The Brain Science Case 32

Chapter 32: The Ulysses Contract – 8

After her last general education class, Zeng Pingyun stared at the message she had just received and immediately dialed another number.

Her voice trembled. “Hello? Teacher! It’s Pingyun.”

‘Did you get any news?’

“Yes… it’s a message from the stalker.”

Yingli sneered. ‘I see… your classes are over, right?’

“Yes, they’re over.”

‘Okay. Then you take your usual route home now. I’ll be watching nearby. When I’ve identified the target, I’ll double back, and we’ll catch him together.’

Take my usual route? “But… Lu Zhiwei is usually waiting at the school gate. He insists on protecting me on my way home, so I had to lie and say I was going to my club after school…”

‘That’s perfect. If he doesn’t have any other source of information, he should go to the club room to wait for you as you said… To be honest, I not only suspect he’s changed his name, but I even have some doubts about whether he’s a C University student at all.’

“D-Doubts?”

‘Yes. I did a quick search, and there’s no Lu Zhiwei in the second year of the C University civil engineering department.’ Tang Yingli’s news made her heart skip a beat. ‘I guess this person is just pretending to be a student to get close to you. He’s been lying from the beginning.’

Although it had rained a little in the evening, the weather in mid-September Taipei was still humid and warm, but Zeng Pingyun couldn’t help but feel a chill in her heart. Thinking back on Lu Zhiwei’s pursuit over the past year, it was almost as if whenever she was free, he would appear before her in the shortest amount of time. And she had almost never heard him share anything about his classes, let alone mention his classmates or campus life.

If he’s not a C University civil engineering student, then who is he… why is he so obsessed with me? Why?

‘Pingyun… Pingyun?’

“Ah, I’m sorry, Teacher…” She pinched the bridge of her nose, her voice choked with tears. “I’m a little… scared…”

‘He’s caused you a lot of psychological stress over the past year, and you’ve endured it long enough. As for your possible past contact, as long as we can find a way to catch his accomplice, we should be able to get more information.’ Through the phone, Yingli’s calm and gentle voice gave her the strength to hold on. ‘As long as we can expose his control over you, you won’t have to be afraid anymore.’

She took a deep breath, her attitude finally firm. “I understand, Teacher… I’ll do as you say.”

At six in the evening, the campus was filled with students riding bikes to their next class or strolling home. She walked down the bustling main avenue, keeping an eye on her surroundings.

About five minutes later, her phone chimed with a message from Yingli. ‘I’m near you.’

Teacher! Her heart leaped with joy. Before she could even reply, she received another voice message. ‘I’ve been watching for a while… about twenty meters behind you, there’s a chubby male student pretending to read a book who looks the most suspicious. Can you confirm?’

Zeng Pingyun turned, and when she saw the person’s figure, it instantly overlapped with the image in her mind. “Yes… it should be him.”

‘Okay. Then walk a little faster. When he rushes to get closer to you, stop immediately and turn to confront him.’

Zeng Pingyun quietly picked up her pace. Just as she was about to reach the school gate, she stopped and, with lightning speed, ran toward the furtive guy.

“Why are you following me?”

She snatched the book he was holding in front of his face. “It’s you, isn’t it? The person who’s been following me and sending me strange messages is you, isn’t it?”

Faced with the uncharacteristically aggressive Zeng Pingyun, he looked embarrassed, mumbled some excuses, and turned to run.

But as soon as he turned, another woman in a lace dress with a stern expression was standing behind him.

“Classmate, your little stalking game is over.”

Pushing up her glasses, Yingli declared with a firm and irrefutable attitude.

Knowing he had been caught, his face instantly turned pale.

**

After finishing his part-time job, Lu Zhiwei immediately drove to the university Zeng Pingyun attended.

He had just received a message from his partner that after her classes, Zeng Pingyun had not gone to her club as she had said at noon, but had gone straight to the school gate.

As he had expected. He knew she was trying to avoid him in every possible way. Even though he was prepared for it, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Why doesn’t she understand? Understand his feelings for her? He really likes her, really wants to treat her well and take care of her. Why is she still pushing him away?

