Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

"Aze... don't go! Why don't you recognize me? Are you still blaming me...?"

Bai Lian's cries were completely blocked by the car windows.

Lu Jingyan started the car expressionlessly, merged into the traffic, and left the woman, still engrossed in her own script, far behind. In the rearview mirror, the white figure grew smaller and smaller until it became a blurry dot, disappearing into the city's neon lights.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

Lu Jingyan rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling more exhausted than a prisoner who had been interrogating for 48 hours straight.

Dealing with these illogical "protagonists" is practically a form of mental pollution to his brain, which is armed to the teeth with "absolute rationality".

He even began to miss Gu Yanchen and Ye Fan. Those people, though stupid, at least had an honest and traceable stupidity. But this white lotus in front of him, her behavior was completely beyond the comprehension of normal humans.

[Ding! Target 'White Lotus' has shown a rapid increase in obsession, indicating she is on the verge of 'darkening'.]

[System Reminder: The darkening of a female protagonist in a tragic novel is usually accompanied by extreme behaviors such as self-harm, self-abuse, and "taking over" her "stand-in." Please be aware of your personal safety.]

"Seize?"

Lu Jingyan sneered, "What does she have to use to seize it? Her flawed, abusive logic from her sadomasochistic novels?"

He didn't take the system's warning too seriously. In his view, this Bai Lian was nothing more than a pitiful and pathetic delusional patient. As long as he kept his distance, her little "deep affection" farce would naturally come to an end in a few days.

However, he ultimately underestimated the obsession of someone immersed in their own world, a person with an almost madness.

From the second day onward, Lu Jingyan's life was marked by an inescapable white shadow.

Early in the morning, he drove to the breakfast stall outside the police station to buy a jianbing (Chinese crepe). Just after paying, he looked up and saw his familiar white Beetle parked across the street. Bai Lian sat in the driver's seat, not getting out, just staring at him with her empty eyes, a sickly, gentle smile playing on her lips.

Lu Jingyan drove away expressionlessly, with the Beetle following at a distance.

At noon, he went to the cafeteria for lunch. Just as he sat down with his tray, he saw Bai Lian appear at the cafeteria entrance, holding a delicate insulated lunchbox. She tried to come in, but was stopped by the security guard at the door. She didn't make a scene; she just stood quietly at the door, gazing at him through the glass with a look of unwavering devotion, like a "waiting-for-husband stone."

That look sent chills down the spines of the police officers wolfing down their food in the cafeteria.

"Captain Lu, that girl... is here again?" Zhao Tiezhu brought over a bowl of rice and lowered his voice, "Her perseverance is almost as good as ours when we did field training back in the day."

Lu Jingyan didn't say anything, but simply put all the green peppers from his plate into Zhao Tiezhu's bowl.

In the afternoon, he went to a meeting at the Municipal Bureau. The meeting room was on the eighteenth floor. As soon as he sat down at his seat, Su Xiaoxiao handed him a pair of binoculars.

"Captain Lu, why don't you go to the rooftop of that building across the street?" Su Xiaoxiao's tone was full of sympathy.

Lu Jingyan took the binoculars and glanced at the other side.

On the edge of the rooftop, several hundred meters away, Bai Lian, dressed in her signature white dress, was holding a telephoto camera and frantically snapping photos of the conference room where he was. Her professionalism surpassed that of the most dedicated paparazzi.

Even in the evening, when he gets off work and goes home.

As soon as I parked my car in the garage, I saw a white figure sneak away from the trash can in front of his house, carrying a black plastic bag in its hand.

Lu Jingyan: "..."

He felt that his patience had reached its limit.

This is not affection, this is not protection.

This is harassment, this is perversion, this is a blatant invasion of privacy!

"Zhao Tiezhu".

When Lu Jingyan got home, he immediately dialed Zhao Tiezhu's number, his voice as cold as ice.

"arrive!"

"Help me apply for a search warrant. The target is Bai Lian, and her white Beetle."

"Huh?" Zhao Tiezhu was taken aback. "Captain Lu, what... what's the reason? She's annoying, but she doesn't seem to have committed any serious crime, right?"

"reason?"

Lu Jingyan walked to the window, watching the Beetle slowly drive away from his residential area, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Illegal intrusion into a citizen's residence (even if it's a garbage can), long-term stalking, upskirt filming, harassment... which one isn't enough?"

"Most importantly," Lu Jingyan's eyes sharpened, "that someone with such an unstable mental state could so accurately track all my movements, including internal appointments like meetings at the provincial government. Don't you find that strange?"

