Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 198

 

| PN | Dawn | 198

Various troubles came one after another, and in a fit of anger, the president actually fainted.

When Qi Chao saw this scene on surveillance, he raised an eyebrow. He didn’t connect the president fainting with the official certificate he had requested. He simply thought it was due to the previous visit from Qiao Sheng that had caused the president to lose his temper.

“Qiao Sheng is really something,” Qi Chao remarked, sighing at his abilities.

When Shen Yuxi heard the name Qiao Sheng, his brows furrowed slightly, then quickly relaxed. 

He didn’t like Qiao Sheng, but if Qiao Sheng was still useful to Qi Chao, he didn’t mind hearing his name.

“When you asked the emperor for the official certificate, do you think those council members would agree?” Shen Yuxi tilted his head.

Although the emperor had agreed with the cabinet ministers on the proposal to introduce performance evaluations for the council members, it had only just been implemented a few days ago. 

If the council members wanted to help the association, they could easily spare some effort.

“Could they disagree?” Qi Chao smiled, fiddling with Shen Yuxi’s phone. 

Although Elliton’s rise of power was partly due to the president’s efforts in communicating with the council members, the emperor’s rise to power represented a new round of competition. 

If the council members supported the association while opposing the emperor, they have to show their true faces in front of Elliton.

With the introduction of performance evaluations, the council members naturally prioritized securing their own positions. 

There were plenty of opportunities for them to make a public appearance; even without the association, there would always be another chance. They wouldn't waste time protecting the association.

Shen Yuxi let out a soft laugh before asking, “What do you plan to do next?”

He knew that although Qi Chao wasn’t planning to return to the association, given Qi Chao’s nature, he would never remain idle.

Sure enough, the next moment, Qi Chao said, “With the depletion of the mines, the association won't last long. We should take this opportunity to make a documentary about the alliance.”

“A documentary about the alliance?” Shen Yuxi was momentarily taken aback, but then he understood Qi Chao’s idea. 

He chuckled and asked, “Why did you suddenly think of making a documentary about the alliance?”

It wasn’t a sudden idea, actually.

Qi Chao had always wanted to change the public’s perception of puppets on Blue Star. 

Before this, he had even posted a video of his children making mistakes at home.

Although the mischievous child in the video made Qi Chao feel his hand feel a bit itchy, he couldn’t deny that the lively scene still made him laugh every time he watched it.

The response online had been quite good at the time, with many netizens feeling that their behavior wasn’t much different from that of misbehaving children.

 Qi Chao had originally planned to post more videos, but due to being so busy afterward, he never got around to it.

Now that he had some free time, he thought about making a documentary about the alliance. 

The content would focus on the origins and stories of the puppet masters and puppets in the alliance. It would serve two purposes: to familiarize the public with puppets and to promote the alliance.

“You already have an idea, so just go ahead and do it,” Shen Yuxi said.

His fair fingers rested gently on Qi Chao’s hand, and his smile was soft, as if he would support any decision Qi Chao made.

In truth, that was exactly the case. Apart from leaving him, Shen Yuxi didn’t care about anything else.

Unable to resist, Qi Chao gave Shen Yuxi a hug.

He was someone with his own opinions. When he had run his own studio before, his employees rarely disagreed with him, but Shen Yuxi was the first person to support him unconditionally. It was only after being with Shen Yuxi that Qi Chao realized what it felt like to be spoiled without condition.

“I’ll have Bugu prepare everything as soon as possible. You can film whenever you want,” Shen Yuxi said, his lips curving into a smile. 

He leaned against Qi Chao’s shoulder, his voice soft.

In the room, the two of them created their own little world, with a harmonious and warm atmosphere. 

The atmosphere downstairs, however, was quite different. Qi Yang was lying on the couch, with the chattering voices of a group of puppets in his ears.

From day to night, the puppets were like a group of energetic little ghosts, their small mouths chattering nonstop. 

Especially Li Bai, Lan Luo, and Qiu Qiu – it was hard to understand where they found all their topics. Their mouths didn’t stop from beginning to end.

For the first time, Qi Yang experienced the exhaustion of taking care of children.

The other puppets were quieter, though they always paired up. Xing Yu and Agu acted like protective parents, one following Moss, the other following Xiang Yue. 

They frequently shot wary glances at him, as if they were afraid that Qi Yang would try to take them away. 

It left Qi Yang somewhat speechless.

Chi Yao and Ayu, along with Xuan Jian and Shuang Jian, didn’t seem opposed to Qi Yang, but their conversations were few.

 Whenever Qi Yang brought up a topic, they would politely respond, but the conversation would quickly fall into an awkward silence.

It was really hard to figure out.

He realized once again that his decision to try to improve the puppets' opinion of him was a huge mistake.

So, once they returned to the villa, Qi Yang immediately reverted to being a gaming addict, burying himself in his light brain to soothe his tired mind.

"Where’s my brother? I saw his shoes outside just now. Do you guys know where he is?"

After playing with his light brain for a while, Qi Yang lifted his head and looked at the puppets. 

