Chapter 215: The Cleaner

Old He had been to the Xu family parents' home in Jiayuan Residential Community several times.

His first visit was following Qin Guan in search of Qi Min. Later, he went trying to force the truth out of Xu Ruyi. Then, after Mr. Xu's murder case was filed, he took his team to meticulously search for any potentially useful evidence.

Among the items found was a small storage box containing many letters and postcards.

Xu Ruyi said those were sent by children her parents had sponsored.

Old He had skimmed those mails from all over the country but hadn't examined them in detail—both Xu Ruyi and Qin Guan had mentioned that, apart from the three early children including Qin Guan, most of these sponsored individuals had never met Xu Ruyi's parents, let alone had any significant interaction.

The earliest three, besides Qin Guan, were both girls.

Around the same age as Qin Guan, both from impoverished families. Qin Guan had even seen them twice at the Xu residence during his middle school years.

"According to Xu Ruyi, one of the girls suffered a serious illness in high school, and it was my parents-in-law who sent her to the hospital and saved her," Qin Guan, like Old He, had also suspected these two.

But later, he dismissed the possibility himself.

"One got into a regular university, the other went to a vocational college. After graduation, one married far away in a coastal city, the other returned to work in the provincial capital near their hometown. Both have families now, living stable lives. But both have timid and withdrawn personalities; they couldn't pull off something like this."

All they did was mail local specialties to Xu Ruyi's parents every year. They also sent photos of their families—one a family of three, the other of four—sharing their current peaceful lives as a gesture of gratitude for the earlier support.

Both had also come to pay their respects when Xu Ruyi's parents passed away.

"Later, my parents joined a charitable organization, providing designated assistance to impoverished children. But they almost never met those children in person,"

Xu Ruyi had also explained this, "Because the organization managers said it's best for both parties not to meet. This way, the sponsored children wouldn't feel psychological burden or have other thoughts, allowing them to study and live more purely."

"So my parents just sent money on time, indirectly learned what help those children needed, and provided it through the organization's staff. No meetings. Most called my dad after entering university to express gratitude, which also signified the end of the sponsorship because those kids could then apply for university grants and student loans. Almost all of them were very diligent, working part-time while studying, and their grades were excellent too."

The letters Mr. Xu received proved this point—most children sincerely shared their academic honors earned at school with this couple they'd never met. Some shared achievements after graduating and starting work, expressing sincere gratitude.

Besides sharing successes, they also shared the paths they walked—a thick stack of postcards, almost all featuring scenic views from various places.

Because they heard Mr. Xu liked traveling.

Gratitude, respect, yet always maintaining an appropriate distance and space, never approaching, pestering, demanding, or causing trouble—this was a healthy and positive approach to sponsorship.

There were twenty-two such sponsored individuals in total.

Old He sorted the letters and postcards by sender—fifteen people were represented here. Xu Ruyi had mentioned that two others had gone abroad after university, usually communicating via email. A few others had only made phone calls. Additionally, two were still in high school; Xu Ruyi had now taken over her father's role, continuing the monthly financial support until they enter university.

Fluorescent lights, a spotless whiteboard. Twenty-four printed photos were neatly arranged in a row at the top.

The fifteen people who corresponded with the Xu family. Plus seven others who never left letters or postcards. And the two women sponsored during the same period as Qin Guan—one surnamed Zhao, the other Gong.

"Check every single one?" Officer Wu tilted his head away from his computer screen.

"Check every single one," Old He stood before the whiteboard, squinting at the unfamiliar smiling faces in the photos. "Their workplaces, contact information, whereabouts around the time of Qi Min's case. Also immediate family members, spouses. Everyone!"

He had a feeling the truth was about to be uncovered.

Dig. Dig in this place that seemed completely unrelated.

But the more he dug, the heavier Old He's heart felt.

It had to be said, the kind-hearted Xu parents had truly changed the course of these children's lives—almost all came from extremely poor families, some even orphaned, so poor they couldn't afford food, let alone schooling. Yet, without exception, they all made it to university. After graduation, they settled in different cities, working, living, starting families, building careers.

Among them: one fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming a doctor; one secured an offer from a major corporation; one proudly took photos under a famous bridge he helped build; one became a teacher; one a nurse; one studied for her CPA certificate while raising her child at home; one was an ordinary nine-to-five office worker; one returned home, took the civil service exam, and secured a position; one couldn't find a suitable job but opened a stylish flower shop; one chose entrepreneurship and started his own company within a few short years…

Without the helping hand extended by Xu Ruyi's parents, many of them might never have escaped their impoverished mountains.

Continuing to dig might destroy the hard-won happiness and peace of some.

But—Old He furrowed his brow tightly—he had no other choice. It was his duty. Uncovering the truth wasn't just about nailing Qin Guan completely shut; it was also because of Xu Ruyi.

He couldn't stand by and watch her slide into the abyss.

"Ms. Zhao and Ms. Gong both contacted Xu Ruyi before the incident," Officer Wu reported. Besides them, the others contacted were primarily the Xu parents—they had already obtained the call records for these two women over the past three months.

Old He moved the photos of these two women down a few inches—they were the earliest recipients of Mr. Xu's one-on-one designated assistance. To be precise, Ms. Zhao was the very first. It was normal they had phone contact with Xu Ruyi, as they both traveled from out of town for the Xu parents' funeral.

Since the incident, there had been no further contact between them and Xu Ruyi.

Regarding contact methods, Old He was mentally prepared—Xu Ruyi must have a hidden phone number.

"Xiao Qian, you dig into their call records. Yes, the last three months. Verify each call," Old He instructed his junior. He knew it was a clumsy method, but sometimes clumsy methods were useful.

Like what he was doing now.

He pulled the photos of Zhao and Gong down another inch, mentally reviewing the sequence of events Qin Guan had described. Suddenly, he opened a file folder and spread out the detailed staff information provided by Lakeside Charm Hotel.

Among the hotel staff, there was one surnamed Zhao, but none surnamed Gong.

Of course, surnames revealed little about intrinsic connections.

Old He held the employee roster and walked over to Xiao Qian. Xiao Qian, referencing the list, skillfully input one long phone number after another.

Finally, a number overlapped.

"Ms. Gong had phone contact with a female cleaner at Lakeside Charm Hotel named Cai Fengying."

Cai Fengying. Old He looked at the ID photo in the employee roster—he remembered this person. When he first took Qin Guan to Lakeside Charm Hotel to identify the crime scene, stepping out of the elevator, Qin Guan claimed to smell a very familiar perfume.

The scent of Qi Min's perfume, on a middle-aged cleaner who kept her head down, appearing honest and unassuming.

That cleaner was Cai Fengying.