"After reading this book, Bingshu's first feeling was surprise, and then a little worried - Jian Jing took a certain risk in choosing this narrative approach. Although the reading experience has greatly improved, there is still a question of whether there are loopholes as a detective novel..."
"Fortunately, the plot of Demon Doctor 3 is very solid. The two interlocking stories are above-par, so readers won't think she is scraped the bottom of the barrel and is grasping at straws for eyeballs..."
"As usual, no spoilers for detective novels. I can only vaguely introduce to everyone that the scores for the first two stories are around 7, but the third story is hard to evaluate. From the reading experience, I felt that flash of sudden realization when I read the ending, which is worth an 8. But in terms of the ingenuity of the puzzle, it lacked that striking brilliance that makes you bang the table.
"This is the only downside. However, when it comes to detective novels nowadays, there are no new tricks. Being able to write the case logically and fluently is already a pass."
"...Jian Jing's advantage is that both the storytelling and detective elements are very strong, complementing each other. The reading process is very enjoyable and seamless without any weak points."
"Writing up to here, the reviewer suddenly discovered an easter egg. Although the murderer's name was not revealed in the end, it was actually told to us very early on. Even readers who don't like brainwork can get the answer directly. However, it would be too much of a waste not to infer it yourself for such an interactive detective novel..."
"Unconsciously wrote 3,000 words - in short, not as artistic as Hide and Seek and The Gold of Roses, but absolutely worth reading in terms of the story itself. No problem making the bestseller list this year."
Bingshu himself has a master's degree in Chinese literature, very refined literary taste, and used to work at a newspaper, so his writing is frank, pragmatic, and demonstrates both aesthetic sense and expressiveness. As a result, he has gained the trust and affection of many fans.
His commentary on Jian Jing has always been quite fair and objective. He acknowledges that her stories are well-written, but also points out from an artistic perspective that the Demon Doctor series does not have the ideological content of Hide and Seek and The Gold of Roses.
In short, it is a very typical bestseller.
And the little trick she played this year is not new at all, others tried similar things long ago. Only with great confidence can such an attempt be made.
If the story itself doesn't work, it would be called a loophole. Only when the story itself is solid enough can the reading experience be enhanced.
As it turns out, Jian Jing's performance remains stable.
Readers have responded positively to her innovation and believe it does enhance the sense of immersion. The two storylines move forward in tandem, echoing the core of the story.
There was a thread asking for help on the Bookworm Forum:
"Question! For Demon 3, do you start from the black or the white?"
rt
1L: I suggest starting from the middle
2L: Makes sense bro, the time of the third story is the earliest
3L: Don't listen to them OP, reading together is thrilling!
4L: Actually it doesn't matter either way
5L: You can start from the front or back, or the middle, up to you
......
And this thread:
"Finished Demon 3, wanna discuss the easter egg"
OP: Spoiler warning, discuss after finishing reading, strongly suggest leaving if you haven't finished...
......Wrong entry please leave......
......Still chance to leave now......
Okay I'll just ask, is the easter egg the patterns on the pages?
1L: Yes, blacking out parts of the first two cases, you can see the murderer
2L: This cipher design is so fun, too bad it would spoil it if you blacked it out, sob sob
3L: There's another way, look at the cover pattern under sunlight, there'll be surprise
4L: This book is truly exquisite, Jian Jing is getting more and more prominent!!
--
Sales and word of mouth of Demon 3 remained stable, everything so matter of course.
Tao, general manager of Chenxing, begrudgingly congratulated Kang Mu Cheng. Other publishers also sent their congratulations to Jian Jing.
She took some time to deal with these tedious but necessary social interactions, and did not forget to send autographed books to her mentor, fellow students, and friends.
One of the recipients was Ji Yunyun.
Jian Jing texted her to ask when would be convenient to pick up the book, or if she should give it to Ji Feng to pass on instead?
Ji Yunyun immediately replied that tomorrow was Sunday, school was closed, could they meet for coffee?
Jian Jing was taken aback for a moment.
Ji Yunyun was her loyal fan, but also a girl who knew boundaries very well. She never made difficult requests before - after all they were not super familiar.
Very different from her brother.
She thought about it and replied: [Sure, what time?]
Ji Yunyun: [Whatever time is convenient for you will be good! Me and my classmate are very free]
She also anxiously asked: [Can I bring my classmate? If not convenient I'll come alone, sorry for troubling you]
Jian Jing: [No problem, then 1pm tomorrow]
The next day, Jian Jing brought several signed books to meet them, and found Ji Yunyun and her classmate Xiao Xiao already waiting.
Xiao Xiao looked vaguely familiar - she was the girl who escaped the fire together back then. The two girls sat in a corner with a cup of coffee each, seeming to have been waiting for a while based on the remaining amount.
Strangely, they both had worried frowns, none of the vivacity of youth.
"Good afternoon." Jian Jing greeted. "You're Xiao Xiao right, long time no see."
Xiao Xiao was a little nervous. "Ms Jian, you still remember me?"
"Of course, we escaped death together." She sat down with a smile, ordered Hibiscus tea, ice cream and some snacks, then passed two new books to them. "Read after your exams!"
