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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Case File Compendium: Bing An Ben (BAB) Vol. 3 marks a major emotional and narrative descent in the series, and just like I predicted based on Erha, it’s very clearly the “darkest hour” volume. If Book 2 sharpened the edges, Book 3 breaks everything apart. The tension between He Yu and Xie Qingcheng explodes into full-blown obsession, violence, and trauma, and this volume doesn’t flinch away from just how disturbing their relationship becomes. He Yu’s behavior spirals out of control in a way that’s impossible to ignore—his obsession leads to multiple sexual assaults, including one in a public dressing room at his sister’s film premiere. Unlike in Erha, there’s no “reverse card” or narrative trick to undo the damage. What happens here sticks, and in my opinion, there’s no real coming back from that. The psychological and physical consequences aren’t just background noise—they define both characters going forward, and while Meatbun tries to layer on tragic tenderness and mutual damage, it doesn’t erase the very real violations that occur. That’s what makes this volume so hard to read but also difficult to look away from—it’s messy, it’s complicated, and it’s not pretending to be a love story anymore, if it ever was. The symbolism—plum blossoms, jellyfish, icy blue light, cold water, and that Titanic-style drowning scene—is rich and often beautifully written, but the emotional whiplash from moments of poetic near-death intimacy to raw, manipulative assault is jarring. The Titanic references were interesting to spot, but personally, they didn’t hit me emotionally since I don’t care for the movie—it felt more like a borrowed aesthetic than a meaningful parallel. And still, the story keeps threading its bigger plot: the slow unraveling of Xie Qingcheng’s past, the scandal that ruined his career, and the way He Yu's psychological “Ebola” (as the book literally names it) infects everything in their orbit. The supposed “main villain” might be capitalism, but honestly, He Yu’s parents—especially his mother—are the real architects of this entire emotional disaster. His father is slightly more sympathetic, but that doesn’t make him less complicit. There are moments where the book feels like it's rambling, bogged down by long internal monologues or oddly placed flashbacks, and I do think Meatbun tends to stretch her narratives more than necessary. That said, the volume ends on a deeply impactful cliffhanger: after everything, as the two men face death side by side, Xie Qingcheng finally decides to tell He Yu the secret he’s been holding for five years. It’s one of the few moments where the emotional writing feels earned rather than forced. I gave this volume a 3.75/5—not because it was flawless (far from it), but because it was undeniably a turning point. It’s darker and more emotionally complex than Book 1, less structured than Book 2, but crucial to the overall arc. Whether this ship is still salvageable is up for debate, but if the Erha pattern holds, Book 4 should be where the redemption—or at least the self-awareness—finally starts to take shape.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes