The Hand of Confession – Chapter 184

Volume 6: Days of Being Zapped in the Lab

Golden Retriever’s Feelings

Could Golden Retriever like me?

Today’s breakfast was a pot of slightly burnt congee.

Shen Maomao placed the pot on the dining table, looking resentful, while Lou Jingmo was still laughing beside her. “What did I tell you?”

Her memory flashed back to six days ago when they had just entered the game. Lou Jingmo had said, “Hope the congee won’t burn this time,” and sure enough, it really did burn…

Lou Jingmo climbed off the sofa, lazily pulled out a stool, and plopped down onto it.

“I’ll say it again.” Shen Maomao placed several different small pickled side dishes she’d bought from the supermarket downstairs onto plates, barely managing to put together four dishes and one congee. Then she sat down opposite Lou Jingmo and declared indignantly, “Take it or leave it!” With that, she scooped up a spoonful of congee, gobbled it down with an “om nom,” imagining she was biting into a certain Lou person’s flesh.

Lou Jingmo picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with her chopsticks and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

The morning sun shone through the large dining room window. Downstairs in the small garden, elderly folks were doing their morning exercises to music, accompanied by the noisy chirping of unknown birds. It sounded somewhat bustling.

Shen Maomao ate two mouthfuls of congee, her nose and mouth filled with the burnt taste, and instantly lost her appetite.

She stood up and opened the window on her side. A cool morning breeze rushed in, carrying the fragrance of leaves and earth—a natural scent you couldn’t smell in the underground experimental base—dispersing the burnt smell in the room.

People came and went downstairs: elderly men and women out for a stroll, small children running wildly through the residential complex, housewives carrying groceries, middle-aged men hurrying along… a slice of life.

She suddenly froze, an inexplicable sadness welling up in her heart: This kind of ordinary yet content life, she was afraid she could never go back to it…

Lou Jingmo finished the congee in her bowl bit by bit, then tapped the table with her index finger. “What are you doing? Come over and ladle me another bowl.”

Shen Maomao blinked and looked back at her. “Don’t you have hands?”

Lou Jingmo frowned. “Is that the tone you use with your goddess?”

Shen Maomao was shocked. “How can you say something so shameless? Even calling yourself someone else’s goddess??”

Lou Jingmo raised an eyebrow, saying as if it were perfectly natural, “Can’t I?”

“Fine…” Shen Maomao gave in, went back, and ladled her a bowl of congee with a somewhat abnormal color. She couldn’t help adding, “It tastes so bad, maybe you shouldn’t eat it…”

Lou Jingmo took the bowl and said leisurely, “Because someone is about to cry—”

Shen Maomao’s face flushed, and she said meekly, “No… I was…”

She was halfway through her explanation when the doorbell suddenly rang. Lou Jingmo tilted her head and ordered her, “Go get the door.”

“Sigh… forget it.” Shen Maomao got up and went to the door. Without even looking, she knew who would be outside.

Sure enough, as soon as the video intercom connected, the enlarged faces of Golden Retriever and Xixi appeared on the screen. Xixi said sweetly, “Auntie Rabbit—we came to play with you!”

Shen Maomao opened the door for them.

They came up shortly after. Little Xixi immediately threw himself into the arms of Shen Maomao, who was getting slippers, knocking her down onto the floor. He kept rubbing his head against her neck.

Shen Maomao giggled, tickled, patting his back as she laughed. “Okay, okay, let Auntie catch her breath.”

Golden Retriever changed his shoes, sniffed the air, and couldn’t help asking, “Why does it smell like something’s burnt?”

Shen Maomao’s face darkened. She shot Golden Retriever a glare and walked into the room holding Xixi.

Golden Retriever rubbed the back of his head confusedly. “What’s wrong??”

Lou Jingmo, behind the dining table, smiled. “Have you eaten breakfast? Want some here? Maomao made it herself.”

Golden Retriever’s eyes lit up. Completely unaware of her malicious intent, he left Xixi and Shen Maomao and walked quickly to the dining table. “What did you make?!”

Lou Jingmo tapped the bowl. “Right here.”

On the table were a few pitiful-looking plates of shredded kelp, cucumber strips, enoki mushrooms, and a large bowl of suspicious-colored congee.

Golden Retriever: “Um… actually, we already ate before coming. We’re not really hungry right now…”

Shen Maomao looked furious, so angry she could practically feel her liver tremble.¹

Because the child was present, the three adults didn’t discuss the game much. Today was Xixi’s last day of happy time with them. Golden Retriever’s instance was coming up soon, and the adults definitely needed to discuss some game-related matters, leaving no time to look after him.

After the meal, Lou Jingmo dove into the study, planning to be a complete homebody and continue working on her new book.

Shen Maomao and Golden Retriever stuck to the original plan and continued taking Xixi out to play. Within a few days, they had toured all over Nancheng, developing a slight sense of belonging to this city where Lou Jingmo lived.

In the evening, to give Xixi a farewell treat, Shen Maomao took the big one and the little one to the supermarket to buy groceries. Unexpectedly, they ran into the woman they had met long ago when they first arrived in Nancheng—the one who disliked Lou Jingmo because her own wife used to have a crush on Lou Jingmo.

She was still shopping alone. Upon seeing Shen Maomao, her eyes widened involuntarily. She glared at them, then pushed her shopping cart, turned, and walked away.

Golden Retriever looked completely baffled and asked Shen Maomao, “Sister Rabbit, is that your friend?”

Shen Maomao looked equally confused. “No… she’s Lou-jie’s enemy… But why glare at me? Is she nuts?”

Xixi, squatting by a shelf, picked up a remote-controlled race car. “Little Uncle! I want this!”

