The Hand of Confession – Chapter 143

Volume 5: Days of Applying Makeup to Corpses

Shen Duidui [怼怼 | Duìduì | meaning “Queen of Retorts” or “Sass Master”]

The voice on the phone was unexpectedly San Huang, whom they had just confirmed dead!

Lou Jingmo: “Absolutely not!”

The phone’s ringtone was merely unpleasant; Shen Maomao’s singing, however, was lethal.

Shen Maomao seemed a little disappointed, looking expectantly at Lou Jingmo: “Lou-jie… Is my singing really that bad?”

Lou Jingmo initially intended to nod, but upon seeing Shen Maomao’s expression, the critical words circling in her mouth became difficult to utter. She could only manage a strained shake of her head: “Actually… it’s alright.”

Shen Maomao’s eyes instantly lit up, sparkling like tiny stars.

Once spoken, the words didn’t seem so hard to accept. Watching her happy expression, Lou Jingmo unconsciously lifted the corners of her mouth, yet quickly became aware of this and her smile gradually faded. Inwardly, she gave Wutong, whom she considered the culprit, a mental beating.

The atmosphere in the room was pleasant, but the phone in the hallway, unwilling to be ignored, rang increasingly louder, its tone growing lower.

Later, the sound became lower than the leftmost white key on a piano, so low it induced goosebumps, each ring echoing like thunder in everyone’s hearts.

Through the door, Shen Maomao seemed to sense that the people in the other rooms were just like them, hiding behind their doors, terrified and trembling amidst the terrifying sound effects…

“Für Elise” reached its lowest possible note. Shen Maomao furrowed her brow, hearing amidst the music a “zilazila” static sound and someone’s rapid breathing.

At that moment, Lou Jingmo suddenly said: “We can’t leave it like this.” As she spoke, she moved to open the door.

Shen Maomao’s hand, quicker than her brain, stopped Lou Jingmo.

Lou Jingmo looked at her. Shen Maomao swallowed, saying: “Don’t move, I’ll go.”

“Can you handle it?” Lou Jingmo raised an eyebrow.

Shen Maomao clenched her fists: “A woman can’t say she can’t.” After speaking, she stepped out the door and immediately saw the large, clunky phone standing in the middle of the hallway.

The phone screen emitted a ghostly green light. Because of the distance, she couldn’t clearly see the words on the screen.

After she emerged, the music seemed to rise in pitch slightly. Shen Maomao lifted her foot, taking one step at a time towards the phone, her heels clicking against the floor with a “dada” sound.

After what felt like a long journey, she finally reached the phone, bent down, and picked it up.

“Beep, beep, beep beep beep beep…”

The sound in her hand returned to normal. A flash of lightning illuminated Shen Maomao’s pale face outside the window.

Rumble…

The caller’s name displayed on the screen was Huang Hongxing.

She answered the death knell of a call, bringing the phone to her ear, her voice trembling: “Hello—”

The person on the other end said: “Why did you take so long to answer the phone?”

Shen Maomao’s eyes widened abruptly.

—The voice on the phone was unexpectedly San Huang, whom they had just confirmed dead!

Hearing her silence, San Huang impatiently said: “I’m asking you a question, are you mute?”

Shen Maomao suspected she would be instantly “kacha”-ed [咔嚓 | kā chā | onomatopoeia for snapping, breaking, in this case implies being killed] if she couldn’t offer a reasonable explanation. Her mind raced, and she blurted out: “What do you, a straight man, understand? Girls need their beauty sleep. Can’t whatever you have to say wait until morning? If I don’t sleep well, I’ll have a bad temper when I wake up! Get to the point, don’t waste this old lady’s time sleeping. If you keep babbling nonsense, I’ll kill you within three days and scatter your ashes!”

Lou Jingmo: “…”

San Huang also fell silent: “…”

Shen Maomao: “Do you have anything to say or not? If not, I’m hanging up. What a crappy phone call, disturbing people’s sleep. I’ll smash it later!”

As if afraid she would actually smash the phone, San Huang quickly said: “The funeral tomorrow must be arranged properly. The deceased’s relatives will be attending the memorial service. If you can’t satisfy them, you’ll have a hard time.”

Shen Maomao fiercely replied: “Oh! Anything else?!”

San Huang: “…”

Shen Maomao: “Nothing else? I’m hanging up! So much nonsense!”

After speaking, she immediately hung up the phone, and in the next second, she placed the phone on the ground and dashed back to the room like a rabbit, throwing herself into Lou Jingmo’s arms: “Lou-jie!! It was San Huang!”

Lou Jingmo, embraced by a warm and fragrant body, felt a momentary flutter in her heart. Fortunately, Shen Maomao was sufficiently noisy to allow her to suppress all such feelings within.

“Lou-jie, what do we do?! Huang Hongxing took the phone, and died within two days. Then the phone called San Huang, San Huang kept the phone, and now he’s also dead. Is it my turn next? I answered the phone, so I’ll die tomorrow or the day after, wuwuwuwu in the future, you’ll only be able to hear my voice over the phone.”

Lou Jingmo: “…You’re so annoying.”

Shen Maomao angrily accused her: “You actually find me annoying! You’re too much! QwQ”

Lou Jingmo: “I’m still here, what are you afraid of?”

Shen Maomao stared at her with wide eyes.

Lou Jingmo, holding her, tossed her onto the bed and asked: “What did he say?”

The bed was quite soft, Shen Maomao bounced on it once, and recounted San Huang’s words.

Lou Jingmo appeared thoughtful, then said: “Do you know where that funeral director lives?”

