The Heretical Husband Is Too Good at Acting! - Chapter 7

When Chen Mo said he wasn’t leaving, he meant he intended to stay and play around the base for a while.

Although he hadn’t given a clear answer to their invitation yet, the two captains, out of a personal fondness for talent, tacitly agreed to his request, allowing him to experience the base’s vacant training rooms.

However, neither of them stayed with him for long, as they were very busy.

Shen Junyao and Zhang Tao received mission assignments one after the other. They had no choice but to call back the “Mushroom” Xiao Wen—who never knew where to go play once back at the base—to accompany Chen Mo and keep a symbolic eye on him before they both departed.

Chen Mo was happy to be left to his own devices.

Xiao Wen was a quiet partner who didn’t interfere with any of his actions, simply fulfilling his duty by following behind him like a silent little sidekick.

Chen Mo trained until ten o’clock at night before leaving. He actually wished he could keep training indefinitely, but unfortunately, the Bureau of Heresy Management had regulations stating that without special approval, no one was allowed to remain in this building past that hour.

Chen Mo left reluctantly.

Although he hadn’t yet fully committed to joining the hunting group, his love for the base’s training equipment was beyond doubt.

In the days that followed, neither Shen Junyao nor Zhang Tao contacted him. Chen Mo guessed they were still out on missions.

In truth, Chen Mo was already wavering.

Especially during the first lunar month, staying at home with nothing to do but accompany Chen Xiaomi with homework and crafts, his heart had long since drifted back to the base’s training ground. Once you’ve experienced it, that thrill of not having to hide your strength and constantly challenging your limits is impossible to forget.

The freedom of going abroad no longer held any attraction for him. Chen Mo completely forgot about searching for his passport; instead, when he was bored, he did nothing but stare at his phone.

Ugh, I hope Captain Shen or Captain Zhang finishes their work soon and calls me.

He really wanted to go back to the training ground for a few more rounds.

That day, Chen Mo was in the living room helping Chen Xiaomi make a lantern.

Nowadays, the craft assignments for elementary school students completely ignore the actual age and skill level of the children, so the college-student older brother had to bear the burden and do it on her behalf. Following the steps he found online, Chen Mo carefully glued the paper and wood chips together, shaping the prototype of a lantern with decent skill.

Chen Xiaomi watched from the side, her eyes sparkling. Her only contribution as the owner of the assignment was handing over scissors and glue while constantly blowing “rainbow farts” (extravagant flattery): “Brother, you’re so amazing! Brother, your hands are actually quite nimble!”

“Is that so?” Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, examining his work with a hint of pride. “It’s alright.”

Carefully attaching the last piece of the lantern, Chen Mo held the basic form in his hand and rotated it gently. Although many details weren’t perfect, at first glance, it looked quite exquisite.

“See? Isn’t it finished?” He proudly held the lantern up in front of Chen Xiaomi. “What do you think?”

Chen Xiaomi looked at the paper lantern with shining eyes and spared no effort in her flattery: “Oh my god, Brother, this is too beautiful! You’re a genius! If this lantern is handed in, it will definitely be the best one in the whole class!”

Chen Mo gave a hum, thinking to himself that it was only natural.

Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

Chen Mo’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly put down the lantern and pulled it out to check.

The result was a bit disappointing. The person calling was neither Captain Shen nor Captain Zhang, but his high school class monitor, Lin Jun.

Chen Mo swiped to answer. Lin Jun’s voice on the other end was very enthusiastic: “Chen Mo, I heard from someone that you’re back this year? There’s a Class Six reunion tomorrow, remember to come!”

Although Chen Mo hadn’t returned much during his years abroad, he hadn’t vanished from the class group chat and would occasionally participate in idle chatter.

Therefore, his classmates didn’t treat him like a stranger. Every time there was a gathering, they would include him. Unfortunately, he was absent every single time, causing everyone’s “resentment” to deepen year by year. Now that he was finally back, how could they let him go?

Since Chen Mo was just sitting around at home anyway, he readily agreed: “Sure, send me the address.”

The next day, leaving Chen Xiaomi to his mother, Chen Mo went to the class reunion feeling relaxed.

The reunion location wasn’t very far from Chen Mo’s house; it only took about ten minutes by taxi.

It was an affordable KTV mainly catering to students. The environment was relatively quiet. Back in high school, some of the closer classmates would occasionally gather here; it was considered their “old spot.”

Having not been here for several years, the servers had long since changed, and the interior had been renovated in a different style. Chen Mo reported the private room number Lin Jun had sent and followed the receptionist through a winding corridor with poor soundproofing until they reached a “deluxe” large room.

