Chapter 9
When Zhou Ran woke up, he found that he was the only one in the dormitory. At some point, Zhou Yuli and Pei Zhao came back. There seemed to be something on the table under Zhou Yuli's bed.
The blackout curtains blocked out the light in the room. Zhou Ran rubbed his eyes and curiously moved closer to get a better look.
Zhou Ran:!
At just one glance, Zhou Ran gasped, and his back hit the ladder to the bed heavily. He grimaced in pain: Where did this puppet come from? It's wearing a red dress, it's so scary.
Pei Zhao's faint voice came from the upper bunk: "Her name is Qiao Duo, you can also call her Little Red Skirt."
Pei Zhao pressed his aching temple, leaned on the edge of the bed and stuck his head out: "I like to give it to you."
Zhou Ran shook his head frantically: "I'm not a girl!"
Pei Zhao opened his mouth. He wanted to retort that boys could also play with puppets, but he felt that it might not be easy for ordinary people to accept the idea of a puppet turning into a human. It would be troublesome if Zhou Ran was scared. So he did not force it and turned over and lay back on the bed.
Suddenly he felt the head of the bed sink. Pei Zhao turned around and found Zhou Ran clinging to the headboard.
"What's wrong?" Pei Zhao asked.
Zhou Ran narrowed his eyes and asked, "You two didn't go to class this morning, and you weren't there when I returned to the dormitory. What were you doing?"
Pei Zhao thought for a moment and replied, "I'm going to save the world."
Zhou Ran obviously didn't believe it, so Pei Zhao had no choice but to say, "I went to buy a puppet."
Zhou Ran was even more unconvinced: "I was just about to ask you, why do you suddenly like playing with puppets? Oh, by the way, where is the one that looked like Zhou Yuli last time?"
Pei Zhao thought, it was Zhou Yuli himself, how could he not look like him...
He blinked and lied: "Ah, I don't like it, I quit."
Zhou Ran's eyes widened: "Aren't these things all high-end custom-made? Can they be returned?"
Pei Zhao was speechless.
There was a sound coming from the bed next door. They both turned around and saw that the bed curtain that Pei Zhao had hung for Zhou Yuli moved. After a moment, Zhou Yuli came out from inside, his eyes bright and his face sober.
Zhou Yuli yawned: "Ah, so sleepy."
Zhou Ran narrowed his eyes.
Pei Zhao: Such fake acting.
Not knowing what this person was pretending to be sleepy for, Pei Zhao remained silent. He saw Zhou Yuli walk off the bed in a daze. He "noticed" the puppet on the table unintentionally but actually paid attention to it. He took it in his hand and exclaimed, "Oh, this is my puppet, Pei Zhao. I remember you also have a unique puppet, right?"
If the word "unique" hadn't been so tongue-in-cheek, Pei Zhao wouldn't have been able to react to what he was about to do for a moment.
The puppet was jealous, and Pei Zhao had a headache. Under Zhou Yuli's sparkling eyes, he had to turn over and sit up, straightening his back, and responded helplessly: "Yes, this is not my puppet. I only have one puppet."
Zhou Ran didn't understand what the two were talking about, but he obviously knew that they were talking about something else. He swallowed his saliva, withdrew from Pei Zhao's bedside, and said tremblingly: "Oh... You are all puppet lovers, ha, that's great, you have similar interests."
Zhou Yuli smiled and said, "Yes, we also welcome Zhou Ran to join our big family."
Pei Zhao closed his eyes: "Okay, stop this farce."
Zhou Ran was busy with his sophomore year classes, so he just had a quick exchange of words before rushing to his afternoon class. Pei Zhao and Zhou Yuli were the only two people left in the dormitory. Pei Zhao climbed down from the bed, took the puppet from Zhou Yuli and put it on the table, then pulled his hand over to his face and turned it over.
The place that was previously cut by the knife was smooth and clean, and Pei Zhao felt relieved: "It seems that this method is indeed effective. At least we have confirmed that turning into a puppet can heal the scars incurred in the short term."
As for why it was short-term, Pei Zhao pinched Zhou Yuli's straight waist and abdomen. Through a layer of clothes, there was a small square scar near the belly button.
