The Hand of Confession – Chapter 84

Volume 4: Days of Making Mischief at School

Ren Yue

Maomao, you are so good

Shen Maomao didn’t know who to tell about the shock in her heart.

Finally enduring until this class ended, she held back her anxious feelings, made eye contact with Ren Yue again, then walked out of the classroom.

Ren Yue stood up from her seat and followed.

Lou Jingmo thought for a moment, then also stood up.

Golden Retriever watched them leave one after another, quickly hurried out too, only to find the three had entered the women’s bathroom and hung up a sign saying “Cleaning in Progress, Do Not Disturb.”

Golden Retriever: “…”

His condition [being male] didn’t allow him to enter, so he could only anxiously pace back and forth at the bathroom entrance, helping them stop the little radish heads who came to use the bathroom.

The bathroom’s interior wasn’t large, but was cleaned very thoroughly, with no strange smells.

Shen Maomao opened the door to see the mountain [got straight to the point] and said: “How did you end up coming here?!”

Ren Yue looked vigilantly at Lou Jingmo: “She—”

Shen Maomao said: “She’s the same as us, you don’t need to worry.”

Hearing this, Ren Yue shifted her gaze and said to Shen Maomao: “What’s going on? I thought I had transmigrated, but it turns out it’s a group transmigration?”

“Fart [Bullcrap].” Shen Maomao sighed, “Actually, I never told you about this. Do you remember that night before Qingming Festival [traditional Chinese memorial holiday]? You wanted to meet your master in person, we went out together, and encountered something terrifying.”

Ren Yue said in confusion: “I remember… Didn’t we say that man was crazy?”

Shen Maomao shook her head: “No, he seems to be a game player too. You’ve read infinite flow novels [a genre of Chinese web novels featuring survival game scenarios], right? We’re in that kind of environment now. This world has all sorts of monsters and demons, we must survive in this instance and find a way to leave.”

Seeming unable to digest this shocking news for a moment, Ren Yue was a bit dumbfounded: “Why did we come to such a world?”

Shen Maomao: “Maybe because we’re unlucky? I thought you would be safe after I came in, didn’t expect you would still end up here…”

“You mean—” Ren Yue’s eyes widened, “If it wasn’t you, I would have been the one to enter that day?”

Shen Maomao hesitated, but still told the truth: “Yes.”

“So that’s how it is…” Ren Yue was instantly overwhelmed with guilt, lowered her head covering her face while sobbing, “I’m sorry Maomao… it’s all my fault… I’m the one who harmed you…”

Shen Maomao patted her thin shoulders: “It’s okay, I’m still alive and well, aren’t I?”

Ren Yue’s eyes were red, she said chokingly: “I’m sorry Maomao… I’m sorry…”

Shen Maomao wanted to comfort her more, when Lou Jingmo, who had been standing silently for a while, suddenly said: “Class is starting soon, we should go back, tell your friend to remember not to reveal that she’s not actually an elementary school student.”

Ren Yue looked helplessly at Shen Maomao.

Shen Maomao switched to Lou-praising mode: “She’s my big leg to hold onto, very capable, it’s never wrong to listen to her! I’ll find a chance to tell you about other issues. Although it’s dangerous here, don’t panic because of fear, stay alert usually, I will try my best to protect you.”

Ren Yue said emotionally: “Maomao, you’re so good…”

Shen Maomao smiled: “Aren’t we good sisters!”

Lou Jingmo didn’t want to watch their deep sisterly affection here, so she walked out of the bathroom first.

Golden Retriever, who had been squatting outside waiting for a while, immediately stood up, with eyes fixed watching her walk nearby, then asked: “What did you all talk about, Sister Lou? Who is she?”

Lou Jingmo said flatly: “Rabbit’s good girlfriend [or close female friend… however you interpret it lol].”

Just six short words, but Golden Retriever sensed a gunpowder smell [tension/danger] in them, and instantly didn’t dare to ask further.

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Just as Shen Maomao’s bottom touched the chair, the harsh class bell rang.

Taking advantage of the bell’s cover, Lou Jingmo pressed close to her ear and whispered: “Maomao, you’re so good…”

Shen Maomao immediately got goosebumps. She first glanced at Ren Yue in front, confirming she hadn’t heard these words, then immediately turned her head to whisper to Lou Jingmo: “Sister Lou, what are you doing?! You scared me to death! I thought you were possessed!”

Lou Jingmo said innocently: “When she said it to you, why didn’t you have such a big reaction?”

Shen Maomao: “How can you two be the same?!”

Lou Jingmo’s face darkened, then heard her seriously say: “Because I’m not good enough to you! She’s a small chicken [noob], it’s simple for me to be good to her, but you’re a god-level player, I want to be good to you but don’t have that ability!”

Although knowing this was just her smooth-talking personality, Lou Jingmo’s heart still felt shamefully comforted.

She commented in a deep tone: “Don’t you feel like you’re acting like a greasy scumbag?”

Shen Maomao: “?? If you can’t speak properly, you can donate your mouth to someone who needs it.”

