A new bookstore in town finally sold me on reading my first manga! A good cover and an enticing blurb are all it really takes for me and Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou managed to get me hook, line, and sinker with her manga novel, Case File Compendium.
I should have known this was a series when I saw the number one on the spine, but I’m a glutton for punishment because I bought it anyway. The story is set up like this: rich kid He Yu is back from overseas and is determined to win over his crush from childhood, Xie Xue, a new professor at his university. He doesn’t quite realize that his feelings are one-sided, though he never really gets to act on them with the appearance of Xie Xue’s older brother, Xie Qingcheng. His appearance brings back memories of the past, where Xie Qingcheng acted as He Yu’s personal physician.
He Yu wasn’t your typical sick kid, as it’s revealed that he has a rare disease called psychological Ebola. There had only ever been four other known cases, but all of the other patients had succumbed to the disease. Granted, He Yu is still quite young at just nineteen, but with everything that Xie Qingcheng was able to help with while he was his physician, He Yu has managed just fine. The biggest thing that He Yu has to watch out for is not becoming too aggravated or it will cause a potentially dangerous flare up. Not just dangerous to himself, but to others as well. It is in this novel that we learn that He Yu’s psychological Ebola manifested itself into a blood toxin.
The best use of this blood toxin is on other humans who are also suffering from mental illness. One sniff of his blood gives He Yu complete control over these individuals, though it’s clear that he has no ill intentions with this ability. At least in his right state of mind. Xie Qingcheng bears witness to He Yu using his blood toxin, and the two vow to never tell anyone, though it does make Xie Qingcheng want to monitor the boy more closely again. Especially since he’s intent on spending more time with his younger sister. Xie Qingcheng is clueless that He Yu is trying to romantically pursue her, so it doesn’t stop any put downs from coming out of his mouth. He Yu can dish as good as he can take it, so these two are at each others throats almost the whole novel.
More than once He Yu and Xie Qingcheng find themselves entangled in situations they’d most rather not be, and it seems to very gradually start breaking something down between them. There are still plenty of secrets from their past, and an incident bordering very close to rape, but their shared history means they don’t let He Yu’s flare up hinder whatever else they need to learn from each other. It seems there are also more sinister events simmering under the surface that I’m sure I’ll get to read about in future novels within the series.
There are currently four novels out there with a fifth one on the way in June, but it sounds like there will be ten in total, so I’ve got a ways to go!