Chapter 29

Ying Shi was just as speechless when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jiang Xuzhou’s expression change.

“Consultant Jiang, what’s wrong?”

Ruan Mingxi immediately turned his head. Seeing Jiang Xuzhou’s furrowed brows, his heart tightened.

Jiang Xuzhou took a deep breath and turned the phone screen toward Ruan Mingxi.

Ying Shi leaned in as well. When he saw the contents, his face instantly changed.

On the phone screen was the homepage of a social media account that had been posting about the body‑dumping crime scenes. They hadn’t found the person holding the phone, but they had found the phone itself.

“Bring that kid in for interrogation right away. Ask clearly where he stole the phone from.”

Ying Shi quickly strode toward the interrogation room. Since Ruan Mingxi’s injured leg made moving troublesome, he stayed with Jiang Xuzhou to listen in from behind the glass window.

Ke Jiafei’s face was covered in bruises, his right cheek swollen high. “I picked up the phone.”

“The owners already reported it stolen and identified you. Still claiming you just picked it up?”

After the thefts were discovered, the local police station received several reports. The victims had already come forward, yet Ke Jiafei stubbornly refused to admit he had stolen anything.

Ke Jiafei was the type who, even with evidence thrown in his face, still wouldn’t confess—hard‑headed to the extreme.

No matter how Ying Shi pressed him, he wouldn’t say how he got the phone, let alone describe the “owner.”

At that moment, Lin Cheng walked in, his arm in a sling, a cut at the corner of his mouth, looking very battered.

“Captain, we’ve checked Ke Jiafei’s background. He’s 17 years old this year.”

“His father worked as a laborer at a construction site. One day, a falling tile struck him and killed him instantly. His mother went to the site to demand justice, got into a dispute with the workers, and was beaten to death. To support his younger brother, Ke Jiafei dropped out of middle school and started doing odd jobs everywhere. The last time he was caught stealing, it was because he had no money for food.”

Because the theft wasn’t much, he was only locked up for a few days before being released.

Ruan Mingxi was a little surprised, “Beaten to death?”

Lin Cheng took a deep breath, “Yes. The construction site manager even ran away and still hasn’t been found. No compensation was ever paid.”

“No one handled their situation?” Ruan Mingxi frowned deeply, his gaze complicated as he looked at the boy through the glass window.

“The local police station and welfare agencies did visit, offering to help. But Ke Jiafei refused to go to the welfare home, afraid his younger brother would be adopted away. He wouldn’t accept donations either.”

At that moment, voices from the interrogation room kept coming through. No matter how much Ying Shi pressed, the boy refused to speak.

Ruan Mingxi braced himself against the wall, about to move toward the interrogation room, but Jiang Xuzhou stopped him. “May I talk to him?”

“If he admits the phone was stolen, by regulation he’ll be detained again. To avoid being caught, he even dared to jump off a building—he won’t confess so easily.”

Jiang Xuzhou replied, “I’ll talk to him. Right now, the priority is finding out who originally had that phone.”

After thinking it over, Ruan Mingxi nodded

“Alright.”

He connected to the intercom and called Ying Shi out of the room.

Hearing someone enter, Ke Jiafei didn’t even lift his head, showing an attitude of “doesn’t matter who comes, it’s useless.”

Jiang Xuzhou walked up to him, still holding a cup of freshly poured hot water.

Seeing that Ke Jiafei had no intention of acknowledging him, Jiang placed the cup in front of him and sat down in the seat Ying Shi had just vacated.

Ke Jiafei’s eyes fell briefly on the steaming cup, then quickly shifted away.

The interrogation room fell into a short silence. Ke Jiafei seemed to be waiting for Jiang Xuzhou to speak.

After waiting quite a while without hearing a word, he finally lifted his head.

The moment he raised it, their eyes met.

Jiang Xuzhou’s gaze stayed fixed on him—calm, without the oppressive weight that came when police stared at him.

Ke Jiafei: “Why are you looking at me?”

Jiang Xuzhou: “Your injuries look serious. Does it hurt?”

The unexpected question made Ke Jiafei frown instantly. His expression shifted slightly—not shaken, but wary.

Jiang Xuzhou continued as if he hadn’t noticed. “If you need help, I can help you.”

Ke Jiafei narrowed his eyes, “Help me with what?”

Jiang Xuzhou: “Your tuition and living expenses—for you and your brother—until you’re eighteen. I can cover them.”

Ke Jiafei’s gaze grew sharper, more guarded. At that moment he looked like a wild animal whose territory had been invaded, ready to bare its claws.

Jiang Xuzhou added, “I can also provide legal aid, covering all the costs of suing the construction site manager to fight for your rights.”

From outside the glass, Ying Shi’s eyes widened in shock, “What kind of move is this?”

He felt an ominous sense that a written self‑criticism report was about to land on them. Just as he was about to ask Ruan Mingxi whether they should interrupt, a voice came from inside.

Jiang Xuzhou spoke in a steady voice. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Jiang Xuzhou, and I am the head of the Hengjiang Charity Foundation.”

