Hidden moth

Chapter 9 From Hope to Cognition
He Kao could hear his uncle's dilemma, but he neither wanted to nor could he take the initiative to clarify anything. He could only tell his uncle that he had received a call from Section Chief Hu of the District Public Security Bureau in the afternoon, and he wanted Section Chief Hu to compensate for the losses.

My uncle advised, "The door is still good, but the two locks are broken. Don't bother looking for them, I can just change them for you."

He Kao paused for a few seconds, then swallowed his saliva and said, "Uncle, you don't need to change the lock. It's not that I don't trust you, but I'm afraid someone will report you in the future and suspect you of hiding something in my house... I'd better fix it myself."

This sentence was very blunt and euphemistic. After this happened, he no longer wanted to leave the key to his aunt's house, so he definitely couldn't let his uncle help him change the lock.

He Kao felt inexplicably guilty when he spoke, and was very cautious, as if he had made a mistake. But his uncle didn't say anything else, only replied, "I'll pay for the lock repair."

After hanging up the phone, He Kao received a transfer of 1,000 yuan from his uncle, with a message saying it was for the lock repair. He Kao thought for a moment and replied, "I'll give you the invoice."

Is this about the door lock? But from the police to his uncle, He Kao could only talk about the lock.

As Huang Xiaopang expected, no one came to He Kao to ask anything the next day. It was as if the incident had passed without a sound. He Kao secretly hoped so, as if he could pretend it had never happened.

He Kao knew clearly what he was worried about. There was already a group of people with mysterious origins tracking down Yin E, and his uncle had done something like this. Wouldn't this just arouse more suspicion and attract more people's attention?

He Kao was in a conflicted mood. He knew he wasn't the Hidden Moth, and he hoped those people would realize they were mistaken and stop staring at him. But after guessing that Huang Xiaopang was the Hidden Moth, he didn't want Huang Xiaopang to be exposed, as this would mean some unknown danger.

Why was it dangerous? He Kao's intuition, based on his father's experience, told him it couldn't be a good thing.

He Kao wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but someone didn't let him. The next day, he walked to work and, as usual, wanted to go to the company cafeteria for breakfast. He ran into a girl next to the green belt downstairs.

The girl was wearing a blue and white floral dress, the hem of her skirt and her hair swaying in the air. She frowned and squinted her eyes, looking very unhappy.

"Hey, Xiaoshan, what brings you here so early in the morning? You're getting more and more beautiful!"

The speaker wasn't He Kao, but Huang Si, who had hurried up from behind. They had similar commute times and often ran into each other on the road. The girl was He Shan, the daughter of He Kao's eldest aunt, and Huang Xiaopang knew her, too.

He Shan is more than a year younger than He Kao. She has not been a good student since childhood. After graduating from high school, she barely spent money to go to college, but she couldn't find a suitable job, so she simply helped with the business at home.

Seeing Huang Si coming over, He Shan said with a cold face: "Fatty Huang, go away. You have nothing to do here. I want to talk to my brother about some private matters!" She waved her hands as she spoke, as if she was driving away a fly.

Huang Xiaopang curled his lips and walked away awkwardly. He Kao tried to make his smile less bitter and asked quietly, "Why are you here?"

He Shan: "Brother, tell me honestly, where did the things go?"

He Kao: "What? You know, I haven't been back at all during this period."

He Shan: "My dad called you yesterday, and I heard it all. Don't pretend. You know what I mean. Who else can take the things away except you?"

He Kao lowered his voice and asked, "Are you trying to tell me that this is true? You really hid all those undocumented fireworks and firecrackers with me?"

He Shan said noncommittally, "I just want to know where the stuff went. It's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it's gone just like that!"

He Kao: "Are you still thinking about the money? If the police really find it, what do you think will happen? Do you hope that the money will be found, or do you hope that the money won't be found?"

He Shan: "I just want to ask - did you do it?"

He Kao: "It's not me. I haven't been back during this period. You should go back quickly. There's no point asking me. I don't know anything!"

After saying this, he walked into the office building without looking back, as if he was fleeing from disaster, and felt a dull pain in his head. He was really impressed by this cousin. His family had already escaped a disaster, so why did he come to ask questions?
He didn't know how the day went by, but what he feared came true. When Huang Xiaopang asked him to go home with him after get off work, he waved his hand and said, "You go first, I'll clean up.

