“Your analysis is correct. Because you delayed, your husband was able to arrive in time and save you,” Liu Ming said succinctly.

If Qin Yu had arrived any later, Xia Lan would likely have already been moved to another location.

"These human traffickers have only recently appeared, and they target children and women. You must be careful in the future and never go out alone..." Liu Ming warned Xia Lan.

"Thank you, Comrade Liu," Xia Lan said.

"Your statement has been recorded, you can leave now." Liu Ming smiled at Xia Lan.

"I'd like to ask, what will happen to them?" Xia Lan looked at Liu Ming and asked curiously.

“There have been quite a few missing persons cases recently. Our bureau chief said he would deal with them severely, but we don’t know the specifics of how it will be handled yet…” Liu Ming did not give Xia Lan a perfunctory answer, but instead stated seriously and firmly that this matter would definitely not be downplayed.

"Thank you for your trouble." Xia Lan nodded. There are currently no relevant regulations targeting human traffickers, so she didn't know how they would be punished.

Xia Lan walked out of the room, and Qin Yu, who was waiting, immediately came to greet her.

"Brother Yu, I've finished giving my statement, let's go!" Xia Lan said with a smile.

"good."

Seeing that Xia Lan seemed normal, Qin Yu took her to the station and boarded a bus back to the city.

This time, because they were taking a bus in town, only the middle seat in the last row was left. When Qin Yu watched Xia Lan sit down, Xia Lan noticed a woman holding a child next to her.

Xia Lan glanced casually at the child in the woman's arms. The child looked to be about three years old, with his eyes tightly closed. No matter how the bus swayed, he didn't move at all.

It's quite unusual for a three-year-old to sit so well in the car without making a fuss and to sleep so soundly.

Xia Lan couldn't help but take a second look, but then realized something was amiss.

The child was wearing clothes that were clearly not something an ordinary family could afford, and the woman was wearing old clothes that were patched up.

But the child was wearing exquisite cotton clothes, which were clearly not ordinary.

And this child is so quiet, so quiet it's like he's been drugged...

Xia Lan had just experienced a near-abduction and was very sensitive to things like sleeping pills and human traffickers.

The woman noticed that Xia Lan kept looking at her, so she nervously hugged her child tighter and stared at Xia Lan warily.

Xia Lan leaned against Qin Yu and gently tugged at his hand.

"Auntie, is this your child? He's so cute! I want to have a baby as cute as him too..." Xia Lan said to the woman deliberately, her tone full of envy.

"This is my husband, we just got married not long ago..." Xia Lan leaned on Qin Yu's shoulder shyly and said sweetly.

Xia Lan's words successfully dispelled the woman's doubts and made her less wary, assuming that Xia Lan simply liked children.

"This is my grandson. Of course he's good-looking if he's raised well. You'll be able to have such a lovely child in the future," the woman said with a faint smile, offering a rather perfunctory explanation before turning the child around.

"He's such a good boy! He doesn't cry or fuss at all in the car. Such a well-behaved child is truly enviable. Unlike my nephew, who cries every day. I'm so scared that I don't even dare to touch him."

Xia Lan ignored the woman's reluctance to talk and spoke even more enthusiastically.

Qin Yu looked at Xia Lan. Where did she get a nephew from her maternal family?

Seeing that Xia Lan kept chatting with the woman next to her, even though the woman had a sour face, she kept going up to her and praising the child for being well-behaved, obedient and cute.

Qin Yu sensed something was wrong. Xia Lan had been chattering away for so long, but the child hadn't reacted at all, remaining motionless in the woman's arms.

Xia Lan and Qin Yu exchanged a glance. Qin Yu understood what Xia Lan meant and carefully looked at the other people on the bus.

Let's see if this woman has any accomplices.

The woman was so annoyed by Xia Lan that she could only give perfunctory answers to her questions. Finally, she got fed up and lost her temper.

"What's wrong with you, young lady? Why are you going on and on..." the woman said with a darkening face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just like this child too much, I'm so sorry..." Xia Lan trembled in shock after being scolded, her eyes dim and disappointed.

"What's wrong with you? That young girl just likes your child, is it really necessary to be so fierce?"

"Exactly, it's just a few questions, why are you yelling at them?"

"It's alright, uncles and aunts, it's my fault. I just thought the baby in her arms was so well-behaved. It was the first time I'd ever seen such a cute baby, and the baby had been sleeping soundly and quietly since getting on the bus..." Xia Lan bowed her head and sincerely apologized to the woman.

The other passengers on the bus, upon hearing Xia Lan's words, turned their attention to the child in the woman's arms.

Many people still remember the woman when she got on the bus, noting that the child had been held and slept the whole time without making a sound.

It's too quiet; something's wrong.

"Hey, is this your child? Why isn't he moving? You're not transporting a corpse, are you?" The driver, a young man, couldn't help but turn around to look at the woman and asked with a frown.

In the past, some people couldn't afford to hire a car, and the journey was too far, so they would bring corpses onto the vehicle. He had encountered this before, so he was particularly averse to it.

The woman noticed everyone's gaze and frowned, wanting to answer.

“No, no, the child is still breathing! It’s not a corpse…” Before the woman could answer, Xia Lan spoke up for her, repeatedly stating that the child was still breathing, just not moving.

"Who is this child to you?" an elderly woman on the same bus asked the woman.

“This is my grandson,” the woman replied immediately. “He was just feeling a little unwell, so I gave him some medicine, which is why he’s been sleeping.”

"Really? Where is he feeling unwell? It's terrible if the child is unwell, that's why we rushed him to the hospital!" Xia Lan exclaimed anxiously to the driver.

"Comrade, please have mercy and take this child directly to the hospital! What if something happens to the child? I don't think he's moved at all."

Xia Lan was so anxious she was about to cry, but everyone thought she was just so fond of the child that she was so worried.

After all, he was just a child, and everyone said so.

"Yes! It would be terrible if something really happened. Let's drive straight to the hospital! The child's life is more important..."

“That’s right, it’s okay if we’re delayed a bit, but this child’s life can’t wait.”

“Such a big child, it must be so painful for him to be sick. He hasn’t moved since he got on the bus, he must be quite ill. Don’t delay, take him to the hospital right away.”

Most of the passengers on the bus were elderly and couldn't bear to see their child sick, so they all urged the woman to take the child to the hospital.