Having already figured out their personalities, his gaze landed on Li Bai and Qiu Qiu. It was clear that he knew he could only rely on those two.

Sure enough, when Li Bai caught his uncle's glance, he immediately stood up. His golden eyes gleamed under his mask, and he cheerfully said, "Uncle, are you looking for Dad? Li Bai will help you find him!"

Qi Yang nodded, and saw Li Bai tugging Lan Luo as they ran upstairs. When they headed directly to the second floor, Qi Yang understood something.

He should have realized it earlier. As soon as his brother came home, he would stay cooped up with his partner. 

They saw each other every day, yet they were still so clingy. Qi Yang couldn't help but mentally complain to the system: [Right? Baby.]

The system, long used to being called "Baby," gave a nonchalant "Hmm," and continued to quietly fiddle with its remote communication. 

Qi Yang had no idea how it had happened, but he'd somehow broken its communication device, rendering it unable to contact the outside world.

Qi Yang actually wanted to tell the system not to bother trying to fix it, as it would never be repaired. However, after thinking about the way his brother interacted with Shen Yuxi, he decided to stop and let it be.

Forget it, let's just consider it a hobby of his baby.

With that thought, Qi Yang relaxed further, continuing to lounge around.

On the other side, after receiving the boss’s message, Bugu immediately contacted the relevant people to arrange the necessary equipment. He then sent a message to You Zhao, informing him of Qi Chao’s plans.

At present, the alliance did not intentionally control public opinion on the internet. 

In fact, You Zhao and the other two leaders fully inherited their mentor’s will. Most of their time was spent, aside from handling official duties, in discussions with other puppet masters about the key points of puppet-making.

The three leaders of the alliance were focused on refining their puppet-making skills, and naturally, the puppet masters under them dared not slack off. 

After all, the ones who joined the alliance were all puppet masters who truly loved puppets, and none of them had any complaints about it.

Compared to the association, which on the very first day instilled the idea that puppets were merely tools, the alliance, where they could learn from each other every day and continually research how to make more perfect puppets, was practically the organization of their dreams.

[Alright, I understand.]

You Zhao sent a message to Bugu and then, following his mentor’s request, selected a few suitable puppet masters from the members. After they agreed, he created a small group chat for them.

[We are about to film a documentary about puppets, and we thank everyone for agreeing to share their stories with us.]

The members of the group were all puppet masters who had been investigated and were genuinely fond of puppets. 

Any puppet masters could speak endlessly about their stories with puppets—just like parents proudly talking about their own children. No competent parent would ever think their stories about their children weren’t worth sharing.

All the puppet masters replied: [How many stories should we tell? If there aren’t enough people, I can tell more, or I can cover the whole thing myself.]

You Zhao took a screenshot of their responses and sent it to his teacher. When Qi Chao saw the messages in their group, he couldn’t help but laugh and said to You Zhao: [The documentary doesn’t need to be too long. Three minutes per persin should be enough. Let’s do a test episode first.]

[Got it.]

With five puppet masters in one episode, the total length was only about fifteen minutes, so they wrapped it up in a single morning. 

You Zhao sent the finished product to his teacher. Qi Chao didn’t interfere with the filming, but after watching the final result, he couldn’t help but smile at Shen Yuxi and said, “Not all puppet masters are as pragmatic as the president.”

At least there are many puppet masters who truly care about their children and are quietly shielding them with their support.

When Shen Yuxi heard this, he knew that this documentary episode had probably met Qi Chao’s expectations. He chuckled and asked, "What kind of stories did those puppet masters share?"

Actually, none of the stories were particularly complicated.

Most of them were small funny moments about the interactions between the puppet masters and their puppets. Qi Chao could easily think of many similar stories himself, and it was precisely because of the small details that these stories were so touching.

Shen Yuxi nodded after hearing Qi Chao’s general overview of the stories, and then saw him upload the video of this episode to the official website. 

Afterward, he took the mother stone of Elliton from his desk and began to activate it.

"Are you starting work now?"

"Mm." Qi Chao smiled. "Once the activation of the mother stones and the collapse of the association are done, I’ll be able to spend more time with you and the children."

Although the children at home were all busy with their own things, it was still better than only being able to see them at night.

When Shen Yuxi heard this, the thought that Qi Chao would have more time to spend with him brought a smile to his face.

He sat at the edge of the bed, reading quietly and keeping Qi Chao company. 

But after only about ten minutes, the voices of Li Bai and Qiu Qiu could be heard from outside. It was clear that the two children had come looking for the head of the household.

Shen Yuxi, hearing the noise, glanced at Qi Chao, who was quietly activating the mother stone. He then stood up and went to tend to the children.

If this had been in the past, even Shen Yuxi himself wouldn't have imagined he would patiently do such things. 

However, he didn’t dislike it at all.

With all the children back home, the villa became much livelier. Neither Qi Chao, who was working, nor Shen Yuxi, who was taking care of the children, had the time to pay attention to their light brains, so they had no idea about the buzz the documentary was creating online.

