Chapter 260: 259 Fans Force the Official Hand

If Li Ang could hear the 【King of Drama】's roar, he'd probably burst out laughing… If you must ask why, it's because of a conceptual dimension-reduction strike.

Nothing else—by the time of the "fast-food era," massive data and analysis had long since laid bare the core preferences of every audience segment.

Men mostly prefer underdog comebacks and disguised fools outsmarting the powerful, savoring the thrill of breaking rules and winning against the odds; women's core appeal lies in "being special"—no matter how others are treated, you alone are different.

This summary isn't absolute, but most ordinary people are utterly hooked by it.

Thus, when Li Ang learned both performances today were romantic dramas, and confirmed after checking the small town's household records that seventy percent of the audience were women, the battle for control of the drama world had already lost all suspense.

The mature tropes from the fast-food era may lack nutritional value, but for first-time viewers, their destructive power is absolutely off the charts—perfect for flooding these unprocessed audiences, guaranteed to hit every time.

More crucially, crafting a great drama requires subtle foreshadowing, a well-structured plot with rising action and resolution, deep character monologues, and so on—all meticulously prepared before the final climax explodes to deliver viewers a cathartic experience.

Yet while the 【King of Drama】 was guiding the male and female leads to a beach at night, preparing for them to miss the starry sky under cloudy skies and make a promise to return and watch the stars later, "Mr. Joseph" had already bought two hundred and fifty carts of fireworks, ready to spell out "Agatha" across the sky.

As for subtle foreshadowing? The promise to return and watch the stars?

Come on, seriously?

When Li Ang's five hundred loyal guards ignited those two hundred and fifty carts of fireworks, blasting them into the sky with deafening cracks, even the moon was nearly blown out of sight—what kind of promise could possibly remain? Promise to come back and breathe in gunpowder next time?

The same logic applied to the masquerade ball, the famous artist's former residence, Green Snail Mountain Park, and so on.

While this side was still slowly and tepidly trying to understand each other, the other side had already presented ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine roses, whispering, "You're the last and most beautiful rose," and stormed in with hundreds of high-paid professional cheerleaders.

Even if "Mr. Joseph"'s forced intrusion ultimately failed, the 【King of Drama】's carefully planned scenes of gradual understanding and slow emotional bonding were now utterly impossible—instead, they became powerful contrasts.

On one side, gaining favor relied on endless talking, advancing the plot required chaos, giving gifts demanded elaborate setups, and even a date stuck in traffic had to be detoured; on the other, everything was prepared in advance, always one step ahead, looking up to launch fireworks, looking down to receive flowers.

This side was still tepidly probing the situation, too shy to even admit they liked you; that side already had sweet words on their tongue, property deeds, car titles, and household registration in hand, had already imprinted you on their eyes, and even planned to be buried with you in the same tiny box a hundred years from now… tell me, if you were choosing, who would you pick?

…

"If I were Agatha, I'd probably choose Mr. Joseph, right?"

As a soft pink heart-shaped bubble quietly rose from the drama world, accompanied by a murmur that made the 【King of Drama】's eyelids twitch.

As the three thousand-plus souls composing the drama gradually shifted toward "Mr. Joseph," the 【King of Drama】's control over the drama world reached a dangerously critical threshold.

Meanwhile, Li Ang, trapped within the drama, could neither control these souls nor spare the energy to restrain or suppress them; the wills of countless viewers began slowly awakening, still lacking full self-awareness but already clumsily exchanging simple thoughts.

Soon after the first bubble appeared, more powerful souls spawned heart-shaped bubbles, popping up one after another, eager to declare:

"Yes yes, Mr. Joseph is so deep in feeling."

"I choose Mr. Joseph too! He's not as handsome as Elijah, but he's impossible to refuse."

"What a pity—if only he were a bit more handsome."

"Yes yes."

"Nonsense! Who says Mr. Joseph isn't handsome?"

As the audience unconsciously discussed Li Ang's looks and voiced their small regrets, a furious red bubble swelled up and burst loudly:

"Do you even have taste? Mr. Joseph's face is high-end!"

