[{"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-254":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},1297918,1723,"Chapter 254: One Sentence Made the Roommate Play the Traitor to Perfection!","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-254",254,"\u003Cp>The afternoon scenes were shot on the Republic-era street set in Hengdian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The plot had Zhao Zhen playing the thug \"Wang Dachui,\" who bullied a flower-selling girl in the street, only to be stopped by Shen Qingyuan passing by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Director Hou Hsiao-hsien's requirement was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Portray the innate brutishness and ignorance inside a bully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen clenched his determination; he wanted to perform well, to win honor for Ci-ge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Action!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen, as Wang Dachui, wearing an ill-fitting short jacket, staggered to the flower stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stomped on a basket of flowers, crushing the delicate blooms into a muddy pulp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, little girl, where's this month's filial payment?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the ferocity was hollow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It floated on the surface with no roots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It resembled the exaggerated acting of stage performance, the kind meant so the people in the back row can clearly see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien, watching from behind the monitor, furrowed his brows tighter and tighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut! One more take!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second take.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen put more force into it, shoving the girl to the ground so that petals and dirt stuck to her all over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien's face grew even darker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third take.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen lowered his voice, his line trembling, staring at the girl with eyes full of an imminent, uncontrollable madness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien finally tossed down his walkie-talkie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere on set dropped to a freezing point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone stopped moving and looked at the director's sullen face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen stood there, helpless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face flushed deep red, sweat sliding from his temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he had messed up the performance, but he didn't know where the problem lay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien did not scold him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He called Jiang Ci aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those two actors you brought,\" he indicated the embarrassed Zhao Zhen, \"their acting has issues.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words were polite, but the meaning was obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Replace them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci nodded, offering no refusal, no plea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned and walked toward Zhao Zhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping stood not far away, watching quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo stood in the shadow, pushing up his glasses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci walked up to Zhao Zhen, leaned close to his ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a voice only the two of them could hear, he repeated one comment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look at you. You act like the lead in a stage play even when playing a thug, as if you're afraid people won't see that you're trying hard...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That line was something Jiang Ci had just overheard from a few set assistants watching the commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people around did not catch the words clearly; they only saw Zhao Zhen's face turn the color of boiled liver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Jiang Ci finished, he stepped back and nodded once toward the director.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien picked up the walkie-talkie again, half doubtful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fourth take, Action!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that instant, Zhao Zhen moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He no longer swayed and mugged; instead, he carried a twitchy, restless impatience as if every pretense had been pierced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lunged a few steps to the flower stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't speak first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He yanked the flower girl's collar and hauled her to her feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face was no longer a bluff of savagery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the furious shame of public humiliation, a crazed urgency to prove himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where's the money?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was hoarse, but threaded with a maniacal insistence that he would not stop until the other person was ruined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The violence in his eyes mixed with a deep-seated inferiority, producing an intensely dangerous aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl began to cry in terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crying only made Wang Dachui more agitated; he raised his hand, and a slap's shadow fell across the girl's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Smack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A crisp spot-effect sound echoed. Everyone on set felt their hearts skip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young actress was professional; she immediately covered her face and real tears began to fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through his clenched teeth, Zhao Zhen spat a few words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crying? I'll make you cry your fill!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien's voice finally sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's a wrap for the take.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl kept crying, half acted, half genuinely frightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen stood there with hollow eyes, as if he had not yet shaken off the tidal shame and rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the break, He Xiaoping approached Chen Mo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She watched Zhao Zhen not far off awkwardly apologizing to the young actress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did he tell him?\" He Xiaoping was curious. What could instantly transform an actor like that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo pushed his glasses; the set lights reflected off the lenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He answered expressionlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He made him see himself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo's voice was very calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A collapse of self-recognition is the most efficient way to trigger emotion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at Chen Mo's solemn face and felt a chill rise from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days later, the crew moved locations to shoot the Japanese officers' banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene was set in a Western-style hotel's banquet hall, crystal chandeliers, long tables draped in white tablecloths, filled with champagne and food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This scene was the key moment where Shen Qingyuan, with his gift for speech and personal charm, first caught the attention of the Japanese intelligence chief, Major Takahashi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several Japanese featured actors had changed into costume and were going over lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien sat behind the monitor, listening to their stiff Chinese lines, his brow knitting tighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not right!\" he finally said. \"It feels wrong!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why are you speaking such awkward Chinese when you converse privately? It's not authentic!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The set translator hurriedly conveyed the director's meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe, who played Major Takahashi, bowed and explained, \"Director Hou, we usually converse in Japanese.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the script is in Chinese. If we speak Japanese, the audience might not understand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien waved his hand impatiently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Post-production can add subtitles! I want authenticity! Speak naturally in Japanese and show me that innate arrogance!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Japanese actors looked at each other and nodded, but their faces betrayed hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci had already changed into Shen Qingyuan's white suit, holding a glass of champagne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not rush forward; he stood quietly to the side, appreciating the banquet hall's arrangement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when Watanabe argued nitpickily with a fellow actor over the pronunciation of a single word did Jiang Ci happen to pass by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In flawless Kyoto-accented Japanese, he murmured a suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Watanabe, perhaps using 'shouchi' would better convey your character's class.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe and the other Japanese actors froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stared at Jiang Ci in astonishment, not expecting this young Huaguo actor to speak such native-sounding Japanese, even carrying that aristocratic inflection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci did not stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at their scripts and continued in Japanese, \"If I may be frank, several words in your earlier dialogue weren't commonly used in daily speech in the early Showa period.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their expressions shifted from surprise to seriousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They no longer saw Jiang Ci as just a fellow actor but rather as a scholar of modern Japanese history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe instinctively bowed again, this time using the most formal honorifics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Jiang Ci, your understanding of our culture is so profound! I am enlightened!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the monitor, Hou Hsiao-hsien watched Jiang Ci navigate effortlessly among the \"enemies,\" and the tautness in his face finally broke into a rare smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping, standing outside the small circle, watched quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at the white silhouette surrounded by a group of \"enemies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, she felt as if he had stepped out of that era himself.\u003C\u002Fp>",1221,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.557Z",1,"novelbin.me","be3f4936881ea01706afa2e11e32e1e0da0be6e868eac7a0730917c5c3b1c9ee","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-255","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-253",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]