chapter 20

Chapter 20

At this point, I stared blankly at a corner of the reptile house and didn’t continue.

Shan Jing looked at me in silence.

I asked her, “What do you think?”

Shan Jing’s eyes flickered. “I feel like it’s real.”

“Stop dwelling on whether it’s real or not.”

“I don’t know. I never knew about these things.” Shan Jing closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You said it’s just a story, that it’s fake. But not long after we got married, you really took me hiking. I didn’t know that day was when I met your father. For a while, you did often go to that noodle shop, and you would regularly go hiking alone… All these details match up. I believe it’s all real.”

Shan Jing covered her face, her shoulders trembling.

“It’s a novel.” I stepped forward and held her, coaxing her softly. “I just filled in some blanks in my life with dramatic plots, to make it more immersive. – Since you care so much, maybe I should stop, so you don’t overthink…”

“No, keep going.” She wiped away her tears, pushed me away, her gaze cold. “There are still many things in the main storyline that haven’t been resolved in the subplot. Tell me, why was the case closed? What about the bones the police found-was it that sheep?

“How could the police not tell the difference between human bones and sheep bones? What ‘Scapegoat’? That’s just a religious myth. Tell me, what really happened?”

I looked at her pale face, hesitating. “Do you really want me to tell you? I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it.”

“You have to tell me.”