Chapter 77: Chapter 75: Is Everyone Seeing Things?

Wen Ying held the ballpoint pen, looked at the bracelet, and stroke by stroke, drew it on the Yellow Paper.

From the livestream’s camera angle, viewers could only see that Wen Ying was doing something with a ballpoint pen, but they couldn’t see the specifics.

Zizi’s mother didn’t understand what Wen Ying was doing, but she knew many people were watching the livestream and that she had to remain quiet.

She had checked the livestream while standing outside the door; over 800,000 people were watching at that moment.

The moment Zizi’s mother saw Wen Ying tuck the ballpoint pen back into her hair bun, she thought she saw a four-leaf clover flash across the paper.

Zizi’s mother rubbed her eyes and opened them again, but there was nothing there.

She figured she must be exhausted. That must be why she’d seen the very symbol of good luck she’d been hoping for—a four-leaf clover to bring her daughter good fortune.

[Did my eyes just play tricks on me?]

[What a coincidence! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me too!]

[Can it really be such a coincidence?]

[I have a theory... how many of you thought your eyes were playing tricks on you? Because I did too!]

[So, did everyone else actually see that four-leaf clover that flashed past like a spark of inspiration?]

[HOLY SHIT! If you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d have thought I was seeing things! So it was real!]

[Hold on, guys. I’ve recorded all of Doctor Wen’s streams. Let me review the video!]

「One minute later.」

[Weird! I swear I saw it, and the recording never stopped, so why isn’t the four-leaf clover on screen?]

[Is that talisman painting? I’ve never seen it done this way before! What an eye-opener!]

[Wasn’t that a four-leaf clover? So Doctor Wen drew a four-leaf clover on the talisman paper? Was it a trick of the camera? But a camera isn’t a mirror, so why would it look different?]

[I suggest everyone drop it! If Doctor Wen isn’t saying anything, it means it’s not our business. It’s good to know your place.]

Wen Ying folded the talisman paper, placed it inside a small, exquisitely embroidered sachet she had bought on the Ancient Street, and then hung it around Zizi’s neck.

Zizi was cooperative the entire time.

Zizi’s mother glanced at the live chat. She had so many questions, but she kept them to herself.

"Zizi’s mother, this ’prescription’ is three thousand yuan." Zizi’s mother snapped out of her stupor and immediately paid.

"Well then, Zizi and I won’t disturb you any further, Doctor Wen."

Zizi’s mother reached for Zizi’s hand, ready to leave.

"Don’t be in such a hurry. You came all this way. I’ll take Zizi to lunch. Don’t you want to see if this ’prescription’ works?"

Zizi’s mother paused, her hand still outstretched. Of course she wanted to know. Money was already tight at home.

’I’ve spent so much on train tickets, and now this talisman paper costs another three thousand...’ She fought to push away the thought that coming here had been a mistake.

Hearing Wen Ying’s offer, Zizi’s mother nodded. "We won’t be a bother, Doctor Wen?"

"Not at all."

"In that case, I’ll take Zizi for a walk around town. We’ll come back after your livestream ends, Doctor Wen."

Only after Zizi’s mother had left, hand in hand with Zizi, did Wen Ying turn her attention to the live chat.

She gave a small smile, with no intention of explaining.

Just as Wen Ying was about to take the next viewer call, her phone rang. She answered it, and when she hung up, she faced the camera with an apologetic look.

"I’m sorry, everyone. Something personal has come up, and I need to take care of it. That’s all for today’s stream. We can make up for today’s missed slot next time, or I can hold a raffle to fulfill one patient’s request."

Without waiting to see the chat’s reaction, Wen Ying ended the stream, and the screen went black.

The call had been from an officer at the local police station. They wanted to pay her a visit.

And Wen Ying knew they would be arriving any minute.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes after the stream ended, the police officers arrived.

This time, it was a female officer and a male officer.

"Hello, Doctor Wen. We’ve met before. This is Officer Cheng Cheng," said the male officer, whom Wen Ying recognized. Cheng Cheng was the female officer.

"Hello, Officers. Please, tell me what this is about. If there’s any way I can help, I will."

"Doctor Wen, you’re truly a model citizen! No wonder your fans love and defend you so fiercely."

"Haha, Cheng Cheng here has been following all your streams, Doctor Wen. You could say she’s a bit of a fan."

After some small talk, the older male officer looked at Wen Ying, his expression troubled. "Doctor Wen, a criminal who’s been on the wanted list for years has shown up in our jurisdiction. His methods are cunning, and he uses multiple false identities, so we’ve never been able to catch him. We only learned he was in our area from a notice sent by our superiors. But you know how vast this region is—all these connected mountain ranges and forests. If he decides to hide, he’ll be incredibly difficult to find. The thing is... he has a prior conviction for murdering a young girl. If something like that happens here... we wouldn’t know how to face our community!"

"And you’re asking me to...?" Wen Ying prompted.

"We were hoping you could help us deduce the area where he might be, to narrow the search! We have to bring him in as soon as possible! He’s far too dangerous—we absolutely cannot allow any children to be harmed!" the older male officer said.

"Doctor Wen, I brought photos of the suspect. Please, take a look," Cheng Cheng said, pulling the pictures from her small bag and laying them out in front of Wen Ying.

Wen Ying looked at them. There were about ten photos in total, but the man seemed to look slightly different in each one.

’No wonder they said he was cunning.’

’He’s clearly a master of disguise!’

But a professional like Doctor Wen didn’t make deductions based on faces alone. She looked at...

"’Don’t rush, it’s okay if you can’t tell right away,’ the older officer said, though his words belied his true feelings. He was inwardly frantic; his superiors had issued a direct order to apprehend the fugitive here, no matter what."

’If they failed to catch him, getting reprimanded would be the least of their worries. But if a child was harmed, it would be an unforgivable sin on their hands!’

Cheng Cheng looked like she wanted to say something, but she stayed silent when Brother Zhang shook his head at her.

The two officers watched as Wen Ying studied the photos one by one. The clinic fell silent.

They hardly dared to breathe, terrified of interrupting her train of thought.

「Five minutes later!」

’Finally,’ Wen Ying thought, getting tired of the act. ’I can’t just give them the answer in ten seconds, can I?’

’She had an image to maintain as a doctor, after all.’

"Brother Zhang, Cheng Cheng... this man is right here in Wenxiang Town."

The two officers’ hearts sank at her words, and the color drained from their faces. "He’s here?! We’re screwed! I’ll get people to prepare a search immediately!"

"Don’t rush, Brother Zhang. If you launch a massive search like that, you’ll just tip him off. What if you startle him and he takes a hostage?"

"Do you have a better suggestion, Doctor Wen?"

Wen Ying once again plucked the ballpoint pen from her hair. She casually tore off a sheet of paper and wrote a few words on it.

"Brother Zhang, take this paper and set up your surveillance covertly. Also, I suggest you buy a ’prescription’ before you leave."

"What kind of prescription?" Cheng Cheng asked, confused. She might be young and new to the force, having only been there a year, but it was obvious to her that Brother Zhang wasn’t sick.

"That stone on the shelf to the right. Five thousand yuan."

Brother Zhang walked over to the wooden shelf and picked up the stone Wen Ying had indicated, only to find—