Who Is The Prey is a Chinese novel. It follows the dark story of He Yan, a young woman who sees some people in trouble one night and pulls over to help them. Little does she know, they are criminals who attempt to rape and kill her. Upon killing one in self defense, the criminals are caught.Four years later, she's a teacher and happily married to her husband, Yuan Ze. But then she meets Fu Shenxing, a man who looks eerily similar to the leader of the criminals, even though she knows he was executed.However, Fu Shenxing is determined to drag her into hell nonetheless.Ultimately, who is the predator, and who is the prey?This novel has been adapted into a manhua and a Chinese drama.
Who Is The Prey contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Fu Shenxing ends up falling for He Yan for real. Considering who he is and all he’s done to her, she’s disgusted.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: He's still a horrible person, but in the manhua, it takes a lot longer for Fu Shenxing to start raping He Yan. In the novel, he does it during the first party, bruising her entire body. In the manhua, he "just" gives her a hickey.
- Adaptation Distillation: In the manhua, He Yan says that her divorce from Yuan Ze almost caused her father to disown her. In the novel, we get to see this almost happen.
- Affectionate Nickname: Yuan Ze calls He Yan “Yan Yan”. Fu Shenxing also calls her this, much to her displeasure.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: When Fu Shenxing captures He Yan for the last time, he is able to get a document saying they are legally married, even telling her that in this life they are husband and wife, before shooting himself as he lets He Yan and Yuan Ze go.
- Auto Erotica: A dark example. At one point, an incredibly jealous and angry Fu Shenxing violently rapes He Yan in a car.
- The Baby Trap: Fu Shenxing ends up wanting to impregnate He Yan in order to force her to stay with him, and out of a sick desire to have a life and family with her, even denying her birth control pills at one point.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Fu Shenxing knows He Yan hates him, but can’t help but want a life with her all the same, even deceiving himself into thinking she might develop feelings for him.
- Big Bad: Fu Shenxing, who brutally and relentless tortures He Yan for what happened four years ago.
- Brainy Brunette: He Yan is dark haired and smart as a whip, even able to escape Fu Shenxing for one year.
- Broken Bird: Played with with He Yan. After all she goes through, she’s still determined to take Fu Shenxing down with her. But she has tried to goad him into shooting her, and in chapter 48 of the manhua, she slashes her own wrists in a suicide attempt.
- Child by Rape: In the epilogue, it’s revealed that He Yan had Fu Shenxing’s child, and is raising it with Yuan Ze.
- Commuting on a Bus: Yuan Ze after he and He Yan divorce. While they still love each other, He Yan decides it’s too dangerous to keep in contact with him. When she makes another plan to escape, she does manage to contact him and come up with a plan to keep him and her parents safe.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: While she’s married to Yuan Ze, Fu Shenxing has his men chop off his finger after he finds out everything and forces He Yan to divorce him. Late in the story, when he finds out He Yan is pregnant with Yuan Ze’s child after having escaped for a year, he forces her to have an abortion.
- Damsel in Distress: Zig-zagged by He Yan; she is all but kidnapped by Fu Shenxing, but is constantly plotting a way to escape and get revenge on him. At one point she is able to escape, but only for a year. She ultimately is able to bring down his company and expose his crimes to have a life with Yuan Ze.
- Deconstruction: Of the CEO romance where the male lead is at first abusive and cold to the female lead, who later falls for him anyway. Fu Shenxing abuses and rapes He Yan and develops feelings for her, but she never stops hating him and plotting against him.
- Driven to Suicide: Early on, He Yan attempts to get Fu Shenxing to shoot her. Later on, she almost succeeds in cutting her wrists in front of him.
- Fu Shenxing ultimately kills himself after He Yan brings him down and he allows her to leave with Yuan Ze.
- Everything but the Girl:Fu Shenxing is handsome, intelligent, and incredibly wealthy, being the CEO of a company. But he is unable to ever obtain He Yan's love, and for good reason.
- Evil Is Petty: Fu Shenxing hasn’t forgotten He Yan for killing his friend in self defense, and makes her life a living hell years later. He later introduces himself to He Yan’s mother as her new boyfriend in front of Yuan Ze.
- The Farmer and the Viper: He Yan stopped to help someone she thought was in danger, only to end up nearly being raped and killed. She killed her attacker in self defense.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Averted at first. After Fu Shenxing captures He Yan after she escaped for a year with Yuan Ze, he finds out she's pregnant and forces her to abort the child, despite how much she wanted it.
- In the epilogue, this is played straight. Yuan Ze convinced He Yan not to abort Fu Shenxing's child, and they're raising it together.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Fu Shenxing grows insanely jealous of the loving relationship between He Yan and Yuan Ze, even after he forces them to divorce.
