Chapter 11: A Child in the ATM

Police Station.

“Captain Yan, did you call me here for something?” a young police officer asked as he entered the office.

“Wang Jian, I called you over to assign you a task,” Captain Yan began. “It’s about the ATM at [X] Plaza. A homeless person is sleeping there, and the staff wants us to remove them.

“If the homeless person needs help, try to assist them as much as possible.”

“Understood. I’ll head over right away to handle it,” the young officer replied, already turning to leave.

“Wait a moment,” the old police officer said suddenly from his desk chair.

“Is there anything else?” the young officer, Wang Jian, asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

“It’s getting cold. Don’t catch a chill,” Captain Yan advised with a benevolent smile. “Make sure you’re dressed warmly.”

“Understood, Captain Yan.” A smile also touched Wang Jian’s face as he heard this, and he chuckled softly.

Calling a colleague, Wang Jian and his partner gathered the necessary equipment. They donned their thick down jackets, then pushed open the heavy doors of the police station.

A blast of frigid air immediately assailed the two officers. A few snowflakes, carried by the wind, even swirled inside the station’s entrance.

“It’s freezing! How can it be snowing so heavily today?” his colleague grumbled, shrugging his shoulders. “We haven’t had this much snow in years.”

“Having to work outdoors in this bitter cold, yet there’s never any subsidy,” the colleague continued to complain. “Our monthly pay is pitifully small.”

“Stop grumbling,” Wang Jian cut in. “Let’s just finish this quickly so we don’t delay going off duty.”

As he spoke, he pressed his car key, and a police cruiser chirped twice.

Inside the police cruiser, it was as cold as an icebox.

“Turn on the heater, quick! I’m practically freezing to death.”

Wang Jian reached over and switched on the heater, and gradually, the car’s interior began to warm. He then slowly started the engine, driving towards [X] Plaza.

During the ten-minute drive, the two officers engaged in casual conversation. Soon, they arrived.

Parking the cruiser by the roadside, they grabbed their gear and stepped out, heading towards the ATM.

The outdoor wind bit sharply, making both officers gasp. They hurried inside the ATM vestibule, only to find it just as frigid as an icebox.

As Wang Jian approached the ATM area, he spotted a down jacket on the floor. It appeared someone was lying inside it.

A small lantern and a tattered backpack lay beside it. This, he presumed, must be the homeless person.

‘But this figure is too small,’ he thought, puzzled. ‘Is it a dwarf?’

He considered the possibility. Many homeless individuals suffered from congenital or acquired disabilities, preventing them from manual labor and forcing them onto the streets. Indeed, numerous homeless dwarfs were often seen begging on the streets.

“Wake up, quickly, wake up!” Wang Jian called out as he stepped closer. When the figure didn’t stir, he knelt down, intending to check on the motionless person.

He pulled down the hat covering the person’s head, and Wang Jian froze.

Lying within the down jacket was not the dwarf he’d expected, but a small child, their face streaked with grime.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a homeless person sleeping here? How is it a child?” his colleague exclaimed, immediately kneeling beside Hao Yang on the floor.

“I don’t know,” Wang Jian admitted, equally baffled. “Why would a child be sleeping here?”

“This child’s face is so red. Something’s not right,” the colleague observed, immediately noticing Hao Yang’s unusual condition. He reached out and touched Hao Yang’s forehead.

“Oh my god, this child has a high fever! They’re burning up!” the colleague exclaimed anxiously after feeling her forehead. “We need to get them to the hospital, now!”

“Wang Jian, quickly get this child into the car.”

“But…”

“But what? Don’t forget, you’re a people’s police officer.”

“Understood.” Hearing this, Wang Jian turned towards the police cruiser. After all, he was a police officer; it was his duty.

His colleague carefully carried Hao Yang to the car, also gathering the child’s meager belongings from the ground to keep safe.

Hao Yang vaguely registered someone holding her, but her consciousness quickly slipped back into a deep slumber.

“Doctor! Doctor! There’s a child here who needs emergency care!” Wang Jian bellowed as he rushed into the hospital, carrying Hao Yang.

His shouts startled both the evening patients and the on-duty doctors awake from their drowsy states.

Someone nearby, engrossed in their phone, happened to record the scene and promptly posted it online.

The doctors took Hao Yang and immediately began a series of emergency treatments.

Wang Jian and his colleague sat in the hospital waiting area. Wang Jian pulled out his phone and dialed Captain Yan.

“Captain Yan,” Wang Jian began, “the homeless person you sent me to deal with is actually a child. And they seem to be sick, so we’ve brought them to the hospital.”

“A child? How can that be?” Captain Yan responded. “Well, since you’ve brought them to the hospital, they should be fine.”

“Once they wake up, ask for their parents’ contact information and find their parents. That should be all.”

“Understood, Captain Yan.”

Wang Jian hung up the phone and sighed. It seemed he would be working overtime again tonight.

“Where are the child’s family members?” a doctor asked, emerging from the ward.

“The child’s family isn’t here at the moment,” Wang Jian replied. “Please tell us whatever you need to.”

Seeing two police officers in uniform, the nurse didn’t hesitate and began to explain.

“The child is fine now,” the nurse stated. “The fever broke after a single shot, and with some follow-up medication, there should be no further issues.”

“However, this child is severely malnourished. Despite being ten years old by bone age, they are incredibly small and frighteningly underweight.”

Noting that the men before her were police officers, the nurse couldn’t help but voice her suspicions.

“What’s more, there are signs of physical abuse on the child’s body. I suspect they’ve been subjected to domestic violence.”

“Domestic violence?”

Wang Jian felt a sudden clarity. This child was likely alone because they couldn’t endure the abuse at home and had run away. It seemed more work lay ahead.

“Oh, and if the child’s family arrives, please instruct them to pay the medical fees,” the nurse reminded them.