189: The 189th day of being popular
The night came, the bright moon hung high, and the stars twinkled.
Yao Bianliang sat on the couch, but there was no trace of sleepiness in her. She couldn't figure out what had happened to lead to the current situation.
"This doesn't make sense. This drama was supposed to be very frustrating and repressive," Yao Bianliang couldn't comprehend.
She had set up many toxic plot points, yet in the end, the drama didn't have the anticipated sense of frustration!
Yao Bianliang carefully analyzed the plot.
Initially, the prostitutes were being abused, and their lives were difficult. This scene indeed felt somewhat oppressive.
However, when she saw the girls helping each other, struggling to find opportunities in adversity, that feeling of oppression was alleviated.
Later, witnessing the climax where the female lead and her group help one of the girls escape from misery, deceiving the brothel owner, the plot becomes exhilarating, sweeping away all the previous sense of oppression.
Yao Bianliang: "..."
This was strange. How did she originally conceptualize this plot?
Oh right, according to her initial idea, the female lead should help her sister escape misery while she remained stuck and uncertain about her own fate. That was clearly supposed to be a frustrating plot point!
However, unexpectedly, with this alteration, this part of the plot had become a small climax.
And in this process, the female lead practiced her skills diligently daily. As viewers subconsciously hoped to see her successfully rise to the higher-ranking brothel, this expectation naturally kept everyone engaged.
As the story progressed, although the supporting character had a tragic death, she died with hope, and the female lead also found a new path.
Lost in thought, Yao Bianliang pondered.
Was this plot repressive? If one only focused on the main storyline, it was indeed quite repressive, with all the toxic plot points present.
However, at the same time, the plot was also captivating.
There were climaxes, twists, a well-measured rhythm. It wasn't all about suppression and frustration, which would make viewers want to give up after just one episode.
"I made a mistake. This drama isn't oppressively frustrating enough!" Yao Bianliang had a bit of a headache.
Now, she finally understood what she had overlooked.
The script wasn't oppressively frustrating, not only due to the excellence of the plot but also for a more crucial reason —
The initial impression the female lead gives is different!
It's like a female college student falling to become a hostess at a nightclub; most people would look down on her.
However, if it were a nightclub hostess who still diligently attended university daily, people would find her very inspirational.
When Yao Bianliang was revising the script initially, she altered the ending for the female lead, having her transition from a princess to a courtesan, which of course made it feel oppressive.
But in the eyes of the audience, the situation was entirely different.
From the beginning of this drama, the female lead was placed in a horrendous environment with an extremely humble status.
As a result, starting as a lowly prostitute, the female lead gradually transforms into a high-class courtesan and eventually marries into the royal family as a concubine.
Can such a plot still feel oppressive?
Yao Bianliang: "..."
As an actress, she definitely shouldn't have taken up the role of a scriptwriter.
She had worked hard to design the plot, but reality told her that even with such a toxic script, there were still viewers who enjoyed watching it.
The drama could receive widespread praise as long as the production was of high quality and the acting was excellent!
It's just outrageous.
The system tried to console her: "Host, try to look at it positively. At least until now, the drama's viewership hasn't been very high."
Yao Bianliang didn't feel like talking much.
What use was low viewership? Her task goal this time was never about "viewership" from start to finish.
What she wanted were negative reviews from the audience.
The more Yao Bianliang thought about it, the more flustered she became. At this rate, negative reviews might seem hard to come by. She couldn't sit still any longer and immediately grabbed her phone.
Luckily, the new drama wasn't popular, and there weren't any trending topics related to "Spring's Warmth and Rich Dew."
With a faint glimmer of hope, Yao Bianliang opened the comments section and the super-topic community.
【Absolutely amazing, the production team needs to keep updating quickly!】
【Well-crafted production, top-notch acting from the entire cast, it gives me the feeling of watching a movie. Definitely a five-star rating from me.】
【I really love the character design of the female lead! Nowadays, domestic dramas appear to have strong female protagonists on the surface, but they still rely on men behind the scenes. The female lead causes trouble all the time and is dubbed a 'growth-type female lead.'】
【+1, what most attracts me in this drama is the female lead. In that kind of environment, it's already great if a person isn't depressed. Yet, she continues to hold hope, help others, and strive for self-improvement. Truly fantastic.】
【I really adore the female lead sister! If she could live in a modern society of equality, she would definitely make her own mark.】
【The drama is good, but unfortunately, my feelings are a bit fragile. I watched three episodes but I dare not continue. Of course, I still have to give the production team a five-star rating.】
Yao Bianliang: "..."
Dude, if you can't continue watching the drama, then why give it a five-star rating?
Wouldn't a one-star rating be more appropriate?
Interestingly, Yao Bianliang even found some absurd comments in the comments section.
【Haven't finished watching, but this drama depicts the life of prostitutes very realistically, just for this, I must give it five stars.】
【Hahaha, this is really a conscientious and excellent drama, giving it a five-star rating to support it.】
Seeing these comments, Yao Bianliang almost had a heart attack.
If you haven't even watched much of the drama, how can you give it a five-star rating?!
