Chapter 12
When Zhou Yuli returned to the store, he always felt that something was missing.
Pei Zhao's expression was evasive, and Zhou Yuli keenly felt that something had happened while he was away from the store. Finally, when he was standing in front of the counter and scratching the back of his head for the third time because he felt strange, he cried out.
"Where's the little red dress?"
Pei Zhao seemed to have anticipated his question and answered immediately, "It was bought by someone."
Zhou Yuli frowned: "Who bought it? Didn't we temporarily decide that she is not for sale?"
Pei Zhao bit his lower lip and didn't answer. Zhou Yuli saw that he looked a little aggrieved and realized that his tone of questioning was too harsh. He raised his hand to touch Pei Zhao's shoulder to comfort him. At the same time, he slowed down his voice and explained: "I'm just asking. I don't mean to interfere with your decision."
Pei Zhao dodged Zhou Yuli's hand without leaving a trace, with no expression on his face. He only said, "The buyer is a little girl, a neighbor of the real Little Red Skirt. She is moving, and she took the puppet away, which will not have any impact on the child. As for the issue of Little Red Skirt, I have drawn up a contract."
Pei Zhao lowered his head, pulled out a brand new book from under the counter, and handed it to Zhou Yuli: "I have confirmed the purchase with the girl's mother. At the same time, the address of the new house is in the next city. I think I can go to see them next month."
Zhou Yuli remained silent and did not answer. He kept staring at Pei Zhao's eyes, but that man never paid him any attention from beginning to end. Zhou Yuli knew that he had said the wrong thing again. Pei Zhao must have his own plans.
Zhou Yuli took the notebook handed to him, and Pei Zhao immediately let go of his hand and turned towards the counter.
Zhou Yuli followed him with his eyes. Pei Zhao simply sat down behind the counter. The slightly higher counter completely blocked his view.
Zhou Yuli withdrew his gaze and opened the notebook in his hand.
The few lines of words that caught his eye were very beautiful, and he couldn't help but touch them, thinking about how to apologize to Pei Zhao. I thought about it for a long time but to no avail.
Pei Zhao must have chosen the most suitable owner for Little Red Skirt, so he sold the puppet.
But Zhou Yuli has his own ideas. In the other world, the little red skirt almost cost him his life. Pei Zhao knew that the puppet would turn into a human, but still sold it directly to others. He disagreed. In his opinion, Little Red Skirt should always be a fixture in the puppet shop.
Zhou Yuli didn't want to give up his principles, but at the same time he didn't want to be unhappy, so he avoided the main point and said, "I shouldn't have spoken in that tone. I'm sorry."
Pei Zhao gave him a half-look, but without any emotion, and just replied with an "Oh", then lowered his head to go back to work.
Zhou Yuli frowned. Pei Zhao's reaction didn't seem like he was angry, but rather like he was disturbed by some irrelevant person.
This is... not very pleasant.
Zhou Yuli, who always tried to make his presence felt in front of his master, felt a little dissatisfied. If he were to follow his original temperament, he should ask Pei Zhao directly: Why are you angry? What can I do to calm you down? I'm sorry, I will never make you angry again. Three apologies like this.
But because he had made the mistake first, he had not yet figured out Pei Zhao's temper, and he seemed to be indifferent to him. Zhou Yuli could only purse his lips, lower his tone, and ask in a low voice as usual: "Then should we go back to the dormitory now?"
Pei Zhao didn't even raise his head this time, "Well, you go first, I'll close the door myself later."
This is what it means to be really angry. Zhou Yuli was helpless, and it was impossible for him to leave Pei Zhao alone. After thinking it over, he lowered his head and quickly wrote something on the notebook. He looked around and finally decided to sit down on the display cabinet.
The display cabinet was left by the landlord. It was probably used to store mobile phones or something, so its quality is questionable. When Zhou Yuli sat down, a clearly audible "click" sound was heard.
Pei Zhao was about to curse, but when he walked out of the counter, he found that Zhou Yuli was not on the display case.
A small puppet was lying on it, holding a piece of paper in both hands, on which was written: Master, I was wrong, please forgive me QAQ!
Pei Zhao put the puppet on the ground, looked at the paper in silence for a long time, and said: "Cheating."
