The More I Embarrass Myself, the Better I Write

Tu Ao is an ordinary high school senior, a six-year veteran reader of online fiction, and a writer who has never signed with a platform. All he meant to do was argue in a group chat over which novel was a masterpiece. Then, on a whim, he took a one-year bet and promptly knocked his head against the bed, triggering a System. The System was thoughtful enough to have kept a record of every humiliating moment from his childhood onward: Spilling cola on a bride at five, getting a “you're a nice person” card after confessing in eighth grade, forgetting his speech and standing frozen for three minutes beneath the flag, and getting rejected by a publisher before spending the night wallowing in misery… It converts all of them into Regret Points, one, two, three, four. Its functions are highly specialized: they all help him write novels. Polishing prose, maximizing pacing, building characters, predicting readers' emotions. Clearly priced, honest and fair to all. Tu Ao gets it. Social humiliation is no big deal. If it can make him a legendary author, he can afford to lose a little face! Arguing with readers in the group chat? Free points. Getting caught in class? Free points. Humiliating himself in public? That's practically a deluxe gift pack! A year later, the bet comes due. The author behind a sensation that has taken the whole internet by storm finally reveals himself. But his rival blushes first: “Wait? You're Aoshi Cangqiong, the guy who writes horror?!”