After he finished his work, he walked out of the company gate and stopped a little, his scalp tingling, because he saw He Shan again. He Shan changed her clothes, and it was a bit cold at night, so she put on a coat.

He Kao: "Why are you here again?"

He Shan: "If you don't tell me, I'll come and stop you. You have to tell me what's going on!"

He Kao: "What do you want to ask from me?"

He Shan: "The truth!"

He Kao: "The truth is - I don't know." After thinking for a moment, he said, "What you did is illegal. Just be happy that you haven't been caught by the police!

I don't know where the things went. If someone secretly helped you avoid the police search, that would also be illegal! Isn't it good enough that everyone is fine now? Why do you have to drag everyone into breaking the law? "

He Shan finally lowered her head and said, "I know you're doing this out of kindness to help us, but you don't have to hide it from me. Can't you just tell me in private? Besides, those things are not safe. I'll feel relieved if you explain it clearly. We are relatives!"

He Kao quickly waved his hands and said, "I didn't do it, so there's no need to thank me! I just want to ask, it's okay if you guys broke the law, but why did you drag me into this? You hid the things with me, are you treating me like a relative?"

He Shan raised her head and said, "Yeah, isn't it because we are close and trust you that I hid the things with you?"

This ridiculous logic is simply too... He Kao didn't know what to say, but after thinking about it carefully, there was indeed a hint of absurdity. If they could hide contraband in his house, it meant they didn't treat him as an outsider.

If a third party heard this, they would probably laugh out loud and say at the same time - at least you didn't harm outsiders.

Seeing that He Kao didn't say anything, He Shan thought he was stuck because of her questioning, so she said, "If you don't tell the truth, I will come to block you every day and even go to your workplace to look for you."

He Kao's gaze passed over her shoulder and he saw Qian Guran and Huang Xiaopang standing at the company's door, looking over here from afar. He instinctively felt irritated and panicked, so he had to use his trump card -

"What's the point of looking for me? You might as well call the police and tell them that you suspect I stole your hidden belongings!"

He Shan stamped her feet in anger and said, "What are you talking about?"

He Kao: "How about I call the police? I'll just say someone's blocking my door every day asking for something..."

He Shan's originally pale face seemed to have lost all color, and she could only glare at He Kao angrily. He Kao turned and walked away. He didn't want to say such harsh words to his cousin, but he couldn't stand her blocking the entrance to his workplace every day. He already had enough troubles, and he couldn't care less about He Shan's emotions.

While He Kao and He Shan were arguing on the roadside, Huang Si and Qian Guran were also standing outside the office building watching.

He Kao asked Huang Si to go back first, but Huang Si hesitated for a long time and left later than He Kao. He happened to meet Qian Guran outside the building, and they both saw He Kao and He Shan in the distance at the same time.

Qian Guran raised his chin and asked, "What is He Kao doing? Did he have a fight with his girlfriend?"

Huang Xiaopang: "That's not his girlfriend, that's his cousin. Maybe something happened at home."

"Oh, cousin—" Qian Guran's tone was meaningful, because the word "cousin" does have an ambiguous meaning in certain situations.

Huang Xiaopang: "Don't be so disgusting, she's my real cousin."

Qian Guran: "What's going on? It seems like the two of them are arguing."

Huang Xiaopang didn't want to mention He Kao's family affairs to his colleagues, so he just said, "Their relationship isn't very good."

The two of them were standing in a position where they couldn't hear the conversation between He Kao and He Shan at all, but Qian was certainly not an ordinary person. As long as he concentrated, he could hear it clearly, but he couldn't let Huang Xiaopang know this.

So Qian Guran pretended not to hear clearly and said with a smile: "The relationship is not good? But I think that girl cares about He Kao very much."

Huang Xiaopang: "Nonsense, how did you figure that out?"

How could he not see this? Qian was indeed a strategist, having achieved the first-level "Spy" and second-level "Broker" levels, and was now a third-level "Strategist."

But he couldn't tell Huang Xiaopang any of this, so he could only explain, "Look at her. She's clearly dressed up carefully, and she's tried to keep her makeup as light as possible... She's putting so much thought into this argument, it's because she values you!"

