Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 183

 

| PN | Spike | 183

The President left the imperial palace with a dark expression.

The emperor had always had a bad temper. Even though he had mellowed out over the years, he still scolded the president frequently. However, out of consideration for the president’s contributions, the emperor rarely mocked him in front of attendants.

This time, however, not only did the emperor ridicule him as useless, but he even implied that if he was old and frail, he might as well step down and let someone more capable take over.

It was clear that the emperor was genuinely dissatisfied with him.

Thinking about this, the president felt a heavy weight in his heart. For the first time, he felt resentment toward the emperor. After decades of tireless service, to be insulted like this over an issue with abilities was disheartening.

“President, you’ve come out?”

The vice president was waiting outside the palace to escort the president. Seeing his hunched figure emerge in front of the palace gates, the vice president quickly greeted him with a smile.

“Mm.”

The President gave a cold response, not bothering to hide his displeasure. Then, as if recalling something, he asked, “Didn’t the secretary take Qi Chao to the ability-user base before? How did Qi Chao respond back then?”

The vice president was momentarily puzzled upon hearing the president mention Qi Chao but quickly recalled what the secretary had told him and responded, “Secretary Zhang said Qi Chao seemed very interested in matters related to ability users.”

Very interested?

The president thought about Qi Chao’s behavior at the banquet, which didn’t seem to align with someone particularly intrigued.

The vice president pondered further before adding, “Perhaps seeing the disappearance of abilities among the ability users made Qi Chao less interested than before?”

This remark triggered a realization for the president.

Perhaps Qi Chao’s change in attitude when the president mentioned using his puppets for experiments stemmed from the instability of abilities. 

If Qi Chao perceived abilities as unreliable, it might explain his hesitation.

The more the president considered this, the more plausible it seemed.

He admitted to himself that he might have been too hasty this time, losing his usual measure of restraint. Hearing that Qi Chao was fond of his handcrafted puppets, he had immediately broached the topic of using them as experimental subjects. 

Coupled with the unstable nature of abilities, it was natural for Qi Chao to have reservations, no matter how interested he initially was.

“Alright, then.”

The president decided to put the matter aside for now. Qi Chao came from a powerful family, and since he had refused, there was no way to force him. It seemed the president would have to find a different candidate for the experiment.

To regain the emperor's trust, the chairman knew he had to resolve these matters as quickly as possible.

With this in mind, the chairman turned to the vice chairman and instructed, “Since the S-class Puppet Association no longer has any stock, go and gather information on all existing S-class puppets with abilities. Regardless of who their owners are, compile a list of names first.”

“Yes, sir.”

–

Meanwhile, in the room shared by Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi, the lights were already out. 

Moonlight streamed through the slightly open blinds, casting a cool, ethereal sheen over everything inside.

Neither of them had fallen asleep. Lying on the bed, they whispered to each other about the events of the day.

“You’re trying to sow discord between the president and the emperor?”

Shen Yuxi’s breath brushed against Qi Chao’s shoulder as he spoke. Having recalled the message passed on by Bugu earlier, he had a faint sense of what Qi Chao intended.

“Mm. If they could turn on each other, that would be ideal,” Qi Chao replied, pulling Shen Yuxi closer into his arms and running a hand gently through his hair.

Shen Yuxi nestled against him, soft and obedient, but his expression remained unpredictable. Sowing discord between the president and the emperor would not be an easy feat. 

The two had been like wolves and jackals, scheming together for years. Besides, the president was the sort of petty man who wouldn’t dare defy the emperor outright.

"Do you already have a plan?"

Shen Yuxi tilted his head slightly, looking at Qi Chao in the moonlight.

"I have something in mind," Qi Chao replied after a brief pause. "I’ll need to take one of our children to meet the president."

He knew that if he wanted to escalate the conflict, he’d have to take the initiative.

Hearing this, Shen Yuxi pressed his lips together, reluctant to let Qi Chao face the president alone. 

Yet, he knew Qi Chao wouldn’t agree to let him go along.

"Take Qi Yang with you," Shen Yuxi suggested.

"Qi Yang?"

Qi Chao seemed puzzled by the suggestion.

