The Brain Science Case 89

Chapter 89: 

“I was the real target.”

“Hm?” Yingli blinked, not denying the statement.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and you listen. Let’s go back to the first incident. When Jingxun was kidnapped, she heard the culprit mention…”

‘You just need to know that someone has paid a high price for you… as long as you’re obedient, I guarantee you won’t get hurt.’

“Yes, Wang Conghong also said that during the interrogation.”

“Right? So the goal was to kidnap her, but the second time, in the night market, even though Jingxun was right in front of the culprit, they stabbed Shi Changyun and me first.”

Of the four of them, setting aside the heavier Vicky and the taller her, both in terms of height and clothing, Shi Changyun and Zhou Jingxun were more similar. Because Jingxun was well-disguised, it was understandable that Shi Changyun was mistaken for her, but when she had already shielded Zhou Jingxun behind her, the culprit had rushed up as if he had found his prey.

Yingli rested her chin on her hand and made a hypothesis. “Could it be that they were just trying to buy time to escape?”

“I’ve thought of that too… but given the situation at the time, they clearly had a chance to hurt Jingxun.” She lowered her head, staring at her still-aching left palm. “But they didn’t.”

“So, you’re saying that the culprit’s real target was to injure you… to remove your protection of Zhou Jingxun?”

“I guess so. As long as I’m with her, the difficulty of kidnapping Jingxun will definitely increase. It’s just…” she took a deep breath, “I really thought I was going to die at that moment. I don’t know if it was a mistake in execution, or if the mastermind didn’t intend to kill me.”

“Perhaps it’s not that they didn’t want to,” Yingli crossed her arms, “they made a follow-up attempt.”

“A follow-up… attempt?”

“Do you remember, the first night I suddenly woke up?” she recounted the situation at that time, “I’m sure someone was peeking from outside.”

Zhou Jinglin’s nerves tensed. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure that if I hadn’t been there, that person would have probably come in to ‘finish the job’.”

Zhou Jinglin’s hair stood on end, and she couldn’t help but hug herself. Yingli lightly touched the ends of her hair, her gaze turning cold. “And if you count, the most suspicious are those two.”

Vicky and… Shi Changyun?

“Wait, Vicky, I can understand… but Shi Changyun was also injured.”

“She was injured, but from the speed of her discharge and recovery, it wasn’t impossible for her to attack you while you were asleep at that time. As for Vicky… I actually think the probability is lower.” Yingli’s judgment was once again unexpected. “She has no motive.”

“And Shi Changyun does?” Recalling their contact over the past few days, Zhou Jinglin couldn’t imagine her wanting to hurt Zhou Jingxun. “Not to mention, just from watching their interaction, I would have thought it was a mother caring for her daughter…”

“A mother caring for her daughter…” Yingli seemed to have figured something out. “Perhaps that’s her motive.”

“What do you mean?”

“Shi Changyun has a daughter in the same entertainment company, you know that, right?” Seeing Zhou Jinglin nod, she continued, “But after my preliminary investigation, I didn’t find anyone who fit the criteria. Unless she knows some company executive, it would be almost impossible for her to get into such a big company with her academic and professional background… in any case, I’m finding her more and more mysteriously terrifying.”

“Speaking of which, Ah Wei also shared some strange information with me the other day…” she told Yingli what Cai Yuwei had overheard, but to her surprise, Yingli let out a small laugh.

“W-What are you laughing at? Is it funny?”

“I’ll bet you, Officer Xiang… probably doesn’t have much of a role.”

She pouted. “How do you know?”

“I just know.” Seeing her suspicious look, Yingli suddenly reached out and pinched her cheek.

“Ah, what are you doing… it hurts.”

“If Officer Xiang heard that, it would probably be a heartache.” She covered her face, and Yingli pushed up her glasses. “The reason I dare to say that is because Officer Xiang has been desperately looking for the two culprits who stabbed you these past two days. If he were a mole, he wouldn’t have to work so hard, would he?”

Zhou Jinglin was moved by this statement, and Yingli continued, “Even if there really is a mole, it won’t be Officer Xiang. Although some people always say how bad our police are, since I’ve been working with you, I really don’t think so. I’ve met a group of people who are seriously pursuing the truth, and most of them have a warm heart, which is why I like it here.

“It’s so good to be back in Taiwan.”

“Teacher…”

“Although some people don’t agree, and it’s been used a bit too much…” she bent down, “the most beautiful scenery in Taiwan is indeed the ‘people’.”

This focused gaze made Zhou Jinglin inexplicably blush.

In the next second, Yingli slowly pointed behind Zhou Jinglin. She turned and saw Chen Huomu and Lu Tingfeng, each carrying a gift, waiting outside the hospital room.