The two immediately put the woman out of their minds. Golden Retriever waved his hand grandly and said like a big spender, “Buy, buy, buy!”

After shopping, Golden Retriever carried big and small bags of groceries, fruits, and Xixi’s toy, while Shen Maomao happily held Xixi’s hand, walking ahead.

In the evening, many children were playing in the residential complex. Xixi managed to grab a swing and sat on it happily, swinging back and forth, surrounded by a group of children watching eagerly.

Shen Maomao wasn’t in a hurry either, standing aside watching him play.

This was tough on Golden Retriever, who was carrying everything. His hands, usually only used for drawing, now had two red marks indented by the plastic bags. He urged, “You two masters, shouldn’t we head back and cook…”

Shen Maomao raised an eyebrow. “You’ll have to tell Xixi that.”

Golden Retriever: “Xixi listens to you so well. If you give a shout, he’ll definitely come over.”

Shen Maomao: “If I shout, won’t I offend people?”

Golden Retriever: “…” And if I shout, I won’t offend them?!

Seeing this, one of the surrounding children couldn’t help but approach them and say in a childish voice, “Uncle, Auntie, your son is already so big, can you please not fight with us for the swing?”

Shen Maomao: “???”

Golden Retriever was also stunned for a moment and couldn’t help saying, “No, we’re not…”

The parent next to the child quickly picked the child up and scolded, “Don’t you know how to talk?! Do you not want to come out and play anymore?!”

After scolding the child, the parent apologized to Shen Maomao and Golden Retriever, “Sorry, my child doesn’t know any better. Are you new here? I haven’t seen you much before. You both look so young, I couldn’t tell at all you had such a big kid…”

Shen Maomao: “…” Golden Retriever was only seventeen, and she was only twenty-two. How much of a cradle-robber would she have to be to have a six- or seven-year-old son?

She awkwardly exchanged a few pleasantries with the woman, quickly used the excuse of needing to hurry home to cook, said goodbye, and dragged Xixi into the building’s unit entrance door.

As soon as they entered the elevator, she let out a breath of relief, only to suddenly hear Golden Retriever beside her say with a smile, “Sister Rabbit, don’t you think we look like a family of three?”

Shen Maomao froze and tilted her head to look at Golden Retriever.

Golden Retriever was also looking at her, a gentle light in his eyes.

Xixi’s eyes lit up, and he chimed in excitedly, “Little Uncle, if you win Auntie Rabbit over, we’ll be a family of three!”

Shen Maomao forced a laugh. “Hahaha, no way, Auntie Rabbit’s heart already belongs to your Auntie Momo.”

Golden Retriever snatched the toy car back from Xixi’s hand, lowered his head, and gave him a flick on the head. “What nonsense are you talking, you little brat!”²

Xixi: “???” This was too hard for him.

Shen Maomao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. She turned her head and stared intently at the elevator doors, as if trying to stare holes into them.

When they finally reached their floor, Shen Maomao darted out like an arrow, quickly opened the door, and rushed into the kitchen.

Golden Retriever, following behind, placed the groceries on the kitchen floor and then went to the living room to watch cartoons with Xixi.

Shen Maomao slid the kitchen door shut, turned on the faucet to fill the sink with water, then leaned against the counter and sent a message to Lou Jingmo on her phone—

Xiao Bai Two³: 【Lou-jie, bad news!】

Lou Jingmo sent back two pictures.

Shen Maomao opened them and saw they were photos of her and Golden Retriever shopping at the supermarket! She was a bit baffled and quickly replied with a confused black man question mark emoji.

Lou Jingmo: 【Someone I don’t know sent me an MMS, saying I have bad taste, and also that you’re totally deceiving me, that you’re actually out there with someone else and even have a child together.】

Shen Maomao typed furiously: 【I know who it was!! It must be that person! That woman we ran into earlier! She saw me and Golden Retriever buying groceries together! Why is she so annoying! How dare she tattle to you, what are her intentions?!】

Lou Jingmo: 【Did you eat gunpowder?? Why so explosive?】

Shen Maomao’s typing hands paused. She let out a long sigh: 【Lou-jie… seriously, do you think Golden Retriever likes me?】

Lou Jingmo didn’t respond for a long time.

The water had filled the sink, so Shen Maomao had to start washing the vegetables first. After quite a while, her phone notification finally sounded.

She quickly wiped her hands on her clothes, picked up her phone, and almost threw it across the room in anger after reading the message.

Lou Jingmo had deliberated for ages, only to finally come up with this—【Does he like that you’re poor?】

Shen Maomao: “…” Crying for real.

She replied: 【I’m not kidding… Of course, it doesn’t rule out that I’m being too sensitive.】

She recounted what had just happened, adding at the end: 【I don’t think it’s okay.】

Lou Jingmo: 【What’s not okay about it? He’s quite rich, and his personality is pretty good too.】

Shen Maomao: 【The key thing is, he’s just a kid! I genuinely see him as a little brother…】

Lou Jingmo didn’t reply again.

Shen Maomao continued washing the vegetables, wondering what kind of advice Lou Jingmo would offer.

She hadn’t been thinking long when someone knocked on the frosted glass of the kitchen door. It slid open, and Lou Jingmo walked straight in, closing the door behind her.

Shen Maomao suddenly felt a little nervous, unconsciously slowing her breathing. She asked her, “Why did you come down?”

Lou Jingmo got straight to the point: “These things are hard to handle.”

Shen Maomao felt helpless too. “How could he possibly like me… You’re clearly so much more outstanding than I am…”

Hearing her say this, Lou Jingmo’s mood improved slightly. She said insincerely, “No, actually, you’re quite outstanding too.”

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