The Hand of Confession – Chapter 280

Volume 9: The Days Can’t Be Lived Anymore

Xiao Lou

She wants to get her hands on this woman

Ren Yue had an indescribable feeling in her heart.

If she had to summarize it—it was probably that this woman was very pleasing to her eye.

Her heart was pounding wildly, the fastest it had ever beaten since she could remember, as if the emptiness in her heart was suddenly filled by the person before her. Her entire being was desperately screaming to have her.

So the thing I was looking for is actually a person?

She watched the woman’s face almost greedily, unwilling to even blink. That overly fervent gaze might have been somewhat offensive to others; the woman frowned and said coldly, “Your stare makes me feel disgusted.”

Ren Yue immediately showed a wronged expression.

It seemed she had never made such an expression before, but in front of this woman, she had learned it almost instinctively, as if self-taught.

Boss Huo quickly tried to smooth things over: “Ladies, could you please give me, your boss, some face¹, okay?”

The other party stood up impatiently: “You guys talk, I’ll go stand outside for a bit.”

Ren Yue shot to her feet: “I’ll go with you!”

Ba-ge helplessly tugged her arm: “Sister, we’re here to discuss tomorrow’s plan, not to hit on girls.”

The woman also said: “Stay away from me.” After speaking, she picked up her down jacket and left the table, pushing the door to go outside.

Ren Yue’s eyes followed her all the way until she was gone, finally retracting her gaze with great reluctance. She looked at Boss Huo: “There’s nothing else to arrange. Just give us the money, I’ll handle the rest.”

Her impatience was about to boil over. Boss Huo said helplessly, “Must we leave tomorrow? Can we set out tonight?”

“Give me a reason that can convince me.”

Boss Huo said: “I’m in a bit of a hurry, and I don’t have enough money to stay somewhere else.”

Ren Yue: “…”

Ba-ge said: “What’s so difficult about that? I still have room at my place, you can stay with me. Traveling after dark is really too dangerous, this is common sense, you can’t possibly not understand, right? No matter how urgent it is, your life is more important. You haven’t even bought all your equipment, where are you going? How will you go? I’ll drive you tomorrow, there’s no need to rush this one night…”

Boss Huo knew the extent of Ba-ge’s talkativeness and quickly cut him off: “But there are four of us, and a woman, it wouldn’t be very convenient for all of us to stay at your place…”

“I still have room at my place!”

The two of them turned their heads together, looking at Ren Yue, whose eyes were sparkling.

Ren Yue said seriously: “I live alone in my house. The lady outside can stay with me.”

Boss Huo could see the undercurrents surging between the two women and immediately hesitated: “This…”

Ba-ge, on the other hand, had an expression like he’d seen a ghost: “Are you fucking possessed by a ghost, sister? We’ve known each other for so long, I’ve never seen you so proactive. Your dead-fish face can actually have other expressions? When you’re with me, you either have a cold face or start mocking me at the slightest disagreement. Is it because my gender is wrong? Turns out you’re actually a homosexual?”

Ren Yue frowned and glanced at him: “You talk too much nonsense.”

Ba-ge shot her a big eye-roll.

Boss Huo said: “We have to ask Xiao Lou’s opinion on this matter.”

So her name is Xiao Lou? Her name sounds so nice too…

But Xiao Lou seems to really hate me, there’s a high chance she won’t stay with me…

Ren Yue rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

She had to think of a way to get her hands on this woman, otherwise she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep at night from thinking about it.

She stood up abruptly and looked at Ba-ge: “That little place of yours is definitely not enough for them to stay.”

Ba-ge: “How is it not enough…”

Ren Yue said seriously: “You toss and turn, snore, and grind your teeth when you sleep. They won’t be able to get a good rest staying with you, which might delay our departure time tomorrow. And I guess you don’t have any hot food or extra blankets at your place…”

“Are you spying on my life?” Ba-ge first retorted, then sighed, “This is the first time I’ve heard you say so much at once. Truly, a daughter grown up cannot be kept…”²

Ren Yue moved him with emotion and explained with reason³: “The weather is so cold. It’s not a big deal if the adults don’t have blankets, but there’s also such a small child—my place has plenty of heating and many blankets. There are two 1.8-meter⁴ beds. The three of you can squeeze together, and the two of us can be together…”

Boss Huo glanced at the little boy playing with his fingers in his lap, and his expression became resolute: “Okay, I’ll try to persuade her…”

Ren Yue smiled, glanced toward the door, and said eagerly, “Then, shall we go now?”

Boss Huo was a bit speechless. Ren Yue’s intentions were written all over her face; she probably wished she could sprout a pair of wings and fly to Xiao Lou’s side right now. He picked up his son, grabbed the down jacket next to him and put it on him, saying: “We’ll go once we’re dressed.” He then took out a hat, scarf, gloves, and mask; the equipment was quite complete.

Ren Yue stood up: “Then I’ll call her in to warm up!” After saying that, she threw on her down jacket and went out the door.

Ba-ge said speechlessly: “Really… now I’m even more suspicious that she’s been possessed by a ghost.”

As Boss Huo equipped his son, he asked: “Is the difference really that big?”

