Case File Compendium vol 1 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Case File Compendium by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

Case File Compendium is a long-awaited official translation of the Chinese webnovel Bing An Ben by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, a prolific author of historical danmei fantasies. Unlike their other series, this book has a contemporary Chinese setting and doesn’t have fantasy elements.

He Yu is a 19-year-old university student in the imaginary city of Huzhou (basically Shanghai.) He’s recently returned from living several years abroad, and wants to reconnect with the girl he’s loved for a long time, Xie Xue. She’s teaching screenwriting at the university, so that’s what he’ll study too. She’s several years older than him though, and only sees him as a childhood friend.

Xie Quingcheng is 32, a former doctor and current professor of medicine at a nearby university. He’s Xie Xue’s brother, and He Yu’s former doctor. He Yu suffers from an extremely rare (and imaginary) condition that’ll eventually drive him insane, if he doesn’t learn to control his emotions. And love, especially unrequited, isn’t good for him.

The premise of the three being connected throws the men constantly together. They don’t like each other much, and don’t really understand each other either, even though Xie Quingcheng is the only person who truly knows what He Yu is like and what is required of him so that he can remain sane. Both are extremely homophobic too, so even friendship under the guise of looking after a former patient isn’t likely. The first volume only sets the stage for their relationship.

Mostly, the book is a bit of a mess. A lot of things happen, a background conspiracy emerges, people come and go, and random stories pop up that have nothing to do with the characters or the plot. It takes a long time for the basic story to form and the reader to get the hang of the two men, especially since—in the manner of webnovels—their characters and backstories keep changing to fit the plot.

It’s amazing how much Xie Quingcheng has done for a relatively young man (though He Yu keeps calling him middle-aged), and how sane He Yu is for a psychopath. They’re fairly likeable characters nonetheless, and oddly well-suited for one another for such different people. The age gap is pronounced, but I didn’t find it problematic.

Contemporary China is an interesting setting. It remains kind of vague though, and I kept wishing there would be more of it. It’s mostly about the divide between the rich and poor, and traditional, patriarchal society and modern values—or the lack of them.

Despite the slow start, the story becomes fairly compelling towards the end, lifting it from a three-star book to a four-star one. The first volume ends at a small cliffhanger that comes out of the blue. However, since it is about the background plot, it’s not terribly annoying. The game between the two men has only started, and I’m interested in reading where it’ll lead.