Pei Zhao asked Zhou Yuli many times how it happened, but Zhou Yuli just remained silent and said that he accidentally fell while playing football.
Pei Zhao didn't believe it, because he also had a scar like that, on his back, which was caused by his mother kicking him when she went crazy.
The square heels of high heels, when kicked on the body, are many times more powerful than a feather duster or something.
Maybe it just comes from similar experiences. Zhou Yuli avoided answering and Pei Zhao did not expose the question or ask further questions. Their relationship would not be destroyed by this concealment.
The same scar was also on the puppet Zhou Yuli. Pei Zhao just pressed it, then let go, hooked Zhou Yuli's chair, raised his chin and signaled him: "Sit down."
Zhou Yuli sat down calmly and looked at Pei Zhao leisurely: "You are not going to criticize me for what I just said to Zhou Ran, are you?"
Pei Zhao rolled his eyes: "Am I that boring?" His expression became serious, "What I want to say is that it is not a solution to continue like this. The number of puppets brought back will only increase. We have to think of a solution."
"We need to find a way..." Zhou Yuli agreed, "Actually, I have a good idea."
Pei Zhao tilted his head and said, "It better be a good idea."
Zhou Yuli pulled out a flyer from the table and handed it to Pei Zhao: "Take a look at this."
Pei Zhao took the flyer, which had the words "For Rent" written in large letters on it. The address was in the lower right corner, which was on a black street opposite the school.
Pei Zhao immediately understood: "You want to open a store to display puppets, which is a good idea. Not only does it not take up space in the dormitory, but you may also be able to hold a puppet exhibition and make some money to subsidize the rent."
Pei Zhao had some small amount of money in his hand, which he had saved from his annual scholarship in high school. The amount is not much, but it will be enough to cover four years of university tuition and living expenses. The rent of this shop is 10,000 yuan a month. If you want to rent it, you must consider ways to make money.
Zhou Yuli thought for a moment and said, "Or have you ever considered that we could sell the puppets... to others?"
Pei Zhao rejected it subconsciously: "It's too dangerous. If others knew that the puppet could turn into a human..."
Pei Zhao said this and calmed himself down first. To turn a puppet into a human being, it needs the nourishment of sincere love. If love...
"Does it seem like a good idea?" Pei Zhao's eyes lit up. "This is indeed a good method!"
*
The procedure for leasing is very simple, especially with a law student like Zhou Yuli - although he has not attended classes yet, Pei Zhao discovered that this person has a very strong learning ability and can repeat exactly what he has read a few times.
For example, now Zhou Yuli is arguing with the landlord using the rental skills he learned online.
"First of all, we require confirmation that the heating and heating fees are handled by the landlord in the current year, including fire protection issues. After the second renovation, we will seek fire protection from the property management. If the landlord's cooperation is required, we hope you can be present."
He had a stern appearance and was tall, and was particularly intimidating when he had a cold face. The landlord was stunned and thought he was a social person who came to make money from students, so he agreed immediately.
"Yes, yes, everything will be done as you say."
Pei Zhao couldn't help but smile, which was caught by Zhou Yuli. He paused, and the landlord thought he had discovered something wrong, so he hurriedly asked: "If there is any problem, we can talk about it again..."
Zhou Yuli shook his head and pointed at where Pei Zhao was: "Can the mural at the back be left?"
The landlord looked in the direction Zhou Yuli pointed and saw a handsome and cool young man with a smile on his face, standing with his hands behind his back in front of a Chinese-style freehand mural, which was breathtaking.
He bought the mural cheaply to add to the atmosphere, and originally planned to pack it up and throw it away, but putting it here - it doesn't seem redundant.
The landlord nodded hurriedly: "Yes, absolutely." At the end, he praised sincerely, "Your brother is so handsome."
younger brother?
Zhou Yuli was shocked when he heard the content clearly.
Yes, Pei Zhao has a face that doesn't show his age, and his bone structure is excellent. When he is stern occasionally, it is only by lowering his brows that he can show a bit of sharpness. But he was always gentle, with no aggression in his expression, and even when he was strict, it was always for your own good. But he really didn't dare to call himself an older brother, especially when his former younger brother wasn't exactly a good person.
Zhou Yuli pursed his lips: "Very beautiful, but not my brother."
