The Hand of Confession – Chapter 188

Volume 6: Days of Being Zapped in the Lab

Keeping Watch¹

Get the card

The card’s size, color, pattern… Shen Maomao was exceptionally familiar with it from top to bottom, because she happened to have one in her hand that wasn’t much different from this one.

This was a card! No doubt about it!!!

Shen Maomao’s heart pounded wildly, her mind a chaotic mess. Countless questions raced through her head, almost making her dizzy.

Why would her cousin have a card? Had he also joined the game? Was this the card drop Lou Jingmo mentioned? Ordinary people shouldn’t be able to see cards, right? Otherwise, the others wouldn’t have had no reaction at all…

So who exactly was this Fang Tian? Was she connected to Shen Wenwu’s death?

No… I have to tell Lou-jie about this immediately!

Fang Tian also seemed to feel the scorching gaze on her back. She couldn’t help but turn her head and saw Shen Maomao looking at her with a grave expression.

She timely put on a puzzled look: “You are…?”

Shen Maomao quickly snapped back to reality and squeezed out a strained smile: “Hello, Cousin-in-law. I’m Shen Wenwu’s younger sister. My mom asked me to come and keep you company…”

Fang Tian didn’t overthink it, just assuming she was forcing a smile to console her. So, she lowered her head again, dabbed the corner of her eye, and said, “Thank you… I’m alright.”

Shen Maomao tentatively reached out to pat her shoulder: “My condolences. You’re still very young; you’ll find someone better.”

Fang Tian’s body visibly stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. She nodded, choking back a sob.

Shen Maomao chatted with her for a while, trying to draw her out, but Fang Tian was very skilled² and her words were flawless, leaving no openings. It made Shen Maomao wonder if she was overthinking things.

Could she really just be a naive and sweet girl³ who came to their family to “help the poor” out of gratitude for saving her life?

But it was never wrong to think a little more about things.

Shen Maomao decided to take a break, temporarily leaving to report the situation to Lou Jingmo. Before she left, she didn’t forget to tell Fang Tian to get something to eat.

“Thank you, I will.” Fang Tian focused on Shen Wenwu in the glass coffin, even reaching out to touch the spot directly above his face, leaving a fingerprint there.

Shen Maomao greeted her eldest uncle, eldest aunt, her mom, and her dad respectively, then returned to Lou Jingmo’s side.

Lou Jingmo was still sitting behind the gift table, currently playing on her phone out of boredom. Shen Maomao called out to her, and when Lou Jingmo looked over, she waved.

“What took you so long?” Lou Jingmo pocketed her phone and asked.

Shen Maomao said mysteriously, “Shh—don’t talk yet. Let’s find a place to eat, I have something to tell you.”

Lou Jingmo’s expression turned serious.

Shen Maomao led her to a hot pot restaurant that tasted pretty good. She asked for a private room, ordered a bunch of food, and told the waiter not to rush, they could bring the dishes out slowly.

Once the waiter left, Shen Maomao closed the door and got straight to the point: “Shen Wenwu! My cousin, he has a card under him!!”

Lou Jingmo: “What’s the situation?”

Shen Maomao recounted everything she had just discovered, including Fang Tian’s situation and her persistent requests to be in contact with the body.

Lou Jingmo thought for a moment: “Why don’t you keep watch at the wake tonight?”

Shen Maomao: “???”

“Regardless of whether she’s a player or not, as long as you get the card before she does, her scheme won’t work,” Lou Jingmo explained.

Shen Maomao understood this point too, but if her cousin really died because he was schemed against for this card, then Fang Tian’s current actions constituted murder.

Her cousin wasn’t a good person, but her eldest uncle and aunt had aged instantly from losing their only son. The old couple was almost seventy this year, and their health wasn’t great. After experiencing the pain of losing their son, their bodies deteriorated at a speed visible to the naked eye; it was uncertain how many more years they could hold on.

Her eldest uncle and aunt had always treated her well. She didn’t want Shen Wenwu to just be gone without a clear explanation, nor did she want the truth of the matter to sink to the bottom of the sea…

Besides, this card thing was also useful to them. If Fang Tian was also after the card, she was destined to be on the opposing side. Rather than be caught unprepared then, it was better to figure things out now.

But investigating the cause of Shen Wenwu’s death was no easy task. Lou Jingmo tapped the table rhythmically with her index finger: “You know, people who die in the game also die in reality due to various accidents. This death can be a natural disaster, a man-made calamity, an illness, or even suicide… And the game world is fraught with danger; your cousin might have really died by accident, and Fang Tian just wants to pick up a windfall.”

“I know.” Shen Maomao nodded.

So, investigating through real-world means wouldn’t yield anything. Setting aside the reasons he brought death upon himself⁴, even if Shen Wenwu was killed by someone in the game, his real-world death had no connection to the person who truly killed him.

She paused, then added, “I really should go keep watch at the wake. Maybe I can catch Fang Tian slipping up…” Of course, the most important thing was to get the card.

A knock came at the private room door. Shen Maomao immediately shut her mouth and let the waiter bring in the food. The two temporarily stopped discussing the instance and began to seriously enjoy their meal.

After a meal that left them reeking of hot pot, the adults had already gone to the banquet venue. Her eldest uncle and aunt had mobility issues and were in no mood to deal with relatives and neighbors, so they stayed behind.

Besides the old couple, Fang Tian also stayed, currently sitting on a cushion burning joss paper.⁵

Lou Jingmo bought a bouquet of chrysanthemums⁶ outside and, as Shen Maomao’s friend, placed it beside the bier, even observing three seconds of silence.

