The Hand of Confession – Chapter 204

Volume 7: Days of Stargazing at the Inn

Red Antiseptic Solution

Is this mirror latched onto her and not letting go??

Golden Retriever burst out crying with a “Waaah QAQ! So much blood! So much blood! Help!!”

At this point, Golden Retriever couldn’t be called Golden Retriever anymore; he should be renamed Red Retriever. His wild blond hair was dyed red, and his face was a patchwork of red and white, looking like someone had cracked his head open. It was both funny and pitiful to look at.

Shen Maomao carefully touched his hair, her hand coming away stained red. “You… got beaten up?”

Golden Retriever wailed, utterly distraught, “I was just washing my hair, wuwuwu… I don’t know what happened… so much bloody water… I was almost scared to death, wuwuwu…”

Shen Maomao brought her fingers to her eyes, looked closely, then rubbed them with her thumb and said uncertainly, “It seems… it’s not blood.”

Golden Retriever, who was clutching his head and crying bitterly: “Hmm?”

Lou Jingmo, drying her hair, walked out from behind Shen Maomao. Passing Golden Retriever, she balanced the towel on her head, also reached out to touch Golden Retriever’s head, and then said confidently, “Not blood.”

Golden Retriever: “?? If it’s not blood, what is it?”

Lou Jingmo brought her fingers to her nose, sniffed, and said, “It’s red antiseptic solution¹.”

Golden Retriever also sniffed his own hand and said in disbelief, “But it didn’t smell like this before! And just now, the feel of it on my hand was all slimy…”

But now it had turned into a less concentrated, watery substance.

The three of them went to the opposite side to observe the faucet, which was still gushing water.

The entire sink was filled with red water. At first glance, it looked like a murder scene, very convincing. There was no smell of blood in the air, only a strong smell of red antiseptic solution, directly telling them what this red water really was.

Golden Retriever was both ashamed and angry. “Damn! I got scared like this by red antiseptic solution?!”

Shen Maomao tried to save face for him: “Maybe a ghost has already targeted you. It only turns back into bloody water when you’re here alone.”

Golden Retriever thought of his strange behavior in the grass again. His face changed color several times, finally turning deathly pale. “Actually, I don’t want this special honor at all…”

Lou Jingmo tilted her chin. “Rinse the shampoo off your head.”

Golden Retriever’s expression was hard to describe. “Use… use this stuff to rinse?”

Shen Maomao: “We’re going downstairs. If you don’t want to rinse it, you can go down looking like that.”

Golden Retriever looked aggrievedly at the mirror. “My handsome face… my beautiful hair…”

Shen Maomao gave him a push. “Hurry up and wash it off, Red Retriever.”

Golden Retriever plunged his head back into the red water, while the two women dried their hair in front of the mirror.

When Golden Retriever finished rinsing off the foam and looked at them like a little red man, Shen Maomao almost died laughing.

The three of them went downstairs like that. In the elevator, Golden Retriever said angrily, “I’m going to the front desk to demand an explanation!! What on earth is going on!!”

The elevator started. Shen Maomao felt a little uneasy, staring blankly at the mirror.

In the reflection, Lou Jingmo turned to look with her and asked, “Did another scene appear?”

She shook her head. Just as she was about to say no, in the mirror, the head of Golden Retriever, who was standing diagonally behind her, suddenly rotated 180 degrees. With his head full of bloodstains, he asked her, “Sister Rabbit, what did you see?”

It was just his head turning. His body was still facing the elevator doors, but his head swiveled around with a creaking sound, his neck twisted like a pretzel.

Shen Maomao’s scalp tingled. She whipped around, and Golden Retriever’s body and head were both facing her, a worried expression on his face. She looked at the mirror again. In the mirror, the pretzel-necked Golden Retriever had a ferocious grin and shot his hands out towards her like lightning.

She instinctively ducked. Her reflection in the mirror did the same, causing the Golden Retriever in the mirror to grab at empty air.

The next second, her vision blurred, and she plopped onto the ground. Then, everything returned to normal. Golden Retriever and Lou Jingmo stood on either side of her, both looking at her with concern. The scene in the mirror was completely identical to reality.

Is this mirror latched onto her and not letting go??

The elevator stopped on the second floor and didn’t move for a long time.

For some reason, the lights in the hallway weren’t on, and a thick darkness enveloped them. The light on the elevator ceiling flickered twice, seeming like it was about to go out too.

Lou Jingmo frowned and took two steps forward, preparing to close the doors.

The closer she got to the door, the wider her field of vision became. She casually glanced outside a few times and suddenly froze.

At the end of the hallway to the right, there seemed to be a blurry dark figure standing silently in front of the restroom door, having watched them for who knows how long.

An immense sense of pressure enveloped them. Lou Jingmo’s expression didn’t change. She decisively pressed the close-door button, looking down as the elevator doors slid shut, blocking out all light. The second floor returned to silence and darkness.

Meanwhile, in the elevator, Golden Retriever wanted to help Shen Maomao up, but she righteously refused, “It’s okay, I don’t need you. I can get up myself.”

Shen Maomao stood up resolutely, dusted herself off, and immediately looked at Lou Jingmo, who hadn’t spoken since the doors closed. “Lou-jie, what’s wrong?”

Golden Retriever silently shrank to the side. He was so stupid, really. He used to think that Xiao Lou-jie and Sister Rabbit had a really good relationship, and even fantasized about being the protagonist of a stallion novel², able to gather two girls for his harem. Later, as he gradually developed feelings for the gentle and lovely (?) Rabbit, he gave up such chuunibyou³ and fanciful ideas.