Shen Yuxi nodded softly and explained in a gentle tone, "The president clearly has ulterior motives when it comes to S-class puppets. I can’t go with you, but if you bring Qi Yang along, I’ll feel a little more at ease."

In truth, Shen Yuxi knew very well that Qi Yang was fiercely protective of his brothers and held grudges against anyone who crossed them. If the president tried to provoke or mistreat Qi Chao, even verbally, Qi Yang wouldn’t let it slide.

"Alright then, I’ll let Qi Yang know tomorrow," Qi Chao agreed.

He thought Shen Yuxi was overthinking things. As shady as the association might be, they wouldn’t dare to openly seize his child in broad daylight. 

Still, since Shen Yuxi had brought it up, agreeing wasn’t a big deal. It would at least give Shen Yuxi some peace of mind. Besides, Qi Yang spent most of his days hiding in his room anyway.

Hearing Qi Chao’s agreement, Shen Yuxi’s eyelashes trembled faintly, and he nodded lightly. 

After a few seconds, he casually brought up Elliton, who had spoken with Qi Chao at the event.

"You seem to have a lot in common with Elliton?"

At the mention of Elliton, Qi Chao suddenly remembered exchanging contact information with him earlier that evening. "I wouldn’t say we have much in common, but he’s different from the other master-level puppet masters."

While most of the master puppet masters had exuded confidence and pride at the event, basking in their glory after receiving medals from the emperor, Elliton had been frail and shadowed, as if cloaked in darkness. 

Even when he accepted the emperor’s medal with outward humility, a subtle trace of shame lingered in his eyes, barely perceptible but unmistakable to those who noticed.

“Is that so?”

Shen Yuxi’s lashes lowered slightly, concealing the obscure emotions in his eyes. As long as Qi Chao had no interest in Elliton, that was enough for him. 

Only then did he finally let go of his hostility toward Elliton. Objectively, he added, “Elliton is a peripheral figure in the royal family. His parents passed away over twenty years ago, and due to his lack of status, his life hasn’t been as comfortable as other royals with the same bloodline.”

“After becoming a master-level puppet master, several of Elliton’s puppets were forcibly taken by the royal family. Since then, he hasn’t created any more puppets.”

The dark room was utterly silent except for Shen Yuxi’s soft and deliberate voice.

Qi Chao listened quietly, his expression unreadable. After Shen Yuxi finished speaking, Qi Chao smiled and asked, “How does Brother Shen know so much about him?”

Shen Yuxi didn’t hide the truth. “We collaborated with him once before. He helped us gain access to the ability-user base’s password.”

The ability-user base was located in the association’s underground facility, with an extremely high level of secrecy and security. Even though Ayu could gather intelligence, the presence of so many ability users within the base made extracting information a challenging task.

The subordinates Shen Yuxi had planted in the research institute and the association were relatively low-ranked and could only acquire part of the facility’s passwords. The rest had been obtained through their cooperation with Elliton.

Elliton was indeed a puppet master worth leveraging.

With this in mind, Qi Chao felt more certain of his plans. He lowered his head to kiss Shen Yuxi on the forehead and said, “I understand, Brother Shen. You should rest now. Tomorrow, I’ll have a proper talk with Elliton.”

As a master-level puppet master with royal blood, Elliton could play a significant role. If Qi Chao could persuade him to cooperate, the plan to sow discord between the president and the emperor would likely progress swiftly.

Qi Chao knew that the effort Shen Yuxi had put into arranging for Bugu to introduce Elliton was all for his sake. His fingers gently traced the corner of Shen Yuxi’s eyes, and he spoke in a teasing yet earnest tone, “Brother Shen, thank you for going to so much trouble.”

The truth was, once the Mother Tree’s core had been returned to its rightful place, Shen Yuxi’s own objective had been fulfilled. None of this should have concerned him anymore. 

If not for Qi Chao, Shen Yuxi wouldn’t have needed to involve himself in such complicated and troublesome affairs.

“It’s nothing. As long as I can help you, that’s enough,”

Shen Yuxi’s eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction as he listened to Qi Chao’s words. His lashes lowered slightly as he gave a thoughtful and caring reply.

Even now, Shen Yuxi never missed an opportunity to deepen Qi Chao’s affection for him. He always knew how to make Qi Chao cherish him more.

