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He suppressed the excitement in his heart and spared no effort in his introduction. "I don't need to say much about how rare S-Rank Dolls are. In my ten years as host, I've only encountered three! And Twin Mirrors is the most unforgettable of them all!"

The host spoke with impassioned fervor, but few of the bidders below listened seriously. Their gazes—strange, disgusted, or fervent—were all fixed on the dolls onstage.

Twin Mirrors, also known as "Twinborn," consisted of two dolls. One had white hair and white eyes, while the other had black hair and black eyes. They looked like thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boys, delicate and beautiful, but what drew the bidders' varied reactions was not their exquisite appearances, but their bizarre bodies.

The two dolls leaned tightly against each other back to back. It was not a deliberately posed position, but because their spines were fused together.

Twin Mirrors were malformed dolls.

"The puppeteer who created Twin Mirrors was none other than Master Qingyu, the champion of the last Puppeteer Competition! Just imagine the difficulty of placing two Puppet Hearts within the same body!" the host declared passionately. "This is art!"

Art my ass.

If that Qingyu had been here, Qi Chao would have gone up and punched him twice first. What the hell kind of shell had he made?! Calling deformity art? This was an insult to art! Fuck!

Qi Chao was so furious he had blurted out several curses. Why make dolls like this? Everyone knew that a deformity involving conjoined upper bodies meant shared organs, and it also meant enduring unbearable pain.

When human twins were born physically conjoined, their suffering began at birth. Every breath was agonizing pain.

Dolls' pain receptors were not as sensitive as humans', but they could still feel pain. Lan Luo had mentioned that when they first met.

It was easy to imagine that these two children had suffered torment from pain ever since they were born.

The wise developed technology and studied medicine, trying every possible means to prevent the birth of malformed children, yet that damn puppeteer had actually made such bodies for dolls.

For art?

Art was crying from the injustice, okay?

Qi Chao gritted his teeth in hatred.

Compared to Qi Chao's furious reaction, Moss's expression beneath his hood did not change in the slightest. He seemed long accustomed to it. Not every puppeteer was as gentle as Father; there were plenty who treated dolls as tools for attracting attention.

Moss tilted his head slightly and looked at Qi Chao beside him. He did not understand why this person was angry.

There was not much time allotted to each auction item. Once the host finished his introduction, he struck the hammer and began the bidding.

Twin Mirrors were malformed. No matter how exquisite they looked, their strangeness could not be ignored. Yet there were quite a few participants in the bidding. They stared at the dolls onstage with fanatical eyes, and the price soon exceeded ten million.

Qi Chao had never liked assuming the worst of people, but watching this scene, he could not help thinking deeply about what these people intended to do with Twin Mirrors after buying them.

When humans turned vicious, they were worse than beasts. The original owner had already proven that saying true.

It would have been fine if Twin Mirrors were taken home by kind people, but if they were taken away by disgusting people like the original owner, it would be no different from stepping into hell.

Qi Chao decided to take Twin Mirrors home.

Even if he had to shamelessly borrow money from the original owner's father, he could not stand by and watch these two little dolls fall into the abyss.

Moss suddenly heard Qi Chao beside him call out a bid. His black eyes showed some surprise as he looked over inquisitively, only to see Qi Chao's tightly clenched jaw.

Someone else soon raised the bid, and Qi Chao lifted his paddle. Every time, he bid ten thousand Star Coins above them. The price kept climbing to an astonishing level, and fewer and fewer people continued bidding. At this rate, Qi Chao would definitely be able to take Twin Mirrors home.

However, before Qi Chao could truly win the dolls, his Light Brain suddenly vibrated.

Auction House Owner: [Young Master Qi, don't keep bidding. You won't get Twin Mirrors. The Association has already reserved them. No matter how much you offer, we won't give them to you.]

Qi Chao found this message very familiar.

When he had bought the diamonds earlier, that was exactly how he had done things.

He had to admit, it was pretty disgusting.

Qi Chao tugged at the corner of his mouth, not knowing who he was laughing at.

Qi Chao: [Even if I bid higher than them, I still can't have them?]

Auction House Owner: [No. This isn't about money. The Association only needs to make a move to destroy us. Your father's company also cooperates with them, so you should know how they operate.]

The Puppeteer Association had always been domineering. Sometimes, it would not even give the original owner's father any face. If he offended them, he might implicate the original owner's father. He could not drag the original owner's father into this.

Qi Chao brushed his thumb over the Light Brain screen and typed a single "Okay." If it was the Association, they probably would not hurt Twin Mirrors.

But would they really not?

In the past, Qi Chao might have believed they would not. It was trust in his fellow puppeteers as a puppeteer himself, but looking at the little dolls onstage, Qi Chao was no longer certain.

Would puppeteers truly never hurt dolls?

On the auction stage, the hammer fell. Amid the host's excited voice, Twin Mirrors were led away by the staff. Qi Chao lowered his lashes, and the darkness in his eyes lingered for a long while.

When the auction ended, they returned to the villa.

Qi Chao barely spoke along the way. Moss occasionally looked at him strangely, as though he could not understand why Qi Chao was in such low spirits.

When they reached the living room, Doctor was sitting on the sofa, apparently having waited for quite some time.

Moss's body stiffened. He timidly called out, "Father," then stood where he was, not knowing what to say next. Qi Chao patted Moss on the shoulder and told him to go back to his room to sleep. Moss glanced at Father, and when he saw him nod slightly as well, he immediately ran upstairs.

Qi Chao wanted to smile, but his mood was wrong, making the smile look somewhat ugly. Shen Yuxi could tell something was off with him. His brows furrowed slightly as he asked worriedly, "Did something happen?"

"It's nothing." Qi Chao forced a smile. He did not really want to talk. "Let's talk tomorrow. I'm a little tired."