[Hahaha, what kind of adorable children’s story is this? The puppet master bumped into a power pole, and the puppet thought it was part of a game and bumped into it a few more times. It’s just too cute!]

[Aww, this little’s sister story is so heartwarming. The fireworks outside scared the puppet, but it patted its chest and said it would protect her. Of course, it would have been better if the puppet hadn't done that while the girl was in the bathroom, hahaha.]

[Isn’t that an S-level puppet? I always thought only S-level puppets would have so many interesting stories.]

[Replying to the comment above, that girl’s puppet seems to be C-level. Oh my god, it's a low-level, but it feels almost like a human...?!]

[Pfft, of course they’re different! High-level puppets can cry and laugh, but low-level ones aren’t that impressive. I bet the girl’s puppet was probably stuttering while it was speaking.]

[Oh my god, why does it feel even cuter now?]

It’s true that puppets have always been quite expensive. Even though low-level puppets are relatively cheaper, their production is limited, making them difficult to afford for ordinary families.

Moreover, few people paid attention to low-level puppets, so for many netizens, this was the first time they realized just how clever these lower-level puppets could be.

[The alliance is amazing! I could watch this series a hundred times!!!]

[Honestly, if the association had made videos like this back then, I would have fallen in love with puppets way earlier! Ugh, I want to save up and buy a sweet, obedient little darling.]

The amusing stories of puppet masters and their puppets made people laugh out loud. Even the most hard-hearted viewers couldn’t find anything bad to say about them. 

Many people watched the video two or three times, and then couldn’t help but comment:

[I’m starting to feel bad. Thinking about how those sweet little "babies" they talk about will be discarded by unscrupulous owners just because of their low rank, it really breaks my heart.]

[+1]

The debate over whether to treat puppets as mere tools has been a contentious issue since the first puppet was created, especially for lower-level puppets, which were often ignored or neglected. 

Now, with the alliance releasing such a video, it clearly signals their stance on the matter.

[The association’s first lesson instills the idea that puppets are tools, but the alliance really seems to love their puppets. Ugh, I don’t even have a puppet, but I feel like they’re so warm.]

[Agreed, I have way more goodwill toward the alliance than the association now.]

There are still many people in the world who have a sense of boundaries.

Before seeing how the alliance treated their puppets, many thought the association's attitude was normal. 

However, after learning about the alliance's approach to puppets and how the puppet masters  interacted with them, they found the association’s lack of compassion quite cold and unfeeling.

The president had just woken up from the hospital and, thinking about the alliance's official certification, nervously prepared to double-check everything. 

However, he was taken aback when he saw the news.

Talking about "humanity" in relation to puppets—what’s wrong with the netizens these days? The president was trembling with anger.

Meanwhile, Qiao Sheng, who had come to watch the drama, naturally saw the news as well. He didn't plan to hide his thoughts. Sitting by the hospital bed, he let out a sigh.

"Why are you sighing?"

The vice president couldn’t help himself. Though he knew Qiao Sheng didn’t have good intentions, he still asked.

"Nothing. With the mines exhausted and no benefits being distributed, the association members will probably go on strike in a few days. The association's reputation online is bad, and the emperor is leaning towards the alliance." Qiao Sheng's face, which had been dejected, showed a smile. 

"I was just thinking about how to report to His Majesty when the association is about to be dissolved."

Dissolve?

How could the association be dissolved?

Not only the president, but even the vice president nearly wanted to take action against Qiao Sheng. However, after saying that, Qiao Sheng smiled and left the hospital room.

After exiting, it was as if Qiao Sheng had remembered something. In a good mood, he lowered his head and sent a message to Qi Chao:

[Thanks! After the association dissolves, I'll give you a big red envelope.]

He knew that the association's dissolution was largely due to Qi Chao's efforts. Whether it was the alliance or persuading Elliton to rise to power, it was all thanks to Qi Chao’s involvement.

However, it seemed that even heaven couldn't stand the association anymore, with their precious mines running dry. Qiao Sheng thought to himself and couldn't help but chuckle.

Just at that moment, a message from Qi Chao came through:

[Sure, if the association dissolves, I’m planning to join a demolition team and blow up the association. Want to join me?]

Qi Chao hadn’t forgotten his wish to personally blow up the association. Given that Qiao Sheng also had grievances with the association, he didn’t mind sharing this.

Blow up the association?

Qiao Sheng's dead fish eyes widened slightly, and then he suddenly broke into a manic laugh. 

No wonder Shen Yuxi could fall for Qi Chao—he was truly interesting.

[Alright, count me in.]

After sending the message, Qi Chao felt a twinge of regret. After all, it seemed like his partner, Shen Yuxi, wasn’t very keen on interacting with Qiao Sheng. 

In truth, Qi Chao didn’t really want to involve Qiao Sheng either; he had just mentioned it casually.

But now that the words were out, Qi Chao didn’t intend to take them back. He lowered his head, deciding not to waste more time chatting with Qiao Sheng, and continued activating the five mother stones of Elliton.

These five puppets had been surrounded by darkness before their death, and Qi Chao thought to himself that soon, the dawn would break.

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