I was only trying to fool myself when I said I was going to bake other books in between Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou’s Case File: Compendium novels. Knowing that a fifth book is due out the second week of the month was enough for me to move straight onto the next novel.
I’m sure I’m going to come to regret that decision when I have to wait six months for the next installment to be published. In any case, this novels picks up just after the premiere of the student film that He Yu had participated in. He Yu’d had his way with Xie Qingcheng behind the scenes and made it clear that he was to stay away from Chen Man. At this point, He Yu has enough blackmail on Xie Qingcheng that he’s accepted his fate as He Yu’s physical plaything. He’s such a detached human being that he finds it not too difficult any more to separate his mind from the act.
He Yu on the other hand is really struggling. He is attributing his lust to his youth, and he is insistent that his desire for Xie Qingcheng does not mean that he isn’t straight. But it’s clear throughout the novel that He Yu’s constant thoughts of Xie Qingcheng, while they have a lot to do with their intimate moments, also have a lot to do with their shared past. He Yu thought that Xie Qingcheng was the only person on this planet who understood him, and who in turn, he trusted. When Xie Qingcheng abruptly left, it shattered his reality and is partially to blame for his current cold indifference.
The sinister subplot of this series is still at play, though still at a much lesser scale in my opinion. I’m sure the bigger picture, once revealed, will be pretty epic, but for now I’m totally fine with it playing a minor role. But with that comes He Yu’s parents trying to make more of an effort to connect with him. But from He Yu’s perspective, it’s too little, too late. In a talk with his father though, He Yu learns that his mother was on the brink of death when she was pregnant with He Yu, so they took the risk with the drug that ultimately led to He Yu’s psychological ebola. It ruined his mother’s life, too, just in a more physical way. While this revelation causes pause to He Yu’s hate, he still can’t muster any more emotions to the people who emotionally abandoned him in his youth.
It is during this time though that he tries to quit Xie Qingcheng for good. And it almost works, until He Yu runs into him a film production. That might have been fine, too, but Chen Man was also in attendance. It’s like any progress He Yu made was shattered in an instant, and his possessive lust for Xie Qingcheng intensified ten-fold. More infuriatingly, Xie Qingcheng was doing his utmost to completely ignore He Yu. It’s at this time that He Yu learns some vital information. By the end of the novel, both He Yu and Xie Qingcheng are stuck fighting for their life in a room acting as a fish tank with no way out. It’s at this point that Xie Qingcheng finally shows some sympathy for He Yu. He reveals that the two have more in common than He Yu could have ever guessed.
Again, thank goodness I have the next novel to sink my teeth into! This is my fear by becoming current so quickly with these novels! I think the waiting will kill me, but I know for a fact I’m not going to do anything about it. Look forward to the next review!