The Brain Science Case 33

Chapter 33: The Ulysses Contract – 9

As Zeng Pingyun glared at him with angry eyes, Lu Zhiwei quickly understood the situation.

“Senior, listen to me…”

“What do you want to say? That you have nothing to do with this guy who’s been following me, or are you going to repeat the same old clichés about how much you like me?”

He glanced at the silent Li Chengyao, his eyes flashing with resentment. “No, I was wrong in this matter. I don’t intend to make any excuses.”

Since she was able to catch the stalker and play him for a fool with her phone, she must have seen the messages they had been sending each other. Li Chengyao might have even spilled the details of their deal.

“In that case, are you a C University student or not?”

His lips pressed into a thin line, he shook his head.

“So you’re not a member of the bridge club either… ha. I don’t even know if you’re a student. You lied to me, Lu Zhiwei… in the end, you’re just a liar who’s been clinging to me…”

“I didn’t lie to you!” he shouted, pounding his chest. “Yes, I used a lot of tricks and told a lot of lies to get close to you, but there’s one thing that’s absolutely true!” He paused, his eyes welling up with tears. “I love you, Zeng Pingyun. I swear I really love you.”

He had wanted to step forward and take Zeng Pingyun’s hand, but she had recoiled in fear. Lu Zhiwei swallowed the bitter saliva in his mouth and slowly began to tell his story.

“A long time ago, a little boy transferred to another elementary school… he was short, dark, and skinny, and he had a slight lisp. Every recess, the other kids in his class would play together, but he, being shy and not knowing how to speak up, could only sit on the side and watch. No one wanted to be his friend, and he was even bullied and ostracized by the others.”

He stepped closer, looking at her seriously. “One time, he was beaten to the ground in the hallway. The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, and a few boys were laughing as they kicked and punched him. A lot of other students were watching, but no one helped him… except for a little girl with pigtails.”

The vague memory gradually became clearer with his words. Zeng Pingyun was frozen in place as if she had been electrocuted, and he took the opportunity to come before her.

The little girl’s young voice echoed in his heart again.

‘Stop bullying him!’

The boys, who had been having fun, were suddenly stopped, and the teacher arrived soon after, scolding them and saying she would punish them… but at that time, he was only looking at her.

‘Are you okay?’

The little girl had smiled and held out her hand to him. In that instant, he had suddenly realized how beautiful she was, and it was the first time he had understood what it felt like to like someone.

“…He had always liked her, but he was too shy to say it. The two years they were in the same class passed quickly. She, who was at the top of her class, transferred to a prestigious middle school, and he never had the chance to say the words he had hidden in his heart, ‘I like you’… but his feelings for her had never changed.”

Taking a deep breath, he said, “That little girl was named Zeng Pingyun. The little boy is now named Lu Zhiwei, but he used to be called Lu Kaicheng.”

Zeng Pingyun covered her mouth, and Lu Zhiwei ran his hands through his hair in frustration and continued, “I wanted to tell you… but I was too scared. I tried to get in here twice, but I didn’t even get close. It’s so embarrassing, right? But I really didn’t want to miss you again, so I did everything I could to get close to you. It just so happened that a senior from my high school was in the C University civil engineering department, so I pretended to be a civil engineering student and went to the mixer with you…

“At first, I thought about telling you, but I quickly realized you didn’t remember me. Since I had changed my name, then fine, if you forgot, you forgot. I would just start over with you. Yes, I lied to you. I was afraid you would be snatched away by another guy, so I had someone follow you. But I really love you…” He squeezed her hand. “Pingyun, please go out with me, okay?”

The truth was finally out. She was so shocked she couldn’t speak. It took her a moment to calm down before she said, word by word, “If you had been honest with me from the beginning, I would have seriously considered it… you’ve been very good to me, and I’m grateful that you’ve remembered me for so long… but this past year, besides a few happy moments, you’ve brought me more trouble and fear.” She firmly pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry, I can’t be with you.”

His eyes widened, and a sharp pain pierced his chest.

“Also, I’m formally requesting that you stop all your pursuit of me, including having your classmate stop following me.” She pointed at Li Chengyao, who was clutching his phone. “If you really love me, then please respect my choice, and my privacy, my freedom.”

Lu Zhiwei was frozen in place, his face ashen. Zeng Pingyun quietly glanced at Yingli, who was hidden in the crowd, and declared fearlessly, “I’ve said my piece. I’m going home.”

