The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

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“Can’t I properly read stallion novels anymore!”

Shen Yuan transmigrated into someone who’d tormented the young male lead almost to death, the scum villain Shen Qingqiu.

It must be known, the original Shen Qingqiu ended up being carved alive by his disciple, Luo Binghe, into a human stick, a human stick!

Ten thousand “f*ck your moms” rampaged through Shen Qingqiu’s heart:

“It’s not that I don’t want to cling to the male lead’s thighs, but who made him so f*cking black. The type who seeks thousand-fold retribution!”

Why have all the female lead’s scenes been forcibly given to him.

Why, as a scum villain, does he need to constantly sacrifice himself, blocking knife and gun for the protagonist!

Shen Qingqiu: “…I think I can still save him, one more time.”

Associated Names
One entry per line
Chuan Shu Zijiu Zhinan [Animation]
Hệ Thống Tự Cứu Của Nhân Vật Phản Diện
Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong
Scumbag System [Animation]
SVSSS
Система «Спаси-Себя-Сам» для Главного Злодея
Система власного порятунку для мерзотного лиходія
ตัวร้ายอย่างข้า...จะหนีเอาตัวรอดยังไงดี
クズ悪役の自己救済システム
人渣反派自救系统
穿书自救指南 [Animation]
인사반파자구계통
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me (35)
Transmigrating into a Mob Character to Rehabilitate the Villain Plan (33)
The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love (31)
The Founder of Diabolism (24)
The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (14)
Who Dares Slander My Senior Brother (14)
Recommendation Lists
  1. read/reading
  2. Completed
  3. BL + GL
  4. Have read
  5. Read it

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SilverCyanide
SilverCyanide rated it
October 11, 2020
Status: Completed
I first read this maybe two years ago when the translations were still being done by scriptor and I loved it. I loved the humor, and I thought Luo Binghe was absolutely adorable in how he stuck to his Shizun. I genuinely thought their relationship was angsty but well-written and romantic.

What I want to say is, people can be wrong sometimes. Maybe it's because I've grown older now, but the more I read of their relationship, the more unhealthy it seems. There's too much to unpack here but some major... more>> red flags are the power dynamics at the beginning of the story, where one's a teacher and the other's a student. It's just a very weird thing to have the student lust after his teacher and have it reciprocated at the end. And LBH's attachment and dependency on SQQ cannot be healthy. He doesn't even have anybody he's close to outside of SQQ, and his overpossessiveness of SQQ leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Not to mention even at the end, SQQ always seemed reluctant to be with LBH, like he's not really in love with LBH and only doing it out of guilt and obligation.

Contrasting with SQQ and LQG's relationship, which feels more steady and balanced, where the power isn't all in one person's (LBH) hand. LQG is also objectively the most mentally sound person out of all of them, let's be real here.

Still, the story isn't that bad, it's just the romance kind of ruins it for me. Which is sad because I generally like MXTX's stories so I hate to have to rate it 2 stars but I can't see myself rating any higher, even if I loved this story once upon a time. <<less
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vinzha
vinzha rated it
February 12, 2019
Status: 61
So after reading Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Founder of Diabolism), I decided to read all of the author's novels (thankfully only three thus far). Naturally I decided to read the first one.

Straight away, the plot to this story is very concise and simple. The novel doesn't make the readers jump through hoops to understand what is happening, and I think it's simplicity is well done. Even while transmigration between the modern and historical/fantasy worlds isn't my favorite genre, this one was written decently Partially due to the System. Basically,... more>> similarly to a game system, the System acts as an actual program that gives hints and keeps track of Shen Qingqiu's progress. I think it is implemented into the story fairly smoothly (it honestly could have been disastrous, but in this case it worked wonderfully in my opinion), as it suspends belief and acts as a comedic device for the majority of the story. I would consider the System to be the tutorial/first enemy as well as a recurring enemy/wingman. The places where the System is used is generally well-placed too. The system itself extends Shen Qingqiu's internal thoughts and original personality, and I find it's difficult nature and troll-ness to be better than boring and cheesy while also not stepping over the line into genuinely annoying and frustrating. Well done overall, even if it's not my favorite genre device. I WILL SAY that the plot was a little too simple for me, but I don't think the point of the novel was to become the new Sherlock Holmes. Just that maybe the resolution should have had some more time to reach its peak then settle.

Main characters time: Shen Qingqiu's external and internal reactions are also pretty funny, and he himself is a well-written and interesting main character who has understandable weaknesses but is definitely not weak. Especially in personality, which is extremely important. He's a very good narrator, both to keep the novel light and interesting, but also... he has an actual brain. And his thoughts are actually intelligent and diverse. The original scum villain Qingqiu's backstory is also utilized, which keeps both Qingqiu and the readers on their toes. I would say this story is more lighthearted most of the time due to Qingqiu's near omnipotent understanding on the original's Luo Binghe's life (though that comes at a price) and his lack of strong attachment (that also comes at a price).

Spoiler

From the beginning, one of the biggest themes in this story is Qingqiu's inability to understand that Binghe is different from the original novel's. Even after creating a more positive relationship with him in hopes of saving his own skin, Qingqiu still thinks of Binghe as the original, with the original's tastes, eventual personality, etc. This is the root of basically all of their misunderstandings.

