The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 14: Killing Intent 60%! A single piece of fish she ignited a deadly dinner party!
"Don't be nervous."
Lu Yifeng smiled, "I watched your performance this afternoon, it was truly stunning."
"I've always been curious—during that final drum-beating scene, what were you thinking inside? How did you find that sense of absolute determination?"
He actually asked Jiang Ci this question.
This was the same question Qin Feng had asked earlier that afternoon.
But now, coming from Lu Yifeng's mouth, the meaning completely changed.
This was an interrogation!
He wanted to know whether Jiang Ci's "acting skills" genuinely came from real experience, or were just a flash-in-the-pan stroke of luck.
If it was based on real experience, then what was that story? And could this story become an obstacle to his approach toward Su Qingying?
If it was just luck, then this newcomer wasn't worth worrying about.
Instantly, everyone's attention at the dinner table focused on Jiang Ci.
Even Su Qingying, who had been lost in her own thoughts, looked over.
Jiang Ci felt as if he had been placed under a spotlight, with Lu Yifeng's chilling gaze fixed on his back.
This question was difficult to answer.
Tell the truth?
Say that he was thinking about you, you psychopath, which made him perform with such intensity?
Then he could forget about leaving through that door tonight.
What to do?
He had to provide an answer that would satisfy Lu Yifeng's curiosity, dispel his suspicions, without exposing himself, and also... annoy him a bit!
In a flash of insight, an idea came to him.
Got it!
The lightness instantly faded from Jiang Ci's face, replaced by a transparent sorrow that slowly spread across his features.
"Teacher Lu," his voice was soft, carrying a barely noticeable tremor, "actually... I wasn't thinking about the nation or the world."
"At that moment, there was only one simple thought in my mind."
He paused, raised his head, his gaze not meeting Lu Yifeng's but instead settling on the blank wall behind him.
His eyes were empty, yet filled with scattered fragments of brokenness.
"I was thinking... about someone I once liked very much, but can never see again."
As these words left his mouth, the room erupted in murmurs.
Even Qin Feng and Director Li couldn't hide their gossipy expressions.
"Oh? A girlfriend?" Zhao Xueling was the most direct, asking outright.
Jiang Ci shook his head.
"No."
His voice grew even lower.
"She... she didn't like me."
"She fell for another man."
"That man is outstanding, radiant, everyone likes him."
"And I... I'm just a speck of mud on the ground."
Jiang Ci's voice grew increasingly hoarse.
He wasn't looking at anyone, as if talking to himself, completely immersed in his own world.
"At that moment, I was thinking, if I could also fall before everyone's eyes, just like the young general."
"Then would she... even if just for a moment... see me?"
"Would she..."
"shed a single tear for me?"
He finished speaking.
Everyone was stunned by this "heartfelt confession."
The image of a lovesick youth, humble to the point of being trampled into the dust, instantly came alive in their minds. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
This story was so vivid!
So damn... heartbreaking!
Zhao Xueling's eyes when she looked at Jiang Ci were already overflowing with maternal love and sympathy.
Director Li and Wang Pangzi wore expressions of "so that's how it is," as if they had finally found the source of Jiang Ci's "tragic aura."
Jiang Ci secretly glanced from the corner of his eye at the two people at the head of the table.
Su Qingying was looking down, her long eyelashes lowered, no one could see her expression. But her hand on the table was unconsciously clenched.
As for Lu Yifeng...
His face still wore that gentle smile tinged with a hint of "sympathy."
But in Jiang Ci's mind, the system alarm was about to explode!
[Warning! S-class target experiencing intense emotional fluctuations!]
[Internal emotional analysis: Killing intent (40%)! Anger (30%)! Jealousy (20%)! Disguise (10%)!]
Killing intent!
Instantly surged from 15% to 40%!
Jiang Ci's heart also gave a violent lurch.
He knew that his words just now had precisely stepped on Lu Yifeng's landmine!
Because, the "radiant man" he mentioned, in Lu Yifeng's ears, clearly alluded to himself!
And Jiang Ci's image as a "humble admirer" sharply contrasted with Su Qingying's "cold" attitude toward him!
On the surface, these words were about Jiang Ci's own story.
In reality, they severely stimulated Lu Yifeng's pathological pride!
Aren't you perfect?
Yet the person you want to win over treats you with indifference!
While I, this "speck of mud," would die for her!
This kind of "tragic hero" self-sacrifice was precisely what a refined egoist like Lu Yifeng could never comprehend!
Lu Yifeng's killing intent was screaming alarms in Jiang Ci's mind, but not a trace showed on his face.
He raised his glass, lifting it solemnly toward Jiang Ci.
"Jiang Ci, I'd like to toast you."
His expression seemed genuinely moved by Jiang Ci's story.
"For this... unrequited affection of yours."
He tilted his head back and drained the red wine in his glass.
"Ah, what a good kid, such a pity." Zhao Xueling sighed, looking at Jiang Ci as if he were her own heartbroken son.
Director Li also patted Jiang Ci's shoulder: "Let the past be the past. You're so talented, you'll meet someone better in the future."
Meanwhile, Jiang Ci was screaming internally: I'm not! I didn't! Don't make things up! I was just making it up!
But on his face, he had to maintain that "dejected" expression, silently raising his glass and draining it as well.
His persona absolutely must not collapse.
Just as everyone's attention was captivated by Jiang Ci's "tragic story,"
No one noticed that Su Qingying, who had been silent all along, made a move.
She lifted her head and glanced at Jiang Ci beside her.
Then, she did something completely unexpected.
She picked up the serving chopsticks from the table, picked up a piece of steamed fish from the plate in front of Jiang Ci that he hadn't really touched, and gently placed it into his bowl.
"Eat more."
Her voice was still cool.
But these two words plunged the entire private room into an eerie silence once again.
Su Qingying...
The Su Qingying who was cold as ice to everyone...
Actually... actively served food to a man?!
And a newcomer she had just met a few days ago?!
What the hell was going on?!
Jiang Ci was also stunned.
He looked down at the tender white piece of fish in his bowl, completely thrown off.
Big sister!
What are you doing?!
He instinctively looked up at Lu Yifeng.
Lu Yifeng's face still wore a perfect smile.
But the system alarm in Jiang Ci's mind was no longer "beep beep beep"—it had turned into a shrill, piercing scream!
Woo—! Woo—! Woo—!
[Warning! Warning! S-class target emotional control lost!]
[Internal emotional analysis: Killing intent (60%)!!! Jealousy (40%)!!!]
Killing intent!
Sixty percent!
Jiang Ci realized he had been careless just now.
His story, while it had disgusted Lu Yifeng, had also precisely triggered Su Qingying's "sympathy" and "protective instinct."
Someone like Su Qingying, cold on the outside but warm inside, couldn't stand seeing such a "sincere" and "humble" youth.
Her action of serving him food, in her own view, might simply be comforting the weak.
But in Lu Yifeng's eyes, this was a blatant provocation!
Jiang Ci, this "speck of mud" in his view, had actually so easily obtained a moment of gentleness from Su Qingying—something he had schemed tirelessly for but never received!
"Qingying, you're so good to him."
Lu Yifeng spoke, his voice still gentle, but carrying an indescribable chill.