She bravely took a step, and as she passed him, she could faintly hear… laughter coming from his throat.

“You still don’t understand…” The words came from his throat. “You still don’t understand!” The terrifying voice tore through Zeng Pingyun’s eardrums, and in the next moment, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Zeng Pingyun stumbled, the force of his grip not like he was trying to hold her hand, but to crush her wrist.

“I like you… from the moment you smiled at me, I decided to only like you. After all I’ve given… how can you just leave?”

“Let her go!”

Lu Zhiwei roughly pulled Zeng Pingyun and held his sports backpack across his chest, glaring at the woman who had suddenly appeared to stop him.

“Who are you?”

“T-Teacher… save me! My hand hurts… you’re hurting me.”

Even though she kept hitting his arm, he didn’t let go. “Ha, you hurt me too, didn’t you?” When he turned, Yingli was already a few steps closer. “Fatty, which class is she a teacher for? You’ve been watching from the side this whole time, haven’t you?” The last part was directed at Yingli.

“Uh, I think she teaches… Brain and Free Will?” Li Chengyao said timidly. “Also, it was the two of them who ganged up on me.”

“Lu Zhiwei, do you know what you’re doing right now?” Yingli frowned, calmly and carefully observing his expression. “Pingyun has clearly rejected you. If you really love her, the best thing to do is to wish her well in finding the person who is most suitable for her.”

“No need. She’s already found me.” Lu Zhiwei sneered and reached into his sports backpack. “I was wondering why she suddenly exposed everything. So it was your doing.”

Although he hadn’t caused any real harm yet, his reaction to being rejected after laying all his cards on the table showed his emotional instability and the potential for violence and impulsive crime.

That’s right… whether intentionally or not, the way he’s acting right now, he is undoubtedly a dangerous person.

“Because Pingyun was very troubled by your pursuit, she asked me for help. I heard your confession… although she helped you in the past, which led to your feelings for her, there was no promise between you.” Yingli relaxed her tone, her hands open in a less threatening, gentle posture. “Why are you so obsessed with Pingyun, so determined to be with her?”

“You don’t understand. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. She belongs to me. It’s a promise… I made a promise to myself, a long time ago.” He was suddenly lost in a state of self-satisfied ecstasy, repeating the words over and over.

Yingli paused, then grasped his psychological state. “I see… a Ulysses contract?”

A Ulysses contract. A psychological state for strengthening one’s willpower.

Legend has it that after winning the Trojan War, on his way home, Ulysses’s ship passed a small island inhabited by sirens. Ulysses had heard of the sirens’ beautiful songs and wanted to hear them for himself, but their songs would also bewitch sailors, causing shipwrecks.

So he ordered his sailors to tie him to the mast before they passed the island, and to have all the sailors plug their ears with wax. No matter how he struggled and shouted afterward, the sailors would ignore him and continue to steer the ship.

This agreement between the “present self” and the “future self,” made while still rational, to carefully plan for the future and carry out that plan, is called a “Ulysses contract.”

So, his obsession, and his extraordinary need for control, may have been caused by other mechanisms in his brain, but this self-promise was also a key factor.

“What are you muttering about…”

“Let me go… let me go.” Zeng Pingyun struggled with all her might. “Lu Zhiwei, you’re wrong. I’m not yours. Let me go…”

“Listen, it’s not too late. Before you cause any harm to Pingyun… your promise is only to yourself. Pingyun doesn’t know, and she has no obligation to comply with it.” Yingli gave her a small shake of her head, signaling her not to provoke him too much. “I understand this heartbreak, but compared to hurting her, isn’t letting go gracefully and seeing her happy also a form of love?

“You just said you truly love her, didn’t you?”

The hand Lu Zhiwei had in his backpack trembled violently. In that moment of distraction, his grip on Zeng Pingyun suddenly loosened.

“Teacher!”

Zeng Pingyun took the opportunity to run toward Yingli, who also moved forward to meet her.

“No, Pingyun!” Lu Zhiwei shouted. “Come back!”

Yingli caught Zeng Pingyun, and before she could even comfort her, Li Chengyao, who was standing on the side, was the first to realize the impending danger and shouted, “No, Lu Zhiwei… you two be careful, he has a gun!”

A gun? How could that be…

Out of the corner of her eye, Yingli finally saw the secret he had hidden in his backpack. He was holding something that looked like a pistol, and the muzzle was pointed directly at them.

