Chapter 33 Who Am I 32

After some effort, Lin Xiangjun found a piece of paper under the bed of Sun Tao's parents, and then found a child's digital watch in the drawer that did not belong to this family.

Just by the weight and appearance of the digital watch, one could tell it wasn't cheap; it was definitely not something this family could afford.

Lin Xiangjun's gaze swept over the pilled, dull-colored bed sheets, the cracked and upturned floor tiles, and the moldy traces in the corners, further confirming her suspicions.

Having obtained the items, and with her invisibility time nearly up, Lin Xiangjun didn't linger; she wrapped her cloak around herself and slipped out the door.

The tug-of-war between Wang Min and the woman had reached a fever pitch.

Wang Min insisted that the woman provide proof that Sun Tao was her child, even if it was just a photo, an ID card, or a household registration book.

But the woman couldn't produce anything.

She had nothing; there wasn't a single thing that could prove Sun Tao was her child.

Unable to provide evidence, yet unwilling to give up the gold ring, she grabbed Wang Min's hand and refused to let her leave.

With this little bit of bickering, twenty minutes passed easily. When Lin Xiangjun's voice came through the earpiece, Wang Min impatiently shoved the ring into the woman's arms.

"Fine, I'll give you the item for now. When Sun Tao goes to school, I will have my daughter confirm it with him. If there are any issues..."

"Oh my, don't worry now that you've given it to me. When Sun Tao gets back, I'll have a good talk with him. How can he just take things from his own home without an adult's permission! Thank you so much this time, sister. Come over for a meal when you have time."

Looking like she didn't want to say anything more, Wang Min waved her hand and hurried away.

Once outside, Lin Xiangjun was waiting for her by the door.

Seeing Wang Min come out, she handed the paper she had finished reading into her hand: "Take a look."

Wang Min took the pile of items.

The paper and the watch; these were obtained from the parents' room of Sun Tao's home.

"Qin Jianyuan from the sixth floor is missing. So many people have come to my home to ask me these past two days... Are they all sick? Do they all think I kidnapped Qin Jianyuan?"

"That crazy woman from the sixth floor was crying and making a scene in my house, constantly demanding that I return her son. How many times do I have to say it, for god's sake! It wasn't me who stole her son, it wasn't me!"

"The crazy hag cries like she can't understand human speech, making my ears ache. If her son is lost, why doesn't she go look for him instead of crying here! It's as if I could magically conjure the child up if she cried her eyes out! I'm not Aladdin's magic lamp!"

"I told them to check the surveillance, but the damn camera happened to be broken these past two days, only recording me and Qin Jianyuan arguing. If it weren't for that woman in 204 who happened to go to the convenience store to buy oyster sauce and saw me and Qin Jianyuan separate after our argument, I wouldn't be able to clear my name even with eight mouths!"

"Damn it, that brat Qin Jianyuan, not only did he litter everywhere, but the moment I finished sweeping, he would turn around and throw more! If it wasn't for earning these few pennies a month, I would have quit long ago! It's good that the brat is lost, pfft, he deserves it if he's dead!"

After finishing the note, Wang Min frowned even deeper.

Aside from a whole bunch of useless profanity, there were quite a few useful clues on this paper.

"It seems that the Cleaner is not the murderer?" Although it was a question, the content of the words was already certain.

The Cleaner cursed fiercely in the note. Although the narrative was fragmented, combined with the clues, the sequence of events could be roughly pieced together.

After Qin Jianyuan was kicked out of his home, he bought a lot of candy at the convenience store in the residential complex. He ate them while throwing the candy wrappers all over the ground, leaving Sun Tao's father, who was the Cleaner for the complex, to clean it up.

Perhaps to vent his frustration, as soon as the Cleaner finished sweeping, Qin Jianyuan would throw another handful of candy wrappers on the ground right behind him. The Cleaner was very angry and got into an argument with Qin Jianyuan.

Just at that moment, the residents of 204—that is, Wang Zixuan's parents—passed by and saw the Cleaner and Qin Jianyuan separate after their argument. Later, when Qin Jianyuan went missing, this served as an alibi for the Cleaner.

They had finally found some clues about the murderer, only to discover they were wrong. Wang Min's head started to ache.

"Then what should we do now?"

Lin Xiangjun, however, was not anxious. She pointed to the other two items: "Finish looking first."

Wang Min forced down her anxiety, returned the note to Lin Xiangjun, and began to examine the other two items herself.

One was the watch that Lin Xiangjun had searched out from the room of Sun Tao's parents. The watch hadn't been charged for a long time and wouldn't turn on. Wang Min held it and examined it for a long time before she noticed a few scratches on the black silicone watch strap.

It looked like it had been carved with a utility knife. The marks were very fine. She held it up to the light, looking and feeling it, and it took a long while before she could distinguish that it was the character "Yuan".

"This is Qin Jianyuan's watch? Why would Qin Jianyuan's watch be at Sun Tao's house? Didn't they separate after the argument?"

Lin Xiangjun nodded: "It is indeed Qin Jianyuan's watch. This type of children's watch generally has a tracking function; once turned on, you can see the movement trajectory."

"If Qin Jianyuan never left the residential complex from beginning to end, then by excluding the apartment buildings and the convenience store from his movement trajectory, as well as the Garden where he might have wandered, the remaining most hidden place should be the location where he was murdered."

If the murderer never left the complex from start to finish, the place where he killed Qin Jianyuan must be sufficiently hidden, or sufficiently unexpected, in order to evade the investigation of Qin Jianyuan's parents and the police—if there are even police in this weird world.

The watch must have been to the crime scene; after all, such personal items are usually disposed of last. Furthermore, it is impossible for the murderer to have taken off the watch and thrown it away halfway, as that would easily lead to discovery and solving the case.

And such a hidden or unexpected place would certainly not match Qin Jianyuan's daily travel trajectory, making it very easy to identify.

Wang Min suddenly realized: "Then why would this thing be in the hands of the man in 104?"

"Don't forget, the man in 104 is the Cleaner. Isn't it normal for a Cleaner to pick up something from the trash can?"

"Why didn't he return the item to the woman in 604 after finding it? Even if it couldn't solve the case, it was a memento of Qin Jianyuan, at least something to remember him by, right?"

Lin Xiangjun didn't find it strange: "He must hate or be very annoyed by the woman in 604 and Qin Jianyuan. After all, for him, a brat disrupted his work. He was just maintaining his professional duties, but when the child went missing, the parents insisted that because he had argued with the child, he was the murderer. Just thinking about it, you can feel the helplessness and exhaustion of being attacked from all sides."

"He would love for those two to face retribution; how could he possibly take the initiative to help them solve the case?"

It was already a sign of having a conscience that he didn't help the murderer cover up the tracks.

However, she didn't say this. She took the watch from Wang Min's hand and signaled her to look at the last item.

This was rummaged out from Sun Tao's room.