The Hand of Confession – Chapter 417

Epilogue: The Final Instance

Xiao Qi

This is my son, Xiao Qi

Shen Maomao expressionlessly closed the refrigerator door again.

            

The two horrifying human heads and that strange teddy bear vanished from her sight. She took half a step back and stared at the little black cat, beginning to contemplate life.

When Police Officer Bai came here yesterday morning, no one was home. Later, because she met Lou Jingmo, she didn’t think to come back and check. Only a day had passed.

Police Officer Bai had originally been prepared to report it to the police, but based on the current situation, it was highly likely she had met the original owner’s grandmother somewhere outside. That’s why she didn’t have someone forcibly open the door, and naturally wouldn’t have discovered the two human heads in the refrigerator. That also explains why Shen Maomao didn’t see a seal strip​¹ on the door when she arrived.

            

Her grandmother is probably no longer in the category of human… Perhaps, just like Lou Jingmo’s mother, she is an existence born from “her” expectations.

Could these two matters be connected in some way?

But she really didn’t want to ask Lou Jingmo about the situation back then. She didn’t want to make her Lou-jie recall the sorrow and pain of that time again…

            

Shen Maomao looked up at the little black cat and tried to communicate with it. “You hinted for me to open the refrigerator. Were you trying to tell me something?”

The little black cat licked its paw, acting as if it knew nothing and understood nothing. It stopped scratching at the door, changed its position to lie down, and continued to stare at her with its beautiful green eyes.

Shen Maomao recalled the shadow that had flashed across the door panel and couldn’t help but feel her scalp go numb​².

            

Although it was only there for a moment, Shen Maomao had seen it clearly.

The shadow was a head resting on her shoulder. It had graying hair, its face was covered in wrinkles, and it was missing two front teeth when it smiled—but it was only a head—an old lady’s head.

This scene made Shen Maomao involuntarily recall the experience she had before entering an instance for the first time, making her extremely uncomfortable.

            

She forced herself to ignore the grandmother on her shoulder and focus on analyzing the situation before her.

This cat might give her another hint. Thinking this, Shen Maomao took two steps back as if to leave, wanting to see if it would react.

The little black cat put down its paw with no intention of making her stay. It just gave a sleepy yawn and watched indifferently as she backed away bit by bit until she was completely out of the room.

            

Shen Maomao deliberately closed the door very slowly, staring unblinkingly at the scene inside. As the crack in the doorway grew smaller and smaller, the cat probably thought she was really leaving. It leaped down from the refrigerator and ran to the left.

Shen Maomao immediately yanked the door open and rushed in, but the cat had already vanished. She turned the room upside down but couldn’t find a trace of it and, in the end, could only return in disappointment.

…

            

Today was her third day since entering the game.

Shen Maomao wandered around for an entire afternoon without finding anything useful. After meandering about, she ended up at the entrance of the Eighteenth Middle School, so she simply sat down to wait for Lou Jingmo to get out of school.

She knew there was a high chance Lou Jingmo wouldn’t be out this early; she was only waiting here because she had nowhere else to go.

            

Last night, she had promised Police Officer Bai she would go home with her, mainly because she wanted to figure out what had happened at the original owner’s house. So today, she waited with the mindset that if she saw Lou Jingmo, great, and if not, she would go with Police Officer Bai.

Before long, the school bell rang, and students came running out of the academic building in high spirits. Shen Maomao squinted, craning her neck to look for a long time, like a big goose preparing to bite someone.

Puck, free once more, pointed in a direction and said in surprise, “Shen Maomao, look!”

            

Shen Maomao glanced over. In the crowd, who else could the person with a ponytail and a world-weary expression be but Lou Jingmo?!

She ran over in just a few steps and said excitedly, “Lou J… Jingmo! Why are you out so early?”

Calling a little girl so much younger than herself ‘jiejie’… Shen Maomao really couldn’t bring herself to say it. Besides, right now, it should clearly be Lou Jingmo calling her older sister.

            

“Too lazy to play hide-and-seek with the gatekeeper.” Lou Jingmo didn’t even look at her. Her expression was somewhat cold, having completely reverted to her cool girl​³ state.

Shen Maomao spoke in a rush, explaining, “I can’t go back with you tonight. There’s something I want to investigate. Please, you must protect yourself, okay?”

Lou Jingmo stopped in her tracks, turning her head to look at her quietly, a dark light flashing in her eyes. “Didn’t you travel through time just for me?”

            

Shen Maomao pulled her to a less crowded spot and handed her a rare, teleportation-type item. “If you encounter a danger you can’t solve on your own, crush this scroll​⁴. I’ve already set the coordinates. It can instantly teleport you to my side.”

Lou Jingmo looked at the small scroll necklace pinched between her thumb and forefinger, fell silent for a second, and asked in return, “Are you sure?”

Shen Maomao went ahead and put the necklace around her neck.

            

Lou Jingmo was very cooperative. To make it easier for her to fasten the clasp, she even lowered her head slightly, revealing her slender neck to her without any defense.

Shen Maomao’s heart grew soft​⁵, as if it were soaking in warm water. After fastening it, she patted her on the head again.

Lou Jingmo looked up warily and shot her a glare.

            

Shen Maomao smiled, then suddenly reached out and hugged her, murmuring, “Wait for me a little longer…”

Just wait a little longer, and I’ll be able to be with you…

Lou Jingmo didn’t resist, only lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes concealing the emotion in her eyes.

            

The hug was brief. Shen Maomao quickly let go and watched her leave the school gate.

She waited a while longer, and Police Officer Bai’s car drove over from a distance as promised. Police Officer Bai opened the front passenger door and let her get in.

