Dangerous Trap

[Blurb] To bring the truth behind a cold case from years ago to light, Liang Diandian carefully plans a con. But there are bigger players lurking in the shadows. She thinks she is the one in control, never realizing she is merely a pawn in a long-planned operation, helping to push it forward. One crisis follows another. Some people act in the open, others in the shadows. Tongjiang seems to be enveloped in an invisible web. Those outside it watch and wait, nudging events along with a flick of their fingers. The loving couple in the public eye are strangers behind closed doors. A husband who has been dead for years suddenly reappears. Someone blinded by greed commits murder. Framed, dismembered, poisoned: a tangle of events leads to a case buried for many years.

One-line summary: Justice may be late, but it always comes.

Theme: There is too much evil in this world, and the law is by no means an effective remedy. From Professor Luo Xiang.

Reader's guide: 1. The heroine loves money most of all.

2. The main plot centers on a cold case from years ago.

3. My writing has its limits, so please don't make personal attacks!

4. Some details have been adjusted to suit the plot and may differ from reality. Please don't overanalyze them.

5. The theme comes from Professor Luo Xiang. I felt his words expressed the original idea behind this story more accurately.

A completed manuscript: Hearing His Voice

Blurb: Yan Hui sees Li Jin again after eight years when she delivers an autopsy report to Song Geng and runs into him face-to-face. He looks at her with a detached, unfamiliar chill and introduces himself: "Li Jin, prosecutor transferred from the provincial procuratorate."

"Yan Hui, forensic pathologist," she says.

He takes out a business card from somewhere and holds it out. Before she can reach for it, his voice sounds above her head again. "Ms. Yan, here's my contact information."

Afterward, he leaves without hesitation. Watching him go, Yan Hui remembers how, eight years ago, he stood outside her apartment, over and over saying he didn't want to break up, then steeled himself and threatened that if she insisted on ending things, they would be strangers the next time they met.

Yan Hui watches Li Jin walk away, emotions churning inside her. A few seconds later, she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and regains her composure. The way the two of them have ended up today, with him pretending not to know her, is all her own fault. She deserves this.

Late one night, some time later, Yan Hui receives a call from an unfamiliar number. A man, slurring his words because he is drunk, complains aggrievedly over the phone: "Why haven't you called me yet? I gave you my contact information. Why haven't you gotten in touch?"

A completed manuscript: Out of Control

Blurb: Qin Si's novel catches the eye of Sisheng Media, one of the hottest film and television companies in the entertainment industry, and they buy the adaptation rights. Sisheng Media has money to spare and says every condition is negotiable. It has only one requirement: Qin Si, as head screenwriter, must remain with the production throughout filming. So Qin Si joins the crew and meets Mu Hansheng, who is acting again for the first time in seven years.

The industry says Mu Hansheng has a razor-sharp eye, a forceful approach, and a head for business. His fans say he is warm and polite, professional and dedicated, a born actor. Only Qin Si, who has been close to him, knows that it's all an act, an illusion designed to fool everyone around him.

Half a month after filming begins, paparazzi reveal that Mu Hansheng, the owner of Sisheng Media, left the set on New Year's Day to meet a mysterious woman, and spent the night with her. By the time Qin Si sees the news, it is already trending. Her hangover headache has yet to ease when the man at the center of the story walks out of the bathroom, looking refreshed, and greets her. "You're awake? There's honey water over there. Drink some first."

One day, paparazzi claim that Qin Si met a man's parents and went home with him, suggesting she'd broken up with Mu Hansheng and found someone new. As soon as the post goes up, the internet erupts in abuse.

Mu Hansheng is having a lovely afternoon nap with his wife in his arms when his manager wakes him with a phone call. He reads the link his manager sent and reposts it on Weibo: "We're still madly in love. Anyone spreading rumors that my wife and I have broken up can wait for a court summons! Every single person insulting my wife in the comments had better apologize within half an hour, or you'll each get a lawyer's letter."

A completed manuscript: The Woman Behind That Door

Blurb: An urban legend circulates in Baicheng. Thirty years ago, in an abandoned factory in Xin'an District, a worker who had taken his own life found a key. It opened a magical door, behind which lived a woman who could grant the key's owner one wish.

"What happened next?" the girl asks. "What happened to the man?"

"He lost a year of his memories."

After finishing the story, the young teacher claps her hands. "All right, that's the end. Time for class."

Theme: There is too much evil in this world, and the law is by no means an effective remedy. From criminal law scholar Luo Xiang.