Chapter 13

This was already considered cheap. Qi Chao had yet to buy special clay, resin, and the heart that would give a doll life. Those were the truly important things, and he had no intention of buying them online.

Despite staying up all night, Qi Chao did not feel sleepy. He planned to go buy resin and such that afternoon.

It was almost seven now, and Little One would be waking up soon.

Qi Chao got up and stretched, preparing to make breakfast. Before leaving, he remembered something and tapped on his Light Brain.

On the screen were the literacy books Qi Chao had bought yesterday, marked for delivery in an hour.

Lan Luo was so smart that these simple books definitely would not stump him.

And indeed, things went exactly as Qi Chao had expected.

As long as he taught him something once, Lan Luo could remember it perfectly. No matter how complicated Blue Star's characters were, the little doll could write them accurately.

He was practically a born academic genius.

Qi Chao rubbed Little One's hair and received a radiant, angelic smile in return.

He did not know whether all S-rank dolls were as intelligent as Lan Luo, but Lan Luo's biological father was a genius. The little doll's intelligence might very well have come from him.

Though there was no direct evidence that a humanoid maker's intelligence affected a doll's.

"Little One, Dad is going out this afternoon. Do you want to come with me?" Qi Chao asked after their lesson ended.

At those words, Lan Luo's attention shifted from the book. He looked up at Qi Chao, his azure eyes full of anticipation. "Are we going to play?"

"No." Qi Chao laughed. It seemed his Little One really loved playing. Now, whenever he heard they were going out, he instinctively assumed they were going to have fun. Qi Chao gently ruffled Lan Luo's blond hair. "Dad is going to pick something out for your good friend."

Not going out to play = not seeing human children = boring.

Lan Luo instantly lost interest.

Even though human children all had friends.

Lan Luo wanted friends too, but he only wanted them in the abstract. He did not actually care about so-called friends.

Seeing Lan Luo's lack of enthusiasm, Qi Chao did not think much of it. He only assumed Little One was disappointed because he could not go out to play. Pinching Lan Luo's soft cheek, he comforted him, "Since you don't want to go out, stay home and wait nicely for Dad. When I get back, I'll take you out, okay?"

Lan Luo's expression brightened at once. His eyes curved like a cat's as he nodded hard. "Okay!"

That afternoon, after packing his things, Qi Chao gave Lan Luo a few instructions and left home.

His first stop was the city center of Linshui District.

According to the Doll Forum, the special resin here was the best, though its downside was the exorbitant price.

Linshui District was next door and less prosperous than Linjing District. Qi Chao set the aircraft to autopilot and looked out the window, where the difference in economic standards between the two districts was obvious from the surroundings alone.

The resin shops mentioned on the forum were all on the same street. Qi Chao had no idea what the city planners had been thinking, but the street beside the city-center parking lot was the red-light district.

To reach the resin shops, he had to pass through that street, enough to make even adults blush.

With his hands in his pockets, Qi Chao's expression did not change. To him, nothing mattered more than his Little One.

However, just as he was about to leave the red-light district, he spotted a redhead and a white-haired boy in the distance. Judging by their builds, they were his bargain-bin younger brothers.

What gave Qi Chao a headache was that his bargain-bin brothers were holding hands with a girl, heading straight for a hotel covered in suggestive posters.

Qi Chao: Impressive. Truly impressive.

They had learned from last time and crossed districts to achieve the great harmony of life here?

Chapter 13

If the three entering the hotel had been adults, then no matter how wild they wanted to get, it would have been their freedom. Qi Chao certainly would not meddle. But the problem was that his two bargain-bin brothers were still minors.

Qi Chao could not just watch minors go down the wrong path. With one hand in his pocket, he prepared to call out to the three ahead of him.

Before he could make a sound, he caught something in the corner of his eye. Qi Chao immediately sensed that something was off and shut his mouth.

In an alley several meters away, two shifty-looking men were sneakily watching the three.

Even stranger, the moment his bargain-bin brothers entered the hotel, the two men wore expressions like they had hooked a big fish and hurried in after them excitedly.

Qi Chao scratched his head and looked up at the sky. Clearly, his two brothers had landed themselves in trouble.

With nearly thirty years of life experience, the more he looked at it, the more it resembled a carefully planned honey-trap scam.

Qi Chao walked into the alley and saw only a few burned-out cigarette butts. After thinking it over, he switched on his Light Brain and dialed a number. When someone on the other end asked what he needed, Qi Chao enunciated clearly, "Hello, I'd like to report..."

The staff estimated they would arrive at the scene within half an hour.

After ending the call, Qi Chao hesitated between entering the hotel and buying resin. In the end, he resigned himself to entering the hotel.

The two shifty-looking men were sitting absentmindedly on a sofa in the hotel lobby, heads lowered as they scrolled through their Light Brains.

Qi Chao sat in a single chair behind them, picked up a magazine from nearby, and pretended to pass the time. In truth, all his attention was on the two men.

It had been ten minutes since his bargain-bin brothers entered the hotel. Although Qi Chao suspected that the two men were targeting his brothers, it was only a suspicion. He was not certain.

His task was still to stop his underage brothers from going astray.

For that reason, Qi Chao had specifically called the Vice Squad's reporting hotline and described his two bargain-bin brothers' builds to the staff.

As long as the officers arrived at the hotel and verified things with the front desk, they could successfully ruin his bargain-bin brothers' adult night.

Qi Chao should have left by then. After all, his brothers' adult night could not possibly succeed tonight. But thinking of those two sneaky men, Qi Chao ultimately stayed.

A few minutes later, the two men seemed to receive some news. They lowered their heads and exchanged a few words before heading toward the elevator. Seeing this, Qi Chao leisurely stood up and followed them with a natural expression.

After getting off on the third floor, the two went directly into room 306. Qi Chao glanced at the room number and did nothing else, merely leaning against the wall to watch how things unfolded.