The Hengjiang Charity Foundation was an organization under the Hengjiang Group, created to provide practical assistance to impoverished communities.

Ke Jiafei’s pupils contracted. Some people might not know about the Hengjiang Charity Foundation, but he remembered it very clearly.

“On September 13th, three years ago—did you go to Jinghai First Hospital?”

The sudden question made Jiang Xuzhou pause. Something from three years ago being brought up caught him off guard, and for a moment he couldn’t recall.

But seeing Ke Jiafei’s serious expression, he realized this must be important to him.

Jiang Xuzhou thought carefully, then remembered something, a little surprised.

“Yes, that day I was at Jinghai First Hospital,” Jiang Xuzhou said.

He might not have remembered other events, but September 13th three years ago was unforgettable: Ruan Mingxi had been injured while carrying out official duties. During the arrest, the suspect resisted violently.

Although the hostage was rescued, Ruan Mingxi was stabbed in the abdomen and rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

When Jiang Xuzhou heard the news and hurried to the hospital, the operation was still underway.

Seeing his expression, Ke Jiafei seemed to confirm what he already suspected. “At that time, didn’t you also cover the surgery expenses for a severely injured patient who was admitted?”

Jiang Xuzhou remembered standing outside the operating room, hearing sobs nearby—apparently because someone couldn’t afford the surgery fees.

At the time, all his thoughts were on Ruan Mingxi, but when he heard about this, he stepped in to cover the costs. Though he used the name of the Hengjiang Charity Foundation, the payment actually came from his personal account.

So much time had passed that he had nearly forgotten about it, until it was suddenly brought up again.

“Thank you,” Ke Jiafei said in a low voice. “Thank you for paying my father’s medical expenses.”

When Jiang Xuzhou decided to help with the surgery fees, he hadn’t thought much about it.

There are countless people in the world facing hardship—too many to help them all. But since he had seen it with his own eyes, he felt that if he had the ability, he should help at least one.

Because of this unexpected “connection,” Jiang Xuzhou’s questioning went very smoothly.

The phone had indeed been stolen by Ke Jiafei. But since there were so many people on that street, a thief doesn’t usually stare at the victim, so he hadn’t clearly seen the person’s face.

He only remembered that the person was tall—about a head taller than him. Although the person wore a mask, he could tell they were very young.

There was a distinctive scent about them, like the smell of a forest after rain. They wore a black trench coat and leather gloves.

Based on Ke Jiafei’s description, the video team immediately combed through surveillance footage from that time.

Eventually, they did find someone matching the description. But it seemed the person knew where the cameras were, because they always kept their back to the lens. From the footage, only the figure’s back could be seen.

“Found him. The suspect’s last known location was Guangming Residential Complex.”

Ruan Mingxi froze for a moment. “That address feels familiar.”

As soon as he said it, something clicked.

“Liang Sheng’s home is in Guangming Residential Complex, isn’t it?”

The technician nodded. “Yes, that’s the place.”

Ruan Mingxi immediately picked up the tablet, marked the spot on the map, and after drawing the range, confirmed that Guangming Residential Complex was right inside the suspect’s area.

After organizing the information, Ruan Mingxi called Ren Xian to report the findings.

Seeing the time was about right, Ruan Mingxi decided to make a trip to Gao Hai’s house—first to check the scene, and second because the elderly couple across the hall had just returned from traveling.

Ruan Mingxi wanted to refuse, but Jiang Xuzhou and Ying Shi insisted that unless he used a wheelchair, they wouldn’t take him to the scene.

Ying Shi agreed without hesitation. When they switched him into the wheelchair, Ruan Mingxi thought to himself he looked “super cool,” drawing double the attention of passersby.

At Gao Hai’s home, local police officers had been assigned to guard the scene. Since Ruan Mingxi’s wheelchair couldn’t get inside, he stayed at the doorway, watching through Ying Shi’s phone video call.

Jiang Xuzhou studied the bloody handprint on the door, lowering his gaze in thought.

“What are you thinking?” Ruan Mingxi asked, noticing how quiet he was and seeing him staring at the handprint.

Jiang Xuzhou took a deep breath. “The handprint points downward. After the killer attacked Gao Hai inside, Gao Hai must have tried to escape and seek help.”

Unfortunately, he never managed to open the door.

The scene was nearly finished being examined. Around five in the afternoon, the elderly couple across the hall finally returned.

Ruan Mingxi showed his credentials. The couple looked nervous, surprised to come home to such a large police presence.

“The boy across the hall has poor health. He often goes to the hospital, sometimes gone for ten days or half a month. We never saw him have much contact with anyone.”

“Yes, even his father only comes once every half month.”

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes narrowed in shock.

“You said Gao Hai’s father visits him once every half month. Are you certain the person was really his father?”

The old man nodded. “No mistake. I even met him. The boy called that man ‘Dad.’ He wouldn’t just call someone that randomly.”

Ruan Mingxi immediately pulled up a photo of Gao Xiang on his phone and sho

wed it to the two elders. “Is this the man you saw?”

The old man looked confused. “Who is that? I’ve never seen him. Wife, have you?”

The old woman shook her head, “No, I haven’t.”