"There must be someone behind her."

Zhao Tiezhu instantly understood, and his tone became serious: "I understand, Captain Lu! I'll get on it right away!"

……

Late that night, on an abandoned highway in the suburbs of Jinghai City.

Lu Jingyan was driving his understated Audi, conducting a meticulously planned "fishing" operation.

He deliberately slowed down and stopped at the roadside every now and then to create the illusion of a "vehicle malfunction".

Sure enough, the familiar white Beetle appeared silently in the rearview mirror like a ghost, following at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

"They've taken the bait."

Lu Jingyan whispered something into his earpiece.

He jerked the steering wheel, and the car turned into a dead end that wasn't even marked on the map, leading to an abandoned steel plant.

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Lian followed suit and went inside.

In her mind, this must mean that "Aze" had finally come to his senses and wanted to find a secluded place to "reunite" with her. She had even begun to imagine the earth-shattering scene of their reunion, her heart pounding like a drum.

However, when her car drove into the end of the alley and she saw the Audi parked next to the pile of steel bars, she was not greeted with a loving embrace, but with several blinding headlights!

"squeak--"

Two police armored vehicles that had been lying in ambush on both sides simultaneously turned on their headlights, like two iron walls, instantly blocking all escape routes.

Bai Lian was so dazzled that she couldn't open her eyes and instinctively slammed on the brakes.

"Police! Don't move!"

Zhao Tiezhu, accompanied by several fully armed special police officers, appeared like divine soldiers and surrounded the small Beetle completely.

"Get out of the car! Hands behind your head!"

Bai Lian was completely dumbfounded.

She stared blankly at the dark gun barrels outside the car, and at Lu Jingyan, who stepped out of the Audi with a cold expression.

That's not how the script was written...

"Officer Lu... what are you doing? Is there some misunderstanding?"

Bai Lian was "invited" out of the car by two policewomen, and she tried to gain sympathy with her pitiful expression.

"Misunderstand?"

Lu Jingyan walked up to her, holding a brand-new search warrant in his hand, and waved it in front of her.

"Ms. Bai Lian, you are suspected of multiple cases of violating citizens' privacy and provoking trouble. We are now conducting a search of you and your vehicle in accordance with the law. Please cooperate."

After saying that, he didn't give Bai Lian a chance to react and waved his hand at Zhao Tiezhu.

"search."

"yes!"

Zhao Tiezhu led his men and quickly began a thorough search of the Beetle.

Soon, all sorts of creepy "trophies" were placed on the hood.

Dozens of candid photos taken from different angles all feature Lu Jingyan as the main character.

Several mineral water bottles that Lu Jingyan had drunk from were placed in the evidence bag.

There was even a used face mask, which was carefully placed in a jewelry box.

The police officers watching were horrified.

This isn't some kind of stand-in literature; it's clearly a true account of perverted crimes!

"Captain Lu! We've found something amazing in the trunk!"

Zhao Tiezhu's voice suddenly came from behind the car, carrying a hint of disbelief and shock.

Lu Jingyan walked over and took a look, and his eyebrows twitched violently.

In the Beetle's cramped trunk, besides the 1.8-meter-tall human-shaped body pillow we'd seen before, there was also a brand-new, gleaming metallic... Luoyang shovel stuck diagonally in the trunk!

The head of the cut still had fresh, damp soil on it.

The entire room fell silent.

All eyes were fixed on the extremely professional-looking archaeological tool, their gazes filled with an indescribable sense of absurdity.

Stalking, taking photos without consent, picking up trash, making human-shaped body pillows... these are things they can understand.

But what's the meaning of this Luoyang shovel?

Does this female protagonist in "stand-in literature" have some unknown second job?

Lu Jingyan picked up the Luoyang shovel, which still carried the fragrance of soil, and weighed it in his hand; it was quite heavy.

He slowly walked up to Bai Lian, who was already terrified, and handed her the shovel.

"Ms. White Lotus".

Lu Jingyan's voice was very soft, but it had an indescribable eeriness to it. "I can understand that you like to collect my 'merchandise' and even have a life-size body pillow made. It's a personal hobby. Although it's a bit perverted, it doesn't constitute a crime."

"But could you explain this to me...?"

He pointed with his shovel in his direction, then at the desolate, abandoned construction site, his tone filled with genuine, soul-deep bewilderment:

"Fine, you're following me, but why are you carrying this thing around?"

"Are you planning to... bury me?"