[{"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-362":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},1297660,1723,"Chapter 362: The Chief Director's Stunning Gamble","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-362",362,"\u003Cp>Chapter 362: The Chief Director's Stunning Gamble\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Qian Wenhai fell into a long silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took off his glasses, pressing his knuckles against the space between his eyebrows. This gesture betrayed the fierce internal struggle raging within him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As an old-timer within the system, he understood the weight of Zhao Dingguo's words better than anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no longer a debate about art, but a battle of stances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His silence left Feng Gang completely isolated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the pressure now rested squarely on Feng Gang's shoulders alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, Feng Gang was not crushed by this immense pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not look back at his two wavering old friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaning back in his director's chair, the fanatical fervor faded from his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned around, his gaze piercing through the dim light, firmly locking onto Jiang Ci standing at the center of the stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The focus of the entire room converged once more on that young man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring the undercurrents swirling behind him, Feng Gang posed a question that caught everyone off guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jiang Ci.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Setting the script aside, tell me… what do you think 'the flavor of the New Year' is?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question was softly spoken, yet heavier than Zhao Dingguo's earlier roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci stood beside the peeling square table and did not answer immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lowered his head, looking at the deep knife mark on the table, then lifted his gaze to sweep across the empty audience seats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, he spoke calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The flavor of the New Year…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was carefully choosing his words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's probably… the stubborn insistence of setting out an extra bowl and chopsticks, even when you know that some seats will forever remain empty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Dingguo, who was about to speak again, trembled, the finger he had raised mid-air wavering before falling limply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The color drained rapidly from his face. His lips parted, but no sound emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those words had stirred up certain memories long buried in the dust of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Qian Wenhai, who had been silent all along, finally raised his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked up the reading glasses from the table, carefully wiped them, and then put them on with great deliberation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the lenses, those cloudy old eyes now shone with unusual clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan felt the hairs on her arms stand on end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci always had a way of using the calmest tone to utter the most heart-piercing words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Gang seized the turning point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spun around abruptly, facing Zhao Dingguo directly, his voice booming like a bell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Old Zhao! Did you hear that?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This! This is what we need to convey!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Gang strode back to the monitor, his finger tapping heavily on the screen where Jiang Ci's serene face was displayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Laughter and joy are not the entirety of the New Year! Neither is the whole family reuniting!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's this 'yearning'! This stubborn insistence on doing something even when you know it's impossible—that is the most profound reunion rooted deep in our bones!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remembering that empty seat, in itself, is a form of reunion!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These words completely ignited Qian Wenhai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old professor stood up with a start, slamming a palm on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well said! That's the root! Without this yearning, reunion is just a meal! With this yearning, even being alone… is still celebrating the New Year!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cornered by their combined verbal assault, Zhao Dingguo staggered back several steps. He had to grip the back of a chair to steady himself, his face ashen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nonsense! You're twisting the concept!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't care what you say! If this program is submitted, it will absolutely not pass the review! If there are problems, who will take responsibility?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Gang's voice was not loud, but each word was firm and resonant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked up to Zhao Dingguo, his expression terrifyingly calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Old Zhao, let me give it to you straight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We are keeping this program. I will personally oversee the editing of a 'warm and fuzzy version' that absolutely meets the standards, as a backup.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Zhao Dingguo was about to speak, Feng Gang raised a hand to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Gang's tone suddenly rose sharply, filled with the determination of someone betting everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The 'original version' performed by Jiang Ci—I will send it for review as the primary option, without a single cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the higher-ups hold us accountable, I, Feng Gang, will resign to take responsibility! I will not implicate either of you two or CCTV!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a compromise, but more so, a forced checkmate disguised as a retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was using his own career as a wager,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Betting that after the decision-makers witnessed Jiang Ci's performance, which was practically a work of art,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would no longer be able to stomach that mediocre backup version.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a stratagem so audacious it bordered on madness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The studio fell into a dead silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan looked at Feng Gang's resolute back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had never imagined that the treasure she had personally unearthed\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would one day become the most insane bargaining chip in the hands of a Spring Festival Gala director.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half of her was filled with an almost uncontrollable pride,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trembling at the thought that Jiang Ci's talent could compel a chief director to stake his entire career;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other half was gripped by a bone-deep fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She understood better than anyone: if this gamble was won, Jiang Ci would ascend to the heavens in a single step, becoming a phenomenon-level artist;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if it was lost, the consequences would also be borne by Jiang Ci, this newly crowned Film Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Gang was betting his career, but her Jiang Ci was betting his future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Dingguo's tense shoulders slumped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His anger and his resolve both dissolved into a sigh at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waved a weary hand, slumped into a seat, turned his head away, and refused to look at anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do as you please…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he didn't explicitly voice his support, this was tacit permission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was exactly what Feng Gang had been waiting for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned and issued orders to his assistant, speaking at an extremely rapid pace, leaving no room for anyone to reconsider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Notify everyone: clear the set!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All non-essential personnel, evacuate Studio One immediately!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lighting, camera crews, all teams to your positions! We are now recording the final version!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The command given, the entire studio began operating with high efficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staff members hurriedly departed. The large doors slowly closed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the now-empty studio, only a few focused work lights and a handful of core personnel remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere was solemn, like a secret ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci walked once more to the center of the stage and sat down on that old chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, there was no tentative exploration like during the initial performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His performance was even more restrained, refined to its absolute limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still sat quietly. Only this time, he did not look at the empty bowl and chopsticks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze fell on the empty seat beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if someone was sitting there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even tilted his body ever so slightly, adjusting his posture,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if afraid of crowding that invisible \"family member.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he reached out his hand and, on the surface of the table,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With deliberate, unhurried strokes, traced the outline of a bowl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The movement was light, almost soundless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the magnified close-up on the monitor, that finger trembling faintly in the air,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that \"bowl\" drawn in imagination, brimming with longing,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Possessed a weight heavier than a thousand words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not tap the rim of the bowl again, because the clearest sound existed only in memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For three minutes, the vast studio was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The recording ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Gang did not call \"Cut.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared unblinkingly at the monitor, motionless, as if his entire being had been sucked into the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Qian Wenhai took off his reading glasses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gazed blankly at the solitary beam of light on the stage,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a long while, before murmuring in a low voice a phrase no one else could make out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan led Jiang Ci out through a side door of the CCTV building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, the night was deep. A gust of cold wind hit them, refreshing their spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Jiang Ci's face was a kind of exhaustion that comes from being completely drained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those brief few minutes of performance had consumed a tremendous amount of his mental energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wan said nothing the entire way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after they got into the car did she take a bottle of mineral water from her bag and silently hand it to him.\u003C\u002Fp>",1444,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.557Z",1,"novelbin.me","55cfab118c37b94b85ea21bf207dd980cd4922b413252505675c10edc54d6aad","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-363","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-361",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]