routinely, as he reached out and gently tucked a stray lock of Shen Yuxi's hair behind his ear.

Shen Yuxi looked up slightly at Qi Chao, and as he felt his touch, a soft smile curved at the corners of his lips, and a subtle warmth filled his eyes. "I am," he replied, his voice calm but affectionate. 

He was curious to see how the trial grounds had transformed.

"Alright," Qi Chao said as he withdrew his hand smoothly. He smiled as he held Shen Yuxi's hand and led him into the kitchen. "I made some cookies this morning. You should take some with you when you head out."

The moment Shen Yuxi had come downstairs earlier, he caught a whiff of the sweetness clinging to Qi Chao, he had already guessed what he had made. 

It seemed Qi Chao always had the leisure to make food.

Shen Yuxi wasn’t particularly fond of sweets, but everything Qi Chao made suited his tastes perfectly.

 He knew it was because Qi Chao always adjusted the recipes to cater to his preferences. Being cared for like this was a deeply gratifying feeling.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Shen Yuxi’s lips as he watched Qi Chao’s back. 

In that moment, an inexplicable and growing urgency stirred in his heart.

The more comfortable Shen Yuxi felt with Qi Chao, the less he could tolerate anyone disrupting his current life—whether it was the Empire or the Association.

After Shen Yuxi left, the villa felt noticeably emptier. Qi Chao stood in the room, looking out from the second floor, where he could faintly see the children in the garden chasing after Agu. 

Agu really could run—Lan Luo had been chasing him for a while but still hadn’t caught up.

Qi Chao chuckled softly, but then he noticed the faint buzzing of static near his ear. He spoke up, “System? You’re back?”

【Greetings, Host.】

The system hesitated for a moment. In truth, it had been a long time since it last contacted the host. 

It wasn’t shirking its duties, though—instead, it had purposely gone to the primary world to research the timeline of this world.

Due to the high level of secrecy surrounding this world, even with repeated applications for more information, the system had only managed to gather limited details about the villain.

As it observed the profile of its host, the system couldn’t help but recall the information it had uncovered.

The villain, Shen Yuxi, was abandoned at birth in the Ganfen District garbage dump. 

There’s a blank period in his life up until he turned six, after which he was picked up by his teacher. 

At thirteen, his teacher passed away, and by sixteen, Shen Yuxi had become a puppet master. At eighteen, he began planning the trial grounds and gradually created five puppets.

According to the original timeline, Shen Yuxi was supposed to initiate the "Red Moon Incident" at age thirty-four, officially becoming the Empire's enemy at thirty-five. 

After that, his puppets started to die, either killed by enemies or by Shen Yuxi himself.

How tragic.

The system pondered this. Even though the puppets were a group of demons, ruthless creatures, they all respected and followed Shen Yuxi. 

The idea of him killing his own puppet spoke to the extent of his madness in the later stages.

The most terrifying part was that, by the end of this world, Shen Yuxi, as if driven insane, somehow transformed himself into a being neither fully human nor monster. 

He didn’t just kill the protagonists and destroy the Empire—he obliterated the entire dimension, plunging everything into eternal darkness.

The system was well aware of how disastrous the ending could be.

The system had long known the ending of this world, but it still felt a shiver each time it reviewed it.

According to the analysis by its predecessors, the villain’s initial goal was not to destroy the Empire or Blue Star. It seemed that some form of stimulus drove him to commit such extreme actions. 

However, the details of the plans and the specific stimuli leading to his actions remained unknown. 

What was clear was that the villain’s so-called plans were more accurately described as his teacher’s plans.

This implied that the villain’s teacher was not a benevolent figure either.

“System?”

Qi Chao’s call snapped the system back to the present. It immediately responded, 【What’s wrong, Host?】

The system chided itself for letting its mind wander in front of the host. It knew that if its predecessors found out, it would surely be reprimanded.

“It's nothing. I just saw a product in the mall called 'System Data Source' earlier. That’s meant for you, right?” Qi Chao asked.

【Yes.】 The system was somewhat puzzled by the question but responded instinctively, 【The system can use the data source to increase its level.】

“I see,” Qi Chao said with a smile. He then opened the system mall, purchased the data source he had mentioned, and sent it to the system.

