Cherreads

Chapter 483 - The Adoption

 

Translator: CinderTL

 

"Then Xiang Nan refused, so that's why..." Weiwei's expression looked somewhat strange.

"But this way, it makes sense," Wang Changguo chimed in. "Because the threat didn't work, they went to great lengths to send her to the hospital."

"The one who was really having an affair wasn't Xiang Nan, but her husband, Yin Zhenliang! To force Xiang Nan to leave him, he beat her and even used their child..." At this point, the indignant Yu Yu suddenly stopped, as she simultaneously thought of something.

That boy had died.

Could the child's death be related to Yin Zhenliang?

To be with another woman, he beat his wife and even... No.

It shouldn't be.

How could anyone do such a thing?

In other words, could something capable of such an act still be called human?

"How did that child... die?" Yu Yu asked Jiang Cheng, her lips trembling.

"I don't know," Jiang Cheng replied. "The people in the neighborhood aren't clear."

Not knowing... that was the most terrifying answer.

Because behind such a vague answer often lurked a bloody truth.

Yu Yu was willing to believe in the last, most basic shred of goodness hidden in human nature, but reality didn't give her the chance.

"It seems there's something fishy here," Huai Yi's voice was very low but still rational. "Otherwise, the rumors would have been about a normal death from illness or an accident, not like this."

Everyone understood that although Huai Yi spoke euphemistically, the implication was clear: Yin Zhenliang had killed his own child.

Perhaps, in his eyes, the child was just a burden hindering his future.

Just like that obstinate woman.

"Do you think that woman with a special status might know about this?" Cao Yang asked, looking up with a strange expression. "I mean... the whole thing."

Jiang Cheng nodded. "It's possible. This matter would be hard for Yin Zhenliang to accomplish alone. That woman must have been involved."

Otherwise, just getting past the judicial appraisal wouldn't have been so easy.

Though the child was young, it was still a life.

But from the outcome, Yin Zhenliang didn't get into any trouble.

On the contrary, he used his connections to have Xiang Nan locked up in the psychiatric ward of the hospital for over a year.

An even more terrifying speculation was that all of this had been planned by Yin Zhenliang and that powerful woman.

Including getting rid of his troublesome child.

The information Jiang Cheng brought back could only provide a general direction for now. Next, it was up to Huai Yi and Cao Yang to share their findings.

They had gone to investigate Zhao Ru's background.

Regarding this young nurse, Jiang Cheng felt there were many suspicious points.

"We found Zhao Ru's home," Huai Yi explained. "It's in a neighborhood called California Coast in the west of the city."

"It's not a great location. Most of the people living there are ordinary folks."

"Her parents are retired workers. They used to work at the thermal power plant, and now they run a small supermarket downstairs in the neighborhood."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng looked up and asked in a questioning tone, "Her parents are already retired?"

Zhao Ru was at most 20 years old. Logically, her parents shouldn't be anywhere near retirement age.

Looking back 20 years from the current time, people generally had children at a young age.

Many were already parents by their early twenties.

"Zhao Ru's parents are almost 60 years old," Huai Yi said.

The possibility of having a child at 40 is very low, so "They are not Zhao Ru's biological parents," Jiang Cheng said. "They are her adoptive parents. Zhao Ru is their adopted child."

"Exactly," Huai Yi nodded and continued, "We also learned this from the owner of a nearby shop."

"According to that shop owner, Zhao Ru's parents had a child before, a boy. But one winter, he fell seriously ill and didn't make it. He died."

"After that, Zhao Ru's parents seemed to have lost their souls. They lived in a daze for a short while, and then people around them noticed that a baby girl suddenly appeared in their home."

"Finally, smiles returned to their faces. They raised the girl bit by bit."

There was no doubt that this girl was the current Zhao Ru.

"Do you know who brought Zhao Ru?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"They adopted her from an orphanage," Huai Yi said. "It's not far from the California Coast Community. Fortunately, when we went there, the orphanage was still around."

"After spending some time, we found the registration form of the person who brought Zhao Ru. The person who sent her was a man named Wei Zhao."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng looked at Huai Yi with a scrutinizing gaze. Many records from such institutions are confidential, and it was unclear what methods he had used.

"Zhao Ru was less than half a year old when she was brought in. Normally, orphanages don't accept children that young because of the limited conditions and difficulty in raising them."

"But the person who brought her left money," Huai Yi looked up. "10,000 yuan, asking the orphanage to help find a good family for her."

10,000 yuan—that was definitely a large sum in those days.

Someone who could produce that much cash at once was certainly not an ordinary person.

What exactly was Wei Zhao's background? "By the way, the registration form records that the day she was brought in was 18 years ago," Huai Yi said, looking at Jiang Cheng with a strange expression. "Zhao Ru is 18 years old this year."

The pieces of the puzzle instantly fell into place, and Jiang Cheng immediately thought of Xiang Nan.

She died 18 years ago.

And she was pregnant when she died.

But there was no mention of how many months along she was. Could it be that despite the mother's death, the fetus survived? Although this is a hospital, and the rescue time would certainly be guaranteed.

Perhaps Xiang Nan didn't die immediately but gave birth to the child during the rescue? Jiang Cheng wasn't a professional surgeon or obstetrician, so he wasn't sure how feasible this speculation was.

But deep down, he felt that the truth... was exactly this.

Zhao Ru was Xiang Nan's daughter, which would also explain why she came to work at this poorly performing hospital and why she directed all the blame towards Director Qi.

Even taking care of the patient in room 906 might have been Zhao Ru's deliberate choice.

One by one, the things that had puzzled Jiang Cheng suddenly connected, just like their purpose.

They were here to investigate the case, and Zhao Ru, through some means, had learned about these events and came to seek justice for her mother.

All the suspicions now point to this man named Wei Zhao. As long as his identity can be confirmed, most of the mysteries will be unraveled.

The person capable of orchestrating all this and arranging the rescue of the infant must hold a significant position. Moreover, considering the timeline, it is more likely that this person is from within the hospital.

"The former director of this hospital," Huai Yi paused and said, "is named Zhang Zhaowei."

Zhaowei.

(End of the Chapter)

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