Ji Yunyun solemnly thanked her, hesitating over what to say.
Jian Jing cut to the chase. "Did something happen?"
Ji Yunyun nodded reluctantly, not knowing where to start.
"Feel free to tell me if you don't mind." Jian Jing said. "I'll keep it from your brother."
Ji Yunyun scratched her head, seeming to steel her resolve. "I suspect our classmate Miao Tong did not commit suicide."
Jian Jing softly ah-ed. "Tell me the details."
"Miao Tong was our class vice monitor. She was very nice with good grades. We all thought she'd be recommended to college for sure but..." Ji Yunyun's voice suddenly dropped. "She jumped off a building."
"Go on."
"At that time our class was having PE - seniors get self study for PE, but from April teachers encouraged us to take walks outside, relax a bit instead of staying in the classroom. So some were in class, some weren't."
Despite all those detective novels Ji Yunyun read, when it came to narrating herself she turned a little inarticulate, trying to be detailed but getting jumbled up.
"Miao Tong went to the lab building, then jumped from the top floor. I was playing badminton, at the court behind the lab building."
Ji Yunyun paused for a while, said with difficulty: "I saw her fall."
Xiao Xiao held her friend's arm. "We quickly called the teachers. We didn't know it was Miao Tong then, found out later..."
"Did the police investigate?" Jian Jing asked.
Ji Yunyun nodded. "Looked into it a bit, there was a suicide note, her recent grades dropped a lot, so they said it was suicide from stress."
Jian Jing nodded slowly, but also asked: "Why do you feel it wasn't suicide?"
"Because some strange things happened recently." Xiao Xiao said. "There's a girl in our dorm who's become a little weird lately. I don't know how to describe it well - she's kind of high strung?"
The girl bit her lip, describing in puzzlement: "Deep into the night, she doesn't sleep, stands on the balcony as if about to jump. Her roommate happened to go to the bathroom, almost fell off the □□. But when we asked her she said she was just getting some air. Also when walking she would often look back saying someone called her. We said no one did but she insisted it was Miao Tong's voice."
"You suspect she has a guilty conscience?" Jian Jing asked.
Xiao Xiao and Ji Yunyun exchanged a look, nodding slightly. "She didn't have the best relationship with Miao Tong before."
"I feel like the class president is also suspicious," Ji Yunyun gradually entered the state, "He and Miao Tong are competitors, both have the chance to be recommended for advancement, but Miao Tong's grades have not been very stable since the beginning of the school year this year, she must be in love."
Jian Jing finished her ice cream and asked: "With who?"
"The class president," Ji Yunyun said indignantly, "This could be his scheme."
"You're just talking about motives," Jian Jing wiped her hands and asked, "Where are the real doubts? Or do you have any evidence?"
Ji Yunyun took out a notebook from her schoolbag, flipped it open: "Miao Tong jumped off the building on May 4th, Wednesday afternoon during the second class. I asked several close friends of Miao Tong, they all said that although Miao Tong's mood had not been high recently, she did not seem to be despairing, and still chatted with them about which universities they wanted to go to."
Xiao Xiao added: "Her dorm mates said Miao Tong really liked a pop star and was going to go see his concert after the college entrance exam."
"Her deskmate said she was still doing math homework during the lunch break, who does homework before committing suicide? And math homework!!"
"Before PE class, she also told us that the new yogurt was very delicious and recommended us to try it."
"Besides, there was no need to go to the lab building to jump, it was very far away."
"The senior who jumped to his death two years ago jumped from the teaching building."
The two girls rattled on about all kinds of "doubts", some made sense, some barely.
Jian Jing thought for a moment and asked Ji Yunyun: "It must be easier for your brother to investigate this. Have you talked to him about it?"
"He would definitely tell me not to get involved!" Ji Yunyun exclaimed, her face full of refusal, "Ask me to study well and not get distracted——How could I not get distracted? Someone I see every day died inexplicably, who could really not care at all?"
Hearing this, Jian Jing immediately realized that she had to take on this "commission".
With less than a month before the college entrance exam, if they kept harbouring these doubts, they wouldn't be able to focus on the test properly.
She asked: "What do you want me to do?"
Ji Yunyun eagerly asked: "Can you investigate this case for us?"
"I can," Jian Jing told her clearly, "but I'm not in a position to inquire teachers and students for statements."
The enclosed school system did not welcome outsiders, let alone near scandalous suicide cases. The school probably would not agree to let her investigate.
Ji Yunyun understood, and her face fell: "Do you have to say it out straight?"
"Don't worry, I'll talk to him. Just pretend you know nothing," Jian Jing took her notebook, "Leave this to me, you guys..."
With less than a month before the college entrance exam, distractions were no good. However, she couldn't say it straight out, it would only make the teenage girl more rebellious.
She thought for a moment, pretending to admonish solemnly: "Study hard and focus on the exams, don't let anyone notice anything unusual. He would only reveal flaws if he believes it's already been ruled as suicide."
As expected, Ji Yunyun took the bait and revealed an excited yet restrained expression: "No problem!"
Xiao Xiao also nodded.
"That's right, Watson," Jian Jing smiled.