“Little Zhou, we’re here to have a reunion with you.”

“Oh, the teacher is here too?”

“S-Seniors.”

She covered her mouth, almost on the verge of tears of joy. Yingli gave a gentle smile and pushed the wheelchair slowly toward the hospital room.

**

After a New Year’s Eve that was said to be “less and less festive,” Cai Yuwei returned to his post, full of energy.

“Morning.”

“Morning.” Xiangrong didn’t look up, constantly tapping his phone. “It’s the new year, and it’s not peaceful at all.”

“I saw the news. Two break-ins and a drive-by robbery.”

“And that’s not all.” Xiangrong gritted his teeth, with a “don’t ask, you’ll be scared” expression on his face.

He lowered his head to organize his desk for a while, and after at least five minutes, Xiangrong was still tapping.

Is he playing a mobile game? “What are you doing?”

“Uh, it’s nothing.” Xiangrong pressed his phone to his chest. “By the way, I-I’m going to buy coffee. What about you, Ah Wei?”

“I don’t… a large latte.”

“Hot, no sugar?” he nodded vigorously, “okay, I’ll go buy it. Ah… a cup of coffee in the morning is just what you need to wake up.”

Xiangrong ran to the main door, and to him, it didn’t look like he was going to buy coffee, but more like he was “on the run.”

And the way he was tapping his phone just now was also very strange. “Strange… so strange.”

Suddenly, an ominous premonition arose in Cai Yuwei’s heart.

‘I don’t care. I’ll give you three more days. If you don’t give it to me, we’ll see…’ Isn’t today the third day?

With a heavy heart, he decided to follow him.

Leaving the main door, when he found that Xiangrong was walking in a different direction from his usual habit, the alarm bells in his heart rang even louder.

“No way…”

He continued to follow, until he saw another convenience store. Just before he was about to cross the intersection, Xiangrong finally stopped.

Cai Yuwei found a place to hide and was ready to take a picture as evidence. In less than twenty seconds, the unknown person finally appeared… uh, an old lady?

The woman on a small scooter handed him an envelope and kept patting Xiangrong’s shoulder, but Xiangrong didn’t pay her any mind. After confirming the contents, his face lit up, and he was so excited he looked like he was about to fly.

Cai Yuwei gritted his teeth and rushed up when he wasn’t looking.

The old lady sped away, leaving only Xiangrong, who was about to cross the street. “Stop.” he shouted, and Xiangrong froze, and the envelope was snatched away in an instant.

“W-What are you doing?” Without a doubt, Xiangrong was shocked. “Damn it, Ah Wei, you’re following me.”

Cai Yuwei held up the envelope. “Is this the price of your secret deal?”

“What secret deal… hey, don’t touch that, give it back.”

“What’s this?” A check?

“Don’t look. Give it back.” The tall Xiangrong reached for it, and the two of them scuffled in front of the convenience store.

He blocked a few times and quickly threw the envelope away. Xiangrong finally picked it up, but it was empty.

The answer was revealed. It wasn’t a check as he had thought, but… a ticket?

“Huh?” This is a ticket to Keys’ concert.

“You already have one, and you’re still trying to get one from me.” Xiangrong anxiously snatched the ticket back. “Good thing it’s not torn. Good thing…”

“Wait a minute, it’s not a che-che…”

“What che?” he was out of breath, “and you said a secret deal… what do you mean?”

“It’s not what you said…” Cai Yuwei confronted him with the information he had overheard, which drew a long sigh from Xiangrong.

“Xiao Xun was here every day before, right?” he nodded, and Xiangrong continued, “we were so happy, a lot of people were asking for her autograph and a photo. A friend of mine had an extra ticket, and I begged him to sell it to me, on the condition that I would give him all kinds of photos of Xiao Xun, including her autograph. I gave him everything, but then someone else offered him a high price for it, and he even said ‘it’s a deal.’ I was so angry, so I threatened him to give me the ticket in three days.”

So… so that’s what it was?

“I-I thought…”

“What did you think?” Xiangrong’s eyes were wider than bells. “Oh, I. get. it. You thought it was me… please, I’m a detective. How could I leak information to the culprit?”

Cai Yuwei could only scratch his head and give a dry laugh.

“What are you laughing at? If I were a mole, why would I be working so hard on the case? I’d be shooting myself in the foot.”

“Then, that old lady was…”

“My friend’s mom. He must have been too embarrassed to see me, so he asked his mom to give me the ticket. She was just on her way to the market.” The explanation was complete. He was out of breath and pointed at the convenience store. “Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“Coffee. This one’s on you. To compensate for my mental distress.”

