[{"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-269":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},1297933,1723,"Chapter 269: All Rise! A Textbook-Level Performance of a Scumbag","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-269",269,"\u003Cp>The brief three-day break felt like a fleeting dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the crew of \"The Lurker,\" Shen Qingyuan's death did not bring a sense of conclusive release.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien didn't even give the crew much time to reminisce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He unceremoniously pulled everyone out of the lingering, tragic afterglow of Shen Qingyuan's death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A full crew adjustment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three days later, they were to reshoot the key scenes from the initial period of Shen Qingyuan's \"descent into darkness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shooting location: the Shen Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before filming began, Jiang Ci asked the Props Team for an expensive set of French bone china tea ware.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Props Team delivered this genuine, valuable set, Jiang Ci personally received it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The skill of the [Master of Organization and Tidying] was utilized to its absolute extreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every teacup, every saucer, was placed with perfect symmetry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a declaration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A declaration of the complete collapse of the character's old internal order, and the forced establishment of a new, icy regime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien watched this scene through the monitor, silently gesturing to the cinematographer for a close-up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three days was enough for He Xiaoping to somewhat detach from the emotional impact of Shen Qingyuan's death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, she had transformed back into that simple, passionate, love-filled Gu Wanbai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wearing an elegant white dress, she personally carried a delicate cake box, pushing open the main door of the Shen Mansion with a heart full of joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was Shen Qingyuan's birthday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wanted to give him a surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, what greeted her was not her lover's embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a room full of strangers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The living room was packed with pot-bellied Japanese merchants and a few bowing and scraping traitor compradors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were gathered around the table, greedily tallying some assets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was thick with the cheap smell of cigars and a nauseating stench of greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Wanbai (played by He Xiaoping)'s smile froze on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw Shen Qingyuan, sitting in the host's seat, his back relaxed against the chair, legs crossed, the picture of a leisurely master of the house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping, holding the cake, walked step by step closer, the unease in her heart expanding wildly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Qingyuan, played by Jiang Ci, finally looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze fell on her, devoid of any joy of reunion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled a pure white silk handkerchief from his pocket,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and unhurriedly, finger by finger, wiped his own hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he had just touched something filthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why have you come?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was flat, betraying no emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping's heart sank. Suppressing her hurt, she lifted the cake box in her hand. \"Qingyuan, today is your birthday...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci's movements stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tossed the handkerchief onto the table, like throwing away a piece of trash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Gu.\" He spoke, the form of address already changed. \"I have distinguished guests here. The smell you carry might offend them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What... smell?\" He Xiaoping instinctively sniffed her own clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The stench of poverty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci spat out these three words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These three words stabbed viciously into Gu Wanbai's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding Japanese merchants and traitors erupted in a burst of malicious laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping's face instantly drained of color, turning deathly pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tried to argue, tried to find the familiar gentleness on his face. \"Qingyuan, you... what's wrong with you? You're not like this...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci directly cut her off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned his head away, no longer looking at her, instead engaging in lively conversation with the Japanese merchant beside him in fluent Japanese.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the enhancement of [Language Comprehension], every syllable carried the elegance and composure of the aristocratic class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping couldn't understand a word he was saying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she could feel the humiliation conveyed by that language from the increasingly contemptuous and mocking looks the Japanese men directed at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw Jiang Ci point at her, say something to that merchant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, that merchant laughed without restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci was evaluating her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A dull ornament, belonging to a bygone era.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sentence was an invisible slap across Gu Wanbai's face,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>rendering all her attempts at communication a ridiculous one-woman show.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was completely ignored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the monitor, the crew members who understood Japanese stiffened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sentence hurt more than any direct insult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping's eyes instantly reddened, tears welling up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But stubbornly, she pushed the cake in her hands forward a little more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was her last, humble act of persistence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is... I made it for you myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci finally turned his gaze back to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took the cake box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For that one second, a faint flicker of hope even ignited in the depths of He Xiaoping's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the next second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci turned and whistled towards the corner, at the wolfhound belonging to a Japanese officer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened the cake box, casually scooped out a large piece with his finger,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and, amidst the wolfhound's excited tail-wagging and begging, threw the cake, which held all of the young girl's heartfelt intentions, onto the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was even smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That brilliant smile was more cruel than any expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"See,\" he said to the Japanese merchant beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even a beast is worthy of tasting the craftsmanship of the eldest Miss Gu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping's body swayed violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though she had read the script countless times, even though she knew this was all fake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Jiang Ci's eyes, which had once been filled with tenderness,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>now looked at her with a completely unfamiliar, garbage-like finality,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>an intense physical revulsion instantly seized her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tears could no longer be controlled, breaking through the dam and flooding down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn't acting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, she *was* Gu Wanbai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Gu Wanbai whose sincere heart had been personally trampled underfoot and ground to dust by her lover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Jiang Ci's mind, the system panel was refreshing frantically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heartbreak Value +555 from character Gu Wanbai!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heartbreak Value +38 from lighting technician assistant Li Qian. She remembered her own experience of being cheated on by her ex-boyfriend...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heartbreak Value +42 from makeup artist Sister Wang. She understood—this was hurting her to protect her. It's too painful!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...Total Heartbreak Value: +648 points!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The character's heartbreak and the bystanders' heartbreak resonated in this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They thought of Shen Qingyuan's true undercover identity. This extreme harm inflicted \"for her own good\" caused the Heartbreak Value to multiply exponentially.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci gave Gu Wanbai no chance to catch her breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waved his hand impatiently, like shooing away a fly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone, escort Miss Gu out. Don't let her be here, offending the eyes of our distinguished guests.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two servants immediately stepped forward, flanking He Xiaoping, who had long since lost all strength and was on the verge of collapsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was dragged roughly towards the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her line of sight, the man's back was cold, hard, devoid of any trace of its former warmth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy door slammed shut behind her with a loud \"bang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Completely cutting off all her sobs and despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Qingyuan, played by Jiang Ci, stood with his back to the door, his face still wearing that ingratiating, fawning smile,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as he raised his wine glass to the Japanese merchant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one saw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hand hanging by his side, holding the red wine glass,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>was trembling slightly from the extreme force he was exerting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A very faint, crisp sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stem of the wine glass actually developed a fine crack from his unconscious strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crimson liquid, mixed with his own blood from his hand, dripped down the crack, drop by drop, onto the polished floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a silent sacrifice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien's voice finally shattered the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was still immersed in that extreme cruelty and heartbreak, unable to break free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping crouched on the ground, face buried in her arms, shoulders shaking violently, crying so hard she was almost hyperventilating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn't stand up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci shook his head, shedding the lingering emotions of the character, and quickly walked over, instinctively reaching out to help her up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher He, you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hand had just extended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But He Xiaoping, like a startled hedgehog, looked up and slapped his hand away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't touch me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She cried out, her reddened eyes filled with genuine fear and rejection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was too deep into the role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she could detach from the emotions, she couldn't face the face that had just subjected her to the most cruel torture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci's hand hung awkwardly in mid-air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding crew members watched this scene, unsure of what to do.\u003C\u002Fp>",1424,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.557Z",1,"novelbin.me","485e5fbe80c62fb72f3daf09daa39bb01fdd1f89a45250bb0541b4f7a4de478a","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-270","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-268",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]