With the appearance of the red bubble, more and more bubbles swelled up in response.

"Yes yes, Mr. Joseph is handsome—not in the conventional sense, but with a unique aura!"

"Exactly! Especially those eyes—they're so captivating!"

"Sis, you've got great taste! When Mr. Joseph knelt on one knee holding roses, others saw fireworks—I saw only him. That look? It kills me!"

"Actually, after watching longer, you realize Mr. Joseph isn't the kind of face that shocks you at first glance—but the more you look, the more appealing he becomes!"

"Exactly!"

With the big bubbles leading the way, the new bubbles that followed began frantically popping up.

"Yes yes."

"Mr. Joseph is so hot!"

Amid the 【King of Drama】's bewildered expression, the scattered "world wills" once in slumber began slowly converging, gradually reaching a consensus: "Mr. Joseph is actually very handsome."

Inside the drama world, Li Ang, who was coaxing Agatha to meet her grandmother, suddenly received a subtle aesthetic adjustment thanks to the collective approval of the pink bubbles—his features remained unchanged, his eyes unchanged, yet somehow he looked increasingly pleasing to the eye.

His already outstanding eyes, as one bubble had insistently "plop-plop" claimed, now seemed to contain a galaxy of stars, giving off a strange sensation: just one glance, and you'd want to drown in them.

Wait… the drama world does this now?!

Watching Agatha, now unable to stop stealing glances at Li Ang as his looks exploded in appeal, the 【Wang Erde】 outside the drama painfully tugged at his hair, nearly driven mad with frustration.

This… this isn't drama! This isn't drama at all! This chaotic mess is an insult to great works! How… how could so many people enjoy this?

Watching the drama world above, where the audience erupted in cheers as the male and female leads… as the male supporting character and heroine embraced for the first time, and where pink bubbles went wild with shrieks as the heroine accidentally entered the bathroom and saw "Mr. Joseph"'s soaked upper body, the 【King of Drama】 felt the world spin.

No… no! Absolutely not! If this continues… I'll turn into… turn into his likeness!

Seeing the text appearing on his white suit, seeing the scenes being massively deleted under the drama world's will, the 【King of Drama】's face twisted in horror.

Then, as his arms slowly unfolded like pages, revealing the script of "Twelve Days Together," the label beside "Mr. Joseph" in the character list—【Male Supporting Role · Clown No. 1】—began uncontrollably blurring, shifting toward 【Male Lead · No. 1】, and the 【King of Drama】 finally snapped, trembling as he seized the fine threads controlling the soul puppets and desperately yanked the plot backward.

It was impossible to completely remove "Mr. Joseph" now, but… but the ending must stay the same! I must preserve as much of the original as possible! At least there must be a wedding! The heroine must marry Elijah—he can be no more than male lead #2! Otherwise… otherwise…

…

"You two aren't suited!"

Under the stunned gaze of the bubbles, Mr. Joseph's previously kind and gentle grandmother's face darkened as she heard her grandson planned to marry a barmaid, and declared without room for refusal:

"Mr. Joseph's future wife must be either the daughter of the Duke of Blacksen, or a princess of the Thrush Kingdom; at the very least, she must be a relative of the Speaker of the Lower House. Marrying you is absolutely impossible!"

"No, I won't marry anyone but her!"

Facing pressure from his grandmother, Li Ang, firmly embodying the devoted billionaire trope, immediately refused with unwavering resolve:

"For all these years, I never knew what I wanted—until I met Agatha. My empty life finally gained color! So no matter how you oppose it, I will…"

"Cough… cough…"

"…"

Wait… are you playing this card too?

Under Li Ang's bewildered gaze, his grandmother—who had just moments ago been rosy-cheeked and robust—suddenly turned pale, pulled out a pristine silk handkerchief, and began coughing violently.

After a bout of agonizing coughing, the frail grandmother tucked away the blood-stained handkerchief, said nothing about her condition, and bit her lip with stubborn determination:

"In any case… no! As long as I'm alive, it's impossible! In this manor, it's either me or her—you choose one!"

