Chapter Fifteen: The Uncleaned Room

Qin Ruonan and An Changpu exchanged a look, at a loss for how to react as the pair before them went from flaunting their affection to suddenly falling out.

“Does Qian Yuling usually give the child pocket money?” Qin Ruonan asked Fang Da.

Fang Da clasped both hands to his scalp, at first saying nothing, wholly sunk in his own private world. After a long while did he realize Qin Ruonan was speaking to him. Hastily dropping his hands, he sheepishly raked through the hair he had mussed himself and shook his head. “No way. Qian Yuling is barely getting by herself now; where would she get money for her son? Last year she even came to me wanting to sue for custody of the child!”

“If her finances are so poor, why would she still want to fight you for custody?”

“You can tell at a glance that neither of you has ever been married, let alone had a child and been divorced!” Fang Da said with a crooked, mocking smile. “Qian Yuling hasn’t given me a single cent in child support since the divorce! The court ordered her to pay me a thousand yuan a month! Think about it: if she got custody of the child, then I’d have to pay her a thousand yuan every month! She’s not nearly as easygoing as I am. Who knows, maybe she was counting on that money to improve her standard of living! Now that the child is missing, I’d say this is exactly what she wanted!”

In Qin Ruonan’s mind rose the image of Qian Yuling from the night before, crying to her in misery, the pain and indignation she had shown when speaking of her son, Fang Wan, and the bitter hatred she had directed at her ex-husband, Fang Da. Qian Yuling had indeed mentioned that once the child was found, she would go to court to formally reclaim custody of her son.

Seeing Qin Ruonan say nothing, Fang Da assumed she did not agree with him and grew anxious. He slapped the leather sofa beside him. “If you don’t believe me, I can’t help it. You’re the police! Go investigate however you want! See whether what I’m saying is possible or not! I’ve known Qian Yuling for more than a day or two! Wouldn’t I know all the twisted little thoughts in her head?”

An Changpu smiled at him but did not answer. Instead, he looked around the furnishings in the living room and asked, “You bought this place not long ago, did you? The renovation is pretty new.”

“I bought it when I remarried.” Fang Da, unsure what An Changpu intended, grew slightly guarded.

“The place is beautifully decorated. The neighborhood is in a good location, with convenient transportation. You really had a good eye choosing here.” An Changpu showered lavish praise on Fang Da’s home.

Fang Da nodded with some pride and replied modestly, “Mostly Xiaoying liked it here. She has good taste too. I’m just a man, I don’t really pay much attention to these things.”

“And the housekeeping at home. Is your wife, Xia Ying, the one who usually cleans it herself? It’s kept so spotless,” Qin Ruonan said with a smile. “I just went to the bathroom a moment ago. The cleanliness there could almost rival a hotel’s.”

“Xiaoying is pretty casual in her daily life. She doesn’t like doing housework much, so we hire someone for cleaning. They come three times a week.”

“For every part of the house?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?” Fang Da was puzzled by Qin Ruonan’s sudden interest in the domestic staff of his home.

“Which cleaning company is it? Oh, it’s like this: my parents are rather old, and I’m busy with work. Recently I’ve also been thinking of hiring domestic help to take care of some household matters, but I still haven’t found a suitable one. So when I saw how clean your home is, I wanted to ask.”

Qin Ruonan’s expression, manner, and tone were all utterly natural. If one did not know her family background, and did not know that what she said was impossible, even An Changpu might have believed her words were true.

Hearing this, Fang Da did not suspect a thing. He happily gave the name of the cleaning company, and even took out the company’s contact number from his phone, saying he was one of their regular clients and that if she mentioned his recommendation, they would surely assign a more conscientious cleaner.

Until they left Fang Da’s home, neither An Changpu nor Qin Ruonan saw Xia Ying appear. When they departed, Fang Da apologized for Xia Ying’s possible odd behavior.

“Not bad. Your acting has improved very quickly. Just now, when you were asking about the cleaning company, you almost fooled even me,” An Changpu said only after they had gone downstairs and were certain Fang Da and Xia Ying could no longer hear them. “If the situation hadn’t made it impossible, I’d have applauded your brilliant performance.”

“Is that praise or a jab?” Qin Ruonan looked at him, amused and exasperated at once, feeling his reaction was a little too exaggerated.

“Praise, absolutely. Sincere praise, one hundred percent genuine!” An Changpu declared at once. “Mainly because compared with how you used to work, your acting has improved at lightning speed. You’re not so blunt anymore.”

“That’s thanks to you, my excellent ‘teacher,’ for teaching by word and deed and letting me learn a new way of working,” Qin Ruonan said. Though it sounded like a joke, she knew herself that she meant it.

“Still, why did you suddenly ask about the housework in their home?” An Changpu asked.

