The Woman Who Was Killed

A woman's corpse was found in a river along the border of Country Z.

The forensic report showed that the body had been in the water for seven days. Fish appeared to have gnawed at her face before her death, and a blow to the back of her head had been fatal.

Jiang Wen's miserable day began when she was forced to take over the case.

The dead woman was her age, from her hometown, and even their life experiences were strikingly similar.

But as Jiang Wen investigated further, she found that the obedient daughter, family prodigy, and first college graduate in the family, as everyone called the victim, might not have been as well-behaved as people claimed.

Her colleagues called her streetwise and slick; her ex called her wild and uninhibited; her friends said she loved money above all else.

She had once been rich and privileged, and had also been reduced to groveling.

She had once spent money like water, and had also been left with nothing.

Her classmates said she was quiet and reserved; her relatives said she was well-behaved. Only her mother stammered whenever she spoke of her, hoping the case would be dropped and the matter quietly forgotten.

“She stood atop a tower built for her by her parents and relatives, trapped for her entire life by the halo of social expectations. But the wind at the top made her dizzy and left her struggling to breathe. So when she fell from the tower, she never hesitated for a moment.”

Jiang Wen said, looking at the woman's disfigured corpse,

“They all ate her together.”

Reader's guide:

1. Mystery-focused, with a little deduction and criminal investigation

2. An attempt at social realism, with an ensemble of women

3. Feel free to discuss and analyze the plot, but no spoilers

4.!! Discuss only what happens, not your opinions. The characters' views in this story do not represent the author's views.

Theme: Staying true to yourself amid social conditioning