This can be seen early on through how he observed the original novel's members of Binghe's harem even when Binghe and the plot has deviated from that already. I would say that Qingqiu is at least somewhat able to see Binghe as slightly different from the original novel's when he was still a young untainted sheep, though as Binghe pointed out later in the Huan Hua, nothing he does personally after falling into the Abyss could make Qingqiu change his mind, because at that point, he already saw Binghe as the carbon copy of the original. I personally don't believe this started after the Abyss, but rather right at the moment before he pushes Binghe in. Even though the System forces Qingqiu to do it with the threat of his own life (20, 000 points overkill), the fact is that as Binghe pleaded him to listen, Qingqiu was looking into the future and not at the present Binghe.

Sure, Qingqiu could have probably handled it differently. It's possible he could have told Binghe that he is in danger now with his demonic blood released, and if he wants to be able to get more powerful and control it while also staying out trouble from the human world, he must go down the Abyss. But I doubt those ideas even crossed his mind. Qingqiu was already thinking too far ahead, with a concrete idea of who Binghe should be already in his head. Qingqiu even said it himself, that he never really considered himself as part of the story, but rather an outsider looking in. Even when he grew attached, he never truly differentiated novel verse and his verse.

This isn't necessarily criticism, as I'm just stating that these are all the reasons why Qingqiu acts the way he does, and it's part of the story inherently. And I personally cannot fault Qingqiu for it entirely. After all, to him, all of this was just a novel, all of these characters are part of that novel, and all he wanted to do from the beginning was to survive. To him, it was all inevitable. A flaw perhaps, in his character. But that's a pretty understandable flaw.

[collapse]

Binghe, I like a lot character wise. He is a neat and refreshing subversion of the generic "macho dom masculine over-powered" male lead. He's clingy, sweet, a crybaby, likes doing the chores, a masochist with a praise kink. Even after the many tragedies that befall him, he retains a good deal of what he was when he was younger. Becoming the black lotus doesn't make him completely lose what makes him sheep Binghe, even when he does start committing crimes and fulfilling his demon lord role.

Spoiler

Especially after Qingqiu died which... uh, yeah. Pretty much expected.

One part of the story not to my tastes was the non-con scene, which was non/dub-con for both characters essentially. Warning, it's at chapter 80. Context is that Mo Xin (Binghe's sword) starts to muddle his mind and that happens. However, Binghe stopped in the process and started crying when he realized Qingqiu was in pain which caused the latter to go "... why are YOU crying??? Why am I, the victim, now comforting the assaulter???"

It made sense, or at least had some relevance to the plot/story (Binghe's sword is a bit of a beep) but yeah. Still might be triggering to some so warning right here.

I do wonder why non/dub-con is such a popular thing in the bl community is. I see it in yaoi manga, in c-novels, in webtoons. Wonder why it has become the norm almost? History and society influence? Especially in the Eastern hemisphere. Like, its almost celebrated to an extent, or just very common.

[collapse]

Side characters as well are fairly well done, though they aren't necessarily my favorites. I think there are many interesting relationships in here, though I'm not as attached to them as some other novels I have read before. The minor characters were a bit flat and not really fleshed out, but with the simplistic style, it's not too glaring.

I would say comparatively to Mo Dao Zu Shi, I do like the latter more personally. I liked the plot, main pairing, and characters more than in this novel. But the novels are in different worlds, both in verse and in terms of style. People who like one may not like the other. I will say I do like them both, however, even if not equally. They have different charms and dynamics, and both can be appreciated separately on a subjective level.

4.0/5.0 <<less
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Prakruti000
Prakruti000 rated it
September 19, 2021
Status: c80
    • I dropped it. Among two, one star is for translators. Nevertheless, I am still writing a review only to calm down myself. I picked up this novel because of high rating and majorly positive reviews. I just want to express my opinions, views and frustration. I am not a good describer. I will try my best to write this well understandable. Sorry for my bad English.
    • What I liked/remembered :
    • Firstly, the concept and plot. They were clear and well maintained.
      Spoiler

      MC is a common novel reader who gets frustrated with a harem novel and expresses his frustration along with a hash tag that if he were to write, he won't write a novel so s*upid like that. Then he merely chokes on a meatbun and transmigrates into the body of main villain in that harem novel. His given task is to change the s*upid plot and improve it. So, his only goal is to stay alive and not to be killed or harmed by the protagonist. How it goes is the story.

      [collapse]

      As I am a newbie to novel world, I am not much exposed to genres and concepts. But I can definitely say this novel has a very good concept and a very interesting plot. But it is not well used. If it were, then this novel would have turned out be outstanding.
    • MC's comedy. His inner thoughts and his arguments with the system always cracked me up. World building was interesting. Writing style was fun, easy and light to read. MC's acting was also funny.
    • I don't really remember the side characters. But I can say MC's sect's leader and his Martial brother were decent among the worst 1D characters. They could have been well maintained.
    • Almost all the characters I read until now either they were not well portrayed or were simply guest characters. I can't remember them firstly. The characters I remembered were no where to be seen.
    • What I disliked/hated :
    • Again, ML and MC's relationship.
      Spoiler

      MC is a commoner. He can be killed by anytime if he doesn't change the original plot. So, he only cares about himself. So, he starts to curry favour to ML. I can understand him.
      ML firstly (in the real novel) has no one to care properly, he was harassed by his only hopes shixiongs and shifu so hardly and was thrown into an abyss. And he turns into a Psycho killer who takes his revenge. But after Shen Yuan (MC) transmigrates, ML gets good caring suddenly. Then the ML slowly yet superfastly starts to like his shifu.

