“What’s wrong with her; wasn’t she fine just last night?” Pei Ge could not fathom why the girl would suddenly become like this just after her short trip to the police station.

  “I have no idea; the nurse came this morning to deliver her breakfast while I was at the bank. She was sleeping when I got back. I thought that she was asleep, so I didn’t wake her up. When the nurse delivered lunch, she refused to eat and just asked to see you. I looked for the hospital director, but he said that you weren’t around. My daughter almost went into shock and had to be put on IV drip this afternoon. I could only request for you to meet her.”


  “Alright. Say no more; I’ll go see her now.”


  Ji Ziming, who was beside her as they followed Du Chunlan, whispered, “Why is that girl so reliant on you?”


  “I feel that she’s slightly different,” she whispered back.

  “How is she different?” He shot her a cold glance as he began to notice that this little woman had many mysteries awaiting his discovery.

  “Intuition.” The woman gave a general answer, nearly causing him to knock into a pillar.

  Seeing this, his woman stopped to ask softly, “What’s wrong with you?”


  “Nothing. Let’s go.” The chilliness in his eyes was akin to a resplendent galaxy. He pulled her hand and followed the girl’s mother. Du Chunlan, who was walking in front, did not sense anything off with the people behind her.

  When they stepped into the ward, Pei Ge quickly spotted Niu Niu lying on the bed. Her face was pale and the dishes placed at the side table had long turned cold.

  “Auntie.” The girl feebly spoke.

  “Silly child, why aren’t you willing to eat?” She looked at the girl with an aching heart and reached out to cover her properly with the blankets.

  “I have something to tell you.” The girl looked at the people behind the auntie and gave her mother an eye-signal. “Mom, can you all leave? I wanna speak to auntie alone.”


  “What is wrong with you? Is there anything that you can’t tell me?” Tears welled up in her mother’s eyes, not having any idea on what the girl wanted to talk to Pei Ge in private.

  “Your auntie here is a busy person and has already waived our hospital fees. You can’t demand more from her; do you understand?” The woman chastised her daughter out of concern. She had always been an honest, dutiful person in their village. If her daughter did not have such a serious illness, there was little chance that she would leave the village to come to the capital.

  “Madam Du, please step outside for a bit. I don’t mind your daughter’s request and can accommodate it.” Seeing that the girl was bent on keeping her lips sealed unless the others left, Pei Ge told the mother this. The kid had already expended all her energy just to say that.

  The man’s dark eyes were always fixed on his woman. She faced Hong Qiang by herself in the interrogation room at the police station; now, Niu Niu, too, wanted to be alone with his woman in this ward. He really had no idea what the father-daughter pair was after.

  “Ziming, you step outside for a bit, too.”


  “I refuse.”


  Pei Ge looked at the girl in bed. The latter had closed her eyes by then, seemingly unaffected by their conversation.

  “Just leave.”


  “I won’t.”


  The couple was at a standstill. Seeing that he was unwilling to move an inch, she reached out and pushed him outside the ward.

  “Why must I leave for you two to talk?” Ever since he was a child, nobody dared to ask him to get out. He had always been the one sending people out.

  “She’s only a child; stop being petty. Don’t worry; I’ll tell you what we talk about.”


  “Mhm.” Ji Ziming held her hand. “Call me if there’s anything.”


  “I got it.” She coquettishly slapped his hand away. Once the man stepped outside the ward, she closed the door and returned to the girl’s side again.

  “Lass, they’re all outside now; what do you want to tell me?”


  “Auntie, is your name Pei Ge?” Niu Niu opened her eyes.

  “How do you know?” Everybody addressed her as Madam Ji in this hospital. Including the director and higher-ups, only a handful here knew her name.

  “My father didn’t knock you down. He was framed.” The girl did not appear as weak as before and looked serious as she tried to defend her father.

  The woman frowned, her instincts telling her that this girl might provide her with some crucial clues to the case if her father could not.

  “How did you know that? Weren’t you in the hospital at that time?”


  “I overheard my father talking to someone a few days prior. My father thought I was asleep then. I heard him mentioning your name and something about ‘drunk-driving,’ ‘headlights off,’ and ‘failing to see someone on the road’ over the phone. When you came over to visit me the other day, the director told us that you’re this hospital owner’s wife. I didn’t know at first that you’re the person my dad was talking about. It’s only when I coincidentally saw you on a magazine cover that I recognized you.” The girl paused, her eyes looking apologetic.

  This child was only about ten, but she had the maturity and intelligence of a grown-up.

  “Then, do you know who called your father?” Pei Ge became anxious when she heard the girl’s words. When Niu Niu recovered, she might put her by her side along with the girl’s family.

  “I don’t know, but when my father answered the call, I overheard the person on the other end mentioning the amount of ‘seven million’, which more or less was the cost of my surgery . Auntie, you know that my family couldn’t afford to pay for my operation.” The girl’s eyes dimmed, and tears rolled down her face so quietly that they were unnoticeable.

  “That’s why I hope that you can find out the truth. My father only accepted that money for my sake. If not for me, he wouldn’t have done that.”


  “I know.” She nodded at the girl lightly, and her gaze on the latter became gentler.

  “Auntie, please promise me that you’ll look for the truth. I know that my father received money from a bad person, but I really can’t bear for him to go to prison because of me.”


  “Rest assured, lass; I’ll make sure to find out the truth about this matter.”


  “Thank you, auntie.”


  “Why are you thanking me? Even if you don’t tell me all this today, I will still seek the truth.” She laughed. “Still, you telling me this has made something clear to me.”


  “What is it?” The girl frowned.

  “That your father saving your life is worth it.” The girl could neither see nor understand the woman’s intriguing look.

  “What do you mean?”


  “Nothing. It’s just worth it for your father to have you as a daughter.”