The next day, the book signing event took place as scheduled.

The event was held on the third floor of Book Haven. Even before the entry time, a large crowd of readers had already gathered outside. A dozen security guards were stationed there to maintain order. By the entrance, there was a large display stand neatly stacked with Mindy’s new book, "Seven Days." There was also a life-sized standee featuring the book’s cover and several cartoon representations of the key characters.

“Holy—there are so many people!” a young woman exclaimed as she stepped in, startled by the scene.

Her boyfriend followed closely behind, letting out a shocked exclamation. “What the—it’s just a book signing! Why does it feel like a fan meet-up for a celebrity?”

The young woman was a seasoned fangirl, always switching her favorite celebrities with a rotating list of stars she admired. Despite her years of chasing celebrities, she had never been one to follow novels.

Last week, she had spotted her dad reading a mystery novel with a rather eerie cover. Coincidentally, her phone broke that day and was at the repair shop, leaving her bored with nothing to do. She picked up the novel out of curiosity and found herself completely hooked! Even when her phone was fixed and returned to her that afternoon, she didn’t touch it. She stayed up all night to finish the book and then went online, desperately searching for any information about the author, only to find almost nothing about her!

Frustrated, she messaged her boyfriend, “Is this author living in a cave or what? How come they don’t even have a social media account!”

Her curiosity about the writer behind such a captivating book was driving her crazy, but no matter how hard she scoured, she still found next to nothing. Determined, she bit the bullet and decided to read the author’s other two mystery novels, even though she didn’t expect much. They were written over a decade ago, after all, and were probably outdated.

To her surprise, she got hooked again! She was furious and amazed at the same time!

Over the course of a week, she devoured all of Mindy’s novels. Apart from that one cheesy youth romance novel that was awful, every other mystery thriller was more gripping than the last. In fact, the two books Mindy wrote ten years ago still felt relevant that day. They not only hadn’t aged but also had a raw, realistic touch that highlighted the darker aspects of society.

The level of depth and social commentary in those books would probably never get published today, but considering they were written a decade ago, they were truly impressive. She was blown away by how those books tackled issues that were both explicit and implicit, with characters that embodied the complexity of human nature in such a profound way.

Recently, she found out that the author would be hosting a book signing event, but it clashed with a meet-and-greet of her current favorite star.

After two days of agonizing over the decision, she finally chose to attend the book signing instead. As soon as she reached the ground floor of the mall, she felt a pang of regret. But then her boyfriend uttered the classic line, “Well, we’re already here.”

So they decided to check out the scene first and then head over to her favorite star’s event if they felt like it. But when they reached the third floor…

“Holy crap! Look at all these people! Hahaha—where’s my fan banner? Hurry, get it out!” she shouted excitedly.

Her boyfriend reminded her, “Didn’t you toss it away downstairs?”

“What are you waiting for? Go get it back for me, quick!” she ordered.

“Wait, weren’t we supposed to just take a look and then leave for Alec Hue’s meet-and-greet?”

“Oh, forget that! This is way more exciting! I love being part of a big crowd like this, hehe…”

He sighed, thinking how unpredictable women could be.

“Why are you standing there? Go get my banner!” she urged again.

“…Okay,” he muttered before heading off to retrieve it.

He soon came back with the banner just as it was time to enter the event. The young woman held onto her boyfriend’s hand with one hand and the banner in the other and charged to the front of the line, full of excitement.

But then, as they made their way in, they discovered…