      [collapse]
      Okay. This is the case. Now, firstly,
  • MC doesn't seem to like ML in a romantic way at all. He admires him as he is a fan and afraid of him. Afraid of getting killed. He allows ML to r*pe him, do whatever he wants either because of fear of getting killed if he refuses
    Spoiler

    or because of destroying the world he is in

    [collapse]
    or because of guilt of hurting his favorite protagonist's "feelings". That's all. Gaslighting this phenomena as MC falling in love with ML, I find it as bullshit.
  • My main reason to drop this novel. ML. At first, I found him as naive, innocent and respecting. But after returning from the abyss, I found him overly clingy, overly possessive, psychotic, arrogant to everyone else except MC, crybaby (which was a joke among these characteristics), dominating/restricting to MC. I had a foreboding feeling. Yet, I continued only to read
    Spoiler

    ML hugging MC's dead body and sleeping using it as a pillow for whole five years. WTF ?!! Is this love ? This is terrifying ! This is mental imbalance ! He needs treatment not his "sweetheart" ! Haha...... God !

    [collapse]
    After this scene, I felt the first person who needs character (mental) development is ML. When ML finds MC is still alive, from then the slope starts. ML is overly obsessed with MC. If he gets mental treatment and recovers from past wounds, he would definitely not end up with MC. So, I don't think the author allows this to happen. I just can't tolerate to see a poor 'man' forcibly ending up with a mental patient. That's why I dropped this.
  • Again, obsession..... No. This is not even obsession. I don't know what it is. Whatever, it is mentioned as "love". Again, side characters are thrown away/dominated/have been played down to highlight the main leads. It's definitely a manipulation.
I want to mention one thing. Novel writing can be a profession but not reading. There are atleast some people in this world who read novels/stories to relax their mental stress after a busy day. Not to increase. If the authors don't find anything except s*upid concepts which challenge one's mental tolerance, please don't write anything. Try to improve yourself. Or... Quit writing. After reading this novel, even my Physics textbook seems more interesting and tolerable.
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Mins Cat
Mins Cat rated it
June 21, 2021
Status: Completed
If I could I would have given this novel minus points. This novel is so sick that I don't have words, I am just wondering why I even bothered to read & complete this novel.

If you ask me which characters you hate the most, then it will definitely the main couple. ML is sooo possessive & insure that I couldn't tolerate him, he just didn't had any kind of character development or any dimensions to him & on top the way MC handled him is even more big NO for... more>> me. I really truly liked the starting of this novel & the way MC is portrayed as 'smart & independent' was really satisfying but as story moves forward the MC become dumb & dumb. And story just never gives you time to recover, it just keeps you anxious that to be honest it was frustrating for me. It's like never ending nightmare.

And the way their toxic & abusive relationship is portrayed as 'romantic' is sickening to me.

Spoiler

Their fist time was so sickening that I just skipped it. It was written so graphic and sick that I don't how people can justify that r*pe & both of their actions. It's so bad that I just skipped all the r*pe scenes. I couldn't even tolerate their extra chapters scenes.

[collapse]

So please if your here after Grand Master of Demonic Cultivation and expecting that the story will have same sweet couple then your wrong. Its NOT at all romantic story, so I hope you will keep it in mind if your gonna read the story. <<less
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CriTheMarshall
CriTheMarshall rated it
July 30, 2020
Status: c81
... I have a lot to say and nothing to say about this book.

You have to keep in mind that this was MXT first novel and apparently she wrote it in HS, and considering that this novel isn't too bad. Nevertheless, it is just filled to the brim with all of your typical clichés you come to expect from a yaoi story.

To give credit where the credit is due though, the clichés mostly apply to the absolutely forced romance plot line with Luo Binghe, while the story itself was actually... more>> kind of interesting and the side characters are even charming, the comedy was sometimes pretty good, gave me a chuckle, and that's pretty much it. I am giving two stars instead of one for these couple of reasons.

If you are looking for a good chemistry between the main pairing, you won't find that here. Even when they "got together" it was similar to adopting a stray dog on the street out of sheer pity whilst finding out that said dog also coincidentaly really wants to f*ck you. There were no actual romantic feelings from the MC. I think that this novel would not be nearly as bad if they did not get together in the end and stayed as a shizun and a disciple.

Anyway, this exists, you can read it. Why would you do that though other than curiousity? No clue. <<less
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yumenokotoba
yumenokotoba rated it
June 17, 2020
Status: c96
I couldn't feel the love between the main characters.

LB was desperately obsessed with SQ. And truly, he falls in "love" as SQ was the only one who ever cared for him even a little, not because of anything else. Which makes SQ a totally replaceable character.