“Pingyun, be careful…” She bent down, completely shielding Zeng Pingyun behind her.

Then, she heard the sound of compressed air and a powerful spring.

It wasn’t a real gun.

It was a modified BB gun.

**

When the speeding car screeched to a halt, Cai Yuwei practically fell out of the car and leaned over the guardrail, vomiting.

At seven in the evening, the Guandu Bridge was packed with traffic in both directions, coming and going between Tamsui and Bali. Zhou Jinglin took off her slightly bulky suit jacket, turned off the siren, and met up with the colleagues who had arrived first.

The domestic sedan on the side of the road was blocked by a precinct police car, and several officers were surrounding a spot by the bridge. The wall of people blocked her view, but she guessed that Shen Shiyang must be among them.

“Senior Ah Mu, what’s the situation?”

Chen Huomu, who was in charge of the pursuit, turned. “Little Zhou, you… you’re the only one who came?”

“Ah Gui and Senior Big Head are stuck in traffic.” She pursed her lips and pointed a thumb at the still-carsick Cai Yuwei. Chen Huomu sighed and pointed not far away. “Shen Shiyang is over there, standing on the other side of the guardrail, looking like he’s about to jump. But the Bali precinct has already sent people to wait under the bridge. Even if he jumps, he’ll still be caught.”

She looked into the distance. “He hasn’t been caught yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Okay. I’ll distract him, and you can find a chance to have the other precinct officers help catch him.”

“Can you do it?”

“I just interrogated his secretary… I’m confident I can do it.” Without giving him much time to hesitate, she quickly stepped forward.

He sighed and turned on his radio to deploy his men. “Attention, everyone. One of our female colleagues…”

At his instruction, the precinct officers made way, and Zhou Jinglin finally saw him, standing on the other side of the guardrail. His face was pale, and he was trembling all over. Although his expression was tense, his eyes were sharp.

He shouted, “If you come any closer, I’ll jump.”

“I’d advise you not to do that.”

When Shen Shiyang saw it was her, his expression changed instantly.

“Tu Yanqing told us everything. Including the motive and the method, and your role in this case.”

His expression stiffened, but he quickly relaxed, and even smiled. “Haha… is that so? She told you…”

“I found a pair of scissors in her apartment with your wife’s blood on them. According to the medical examiner, the scissors were the real murder weapon. The fruit knife you so carefully planted in the yard was just a decoy.” She paused slightly and added, “To make the whole thing look like a break-in and a rape-murder, you staged the scene afterward, right? You and your secretary conspired to kill your wife. And you still have the nerve to say you loved her during the interrogation.”

“She was the one who betrayed this marriage first.” Shen Shiyang waved his hand, and the fact that he was only holding on to the railing with his left hand made everyone’s heart skip a beat.

Zhou Jinglin’s eyes widened, but Shen Shiyang’s expression remained cold. “I’m not lying… I know you checked her call records, and it’s normal that you didn’t find anyone suspicious. In reality, she was the one who cheated first, and she was even more outrageous than I was… if I hadn’t accidentally found out that she, who was supposed to be with her friends, was actually going in and out of a department store with another man… I, who was so busy with work, probably would have never known she was cheating on me.”

“And because of that, you and your secretary conspired to kill her in retaliation?” She shook her head forcefully. “That’s not a reason.”

Shen Shiyang laughed even louder. “That’s because you didn’t hear how she insulted Yanqing. She had the nerve to demand a high alimony from me, but thought her own affair was a secret. What a shameless woman.”

Now Zhou Jinglin was truly at a loss for words. But after he laughed, his expression turned sad. “The funny thing is… while I was staging the whole scene, all I could think about were the little things from when we first met, dated, and got married, including this place.”

“Mr. Shen…”

“This… is actually where I proposed to Weiru eight years ago.”

“Proposed?” Zhou Jinglin glanced at the river. The surroundings were almost completely shrouded in darkness. If it were a clear day, whether looking upstream or toward the mouth of the river, it would have been a wide, beautiful view.

“When you came to the office to arrest Yanqing, I knew you must have important evidence. I came here just to reminisce about the past… and then, to jump from here.” He looked down at the dark river, his fingers looking like they could let go at any moment.

A message came through her earpiece that they were in position. Zhou Jinglin remained impassive, and he closed his eyes, as if he had made up his mind. “Tell me,” she said, slowly moving forward, “do you still love your wife?”