Only after getting in the car did Shen Maomao realize there was a little boy sitting in the back seat.

            

The little boy was fiddling with a teddy bear in his hands. He looked a lot like Police Officer Bai, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, but his face was a little pale. He was probably the son she’d mentioned who liked 《Planting the Sun》.​⁶

Seeing the curiosity in her eyes, Police Officer Bai spoke as she drove, “This is my son, Xiao Qi​⁷. He just started kindergarten this year. Xiao Qi, this is Maomao-jiejie. Quick, call her jiejie.”

Xiao Qi kept his head down and didn’t move.

            

Police Officer Bai, however, smiled with satisfaction. “Xiao Qi is such a good boy!”

Shen Maomao immediately had her suspicions.

After a while, the car entered a residential complex in the city center. Police Officer Bai parked in the underground garage, and holding Shen Maomao’s hand with one hand and her son’s with the other, she led them into the elevator.

            

Xiao Qi didn’t say a word the entire time, nor did he put down the toy in his hands.

The elevator reached the tenth floor, and Police Officer Bai rang the doorbell.

The door was opened from the inside. A man appeared at the doorway and looked at Shen Maomao in surprise. “This is…?”

            

Police Officer Bai explained, “This is the child left from the case I told you about yesterday. Her name is Maomao.”

The man’s gaze immediately filled with sympathy. He stepped aside to let the three of them in, then said, “I’ll go cook another dish. You can turn on the TV for her.”

“Okay,” Police Officer Bai turned her head to the two children. “Xiao Qi, you play here with your older sister. Mommy’s going to go wash some fruit for you, alright?”

            

The man’s expression instantly became sorrowful. He glanced at Shen Maomao, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing and retreated to the kitchen as if escaping. “I’ll go cook. You guys play.”

Shen Maomao tried to talk to the little boy. “Hello, Xiao Qi. How old are you?”

Xiao Qi kept his head down, playing with his toy without a word.

            

Police Officer Bai turned on the TV to a cartoon, then went to the kitchen and came back with washed fruit. She placed it in front of Shen Maomao and Xiao Qi, saying, “Maomao, have a banana.”

Then, she smiled again. “Looks like Xiao Qi likes you. That’s a relief. You two play nicely. I’m going to take care of some things.”

Shen Maomao tried talking to Xiao Qi again. “Hello?”

            

“What’s your name?”

“How old are you this year?”

She suspected that Lou Jingmo’s mother, the original owner’s grandmother, and Police Officer Bai’s son were all the same kind of existence, but Xiao Qi completely ignored her, seeming far less advanced than Lou Jingmo’s mother.

            

After a while, Xiao Qi’s father came out of the kitchen and approached Shen Maomao. “I didn’t scare you, did I?”

Shen Maomao shook her head, putting on a reserved expression. “Hello, Uncle.”

Xiao Qi’s father said, “Xiao Qi is our son. He passed away in an accident a while ago. His mother couldn’t accept it and has been fantasizing that Xiao Qi isn’t dead…”

            

Shen Maomao looked at Xiao Qi, who was sitting beside her, playing with a toy car with his head down.

Xiao Qi’s father couldn’t see him, just like that scum of a man never noticed Lou Jingmo’s mother.

Shen Maomao asked, “Hasn’t Auntie Bai gone to see a doctor?”

            

Xiao Qi’s father said helplessly, “She doesn’t think she’s sick… Later, she started to just ignore what I said entirely. But aside from Xiao Qi, she’s perfectly normal in every other way, and it doesn’t really affect our lives. I… I don’t want to force her.”

As he spoke, he sighed again. “Forget it… Why am I telling you this? You wouldn’t understand. Go wash your hands in the bathroom. It’s time to eat.”

Shen Maomao said, “It’s okay. Thank you, Uncle.”

            

Not long after, Police Officer Bai also returned. The three visible people sat at the table. Police Officer Bai served an extra bowl of rice and placed it in front of the empty chair, even setting a pair of children’s chopsticks on top.

Xiao Qi’s father ate with a blank expression, as if he was already accustomed to this scene.

During the meal, Police Officer Bai kept putting food into the bowl at the empty spot, occasionally adding a reminder like “Good children can’t be picky with their food,” or “Xiao Qi, eat a few bites of vegetables.”

            

The atmosphere during the meal was exceptionally heavy. After they finished, Police Officer Bai spread out paper and a pen on the dining table and had Shen Maomao do her homework along with them.

Shen Maomao said she had already finished, so Police Officer Bai focused on teaching Xiao Qi to write 123.

Xiao Qi’s father went to the back balcony for a while and came back smelling strongly of smoke, promptly excusing himself to the bathroom.

            

Shen Maomao sat in the living room watching the cartoon, but her mind was not on it at all.

She was thinking about the connection between the original owner, Lou Jingmo, and Police Officer Bai.

It was known that the resurrected people were all their closest relatives, and their behavior after resurrection was strange and they couldn’t be detected by others.

            

Mother Lou began to take care of Lou Jingmo, Grandmother Shen killed her own son and daughter-in-law (the identity of the deceased couldn’t be confirmed), and Xiao Qi was rather withdrawn and didn’t interact with people…

So what was it that created such a difference?

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The author has something to say:

            

Posting a chapter first to prove I’m back. I’ll try my best to write another chapter tonight. School started, so there’s a ton of crap to deal with 555​⁸

My nucleic acid test came back fine, so I can cough with peace of mind now (just kidding)

Giving out little red envelopes to the first fifty comments on this chapter, let’s go!

            

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