"…"

Six seconds to critical condition, right?

Hit hard by this sudden torrent of melodrama, Li Ang's face darkened:

"Then I'll leave! If this manor…"

"Cough… cough…"

"If this manor can't accommodate Agatha…"

"Cough… cough cough!" (loud)

"If this manor can't accommodate Agatha, then I'll just…"

"Cough cough cough!" (super loud!)

"I'll leave!"

"Cough cough cough cough cough!!!" (violent, thunderous coughing!)

"…"

"N… no need!"

As the grandmother, coughing blood violently into her handkerchief, Agatha, already in tears, ripped off the necklace Li Ang had given her and shoved it into his hand, then turned away with hardened resolve:

"Mr. Joseph, I… I have my own pride! If I stay with you, I won't just destroy your family—I'll become your emotional prisoner… You're wonderful, but this isn't the life I want! Goodbye! No! Never again!"

"Wait!"

Li Ang turned to grab her, but under the 【King of Drama】's empowerment, the frail Agatha sprinted with the speed of a hundred-meter sprinter, dashing straight out the door.

Meanwhile, the grandmother, whose white handkerchief had turned crimson and who looked ready to drop dead at any moment, displayed terrifying, demonic strength—her bony grip on his hand was tighter than iron clamps, impossible to break free.

Caught off guard, Li Ang could only watch as Agatha, played by the princess, streaked out of the manor with motion trails, dashing headlong into the pouring rain toward the beach… the very place where she'd be ambushed by mysterious bandits and dragged back to marry.

Wait… are you just forcing this? Do you even care about dramatic logic anymore?

…

"Wahhh, it's so tragic!"

As Li Ang, ambushed, temporarily went offline, watching the drama world's plot surge ahead—or rather, plummet—the once all-pink bubbles turned gray.

As Li Ang was locked in confinement, Agatha was caught by the rain while visiting the beach to watch the stars, and the pure-hearted second male lead "Elijah" chose to sacrifice his freedom to return home and marry, the bubbles began sobbing.

"Wah! The grandmother is so cruel—lovers can't be together!"

"One side is love, the other is grandmother—Mr. Joseph has no choice…"

"Yes yes, but Mr. Elijah is truly noble."

"Mm, he who loved freedom so much willingly returned to accept a family-arranged marriage, spending the rest of his life as the very kind of caged bird he despised."

"Thinking like that, Mr. Elijah doesn't seem so bad? At least he's good-looking and gentle?"

This… is this… finally a twist?

Watching the bubbles slowly drift back, the 【King of Drama】, shaken by his own brutal script revisions, suddenly beamed with joy, a flush of excitement blooming across his pale white suit.

Yes yes! That's it! You foolish viewers finally understand! That damn "Mr. Joseph" is just a clown! Elijah is the only true male…

"Elijah is the third party!!!"

With a roar, the red bubble that had earlier defended Li Ang's looks swelled again, furious and roaring:

"How despicable! Taking advantage of weakness to destroy Mr. Joseph and Agatha's love!"

Inspired by her, a wave of Joseph fans erupted, pink-and-red bubbles popping up in waves.

"Sis! Stay firm! Don't forget Mr. Joseph is the male lead!"

"Are you traitors? Do you forget Mr. Joseph is still at home fighting his grandmother?"

"Elijah only lost the freedom of his later life, but Mr. Joseph lost his love!"

"Woo woo woo, my heart aches for Mr. Joseph!"

"Take her back! Go get Agatha back right now!"

No! No! Here it comes again! Here it comes again!!!

In the terrified gaze of the King of Drama, the large swaths of willpower bubbles that had just turned toward him flipped back en masse, beginning to support "Mr. Joseph."

As the large red bubble roared, seven and a half of the red bubbles burst open simultaneously, then raised their highly abstract little chubby hands, swaying and shaking as they cheered:

"Kidnap the bride! Kidnap the bride!! Kidnap the bride!!! Kidnap the bride!!!!"