The puppet on the ground quickly grew and turned into Zhou Yuli's appearance. He supported himself with his hands and shrugged: "It's OK as long as you are not angry with me."
Pei Zhao was discouraged and simply sat down where he was. Zhou Yuli was afraid that he would catch a cold, so he stretched out his legs and let Pei Zhao sit on his feet. Pei Zhao sighed and said, "I just feel that I can't give up an experimental opportunity."
Zhou Yuli nodded and waited for him to continue.
Pei Zhao took a deep breath and said, "In the future, we may travel to different worlds. I cannot guarantee that the puppets in every world will be based on your standards. Even if we think about the worst, there will probably be many who are worse than Xiaohong. We can't label every puppet as 'not for sale'. We have to find a way out."
Zhou Yuli didn't say anything, just listened quietly.
Pei Zhao shook his head and sighed: "Besides, you have read Little Red Skirt's diary, and she is not a bad person by nature. To be honest, I don't know if people will be influenced by their masters after they become puppets and then become humans again."
Will it be received? Pei Zhao's inquiring gaze fell on Zhou Yuli's face, and Zhou Yuli was also reflecting on himself. Then Zhou Yuli was surprised to find that he was in fact influenced by Pei Zhao, although sometimes unwillingly.
In order not to make Pei Zhao angry, he had to restrain his habitual tone of asking questions. At the same time, he was also learning to communicate with Pei Zhao in a more patient way.
"You're right, the puppet will definitely be influenced by its master." Zhou Yuli had to admit that Pei Zhao's thinking might be correct.
This may come from an instinct, Zhou Yuli thought. If it were in the past, it would be hard for him to believe that he would have such a close connection with a person, let alone... Thinking about what Pei Zhao did to him in the other world, he would definitely not be able to accept it in the past.
Zhou Yuli propped himself up, moved closer to Pei Zhao, raised his eyes to look him in the face, and said seriously: "Maybe even I don't realize it myself, it seems that since the day you turned me into a human, my body and mind have accepted you before my consciousness."
*
When we got back to school, it was already around eight o'clock. The senior students were finishing their last evening class, and the junior students who were still free were walking on the playground.
Pei Zhao walked along the roadside, and Zhou Yuli on the outside kept a short distance from him, protecting him firmly inside.
Pei Zhao thought that if the little red dress incident hadn't happened, he would probably have chatted with Zhou Yuli about some small things, such as whether he should bring some equipment before traveling through time next time, or whether to arrange a time to visit the girl who bought the little red dress.
But no. After Zhou Yuli's heart-opening confession, Pei Zhao's response was silence. He did not completely trust Zhou Yuli. This man had a cold and fierce look on his face, which made Pei Zhao always suspect that he was not really willing to submit to him.
Fortunately, Zhou Yuli didn't care about his reaction. He just took him out of the store as usual and accompanied him back to the dormitory.
Before going upstairs, Pei Zhao stopped Zhou Yuli and said, "Wait a moment."
Zhou Yuli turned around, his dark complexion naturally dark, his eyebrows slightly raised, his clear eyes without a trace of impatience, he patiently asked Pei Zhao "What's wrong?"
Pei Zhao bit his lower lip, opened his mouth and made a tiny sound.
Zhou Yuli frowned, walked down a few steps, came to Pei Zhao, and asked him: "It's too far away, I didn't hear it clearly, can you say it again?"
Pei Zhao was silent for a long time. If he really wanted to say something, he couldn't open his mouth. His expression was too tangled and his face was not good. Zhou Yuli looked closer to him worriedly, almost squatting down, and whispered to him: "Are you still angry? Pei Zhao, I'm sorry, I sincerely apologize, I didn't mean to be mean to you...?"
Pei Zhao grabbed his arms and pushed them close to him.
Zhou Yuli's speech system was disordered, "What...what happened?"
Pei Zhao's eyes were clear, with nothing else in them except him. Pei Zhao asked in a serious tone, "Zhou Yuli, you are willing to be my puppet forever, right?"
"Of course...???" Zhou Yuli's words stopped in mid-air and fell into silence. At eight o'clock in the evening, there was nothing in front of him. His master, Pei Zhao, suddenly disappeared.