In contrast, SQ feels like he's forced into a relationship with LB to save the world. Every time LB goes batsh*t crazy, it seems like SQ chooses to be with LB to stop the craziness more than anything else.

They are like child and parent more... more>> than lovers. I just can't. It's supposed to be a romance story : (

And what is with the s*x scenes?!

They are kinda painful and icky?

Sigh 2 stars for some cute master/student fluff though. <<less
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luxannefelix
luxannefelix rated it
December 29, 2020
Status: c28
u know, it feels like bl novel like this gets a lot more credit than it deserves. Like if the characters here were straight, this wud get flamed for bad writing and format.
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Miss Ruby
Miss Ruby rated it
October 5, 2020
Status: c71
Personally, this novel was an awful read. The MC was practically forced to get together with the ML and somehow it's packaged under 'love'.

Whatever strength the MC had in the beginning is erased so that he can be controlled by the ML. The author used the most convenient 'drug' plot to reduce the MC's power and turn him into a damsel that has to be saved every other chapter.

Maybe my expectations were too high.
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Kleep
kleepart rated it
November 28, 2017
Status: c24
One of the best Danmei on NU in my opinion.

The story is well thought out and well paced. The characters are well fleshed out and interesting, there's a lot of great humour.

The action is exciting, and the drama is just right.

I'm a huge BL fan but I think that anyone could enjoy this. The translations are also excellent, which really improves readability.
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sash123
sash123 rated it
January 14, 2024
Status: Completed
TL;DR: A deeply flawed, yet misunderstood Freudian farce that deconstructs male power fantasies. The kombucha of danmei webnovels.

I've been lied to. Really, I've been bamboozled.

Based on NU reviews and my friends' verdicts, I was led to believe that "Scum Villain's Self-Saving System" is a mediocre xianxia romantic comedy about a vaguely problematic master-disciple relationship. While this isn't technically wrong, it also doesn't even begin to describe this clusterf*ck of a novel.

SVSSS is a story that gives me a headache because it won't commit to being bad. The result is: despite... more>> being impossible to recommend to anyone in good faith, I don't regret reading it at all. Here's why.

What is SVSSS about?

One day, a terminally online NEET named Shen Yuan grows so incensed by the terrible conclusion of a stallion (i.e. revenge p*rn/harem) webnovel he's been hatereading, that he dies and transmigrates into a major villain of said story. As it turns out, Shen Yuan has been tasked by a nigh-omnipotent "system" to fix the original novel by filling in plot holes on behalf of the author.

The scum villain Shen Qingqiu, as Shen Yuan will be referred to from now on, was originally the cruel, aloof teacher of Luo Binghe, the stallion novel's protagonist. Due to the abuse he experienced at the hands of Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe (initially a bright-eyed, affectionate teenager) turned merciless and vengeful, eventually capturing his former teacher and torturing him to death. The new Shen Qingqiu's primary goal is to avoid that fate by treating Luo Binghe with kindness, seeing as he transmigrated to a point where Luo Binghe is still his disciple and hasn't grown jaded yet.

Despite his best attempts at playing the doting teacher, there comes the day when Shen Qingqiu is forced by the system to betray and abandon Luo Binghe like in the original novel. The remainder of SVSSS grapples with the consequences of this event: Shen Qingqiu spends a lot of time on the run because he fears Luo Binghe's retaliation, while simultaneously trying to protect his "poor child" in rather misguided, patronizing ways. Meanwhile, the now adult Luo Binghe, who has been harboring a crush on his teacher all along, tries to make sense of Shen Qingqiu's mixed signals, while contending with his own rage, abandonment issues, and self-loathing.

Needless to say, there is a "happy" end and everything gets sorted out. Kind of.

What is SVSSS really about?

This is all fine and well and mostly lines up with what everyone else is saying, so let me address the elephant in the room: Shen Qingqiu isn't only Luo Binghe's darling shizun, he's also quite explicitly a parental figure to him. And though it's true that this is technically a teacher-student relationship, the psychos*xual reality of it is more aptly described as, well, I'd call it oedipal.

What I mean is that Luo Binghe has some crazy mommy issues that he's projecting onto Shen Qingqiu, and no, I don't mean daddy issues, I really do mean mommy issues. Abandoned by his birth mother, bereft of his adoptive mother after her death, what Luo Binghe really yearns for is to never be left behind again - to be loved unconditionally the way only a mother can love her child.

This might sound far-fetched to you, especially if you haven't read the novel yet. But I assure you that if, off the top of my head...

Spoiler
    • your main character is linked with the goddess of mercy and compassion, traits commonly associated with motherhood and femininity
    • your main character confesses his love to the male lead by claiming he'd never have aborted him if he'd been his mother
    • your main character sacrifices his life repeatedly to save the male lead, thereby paralleling the fate of the male lead's biological mother
    • your male lead is quite literally competing with his biological father for the main character
    • an entire extra is dedicated to the male lead being turned into a child who has to be taken care of by the main character
[collapse]

... you are most definitely in the territory of Freud. Though a lot more could be said about this subject, such as Shen Qingqiu's strange fixation on, well, cucumbers and castration... I just think it's important to point out that SVSSS has some heavy psychoanalytical themes, or at the very least, it really lends itself to such a reading. In fact, I found them so blatant that I was shocked nobody addressed them here before, and I do think viewing the novel through this lens adds a layer of complexity that helps mitigate some of its weaker aspects.

