Chapter 10 — My Daughter's Iron Box

Shen Zhiqiang nodded. He wanted to say that he understood, but his throat could not squeeze out a single sound. More than ten minutes later, the doctor finally emerged from the emergency room.

The girl woke up briefly, then drifted back to sleep. Her body is currently far too weak, and her nerves are severely frayed. "It is best if family members do not force their presence upon her right now."

Shen Zhiqiang asked, "his voice raw and hoarse. Can I keep watch outside?"

The doctor looked at him with a very complicated gaze. "You can." But do not let her see you.

That single sentence carried more weight than any harsh reprimand. Shen Zhiqiang walked over and sat down on the long wooden bench at the very end of the hallway. From that exact vantage point, he could see the door of the emergency room, yet remain entirely hidden from anyone inside. He placed the heavy iron box upon his knees. The papers inside were laid out one by one. Hospital bills. The application for school withdrawal. Unpaid tuition debt notices. Even a sheet completely warped and blurred by rainwater. Each piece of paper resembled silent evidence that Shen Anan had exhausted every ounce of her strength to leave behind. Not to accuse anyone, but merely to prove that she had once fought desperately to survive. Officer Lu stood nearby, taking a succession of phone calls. Tang Meijuan had already been brought in for interrogation. As for Tang Meichun, authorities in the city had also dispatched personnel to locate her. Shen Zhiqiang raised his head slowly.

"I can provide the security camera footage from my house, along with all of their phone records."

Officer Lu nodded. This evidence is crucial. Furthermore, if your wife was involved in the trafficking of minors, this goes far beyond a simple domestic dispute.

The whites of Shen Zhiqiang's eyes were completely bloodshot. "I will not plead for her."

Officer Lu looked down at him. "Are you certain?" Many family members reach this exact stage and ultimately decide to let it go.

Shen Zhiqiang slowly tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white against the edge of the iron box. "I have let things go far too many times in the past." This time, whoever dared to touch Anan will pay the ultimate price.

Officer Lu offered no further words. As dawn broke, the nurse transferred Shen Anan to a standard observation room. For safety reasons, a guard was stationed directly outside the door. Shen Zhiqiang could only remain rooted in the quiet corner of the hallway. Every time the ward door swung open and shut, he caught a distant glimpse of the fragile girl lying upon the bed. Her hands were so thin they appeared to be nothing more than translucent parchment stretched over bone. An IV needle was taped firmly to the back of her hand, the edges of the adhesive stained with faint specks of dried blood. A nurse came in to change her dressings. The girl neither wept nor made a single sound; she merely turned her face toward the window, staring blankly outside. That profound silence was far sharper and more agonizing than any piercing scream could ever be. At noon, Teacher Jiang hurried into the county hospital. She had run the entire way, her forehead glistening with a fine layer of sweat. Catching sight of Shen Zhiqiang, she halted two paces away.

"Have they found her?"

Shen Zhiqiang lowered his head. Found.

Teacher Jiang's eye sockets instantly turned red. "How is she doing?"

Still under observation. The doctor said she must remain hospitalized for now.

Teacher Jiang raised a hand to cover her mouth, taking a moment to steady her breathing before she asked, "Does she want to see you?"

Shen Zhiqiang shook his head. Teacher Jiang stared at him, her eyes completely devoid of even a shred of pity. Then do not force her. Right now, what she fears the most is not her illness. "It is the terrifying prospect of you all dragging her back, forcing her to continue acting like an overly sensible, obedient child."

Shen Zhiqiang's voice dropped to a low whisper. "I will never do that to her again."

Teacher Jiang emitted a cold, bitter laugh. "You say you will not, but what reason does she have to believe you?"

Shen Zhiqiang was left entirely speechless, unable to utter a single rebuttal. Teacher Jiang handed a thick folder over to Officer Lu. These are the records kept by the school. The original withdrawal application, the meeting minutes, and the logs of every phone call I made to her guardians. "I have made copies of everything."

"Officer Lu accepted the file. Thank you."

Teacher Jiang then reached into her handbag and pulled out a single photograph. In the picture, Shen Anan was standing proudly upon the award podium. Her school uniform was spotless, her hair neatly tied back, holding a certificate of achievement in her hands. She was not smiling radiantly, but her eyes shone with an extraordinary brilliance. Teacher Jiang passed the photograph to Shen Zhiqiang. This was from the city-wide competition last year. She won first prize. On the day of the ceremony, the parents of all the other children were present. She sat all by herself in the very last row. When I asked her if she wanted to call you, she said no, "that her father was too busy."

Shen Zhiqiang took the photograph. He gripped the corner so tightly that the paper became thoroughly wrinkled. Teacher Jiang gritted her teeth and spoke with suppressed anger. Mister Shen, it is not that she suddenly decided she no longer needed a father. "It is simply that she waited for you for far too long."

Scarcely had those words faded when a sudden commotion echoed from the far end of the corridor. A man in plain clothes was being blocked from entering the ward by the guard on duty. He was carrying a fruit basket, loudly insisting that he was a relative of the patient. Officer Lu strode purposefully toward him. Catching sight of the police officer, the man turned and sprinted toward the elevators. Before he could reach them, two officers lunged forward and pinned him to the floor. The fruit basket tumbled from his grasp, spilling apples across the tiles. At the very bottom of the scattered fruit lay a small black pouch. Officer Lu picked it up and unzipped it, revealing an old mobile phone and a scrap of paper. Scrawled across the paper was a single sentence. "Stop talking nonsense; your old man doesn't want you anymore."

Shen Zhiqiang stared at those harsh characters, the depths of his gaze turning completely icy.

When the man was hauled away, he was still screeching at the top of his lungs that he had merely been hired to deliver a package. Officer Lu ordered the note and the phone to be sealed as evidence. Shen Zhiqiang remained rooted to the spot, his unblinking gaze locked onto the slip of paper for a long, unbroken time.