Chapter 25

“Why are you suddenly asking about him? Was there some problem with the surgery?” Liang Sheng’s brows furrowed slightly, showing a trace of concern.

Hearing this, Ruan Mingxi quickly replied, “No, the surgery was fine. We just want to learn more about Gao Hai.”

Liang Sheng grew even more puzzled, but still patiently asked, “It’s been quite a while, so I may not remember very clearly. But if I know anything, I’ll definitely cooperate.”

“Before Gao Hai completed his heart surgery, he had stayed in the hospital for nearly half a year. As his attending physician, you must have interacted with him quite a lot. Do you still remember your impression of him?”

Liang Sheng’s face was full of worry as he tried to recall. “If I’m not mistaken, this child had a rather withdrawn personality. He didn’t like talking to people and seemed to have no friends. During the half‑year he was hospitalized, including the surgery and recovery, no one from his family ever came to visit him.”

Ruan Mingxi’s eyes shifted slightly, “His parents never came to see him?”

Liang Sheng lowered his gaze and shook his head slightly. “It seemed his parents were divorced. Neither of them cared for him, though they did provide plenty of money.”

Hospitals are places that consume money quickly. Gao Hai’s heart condition required repeated hospital visits and eventually a stent surgery, all of which cost a lot.

During his hospitalization, Liang Sheng never heard of him being unable to pay medical fees.

As he spoke, Liang Sheng suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, right,” Liang Sheng said. “When Gao Hai was about to undergo surgery, a consent form had to be signed. We called his family, but no matter what, they refused to come. In the end, they even scolded our medical staff.”

“And afterwards?” Ruan Mingxi asked.

“Without a signature, we didn’t dare perform the surgery. Finally, Gao Hai himself called them and threatened that if they didn’t come to sign, he would report it to the police.”

Liang Sheng continued, “Even then, they still didn’t want to come. Eventually, officers from the local police station had to handle it.”

Gao Hai’s mother came to sign the consent form, but left quickly without even asking a single question.

Ruan Mingxi was very surprised. He hadn’t expected Gao Hai’s relationship with his parents to be so poor.

No wonder, after the coordination notice had been issued for so long, no one came to the bureau to file a report. Perhaps his parents didn’t even know their son had gone missing.

After clarifying the general situation, the two left the hospital.

Ruan Mingxi immediately ordered that Gao Hai’s parents be notified to come to the Public Security Bureau and cooperate with the investigation.

—

Just as they reached the doorway, they heard shouting inside. The attitude was not only hostile but also extremely arrogant.

“What’s going on here? What law have we broken that you drag us to the police station? Do you know how important my business meeting is this afternoon? If it’s delayed, who among you will compensate me?”

Yao Panpan kept trying to calm them down, but the other party refused to listen, repeatedly saying “Bring out your leader!” and “What’s your badge number? I’m going to file a complaint against you!”

Ruan Mingxi picked up a feather duster from the table and struck it down once. The few remaining feathers, already sparse, flew off under the violent blow.

The feathers drifted in the air for a while before settling on the ground.

The loud noise startled everyone in the office. Ruan Mingxi stormed in with an intimidating presence.

“You… who are you? This is the police station. Try causing trouble here and see what happens!”

Gao Hai’s father, Gao Xiang, saw Ruan Mingxi walking straight toward him and was so frightened that he stammered, unable to speak clearly.

Because Ruan Mingxi often ran fieldwork, he rarely wore a police uniform. Holding a bare feather duster in his hand, with eyes flashing fiercely, he really looked like a thug barging in to cause trouble.

Not only was Gao Xiang frightened, but even the other colleagues in the bureau were nervous, afraid that the captain might “lose control” and strike them with the feather duster.

“So you do know this is the police station. What are you shouting for? Bullying the young woman just because your voice is louder? Try being aggressive again and see what happens.”

“You… you…”

The veins on Ruan Mingxi’s hand holding the feather duster were clearly visible. Gao Xiang swallowed nervously, terrified.

“What do you mean ‘you’? Weren’t you going to file a complaint?” Ruan Mingxi’s anger flared. “I’m their leader. Speak! Let me hear what you want to complain about.”

Gao Xiang opened his mouth, stammering for a long time, but couldn’t say a single word.

“What kind of attitude is this, being called to the police station to cooperate? And you dare shout here? Do you think this is some ordinary place?”

As he spoke, Ruan Mingxi swept his gaze across the office police officers.

“And you all—can’t even handle one person? Just standing there watching? Each of you will write a 500‑word self‑criticism.”

Before they could even feel proud that their “old leader” had stood up for them so impressively, they were already assigned a 500‑word self‑criticism. Yao Panpan groaned inwardly.

Amidst everyone’s “grief,” Ruan Mingxi dragged the man into another room.

Ying Shi quickly followed, and before entering, asked someone to prepare sampling equipment.

In the corner, Jiang Xuzhou and Lin Peixin watched the whole scene with complex expressions, not knowing how to describe it.

Jiang Xuzhou raised his brows slightly, clearly never having seen this side of Ruan Mingxi, and found it novel. “Is he always like this in the bureau?”

Lin Peixin, now already very close with Jiang Xuzhou like brothers, immediately gave an enthusiastic introduction. “Of course. Don’t be fooled by his usual joking, unserious manner. When he loses his temper, no one in the bureau dares to cross him.”

“But he doesn’t get angry for no reason. Normally, he can joke and play around with everyone, but when it comes to work, mistakes are not allowed.”

The police officer who had taken the sampling materials finished extracting the DNA sample and immediately sent it to the DNA laboratory for testing.

Gao Hai’s mother had remarried last year and immigrated overseas with her second husband, so only Gao Xiang came.

Gao Xiang was still shaken from being intimidated by Ruan Mingxi earlier. Sitting in his seat, he kept watching him warily.

Even though Ruan Mingxi no longer held the feather duster in his hand, his gaze was still so fierce that Gao Xiang remained extremely guarded.

Ying Shi felt both exasperated and amused.

“When was the last time you contacted Gao Hai?”

Ruan Mingxi sat to the side, acting as the stabilizing presence, already picking up a pen to prepare the written record. Ying Shi naturally took over the role of questioning.

Gao Xiang’s brows furrowed tightly. Though angry, he did not dare refuse cooperation. “I don’t remember. It’s been a long time since we had contact.”

“When I divorced his mother, the court awarded custody to her. As long as I pay my monthly child support, that’s enough,” Gao Xiang said confidently.

“Did that kid commit some crime?”

“Officer, let me make it clear first. Gao Hai didn’t grow up with me. I don’t know anything about him. Looking for me is useless. I know nothing.”

Gao Xiang looked as if he wanted to sever all ties with Gao Hai, which made Ying Shi frown deeply.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xuzhou, with nothing else to do, helped Lin Peixin by assisting in organizing the data.

Coincidentally, the intern he had brought along had returned to school for classes, so Lin Peixin happily gained a top student as his assistant, grinning so widely his smile nearly reached his temples.