Case File Compendium Vol. 4 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Case File Compendium vol 4 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

Volume four did something I thought could never happen: reduced the hostilities between He Yu and Xie Qingcheng. Not easily and completely, but it’s a step in the right direction if one wants a happy ending for the men.

The volume continues from where the previous left, with the men about to drown inside an airtight chamber. Since they think this is their last moment, Xie Qingcheng tells the younger man his greatest secret. It’s nothing I had imagined. And then they’re saved at the last moment. Now that they’re alive, the truth completely changes how He Yu sees him. The same isn’t true for Xie Qingcheng.

They agree to stay apart. Easy for Xie Qingcheng, but impossible for He Yu. Even when Xie Xue falls ill, clearly because of the illegal drug He Yu’s been affected with, Xie Qingcheng doesn’t contact He Yu. But He Yu finds about it anyway and decides to investigate. Eventually, he has Xie Qingcheng roped into it too.

But the shady organisation is constantly one step ahead of them. Every time He Yu thinks he’s about to have a breakthrough, the clue is removed, usually with violence. Until he stumbles onto one that even the masterminds haven’t come to think of. It sends the men to a remote village, which turns out to be the home village of many players they’ve come across so far. It can’t be a coincidence.

As they investigate, they find a crime that has nothing to do with them or the case, but which the perp wants to keep secret anyway. It puts the men in mortal peril once again. The volume ends with a cliffhanger, with Xie Qingcheng on his last breath.

This was the best volume so far. Focus was on the men and their relationship, with only brief glimpses of other players, which weren’t terribly important. He Yu is mostly sane, and while he still wants to force Xie Qingcheng to have sex with him, he manages to stop himself. He’s found a new truth about his relationship with Xie Qingcheng and he has no idea what to do with it. For his part, Xie Qingcheng is starting to see He Yu in new light. Not enough to forgive him yet, but maybe he doesn’t hate him as much anymore. I’m eagerly waiting to find out how that turns out.