[{"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-240":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},1297854,1723,"Chapter 240: The Warm and Cold of Human Kindness","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-240",240,"\u003Cp>When he first requested that half-year leave, the paperwork was so maddeningly tedious it could drive a person insane,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it was Liu Guodong who, under pressure, paved the way with green lights all the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci had never forgotten that favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hardly hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No problem, Teacher Liu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci agreed on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he spoke, Liu Guodong’s entire demeanor changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That face, once so stiff it could have applied for intangible cultural heritage status, instantly softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He straightened, put his face back into a stern expression, and reclaimed the authority of the head instructor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone’s here, give me a smile! We’re ready to take the graduation photo!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying that, he grabbed Jiang Ci’s arm and shoved him into the most conspicuous spot in the center of the line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo standing beside him were completely dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shoot began properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The photographer was a seasoned veteran, a professional through and through, and with camera in hand he kept directing the student standing in the C position, Jiang Ci.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This student, yeah, you right there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t look so down, it’s the graduation photo, cheer up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, tuck your chin in, give me that sunny, healing vibe! Think of something happy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci tried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought of the reassuring string of numbers in his bank account,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he thought of the life span in the system that exceeded three years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These should have been sources of joy, but his facial muscles seemed to retain a memory of sorrow,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>instinctively invoking the expression belonging to “Ye Chen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He forced his mouth upward, but it only turned into a twitch more bitter than any farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next to him, Zhao Zhen, listening to the photographer’s directions, nearly rolled his eyes out of his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly leaned to one side, deliberately squeezed next to Jiang Ci, and made an extremely exaggerated grimace, twisting his features into a caricature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ci-ge, smile for me, give your old man something to laugh at!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it utterly shattered the photographer’s painstakingly crafted “star atmosphere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That grotesque face completely cracked Jiang Ci up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could no longer hold that melancholic young star act,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the instant the shutter clicked, he and Zhao Zhen both broke into an unguarded smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Click.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the group photo was taken, it moved into free photo time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, an odd vacuum formed on the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci stood there, with no one within three meters of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Classmates gathered in twos and threes, eyeing him like a rare animal, furtively sizing him up, yet no one dared approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then a ponytailed girl, egged on by her friends, blushing, clutching her phone, ran over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Ci… could we… take a photo with you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once that door opened, it was like a dam burst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Ci! Me too!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A guy who once slung an arm around him on the basketball court and traded trash talk now, half a meter away and awkward, lifted his phone and asked, “Jiang Ci, um… mind a photo?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That polite “Jiang Ci,” instead of the familiar “Ci-ge,” stabbed at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded, habitually raising his arm,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>wanting to drape it over the other’s shoulder, but that half meter of space\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>suddenly felt impossibly vast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end his hand hovered awkwardly in the air and then gently dropped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ci-ge, Ci-ge, look over here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ahhh Jiang Ci, I’m your fan!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci was surrounded by a press of black gowns and raised phone screens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The classmates’ requests were polite yet distant,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that kind of courteous unfamiliarity formed an invisible wall,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>completely separating him from the campus life he’d known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That distance felt more awkward than being swarmed by crew members on set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He patiently complied with each request, putting his arm around one unfamiliar shoulder after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo watched from the edges of the crowd, seeing Jiang Ci swallowed by people, wearing a practiced commercial smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen irritably scratched his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo calmly pushed up his glasses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged a look and nodded in tacit agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Make way! Make way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen, like a human tank, pushed in aggressively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo followed, using his slim frame to quietly block those trying to surge forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re done, we’re done, Ci-ge needs to go to the bathroom, can’t hold it!” Zhao Zhen shouted nonsense at the top of his lungs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Based on human bladder capacity and fluid intake analysis, he indeed needs to immediately resolve physiological needs.” Chen Mo supplemented in a perfectly serious tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two of them flanking left and right “rescued” Jiang Ci from the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of them escaped the noisy center and flopped down on the highest row of the stadium bleachers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below, classmates in black gowns were still excitedly taking photos, laughter carried distantly and sounding oddly unreal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci exhaled a long breath, peeled off the stifling graduation robe, and tossed it aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching those lively, leaping figures below, he finally realized his university life had ended just like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, his phone rang at an awkward time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The incoming call displayed — Lin Wan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slid to answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back in the capital? Quiet as a mouse, wings all grown, and you didn’t even come say hello to your boss?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan’s signature teasing, commanding big-sister voice came through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister Wan, I’m at school, taking graduation photos.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Graduation photos?” The other side softened, “Okay, so you still look a little like a student.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief exchange, she moved straight to business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you read through The Lurker’s script?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Almost.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Hou just sent word this afternoon. The main cast is basically confirmed, just waiting on the final contract steps. In early July they’ll officially announce the crew formation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hanging up, Jiang Ci stared absentmindedly at the busy field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m going home tomorrow,” he told the two beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen, who was tussling with Chen Mo over a bottle of water, paused, handed the bottle to Jiang Ci, and patted his shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sure, perfect timing. Three Lifetimes Tribulation opens at the end of the month, right? Go home and watch it with your aunt, give her a surprise.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen even knew the Three Lifetimes Tribulation release date, which warmed Jiang Ci a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Want me to hook you up with two premiere tickets?” Jiang Ci asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen shook his head and squeezed the empty bottle until it warped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Premiere? No way, can’t face watching my buddy be a big star while I can’t even land an extra role.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He laughed self-deprecatingly, “Graduation equals unemployment. I’ve been hustling on sets until my legs practically fell off. The assistant director looks at my resume and just says, ‘We’ll let you know.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At this rate, I’ll end up fighting over space under the bridge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo pushed up his glasses, his tone as calm as ever yet laced with undeniable fatigue: “I filtered fifteen crews that fit my early development plan,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I submitted seven optimized electronic portfolios, and followed up by phone with casting directors from three of those crews. So far, zero feedback.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci watched them and didn’t say more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply stored those two names quietly in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, his phone screen flashed to life by itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A news push filled the entire screen arrogantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[The most anticipated xianxia epic of the year, Three Lifetimes Tribulation, officially set to premiere June 28, lighting up the summer!]\u003C\u002Fp>",1253,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.556Z",1,"novelbin.me","d341e03d81d19a4769a8cc69f9ad4636fd89b3a96f6144aa1e19705862648ca6","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-241","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-239",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]