As the class bell ended and the teacher walked in to start teaching, Lou Jingmo closed her mouth and wrote on paper: 【Why do I feel like you’re not as afraid of me as before?】

Shen Maomao’s eyes fixed on the blackboard, looking like a good student paying attention, while her hand wrote: 【What nonsense are you talking? When was I ever afraid of you? That was respect! Do you understand what respect means?!】

Lou Jingmo rolled her eyes and erased the words with an eraser.

There were still three classes in the afternoon, with forty minutes of exercise time in between. Shen Maomao found time to explain game-related knowledge to Ren Yue, while comforting her trembling girlfriend [or close female friend].

Time quickly reached three-thirty in the afternoon. During their last math class, the new Teacher Yue was using paper cutouts to teach them about squares and rectangles.

Outside, dark clouds gathered and the classroom was dim, seeming like heavy rain was coming.

Teacher Yue turned on the classroom lights, then came down to close the windows, finally saying: “Don’t worry everyone, I’ve contacted your parents, they will bring umbrellas to pick you up.”

Around 3:50, it indeed started raining, coming down in a magnificent downpour. Bean-sized raindrops hit the windows, drawing away half the class’s attention. Shen Maomao also looked outside, immediately seeing rows of colorful umbrellas at the school gate.

Damn, does this game instance assign parents too? She didn’t know who her parent was!! How would this work?

With five minutes left, students’ minds were no longer on the lesson. Teacher Yue smiled helplessly, assigned today’s homework, and let them out a few minutes early: “Alright, now students pack your bags and line up in the hallway by height, shorter students in front, taller ones in back. No talking outside, or I’ll make you stand in the hallway and wait until other classes have left before leaving.”

The children answered in milk-like voices: “Okay—”

Shen Maomao messily stuffed the books and pencil case from her desk into her backpack, walked to Ren Yue’s side wearing her backpack, and whispered: “Don’t be afraid, nothing usually happens on the first night.”

Ren Yue clutched her backpack straps tightly and nodded nervously.

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When it came time to line up, Shen Maomao was surprised to discover that she was actually taller than Ren Yue, Lou Jingmo, and Golden Retriever?

???

Ren Yue had always been shorter than her, that was fine.

She had secretly compared before, Lou Jingmo used to be three or four centimeters taller than her; 17-year-old Golden Retriever was already 180 centimeters tall, no comparison possible, so what was this situation now? How did they stop growing at a certain point?

Because of her height, she was forced to leave all her companions and stand at the back of the line.

Fortunately, the little NPC named Chen Meihan who had brought her to class this morning was also tall, and happily ran over to hold her hand.

Just as Shen Maomao wanted to say something to her, she made a gesture and whispered: “Shh— if we talk, Teacher Yue won’t let us leave.”

Shen Maomao blushed a little, feeling that she wasn’t even as good as a little kid at understanding what it means to follow rules, how embarrassing.

Teacher Yue was the last to walk out of the classroom, counted everyone, and led them to the first-floor hall.

Because of the rain, the parents’ pickup location was changed from the school gate to the teaching building entrance.

Shen Maomao looked around but didn’t see any sign of her father or mother, so she guessed the parents must be randomly generated NPCs, not based on their memories.

The dismissal bell rang, and the teaching building suddenly became noisy. The first-grade class one children who had been standing waiting on the first floor also started chattering, some calling to their parents, others whispering with classmates.

Little loli [young girl] Chen Meihan tightly held her hand, excitedly pointing at a tall man standing outside the crowd: “That’s my daddy! My daddy actually came to pick me up!”

Not knowing her family situation, Shen Maomao casually complimented: “Your daddy is so tall!”

Chen Meihan smiled until her eyes became little crescent moons: “My daddy is the most handsome daddy in the whole world! But if daddy picks me up, I can’t go home with you.”

“Huh?” Shen Maomao was stunned for a moment, “Oh oh, okay.”

Could she and Chen Meihan be neighbors? No, that’s not right – if they were neighbors, wouldn’t they be going the same way?

As the student line gradually moved forward, parents spontaneously took their children’s hands, so Shen Maomao didn’t need to worry about not recognizing her parent anymore.

Ren Yue was taken away by a man; Golden Retriever was reluctantly carried away in his nanny’s arms; Lou Jingmo was led by an old grandmother, but before leaving she turned back and shouted: “Shen Maomao—! See you tomorrow!”

Shen Maomao’s heart ached as she waved vigorously: “See you tomorrow!”

So… must survive until tomorrow…

Soon it was their turn. Chen Meihan’s father held a black umbrella, showing no particular happy expression upon seeing his daughter. Chen Meihan was just the opposite, enthusiastically waving repeatedly to Shen Maomao: “Bye-bye Maomao! See you tomorrow!”

Shen Maomao waved back to her: “Goodbye!”

A woman holding an umbrella with rabbit patterns took her hand, smiling at Chen Meihan and saying: “Is it your daddy picking up Meihan today?”

Chen Meihan nodded and said: “Yes, Auntie Shen, we’ll go first. Tomorrow morning I’ll find Maomao again to go to school together!”

Shen Maomao’s small hand was wrapped in the woman’s warm large hand. She lifted her head to look at the woman’s gentle profile, then quickly looked away.

It seems this person was her family member in this game instance, a very gentle and beautiful young mother.

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