The room, bathed in flowing moonlight, began to fill with an ambiguous atmosphere. A pair of slender, elegant hands reached out to close the blinds, shutting out the cool moonlight. 

Only muffled, panting breaths could be heard from within, leaving an impression that made one blush merely by hearing it.

—

The next morning, Qi Chao got up and knocked on the door of Qi Yang’s room, which was diagonally across from his own. He was ready to take his younger brother to the association.

Qi Yang, however, had stayed up late the night before, using an anonymous account to argue online with Qi Feng and Qi Ye until the early hours. 

When Qi Chao woke him, dark circles hung under his eyes. Half-awake, Qi Yang followed Qi Chao into the living room in a daze.

“Stayed up late again?”

Qi Chao smacked his younger brother hard on the back. “How old are you? Do you still think you can pull all-nighters like that?”

Qi Yang stumbled forward two steps from the force of the slap, hissing in pain. Still, it seemed to wake him up a little.

This once-invincible figure from another world now seemed just like any other twenty year old man when he was around his older brother.

Upon learning his brother's plans, Qi Yang glanced at Shen Yuxi, who was sitting gracefully on the sofa with a gentle demeanor. He didn’t object but instead asked, “Alright, but which puppet are you planning to take to the association?”

According to his brother, the purpose of this trip to the so-called association was to stir conflict between the association and the royal family. Bringing along a puppet was just a means to gain the chairman’s trust.

If Qi Yang had his way, he’d solve the issue simply by blowing up both the royal family and the association—there was no need for all these convoluted schemes.

 But his brother who was once youthful and reckless, is no longer that person. Now, with family responsibilities weighing on him, such ideas were clearly off the table.

“You have so many puppets at home. You’re not thinking of taking all of them, are you?” Qi Yang muttered as he eyed the eager puppets standing behind them. 

He was genuinely worried that his brother might soften and agree to the puppets' pleas to tag along.

His real concern, though, was that if things escalated and he decided to blow up the association, he might accidentally harm the puppets. If that happened, Qi Chao would surely beat him to death.

Qi Chao, oblivious to the chaotic thoughts swirling in his brother’s head, glanced at the excited, bright-eyed children seated on the sofa. With a calm but firm tone, he said, “Of course, I’m bringing just one. If I bring them all along, the president might get greedy and snatch all of them without caring about my status?”

Hearing this, Qi Yang felt reassured and collapsed onto the sofa, ready to accompany his brother for what he mentally referred to as a "fight."

Meanwhile, Qi Chao began the delicate task of explaining the situation to the children at home and preparing them mentally.

Including Li Bai, the puppets all knew that Qi Chao was going to handle serious matters. They all wanted to help their father, but they also understood that if they all clamored to assist, it would only make things more difficult for him.

"Father, you can take whoever you wish. We'll do our best to help you," said Xiang Yue, his red eyes calm and steady, his voice laced with reassurance.

The other puppets nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Qi Chao couldn't help but smile, feeling a warm sense of gratitude in his heart. How could he not be fond of such well-behaved children?

"I know you all want to help," Qi Chao said, his tone softening. "While there shouldn't be any danger when we visit the association this afternoon, the president is a sly old fox. I need someone who can deceive him."

As he spoke, Qi Chao's gaze shifted across the children in his home, but none of them seemed like they would be capable of deception. 

They were all so obedient, too well-mannered—none of them had the personality to convincingly lie.

If he was going to create discord between the president and the emperor, it meant that he needed to gain the president’s trust first. 

For that, the child he brought along had to act without showing any sign of displeasure toward the president, as only then could they avoid suspicion.

Standing next to Li Bai, Lan Luo instinctively looked up after hearing Qi Chao’s words. He felt that this task was made for him; no puppet understood how to disguise a well-behaved demeanor better than he did.

"Dad, Lan Luo can help," he said with a bright smile, raising his hand.

However, before Lan Luo could explain why he was suited for the job, Qi Chao immediately shot him down. "No. Before coming to our family, Lan Luo didn’t have any abilities. If you go, it could easily bring up past issues."

Qi Chao was always cautious when it came to the children and Shen Yuxi.