Qin Ruonan told him about what she had quietly observed near the bedroom, including the stark contrast between the dustless condition of the rest of the house and the thick layer of dust in Fang Wan’s room.

After listening, An Changpu understood what she had meant by asking about the cleaning company. Glancing at the time, he said, “Let’s first get the matter of tracking Fang Wan’s phone sorted out. If we move quickly, we may still have time to go ask the cleaning company about things. In a household, aside from the family members, the domestic worker may be the one who knows the most.”

“Fang Wan’s phone?”

“Yes. Although his SIM card was registered under Fang Da’s identity card, we’ve already confirmed that no calls were made from that number after Fang Wan disappeared. But that still doesn’t mean the phone wasn’t used by someone.”

“You mean tracking it through the phone’s serial number?”

“Any technical method—we have to try it.”

Yes. A ten-year-old child had been missing for several days, and whether he lived or died was still unknown. In such circumstances, any path that offered even a sliver of hope was worth trying.

Fortunately, this matter did not take long. That same afternoon, Qin Ruonan and An Changpu managed to make time to visit the cleaning company Fang Da had named.

The company was fairly sizeable. As soon as they entered, they were greeted warmly by the receptionist, a woman in her forties who looked experienced and seasoned. She sized up An Changpu and Qin Ruonan from head to toe, and before they even spoke, had already made her judgment. “You two are here to reserve a postpartum nanny in advance, aren’t you? When is the due date? Let me see whether we have any experienced nannies available then.”

“We’re not...”

“Not looking for a postpartum nanny? Then are you here for hourly housekeeping? For yourselves or for an elder?”

“We’re not hiring domestic help. We’re here to find someone,” Qin Ruonan said.

The receptionist laughed at that. “Interesting. Coming to us not for domestic service, but to find a person? What kind of person?”

An Changpu explained their purpose, hoping to speak with the person who did the hourly cleaning at Fang Da’s home. To his surprise, the receptionist refused at once.

“That won’t do. We have rules. We absolutely cannot disclose client information! Even if you’re police, it won’t do! Once you leave, if they come to us demanding answers and the matter gets out, who would dare hire us again?” she said, leaving no room for negotiation.

“I understand protecting client privacy, but this concerns a child’s safety,” Qin Ruonan explained urgently, trying to impress upon her the seriousness of the situation.

The receptionist hesitated a little after hearing this, but still did not dare casually agree. After a pause she asked, “You’re not suspecting that our housekeeping staff has a problem, are you? Our screening is very strict here. There definitely won’t be any problems!”

“We just want to learn about the child’s everyday situation from the person who worked in their home.”

In the end, unable to withstand their repeated requests and persuasion, the receptionist finally nodded. She asked them to sit and wait for a while. Not long after, she returned with a woman of about her age.

“This is Xiao Ma. She does hourly work at the Fang household. Ask her whatever you need,” the receptionist said. Then she stood beside the woman called Xiao Ma and waited. After a long while, seeing that An Changpu and Qin Ruonan were both looking at her, she realized she was not the intended audience. With a pout, she turned and walked away.

Once she was gone, Xiao Ma appeared somewhat at a loss. She was a thin woman, fair-skinned and neat, with short hair. She looked honest and clean.

After chatting with Xiao Ma for a while, the two detectives’ friendly manner gradually put her at ease, and she began answering their questions about Fang Da’s family.

Xiao Ma had seen Fang Wan several times. She cleaned at Fang Da’s home three times a week: Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Usually Fang Wan was at home on Sundays, while on the other two days the house was mostly empty, though occasionally she would run into the mistress of the house, Xia Ying.

As for Xia Ying and Fang Wan, even Xiao Ma could tell that the relationship between stepmother and stepson was very strained. Although there were no open quarrels, the silent cold war had never stopped. At first, when Xiao Ma went to clean for the Fang family, she would also clean Fang Wan’s room, until one day Xia Ying and Fang Wan had a fierce argument at home. Afterward, Xia Ying, right in front of Fang Wan, told Xiao Ma never to clean Fang Wan’s room again.

After all, Xia Ying was the employer who had hired her, and Xiao Ma did not dare disobey. She had no choice but to agree. The male head of the household, Fang Da, was rarely home. Even on Sundays, he often went out to socialize. At first, Xiao Ma had been somewhat uneasy about no longer cleaning Fang Wan’s room, worried the child might complain to his father. If that happened and Xia Ying flatly denied it, the blame would likely fall on her.

But so much time passed without Fang Da ever asking about it that Xiao Ma gradually relaxed and barely entered Fang Wan’s room anymore.

After all, for her, doing a little less work was naturally easier.

As spring warmed and the viruses revived, the flu had begun raging once again. Xiao Mo had accidentally caught it and was now running a fever. Everyone should pay attention to adding or removing clothing as needed and strengthen their immunity.