The Hand of Confession – Chapter 186

Volume 6: Days of Being Zapped in the Lab

Paternal Cousin

Your paternal cousin is gone

When Lou Jingmo came out, she noticed the elevator was still on the first floor and guessed where Golden Retriever would have gone.

Golden Retriever hadn’t gone far, just run into the emergency stairwell. He sat on the steps, head buried in his knees, not making a sound.

The eerie green light of the emergency exit sign flickered, illuminating him, making him look both terrifying and pitiful.

The voice-activated light switched on at the sound. Lou Jingmo walked step by step over to him, leaning her back against the wall.

The voice-activated light dimmed again.

In the darkness, Golden Retriever lifted his head and said in a low voice, “Sorry you had to see that, Lou-jie.”

Lou Jingmo smiled faintly and got straight to the point: “Actually, it’s not Rabbit you like.”

Golden Retriever whipped his head around, his face full of disagreement.

Lou Jingmo stomped her foot slightly, and the voice-activated light turned on again. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she peered through her fingers at the warm light: “You’re just chasing the light.”

People who dwell in darkness for too long can’t help but gravitate towards the sun, even if that light might scorch them. The game world was a paradise for sinners, an amusement park for the exiled. In such a pitch-black world, Shen Maomao was like a beam of light, bringing them hope for liberation.

Who wouldn’t want the sun to dispel the darkness? But she selfishly wanted this beam of light to shine only for herself.

Golden Retriever wiped the corner of his eye and couldn’t help asking, “Isn’t chasing the light also love?”

“Maybe it counts.” Lou Jingmo said, “But you’re one step too late. If I told you that if you wanted to keep chasing her, I would refuse to provide boosting services for you, would you still continue?”

Golden Retriever’s expression changed: “Are you kidding?”

Lou Jingmo curled her lip: “Do I look like I am?”

Golden Retriever instantly deflated: “You’re really cunning.”

He had feelings for Shen Maomao, but that didn’t mean he was willing to give his life for her. Lou Jingmo using this to threaten him truly hit him where it hurt, one blow scattering all the thoughts of love and hate swirling in his head.

Perhaps Lou Jingmo was right; he didn’t like Shen Maomao as much as he thought.

Her persuasion successful, Lou Jingmo patted down her clothes and stood up straight: “Let’s go back. Xix thought you’d abandoned him; he was so scared he kept crying.”

Golden Retriever muttered a quiet thank you.

The two returned to the apartment, one after the other. Xixi flew towards Golden Retriever, crying, “I’m sorry, Little Uncle, I won’t be naughty anymore…”

Golden Retriever hugged him: “It’s not your fault. Little Uncle just went out for some air.”

The meal, now a bit cold, continued, though the atmosphere in the latter half was somewhat awkward.

After eating, Golden Retriever prepared to leave with Xixi. Their flight was the next morning. After taking Xixi home, he would come back to make some preparations for entering the instance.

That night, Shen Maomao, wearing a nightdress and hugging the stuffed rabbit toy she had bought, knocked on Lou Jingmo’s door.

Lou Jingmo, dressed in pajamas, opened the door, blocking the entrance. She glanced at Shen Maomao’s collar, seemingly seeing through to her braless upper body beneath: “What are you doing? Trying to seduce me?”

Shen Maomao: “?? I just wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with you…”

Lou Jingmo: “I have nothing I want to talk to you about.” She started to close the door.

Shen Maomao quickly grabbed the doorframe: “No! Not you talking to me! Me talking to you!”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“It’s just… how should I put it…” Shen Maomao clutched the rabbit’s ears, stammering for a long time, “I feel… a bit upset… You know what I mean, right?”

Lou Jingmo thought for a moment, then pulled the door open: “Come in.”

Shen Maomao’s eyes lit up, and clutching the rabbit by the neck, she dashed towards the bed. She burrowed under Lou Jingmo’s covers, revealing only her wide eyes and forehead, looking expectantly at Lou Jingmo.

Lou Jingmo felt a bit helpless. She walked over, turned off the light, then lifted the covers and slid into bed.

Inwardly, she was gritting her teeth, feeling that Shen Maomao was only daring to provoke her so brazenly because she knew Lou Jingmo wouldn’t actually do anything to her in this ambiguous situation.

The different scents of their body washes began to mingle. Shen Maomao couldn’t help taking a deep breath, then realized the action was a bit creepy and felt her cheeks flush hot. She quickly turned over, her back facing Lou Jingmo.

The entire city fell into slumber. Bright moonlight pierced through the curtains, landing beside the bed, casting a hazy white veil over the floor.

In this atmosphere, Lou Jingmo spoke first: “Go on, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Actually, there wasn’t much she wanted to talk about. She just felt a little sad after Golden Retriever’s abrupt departure and, for no reason, wanted to spend a bit more time with Lou Jingmo.

Shen Maomao turned back over and found Lou Jingmo looking at her with open eyes.

Their eyes met. Shen Maomao shifted her head closer towards Lou Jingmo until their breaths mingled completely, and she could smell the fresh minty scent from the other’s mouth.

“It’s just…” Shen Maomao chose her words carefully, “I’m being a bit dramatic. You know? Girls just have those few days when they get sentimental.”

Shen Maomao seemed carefree, but deep down, she possessed a unique feminine sensitivity. She could sense why the atmosphere during the latter half of dinner had been off, and she felt sad about it.