Zhou Yuli moved his fingers but caught nothing. He stared blankly at the silent air in front of him and said absentmindedly, "How come you forgot about your puppet... about me?"
*
The other protagonist of the incident, Pei Zhao, was cursing the unscrupulous system in his heart.
"Xiao Rui, are you too unreliable? Let's make a deal. Next time, at least let me know before you come, okay?"
The female voice in the system coughed twice, and Pei Zhao keenly caught a hint of humanity. Just as he was about to ask something, the female voice returned to its usual mechanical tone.
[Your needs have been detected and are being uploaded...]
[Upload successful, waiting for feedback from the processing end...]
[Feedback received, congratulations, host Pei Zhao, the system will withdraw this operation and notify you ten minutes before the next transmission. 】
Pei Zhao was speechless: "If I hadn't come, you would have come..." Before he could finish his words, he was already in the dormitory.
Pei Zhao: ...
Pei Zhao sighed and said, "Is the current system... so vigorous and effective?"
I was in the dormitory, it was pitch black. Zhou Ran is still attending evening self-study classes, Zhou Yuli? I guess he's still downstairs and hasn't come up yet.
Pei Zhao thought that he had also taken the system's teleportation express today, and wondered if Zhou Yuli had heard his last question clearly. Thinking of this, he walked out of the dormitory, opened the window in the corridor and looked down.
His little wooden puppet was standing there, staring blankly at the place where he had just stood, with one hand stretched out as if trying to grab something, but missed.
Pei Zhao lowered his head and felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.
Zhou Yuli stood there until the noise of people returning to their dormitories entered his ears and brought him back to reality. Only then did he come to his senses. He withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted and touched his nose to cover up. Zhou Yuli's mind was still blank after the series of actions last night.
Did Pei Zhao really abandon him?
What to do tomorrow?
Still going to the store?
An innate sense of detachment made him realize clearly that he was incompatible with this world. Zhou Yuli pursed his lips subconsciously and slowly arranged his next schedule.
Go back to the dormitory, or go back to the store, or just stay here and wait for Pei Zhao to come back. The store is too far away, and the dormitory cannot welcome Pei Zhao when he returns to the first world. After much thought, the place under his feet is the most suitable.
Just as Zhou Yuli had begun to look for where the grass was taller, he could turn into a puppet and hide in the grass. His connection with Pei Zhao was still there, and he could transform into a human freely. Even if he was picked up by an unrelated person, he could find a chance to come back... He was hugged by someone.
Zhou Yuli lowered his head in disbelief.
The thin wrists were placed on the hips, and the long white fingers were crossed on the abdomen. He recognized these hands, the hands that washed his blood, the hands that helped him touch his wounds... and now.
Zhou Yuli turned around in surprise, and Pei Zhao's forehead just touched Zhou Yuli's chest, making a muffled sound.
"I think I know the answer."
Zhou Yuli stroked the back of his neck and said gently, "What's the answer?"
Pei Zhaojiang pushed him away for a distance, raised his head and looked him in the eye, and said, "I say," he paused, his tone firm, "I think you must be willing to be my puppet, and you will always be my puppet."
Zhou Yuli smiled: "Of course."
He was not curious about how Pei Zhao got behind him. For a puppet, this didn't seem important. What’s important is that his owner didn’t abandon him, but held him in his arms, no longer asking him why, but loving him wholeheartedly, trusting him and never leaving.
He closed his eyes gently. The atmosphere was just right, as if something was growing quietly and grandly.
Until a loud roar broke the atmosphere: "Two guys in front, what are you doing?!"
Zhou Yuli opened his eyes and saw the security guard walking towards them with an explosion-proof baton. Zhou Yuli woke up instantly, pulled Pei Zhao up and ran away.
Pei Zhao came back to his senses and found himself being dragged away. All he could hear was the sound of the wind and -
[Xiaorui Tips: You will be teleported to a new world in ten seconds. 】
[Ten, nine, eight... three, two...]
Pei Zhao was anxious: "Where is the agreed ten minutes?"
The countdown voice paused, and a righteous reminder was given.
[The system time is deduced based on your heartbeat rhythm. It is detected that your current heartbeat is too fast——]
【Three, Two, One】
【Welcome to the new world: also known as "Hall's City"】
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