Huang Xiaopang: "To attach importance to something and to care about it are two different things. We have to pay attention to the enemy even when we are fighting."

Qian Guran: "They are relatives."

Huang Xiaopang: "I told you long ago that our relationship is not good. My cousin always bullies He Kao, but He Kao has always given in to her since childhood."

Qian Guran sighed, somewhat bewilderedly saying, "Hate arises from love, hate arises from fear, hate arises from hope. In short, it's all hatred, and then it hurts people because of hatred. Hurting people is hurting people, so don't say it's because of love, hope, or fear. Even they themselves don't understand."

Huang Xiaopang turned his head and glanced at Qian Guran: "Old Qian, what are you talking about here? Are you pretending to be a philosopher?"

Qian Guran certainly knew what happened in He Kao's hometown, and also knew why He Shan came to find He Kao, so he didn't find it strange at all. He was just a little interested in the relationship between the two.

Seeing that He Kao was no longer arguing with He Shan, Huang Xiaopang also left. He took a short detour without saying hello to He Shan. When he was about to reach the Sesame Apartment, he caught up with He Kao and asked, "What's wrong? I just saw Xiao Shan blocking you at the door again."

He Kao: "It's still that shit. She insisted that I was the one who moved those things away. She wanted me to admit it and tell her where I put them."

Fatty Huang: "How could they do that?! It was them who messed around and almost got into trouble. It had nothing to do with you in the first place, so why do they have to drag you into this?"

He Kao: "Actually, I can understand her feelings, but I'm still worried."

Why was He Shan worried? Those things were really dangerous. Although they were gone now, they could temporarily avoid the police's investigation. But if they were stolen, if something happened in the future, it would still implicate their family.

Even if nothing happens, it means that someone has something on their family, and what's even worse is that no one knows who did it!
He Kao guessed that it was Huang Xiaopang who did it, but Huang Xiaopang would never admit it. Xiaopang had just been mocking Qian Guran for pretending to be a philosopher, but now he actually said something quite philosophical:

"Xiaoshan just hoped that you did it, so she assumed it was you, and then asked you to admit it. As long as you admit it, she will feel relieved. A lot of people are like this, unable to distinguish between what they hope for and what they think."

He Kao was stunned. Even after returning to his apartment, he was still pondering Huang Xiaopang's words. "I hope" and "I think" are two different concepts. Hope does not require a basis, but thinking does.

I hope there is an omnipotent God, and I am God's chosen one. Only I can receive God's grace, and those who I don't like will be punished by God.

This is just hope, or delusion.

But this leads to the belief that there is such a God and that I am one of God's chosen people, turning things I hope for into cognitive existence. This is the source of many religions, and religious doctrines do not need to provide a basis in reality.

This phenomenon exists not only in religion but also in ordinary people. From He Shan's perspective, she really hopes that He Kao did it, as this would be safer, maximize benefits and minimize losses.

He Shan further hoped that He Kao did this out of good intentions to help them and gain their close recognition. She hoped that He Kao would acknowledge this and then confirm this himself.

He Kao not only did not admit it, but also denied her understanding, which made her even more disappointed, so she was very angry.

An angry He Shan did not come to He Kao again the next day, and Section Chief Hu still did not contact him. But He Kao took the initiative to contact Section Chief Hu because it was the weekend and he planned to go home to deal with the scene.

Don't get me wrong, He Kao didn't intend to confess the situation or cooperate with the investigation. He contacted Section Chief Hu about three things: unblocking, unlocking, and compensating for the lock.

He Kao's residence is located at No. 65, Aimin Road, Pugang Town, JB District. After the police searched the scene without success and withdrew, they found out who had put a yellow tape on the gate of the courtyard. It was not a seal but looked like a seal.

The police only had search procedures at the time, but did not have seizure procedures afterwards because there was insufficient evidence.

As for accusing the police of violating regulations, there's no basis for that. While there weren't formal sealing procedures, they didn't put up any proper seals either. But if someone removed the tape without authorization, someone looking to cause trouble could claim they were vandalizing the scene.

He Kao is a cautious person. In this situation, even if he wanted to go back home, he would inform the police in advance and find witnesses.

Even without Huang Xiaopang's reminder, he would have done the same.

**
(End of this chapter)