The heavy stone in his heart finally lifted, and Cai Yuwei willingly nodded. “Okay.”

**

After studying abroad for so long, her first new year back had allowed Tang Yingli to once again experience the “care” and “enthusiasm” of her relatives and friends.

“Morning, Teacher. Uh…” Chen Huomu greeted her with a smile, but was taken aback by her serious expression. “Did something happen?”

She took a deep breath. “It’s nothing. I’m just in a bad mood because of my family and relatives… it’s more comfortable here.”

He gave a dry laugh. “With your situation, Teacher, it’s normal to be asked.”

“I don’t understand why women have to be in such a hurry. There’s another one who’s in his forties…” Yingli waved her hand. “Never mind. Just take it as me complaining. Don’t mind me.”

Returning to her computer, she opened her inbox and quickly got into the zone.

She had written to the Korean entertainment company, but the replies had all been formulaic and one-sided, especially when it came to Shi Changyun’s personal information, which was always dismissed as “personal privacy.”

“Not surprising…” she snorted and turned to search the local news in South Korea.

A few days ago, after she had proposed various hypotheses about Shi Changyun being a mole, Zhou Jinglin, although she did not agree, had still asked Zhou Jingxun to confirm it at her request.

Compared to an outsider’s view, an insider would definitely know more.

Through Zhou Jingxun, the other members of Keys had provided further information. The oldest member, Kim Hyun-joo, had directly confirmed it. She not only knew Shi Changyun’s daughter, but had also spent a short time with her.

‘But about three and a half years ago, on the eve of Keys’ formation,’ when relaying the information provided by Kim Hyun-joo, Zhou Jinglin’s expression couldn’t help but stiffen, ‘she suddenly left SK Entertainment.’

And after that, Shi Changyun had become Zhou Jingxun’s assistant.

Suddenly left… Yingli instinctively felt that something was wrong. After all, her mother was still working at the same company. And before she became famous, did trainees jump ship?

She asked again if she could get the name of that trainee, but after a day, she still hadn’t received a reply from Zhou Jingxun’s side.

She couldn’t just wait. Yingli had a premonition that if the attacks had started when Zhou Jingxun had returned to Taiwan… then they would also end here. Today was already the second day of the new year, and after the concert, they would immediately return to Korea. Time was running out.

Considering that the news would not reveal the real name to protect the person involved, even if there had been any cases or accidents, she used the keywords “a woman with the surname Shi” and “a single mother” to thoroughly search the Seoul area news media from three and a half years ago until the formation of Keys.

“No, no.” After searching for several hours, facing the unfamiliar text, Yingli took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Is there a way to get more information? For example, to focus on a certain type of news, or to start with Shi Changyun’s other half…

Wait, the man who had gotten her pregnant?

Yingli immediately thought of another clue. She picked up the phone. “Officer Zhou, can you contact Vicky directly?”

‘Vicky? I can. What’s wrong?’

“Yes, I need her help…” not far away, Cai Yuwei and Xiangrong were both on the move. She watched them run out of the office, “maybe she knows how Shi Changyun got a job at this company.”

‘Okay, wait a minute. I’ll send you the number by message.’

“Thank you.”

**

Cai Yuwei and Xiangrong, who had received a tip from another precinct, immediately rushed to the scene of the car accident.

The intersection where the accident had occurred was usually busy, but fortunately, it was the new year—the time when traffic in Taipei was the lightest, so it hadn’t caused a bigger accident.

The scene was a mess, and the ambulance seemed to have already been there. Cai Yuwei first contacted the police who were handling the accident, and Xiangrong immediately confirmed that the old Wolf lying in the middle of the road was the vehicle he had been tracking for days.

“…Those two young guys were drunk driving and hit someone. One of them is still drunk, did you see…”

“Ah Wei.” He turned, and Xiangrong pointed to the blacked-out license plate. “That’s it.”

The thought that the two people sitting on the side of the road might be the ones who had stabbed Zhou Jinglin made Cai Yuwei’s blood boil. He grabbed one of them. “Tell me, were you the two who stabbed someone at the Raohe Night Market a few days ago?”

The young man who was grabbed had deep dark circles under his eyes and smelled of alcohol. It was clear he was on drugs. Even so, facing the angry detective in the cold wind, he should have sobered up. “What Raohe… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Still playing dumb. Why are you riding this bike then?”

The other person, seeing that things were not looking good, turned to run, but was easily caught by Xiangrong. He immediately cuffed him. “Guilty conscience, huh? You were lucky to get away last time, but it’s not New Year’s every day.”

“Chief, we got them.” Cai Yuwei reported. “There’s no mistake. These two… are the ones who stabbed Jinglin.”