"Are you very familiar with him? Why do you speak so highly of him?" Liu Yuning continued to ask.
"Not very familiar, nor have I had the chance to be. Someone as excellent as him, how could he possibly have any intersection with us? His character is good; he often brings study supplies for the children and plays with them. More importantly, this orphanage was funded and built by him, and he invests a little money every year."
It seemed that Shi Yingguang was indeed quite wealthy. I knew that accomplished pianists could earn a lot, but this situation was rather unusual.
How to put it, it was a bit like writing those online novels. Theoretically, it was very difficult to make a name for oneself, unless one possessed extraordinary talent and worked exceptionally hard.
As I was thinking, the caregiver asked us again, "What exactly are you investigating? Just tell us directly!"
"Was Shi Yingguang here with you for a day and a night on the 12th before returning?"
"That day was his adopted child's birthday, so he spent the night with him. What's wrong?"
"Did he not leave at any point in between?"
"Of course not. We played until late at night, and then he went to his room to rest."
"So, you also don't know if he left in the meantime?"
"He went to his room to rest, so naturally, he didn't leave!"
This caregiver only saw him enter the room, but it was possible he left in the middle of the night. This place was quite secluded, surrounded by forests, and I assumed there were no surveillance cameras. No wonder Shi Yingguang wanted to use this place as his alibi. This fellow was indeed suspicious, but it seemed these witnesses didn't know he had gone out.
I had no choice but to turn back and ask several caregivers, including the director and some of the children. However, they all stated that Shi Yingguang had not moved after returning to his room and only got up around 8 AM the next day.
On the surface, he was in his room during this period, but who could guarantee that he truly didn't go out all night? We had to remember that the two victims died around 2 AM.
As I was contemplating, a child stumbled towards us. He looked like he had no strength in his legs. I picked him up with one arm and asked, "What's your name?"
The child struggled vigorously in my arms, refusing to say a word, as if very afraid of strangers. Seeing my actions, a caregiver nearby rushed over immediately. "What are you doing? This child is Shi Yingguang's adopted son. He was frightened from a young age and is very timid. Don't provoke him!"
I had to let him go, and the child quickly hid behind the caregiver. I asked the caregiver, "What kind of fright did he experience?"
"That's his private matter and has nothing to do with you. If you have nothing else, you two should leave. We have a lot of work to do! Orphanage matters are very demanding, not as easy as you might imagine!"
This caregiver's attitude was rather unpleasant, perhaps because we were suspecting her boss. Liu Yuning and I exchanged glances. Even a fool could see that these people seemed to be deliberately covering up for Shi Yingguang.
We could only return for now. On the way, Liu Yuning said, "The more we investigate, the more suspicious Shi Yingguang becomes. We need to focus our efforts on him!"
"Yes, let's investigate him from his birth to his work and up to now!" I suggested, while already sending a message to He Xin.
She informed us that she had returned to the hotel and asked us to go back and rest as well. Indeed, we were exhausted from the day's efforts. When we returned to the hotel, Captain Guo sent a message. His situation was similar to ours; they had arrived at the orphanage after we had already left.
Captain Guo asked what we had found. I told him that the orphanage seemed problematic, as if they were covering something up for Shi Yingguang. Captain Guo seemed to have noticed this as well and asked me how I planned to proceed. I pondered for a moment before replying.
I said that we needed to investigate all of Shi Yingguang's information without any omissions, then have someone keep an eye on him, and preferably question him repeatedly to gradually make him anxious. This guy had seen through some of my intentions before, but even if I did this, he couldn't do anything to me.
Captain Guo replied with an approving gesture, and I went to rest. The next day, we headed to the Gaogang City Police Station. To our surprise, an officer told us that Captain Guo had already gone out. I thought we weren't needed for now, and even Shi Yingguang's case would be handled by the technical police here. So I suggested, "He Xin, didn't you want to go out and have fun? Today is a good opportunity!"
"Uh, Dad, the case isn't solved yet, and you're already in the mood for fun? You've changed!"
"No, Captain Guo will handle these trivial matters. We're here to assist, we don't need to do everything ourselves, do we?"
"Alright, you win. So, where are we going to play?"
"I searched online and found a carnival nearby. Want to go?"
Before He Xin could answer, Liu Yuning excitedly exclaimed, "Sure! I haven't been to a carnival in ages!"
"Heh, I didn't realize you can be so childlike when you're happy!"
"It's just that I've been too stressed from work. I haven't had a release in a long time, and it's all coming out at once."
We chatted as we got into the car. I don't know where Liu Yuning borrowed a red sports car from, but we set off in it. As we arrived at the entrance of the carnival, we saw that it was bustling with activity, with an enormous crowd of tourists. People in fashionable attire were everywhere, enjoying themselves. However, I also noticed people dressed in ancient costumes, perhaps due to the previous case. I felt a sense of unease.
Walking into the carnival, I saw even more people gathered around a shooting range, playing a game of archery. This was a game most people had seen before: using a bow and arrow to shoot balloons in the distance. There were various rewards based on the color of the balloon hit. I and Liu Yuning picked up the bows and arrows, treating them like guns. However, when drawing the bowstring, I realized there was a difference between shooting an arrow and firing a gun. At first, we shot for a while without hitting anything, but to our surprise, He Xin hit the bullseye on her first try.
She smugly wiped her nose and confidently said, "Amazing, right?"
"Do you usually like archery a lot?"
"It's alright. I just play when I have free time! If you were to look in my room, you'd find a target."
"I haven't noticed that yet. It seems I haven't paid enough attention to you!"
"It's good that you know, Dad. But it's okay. Your most important task now is to find a suitable mother for me!" He Xin said seriously, then picked up another arrow and drew the bowstring powerfully. In the next second, the arrow once again hit the bullseye.