So let's be clear here. This relationship isn't only weird because of the teacher-student thing, it's also weird because Luo Binghe wants to bang his new mommy. Personally, I think there are at least five more reasons why their dynamic is strange as hell, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

All of this Freudian stuff, in my opinion, is in service of a larger theme that runs through SVSSS: abandonment. Be it narrative foils, who have been abandoned/abused by their respective parental figures/lovers, be it original plotlines that have been discarded by the author of the stallion novel, only to resurface due to Shen Qingqiu's interference... For all its flaws, SVSSS does explore the many ways one can abandon and be abandoned, as well as the ensuing (mostly psychological) consequences.

This is surprising, because at first glance, SVSSS is just satire. Shen Qingqiu relentlessly mocks stallion novels and its overused tropes; the shoddy worldbuilding he has to put up with is a running gag. On a slightly more sophisticated level, the harem fantasy is subverted, as the former stud extraordinaire Luo Binghe becomes strictly monogamous, while Shen Qingqiu slowly amasses a "harem" of devoted men who all feel deeply indebted to him for one reason or another.

One noteworthy way SVSSS deconstructs stallion novels is by exposing their exaggerated depictions of masculinity as harmful. It is no coincidence that Shen Qingqiu improves the original story by being kind, and similarly, it's unsurprising that Luo Binghe is at his happiest when he gets to act like a submissive wife who cleans and cooks for her man. Though he's originally the paragon of masculinity, SVSSS makes it clear that this version of Luo Binghe is effeminate, frequently described as maiden-hearted or shown to emotionally manipulate Shen Qingqiu by crying crocodile tears. And considering Shen Qingqiu, the demure "step-mother" with his overwhelming preoccupation with propriety and repression, s*xual or otherwise... we've certainly got something.

Though it isn't unusual for BL to depict men as feminine, this was the first time I've seen feminization employed as a sort of meta commentary, which I found interesting. It's also why Luo Binghe is one of the most unique and refreshing male leads I have seen in a hot minute, terrible manchild-ingenue-temptress that he is.

Here, one can make a case for SVSSS's psychoanalytical themes successfully tying into its satirical ambitions...

Spoiler

... the culmination of which is, of course, when Shen Qingqiu finally succeeds in fixing the novel, prompting the system to change its genre to... danmei.

[collapse]

I guess.

Sounds awesome. So what's wrong with SVSSS then?

Despite its thematic coherence, SVSSS is a pretty bad book in most other respects, and its prose feels distinctly amateurish. The pacing sucks, the plot progresses in whichever way is most convenient to the author and most side characters are frustratingly one-note. Strangely enough, some of them get fleshed out in the oddly poignant extras, which is why I'd highly recommend viewing them as obligatory reading. For the life of me, I have no idea why MXTX deemed the best parts of her novel, insights that completely recontextualize her story, to be bonus content. Reading this novel is a lot like drinking a thin, tasteless soup just to discover that all the meat is clinging to the bottom of the bowl right before you finish your meal. And though you are more or less satisfied by the end of it, that doesn't mean the experience itself was all that great, really, I can't stress enough how mad I was at SVSSS before I got to the extras.

It must also be said: from all those flat side characters, it's the women who consistently get the short end of the stick. I don't think SVSSS has a single well-written female character, in fact, one of my friends called this novel "the most misogynistic story I've ever read". While I've definitely seen worse, I found there to be a lot of wasted potential. Shen Qingqiu claims to have saved women from their bimbo fate by giving them the opportunity to be anything but members of Luo Binghe's megaharem. Ironically enough, they remain just as one-dimensional as before, mostly relegated to minor villians or supportive fujoshis instead.

I realize that looking for well-written women in danmei novels is a lot like wondering why there is no chicken in your can of tuna. But if you attempt to satirize stallion novels, which are notorious for their misogyny, it seems like an obvious oversight to sideline your female characters. No matter how much you criticize hypermasculinity, you will only ever be addressing half of the issue as long as you refuse to give your women interiority. Clearly, we are meant to believe that Shen Qingqiu succeeded in improving the original novel - but given the countless technical flaws that remain, I find that hard to believe.

It also doesn't help that MXTX drops the ball on the metafictional aspect entirely. The novel clumsily attempts to interrogate the difference between a real person and a character and whether it's the reader or the author who possesses interpretive authority. Unfortunately, these inquiries remain superficial and lack clarity - you can find a far superior execution of the same theme in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.

Spoiler

The limited exploration of this theme is also why the ending of SVSSS rings hollow, when the genre change is supposed to be liberatory and triumphant. Though the characters have escaped the sad fate of living in a stallion novel, I'm not sure if living in a danmei novel is better, as that genre is plagued by just as many hackneyed cliches. To a certain extent, MXTX seems to be aware of that, poking fun at BL tropes and its fans - but these jokes remain toothless. One restrictive system is seamlessly replaced by another, only the rules of the world have changed - can you really call that a happy end?