In order to pursue her, he had studied hard, spent an extra year preparing for the entrance exam, and didn’t even mind being a year younger than her, all just to go to the same school as her. But things hadn’t gone as planned. So he had pretended to be a student from another school and had approached her through a mixer.

And he knew his appearance wasn’t his strong suit. For that, he had deliberately worked out, changed his style, and bought a stylish motorcycle to be able to drive her around. To achieve his goal, he could only work part-time jobs to support his expenses.

As for sending her gifts on holidays, remembering her anniversaries, her preferences… and so on, there was no need to emphasize them one by one.

But no matter how much he gave, Zeng Pingyun didn’t seem to feel his sincerity.

And when he had found out she was getting closer to a guy in her club, the jealousy in his heart had almost burned him to a crisp.

Even though he had later found out it was a false alarm, the daily fear of other guys getting close to her, the constant worry of losing her, had already affected his daily life.

So, he had made up his mind to find someone to help him keep an eye on Zeng Pingyun’s every move at school… Since then, he no longer had to be on edge, and he could even create many seemingly coincidental or fated encounters to increase their chances of spending time together.

Some people said he was obsessed.

Others said he was crazy for Zeng Pingyun, and had even teased that her figure and appearance were not worth his great efforts.

To that, he couldn’t be bothered to explain. If they said he was obsessed, then he was.

But it was all to fulfill a childhood promise. For Zeng Pingyun, he was willing to do anything.

After all, in that moment of despair, when everyone else was either laughing or standing by, only she… only she had been willing to stand up for him.

He would never forget that moment. And from then on, the name Zeng Pingyun had been firmly engraved in his heart.

Realizing he had been lost in thought, Lu Zhiwei blinked and revved the engine, rushing on his way.

He quickly arrived at the school gate, parked his car, and saw a new message from his partner.

‘She’s at the performance hall.’

In the entire year from “freshman” to “sophomore,” his understanding of this campus was no different from that of a student. But… the performance hall? It was indeed close to Zeng Pingyun’s club room, but she rarely went there.

The partner who was tracking Zeng Pingyun for him was named Li Chengyao, a classmate of his from high school. In that gangster high school, this fat, nerdy guy was a complete anomaly.

They had become friends because they had studied together. In the end, Li Chengyao had gotten into the top university, and their high school had even publicized it for a while.

They hadn’t had much contact after graduating from high school until they had run into each other two months ago. He had told Li Chengyao about his feelings for Zeng Pingyun, and to his surprise, Li Chengyao had offered to help. The price was a “service fee” of three thousand yuan a month.

In order to keep track of Zeng Pingyun’s whereabouts, although the price was not cheap, he had gritted his teeth and paid it. Fortunately, this fat guy had also perfectly completed his task—at least so far.

In terms of brains, he might not be able to beat Li Chengyao, but in terms of brute force, this fat guy was no match for him. Besides, he was the employer.

“I don’t think you’d dare to lie to me,” he snorted, slinging his sports backpack over his shoulder and running through the gate.

To be sure, he even sent a test message to Zeng Pingyun. The result was read but not replied to. He shook his head with a bitter smile and could only rush to the performance hall.

But just as he arrived at the plaza, another message from Li Chengyao came. ‘She’s at the club room now.’

“What’s going on?” he frowned, feeling like he was being led around by the nose. When he arrived at the club room door, he received another new message—

‘She’s at WOS Burger now.’

Although these places were all close, Lu Zhiwei was already feeling like he was being played. Before he reached the fast-food restaurant, another message came—‘She’s bought her food and is back at the performance hall.’

Unable to take it anymore, he immediately pressed the call button. As soon as it connected, he burst out, “Damn it, you fat bastard, what the hell are you doing?”

The response was not from Li Chengyao, but—‘I see you.’

Like a bucket of ice water being poured over his head, Lu Zhiwei was frozen under the setting sun, with the last few chirps of the cicadas.

“P-Senior?” He had definitely called Li Chengyao. “How are you…”

He could hear other people talking in the background, and her voice was clearly tense. ‘Turn around, I’m in the dining area.’ He looked toward the brightly lit WOS Burger, its red and white sign particularly conspicuous on the evening campus.

