[{"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-356":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},1297654,1723,"Chapter 356: Comedy Can Also Be a Knife","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-356",356,"\u003Cp>Chapter 356: Comedy Can Also Be a Knife\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the capital, the 798 Art District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan parked her car at the entrance of a private gallery called \"Jian Bai\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The building was converted from an old factory, its walls made of rough exposed concrete, with a high, cavernous interior space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sparse few paintings in an extremely minimalist style hung on the walls, each marked with a jaw-dropping price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman in a black suit, with a capable and coldly elegant demeanor, was directing workers to adjust the hanging height of a painting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was Xu Man, a veteran producer in the industry and Lin Wan's university classmate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing footsteps, Xu Man didn't turn her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lin Wan, you're three minutes late.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I've told you, with this artist's work, being off by a single millimeter ruins the entire breathing feel of the space.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after saying this did she turn around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She gave Lin Wan a scrutinizing sweep, her gaze finally landing on Jiang Ci and Gu Zhiyuan behind her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man's movements froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced at Gu Zhiyuan, whose beard was freshly shaved but whose eyes were sunken,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then looked at Jiang Ci, dressed in a simple windbreaker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man's eyes swept back and forth between the three of them, finally letting out a derisive snort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A tragic Film Emperor, Box Office Poison, plus a comedy script. The whole set is complete now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan didn't acknowledge her mockery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She placed a document folder on the stark white, glaringly bright long table in the center of the exhibition hall and pushed it forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take a look at this first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man pulled out the documents inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside were the storyboard sketches that Gu Zhiyuan had redrawn after pulling two all-nighters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, she flipped through them quickly, her expression carrying a professional scrutiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the further she went, the slower her page-turning became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhiyuan's drawing style was rough, even somewhat neurotic, with messy lines, yet full of tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't the exaggerated physical slapstick of traditional comedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the struggle of a person in a desperate quagmire, desperately trying to claw out a bit of laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The protagonist Chen San gets his face stepped on in the mud, spits out muddy water, yet gives a \"V for victory\" sign to the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen San is chased all over the set by the crew's dog, falls into a mud pit, and still turns back to say to the dog, \"Thanks, buddy, saved me some bath water.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every joke was built upon extreme wretchedness and bitterness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man closed the storyboard, remaining silent for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pushed the sketches back to the center of the table and looked at Lin Wan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gu Zhiyuan isn't crazy, you are. Who would dare invest in something like this? Who would dare watch it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It will sting every single viewer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan didn't back down an inch. \"Why should comedy just tickle people? Comedy can also be a knife.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man was choked by her words, then let out a helpless laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine, your knife is very good.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But,\" she leaned forward, hands clasped and resting on the table, her imposing aura enveloping them,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What guarantee do you have that your 'knife' won't be turned into a pack of tear-jerker tissues by an actor used to playing tragedy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The whole internet is laughing at Jiang Ci for destroying his own Great Wall. What does he himself think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man's gaze stabbed directly at Jiang Ci.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Jiang Ci, let me ask you a question.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A question not about ideals, only about money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You acted in 'The Legend of Han and Chu', your salary was nearly eight figures, endorsements came non-stop, you stood in a position everyone wants to be in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now, for a cannon fodder extra role that not only pays no money but also requires you to make yourself look ugly, you're pushing all of that away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone's attention focused on Jiang Ci.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhiyuan watched him nervously, afraid he'd say the wrong thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan also held her breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci calmly stated a fact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In my sophomore year, I worked as an extra in Hengdian, took on a job.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Play a soldier who dies on the battlefield, background scenery, no lines, just a back view.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That day we filmed a rain scene, the water from the sprinkler truck was cold and dirty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"From 3 PM to 7 PM, I lay in the muddy water for four hours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After filming, the director called 'wrap', everyone rushed to pack up and take shelter from the rain, no one remembered there was still a person lying in the mud.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When I got up, my whole body was stiff, and I didn't even get a boxed meal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words were flat, no emotional fluctuations could be heard, no accusation or grievance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At that time, I thought, if one day, I could play an extra with a name, even if it was just one line, how great that would be.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing his account, Jiang Ci's gaze fell on Xu Man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen San is that person.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gallery was completely silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man looked at Jiang Ci's clean face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had been climbing and tumbling in this industry for over a decade, seen too many actors tearfully recount their \"hardship stories\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those stories, each one exquisitely packaged, with a clear purpose, just to exchange for sympathy and resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Jiang Ci's words had none of that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn't a moving story, it was a resume, a resume only the character \"Chen San\" could understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man suddenly felt it was absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this industry where everyone shrewdly calculates, there really was this kind of... fool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A kind of stubbornness, almost foolish persistence, not for success, but just to fulfill a single thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man suddenly laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crazy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She cursed, not sure if she was cursing Jiang Ci, or cursing herself for being infected by this madness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood up, walked to the rest area, took a checkbook and pen from her bag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a few \"swish, swish, swish\" sounds, she tore off a check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked back, slapped the check on the table, and pushed it in front of Lin Wan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Five million.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not an investment, consider it a personal loan from me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Man looked at Lin Wan and Jiang Ci, her expression like a gambler at the table, crazy yet resolute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll accompany you, go crazy once.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lin Wan's hand felt heavy as she picked up the check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with this five million, they were still twenty-five million short of the budget gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the gallery, the atmosphere in the car on the way back was even more oppressive than on the way there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhiyuan remained silent the entire journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the car stopped downstairs at Spark Media, he didn't get out immediately. Instead, he fished his phone from his pocket, his finger hovering over a number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The contact's note had just one character—\"Dragon\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan caught a glimpse of that name from the corner of her eye, and also the small line of notes below: \"Urgent money needed, fifty percent interest\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her temper flared up instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Smack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan slapped the back of Gu Zhiyuan's hand, the phone falling onto the seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan's voice suddenly rose sharply, piercing enough to seem like it could stab through the car roof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you trying to do? Borrow from loan sharks?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gu Zhiyuan, do you think your life isn't worth anything, or do you think I haven't lost enough face, that you need to trade your life for money to make this movie?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhiyuan was scolded speechless by her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somehow, this matter leaked out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A joke soon began circulating within the industry, saying that Spark Media, in order to film a comedy destined to flop,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>was going around begging for alms, not only driving the Film Emperor crazy but also forcing the washed-up director to borrow from loan sharks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people waiting to watch the spectacle were betting that the 'King of Extras' project would quietly be aborted within a week.\u003C\u002Fp>",1356,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.557Z",1,"novelbin.me","618ab3cf7e0243dfa11392ce0babb9999b7f1a6bac12334e0ae44ccea93cb55e","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-357","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-355",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]