Chu Qingjiu remained silent, showing no intention of contradicting him. It was hard to tell whether he was tacitly agreeing or simply couldn't be bothered to respond.
Of course, Qi Wu did have some self-awareness. He could see the speechlessness in Chu Qingjiu's eyes perfectly clearly, so he knew Chu Qingjiu simply didn't want to deal with him.
Qi Wu blinked innocently at Chu Qingjiu. Only when he saw the blush around Chu Qingjiu's ears slowly fading, bit by bit, did he give up on teasing him further.
He turned toward the others and said lazily, "Let's head back first."
Naturally, no one objected. They watched Qi Wu sidle up beside Chu Qingjiu again, sticking to him like glue and flashing him an all-too-eager smile.
"Let me support you, gege."
Chu Qingjiu: "..."
The other six: "..."
On the way back, they hardly saw a soul-not even any servants from the Xu Residence. They couldn't tell whether everyone was busy elsewhere or whether there was simply no one around.
They happened to run into the head steward, who was looking for them.
The head steward looked anxious when he found them. "Where did you go? I've been looking everywhere for you."
"What's wrong? We were strolling around the residence. We must have just missed each other."
Qi Wu casually sized up the head steward.
The head steward was an entirely unremarkable old man. He had a heartbeat, he was breathing, and his complexion looked normal. He seemed to be a healthy, ordinary living person, with nothing suspicious about him.
The head steward seemed wary of the direction they had come from. He gave them several suspicious looks before asking, "You didn't go anywhere you shouldn't have, did you?"
Naturally, they had gone to all those places. But they certainly couldn't tell the head steward that, lest it cause trouble.
Qi Wu lied without batting an eye. "No. We didn't go anywhere you told us not to."
The head steward didn't seem inclined to pursue the matter. He merely nodded slightly. "Good. Come with me, then. There's a banquet at six this evening."
Banquets were usually held to entertain guests. Even funeral feasts only lasted three to five days. Who held another feast for the deceased's Seventh-Day Rite?
Especially at such a crucial time, with the Ghost Festival approaching and the gates of the underworld about to open.
Something was wrong.
With Qi Wu holding one of his hands to support him, Chu Qingjiu followed closely behind the head steward, all the while sorting through his thoughts.
He didn't care whether the others found it strange. He certainly wouldn't eat anything. He had no desire to invite more bad luck by attending a feast for a dead person's Seventh-Day Rite.
The head steward brought them to the guest quarters where they would spend the night and let them choose their own rooms.
The three girls chose one room. Not wanting to crowd in with too many people, Chu Qingjiu chose a room for himself, only to find a clingy shadow trailing after him.
"Gege, I want to share your room."
Before Chu Qingjiu could refuse, Qi Wu looked at him with tearful eyes again and said with calculated sweetness, "Do you really hate me that much, gege? I'm not doing it on purpose. I just want to be a little closer to you."
In the end, Chu Qingjiu merely sighed and said nothing, silently allowing Qi Wu to have his way.
If his Puppet Threads hadn't been missing, he would have dearly loved to control Qi Wu and make him shut up. This noisy, clingy, crybaby brat was driving him mad.
Chu Qingjiu sat on the bed and pulled off his somewhat loosened hair ribbon, intending to tie his long hair into a ponytail.
Back when he had been the Puppeteer, he couldn't easily leave the Throne, so he hadn't found his long hair particularly troublesome.
But now he had to walk everywhere. He had taken hundreds of times more steps today than he ever had as a boss, and his long hair had become a real nuisance.
Chu Qingjiu frowned as though his hair were his sworn enemy, making Qi Wu, who had been watching him the whole time, laugh aloud.
"Don't you know how to tie your hair, gege?"
As he spoke, Qi Wu walked toward Chu Qingjiu.
Chu Qingjiu looked utterly bewildered. "Why would I need to know that?"
He had always been waited on before. Plenty of puppets had been willing to tie his hair for him. All he had needed to do was remain aloof and dignified.
But things were different now, all thanks to this irritating young man.
"It's fine if you don't know how. I do."
Qi Wu naturally took the hair ribbon from Chu Qingjiu's hand and asked him to turn his head.
Chu Qingjiu obediently turned his head and let Qi Wu tie his hair. Perhaps feeling a little embarrassed, he searched for something to say. "...Why do you know how?"
"I have a younger sister, three years younger than me. I often tie her hair, so I've had plenty of practice."
Qi Wu deftly tied his hair, answering in a lazy tone.
With his hair tied, Chu Qingjiu turned back and suddenly looked up, meeting the eyes of Qi Wu, who was leaning slightly forward.
It was a strange sensation. Qi Wu felt as though time had slowed and stretched as he looked at Chu Qingjiu. Every detail of his exquisite features and his eerily beautiful purple eyes came into sharp focus.
Even his blinking seemed to slow. Qi Wu could clearly see his eyelashes trembling slightly, slow and graceful as a butterfly gently beating its wings, as though they were brushing lightly against his heart.
His pale yet enticing lips were slightly parted, revealing pearly white teeth. His crimson tongue remained hidden, making Qi Wu want to taste that softness.
His heart actually gave a fierce thump.
But he quickly suppressed that strange feeling. He stopped looking at Chu Qingjiu's face and swiftly moved away from him instead.
Chu Qingjiu watched Qi Wu's favorability toward him finally rise a little, only to plummet abruptly back to zero.
"..."
Though he had no idea what was going through Qi Wu's mind, at least he now knew Qi Wu's favorability toward him wasn't bugged. He could earn Qi Wu's favor.
It was simply a little difficult to obtain.
"Thank you," he said coolly.
In any case, he had never intended to control Qi Wu in this instance. His primary objective was still to recover the Puppet Threads and clear the instance. Killing Qi Wu was only his secondary objective.
Qi Wu immediately turned flippant again, smiling brightly. "If you really want to thank me, gege, give yourself to me."
"...Stop talking nonsense."
Chu Qingjiu's expression remained as cold as ever. He abruptly stood up, intending to leave.
"Where are you going, gege? Take me with you?"
Qi Wu tried to follow, but Chu Qingjiu refused him coldly.
"We're only strangers. You're overstepping."
Qi Wu's easy familiarity didn't mean Chu Qingjiu actually wanted to build a good relationship with him. To Chu Qingjiu, whether he got along with these players meant nothing. After all, he had only become a player as punishment.
Once he recovered all his Puppet Threads, he would return to being the big boss of his instance and continue controlling puppets to kill players.
There was no need for any of this. He only had to rely on the players because his body was weak now.
Qi Wu parted his lips, wanting to say something, but no words came out. A wounded expression appeared on his face, and his eyes instantly reddened, tears threatening to spill.
Chu Qingjiu gave him an indifferent glance. This time, he didn't indulge him again. He turned and left.
Let him cry. I'm not responsible for soothing children.
Seeing that Chu Qingjiu had truly left, Qi Wu switched off his tears at once and thoughtfully watched his retreating figure.
His hand reached for the memorial tablet hidden beneath his clothes, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
He placed the memorial tablet at the head of the bed, with the side bearing the name facing the wall, so Chu Qingjiu would see his own tablet as soon as he returned.
Only after finishing all this did he leave the room and head in the opposite direction from Chu Qingjiu. Relaxed and languid, he hummed an unfamiliar tune.
Once Chu Qingjiu ran into a ghost, he would show up and play the hero rescuing the beauty. Then how could Chu Qingjiu fail to see him in a new light?
At that thought, he lengthened his stride, humming without the slightest attempt to hide his delight.
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