But reality told him he was still being fanciful.

Lou Jingmo said in a low voice, “There’s someone in the second-floor hallway.”

“A hotel guest?”

“Not sure. They were just standing in the hallway in front of the restroom. The lights were too dim, I couldn’t see their face.”

“Standing at the restroom door means they’re not in a hurry to use it.” Shen Maomao analyzed logically, “So, are they preparing to clean the restroom?”

Lou Jingmo: “…”

Golden Retriever: “…” That makes so much f#cking sense. Why else would they be standing at the restroom door? To eat sh#t?

Thinking about it that way, the person whose gender couldn’t be distinguished didn’t seem scary at all anymore.

The elevator stopped on the first floor. Outside, the wind howled and rain poured, with lightning and thunder. Inside, everyone was gathered around Xi Tian, nervously helping him with his wound. His official girlfriend, Qu Jing, however, had been squeezed out of the crowd and was now sitting on a chair, staring blankly out the window.

Shen Maomao went over, sat next to her, and comforted, “It’s okay. You guys are back safely now, don’t be afraid.”

Qu Jing paused, then slowly shifted her gaze to Shen Maomao. “Ah… thank you all…”

Shen Maomao waved her hand. “It’s nothing. How’s your boyfriend?”

Qu Jing said, “He got his leg hit protecting me, but it’s not broken. It’ll be fine after some rest.” As she said this, her expression didn’t relax at all.

Shen Maomao looked at her dazed state, understanding that she was probably scared silly by the earlier natural disaster. So, she went to the kitchen, got a cup of hot water, and pressed it into Qu Jing’s hands for her to hold. “Don’t just stare blankly. Isn’t your boyfriend okay? Go upstairs, take a shower, ask the front desk for a clean change of clothes, so you don’t catch a cold.”

Qu Jing held the cup, her icy hands finally gaining some warmth. She took a small sip of the hot water and suddenly smiled. “Thank you, you’re such a good person.”

Shen Maomao, who was suddenly issued a “good person card”: “…”

Qu Jing seemed to think of something, glanced lingeringly at Xi Tian, then put down the water cup and said with a smile, “Then I’ll go back and take a shower first. I’ll trouble you to keep an eye on him for me…”

Shen Maomao was a little puzzled. She and her boyfriend had just gone through a catastrophe, their relationship having supposedly passed a life-and-death test. How could she choose to go upstairs and rest after just a few words of persuasion? Could this be the legendary plastic love⁴?

Qu Jing put down the water cup, thanked her again, and leisurely turned and left, leaving Xi Tian wailing on the floor, sounding utterly miserable.

Only after she got on the elevator did Lou Jingmo suddenly say, “Stay away from those two. I suspect there’s something wrong with both of them.”

Shen Maomao: “Huh?!”

Golden Retriever also asked, “How so?”

Lou Jingmo: “Intuition.”

Shen Maomao: “…”

Golden Retriever: “…”

There was no explaining it; intuition was too mystical a thing.

The traditional Chinese doctor finished treating Xi Tian’s wound using surgical techniques, stood up, pounded his old back, and let out a long sigh of relief. “He’s fine now. Just use this leg less recently.”

Xi Tian recovered a bit and, enduring the pain, thanked the people around him.

A helpful NPC proactively carried him onto the elevator on his back. Hong-jie casually tossed the borrowed first-aid kit onto a table, apparently not intending to put it back in its original place.

The hotel returned to quiet, with only the sound of the storm beating against the windows.

Golden Retriever finally had time to go make trouble for the front desk. With his head of red hair, he stormed to the reception, pointed at his head, and asked, “What’s wrong with your hotel’s faucet?! I was halfway through washing my hair, why did the water suddenly turn red? Look at my face! And look at my hair!!”

The receptionist glanced at him. “Pfft—sorry. I’ll make a call to ask what’s going on.”

Golden Retriever exploded with anger. “Did you just laugh?!”

Receptionist: “We are very professional. We generally don’t laugh, unless we can’t help it.”

Golden Retriever: “??”

Shen Maomao: “Pfft—”

The receptionist picked up the landline phone, suppressed a laugh, and dialed a number. “Hello, there’s a gentleman here who says red water came out of the faucet… Yes, red, it dyed his hair and face red, haha—cough. Ah, let me confirm.”

After saying that, she covered the mouthpiece and asked, “Um, excuse me, sir, are you staying on the left side of the third floor?”

Golden Retriever nodded.

“Okay, please wait a moment.” Then, speaking into the phone again, “Yes, it’s the third floor. Okay, I’ll explain it to him and discuss compensation.”

After that, she hung up the phone. Her expression was gentle, her attitude mild, showing no trace of her previous extremely lazy and aggressive demeanor. “Sir, I am terribly sorry. This happened because a cleaning staff member accidentally knocked over a large bottle of red antiseptic solution while cleaning the water tank on the roof. On her behalf, I offer you our sincerest apologies and am willing to waive your room fee for these seven days. What do you think?”

Golden Retriever was here to fish for information, not to take advantage, so naturally, he had no objections and nodded in agreement.

The receptionist added, “Our daily-use water and drinking water are in separate tanks, so everyone, please don’t worry about the drinking water being contaminated. However, the daily-use water for the entire third floor will likely be discolored for some time. We will expedite the cleanup. But during this period, customers on the third floor will have to go to the second floor to wash up.”

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