Shen Maomao: “I don’t know.”

Lou Jingmo sighed: “Let’s go, knock on doors then.”

The rough work of knocking on doors naturally fell to Shen Maomao. Lou Jingmo stood in the hallway watching her knock, which made her feel very secure.

After knocking on all the doors, only Guan Qiwen opened his door; the others seemed not to have heard, their doors remaining firmly shut.

Shen Maomao deliberately spoke loudly: “Are these people pigs? How can they sleep so soundly? Aren’t they afraid of sleeping themselves to death?”

Lou Jingmo: “Alright, since that’s the case, sing them a song.”

Guan Qiwen looked puzzled: “?”

Shen Maomao, however, seemed quite happy: “I’m really going to sing?”

Lou Jingmo nodded: “Sing.” After saying that, she covered her ears.

Although Shen Maomao immediately saw the disdain in her actions, having finally been given a chance to showcase herself, she didn’t intend to quibble over this minor detail. She cleared her throat and began to wail — the kind that a million audio engineers couldn’t salvage.

Guan Qiwen was completely stunned by the sound. After recovering, he immediately imitated Lou Jingmo, covering his ears, thinking that Lou Jingmo’s practiced movement suggested she had likely suffered this torture quite a bit.

Before she had wailed even two lines, Dao Ba kicked open the door next to Lou Jingmo’s: “Stop that F*cking singing!”

Shen Maomao shut her mouth and hid behind Lou Jingmo, poking her head out to say: “Why are you so fierce? Who told you all not to come out?”

Dao Ba angrily said: “Couldn’t you have just said what you needed to say? Not coming out doesn’t mean we’re deaf!”

Shen Maomao: “You’re all thinking pretty highly of yourselves. I go out to answer the phone, and you lot get to wait safely inside for instructions? Like that’s how things work?”

Dao Ba sarcastically curled his lip: “Then don’t bother with us.”

Shen Maomao, unable to out-argue him, could only express her anger by raising her middle finger at him.

Dao Ba felt like hitting her, but Lou Jingmo firmly shielded her, coldly saying: “San Huang called, telling you to properly arrange the funeral. He also said relatives will be there to pay their respects.” Her voice was loud and clear, reaching every corner of the hallway, clearly intended for more than just Dao Ba.

As for whose funeral it was, that had nothing to do with them.

Dao Ba clearly also considered this point, his eyebrows furrowing slightly: “There are so many bodies, what if we get it wrong?”

What else could they do? Die, of course.

Since it wouldn’t be him dying, Dao Ba, upon realizing this, didn’t particularly care about the matter. He shrugged indifferently, saying: “Finished? Finished, then I’m going back to sleep. Such a trivial matter, waking everyone up for it—”

He glared at Shen Maomao: “Don’t let me hear you singing again!”

Shen Maomao glared right back: “My mouth is on my own body!”

Dao Ba sneered: “I can make it not be.”

Shen Maomao covered her mouth.

Lou Jingmo: “If there’s nothing else, get lost. There are three of us, who are you threatening?”

Dao Ba snorted coldly. Although confident in his ability to handle the three “weaklings” without pressure, he was also wary of any special props they might have that could lead to his downfall. He prudently took a step back, opened his door, and before stepping inside, added: “Remember, keep your mouth shut!”

Shen Maomao complained to Lou Jingmo: “Lou-jie! Look at him! He actually threatened me right in front of you!”

Lou Jingmo: “I saw how fierce you were scolding San Huang just now.”

Shen Maomao: “That was a special circumstance. With someone like San Huang, I was afraid if I wasn’t firm, he’d sh*t on my neck.” [骑我脖子上拉屎 | qí wǒ bózi shàng lā shǐ | idiom meaning to take advantage of someone, to bully]

Lou Jingmo: “You’re so vulgar.”

Shen Maomao: “? Is it not like when you called me Little Sweetie Brownie?”

Lou Jingmo: “？？？” When did she ever call her that??

Guan Qiwen felt like a pickled mustard greens fish — sour, wilted, and superfluous. He hurriedly said: “Since there’s nothing else, I’ll head back in?”

Lou Jingmo nodded: “Be careful.”

Guan Qiwen politely replied: “You too.”

After speaking, he closed his door.

Lou Jingmo escorted Shen Maomao back to her door: “Rest well, we’ll cause trouble tomorrow.”

Shen Maomao nodded: “Lou-jie, you must protect yourself. Sisters united…”

Lou Jingmo rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

Shen Maomao secretly glared at her, then quickly slipped inside and locked the door.

She lay on the bed, accompanied by the sounds of thunder, wind, rain, and the Yaksha’s attack, sleeping soundly until dawn.

Lying on her side, Shen Maomao opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw being the phone placed on her nightstand.

The F*ck??

She clearly threw that thing in the hallway!

She quickly looked at the door and noticed the lock hadn’t been opened.

Case closed, the phone came through the wall on its own.

She wanted to throw the phone from the window, but was afraid she’d need it later. She could only pretend it didn’t exist, opened the door, and quickly descended the stairs to find Lou Jingmo.

Heavy rain fell outside; the sky was extremely gloomy. Shen Maomao ran all the way, and upon reaching Lou Jingmo’s door, knocked.

After three knocks, Lou Jingmo, completely unharmed, walked out.

Shen Maomao breathed a sigh of relief: “Nothing happened in the latter half of the night, Lou-jie?”

Lou Jingmo: “The phone you threw came to play with me.”

Shen Maomao: “？？！！”

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