Ba-ge, having found someone to vent to, immediately switched to venting mode⁵: “The Rabbit I know is a person of few words, cold personality, and high combat strength. She’s usually aloof and ignores people, and whenever she does open her mouth to speak, it’s to mock them. If it weren’t for eating, she could stay at home for a lifetime—look at her tail wagging, it’s about to become a propeller.”

Boss Huo glanced at the glass door, but unfortunately could only see their reflections on it, so he looked away. While putting on his coat, he said: “Their personalities are quite similar. The adjectives you used earlier seem to apply to Xiao Lou as well.”

This person Xiao Lou was also like that: few words, cold personality, high combat strength, and her words won’t rest until they’ve shocked people⁶. Maybe they could find some common ground?

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On the other side, Ren Yue pushed open the tavern door, her eyes shining as she looked at the figure standing under the streetlight.

The streetlight cast a warm yellow glow, and the snowflakes under the light were distinct, slanting down onto the person’s hair, as if playing a romantic British love movie.

The other female lead of the movie was leaning against the lamppost, smoking a ladies’ cigarette. The scarlet glow was like the eyes of a wild beast, making Ren Yue inexplicably nervous.

She crunched through the snow, “crunch crunch,” and came to a stop in front of Xiao Lou.

Xiao Lou glanced at her, blew out a round smoke ring, and said: “What is it?”

Ren Yue’s mind went blank. The opening line she had been brewing for so long was forgotten, leaving only a dry “Smoking is harmful to your health.” The moment she said it, she immediately regretted it.

Xiao Lou hooked the left corner of her mouth, let out a contemptuous puff of air from her nose, and treated her as if she didn’t exist.

Ren Yue stood beside her like a block of wood, having also forgotten that she had just said she would call the other person inside to warm up. She stared at Xiao Lou’s exposed hands; the fingertips were frozen red, looking like pieces of red amber, translucent with beams of yellow light.

It was very warm in her coat; she wanted to help warm her hands, but she felt that doing so would make her even more disliked. So, she could only stand foolishly beside her under the streetlight, watching her finish a cigarette and press the butt out in the trash can.

A pitch-black shadow gradually took shape on the lamppost, swaying towards the two of them.

Ren Yue frowned, suddenly feeling that this romantic scene had been completely ruined by it.

Before the shadow could swing onto Xiao Lou, she quickly reached out and pushed it, making the ghostly thing swing to the side.

Ghost: “…”

Another period of mutual silence, until Boss Huo and Ba-ge came out together. Only then did Xiao Lou pat the snow off her body and stand up straight.

Boss Huo said: “We might have to stay at Rabbit’s house for a night. What do you think?”

Xiao Lou glanced at Ren Yue and said: “Whatever.”

Boss Huo was stunned for a moment. He thought it would take a lot of talking to persuade Xiao Lou, but he didn’t expect her to agree directly.

Little stars lit up in Ren Yue’s eyes: “Then let’s go?”

Boss Huo rested the little boy’s head on his shoulder: “We’ll trouble you to lead the way.”

Ba-ge waved goodbye to them: “I’m going back too, see you tomorrow—” he added at the end, “if I’m still alive tomorrow.”

Boss Huo: “Keep it up, we’re still waiting for your car.”

Ba-ge laughed heartily and walked off in another direction.

Ren Yue walked back with light steps.

The sun had completely set, and lights flickered on in thousands of households⁷. Icy snowflakes landed on her eyelashes; she had never felt so peaceful and happy as she did at this moment.

After walking for a while, she suddenly remembered something and, looking at Xiao Lou, proposed to Boss Huo: “To prevent a “ghost hitting a wall”, how about the four of us walk hand in hand?”

Her motive was too blatant. Boss Huo didn’t need to use his brain to know what she was up to, and naturally, Xiao Lou thought of it too.

But it just so happened that her concern was reasonable. Boss Huo didn’t want to refuse: “It’s inconvenient for me to hold the child, I’ll be on the outside.”

The other burly bodyguard said: “Then I…”

Xiao Lou walked directly to Boss Huo’s side, grabbed his free hand, and then used her other hand to take the hand of Boss Huo’s other bodyguard.

Ren Yue looked resentfully at her left and right hands. The owners of both hands suddenly felt as if their hands had been pricked by a needle.

Xiao Lou smiled, looking at her with no trace of a smile in her eyes: “Take it, what are you waiting for?” Those eyes were deeper than the night sky, darker than the bottom of the sea, making her wish she could drown in them and never come ashore.

Her face turned red, and she obediently took the big brother’s hand.

In contrast, the coldness in Xiao Lou’s eyes deepened by another layer.

The four of them walked side by side, their feet making a teeth-grinding sound on the snow, leaving six neat rows of footprints behind them.

Besides the four of them, something else was walking with them.

On such a gloomy, snowy night, the footprints next to them, which only had the front half of the sole, would inevitably cause fear, but none of the four paid any mind, simply continuing to move forward. Only Boss Huo would look at the child in his arms from time to time, and the moment he showed a slight tendency to raise his head, he would immediately press him back into his embrace, as if afraid that seeing the terrifying sight would leave him with a psychological scar.

Ren Yue secretly glanced at Xiao Lou again and was instantly captivated by her exquisite side profile, leaving no attention to spare for how many ghosts were traveling with them.

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