The office was small but filled with various items: a large bookshelf packed with fairy tale books and several dolls; a wooden filing cabinet; a brown desk with books on autism intervention and files for all the children.
The room was tidy, with no signs of a struggle. However, the window was open, allowing rain to drift in and wet the wooden floor, leaving a puddle.
Fang Rui walked over. There were no security bars on the window; anyone could climb in once the glass was opened. There was a bit of mud and half a footprint on the windowsill.
Under the desk was a red, deflated balloon.
"Hmm, it might have been a burglar," Chen Xinran said. "I've been urging the director to install security bars, but she refused to save money. She said she was so poor that even if thieves came, they could only steal some books. I wish I had insisted on installing them for her."
"Director Chen, what did you do before?" Fang Rui asked.
"I was an autism intervention teacher. About seven or eight years ago, I was a volunteer here, but as I spent more time with these children and grew attached to them, I decided to stay. I had a child before, but he passed away in an accident. I thought I could share the love I had for him with these poor children, and perhaps it would bring blessings to my child as well."
Fang Rui noticed something seemed to be missing from the desk. There were two circular marks, as if something had been there for a long time, but now those objects were gone.
"Director Chen, what used to be in these two spots?"
"Here... I think there were two little pig dolls. Maybe a child gave them to her," Chen Xinran thought for a moment, then opened her phone and found a photo. "Look, like this. This photo was taken when Director Zhang was interviewed by a reporter."
Fang Rui looked at the photo. The two dolls were about 20 centimeters tall, pink, and pig-shaped. Nothing special about them.
If there really was a thief, why would they steal such ordinary dolls?
Mu Mian noticed that the victim's eyes were wide open, staring at a particular spot. Mu Mian lay down beside her, following the victim's gaze, and saw the cabinet.
"Mu Mian, the floor is so cold. Why are you lying down? You'll catch a cold."
Mu Mian reached out to Fang Rui, "Fang Rui, give me a hand."
Fang Rui pulled Mu Mian up. Mu Mian walked to the cabinet and, wearing gloves, gently pulled open the cabinet door.
With a creak, the old door opened.
"Ah, there's another victim?" Zhang exclaimed.
A blood-covered little boy was revealed before them.
The boy wore a sweatshirt with a rainbow horse print. He had pitch-black, hollow eyes and looked like a frozen statue, showing no expression or movement.
Mu Mian checked his breathing, "He's alive, not a corpse." She briefly examined his body with her eyes, "No stab wounds, the blood isn't his."
"Yuan Yuan."
The boy showed no reaction.
Chen Xinran rushed over and hugged the boy, "Yuan Yuan, why are you here? Su Laoshi and the others have been looking for you for so long, they couldn't find you anywhere. She was worried sick. Yuan Yuan, what's wrong?"
Mu Mian looked at Chen Xinran with disapproval, "Acting Director Chen, you're contaminating potential evidence." Fearing she might sound cold-hearted, she added, "If you want to hug him, at least put on a raincoat and gloves first."
"Yuan Yuan is probably in shock. He used to be non-verbal, but he would react when he saw me. Now he's completely unresponsive, likely traumatized from witnessing the murder. We need to provide crisis intervention for him. I'm sorry, but I need to handle his situation first." Without waiting for Fang Rui and the others to agree, Chen Xinran ran out carrying Yuan Yuan.
Zhang looked at the bloodstains in the cabinet and came up with a shocking theory: "Do you think it's possible that Yuan Yuan stabbed the director? The director, not wanting to scare Yuan Yuan, maintained a smile even as she was being stabbed. She didn't want to frighten him."
Although Zhang's guess was far-fetched, Wang and Chen Xue found it somewhat plausible. How else could they explain why the victim died with a smile?
"Following your logic, it's also possible that the director knew Yuan Yuan was hiding in the cabinet, and she didn't want to scare him, so she kept smiling even as the killer stabbed her, trying to reassure Yuan Yuan?" Fang Rui offered his own theory.
"Ah, boss, your guess makes much more sense," Zhang said admiringly.
Mu Mian sighed, "Eh."
"Mu Mian, what's wrong?" Fang Rui could tell from Mu Mian's smug expression that she was silently critiquing something.
"Your guesses are so heartwarming. Your kindness limits your thinking, preventing you from considering other possibilities."
Fang Rui said resignedly, "Mu Mian, why don't you just share your theory?"
"I won't. I only speak with evidence."
"..."
Mu Mian examined the body's surface. The victim had been stabbed three times in the stomach and once in the chest. She also measured the body temperature, which was slightly higher than room temperature, about 25.2°C.
"The victim likely died between 10 and 11 PM last night," Mu Mian said.
Fang Rui went to the security room to check the surveillance footage.
Old Liu, the security guard, was in his fifties, wearing a black brand-name tracksuit and looking energetic. However, he walked with a noticeable limp.
"Officer, was it Director Zhang who... ? I didn't see her come in this morning. Unless she was sick, she would always be here to have breakfast with the children," Old Liu said, his face full of concern.
Old Liu didn't know how to operate the computer, so he let Fang Rui access the surveillance footage himself. As Fang Rui worked, he casually chatted with Old Liu, "Uncle Liu, what kind of person was your director?"
"Our director was a top-notch good person. She used to be very wealthy, owning a KTV business. She was quite the female entrepreneur in the 90s. But her child was diagnosed with autism, and she nearly went bankrupt trying to cure him. Her husband was a useless freeloader who ran away when things got tough. She persisted in treating her child alone, but in the end, she couldn't save him. She lost sight of him for a moment, and he ran onto the road and was hit by a truck. Sigh, why don't good people get rewarded?
Afterwards, she established this welfare home, specifically for autistic orphans. Even children with parents who couldn't afford to raise them, she would take in. She even spent money to learn about autism intervention, just to better care for these children.
Later, Star Home became famous, and many companies and kind-hearted individuals donated to us. The director used the extra money to set up a charitable foundation dedicated to helping autistic children with their treatment. She was even selected as a moral role model in Jiangzhou City a year ago..."
Old Liu went on and on about Director Zhang's achievements.
"I was also taken in by her. I've had a deformed right foot since childhood and was abandoned by my parents. I grew up in an orphanage. As an adult, I couldn't find stable work and could only wander around this area, doing odd jobs to scrape by. Director Zhang took pity on me and let me work as a security guard, paying me over a thousand yuan a month. It's not much, but I get room and board here, so I hardly spend anything. She even bought me pension insurance, so when I retire, I can receive a few hundred yuan each month. She's truly a great person. I hope heaven opens its eyes and rewards good people."
Zhang listened with a moved expression and chimed in, "Indeed, why don't good people get rewarded?"
"Uncle Liu, why is the surveillance footage from 8:05 PM yesterday to 9:17 AM today missing?" Fang Rui interrupted their conversation.
