[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans":3,"chapter-the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-231":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1297845,1723,"Chapter 231: A Prison Named \"Yearning\"","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-231",231,"\u003Cp>That modern room, perfectly recreated by the film crew to belong to \"A Li,\" was filled with the warm traces of everyday life in every detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Family photos on the desk, a soft stuffed toy at the bedside, everything fit this time and space flawlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet that warmth was the greatest torture for Su Qingying in this moment, or rather for \"A Li.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned, moved slowly to the desk, and absentmindedly picked up an open history book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a chronicle about the fictional dynasty \"Shangdu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camera pulled in for a close-up of the pages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the most objective printed type, it described the end of that era, wars raging, the people's livelihood ruined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The collapse of an entire dynasty condensed into a few lines of emotionless lead type.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the monitors, Jiang Ci stood perfectly still, he did not go to the lounge, choosing instead to stand behind Zhang Mouyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could clearly feel that \"A Li\"'s entire world was falling apart in front of those lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything she cherished, the time she would do anything to return to, was nothing more than a fading footnote that would be easily forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That pain, that despair of being abandoned by two times at once, was transmitted precisely through the lens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Jiang Ci's system panel, the Heartbreak Value did not move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the performance was not over yet, the audience had not seen it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his own heart had already given a prelude of tremor for this impending grand tragedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The set was terrifyingly quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Mouyi uncharacteristically did not make a sound; he just stared at the monitor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That oppressive silence chilled the backs of the crew more than any roar would.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last shot of the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A Li,\" played by Su Qingying, curled up in the corner of the sofa. In her hand she clutched the broken spirit jade that served as a token.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tears slid silently, hitting the pendant and breaking into smaller splashes. Her lips moved, silently calling that name over and over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ye... Chen...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sound, only lip movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that heart-wrenching yearning pierced the entire set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Mouyi's voice finally rang out, shattering the suffocating atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Qingying's body relaxed; she slowly lifted her head, and after several seconds, detached herself from that extreme emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crew exhaled as if surfacing from deep water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Zhang Mouyi's next words made the relief they had just felt shoot back up into their throats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't even comfort Su Qingying, he only picked up the loudspeaker and announced to the whole set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wrap! Lighting and set dressing, change everything!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tomorrow, we film Ye Chen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, each word landing like a blow to the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Demonic transformation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crew exchanged stunned looks, no one daring to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Qingying, just pulled back from extreme sorrow, faltered in her step; she didn't turn back, but Jiang Ci knew the director's order was meant for her as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the two pivots of this grand tragedy; one person's pain was the other's prelude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, no one disturbed Su Qingying, and no one dared speak to Jiang Ci.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main set shifted from modern city back to the outskirts of ancient Shangdu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enormous, twisted Divine Tree cast grotesque shadows under dozens of cold-toned lights, its gloom making it hard to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci arrived early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He refused the breakfast Sun Zhou offered, and avoided anyone trying to talk to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat alone under the Divine Tree in thin costume, quietly embodying the self-enclosed despair that comes from having the whole world abandon and betray you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All departments, prepare!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Zhang Mouyi's command, the set sank again into that familiar, high-pressure silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Filming began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were no lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first shot gave Jiang Ci only a silhouette from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood alone under the tree, his body beginning to tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It started with his shoulders, then his spine, finally spreading throughout his entire body,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a pain from the depths of the soul, fiercely suppressing something that was about to break through the flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut! Special effects makeup, keep up!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few makeup artists rushed forward and painted spreading black demonic markings on his neck and the backs of his hands at top speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They rolled again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci curled in pain, then suddenly stretched, bones cracking under the strain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was no longer human, more like a beast trapped in a cage about to burst its bonds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The agony intensified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He head-butted the ground, the dull thud making some of the people behind the monitors' teeth ache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lay on the ground, fingers clawing wildly at the dirt, leaving deep grooves, mud and prop \"blood\" packed into the gaps beneath his nails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A timid female set assistant instinctively turned her face away, no longer daring to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paramedics at the edge of the set involuntarily stepped forward, palms sweating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene had surpassed mere acting, resembling a real collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Close-up! Get his face close!\" Zhang Mouyi's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camera pushed in fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci threw his head back, his whole face contorted by unbearable pain. He opened his mouth wide, but no sound came out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was nailed in place by that image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It pierced more deeply than any hoarse scream ever could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He began tearing at his chest garments; the prop claws scored bleeding wounds across his skin,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the system panel started to faintly signal an increase in Heartbreak Value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good... he thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This scene of Ye Chen's near-death, complete demonic transformation had to be brutal enough to earn the richest reward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An audience will not pay for tepid sorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thick \"blood\" tracked down the grooves of his muscles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed to be trying, in the most savage way, to dig out the demonic power within him that maddened him with pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Mouyi still did not call a stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Push in more! Give me his eyes close-up! I want to see the light go out in them, the whole process!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the most seasoned cinematographer operating the crane had the slightest tremble in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the lens, the eyes that still retained struggle and reluctance had all emotions peeled away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, all frantic struggles ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci slowly dropped to his knees, the previous world-shattering power vanished without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In those eyes remained only hollow, numb crimson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Mouyi rasped out the word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, thunderous applause erupted without warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Zhou reacted first; he grabbed a blanket like a madman and wrapped the staggering body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The touch was icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci's costume was already soaked through with cold sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>",1117,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.556Z",1,"novelbin.me","997b70335eddbd24abf7a0d6398a17a943a1c95b3aefa76ec2fdc11f964195a7","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-232","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-230",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]