After being universally criticized online, I went viral on military-themed variety shows.

Chapter 225 Speculation on the Path from Getting Lost to Actively Seeking Help from Family

Yes, how is that possible?
None of the people present even considered the possibility that he had voluntarily run away from home.

They still believe that Xiao Ruyi is timid and has a habit of hiding from people, especially after she realized she was lost from her parents, she became even more timid.

It's hard to imagine that there are still such young children in the world who would run away from home on their own initiative.

I've never encountered anything like this before.

However, this approach failed to uncover any useful clues, further complicating the task of finding Xiaoruyi's parents by relying solely on database filtering.

Lin Mofei glanced at everyone's faces, reddened from working under the scorching sun all afternoon, and their voices, hoarse from asking around for clues. "Let's put Xiao Ruyi's information on the missing children's information website first. Everyone, have a drink of water and take a break."

"In the 'feature description' section, should we also include the cigarette burns on Xiao Ruyi's shoulder?"

Lin Mofei paused for a second, then said, "Let's forget about this one. If anyone actually comes looking for us based on this information online, let them tell us what happened."

[Haha, that's a great idea! Let's see if they'll be too embarrassed to say it then!]

Since you've brought it up, you should at least explain how you got these cigarette burns.

[Wouldn't this be considered walking into a trap? They'll both end up with a pair of silver bracelets.]

[Just thinking about it is so satisfying!]

What will happen to Xiao Ruyi then?

[No way, no way, does anyone really want Xiao Ruyi to be taken home by her heartless parents?]

If having parents is worse than not having them, then going to an orphanage isn't a bad option.

The orphanage the police helped find should be reliable; it's better than being abused at home.

[And with this program helping to spread the word, maybe soon a kind person will come to adopt our little Ruyi.]

Everyone got up and prepared to return to their seats to rest.

Chi Song had just gotten up halfway when he saw Lin Mofei looking in his direction, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Just wait a moment."

Chi Song sat back down.

Jiang Hanying, who had already left her seat, sat down again upon seeing this.

Meeting the gazes of both of them, she said, "I'm not tired."

There's no need to rest.

Lin Mofei didn't say anything, but shifted his gaze back to Chi Song, "Did you have something else to say?"

Chi Song hesitated for a moment, but nodded nonetheless. “I always felt that Xiao Ruyi didn’t get lost from her parents, but rather came to ask for help on her own initiative.”

[I was so frustrated! Finally, someone else had the same guess as me.]

[Does Chi Song mean that Xiao Ruyi came to the police station on her own initiative to tell the police officers that her parents were abusing her?]

[But Xiao Ruyi didn't mention anything about her parents when she arrived. It was Jiang Hanying and Yuan Chaoyu who discovered her injuries and cigarette burns.]

[A three-year-old can indeed do some things on their own, but that shouldn't be included. Besides, young children naturally have a strong attachment to their parents; they wouldn't be likely to proactively call the police to punish their parents.]

Some children are naturally gifted; perhaps Xiao Ruyi is one of them.

[Besides, it's not even certain if they're their biological parents. I always felt that biological parents wouldn't be so heartless.]

[Was Xiao Ruyi originally adopted? Did she run away because she couldn't bear the abuse from her adoptive parents?]

[Quiet down, keep watching, and first listen to why Chi Song thinks this way]

Lin Mofei raised an eyebrow. "A kind young lady brought her here after seeing that she was lost."

Chi Songqing nodded to indicate that he knew about it, "But I asked the senior officers at the police station to check the surveillance footage from the reception hall at the time. The girl said that she came to eat nearby with her friends. When she entered, she noticed a child squatting against the wall. At the time, she just thought that the child was impatient and came out for some fresh air. But when she came out half an hour later after finishing her meal, the child was still there, and she realized that something was wrong. When she went over to ask, there were no parents, and the restaurant's hostess did not remember the child either. That's when she realized that the child was lost and brought him to our police station."

Lin Mofei listened and nodded.

They had also inquired in detail about the girl who brought Xiao Ruyi. "When Xiao Ruyi was wandering the streets earlier, none of the people we asked this afternoon saw her. Why was it that only that girl saw her, and twice at that?"

Lin Mofei: "Her observation skills are stronger than those of ordinary people."

Jiang Hanying: "She is beautiful."

The two men, who had given two completely different guesses, exchanged a glance.

Chi Song affirmed both speculations, saying, "What Captain Lin said is indeed possible, and that girl is indeed quite pretty."

Jiang Hanying immediately had a 'I knew it' expression on her face.

You're so proud of yourself.

So, it seems Xiao Ruyi is a sucker for good looks, only picking out those who are attractive.

I still remember her first words, "Sister, you're so beautiful," which made Jiang Hanying give her all of her favorite braised pork.

“But,” Chi Song changed the subject, “neither of these two things should be the main reason.”

Jiang Hanying and Lin Mofei both exclaimed in unison, "Hmm?"

"I have a guess. Do we have that girl's contact information in our department?"

"Yes. Before she left, the girl said that if the child found his parents, she hoped he could call her back so she could be completely at ease."

"I'd like to call her and ask her something, is that alright?"

Lin Mofei stared intently at Chi Song, who also allowed him to look at her without any hesitation.

After a three-second standoff, Lin Mofei picked up the telephone receiver from the table, put it aside, dialed a number, and put it on speakerphone.

After the call connected, the phone rang for about ten seconds before the person on the other end answered, "Hello?"

There was also the sound of typing in the background, so they must still be at work.

Lin Mofei cleared his throat. "Hello, Miss Yu. This is Wangping Road Police Station. I am Lin Mofei."

The sound of typing on the keyboard suddenly stopped.

"Officer Lin, have you found the child's parents?"

"not yet."

"That……"

Chi Song answered the phone, "Hello, Ms. Yu, this is Chi Song. I'm calling mainly because I have something I'd like to ask you."

"Oh, you asked."

"Before you first met the child, did you do anything? Or did you talk to your friend?"

"Before... let me think about it."

The three people around the phone and the viewers in the live broadcast room all held their breath and waited.

About half a minute later, the voice came through the phone again, "I remember now. When we were walking towards the restaurant, we passed the green belt and heard a cat meowing. When we went over, we found a kitten that had just been born. Its tail was broken off for some reason, and it looked like it was about to die. So I asked my friend to go to the restaurant and order some food while I took the kitten to the nearest vet. I was planning to take it home after get off work. I felt that since I found it, I had to be responsible for such a little life. Further on, I was at work. I sat in front of the computer all morning, and nothing special happened."

"Okay, I understand, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Then you can continue with your work."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Mofei put the receiver back on the phone and looked at Chi Song thoughtfully, "You mean to say that Xiao Ruyi didn't just let others notice her, but deliberately found a kind-hearted person to expose herself?"

Chi Song pointed to the phone that had just been hung up. "Isn't it obvious now? Besides, if she was lost, such a young child should be able to describe what her parents look like and their names, right? You probably asked them that too, but Xiao Ruyi didn't seem to say anything."

He hadn't really thought of that at the time; he just assumed that the child was afraid of strangers and that's why he was silent. He planned to ask again when they were more familiar with each other.

It turns out the child might simply not want to say it!