[{"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-253":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},1297917,1723,"Chapter 253: Director, Are You Playing Dirty? Don’t Panic—I’m Even More Twisted Than You!","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-253",253,"\u003Cp>Late at night, the hotel room was so quiet that only the faint hum of the air conditioner remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci opened his system panel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to check his \"ammunition reserves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pale blue light screen unfolded before his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lingering impact of \"Three Lifetimes Tribulation\" was far more intense than he had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Online, secondary creations of Chu Wuchen and various \"heartbreak\" compilations were emerging endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the impact of real-world national events, many viewers' emotions had nowhere to vent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, they turned back, sinking repeatedly into Chu Wuchen's tragedy, seeking an extreme emotional resonance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heartbreak Value Balance: 4550 points]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heartbreak Value had once again broken through the four-thousand mark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although his lifespan had increased by nearly half a year, seeing that the growth, after being diverted, was far below expectations,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci didn't feel safe at all. Instead, a new anxiety arose—the audience's \"heartbreak\" also had a threshold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old tricks were losing their effectiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed more extreme tragedy, a more profound death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, \"The Lurker\" film crew officially began shooting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The set was built inside a Republican-era style street in Hengdian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crew had restored a 1930s-40s Shanghai silk merchant's shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the dark lacquered plaque, four large characters were written in a flowing, cursive script: \"Shen's Cloth Shop.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the shop, bolts of gorgeously colored silk hung down from the shelves, the air filled with the mixed scent of wood and fabric.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First day of shooting, first scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Qingyuan, in his family's silk shop, absentmindedly plays the piano, waiting for his childhood sweetheart fiancée, Gu Wanbai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci sat before that black, old-fashioned piano.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't need to actually know how to play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camera would only capture his demeanor and upper body; the post-production score would handle the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the director's monitor, Hou Hsiao-hsien's deeply wrinkled face showed no extra expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Action!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the command, the set instantly fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci's fingers danced lightly over the piano keys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His back was ramrod straight, the lines of his profile appearing clean and gentle under the set's soft lighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the spirited air of a youth untouched by worldly affairs, carrying a certain laziness and innocence particular to a wealthy young master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tilted his head, listening for movement outside the door, anticipating that familiar figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a corner not far away, He Xiaoping, now changed into a newspaper reporter's outfit, stood with her arms crossed, watching this scene quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was proceeding smoothly according to the script's setup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Hou Hsiao-hsien behind the monitor suddenly, without any warning, spoke a sentence into his walkie-talkie in an extremely low voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was soft, but it clearly reached the ears of the few staff members nearest to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien pointed at a young shop assistant not far away who was wiping the counter, serving as a background extra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You, go over, bump into him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Knock his sheet music off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young background actor playing the shop assistant turned pale instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rag in his hand fell to the floor. He was completely stunned, looking frantically in the director's direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Director Hou's voice sounded again over the walkie-talkie, devoid of any emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now, go over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assistant didn't dare disobey. He picked up the rag and walked stiffly towards Jiang Ci.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His steps were visibly unsteady, his eyes darting about, looking as if he were about to march to his heroic doom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked to the side of the piano, pretending to wipe it, his body swaying clumsily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Thud.*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stack of sheet music placed on the piano stand was knocked over by his elbow, scattering noisily across the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The piano music stopped abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire set's gaze fell upon Jiang Ci.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was waiting for his reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would it be the annoyance of a wealthy young master disturbed? Or a magnanimous, gentle forgiveness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young assistant who had knocked over the sheet music was already scared witless, his lips trembling as he bowed repeatedly in apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"S-sorry, young master, I didn't mean to, I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci stopped his playing and looked quietly at the sheet music scattered across the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he stood up from the piano stool and bent down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just when everyone thought he would display some emotion,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci's movements instead exuded an eerie calmness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn't in a hurry to pick them up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze quickly swept over all the scattered papers, as if he had instantly mapped out the optimal route for retrieval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He crouched down, reached out, and picked up the nearest sheet of music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers were long, his movements gentle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second sheet, the third...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked up the scattered sheet music one by one, re-sorting them according to the page numbers in the bottom right corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His actions were intensely focused, as if nothing around him existed,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as if the whole world consisted only of him and these papers whose order had been disrupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the last sheet was picked up, he didn't stand up immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he gently, repeatedly tapped the thick stack of sheet music three times on the carpeted floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Tap, tap, tap.*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crisp sound was especially jarring in the pin-drop silent set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The edges of the sheet music were aligned with perfect precision, neat as if measured with a ruler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after completing all this did he slowly stand up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his head and looked at the assistant who was on the verge of tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gentle smile appeared on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this smile, because of his previous near-obsessive tidying actions, seemed incredibly aloof and detached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not far away, He Xiaoping abruptly stopped moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She understood completely now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That sentence Jiang Ci said during the script reading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brightest sun always casts the deepest shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man wasn't acting as an innocent, carefree wealthy young master at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was acting the \"latent period\" of a top-tier intelligence agent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Qingyuan's innocence and carefreeness were his disguise, his \"sunlight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And hidden beneath this sunlight,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>was an extreme craving for order and control, a terrifyingly calm core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This core would instinctively reveal itself during unexpected incidents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the true potential that allowed him to become the top-tier lurker codenamed \"Abyss.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the monitor, the corner of Hou Hsiao-hsien's mouth, which had been tightly drawn, finally relaxed almost imperceptibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't call \"Cut.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to see how far these two actors could push this impromptu accident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci placed the neatly sorted sheet music back on the piano stand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without looking at the assistant again, he sat back down, preparing to continue playing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, He Xiaoping moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked through the crowd to the side of the piano.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci looked up at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping paid no mind to the surrounding cameras.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze was firmly locked on Jiang Ci's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, she spoke, delivering a line from the script.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The piece you're playing is very nice.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien's voice finally rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the scene was over, He Xiaoping walked straight over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I take back what I said before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice wasn't loud, but it clearly carried throughout the entire set,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>allowing every crew member who was eavesdropping to hear it clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci didn't respond, watching her quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She continued in a volume only the two of them could hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But, I still want to see...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just how deep your 'shadow' goes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1253,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.557Z",1,"novelbin.me","d6af26309a486dc0b4a690caf8644549da5d8a860678edb8c27cb90943fc5b49","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-254","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-252",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]