The so-called deluxe status simply meant an extra fruit platter and a dozen beers; the room was larger and could accommodate more people.

Standing at the door, Chen Mo could hear several voices howling like ghosts and wailing like wolves. The familiar style made him burst out laughing. It had been a long time, but his classmates were still such livewires; it truly brought back memories.

Since it was so loud, there was no need to knock. Chen Mo pushed the door open and entered.

The “mic hog” student standing in front of the big screen singing turned around, paused the music, and let out a “Wow” into the microphone. The exaggerated echo made everyone “snap” their eyes over.

“Who’s this? Chen Mo is here! A rare guest, a rare guest! Welcome, welcome!”

Chen Mo rubbed his ears, which were ringing from the noise, and with a smile, he opened his arms to briefly hug the few who lunged at him, while waving to those further away.

The girls were sitting in groups of two or three by the bar. Seeing him, they also turned their heads to call his name.

Chen Mo’s popularity in the class was evident.

The class monitor, Lin Jun, was playing a drinking game with someone. Seeing Chen Mo, he quickly beckoned him over to sit, put an arm around his neck, and said, “You kid, how dare you be late? Penalty of three drinks!”

Chen Mo teased, “Wow, it’s been a few years; where did this alcohol addiction come from? You used to never touch a drop.”

Lin Jun froze for a moment. “Weren’t we still young back then? Now we’re almost graduating.”

He looked at Chen Mo and smiled. “On the other hand, you haven’t changed much in a few years. Still as strikingly handsome as ever.”

“No, no, the class monitor is the handsome one.”

If two average-looking guys spoke this way, it might seem greasy, but Chen Mo and Lin Jun were indeed good-looking, with clean-cut features and temperaments. Their mutual commercial flattery sounded more like an interesting exchange.

The guy playing the drinking game with Lin Jun laughed and complained, “Enough, you’re both handsome. You handsome guys stop standing around and sit down.”

Chen Mo was only given the grand treatment when he first walked in. Once he sat down, everyone went back to chatting, singing, playing games, or drinking. The atmosphere was very relaxed and casual.

Because he had been absent for several years, quite a few classmates came over to chat with him, asking about his life abroad and his plans for the future. Being in the crucial period of senior year, everyone present was facing graduation or employment, providing many common topics. The conversation grew more and more lively until finally, no one was singing anymore; they all huddled together to drink, eat, and chat.

While everyone was talking excitedly, a female classmate suddenly pulled gently on Chen Mo’s sleeve and pointed behind him. “Chen Mo, what is that hanging on your clothes?”

Following her finger, Chen Mo looked down—at the side of his hoodie’s waist, there was actually a withered, pale hand clutching him.

The skin of that hand was dry and wrinkled, with protruding knuckles. it looked extremely eerie and unnatural. At first glance, it looked like a doll made of some unknown material, yet only Chen Mo knew that those slender fingertips possessed an unusually realistic force.

Chen Mo’s heart contracted instantly, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

On the surface, however, he could only force himself to stay calm. Squeezing out a smile, Chen Mo followed the girl’s words and explained casually, “Ah, this is… a doll a friend gave me. This kind of retro-horror style has been quite popular lately.”

“Really?” The girl seemed a bit curious and leaned down to take a closer look.

Chen Mo quickly snatched the hand off his clothes and stuffed it into his hoodie pocket. With one hand in his pocket, he smiled and replied, “It’s nothing special, just a little trinket.”

Fortunately, the girl didn’t delve further. She smiled and returned to the original conversation. Everyone was talking at once about who encountered what trouble at an internship, or who was preparing for postgraduate exams.

On the surface, Chen Mo laughed and talked with the crowd, but in his heart, he couldn’t stop obsessing over the “hand” he was holding tightly in his pocket.

That thing felt icy cold. It wasn’t quite wood, plastic, or metal, yet it possessed a certain eerie vitality.

He couldn’t help but wonder what that thing was.

Most likely, it was another strange Heresy.

Just as Chen Mo was planning to slip out for a moment to call Zhang Tao and ask what was going on, the conversation actually landed on him. Lin Jun asked, “Chen Mo, what are your plans? Are you coming back to China to develop after graduation?”

Chen Mo, clutching the “hand” in his pocket and thinking about the recruitment from the Bureau of Heresy Management, relented: “Probably. It depends on the job opportunities.”

Hearing him say this, everyone was very happy and offered their blessings.

Just then, an untimely voice appeared, breaking the harmony of the evening.

“He’s a ‘rich second generation’; how can he be the same as us? I bet his family has already arranged everything. If you ask me, people like you shouldn’t compete with us ordinary commoners for job opportunities, right? Isn’t it better to go home early and inherit your tens of millions in family assets?”