【H-Host?】 

The system was taken aback, clearly not expecting to receive a gift from the host. Such data sources were very expensive, and as a new system, it had only been able to purchase one after earning some money through cooperation with the host.

“I’m together with Brother Shen now,” Qi Chao said with a smile. “If the Central Bureau hadn’t selected me back then, I wouldn’t have had the chance to be with him. Consider this a token of my gratitude.”

As the system listened to the host’s words and saw the notification of the gift arriving in the system mall, it felt a pang of guilt. 

The gift in its inventory felt like a hot potato, and it was overwhelmed by the unexpected generosity.

The system was acutely aware that the villain was unlikely to abandon his plans, which meant that the stimuli Shen Yuxi would face later on were also unlikely to change. 

The destruction of the dimension seemed like a foregone conclusion.

In this situation, the host’s gratitude made the system feel uneasy. It momentarily considered revealing the truth to the host, but quickly stopped itself. Breaching confidentiality agreements could lead to its destruction.

As a relatively young system, having only existed for eighteen years from birth to its task execution, it still had much more to experience. 

Yet, its conscience was already causing it significant distress.

Noticing the system's unusual silence, Qi Chao inquired a few more times. 

His questions only made the system more flustered. Just then, the host from the adjacent dimension started calling for it again. 

During its time in the main world, the adjacent dimension’s often-crying host had been persistently seeking it out. The system had ignored these calls back then, but now, with the summons, it felt a sense of relief.

The system quickly replied, 【Host, thank you for the gift. The other dimension’s host is looking for me. I need to handle this matter and I will return immediately once I’m done.】

“It's fine,” Qi Chao said reassuringly. “I’m not busy on my end, so take your time. No need to rush.”

The system felt even more guilty at the host’s kindness. 【Thank you, Host.】

After the system left, Qi Chao noticed the room felt much quieter. He considered this for a moment, then walked to the window to look out at the garden below. The children were no longer in sight.

As he prepared to go downstairs to search for them, his communicator in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

Xiu Mei’s message appeared: 【Young Master Qi, I've sorted everything out on my end. If there are no issues, we’ll meet at the café in front of the Association Headquarters in fifteen days. I’ll take you into the Association’s library then.】

Qi Chao replied with a thank you and slipped the communicator back into his pocket. His thumb absently rubbed the black screen as his gaze grew thoughtful, lost in contemplation.

Meanwhile, Xiang Yue leaned against a tree, watching as Li Bai, Lan Luo, Shuang Jian and Xuan Jian chased after Agu.

Even with the four puppets in pursuit, Agu showed no signs of slowing down. 

He darted around energetically like an energetic cockroach, using his long experience of evasion from being chased to find increasingly tricky hiding spots.

Xiang Yue could tell just by looking at Agu that he had no intention of engaging in a duel with the other puppets.

Their father would be arriving soon.

Thinking this, Xiang Yue decided not to join Li Bai and Lan Luo in the chase. He knew that in their father’s presence, duels would be impossible.

Moreover, Xiang Yue lowered his lashes, reflecting on how Agu had already been punished enough. 

He recalled that Agu wasn’t the only puppet involved in harming their father; another puppet named Chi Yao was also a key instigator. 

Though Agu was more extreme in his actions compared to Chi Yao.

A faint, unfamiliar scent began to permeate the air.

Xiang Yue followed the source of the smell with his gaze, his red eyes narrowing. 

He remembered that there was a room in the villa with a similar scent, albeit faint. 

Moss had mentioned that this room belonged to Chi Yao.

Chi Yao?

Xiang Yue stood up, his black wings unfurling behind him, rustling the withered grass on the ground. 

Agu, who had been gleefully dashing around like a playful big cat, suddenly noticed Xiang Yue’s intense gaze fixed on the distance. 

The direction he was looking towards was precisely where the trial grounds were located.

Agu’s playful demeanor froze instantly, and a shiver ran through him. Was Xiang Yue planning to head to the trial grounds?

As Xiang Yue’s feet lifted off the ground and his wings began to flap, ready to take flight, Agu panicked. 

He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Xiang Yue’s waist.

No, Xiang Yue! 

Please don’t go to the trial grounds! 

Agu pleaded inwardly. If you go, I’ll fail my mission and I’ll die—really, I will!

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