The Hand of Confession – Chapter 348

Volume 10: Days of Cultivating in the Republic of China

Happy Daily Life

You actually don’t want to marry me!

The kitchen door was shut tight, so it was impossible to see what was going on inside, but the sounds of chopping vegetables could be heard, followed by the sizzle of hot oil. Lou Jingmo had probably already started cooking.

Mother Shen looked toward the kitchen door and asked, “When you two are together, who does the cooking?”

Shen Maomao chomped on an apple without a hint of psychological burden. “Of course it’s her. Lou-jie’s cooking is delicious.” It’s just that eating too much of it would cause kidney deficiency¹.

She was sprawled on the sofa with her legs crossed. After finishing the apple, she aimed the core at the trash can, and with a flick of her right hand, sent it flying in a perfect parabola straight into the bin. Then she pulled a tissue from the box on the coffee table to wipe her hands.

Mother Shen once again showed an expression of hating iron for not becoming steel². “Look at you, how lazy have you gotten? You don’t look like a young lady at all.”

Shen Maomao nonchalantly crumpled the used tissue and tossed it accurately into the trash. Her hands still felt a little sticky, so she got up to wash them in the bathroom, saying as she walked, “Anyway, you don’t have to worry about me not being able to get married off anymore. You might find me annoying, but someone else is tripping over themselves to like me.”

This angered Mother Shen enough to follow her and kick her again.

Shen Maomao glanced back at her mom, the door in her heart clear as day³.

With her mom’s personality of her heart and mouth not being one⁴, she was probably secretly thrilled to hear that. Scolding her was just a face-saving project⁵. If she had said that she did all the work when she was with Lou Jingmo, her mom might have actually gotten upset, even if Lou Jingmo was her boss.

Shen Maomao, who knew her mother exceptionally well, understood exactly what to do to increase her favorability toward Lou Jingmo.

After she finished washing her hands, Mother Shen sidled up, mysteriously shut the bathroom door, and asked in a hushed voice, “So? Did you win her over?”

Shen Maomao froze for a second, suddenly remembering what she’d said the last time she brought Lou Jingmo home—she’d told her mom that Lou Jingmo was straight!

She let out a dry cough and said calmly, “Of course I did. Don’t you know who your daughter is? It’s been so long, I could have warmed up a stone by now.”

“Aigh—” Mother Shen sighed. “What a sin⁶. Such a nice young lady, and you just had to lead her down the crooked path.”

Shen Maomao felt no burden whatsoever. “So what if it’s a crooked path? Crooked is more exciting.”

Mother Shen shot her a vicious glare. “Listen to yourself. Are those words a human should be saying?”

Shen Maomao helplessly pressed down on Mother Shen’s shoulders, turned her toward the sofa, and pushed her all the way over to sit down. “Oh, Mom…” she said quietly, “don’t you worry about us. I have a handle on things.”

“You have a handle on my ass,” Mother Shen retorted, then changed the subject. “Does Xiao Lou’s family know about you two?”

Shen Maomao said, “She’s the only one in her family.”

Mother Shen frowned.

Shen Maomao said with exaggeration, “No way, no way… What era is this? You can’t possibly still be prejudiced against people from single-parent homes, can you?”

Mother Shen rolled up her sleeves.

Sensing things were going south, Shen Maomao quickly adopted a serious tone. “I haven’t discussed this with her yet, so I can’t tell you guys for now. In short, just don’t bring it up later, alright?”

Mother Shen said, “Fine. I’ll let your dad know.”

…

In the end, Shen Maomao still went to the kitchen to help, because in her mom’s words, “Just looking at you is annoying.” With her “help,” Lou Jingmo finally finished dinner before 7 o’clock, and together they brought the dishes to the table.

By then, Father Shen had also finished arranging the night shift at his restaurant and driven home. He was still in the process of digesting the fact that his daughter had a girlfriend and wasn’t as natural around Lou Jingmo as the appearance-focused Mother Shen. The four of them had a polite dinner, during which Shen Maomao listened expressionlessly as her parents and Lou Jingmo blew rainbow farts⁷ at each other for over half an hour, nearly giving herself indigestion.

After dinner, the moment Shen Maomao put down her chopsticks, she heard Mother Shen order her, “Go do the dishes. The dishwasher is broken, so don’t use it for now.”

Shen Maomao: “Why me?!”

“If not you, then who?”

She looked around the table, fell silent for a moment, then quietly picked up the bowls and went to the kitchen to work.

As soon as she left, Mother Shen and Father Shen exchanged a look, then sat down across from Lou Jingmo, initiating a three-court joint trial⁸ mode.

Mother Shen spoke first. “Um, Xiao Lou… Auntie and Shushu want to ask you something.”

Lou Jingmo sat up perfectly straight. “Please ask.”

Mother Shen: “Maomao told us everything about you two…”

Lou Jingmo immediately said, “Auntie, please don’t blame Maomao. It’s all my fault for bending her straight⁹…”

The two Shen elders instantly adopted expressions that said, We understand, you don’t have to say another word. You poor, wronged child.

Lou Jingmo: “…??”

So what on earth had Shen Maomao told her parents when she wasn’t looking???

Father Shen took out a cigarette, but put it away after getting a glare from Mother Shen. He chose his words carefully. “You and Maomao… are you serious?”