Lou Jingmo said expressionlessly: “Don’t get on my bed when you’re on your period.”¹

“My aunt hasn’t visited yet!! I’m just sad!” Shen Maomao sighed, “Why did Golden Retriever have to fall for me?”

Lou Jingmo: “You’re overthinking it. I asked him. He said he was upset about his sister and brother-in-law’s divorce. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Shen Maomao: “…” Fine, whatever Lou Jingmo said, goes.

Thinking about it that way, all her entanglement/indecision and unease tonight seemed like a joke.

Shen Maomao turned her head back again, saying dryly, “Forget it. Goodnight. Time to sleep.”

Lou Jingmo reached out and patted her back gently, saying softly, “Goodnight.”

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Early the next morning, sunlight shone on Shen Maomao’s face, startling her awake.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she felt a warm body pressed against her back.

She was being held tightly in Lou Jingmo’s embrace, their bodies fitting together perfectly, intertwined, intimately close.

She could feel Lou Jingmo’s breath and her body rising and falling with each respiration…

Shen Maomao silently blushed, her body stiffening. She didn’t dare move much, holding her breath to carefully sense the beautiful curves of Lou Jingmo’s figure.

Lou Jingmo is really sexy.

I really want to know what it feels like to bury my face in her chest… Her waist is so thin, I could probably wrap one arm around it, right?

Shen Maomao mentally slapped herself, silently despising herself.

She was despicable! She was actually starting to crave Lou Jingmo’s body!

Lou Jingmo, holding what felt like a block of wood, soon woke up. She yawned lazily, looking sleepily at the person in her arms, and said languidly, “I dreamed I was sleeping holding a wooden dummy. Turns out that wooden dummy was you.”

Shen Maomao sat up angrily: “You’re too much! Using me as a bolster pillow and then complaining I’m hard?!”

Lou Jingmo: “…”

Shen Maomao also belatedly realized how ambiguous that sentence sounded. Her face flushed crimson, and she sprang up into a sitting position. She scooped up the little rabbit toy that had fallen onto the carpet at some point, haphazardly slipped on her slippers, shot Lou Jingmo a cold snort, and then fled frantically.

—When she reached the door, she even fumbled with the lock for a moment before getting it open, which made Lou Jingmo burst out laughing. It couldn’t have been more embarrassing.

By the time she ran back to her own room, Lou Jingmo’s booming, almost metallic laughter still echoed in her ears, making her angry enough to want to kill someone.

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After breakfast, Shen Maomao sent the first draft of her thesis to her advisor, waiting for her approval and revisions.

The file was still uploading when suddenly a call came in. The caller ID surprisingly showed her mom.

She had a good relationship with her family but didn’t contact them often. They might go weeks at a time without saying a word on chat apps. Occasional matters were handled via WeChat; phone calls were rare.

For a call to come now, something important must have happened. Thinking this, she quickly answered the phone.

“Maomao dear, you need to come home quickly,” Mother Shen’s voice came from the other end.

Shen Maomao asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen at home?”

Mother Shen: “Your cousin from your uncle’s side is gone. The funeral procession is in a few days. Come back to see him one last time, and help Mom out while you’re here.”

Shen Maomao’s heart skipped a beat.

She wasn’t exactly close to this cousin². Since childhood, this cousin had bullied her. Growing up, he became ignorant and incompetent, engaging in petty thievery and shady dealings. At twenty-five or twenty-six, he had no girlfriend, no job, spent all day living off his parents³, and even hit his father and cursed his mother, complaining that his family couldn’t provide him with a wealthy background; complaining that her family didn’t help out relatives… basically, the scum of society.

To put it callously, if he were her son, she would have broken his legs long ago. Now that he was dead, it saved her the effort.

But her uncle and aunt had him late in life; he was their only son. They truly doted on him, willingly letting their son leech off them, even fearing their blood wasn’t enough for him to suck. Now that something had happened to their precious only child, who knew how heartbroken the old couple would be.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Shen Maomao asked, “How did he pass away?”

“It was sudden, something like acute myocardial infarction, I don’t really understand. Anyway, the ambulance hadn’t even arrived before he stopped breathing.”

“I see… Are Uncle and Aunt okay?”

“How could they be okay?! The old couple are both hospitalized! We haven’t even had time to arrange the funeral. Right now, I’m handling everything. I’m really overwhelmed, otherwise, I wouldn’t have called you. You’re doing your internship now, is it convenient to ask for leave?”

“It’s fine, I’ll talk to my supervisor and head back right away.”

Mother Shen said, “Alright then, go ask for leave first. If you can’t get it, let me know, and I’ll see about someone else.”

After hanging up, Shen Maomao immediately went to the study to ask her supervisor for leave.

She explained the whole situation. Lou Jingmo saved her document, closed the laptop, and said, “I’ll go back with you.”

Shen Maomao was stunned: “Aren’t you busy?”

Lou Jingmo said, “I haven’t had much inspiration lately. I could use a trip out.”

“Then what about Golden Retriever?”

“Binding props don’t require us to meet face-to-face to be used.” The implication being: why worry about Golden Retriever.

Shen Maomao couldn’t ask for anything better than having someone accompany her. She immediately bought two plane tickets online, and set off on the journey home with Lou Jingmo.

Golden Retriever, having just dropped Xixi off at home: “???”

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The author has something to say:

Taking the Level 4 exam⁴, updating early! Going in unprepared, let’s do this!⁵

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