One could argue that it's the characters' agency that resulted in those rules, rather than the other way around, and yes, the whole thing is ultimately just a tongue-in-cheek joke... but it still seems like this decision opens a new can of worms rather than tie up loose ends. Unable to commit to a fullblown danmei parody and uninterested in examining how BL relates to stallion novels, the result feels muddled and unsatisfying.

[collapse]

Which brings me to my next point.

Headache Novel

The thing is that SVSSS (and any of MXTX's other works, to be honest) is an exercise in self-indulgence, and my impression is that the author will write anything she wants, simply because she can. Make no mistake, it takes balls of steel to commit to your own vision. However, it can have odd consequences.

On the one hand, it results in these free-wheeling stories that infect you with their shameless passion, and in this case, it even seems weirdly appropriate for such a meta story to feel like a fever dream. SVSSS is really funny, and that's because it doesn't hold back. Perhaps one could even discuss how this lack of restraint relates to Shen "stick up his ass" Qingqiu's characterization.

But on the other hand, MXTX's "undisciplined" writing makes the story feel capricious. For better or for worse, the tone of the novel can flip from tragic to funny within a single paragraph, emotional scenes are undercut by bizarre bouts of "fanservice". This leaves the reader disoriented and on unsound footing. How are we meant to interpret the story if the narration is so unreliable?

Said ambivalence extends to characterization as well. Indeed, as many other reviewers have already remarked: Shen Qingqiu is an unreliable narrator, one that is dense enough to seriously challenge my suspension of disbelief (in a bad way). The big problem here is that the novel rarely gives us enough hints to figure out when he's lying. He's someone who will furiously deny being attracted to teenagers, yet spends a lot of time espousing the virtues of delicate maidens - and really, sometimes he doth protest too much, especially when it's equally clear that he finds Luo Binghe's "white lotus" performance to be irresistible. He almost consistently describes s*x with Luo Binghe as excruciating - but can we take this at face value (and we have good reason to!) or is he simply too repressed to be honest (equally likely) ? It doesn't help that we know very little about Shen Qingqiu's past and therefore barely have any context for his current behavior.

All of this is putting the reader in a difficult position: just what are we to make of his romantic relationship with Luo Binghe then?

To be clear, this isn't a case of an adult grooming a child, despite Shen Qingqiu's (and the overall story's) strange flirtation with this idea. It'd be more accurate to say that this kid's favorite teacher accidentally triggered his s*xual awakening. But this is further complicated by Luo Binghe being extremely emotionally unstable throughout the story, his capacity for violence, his overwhelming physical strength, and his ability to both terrorize and charm Shen Qingqiu at will. For most of the novel, it's actually Shen Qingqiu who is being chased around by The Crazy Yandere.

However, Shen Qingqiu isn't defenseless either, possessing intimate knowledge of Luo Binghe as a reader of the original stallion novel, and being the only person whose authority Luo Binghe will recognize. Shen Qingqiu actually holds an enormous amount of power over Luo Binghe, and is capable of hurting him like no other. In fact, it's not until Shen Qingqiu understands this, that the central conflict of SVSSS is resolved. This is nothing to say about the sado-masochism. We don't have the time to unpack that, this review is long enough as it is.

Now, make no mistake: even by the end of the story they still insist on carrying out their strange little teacher-student roleplay. These two have no intentions to outgrow their weird power dynamic and enter a relationship as two equals. No, their relationship has so many layered power imbalances that it somehow loops back around to being (kind of) healthy, like an elaborate system of checks and balances.

Watching them get together is a lot like observing a flaming car crash, really. It basically amounts to an undernegotiated, hardcore BD*M relationship, one that is entirely inadvisable but appears to make the people involved so happy, that one has no choice but to shrug and sigh in defeat. Though they love each other, it's difficult to call it a romance in any conventional sense. It's very much an "it is what it is" ordeal.

Their dynamic itself being ambiguous and challenging isn't the problem here - plenty of books do that. The "issue" is that MXTX insists on presenting SVSSS as a quirky romance, one that we are ostensibly meant to gush over, but then turns around and makes her characters behave in indefensible ways. This creates a strange tension between the reader's expectations for a romance novel ("adorable couple with a happy end") and the actual text ("Freudian nightmare"), one that never gets resolved properly.

So, the novel isn't only tonally dissonant, the depiction of its central relationship also flip flops between extremes to the point of bewilderment. That's where the self-indulgence comes in, right? Here we have a clearly dysfunctional couple that could easily star in a psychological thriller, a story with a s*xual assault scene that is depicted as horrifying and that somehow manages to be non-consensual-ish for both parties... that keeps getting into these zany, fanfiction-esque situations, simply because MXTX feels like it right now. It's a relationship that deals with some really heavy topics, like how childhood trauma can inform adult sexuality, and it'd be wrong to say that it was depicted thoughtlessly. But it'd be equally wrong to call it a sensitive exploration of these subjects, not with such a flippant framing... though who can say if this story would have been improved by a more somber approach.

Whether an author is morally obligated to be tactful is a different question, it's just that MXTX kind of wants to have her cake and eat it too. It's like she couldn't decide whether she wanted to write a real, yet messed up romance, or whether she wanted their love to be over the top, cartoonish and bizarre. The result is... some serious black humor, scenes where one doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, or even whether this effect was intended in the first place.

