Chapter 23

"It's fine."

Shen Yuxi removed his glasses, his tone gentle, though a trace of weariness showed in his eyes.

Qi Chao was also a humanoid master and knew how exhausting it was to work for three hours under intense concentration. He was about to tell the Doctor to get some proper rest. "Brother Shen, I've already prepared a room. You can rest inside, and I'll call you when dinner is ready."

"No need."

Shen Yuxi curled his lips slightly and refused.

"Alright." Qi Chao did not press him. His gaze fell on Moss, who had been standing motionlessly by the door, and he found it a little strange. "Why isn't Moss coming in?"

Shen Yuxi followed his gaze to Moss, looking equally puzzled. "Moss, why aren't you coming in?"

Moss snapped back to himself and silently walked to the Doctor's side.

Although Moss usually looked taciturn, it was still possible to tell whether he was in a good or bad mood.

Moss had been in a fairly good mood during lunch. Only one thing had happened in between. Qi Chao rubbed the tip of his nose. Had his earlier answer been too perfunctory and angered Moss?

This was really bad.

As Qi Chao thought about it, he began wondering how to coax the child.

Chapter 23

Qi Chao felt that things were a little tricky.

If the doll feeling down had been the innocent and adorable Lan Luo, Qi Chao would only have needed to praise him a few times to cheer up the good-tempered child. But with Moss, Qi Chao did not know how to handle it.

In the end, he was still somewhat unfamiliar with Moss.

That evening, Lan Luo woke from his sleep.

Qi Chao deliberately waited until the Doctor and Moss were absent before quietly asking about Moss's preferences.

If he wanted to make a doll happy, he naturally had to find out what he liked beforehand.

"Why is Master asking about Big Brother's preferences?"

Lan Luo's eyes were bewildered.

Qi Chao felt a little embarrassed. He lowered his voice. "I think I made your big brother angry."

Big Brother? Angry?

Lan Luo became even more confused. Would Big Brother get angry because of anyone other than Father?

"Big Brother likes Father the most."

"Other than Brother Shen?" Qi Chao had not needed to ask to know that answer. What he wanted to know was whether Moss liked anything else.

Lan Luo shook his head. "I don't know."

Alright then. Qi Chao ruffled Lan Luo's slightly curly hair and did not mention Moss again. Looking at the white ointment covering the cracks on Lan Luo's body, he asked gently, "How does it feel after applying the medicine, kiddo? Does it hurt?"

Lan Luo lifted his face and gazed at Qi Chao. After several seconds, he nodded, his voice tiny. "It hurts."

Qi Chao's heart immediately ached for him. He racked his brains to comfort Lan Luo, and only relaxed when he saw Lan Luo narrow his eyes and smile.

After dinner that night, the Doctor and the dolls returned to their rooms to rest.

Still thinking about Moss, Qi Chao took out a roll of bandages from a drawer and knocked on the Doctor's door.

He only knew that Moss liked his father. If he wanted to cheer Moss up right away, he could only ask the Doctor for help first.

Click. The door opened.

Qi Chao instinctively smiled, but before he could speak, he saw a blond beauty covered in a misty dampness.

Shen Yuxi seemed to have just finished bathing, making his skin look even fairer. His blond hair fell to his waist, yet there was not the slightest hint of femininity about him. Seeing Qi Chao outside the door, he asked in confusion, "Is something the matter?"

Qi Chao had developed some resistance to the Doctor's beauty by now. Seeing this, he merely sighed inwardly that the Doctor was really good-looking and had no other thoughts.

When he heard the Doctor's question, he immediately took out the bandages and vaguely explained that he had upset Moss. Then he said, "I want to cheer him up, but I really can't think of a way. Moss likes you the most, so I was thinking... if Brother Shen helped him change his bandages, would that make him feel a little better?"

After Moss had gotten caught in the rain yesterday, the bandages on his body had already become wet. But because Moss only accepted the Doctor changing them, the damp bandages had remained unchanged.

Shen Yuxi paused, then reached out and took the bandages. He looked at Qi Chao with a somewhat strange expression.

Qi Chao felt that making Moss angry and then asking his father to help coax him really was rather thick-skinned, so he quickly added, "Once Moss is feeling better, I'll definitely apologize to him properly."

Shen Yuxi seemed amused by those words. His eyes curved as he slowly said, "I am Moss's father. Helping him change his bandages is only natural. You do not need to lower yourself so much."

After a pause, he continued, "Although I do not know what conflict occurred between you and Moss, since you came to me for Moss's sake, I imagine there must have been some difficulty when it happened. So do not blame yourself too much."

How understanding.

"Brother Shen, thank you."

Qi Chao said softly, tugging at the corner of his mouth, his heart filled with gratitude.

Shen Yuxi looked at him, the gentle smile still on his face, and accepted his thanks. "As long as you can work it out, that is enough."

The system in his consciousness realm went completely numb at the sight. There was definitely something suspicious about the villain acting so gentle and considerate. Its host was too pitiful—he might still be helping count the money after being sold off.

The system was now certain that the villain had no intention of killing the host for the time being. Although it did not know why, the host would die sooner or later. Surviving one more day was one more day.

Relieved, the system sighed. It believed it had already stood its final watch and turned to leave this troublesome place. It could not help it—Jiao Jiao next door had been made to cry again, and it still had to comfort him. Its host could only fend for himself.

When Qi Chao woke the next day, he found that the bandages on Moss's body had become cleaner. Clearly, the Doctor had already replaced them for him.

Moss's head was still completely wrapped in bandages, with only one eye exposed, making it impossible to read his emotions. However, his little movements had clearly increased, such as occasionally tugging at the bow securing his bandages.

The thirteen- or fourteen-year-old "boy" had always been quiet and reserved. Such an adorable action as playing with the bow created an unexpectedly endearing contrast on him.