Lan Luo hadn't expected his father to refuse him. His shoulders drooped, and his angelic face looked a little dejected. However, since there was a reason for the decision, he quickly cheered up after Qi Chao gently ruffled his head.

After that, Li Bai and Qiu Qiu were eliminated for their inability to hide their emotions, leaving only Xiang Yue, Xuan Jian, Shuang Jian, Xing Yu, Agu, Chi Yao, and Ayu as potential choices.

The last three children had previously been involved in a kidnapping related to the mother core, so Qi Chao worried they might be recognized and didn't choose them. 

Xuan Jian and Shuang Jian had a similar appearance to the puppets made by Qing Yu, which could raise suspicion with the president, so it wasn’t ideal to take them out either.

With that in mind, only Xiang Yue and Xing Yu were left as options.

Xiang Yue remained calm on the surface, but the slight swaying of his tail betrayed his joy.

Agu was much more direct, exclaiming, "Great! Xiang Yue can help Dad!"

For Agu, if Xiang Yue could assist Qi Chao, it was as if he were helping Qi Chao himself.

Xing Yu hadn’t expected to be taken along; after all, he knew he was still considered a danger in their eyes. However, hearing Agu’s dismissive words, Xing Yu couldn’t help but pull at the corner of his mouth, displeased.

His emotions had already been a bit unstable since Moss had ignored him, and now, with Agu’s remarks, Xing Yu’s rebellious spirit was fully ignited.

With a sharp glance at Qi Chao, Xing Yu met his gaze when Qi Chao looked back. He quickly suppressed the unease that had suddenly risen within him, steadied his mind, and tugged at Qi Chao’s sleeve, speaking with a hint of arrogance, "If you unleash my power, I'll help you destroy the association."

Qi Chao:...

Qi Chao gave the world consciousness a particularly hard tap on the head, then turned to Xiang Yue. "Later, I'll need you to accompany Dad to the association."

Agu cheered, "Yay!"

Xiang Yue responded calmly, "Yes, Dad."

The world consciousness, holding its head, still couldn't understand why the human got so angry. It had already agreed to help solve their problems, yet not only was it not being taken along, but it had even been attacked on the forehead.

It was truly annoying.

The more the world consciousness thought about it, the angrier it became. Sitting in the corner of the sofa, its cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.

After Qi Chao finished briefing Xiang Yue on the important details, he noticed the world consciousness' sulking expression and couldn’t help but reach out and pinch it.

The world consciousness, forced to release air with a puff: ...

You’re good. Once I regain my powers, the first thing I'll do is make you experience this humiliation.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuxi, watching Qi Chao tease the world consciousness, raised an eyebrow with amusement, finding it quite entertaining.

On the other side, the president of the association walked out of the ability-user base with a grim expression, then sat down in his office, flipping through the list that his vice president had compiled for him last night.

Another ability-user had lost their powers.

He had to find a test subject to research the abilities as soon as possible.

Nowadays, there were very few puppet masters or collectors who owned S-rank puppets. The association had gone to great lengths to gather puppets when it was trying to create ability-users.

After going through the list from top to bottom, the only suitable candidate, aside from Qi Chao, was someone else.

Well, he would just send someone to find him for now.

With that thought, the president called the vice president into the room and gave him a few instructions.

Although the current candidate had some fame and was not someone easily provoked, compared to Qi Chao, the latter was just an ordinary person with no background, someone he could still offend.

The vice president, though slightly hesitant, didn't voice his concerns. He nodded and agreed, then mentioned another matter. "President, I just received a message from Qi Chao. He said he would like to schedule a meeting with you this afternoon."

The president paused as he entered the private room, his expression puzzled. Why would Qi Chao still want to meet with him after the unpleasantness they had just had?

Despite his concerns about the S-rank puppets Qi Chao had made and the power behind him, the president still decided to attend the meeting, walking into the room.

Inside, there were two men and a puppet. As soon as the president entered, he instinctively stopped in his tracks, a strange unease creeping over him. He coughed lightly to clear his throat and then moved toward the group, leaning on his cane.

"President, I apologize for my behavior at the banquet yesterday," Qi Chao said, half-sincere, half-apologetic. "After the unpleasantness, I took some time to reflect. I realize I made a lot of mistakes."