After he said that, he turned around to check the water supply and drainage in the bathroom. The landlord stayed there for a moment before realizing that he had guessed the relationship wrong. The landlord blinked and saw that there was a big age difference. If they were not an older brother and a younger brother, could it be... a younger brother and an older brother?
Pei Zhao, who was standing a little further away, did not notice the conversation between the two. After Zhou Yuli walked away, he withdrew his gaze and looked at the store of about 50 square meters, considering where to put the window display and where to put the display counter.
Zhou Yuli is right, selling puppets to others is a good idea. Opening a puppet shop in a college town sounds like a lucrative business.
But if it was a dangerous puppet like Little Red Skirt… Pei Zhao sighed, and felt that if he opened up this industry chain, he would need to consider the personalities of the puppets he would adopt in the future.
It would be bad if he posed a life threat to the customers after transforming into a human.
Pei Zhao thought that maybe he still needed to build a bulletproof glass display window specifically for dangerous kids to live in.
*
The contract was signed very quickly. The two had no classes in the afternoon, so they followed the landlord to notarize the contract and got the keys to the store. The next step was to decorate the store.
The two of them obviously didn't have that much money, so they had to consider other options.
Pei Zhao proposed an idea: "Why not ask students from the Academy of Fine Arts for help? We'll pay for the materials ourselves, and ask them to write a few words."
Zhou Yuli glanced at him and said, "How about I write it?"
Pei Zhao raised his eyebrows: "Can you write?"
Zhou Yuli smiled: "A little bit, I learned it when I was a child."
Pei Zhao was quite surprised.
Facts have proved that Zhou Yuli was too modest when he said "a little bit". Zhou Yuli spent dozens of dollars to buy oil canvas and waterproof materials. He personally cut the cloth of the old lamp sign, laid the newly written oil canvas on it, and selected several bright and pleasing ones from the colorful waterproof materials, and wrote a few large characters with a brush.
"Another World Puppet Shop".
Pei Zhao watched the signboard gradually take shape under Zhou Yuli's hands. Five large characters were written on it, and he asked, "Why is it called this name?"
Zhou Yuli looked back at him and saw that there was only curiosity on his face, and no criticism of his abrupt behavior. He breathed a sigh of relief, turned around to continue completing the finishing details, and replied.
"I thought that, except for the owner of this shop, all puppets in the future will be brought back by you from another world, so I just call it this name," Zhou Yuli said, paused, and added, "If it's not appropriate, you can change it."
Pei Zhao interrupted, "It's appropriate." He shook his head and continued, "I like this name very much."
Zhou Yuli felt relieved. The hands moved faster, and after a few strokes with the brush, the purely hand-painted door head was completed.
Zhou Yuli stood up with the help of the light box, looked at it from a distance, and said with satisfaction: "It's still okay?"
Pei Zhao handed him a wet wipe and said, "Very good. I didn't expect you have this skill."
Zhou Yuli carefully wiped the paint off his fingers and smiled: "Luckily, we are on University Road, where there are only small shops, so we can handle it. The college students are very tolerant. If it was in a commercial area, I'm afraid I would be called low-brow."
What he said was indeed true. After all, it was hand-painted, and Pei Zhao couldn't help but praise how exquisite it was. But maybe because it was painted by Zhou Yuli himself, he felt tolerant towards his own child and liked it no matter how he looked at it.
Pei Zhao touched his chin and said, "It's quite pleasing to the eye, but it's still a little short of perfection."
Zhou Yuli was puzzled, so Pei Zhao pulled his hand. His hands, which had been wiped clean, turned slightly white due to the liquid on the wet wipes. He felt more sensitive when Pei Zhao held his hands.
Zhou Yuli's mind was filled with the following words: I will definitely not be just a puppet.
The puppet's heartbeat would not be as fast as his now, and the puppet's feelings would not be as real as his now.
Pei Zhao pulled him to the signboard, let go of his hand, took two steps back, took out his smartphone from his pocket, and took a photo of Zhou Yuli.
Zhou Yuli was stunned, and then he saw Pei Zhao looking down at the photos in the album. He seemed very satisfied, and smiled at him: "Well, not bad. This is the first photo of my puppet shop owner. I want to print it out and put it on the bar."
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