You Don’t Understand The Pain Of Being Popular - Chapter 159: The 159th day of being popular

As a seasoned reader of various novels and viewer of various TV dramas, Yao Bianliang has done considerable research on the “toxic elements” and “face-slapping moments” in the eyes of the public.

In ancient romance stories, there are only a few plot points that are hard to accept.

Yao Bianliang said, “First, the background of the female lead needs to be modified.”

“The female lead is not a noble-born lady from a prominent family. She doesn’t have a noble lineage or a prestigious family background that matches the male lead’s. She’s just an ordinary girl who was sold by her parents while fleeing from famine.”

“After entering the brothel, the madam told her explicitly that she was a courtesan who sold her art, not her body. But when those powerful gentlemen wanted her physically, she still had to yield.”

Although it’s a simple modification of the setting, it completely changes the perfect romantic love story that viewers hope.

The male and female leads being together? No, the male and female leads won’t be together in this TV drama.

The female lead is no longer the innocent girl who entered the brothel and remained “pure and untainted.” On the contrary, she has been with many men, including disgusting scoundrels, greasy and chubby men, and even lecherous old men…

When the public watches this type of drama, what they want is the ability to immerse themselves in the story. They want to automatically become the male and female leads, experiencing a romantic love story filled with beautiful scenery and dreams.

Therefore, in the current ancient romance dramas being filmed, almost all the female leads are portrayed as pure and innocent. No screenwriter dares to give the female lead such experiences—if anyone dared to write it, they would definitely be criticized by the netizens.

Since no one dares to write it, she might as well pioneer this new theme!

Yao Bianliang thought that when she elaborated on the details, she could vividly describe how disgusting the female lead’s “clients” are and how miserable she is when forced to serve them.

This single point alone would undoubtedly repel a large number of viewers.

Of course, only this one toxic element is not enough.

Yao Bianliang continued, “Secondly, when the female lead is taken back to the mansion by the male lead, she doesn’t enter a life of luxury but a deeper level of powerlessness and despair.”

Viewers naturally expect the female lead, who has suffered oppression in the brothel, to marry into the mansion and counter-attack the various malicious antagonists.

But Yao Bianliang won’t fulfill the viewers’ expectations. If she satisfies them, then where would the suffocating plotline be?

The female lead doesn’t have a glamorous wedding. On the contrary, due to her status as a courtesan, there are no grand festivities, no cheers, and certainly no onlookers.

One ordinary morning, she simply boards a small sedan chair and enters the mansion through a side entrance.

A climax that should have been gratifying is described in such a low-key manner. If the viewers don’t feel suffocated, then that would be strange!

“The following major plot segment is not much different from the original,” Yao Bianliang said, “but I believe we only need to retain the parts where the female lead is oppressed and mistreated. As for the parts where she turns the tables, it’s best to weaken them all.”

Do you think that after redeeming herself and becoming a respected concubine in the mansion, she can escape the mire and enjoy limitless glory?

Wrong! Completely wrong!

The female lead has simply gone from being a slave among a group of people to being a slave to just one person.

She still has no rights, still faces disdain from others, and is nothing more than a plaything for the privileged class.

In the mansion, she may have a facade of luxury, but in reality, her life is not much different from her days in the brothel.

The female lead doesn’t counter the antagonists or go on a killing spree. On the contrary, due to her lowly background in the red-light district, she faces numerous contemptuous looks and ridicule.

As time goes by, with new arrivals in the mansion, the male lead’s favor becomes less reliable.

“Finally, one day, the female lead decides to escape and leave this dreadful mansion. However, her plan is ultimately discovered and she is captured and brought back,” Yao Bianliang continues with this line of thought.

The female lead tries to escape, but the male lead captures her and declares his dominance on the spot. At first glance, this might seem like a typical romance trope.

According to the routine, the female lead would have two paths to choose from after being subjected to such abuse.

Either she completely becomes dark and uses the male lead’s love to climb to a higher position step by step,

Or she succumbs to despair and self-torture, making the male lead regret his past actions, initiating a chase-the-wife-and-burn-the-courtyard scenario.

But Yao Bianliang naturally will follow a different path.

A slight smile appears on her lips as she reveals the final toxic element of this drama: “After this incident, the female lead completely loses the favor of the male lead. In the end, at a lavish party attended by distinguished guests, an old lord takes an interest in the female lead.”

“The male lead, in an act of selflessness, gives the female lead to the other man, and this becomes a well-known story.”

Mo Yougan: “!!!”

Mo Yougan remains silent for a long time on the other end. Yao Bianliang guesses that this toxic element’s sudden revelation must have also shocked him.

In ancient times, some laws classified concubines as commodities, meaning they were merely the private possessions of their masters and could be given away.

The male lead’s logic in this drama is quite simple: “You are a concubine that I bought, so naturally, you belong to me as my property.

I can make you live, make you die, sell you, or give you away, but I can never let you go freely.”

So in the end, the female lead and the male lead do not have a tragic or perfect ending; instead, the male lead casually treats her as an object and gives her away!

Furthermore, she is given away to a middle-aged man with a big belly, a man whose age could easily be that of the female lead’s father.

Isn’t this plot toxic enough?

Even Yao Bianliang herself was impressed by her own creativity.

Only someone with a twisted mind would watch a drama like this, right?

Mo Yougan was also taken aback, and it took him a while before he asked, “And then?”

Clearly, he had a slight expectation for this incredibly toxic story.

“And then?” Yao Bianliang shook her head. “There is no ‘and then.’ This is the ending, and I think it’s good enough.”

As for whether the female lead will retaliate against the male lead?

Don’t even think about it. If the female lead were to retaliate, the drama would become enjoyable.

Yao Bianliang paused for a moment and added, “Of course, there can be a simple continuation afterwards, depicting how miserable the female lead’s life is in the lord’s mansion.”

In ancient times, concubines from a courtesan background, even if they entered a prestigious household, found it difficult to change their fate. The luckier ones would sing and play music in the mansion, while the less fortunate ones would have to entertain guests and be used for pleasure.

The main household would never allow them to have children. If they were discovered to be secretly pregnant, they would either be forced to have an abortion or meet a dead end.

Events like the original plot, where the female lead gave birth to three sons who eventually achieved success, have an extremely slim chance of happening.

Mo Yougan: “…”

Mo Yougan couldn’t help but fall into silence upon hearing the ending. Compared to this plot, the previous script he had seen couldn’t even be considered “oppressive.” It was utterly incomparable.

Even the System was astonished: “Host, isn’t this script a bit too toxic…”

It was practically deliberately disgusting the audience, teetering on the edge of violating regulations.

However, Yao Bianliang was clearly prepared: “System, you’re mistaken. Courtesans and concubines in ancient times were already in a pitiful state. I’m just respecting history and designing the plot according to its true nature.”

Jokingly, how could respecting history be considered deliberately disgusting the audience?

System: “…”

Although something didn’t seem quite right, it seemed unable to refute her.

Seeing the System fall silent, Yao Bianliang’s lips curved upward as she let out a long sigh of relief: “Mr. Mo, what do you think of this script?”