He hesitated for a few seconds, then looked at her again. “I don’t know… if it were the her from back then, maybe. But in these few years of marriage, she’s changed too much.”

‘We’re behind him now, Little Zhou. Just stall a little longer.’

“Mr. Shen, I sympathize with your situation. But premeditatedly killing your own wife, no matter how justified the reason, is not allowed.”

He smiled sadly.

“By the way…” she stopped, “about Miss Tu Yanqing, there’s something you might not know.”

“What?”

“She’s pregnant.”

Shen Shiyang’s eyes widened, and in that instant, he lost all his defenses.

‘Now!’

At Chen Huomu’s command, everyone rushed forward, including Zhou Jinglin. For a moment, there was a cacophony of shouts as five or six officers scrambled to pull him back from the other side of the railing.

“Is that… true?” Pinned to the ground and quickly handcuffed, Shen Shiyang kept asking. “Yanqing! Yanqing, she…”

“Yes… she told me herself.”

The moment he got the answer, Shen Shiyang’s expression was a mixture of laughter and tears.

She crouched down and met his gaze. “Although you still have to face the law, for the sake of them, please face all of this bravely.”

As if his emotions had been shattered, he sobbed, and was escorted to a police car. The suspect was finally arrested, and the incident was over.

But Zhou Jinglin’s feelings were complicated. Although she hadn’t been able to hear Peng Weiru’s side of the story, at this point, why would Shen Shiyang lie? Tu Yanqing’s confession also corroborated his account.

‘…the victim may not have been entirely innocent either.’

Thinking of this, she shook her head and chuckled. Was Tang Yingli right again?

“Little Zhou, good job.” Chen Huomu, who was directing the team to pack up, walked over. “It’s embarrassing to say, but if I hadn’t been careless, everyone wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble.”

She shrugged. “It happens.”

“The suspect, where’s the suspect?” Cai Yuwei, who was several beats behind, finally caught up.

She pointed to a police car in the distance, her expression blank.

“What? It’s over? How so fast?”

“Damn it, Ah Wei!” Chen Huomu didn’t hesitate to punch him. “You can get this sick from riding in Little Zhou’s car. If you ever ride in Big Head’s car, you’ll probably puke up last night’s dinner.”

“No, senior, you should really ride in Jinglin’s car…”

The two men walked away, and she covered her mouth with a smile. She had only taken a few steps back when her pocket suddenly vibrated.

It must be Mom. “Hello?”

‘Hello… Officer Zhou?’ The voice… it sounded like it was in a confined space, breathless, and a little weak…

“T-Teacher?” she repeated in disbelief. “Is that you, Teacher?”

“Yes, it’s me…” Tang Yingli pressed a hand to her side. Even a simple breath was accompanied by a sharp pain. “Where are you?”

‘I’m at Guandu… just caught the suspect. What about you, Teacher?’

“I’m at the university… in the performance hall.” Yingli struggled to move, using the faint light to get her bearings. “I need help… I’m injured.”

‘How could that be? Who hurt you…’

“It’s a long story. In short, the suspect has a modified BB gun… he’s very unstable right now, and my student and I are trapped in the performance hall…” Although she tried to keep her voice down, the empty performance hall was too quiet, and any sound could give away their location. “Can you call for backup? Anyone…”

‘Of course! I’ll call for you right now… I’ll get there as soon as I can. The performance hall?’

“Yes… it’s an emergency.”

‘Okay, I’ll call right now. You hang in there, Teacher. Be careful…’ Perhaps the reception was bad indoors, but the call was cut off before she could finish.

Yingli put away her phone and switched it to silent mode. She and Zeng Pingyun were separated, and the three of them, including Lu Zhiwei, were trapped inside the performance hall—or rather, they were trapped by Lu Zhiwei.

She didn’t know how many bullets he had left, and her own injuries were still unclear… the situation was very unfavorable for them.

In the darkness, she heard Lu Zhiwei sneer. “Are we playing cat and mouse now?”

He’s near her. Yingli bit her lip, suddenly unsure of which direction to run—

Then, a bright white light suddenly flashed behind her.

“It’s no fun when you can just follow the blood.”

She turned, and Lu Zhiwei, using his phone as a flashlight, had the muzzle of his gun pointed at her head.

He whistled as if he had already won. “Gotcha, Teacher.”