Lou Jingmo: “What counts as serious? If it’s possible, I want to marry her and take care of her for the rest of her life. Does that count as serious?”

“Well…” Mother Shen glanced at her husband. “Of course it does. But you’re both so young…”

Lou Jingmo said, “But we’ve been through a lot together. Our feelings aren’t some sudden impulse or passion; they were built up bit by bit. I love her very much, and she loves me very much. I thought about whether or not to be with her for a long time, but it wasn’t until she confessed to me that I realized I simply couldn’t refuse her.”

She rarely spoke so much at once—or to be precise, she rarely spoke so many nice things at once. Every word was true, all of them words from her lungs and viscera¹⁰.

What she and Shen Maomao had experienced together was difficult to describe in words to anyone outside the game. They had gone from using each other to entrusting each other with their hearts, crossing the line between life and death multiple times. Their bond could withstand any test. If a person who puts you before their own life isn’t worth entrusting your own life to, then what kind of feeling qualifies as love?

Lou Jingmo had never been the type, like Shen Maomao, to verbalize her feelings. Compared to speaking, she was more inclined to act, not just because she was a woman of action, but mostly because she was shy…

She wanted Shen Maomao to be happy and understood that she needed her family’s blessing, so she was willing to cut open her own heart and say these embarrassing things to the Shen elders to make them understand her sincerity and earnestness.

“You’re a good kid…” Mother Shen said with emotion. “You and Maomao are good together. Auntie supports you.”

Lou Jingmo broke into a genuine smile. “Thank you, Auntie. And thank you, Shushu.”

…

That night in bed, Shen Maomao asked curiously, “What did you and my parents talk about after dinner?”

Lou Jingmo: “Your mother said you have the temper of a princess, that you refuse to be wronged in any way, and asked me to be more patient with you.”

“No way,” Shen Maomao said, unconvinced. “I suspect you, you old dog-bastard¹¹, are bullshitting me!”

Lou Jingmo’s expression turned cold, her eyes seemingly covered in a layer of frost. “What did you call me?”

“I mean…” Shen Maomao cowered in a second¹². “Honey, are you teasing me?”

Lou Jingmo’s lips curled up. “Too late!” With that, she started tickling her.

Shen Maomao laughed and dodged, but mindful that her parents were already asleep, she didn’t dare laugh too loudly. Holding it in for a full round left her covered in sweat, more exhausted than if she’d gone on a hike.

When they had played to their hearts’ content, they shared a sticky kiss, then tiptoed to the bathroom together to shower again, like a pair of thieves. It was thrilling.

After their shower, they lay in the same bed, the lights off, gazing at each other in the darkness with the tips of their noses touching. For some reason, they both felt a little giddy.

Lou Jingmo rested a hand on her waist, then pulled her into her arms with a sudden force. She leaned down, kissed the bridge of her nose, and asked in a low voice, “Shen Maomao, if we both make it out of the game alive, do you want to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get a certificate?”

Shen Maomao nearly jumped out of her skin. “Holy shit! Holy shit! Are you proposing to me?!”

Lou Jingmo’s old face flushed red. Thankfully, it was dark, so Shen Maomao couldn’t see, otherwise her tail would be sticking up to the heavens¹³.

She clapped a hand over her mouth in a fit of pique. “What are you making such a fuss for? It’s the middle of the night, quiet down!”

Shen Maomao giggled foolishly. “I’m just too excited.”

Lou Jingmo: “My words came with a condition. Didn’t you hear it?”

Shen Maomao: “Oh, right. Why add that condition? You can just propose to me now!”

Lou Jingmo: “…You’re in the mood to get married when we’re living between life and death every day?”

Shen Maomao: “The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Lou Jingmo: “…” She had underestimated this certain someone named Shen.

She was silent for a few seconds, then said, “I’m not in the mood… happy now?”

Shen Maomao: “Oh! So you’re not in the mood to marry me! You scum woman!”

Lou Jingmo: “…”

Then the arms around her went empty. Shen Maomao rolled over, back into her own blankets, and wrapped herself up like an egg roll, cutting off any possibility of her coming over again. “Scum woman,” she said coldly, “go sleep by yourself!”

Lou Jingmo: “???” She shouldn’t have let her mouth be so cheap¹⁴!

…

The next morning, Shen Maomao opened her eyes to find Lou Jingmo’s quilt folded into a neat tofu block¹⁵. Her pajamas were also folded into a palm-sized square and placed on top of it.

She sleepily reached out and touched the blanket on her side. There was no residual warmth; she must have been up for a long time.

She slipped on her slippers, rubbed her eyes, and opened the bedroom door. Not seeing the person she was looking for in the living room, she turned and went to the kitchen, where she found Lou Jingmo using the dishwasher.

Upon seeing her, Lou Jingmo said naturally, “You’re awake? I left you some congee and scallion pancakes¹⁶. Go heat them up yourself.”

Shen Maomao stared at the running dishwasher, somewhat speechless. “?? The dishwasher works??”

Lou Jingmo: “Er… I guess so.”

Shen Maomao: “My mom actually lied to me?!”

Lou Jingmo didn’t know what to say. “…”

Fortunately, Shen Maomao didn’t seem to care much about that, turning her attention back to Lou Jingmo. “So, shall we talk about the fact that you don’t want to marry me?”

Lou Jingmo patted the dishwasher. “I think this dishwasher really does have a problem…”

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