These words were spoken with too much sarcasm and felt somewhat familiar.

Chen Mo looked toward the person speaking. It was a former classmate, surnamed Wang, named Wang Chaoyang. Chen Mo remembered that back in high school, this Wang Chaoyang’s speech was always a bit pointed and aggressive. He didn’t expect him to still be the same after all these years.

He curled his lip and asked the other party, “What kind of person is ‘people like me’?”

Wang Chaoyang sneered and scoffed, “Don’t you know what kind of person you are yourself? If I remember correctly, back during the college entrance exam, you got an 8 in English and a 0 in Science. And what happened? You still have a beautiful life regardless!”

Lin Jun couldn’t listen anymore and couldn’t help but speak up: “Chen Mo missed two exams because of an accidental illness. Everyone saw his usual grades; why do you need to take things out of context like this?”

Wang Chaoyang rolled his eyes. “You can go study abroad just because you accidentally missed an exam? That’s great. I’d love to have an ‘accident’ like that too! If you ask me, in the end, being born well is the real hard truth, isn’t it?”

This logic was so twisted that Lin Jun, who wasn’t very good at arguing, couldn’t think of how to respond for a moment.

Noticing another buddy was about to join the argument, Chen Mo quietly stopped him, smiled, and said, “True, my luck in being born wasn’t bad.”

He was in no mood to bicker with this person; he couldn’t sit still at all.

From the moment this classmate Wang started talking, he noticed the “hand” in his pocket was starting to stir, and the movement was getting larger and larger, reaching a point where it was becoming hard to suppress.

Chen Mo wanted to leave quickly and contact the people from the Bureau of Heresy Management.

Originally, Chen Mo’s self-deprecating remark had mostly defused the awkwardness, and the other classmates were planning to change the subject to ease the tension. Unexpectedly, Wang Chaoyang was relentless. Hearing his words, he gave a more mocking cold snort: “Tell me, when has this world ever been fair? ‘Rich second generations’ are born lucky and only need to eat and wait for death, while we ordinary people work so hard yet only hit walls everywhere.”

These words made many classmates frown. After all, everyone present came from different backgrounds—some better, some ordinary—and their progress in school or work varied. Did all of that really depend entirely on family background instead of one’s own efforts?

Before anyone could argue back, a sudden change occurred.

A strange shadow lunged out from somewhere like a flexible snake, heading straight for Wang Chaoyang.

The sarcasm on Wang Chaoyang’s face hadn’t fully faded when he suddenly felt a wave of suffocation.

He let out a scream and fell backward. His neck was tightly strangled by a section of a withered severed hand. The color drained from his face, and a blurred groan escaped his throat.

The surrounding classmates were thrown into chaos. Someone screamed, while others rushed forward to check the situation.

Chen Mo was the first to get there, trying to pull the hand off. But the hand was gripping Wang Chaoyang’s neck so tightly that he couldn’t use brute force, or he might tear his windpipe.

Chen Mo tried to pry the hand’s fingers. His monstrous strength, which had been appraised as Grade A by the Bureau of Heresy Management, was actually evenly matched with the opponent’s. He didn’t dare move recklessly. Seeing that Wang Chaoyang couldn’t even breathe, he quickly pulled out his phone and called Zhang Tao.

Fortunately, the call was answered quickly. Chen Mo immediately explained the situation: “There is a severed hand attacking my classmate!”

“A severed hand?” Zhang Tao’s voice on the other end carried a hint of surprise, though he clearly wasn’t completely unaware. “Did your classmate say or do something? Tell me the address, and then you do this…”

Ignoring the bewildered looks of his classmates, Chen Mo squeezed in next to Wang Chaoyang. Following Zhang Tao’s instructions, he gripped the thumb of the severed hand and pried it outward while chanting in his heart: Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, I don’t blame him.

After this series of actions, the hand actually began to slowly release its grip. Then, just as it had appeared, it retracted into Chen Mo’s pocket at extreme speed.

The entire process actually took only dozens of seconds, but to everyone present, it felt like a long ordeal of chaos.

Wang Chaoyang slumped on the sofa, coughing uncontrollably. Deep marks were left on his neck, and he coughed until his face was red and he was covered in cold sweat. The other classmates were also filled with suspicion and fear, unable to stop looking at Chen Mo’s pocket. They weren’t sure what that thing was, and their eyes were filled with horror and lingering dread.

Lin Jun frowned and asked Chen Mo in a low voice: “Just now… what was that?”

Chen Mo: “…”

He also really wanted to know what on earth that thing was!