Chapter 72 The Familiar-Looking Child

“Brother Dao, nothing over there!”

“We found nothing in the wards except patients and their families.”

“Do you think that little brat might have run out of the hospital?”

Hearing this, the man called Brother Dao coldly denied it, “Impossible for him to have left the hospital.”

“We’ve been chasing right behind him—he had no chance to double back.”

“He’s probably hiding in one of the wards.”

Knowing this made sense, the person who spoke earlier made another sound.

“How could that be?”

“There’s only one room per ward, the sheets only cover the edges of the bed, and there’s no space under the bed to hide.”

“Unless he’s hiding in a patient’s bed?”

Though said as a joke, it drew a response from Brother Dao.

“Can’t rule it out!”

“Maybe some patient has lost their mind.”

After saying this, he directly looked at the row of wards ahead.

“These are all single rooms, occupied by people of status.”

“But we have no choice—we have to search, or we can’t account for this to the boss.”

“Besides, I heard the boss’s boss is coming to collect the goods. We can’t afford any slip-ups at this critical moment.”

“No matter what, we must find that little brat!”

After his voice fell, uneven responses followed, suggesting there were about five or six people.

Soon after, footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Just as Shen Yi’an thought they had all left, a knock came from outside.

“Excuse me!”

“My child has bipolar disorder and slipped out of the ward when we weren’t watching closely.”

“Someone said they saw a child run in this direction. Have you seen him?”

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an glanced under the bed.

Though she couldn’t see anything, she sensed the slight figure holding its breath.

It seemed he was afraid she would tell the truth.

The corners of her lips curved slightly, and her reply was firm, “I’m a pregnant woman. No one except doctors is allowed in this ward.”

“You’re looking in the wrong place.”

After a moment of silence following her response, the voice outside spoke again.

“Comrade, could you let us in to check?”

“It’s not that we want to barge into your room, but you have no idea how dangerous a child with bipolar disorder can be.”

“Prone to manic outbursts and extreme behavior.”

“If you don’t let us search, and he’s hiding in some corner of your room and suddenly acts out, you’ll be the one who gets hurt.”

Hearing the logical reasoning from outside, before Shen Yi’an could respond, she saw the slender figure under the bed partially emerge, frantically waving both hands.

His panicked expression made it clear he was refuting the claims from outside.

Seeing this, Shen Yi’an raised her right index finger to her lips, signaling him to stay quiet, then took a moment to reply to the door, “I told you, I’m alone in this room. Can’t you understand plain language?”

“Leave now, or I’ll press the call button.”

“Then you’ll have to explain yourselves to the doctors.”

Hearing this, the voices outside fell silent, and soon, faint, rustling footsteps gradually faded away.

Knowing the people outside had left, Shen Yi’an didn’t relax.

Ever since she faintly overheard the conversation outside, a suspicion had begun to form in her mind.

When she heard the man called “Brother Knife” say, “The boss’s boss is coming to our side to pick up the goods,” she confirmed her suspicion.

The people outside her ward were likely the very group the female boss of the human traffickers wanted to contact!

There was no other explanation—the coincidences were too striking.

Just as the female boss of the human traffickers was expected to arrive in Xincheng, someone mentioned the boss’s boss coming to pick up the goods, and just then, those outside were searching for someone—specifically, a child.

Though it wasn’t necessarily a meeting of the human trafficking ring, she felt the two events could be connected.

Another key reason was that the child on the ground looked somewhat familiar.

Since her rebirth, the people she had interacted with the most were her family members, so the question of familiarity didn’t apply—her family was the closest group of people to her in this world.

Beyond that, everyone else she had encountered were acquaintances she remembered or had impressions of.

Li Beichen didn’t count—he was practically family now.

Under these circumstances, the only people who could seem familiar to her were those she had encountered on the train journey.

Of course, her third brother-in-law was an exception.

Given his age, he couldn’t possibly have a child as old as the one before her.

Conductor Li was also an exception—he clearly looked like an unmarried young man.

There was no other reason; he still carried a heavy air of childishness.

Chief Conductor Xu was even more of an exception.

At his age, he likely already had grandchildren, probably still infants.

After excluding all these people she had interacted with, the answer became obvious.

It could only be Song Chaoxu.

Most importantly, he was a father actively searching for his child, and right in front of her was a child whose age and appearance matched perfectly.

Putting all these clues together, Shen Yi’an confirmed the identity of the child before her.

As for why she didn’t let the child get up, it was because of the threat outside the door.

Judging by the way those people spoke so recklessly, it was clear they weren’t honest or law-abiding types.

Since they weren’t honest people, they wouldn’t act in an honest manner.

It was entirely possible their departure was only temporary.

After searching around and finding nothing, they would likely return to her ward—and this time, they might force their way in.

Having thought through all this, when she met the grateful gaze of the slender figure, she shook her head apologetically. “You can’t go out yet.”

“Although I managed to fool them into leaving, they might come back this way if they can’t find anyone after searching around.”

“If you go out now, you might run right into them.”

Seeing the child’s expression instantly tense up, she casually pointed to the lunchbox on the table. “This is my dinner. I haven’t touched it yet—you can have it.”

“Eat your fill to build up strength. You’ll need plenty of energy to deal with those people.”

Hearing this, the slender figure looked at her in surprise, his voice hoarse from not having drunk water for a long time.

“You… aren’t you going to eat?”

“I… cough… I’m not hungry. I can hold out a bit longer.”

After speaking, his gaze fell on Shen Yi’an’s stomach. “The baby will get hungry.”

Despite his words, the longing in his eyes for the food was unmistakable.

Shen Yi’an didn’t say much more, simply pushing the lunchbox forward. “Eat. It’s fine.”

“He (she) is still small and doesn’t need much food.”

Feeling the first kindness he had encountered since leaving home, the slender figure’s eyes instantly reddened.

Afraid of being seen, he quickly scrambled up from the floor, grabbed his lunchbox, and immediately crouched back down.

There was no other choice—the ward door wasn’t made entirely of wood; a large glass panel was embedded in the upper section.

This design was practical for the hospital, allowing staff to monitor the room at any time and respond immediately if a patient needed assistance.

But for the small, hunched figure on the floor, it was anything but convenient.

If he dared to eat at the table, anyone passing by could spot him with a single glance.

Crouching on the floor eliminated that risk.

The lower half of the door was solid wood, creating a perfect blind spot.

Watching the child wolf down his porridge while squatting, Shen Yi’an instinctively touched her abdomen.

Her child would never have to endure such hardship—they would grow up safe, healthy, and well-cared for.

Experiences like this were far too cruel, especially for a child.

If Song Chaoxu and his wife could see their son crouched on the floor, hurriedly finishing his meal, they wouldn’t just tear up—they would likely break down in tears.

Just as the child was taking the last two mouthfuls of porridge, a familiar knock sounded at the door.

Immediately after, the door was pushed open with the force of an intruder.

“Sorry to disturb you!”

“We’ve searched all the other wards and couldn’t find our child, so we thought we’d try our luck here.”

“If we’ve startled you, our apologies—but given the urgency, I’m sure you can understand.”

“After all, you mentioned you’re pregnant earlier—surely you can imagine the pain of a missing child.”

As they spoke, the visitor strode directly toward the hospital bed.