- The Fake Cutie: Prior to her year long escape, He Yan plays an innocent girl who has developed some degree of feelings for Fu Shenxing in order to trick him into underestimating her. It's implied he knows that it's an act, but so badly wants her love, denies it.
- Forced Orgasm: Given that all the sex He Yan and Fu Shenxing counts as rape, it makes every time she orgasms this.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Guo Guo thinks she can deal with Fu Shenxing on her own, despite being an eighteen year old while underestimating the amount of power he has.
- Hot Teacher: He Yan is a professor, and noted to be very physically attractive.
- I Love You Because I Can't Control You: A major reason why Fu Shenxing falls for He Yan is the fact that she doesn't stop hating him and fighting him.
- Imagine Spot: After Fu Shenxing brutally rapes He Yan in the car, they drive by a pharmacy, where she asks them to stop so she can get contraceptives. He denies her this request at first, while imagining them getting married and having a child.
- In Love with the Mark: Fu Shenxing falls for He Yan, the object of his revenge and torture.
- Lima Syndrome: Fu Shenxing develops real feelings for He Yan, although this only makes him far, far worse.
- Love Triangle: A twisted version. He Yan deeply loves her husband, Yuan Ze, who unconditionally loves her back. Meanwhile, she's basically kidnapped and raped often by Fu Shenxing, who develops very real, very twisted feelings for her.
- Mad Love: Fu Shenxing's one sided love for He Yan drives him to extreme actions out of jealousy, especially after [he finds her after she escaped for a year.
- Morning Sickness: The first hint that the readers get that He Yan is pregnant with Yuan Ze's baby is seeing her after having thrown up.
- Fu Shenxing figures it out after he serves her sheep, which makes her nauseated to the point of vomiting.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Fu Shenxing tries this on Yuan Ze multiple times, however, he never actually kills him, as he knows doing so would ensure that He Yan would hate him forever. Doesn't stop him from having Yuan Ze's finger cut off and forcing He Yan to cut ties with him and divorce him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Fu Shenxing briefly experiences this when He Yan slashes her wrists in front of him. This is more of a case of The Only One Allowed to Defeat You, however.
- Plucky Girl: He Yan is a dark version of this. Despite all the horrific things she endures, nothing will stop her from attempting to escape and get revenge on Fu Shenxing.
- Rape and Revenge: Essentially the main plot, although He Yan focuses on using her wits and Fu Shenxing's feelings in order to get her revenge and bring him down, rather than using physical strength.
- Rape as Drama: He Yan is gang raped early on, and Fu Shenxing does this to her often as well.
- Rape Discretion Shot: In the manhua, the rape scenes are thankfully censored. Not so much in the novel, however.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Fu Shenxing does a lot of horrible stuff throughout the series, but what makes him so vile is his orchestrating and recording He Yan's gang rape, forcing her to prostitute herself, and finally doing it to her himself.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Played with with He Yan. She's a genuinely good person, but she is constantly plotting and scheming a way to escape and get her revenge.
- Sanity Slippage: After He Yan escapes, Fu Shenxing goes days barely eating or sleeping trying to track her down, and his obsessiveness only increases.
- Sex Slave: Fu Shenxing essentially forces He Yan to become one, at first prostituting her to other men, and then making her his personal one.
- Shower of Love: More like Shower of One sided love/obsession. The manhua shows He Yan and Fu Shenxing having sex in the shower at one point.
- Someone to Remember Him By: A twisted example. He Yan ends up having Fu Shenxing's baby after he dies, as Yuan Ze pleaded with her not to abort it. It's unknown exactly how she feels about the child.
- Stockholm Syndrome: Completely averted. He Yan never feels anything but hate for Fu Shenxing because of all he does to her.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Technically, He Yan is this, albeit against her will. She's at first forced to be a prostitute, and then is repeatedly raped by Fu Shenxing. The narrative never displays in her a bad light, as all of this is against her will.
- Understanding Boyfriend: Or husband, in this case. Yuan Ze is nothing but loving and supportive to He Yan, even after finding out the truth about what Fu Shenxing is doing to her.
- Unequal Pairing: He Yan is a professor, and Fu Shenxing a famous CEO who forces her to be with him.
- White Hair, Black Heart: The manhua gives Fu Shenxing white hair, and he is the cruel Big Bad.
- Yandere: Where to begin with Fu Shenxing?
- After falling for He Yan for real, he becomes insanely possessive, forcing her to divorce her husband after he has his men chop off his finger.
- After she escapes, he goes days without eating or sleeping, relentlessly tracking her down.
- After finding out she's pregnant with Yuan Ze's child, he forces her to have an abortion, despite her pleas and protests.
