The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong

In short: If you haven't read danmei before, this isn't the best introduction to the genre (basically Chinese BL) because it plays off more as a parody of the "overpowered protagonist" genre that doesn't take itself seriously in the least so it doesn't have many character moments that are being treated seriously (granted when they are it's absolutely amazing). I'd only recommend it if you want to have a laugh or if you like the writer and/or have enjoyed some of her other works like "The Grandmaster of demonic cultivation" or "Heaven Official's Blessing" and are curious how the writer started her writing carreer, thobe warned that the only thing these works have in common might be the sense of humor and the entertaining back and forths between characters which is pretty over the top in "Scum Villain's Self Saving System". That said, this actually WAS my introduction to danmei (if we don't consider the Chinese drama "Untamed" which is the adaptation of "Grandmaster of Demonic cultivation") and it's why I can say firsthand that if you want to see what the genre has to offer this definitely ain't it! lol "Scum Villain" is basically an isekai where the protagonist gets reincarnated into his favorite "stallion" web novel...as the villain shizun (cultivation teacher) who obviously gets tortured and dies by the hand of the overpowered novel protagonist. So if you read any of "villainess isekai" type romance webtoons then this is that but making everything gay because why the heck not! I know the genre has been done to death at this point but who is a sucker for isekai romance will definitely get some kinda enjoyment out of this at least on a superficial level. The reincarnated Shen Qingqiu and the OP novel protagonist Lou Binghe have a really cute and well done chemistry that despite some (or more) creepy aspects of their relationship mainly related to Lou Binghe's unhealthy obsession with his "isekai-ed" shizun, they do end up being quite the satisfying ship to see develop on the pages of the novel and everytime they interact it's an absolute feast. I do have some points i'd like to raise a finger at especially in volume 3 which is the resolution of the main story, but without entering spoiler territory let me just leave a big Trigger warning if you're uncomfortable with sexual assault. The writer isn't exactly good (at least in this book) at treating the subject matter in a sensitive way and while r@pe fetishes exist and this novel isn't the best at taking itself seriously I'd say it doesn't do that much harm (at least consdering the BL genre is already sprinkled with too much sexual assault for comfort anyway) and it overall tries to fix itself with the short story collection in volume 4, but yeah, it still exists. That said tho, Scum Villain does have a cozy spot in my heart and I didn't yet have as much fun with a danmei like I did with this one, but my experience is pretty limited so take it for what it's worth.