And the girl of his dreams was glaring at him.

‘We need to talk.’

**

A small car nimbly weaved through the crowded Taipei roads. Cai Yuwei gripped the door handle with one hand and pressed his wireless earpiece with the other.

“Ah Wei and I are on Section 3 of Chengde Road… is that right? Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Turning off the radio, Zhou Jinglin slammed on the accelerator again.

As soon as I can? We’re already going so fast. How much faster can we go? “J-Jinglin, shouldn’t we slow down a bit…”

She cut him off. “The Beitou precinct said the target vehicle is heading toward Tamsui, and is likely planning to escape in the direction of Jinshan.” She slammed her hand on the steering wheel. “We have to catch him before he escapes our jurisdiction.”

“I know, but… red light, red light, red light, red light!” he screamed, on the verge of tears.

A long, piercing honk, mixed with the sound of the police siren, whizzed past at the last second.

Cai Yuwei blinked hard. “Phew… phew.” He looked back, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Huh?” The sound of a phone ringing came through the car speakers. He glanced at the screen. “J-Jinglin, your mom is calling.”

She frowned and pressed the call button on her earpiece. “Hello? Mom… you’re discharged.”

‘Yes… I’ve finished the procedures. I’m in the first-floor lobby… what about you? Are you off work?’

“Not yet. I just left the station. There’s a…” Slightly distracted, a slow-moving “three-treasure” (a slang term for a bad driver) blocked her way. She cursed under her breath and quickly changed lanes. “There’s a suspect in a murder case on the run. I’m in pursuit with the other seniors.”

“Ah, we’re going to crash… we’re going to crash, we’re definitely going to crash!” There was a solid scraping sound from the passenger side door.

She turned her head and shouted, “Cai Yuwei, you’re so noisy!”

‘Ah… then when can you come over?’ Li Yuejiao’s calm voice was even more out of place in the chaos.

“I don’t know yet.” She took a breath and finally, willingly, stopped at a red light. “Mom, I’m sorry… don’t you have my key?” To be prepared for any sudden situations, she had given her mother a spare key before.

Li Yuejiao held the key, which was attached to a heart-shaped keychain. “Yes, I have it.”

‘If you’re really afraid of waiting too long, just take a taxi home. Are you hungry? Have you had dinner?’

“Not yet. I’m not hungry.”

‘I don’t know how late I’ll be… you remember the address, right?’ Her daughter quickly recited the address, which she had already memorized. ‘You go home and rest first. We’ll see each other at home.’

The piercing sound of the engine started up again. Li Yuejiao sighed softly. “Alright, you drive slowly. Don’t scare your colleague. Be safe.”

‘I know. That’s all for now.’

Looking at the disconnected call, Li Yuejiao couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “Honestly, this impetuous personality… I wonder who she gets it from.” She pressed a hand to her wound and dragged her suitcase out of the hospital.

A gentle breeze blew through the municipal hospital at night. The line of taxis was not far away. She limped closer, and just before she reached the taxi stand, a well-dressed man suddenly appeared before her.

Li Yuejiao was taken aback, and he smiled and nodded. “Jinglin was just at the station interrogating a murder suspect. I heard from the director that you were about to be discharged, so I came over to pick you up.

“Long time no see, boss lady.”

At the mention of the “director,” her tone turned cold. “Indeed, a few years have passed. From a precinct captain to the head of the Criminal Investigation Division… you’ve done well for yourself, Chief Fang.”

Knowing she was teasing him, Fang Zijun shrugged and smiled without answering.

“You’re going back to Jinglin’s place, right? I’ll take you.” He made a move to take her suitcase.

Li Yuejiao initially didn’t let him touch it, but he almost stubbornly took the handle and pointed to a car parked not far away. “Please.” He noticed she was constantly pressing her abdomen. “Or… do you need me to bring the car closer?”

“Thank you, I can walk myself.”

She tilted her head up, revealing the same aloof demeanor that had captivated countless men in the past.