Don't believe everything you hear. Seeing is believing; hearing is deceiving. Isn't this a simple concept you understand?
Yao Bianliang looked at comment after comment with a sense of sorrow and frustration.
Apart from a few haters and nitpickers giving one-star reviews, the rest were almost all uniformly positive.
Many viewers, just like her, had binge-watched all eight episodes that night and were eagerly anticipating the next update.
After finishing reading the comments, Yao Bianliang couldn't help but fall into silence.
Could this drama really receive a rating below 4 on Douban?
She had initially thought she had this in the bag, but now it seemed like the road ahead wasn't as secure as she had thought. This was clearly a matter of life and death!
"No, stay calm, I can't be too pessimistic..." Yao Bianliang exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down.
At this point, the story was only up to the 8th episode, not even a third of the way. It was too early to talk about the rating on a certain platform.
So what if there were mostly positive reviews? Up to now, the biggest poison point of this drama - the scumbag male lead - had only just made an appearance.
The audience didn't know just how despicable this male lead was. They still had hopes for this prince and even fantasized about him rescuing the female lead from dire situations.
When the male lead unleashed his scumbag nature, tortured the female lead, and ultimately handed her over to someone else, would the audience still remain as calm as they were now?
Definitely not!
At that point, when the storyline poisoned the audience, they wouldn't be praising the drama, they might even start criticizing it right there.
With reputation declining and arguments brewing, the rating on that certain platform would naturally not be very favorable.
"It's not a foregone conclusion yet, I don't need to lose my head." Yao Bianliang thought this way and finally regained a bit of confidence.
In her previous attempts with the system's tasks, she had always smoothly reached 90% completion but made a mistake in the final step.
So it was just one wrong move that ended up making her lose it all!
From this, it's clear that the process leading up doesn't matter as much; what's important is the outcome.
As long as the later plot poisons the audience, she could still have a strong chance of winning.
"Besides, I have 'Legend of An Hua' as a good ally." Yao Bianliang started to think to herself.
Compared to her drama, the plot of "Legend of An Hua" was clearly more in line with market demand and was more likely to be appreciated by viewers.
When comparing the two, her drama wasn't as endearing.
With them leading the way, her chances of success would increase.
"Sigh, I hope the situation improves in the future."
At this point, Yao Bianliang could only silently pray in her heart.
"The Legend of An Hua" aired every Tuesday to Friday, four consecutive days, with two episodes updated each day.
In order to align with the competitor's schedule, Yao Bianliang made an all-out effort. Aside from differing release dates, the update schedule was exactly the same as the other drama's.
In stark contrast to the miserable life of the courtesans on Yao Bianliang's side, life in the courtesan house depicted in "The Legend of An Hua" was lavish, extravagant, and indulgent.
Initially, the different environments of the two dramas - one portraying lower-class brothels and the other showcasing high-class courtesan houses - didn't create a particularly vivid contrast.
However, as "Spring's Warmth and Rich Dew" progressed and the female lead entered the high-class brothel house, the stark differences between the two dramas became evident!
On Yao Bianliang's side, the female lead studied tirelessly to become a high-class courtesan, striving to escape endless torment and the constant threat of disease;
On the other hand, in "The Legend of An Hua", the female lead warned her sisters against learning these skills. This way, if no customers found her appealing, she wouldn't have to serve them.
On Yao Bianliang's side, the lives of the courtesans were fraught with hardships, where a first-tier woman would quickly degrade to second or third tier, ultimately facing a tragic fate.
For them, marrying an average commoner and redeeming themselves from that life would be the best dream-come-true ending.
In "The Legend of An Hua," high-class courtesans were leagues above common folks. With their status, they could casually choose from a selection of wealthy young men, selling their charms for a high price, and potentially marrying into wealth at any moment.
On Yao Bianliang's side, the customers of the courtesans were mostly ordinary people with less attractive appearances. These men might have potbellies, double chins, or be extremely skinny. A large portion of them were middle-aged or elderly men driven by lust, displaying inappropriate behavior and using crude language.
However, in "The Legend of An Hua," the courtesans' clientele were all young and handsome men, elegant and dashing in appearance. Being intimate with these men was also a safe endeavor. If it weren't for the storyline, you might even struggle to determine who was paying whom for services.
With similar themes and concurrent release times, the contrast was overly clear.
Some viewers noticed this situation and couldn't help but raise questions.
【Is 'The Legend of An Hua' taking its plot too far? It feels like it's stepping on my intelligence to the ground...】
【The plot of 'The Legend of An Hua' is indeed quite brainless. You can only watch it without using your brain.】
【After watching 'Spring's Warmth and Rich Dew,' I can't even get into 'The Legend of An Hua' anymore. If these renowned ancient courtesans knew how they would be portrayed in the future, I wonder what they would think.】
And just at that moment, a video surfaced in the entertainment industry's critique section.
This time, the uploader wasn't Feng Shiyuan, but He Youkun. He titled his video in a way that perfectly matched the ongoing conversation -
【From 'Spring's Warmth and Rich Dew' to 'The Legend of An Hua': What Was the Real Life of Ancient Courtesans Like?】
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