Chapter 41: We Are Now Formally Notifying You
「The next morning at 9:00 AM, in the Hai City People’s Hospital.」
The couple stormed up to the front desk, but after asking the nurse a question, their anger instantly fizzled out.
It turned out that a paternity test couldn’t be done at a regular hospital. They had to either find a private lab or get a legally binding forensic paternity test.
Either way, they couldn’t get the results on the same day; it would take five to seven days.
At this, Zhang Daoyi started to lose his nerve. He found a long bench to sit on and said in a low voice, "What are we going to do if the test comes back and... it’s not? Maybe we should just forget it. Whether it is or it isn’t, I’ll accept it."
Zhang Daoyi was wavering, but Chen Feng hadn’t given up in the slightest. She grabbed him directly by the collar.
"What’s a big man like you so afraid of? I, Chen Feng, have always lived my life with integrity. I’ll admit to what I’ve done, but no one is going to frame me for something I haven’t. This test—we absolutely have to do it."
Just then, a couple holding a little girl hurried toward the front desk. They were probably in such a rush that they didn’t notice the little girl’s head was lolling off their arm, dangling in the air.
The little girl seemed to have a fever. Her face was flushed red, and a cooling patch was stuck to her forehead.
It wasn’t the girl’s condition that caught Zhang Daoyi’s attention, but her appearance.
Although her features hadn’t fully developed, she looked incredibly familiar, as if he had seen someone who resembled her somewhere before.
’This person must be important to me,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, the impression wouldn’t be so strong.’
’Who could it be?’
Seeing Zhang Daoyi still silent, Chen Feng grew even angrier. She yanked hard on his collar, trying to pull him to his feet.
But given Zhang Daoyi’s sheer size, all her effort only managed to make him stumble.
Zhang Daoyi grabbed her hand and gestured with his eyes. "Look at that little girl. I feel like she looks really familiar, but I can’t remember who she resembles."
Chen Feng subconsciously looked in the direction Zhang Daoyi indicated. When she saw the little girl, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity as well.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in her mind: a person with long hair pinned up, wearing a long robe, and sporting a neat goatee.
Chen Feng snapped her head back to meet Zhang Daoyi’s gaze. The two of them spoke the same person’s nickname in unison: "The Divine Old Physician!"
A terrible suspicion simultaneously surfaced in both their minds. The expressions on their faces shifted again and again until they finally reached a consensus.
’True or not, we have to run the test and find out!’
"Oh, dear, it’s hard enough when a child is sick. You’re not holding her right, which is just making her more uncomfortable." Walking over to the couple, Chen Feng spoke to the woman with a tone that was half-friendly, half-chiding. She then helped adjust the child’s position. "This is a more comfortable way to hold her."
The woman was a bit bewildered by Chen Feng’s forwardness, but since the stranger was being warm-hearted, she quickly thanked her.
"Your child is so beautiful. How old is she?" Chen Feng brushed the little girl’s cheek with her finger.
"She just turned three." The woman didn’t know what Chen Feng was up to, but she instinctively held her child tighter, afraid this person might try to snatch her.
"My son is just over six now. He got hurt a few days ago and is staying in the hospital. Sigh, it was so hard for us to conceive him in the first place. When he got hurt, it scared me half to death."
"Isn’t that the truth!" The woman was drawn in by Chen Feng’s words and continued the thought, "It was so hard for us to have this child, too. Seeing her sick is worse than being sick myself."
"Oh, so did you get treatment at a hospital? We conceived after seeing an Old Chinese Physician for conditioning treatments," Chen Feng asked probingly.
"What a coincidence, we also saw an Old Chinese Physician for conditioning!" The woman was a little surprised. "Which one did you go to? I went to the clinic across from the Hai City Library."
Chen Feng was about to blurt out "Me too," but for some reason, she stopped herself just as the words were about to leave her mouth. What came out instead was, "A Chinese physician back in my hometown helped me."
The woman wanted to say more, but the man had already finished registering. Holding the registration slip and medical records, he called to his wife, and they hurried toward the consultation room.
Chen Feng returned to Zhang Daoyi’s side and held out her palm. Lying quietly in it were a few fine strands of hair, complete with their follicles.
In the end, the two of them chose a private lab for the paternity test because they could get it expedited. The results would be ready in just three days.
The Old Chinese Physician, the very person Zhang Daoyi and his wife were talking about, was sitting in his clinic when he suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his itchy nose. ’Why do I keep sneezing these past few days?’
’The feeling of unease is getting stronger. I need to move up my plan to leave Hai City, get rid of everything that needs to be dealt with, and finish up all the work on my plate as quickly as possible.’
