Chapter 359: The Little Boy

Malice was spreading. At first, everyone had hoped there might be some kindness in this matter, but not a shred of kindness was to be found—not one.

Old Song said, "If that's the case, then surely at least one person is kind."

Chen Fan said, "If there had been one kind person, this child could have survived, wouldn't have died, wouldn't have suffered so much, wouldn't have ended up like this. Do you think he's brain-damaged? But he knows what is bad, knows what will give you a stomachache if you eat it, what a child can eat without trouble."

Chen Fan's words were like a knife, stabbing into everyone's hearts.

Qu Yiling said, "I may have found the child's parents on my end."

Chen Fan said, "Go ahead and find them. If I remember correctly, the crime of abandonment carries a pretty heavy charge, doesn't it?"

Teacher He said, "Sigh, we have to find them—both families need to be tracked down. This is a case, and not a small one at that."

Old Song said, "We've already locked onto one household, but the boy's side isn't easy to find. Also, if the compensation money is given to this girl, what do you think will happen?"

Chen Fan said, "If you have a way to handle it, then handle it yourself. You come asking me—I'm a forensic doctor. If you want me to cut open their parents, I can do it. If you want me to be the judge, do you really think I would?"

Teacher Luo said, "No need to worry, their parents won't get the chance. This already counts as a serious crime of abandonment. If it were reported, it would also be a missing persons case, but no one ever reported it. 25"

On this side, everyone's suspended hearts finally settled.

Here, the livestream was turned off.

After everyone had eaten, they went to rest.

Late at night, Chen Fan quietly came over to the forensic office, changed the boy into a fresh set of clothes, and very carefully straightened the child's legs and feet.

He fixed the child a decent hairstyle, and did some restoration work on the face.

Chenfanbu Society couldn't do these things, but this time, Chen Fan planned to try it himself. Though he was a bit clumsy, it was worth it.

At that moment, a car pulled up, and an old man leaning on a cane walked in.

"Mm, what standard?"

"Dust to dust, earth to earth. The child's case is over, let the child become ashes, and place a few good people beside him."

"Mm, there are a few kind old people who have passed away here. I'll arrange for them to be placed beside him, so their souls can be together."

Chen Fan nodded.

The old man had his apprentice lift the child onto the cart and said, "Chen Fan, you know how to perform the shamanic ritual. Let me ask you—have you ever tried this?"

Chen Fan said nothing, silently watching the old man.

The old man said, "Mm, I'm just asking. What I want to ask is, in this boy's eyes, is this little girl a person, or a pet?"

Chen Fan remained silent.

The old man said, "Whether she's a person or a pet doesn't really matter anymore, because he truly was good to her. The story is perfect, isn't it? Everyone got their punishment."

Chen Fan said, "A pet. It's like when a child gets a puppy of his own for the first time. This child envied other people's puppies. The reason he stole things was that he wanted to touch that puppy, and then someone egged him on."

The old man said, "Then, is this child kind?"

"He is kind, it's just that his understanding is off. A child will see someone smaller than himself as a pet. I don't know why this feeling exists, and I can't comprehend it either. I have no way to explain this aspect."

"Mm, then did you want to kill that supermarket owner back then?"

"Yes, I admit it, but I didn't act on it."

The old man nodded and said, "I hope that one day in the future, the one I'm stitching up isn't you. I'm leaving."

Chen Fan saw the old man off, cleaned up the table, and returned to his room.

Song Zuer wasn't sleeping. The weather was a bit cold, with snow outside—good weather for sleeping, really—but Song Zuer just couldn't seem to fall asleep.

"Is it done?"

Chen Fan said, "Mm, mostly handled. Get some rest."

"If something's weighing on you, tell me. I don't know how to comfort people, but I'll be by your side."

"Nothing's wrong. I've seen too much, gotten used to it."

The words were on the tip of Song Zuer's tongue as she said, "Then, really not a single person helped this boy?"

Chen Fan said quietly, "There was one child. I saw this child—he was hiding far away, didn't come to our forensic office. The child gave me five hundred yuan."

"Five hundred yuan?"

"The child's parents gave it, saying it was for this child. Most of what this child ate actually came from that household, but he rarely spoke about it, because people gossip, and that family is quite well-off."

Song Zuer said, "Uh, afraid of that?"

"Mm, there will always be people accusing others of putting on a show, and there's fear too. That family actually didn't dare take on this matter either—if it wasn't handled well, they'd really be cursed to death by people pointing at their backs. But the heart to help was real. I gave the five hundred yuan to the funeral home over there as well."

Song Zuer paused for a moment and said, "What about you, then?"

"I'm a forensic doctor. I just did the work a forensic doctor is supposed to do. Like my teacher said, a forensic doctor must, at all times, maintain absolute rationality, absolute detachment. Only then can handling corpses and cases be done without being affected."

Song Zuer nodded. Perhaps this was Chen Fan's greatest strength.

Late at night, two o'clock, Chen Fan let out a helpless sigh.

The exhausted Song Zuer listened quietly, saying nothing. She knew that, in truth, Chen Fan cared deeply.

He just kept it hidden inside his own heart.

The next morning, countless news outlets were flooded with this kind of story—a boy's redemption.

As for the boy's perception of the girl as a pet puppy, Chen Fan didn't mention it, and didn't want anyone to know.

No matter what the child's intentions were, the child was doing something great.

Only in this way could that supermarket owner be punished, and only in this way could those people full of malice receive their punishment.

The next day, when everyone opened the livestream and found Chen Fan wasn't there, they knew something had happened in the morning.

In the observation room, Teacher Luo said, "I followed up on yesterday's matter. I can give everyone a happy answer: the people have been caught. Many of those who did wrong have been apprehended."

Teacher He said, "Though it's a tenderness that came late, it still counts for something."

Teacher Luo said, "Mm, not bad, I suppose. At least it's handled a little better than not handling it at all. Still, regarding the matter of the child's abandonment, it still needs to be dealt with—after all, cases like this do exist."

Qin Ming said, "Mm, last night, this child was cremated. Someone sent over five hundred yuan and arranged a simple funeral for the child."

Sister Yuanyuan said, "That was Chen Fan, wasn't it?"

Qin Ming said, "No, someone else gave it, not Qin Ming."

Chen Fan could give it; in fact, anyone present could give it. But if everyone gave it, then what meaning would it have?

This story was filled with despair; everyone hoped to see hope, a new hope.

And the camera opened, and a scene appeared before everyone's eyes.

A man singing opera had died on the stage; a long spear was thrust into the man's chest.

In that instant, everyone was shaken by the sight.

Chen Fan, wearing gloves, examined it carefully.

Old Song searched the surroundings for other clues.

"We received the report a little past seven in the morning. The sanitation workers cleaning the scene discovered a person dead here."

Chen Fan looked at the man and said seriously, "Why didn't he fall down?"

Old Song stepped onto the stage and said, "Didn't fall? Don't tell me he was fixed in place?"

Chen Fan looked at the man.

A face full of opera makeup, a long spear in hand, propped on the stage, the spear in his chest so strikingly conspicuous.

"I think I know the answer."