Chapter 95: Don

"I don't know." The nurse replied with a cold face.

"Whether the hospital has advertising investments or promotional activities is not within our duties as nurses."

Falsehood… Yu Dazhang immediately made his judgment.

And she was avoiding the core issue.

He had just asked specifically: Were there any promotions for pediatrics?

Yet she dragged in the entire hospital.

Besides, if the hospital had promotional activities, how could the nurses not know?

Looks like she's annoyed with me… Yu Dazhang didn't think much of it, assuming she was simply irritated by his questions.

Sure enough, the nurse turned and walked away right after speaking.

Before leaving, she gave Yu Dazhang a side-eye.

On the way to the surveillance room, Ma Jian asked:

"Do you think the hospital has problems?"

"No." Yu Dazhang quickly denied it:

"I'm just curious why that couple originally chose this hospital."

Actually, knowing this wouldn't help much with the case.

What they needed to do now was find the child's parents.

But Yu Dazhang had a professional habit: intense curiosity.

Not the kind of curiosity about gossip.

But during investigations, he developed a strong desire to understand anything illogical.

This was also one reason he kept uncovering new leads.

Like going to a restaurant for a meal.

Ordinary people, if they thought the food was bad, would simply not return, or complain to the owner face-to-face.

But Yu Dazhang would think one step further.

Why is it so bad?

If you're running a business, don't you know how good or bad your own cooking is?

Something like that.

In fact, it wasn't just Yu Dazhang—many veteran detectives had this professional habit.

"From the questions you asked, I thought you were going to investigate the hospital," Ma Jian said with a joking tone.

"Impossible." Yu Dazhang laughed in reply:

"The hospital reported the case—no one just investigates the person who reported it."

Even if it's a private hospital, it's still a Grade 3A hospital—the level speaks for itself.

Even if there were problems, Yu Dazhang, as a junior detective, couldn't touch it.

As they spoke, they arrived at the hospital's surveillance room.

After identifying themselves, they retrieved yesterday's pediatric surveillance footage.

They located the couple's images, then captured and saved them.

They then obtained the couple's identity information from hospital staff.

Not locals?

When he saw that both the husband and wife were from out of town, Yu Dazhang was surprised.

They traveled all the way to Songhai to treat their child—and chose a private Grade 3A hospital.

This clearly meant they came here specifically for this hospital.

If they'd only been drawn by Songhai's medical standards, they'd have chosen a public hospital.

Ordinary people would choose that way.

No matter how much private hospitals advertise, the most skilled doctors are definitely in public hospitals.

It's not that private hospitals are bad—just relatively speaking.

Of course, private hospitals also have many excellent doctors, and their equipment is often more advanced.

Now it was certain: this couple chose the private hospital not for its medical standards.

Yu Dazhang then checked the child's admission time.

Two weeks ago.

This was going to be hard… Yu Dazhang and Ma Jian both sensed the difficulty.

Not locals meant the couple wouldn't return to their hometown anytime soon.

They'd originally planned to coordinate with the local police station—but now that was useless.

They weren't home; the officers sent there would accomplish nothing.

They waited half a month to abandon the child—this meant they'd originally intended to cure him.

The reason they ran away was most likely because they ran out of money.

Only two options remained: 1, check the network system for hotel registration records.

If they used their ID cards to check into a hotel, they could immediately find out which one.

2, stake out the hospital.

Their original intention was to cure the child.

So they probably wouldn't completely abandon him.

After discussion, they decided: Ma Jian would check the registration records, and Yu Dazhang would stay at the hospital to stake out.

A buddy asked.

Isn't handling a case at least two people?

Dispatching officers is at least two, but they can split up to act.

If we were really that strict, even going to the bathroom would require two people holding hands, unable to separate.

It's not that rigid — as long as the legality and coordination of the action are ensured, it's fine.

The two need to keep communication open, ensuring timely sharing of information and coordinated action.

Please... you.... bookmark 6... 9.... book.... ba....!

It's not what everyone imagines — the two go everywhere inseparable.

Besides, splitting up to act and acting independently are two completely different concepts.

After Ma Jian left, Yu Dazhang returned to the pediatrics department.

After asking the nurse, he came to the ward of that abandoned child.

The cardboard at the foot of the bed had the patient's information written on it.

Liu Ying, female, six years old, pediatric encephalitis…

At this moment, the child on the bed was covered by a quilt, with only a head sticking out. Her eyes were closed, her breathing was even, and her face was pale.

Yu Dazhang suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

He walked to the bedside and slowly sat down, afraid that any noise would wake the child.

She was a very pretty little girl — delicate features, clear brows and bright eyes, skin Bai Xi and fine, like porcelain.

But such a cute, well-behaved little face carried a sickly pallor, stirring pity and heartache.

Yu Dazhang swept his gaze over the child's whole body, always feeling her sleeping posture was a bit odd.

She was clearly lying on her back, yet seemed to be hugging something.

This posture only appears when lying on one's side.

After a moment's hesitation, he still decided to take a look.

After a deep breath, Yu Dazhang gently lifted the quilt — his movements were light, making no sound at all, and he didn't touch the child.

After fully lifting the quilt, he saw the little girl holding a photo frame against her chest.

Even in sleep, she still held it tightly.

Considering there was glass on the photo frame… Yu Dazhang reached out, wanting to pull it out from her arms.

Holding it like that — if she turned over and the glass shattered, she'd get hurt.

Yu Dazhang pinched one corner of the photo frame with two fingers, slowly applying force…

Not only did it not come out, the little girl seemed to sense it, and instead hugged the frame even tighter.

A sound so faint it was almost inaudible rose in the room.

"Mm…"

Yu Dazhang froze.

She was awake!

He hurriedly pulled back his hand and lowered the lifted quilt.

The little girl named Liu Ying struggled to open her eyes, looked at the unfamiliar man before her, and asked in a thin, tender voice:

"Uncle, who are you?"

You should call me bro… Yu Dazhang put on what he considered a gentle, kindly smile:

"Uncle is a policeman, here to help you find your mom and dad. Do you know where they went?"

"I don't know." The little girl's eyes held a trace of bewilderment, but it was quickly replaced by resolve:

"When Daddy left, he told me to be strong. I… I knew he was saying goodbye to me. I saw him cry."

"It's because Xiao Ying is bad… Xiao Ying's illness dragged down Mom and Dad."

"Policeman Uncle, please… please don't go look for them."

"I don't want to see them cry anymore."

After saying that, the little girl fixed her eyes hopefully on Yu Dazhang.

From her gaze, one could see how much this child longed for her parents to come keep her company.

Even so, she still spoke words that didn't match her heart.

This is really something… Yu Dazhang was made so uncomfortable all over by that little girl's eyes.

No money is no money — why'd you run!

(End of this chapter)