Suddenly, the Old Chinese Physician thought of Xu Juan and her husband, who had come in for a consultation a few days ago. ’Maybe I should just cancel their appointment.’
But an image of Xu Juan’s gentle face and her full, well-proportioned figure appeared in his mind, and he felt a pang of reluctance.
’It would be such a shame to cancel on a beauty like that!’
After thinking it over and over, the Old Chinese Physician finally made a decision.
"Ning, go give Xu Juan and her husband a call. Tell them to come to the clinic for their consultation in three days." The Old Chinese Physician paused, then added, "I’ll be going on a business trip after this consultation and will be away from Hai City for a long time, so tell them to seize the opportunity."
Ning, the Short-haired Youth who had been dozing in a corner of the clinic, was woken up by the Old Chinese Physician’s words. He rubbed his drowsy eyes and replied, "Okay."
The Old Chinese Physician had met the Short-haired Youth over a week ago while on a walk after dinner. Noticing a slight resemblance to his own son in his youth, he struck up a conversation and, to his surprise, found they got along very well.
When he then heard the youth was unemployed and looking for work, he impulsively brought him back to the clinic to be his assistant.
These past few days, looking at the young man, he felt as if he had gone back to the time when his own son was still a handsome youth.
Back then, his son had also kept him company just like this.
While he was seeing patients and preparing medicine, his son would be doing his homework nearby, and would even come over to help after he was finished.
SIGH!
Thinking of his son now, who spent all day playing video games in that dilapidated old house, not even willing to get out of bed, the Old Chinese Physician couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
’Why? Why did it turn out like this?’
Ning called Xu Juan and her husband. They agreed without the slightest hesitation.
After hanging up, Ning didn’t go back inside the clinic. Instead, he squatted in front of the entrance and began to think.
’At first, I thought this was just an ordinary clinic. I was even hoping I could learn a few things while helping out.’
’But after working here for just one day, I realized something was off. It made me curious, so I started paying closer attention to the Old Chinese Physician’s words and actions.’
’Who would’ve thought that the more I watched, the more strange things I’d find.’
’For example, the clinic’s decor is way too luxurious. And when the Old Chinese Physician treats patients, he always goes into a secret room and never asks me to help. And sometimes, he’ll sneak out of bed in the middle of the night, dressed mysteriously, and go out...’
’And finally, there’s that dilapidated old house out in the wilderness. My gut tells me there’s definitely someone inside.’
’Otherwise, why would the Old Chinese Physician pass up a comfortable bed to go sleep in a rundown house in the middle of nowhere?’
’I just don’t know if the person inside is there voluntarily or is being held captive. If they’re a prisoner, should I call the police?’
’The Old Chinese Physician is a bit strange, but he’s been really good to me. He gives me food, drink, clothes, and money—he’s taken care of everything.’
’He’s a million times better than my last boss at the hotel, who just wanted to take advantage of me.’
’Maybe I should just wait and see. Yeah, just wait and see.’
’Maybe this is all a misunderstanding. I’ll just observe a little longer. I wouldn’t want to wrongly accuse a good person.’
「Hai City People’s Hospital. In the hospital room of the owner of Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant.」
The owner had a mild concussion and could have been discharged yesterday.
However, she still felt very dizzy and was unsteady on her feet. Worried that something might happen at home where she couldn’t get immediate medical attention, she decided to stay in the hospital for a few more days until she felt better.
Suddenly, the sound of chaotic footsteps came from outside her room, eventually stopping right in front of her door.
The owner assumed it was just a routine check-up and casually said, "Come in."
The door opened, but it wasn’t doctors or nurses in white coats who entered; it was a group of uniformed police officers.
"Excuse me, are you the owner of Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant, Liu Jia?" The middle-aged man in the lead, who had a square-shaped face, wore a kind expression and seemed very approachable.
Liu Jia didn’t answer. Staring at their uniforms, her heart began to pound erratically. A violent wave of nausea surged through her, and with a BLECH, she leaned over the side of the bed and vomited profusely. The room was instantly filled with a pungent odor.
The middle-aged man was clearly experienced with such scenes; his expression didn’t change one bit. He simply repeated the question: "Excuse me, are you Ms. Liu Jia?"
After vomiting, Liu Jia finally felt a little better. Her mind cleared slightly, and she answered weakly, "Yes, I’m Liu Jia. What do you want with me?"
The officers took out their badges and showed them to Liu Jia. "Ms. Liu Jia, we are here to formally notify you that the food produced at your establishment is suspected of violating food safety laws and endangering public health. Please cooperate with our investigation."
"We will never wrongly accuse a good person." The middle-aged man’s eyes narrowed, his friendly and kind expression shifting to one of fierce resolve. "But we will absolutely never let a bad person go!"