It's this incredible ambiguity on every level that caught me off-guard when I picked up this story... And to this day, I don't quite know what to make of it. I think it's why opinions on SVSSS are so divided - it's easy to categorize one way or the other ("it's obviously not meant to be taken seriously!" vs. "this downplays the horrors of real, toxic relationships!"), but the truth of the matter is that this story is neither of these things, not really.

It's frustrating. If everything is wobbly and weird, what kind of point can you possibly make as an author? And yet, it's... kind of interesting? Kind of good?

Do you see now? It's a real headache novel.

Final Verdict

SVSSS is "objectively" a bad book: the writing is too muddled to work as either romance or satire, awkwardly leaving the reader in limbo. Quite frankly, the fact that anyone could walk into a bookstore and buy a copy of it is crazy. It feels like a very niche, very online story; like this weird thing that amassed a cult following in a very specific pocket of the internet, which, I guess that's exactly what happened. It's really not for everyone, is what I'm trying to say.

But despite its failings, the author has crafted an ambitious, unique work with a relationship that is surprisingly complex on closer inspection. I think that SVSSS often gets dismissed as a fun, albeit shallow, romp but I found that to be far from the truth. I've read MXTX's other stories, and even though it's certainly not her most polished novel, it's one that compelled me regardless. The fact that it refuses to be pidgeonholed is also a feat in itself, in my opinion.

So when I give this novel three stars, it's not because I found it mediocre in any way. To me, SVSSS is beyond good or bad... but an agonizing third thing. This wouldn't stop me from killing someone for a Luo Binghe figurine, however.

Dumbf*ck story, dumbf*ck author, am I right? <<less
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breadlovesdog rated it
December 10, 2020
Status: Completed
sqq ending up with binghe at the end makes no sense

romantic built up is nearly non existent feels like author was so foucused on plot and comedy she forgot to write abt characters romantic relationship development so that them ending up toghether could actualy make sense

i dont care about 70% of characters, there was not enough time flash them out

i have been hyped up to read this because of pretty fanarts but this novel was the most dissapointing thing I ever read...
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WolfieSiyeon
WolfieSiyeon rated it
October 9, 2020
Status: Completed
This story was... plotwise quite good, characters were also well developed, but the romance is sickening.

I really hate systems in these novels when they make the characters do terrible stuff they later have to explain away, which they didn't even want to do. I felt sorry for both Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe when

... more>>
Spoiler

he had to push Binghe down

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Spoiler

But the ending? It was just so... dark when you. SQQ felt guilty towards LBH (who wouldn't, seeing such a cute kid turn into that monster) and really did care for him, because after all he raised him. But that doesn't mean he should just, idk, decide to give up every other part of his life to be a stay at home doll for LBH to sleep with whenever he wants- he can't even say no because LBH always acts pitiful to guilt trip him into agreeing. He never enjoys sleeping together but they still do because LBH wants to

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What I hated the most:

Him going away from the peak to live in LBH's remote, away from people residance. What about his friends who care about him, his disciples who love him and whom he needs to teach, his hobbies and his life? He gives it all up to go stay with LBH as a trophy wife. Worst of all, LBH isn't even there the whole time, he leaves him there to go around (I forgot for what bc I read this quite a while ago). His friends even tell him, LBH isn't your only disciple, what about the others why don't you think about them?

Anyhow the gorgeous sibling pair peak masters were the best people in the story I loved the sister she was awesome and the brother too I really shipped him with SY. Also that cinnamon roll who died unjustly - he just proved that best people have the shortest lives <<less
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gointozzz
gointozzz rated it
September 8, 2020
Status: Completed
I honestly have no words to describe how upset I get when I think about the romance in this... it makes me so upset. Thinking back to when I read this, I thought this was great, Luo binghe and shen yuan ended up being my biggest comfort characters, whenever I would feel down I knew just by looking at some cute art of them I would feel a little bit better. Never failed to make me smile, (cough angst art not included ofc) they meant a lot to me.... more>> But I decided to re-read it earlier this year, since I hardly recalled anything, all I really feed off of was fics.. (bruh moment) And now, , older, and more aware, it broke me to realize their relationship was far from what I believed it was, its, , not healthy at all?? you may argue its just a novel, but that's not the point. This relationship they have.. it wouldn't work. This is not how healthy relationships work. Luo binghe pratically forced Shen yuan into so many things, , sigh <<less
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rhianirory
rhianirory rated it
November 22, 2018
Status: --
i really enjoyed this novel right up until the moment the MC

... more>>
Spoiler

betrays the ML by kicked him off the mountain and into hell "for his own good."

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after which I lost all respect for the MC and my enjoyment and enthusiasm for this novel went from about an 8 to a 2. I stopped reading the translations completely for over a year and just recently tried to restart because one of my friends really likes it, (she also loves Korean makjang melodramas so I guess that should have been a clue).

i don't mind a little drama and angst in my stories, but angst for the sake of angst just pisses me off, and miscommunication just for the sake of adding drama/angst is irritating. I have very little patience for any of it. I actually read ahead with MTL because I wanted to see if it would ultimately be worth plowing through it all to get to the end and I wish I hadn't. I think I had it right the first time. I loved FoD and I am really dissapointed with the second half of this novel,
Spoiler

not the least because the author resorted to r*pe in the end. Tbh I feel very strongly about r*pe and the story lost a star because of it

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I'm going to drop this and hope the author comes up with something I can enjoy all the way to the end next time. <<less
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Honey B
Honey B rated it
October 17, 2019
Status: Completed
It started off good ?