Ostensibly, she was delivering flowers, but in reality, she was observing the card in Shen Wenwu’s hand, and incidentally glanced at Fang Tian, who was diligently burning joss paper.

After looking around, the two left the funeral parlor’s viewing hall and found a corner to whisper.

“It really is a card, but since it’s only the back, I can’t be sure what kind it is.” It was also Lou Jingmo’s first time seeing a dropped card, and she couldn’t help saying, “I thought the card would stay where the person died. Looking at it now, it doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Shen Maomao was a bit anxious: “It’s not certain I’ll get a turn to keep watch tonight. Besides, you’re still here. My mom definitely wouldn’t let me leave you alone to go to the funeral home…”

Lou Jingmo said, “So I just need to disappear.”

Shen Maomao: “?”

Lou Jingmo explained, “I can say that I also have to meet another friend while I’m here with you, so I won’t be staying with you tonight.”

“Although this method could work, I’m not sure if my mom will let me stay…” Shen Maomao was a bit worried. “And usually, two people keep watch. How am I supposed to get the card out without anyone noticing?”

Lou Jingmo didn’t have any good ideas either and could only say, “Let’s take it one step at a time. Talk to your parents first. Your family has few relatives, and your eldest uncle and aunt have to go back to the hospital. Recently, it’s probably been Auntie Shen and Uncle Shen taking turns keeping watch. I see the dark circles under their eyes are severe; they definitely haven’t rested well these past few days.”

Shen Maomao had naturally also seen the dark circles under Mother Shen and Father Shen’s eyes, but she had only thought they were overworked recently and hadn’t considered it from the perspective of keeping watch.

With Lou Jingmo’s reminder, she had to keep watch tonight, whether she wanted to or not.

In the afternoon, Father Shen returned, and Mother Shen went back to rest. The old couple was sent back to the hospital, and the guests dispersed. The viewing hall returned to its proper quiet and coldness. Fang Tian had cried all morning, and her several requests to keep watch and touch the body had been rejected. She was also a bit unable to hold on now. Shen Maomao persuaded her to leave. She nodded in agreement, then walked out of the hall, wiping her tears.

In the blink of an eye, only four people remained here.

Shen Maomao, Lou Jingmo, Father Shen, and a cousin of Shen Maomao’s who had been sitting nearby playing games on his phone with a power bank all morning.

Father Shen urged her to take Lou Jingmo home: “Don’t stay here, it’s bad luck. Take your classmate home to take a shower. Your mom has made delicious food for you.”

Shen Maomao quickly said, “Dad, call Mom and tell her not to buy so much food. Lou Jingmo suddenly has something to do and needs to leave to handle it. She can only come to our place again tomorrow.”

Father Shen wasn’t very savvy with social niceties. Hearing her say this, he didn’t think to say something parental to Lou Jingmo and directly took out his phone to call Mother Shen, telling her about the situation.

While the two were on the line, Shen Maomao quickly said, “Mom, since Lou Jingmo won’t be here tonight anyway, I’ll take Dad’s place for one night. Let Dad go back and get a good night’s sleep. Look how haggard Dad is, he’s almost turned into a little old man.”

Mother Shen scolded laughingly, “Your dad already is a little old man. You should hurry back. What’s a little brat⁷ like you meddling for? This isn’t the time for you to be scared of ghosts.”

Shen Maomao said seriously, “Mom, you might not believe it, but I’m not that scared of ghosts anymore. Besides, isn’t Shen Wenyu⁸ here too! He’s even younger than me!”

Shen Wenyu was the cousin playing games, the son of her second uncle⁹.

Mother Shen’s voice softened: “Your cousin is a boy, he has strong yang energy.¹⁰ You’re just a little girl…”

Shen Maomao interjected, “Doesn’t that just neutralize things perfectly?!”

Mother Shen: “…Stop feeding me these absurd fallacies!”

Nearby, Shen Wenyu took off his headphones and chimed in, “Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Maomao-jie, stop arguing. Let me go back.”

Shen Maomao rolled her eyes at him: “Get lost, you little brat!¹¹ I feel sorry for my dad. You’re young and strong, what’s wrong with pulling an all-nighter?”

Shen Wenyu pursed his lips and turned his attention back to his game.

Mother Shen wanted to say more, but Shen Maomao rattled on like a machine gun: “My dear Mom, don’t you start with that feudal superstition stuff with me. What era is this? I’m young and strong. If I play games with Shen Wenyu all night, nothing will happen. If you make Dad sit here all night and he gets sick, how much suffering would that be? Besides, Wenyu and I can keep each other company. What could Dad and a young kid like him possibly talk about? They’d probably just get sleepier the more they talked…”

Mother Shen was somewhat swayed.

Shen Maomao directly pushed Father Shen outwards: “Just stop fussing. Go back early and sleep early. There will be plenty to do when you come back tomorrow morning.”

“Then… have your dad tell you about the taboos…” Mother Shen relented.

Shen Maomao: “OKOK, you can hang up. I’ll send Lou Jingmo off first, then come back to take over Dad’s shift!”

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The author has something to say:

I’ll write a few more chapters about the cousin’s card before starting a new instance. At the same time, I’ll also write some romantic developments.

You can place bets and guess the card. Is it a new card being introduced, or an old card that was mentioned or owned before _(:з」∠)_ Guess correctly for a red envelope. Although the red envelope is small, isn’t it better than nothing!

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