I should have just punched him back then, taking advantage of his anger.

"Because I was in a bad mood, I didn't explain myself clearly. The reason for my loss of composure last night was that I felt the existence of abilities is still unstable, yet you were planning to use my beloved children as test subjects, which made me lose my temper."

This reasoning matched the president’s earlier considerations about why Qi Chao might have been angry, and he unconsciously smiled. "It's fine. You've seen the issues with ability-users firsthand, so it's natural for you to have concerns."

Qi Chao was well-known for his love of puppets, and after a moment's thought, the president realized that Qi Chao's reaction was actually quite reasonable. Perhaps he had been too hasty in his approach before.

Of course, this generous attitude from the president was not entirely without reason; it was influenced by the numerous S-rank puppets Qi Chao had made, as well as the support of the wealthiest man behind him. 

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so deferential.

The two men exchanged a look, as if they were old friends, and settled into the plush chairs of the private room, eagerly engaging in conversation.

Throughout their discussion, the president kept his gaze discreetly on the two other figures in the room, apart from Qi Chao. One was a calm, expressionless fantasy-type puppet, and the other was a strange man who appeared to be dozing off, seemingly unaware of what was happening around him.

Setting aside the stranger, the president couldn’t help but feel a rising excitement as he looked at the fantasy-type puppet. These puppets were the epitome of excellence, and if he could use one for his experiments, he might be able to come to a breakthrough much sooner than expected.

However, from what Qi Chao had just conveyed, it was clear that the puppet would only be available for experimentation once the abilities were completely stable. This made things easier.

The president's mind was already working out a plan. When he returned, he would send people to seize the specially selected puppet, find the general direction of the experiments, and then approach Qi Chao again to reassure him. 

That way, Qi Chao might finally be convinced to part with his prized creation.

Qi Chao could naturally see that the president was thinking. He remained expressionless and tried to get close to the president with a few words.

The president himself also wanted to establish a good relationship with Qi Chao, and the two of them, with their own thoughts, soon became close in their conversation.

"Speaking of which, yesterday's royal banquet was really unforgettable." Qi Chao smiled and said casually, "However, I always feel that the Emperor is not in a good mood."

The president’s heart skipped a beat. He had expected a more direct confrontation, but Qi Chao's casual tone disguised his sharpness. His smile remained as gentle as ever, but internally, he was already trying to process what Qi Chao could be hinting at.

The president quickly masked his unease with a kind smile. "That’s impossible. It must have been your imagination," he replied.

"Is that so?" Qi Chao scratched his head in mock confusion, before smoothly transitioning into another topic. "Perhaps it is, but I did notice something odd. When the Emperor handed you your medal, his expression seemed less than pleased—almost as though he didn’t want to give it to you at all. But of course, that couldn't be the case. After all, you are one of His Highness’s most loyal and capable subjects."

His words, delivered with lightness, appear like nothing more than casual chatter.

The president outwardly agreed, but secretly kept the matter in mind.

That evening, after returning home, he opened the livestream recording from yesterday and watched his video repeatedly. The more he watched the emperor’s expressions, the more he felt that Qi Chao was right.

It was truly ironic.

The president felt a bit disheartened. After working so hard for so long, the emperor wasn’t willing to even award him a medal. At that moment, the president’s resentment grew significantly.

This outcome didn’t surprise Qi Chao.

When a person becomes fixated on something, the power of psychological suggestion will guide the result in the direction they believe to be true.

Not to mention that the emperor already harbored some dissatisfaction with the president, though it wasn’t easy to detect.

At this moment, the president was trying to distance himself from his resentment. He contacted the vice president’s light brain number, asking when Qiao Sheng's puppet could be taken to the research institute, hoping to alleviate his negative emotions.

What he didn’t realize was that this was only the beginning. In the following days, his dissatisfaction and resentment would continue to grow, eventually inflating like a balloon.

It would only take a single sharp prick to make it explode.

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TL: I’m not gonna lie, but when the president mentioned Qiao Sheng’s name, I was so confused because I genuinely could not remember him at all lol I keep forgetting that he was one of the protagonists. 

Does anyone think Qiao Sheng will lose his puppet/daughter?