Then once it got to the Alliance Conference part it rapidly descended into a pile of... ok maybe not THAT bad but slightly unbearable. ?

It reminded me too much of "Transmigrating into a Mob Character to Rehabilitate the Villain Plan" which irritated me because I was like "WHY AM I READING THIS D*MN STORY AGAIN! ONLY THE TITLE CHANGED!!" Though there are differences, the story held a LOT of similarities.?

What irritated more than anything though was

... more>>
Spoiler

What was the f*cking point of the system wanting to keep parts of the story yet the whole f*cking novel changed?! Say what?!?

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Don't get me started on that d*mn system... so unlovable ?

Did I mention the few (not enough) smut scenes? Tasty ?. Two words: MORE PLEASE!!

There were other points that made no since to me like

Spoiler

The big motherf*cking misunderstandings between the MC and ML. I was like "open your mouths and f*cking talk!! Don't just stare at each other!?" ?

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There were other things that irritated me, but the translation wasn't one of them. Nice job! ? <<less
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Rainess09
Rainess09 rated it
March 3, 2019
Status: c57
I suppose this was written before FoD which would explain the huge difference in quality. This was so far cry from FoD that I don’t even want to read the remaining translated chaps. I get that the ML was sorta an abused soul or whatever. But to sleep with your lovers corpse, that doesn’t just make you bat-shit-crazy, it also makes you disrespectful!

There was fluff sure but there’s no great love here just misguided twisted emotions. He better take notes from LWJ.

I’m only giving 2 stars cause the MC shen... more>> uke guy is also a dolt imo. <<less
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amruta
amruta rated it
July 20, 2020
Status: Completed
Disappointing after reading the author's two other works. Oh well....

The story is decent. MC is an interesting character. The story is well-fleshed and side characters are ok. The main problem is the ML and the romance. Romance doesn't exist. ML is the typical psycho OP half-demon, half-human crazy who is obsessed with his shizun. We have seen such characters before and they always leave a bad taste. Ugh.

Maybe my hopes were too high after reading Mo Dao and HOB. A let down....
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VirgoHour
VirgoHour rated it
July 18, 2020
Status: Completed
I was very excited to read this because of the high rating.. but sory to say its a BIG dissapointment for me. There's no chemistry between the MC and ML at all and I find it very tiresome that the MC always misunderstood the ML, I kinda feel sory for LBH.

I don't know how anyone rate this above 3... realy hate the plot & characters (sory plz don't mind me☺️)
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whitedahlia
whitedahlia rated it
June 20, 2020
Status: Completed
Okay. I was really invested in this novel. I read it all through, and although it had many good points and wonderful comedy, I can’t stop thinking about the MC/ML relationship.

In essence, it was really unhealthy. The way the ML behaved towards the MC so forcefully was so possessive and abusive, and I hate how they constantly lie to each other. The MC needs to appease the ML to save himself, but their love is built on a throne of lies. They manipulate each other and you think that just... more>> because they kiss, it’s okay? I’m sure they’re genuine somewhere, but I can’t get into it. You think it’s sexy? Alright. But don’t forget that many parts are really nonconsensual and toxic.

Many parts are pretty decent, but yeah, this is what sticks with me. <<less
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Doileeko
Doileeko rated it
June 6, 2020
Status: Completed
Read this for the plot, not for the romance.

This book is okay. Not specatcular, just okay.

I've read a lot of BL. This is not a good BL. It is good plotwise, but the romantic elements are lackluster. Also, Luo Binghe's character development towards the end is as small as an ant.

... more>> I will try to keep this short and concise.

The plot is actually interesting and MC is actually funny.

We see the novel from MC's pov and it is quite refreshing to see a relatable protag. He's just a shut-in nerd that likes to read webnovels. He's not some overpowered character. He has great flaws. He's quite irritable, kinda hypocritical and maybe a bit prejudiced, you know, like a normal human being.

The only thing he has going for him is his indepth knowledge of the world. Which is easy enough to understand. Hardcore fans are not rare.

The flow of the story is really good and you really feel like laughing along to Mc's internal struggles.

Here is where it falls apart: the romance.

ML has a blind adoration/ obsession with MC. That is not the problem. The problem us that, ML quite openly shows affection in a manner that even MC with 0 EQ should be able to understand.

Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan have not been fleshed out well. They could've played better roles imho. They just serve to put enough spice in the plot but do not undergo any relevant character growth.

ML becomes an obsessive as*hole and in the end, MC just goes along with him. ML has still not understood where he went wrong. He has not tried to correct his thinking.

Spoiler

I mean, for a guy who said that their first date was in the water prison, I'm not sure their relationship is healthy

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This novel just runs off on Luo Binghe's obsession to his master, which grows into love, which we do not actually in the course of the novel see developed into love.

A good read, but not remarkable. <<less
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