Chapter 95: Don

“I don’t know,” the nurse replied coldly.

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

Falsehood… Yu Dazhang immediately sensed it.

And she was avoiding the core issue.

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

Yet she dragged in the entire hospital.

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

Looks like she’s annoyed with me… Yu Dazhang didn’t dwell on 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:

“I’m just curious why that couple chose this hospital in the first place.”

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 that chases gossip.

But a strong desire to understand anything illogical during an investigation.

That’s one reason he often uncovers new leads.

Like going to a restaurant.

Ordinary people, if the food tastes bad, might just avoid it next time, or complain to the owner.

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 your own cooking is?

Something like that.

It’s not just Yu Dazhang—many veteran detectives have this professional habit.

“From the questions you asked, I thought you were going to investigate the hospital,” Ma Jian said jokingly.

“Impossible,” Yu Dazhang replied with a smile:

“The hospital reported the case—no one investigates the reporter right away.”

Even private hospitals are Grade 3A; their rank speaks for itself.

Even if there were problems, Yu Dazhang, a low-ranking detective, couldn’t touch it.

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

After showing their credentials, they retrieved yesterday’s pediatric surveillance footage.

They located the couple’s images, then extracted and saved them.

Next, they obtained the couple’s identity information from hospital staff.

Not locals?

When Yu Dazhang saw that both the husband and wife were from outside the city, he was surprised.

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

Clearly, they came here specifically for this hospital.

If they only cared about Songkou’s medical standards, they’d have picked a public hospital.

Ordinary people would do that.

No matter how much private hospitals advertise, the best doctors are still in public hospitals.

It’s not that private hospitals are bad—just comparatively.

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

Now it was clear: this couple chose the private hospital for reasons other than medical quality.

Yu Dazhang then checked the child’s admission date.

Two weeks ago.

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

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

They’d planned to ask the local police station for help—but now that was useless.

If they weren’t home, the officers sent there couldn’t do anything.

They’d kept the child hospitalized for half a month before abandoning him—this meant they’d originally intended to cure him.

They ran away, 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 in, they could immediately find which hotel they stayed at.

2, stake out the hospital.

Their original intent was to cure the child.

So they probably wouldn’t completely abandon him.

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

Someone might ask:

Isn’t an investigation supposed to require at least two people?

Patrols require at least two, but officers can split up.

If you took that literally, you’d need two people holding hands just to go to the bathroom.

It’s not that rigid—as long as legality and coordination are ensured.

They must maintain communication to ensure timely information sharing and coordinated action.

Please… collect… 6…9…books…!

Not the kind where two people are inseparable everywhere they go.

And splitting up is entirely different from acting independently.

After Ma Jian left, Yu Dazhang returned to pediatrics.

After asking the nurses, he entered the room where the abandoned child lay.

On the foot of the bed, a cardboard sign listed the patient’s information:

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

The child lay under the blanket, only her head exposed, eyes closed, breathing calmly, face pale.

Yu Dazhang suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

He walked to the bedside and sat down slowly, afraid of making noise and waking her.

She was a very beautiful little girl, with delicate features, clear eyes, and skin as white and smooth as porcelain.

But that sweet, innocent face carried a sickly pallor that stirred pity and sorrow.

Yu Dazhang scanned the child’s entire body and felt her sleeping posture was odd.

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

That posture only occurs when lying on one’s side.

After hesitating, he decided to look.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Dazhang gently lifted the blanket—softly, without sound, without touching the child.

When he fully uncovered her, he saw the little girl clutching a photo frame to her chest.

Even in sleep, she held it tightly.

Considering the frame had glass… Yu Dazhang reached to pull it from her arms.

If she rolled over and crushed the glass, she could get hurt.

He pinched one corner of the frame with two fingers and slowly pulled…

But it wouldn’t budge—the girl seemed to sense it, and clutched the frame even tighter.

A faint, almost inaudible sound echoed in the room.

“Mm…”

Yu Dazhang froze.

She woke up!

He quickly pulled his hand back and lowered the blanket.

The little girl named Liu Ying slowly opened her eyes, looked at the unfamiliar man, and asked in a soft voice:

“Uncle, who are you?”

You should call me big brother… Yu Dazhang offered what he thought was a gentle, kind smile:

“I’m a police officer, here to help you find your mom and dad. Do you know where they went?”

“I don’t know,” the girl’s eyes held a flicker of confusion, but quickly hardened with determination:

“Dad told me to be strong when he left… I knew he was saying goodbye. I saw him cry.”

“It’s Xiao Ying’s fault… my illness has burdened Dad and Mom.”

“Uncle Policeman, please… please don’t go look for them.”

“I don’t want to see them cry anymore.”

After speaking, the little girl stared fixedly at Yu Dazhang.

From her gaze, it was clear how desperately she longed for her parents to come and be with her.

Even so, she still spoke words that contradicted her heart.

This is really tough… Yu Dazhang felt deeply uneasy under the little girl’s stare.

If you don’t have money, then don’t have it—why run away!

(End of Chapter)