The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 202: You Call That Breaking Character?

Jiang Ci's brain activated the Emotion Isolation skill, swiftly stripping away the overwhelming sorrow belonging to "Ye Chen" that could drown heaven and earth.

However, the lingering softness and warmth on his lips reminded him of another ironclad fact.

His first kiss was gone.

Just like that, gone on a film set filled with the smell of prop blood.

There was no time to dwell on it too much, because as Jiang Ci looked at the face before him—still continuously outputting sorrow, crying pear blossoms bathed in rain, breathtakingly beautiful—an extremely serious practical problem surfaced in his mind.

He had the system-enhanced Emotion Isolation skill, so he could exit character relatively quickly.

Su Qingying didn't!

Looking at her state, crying as if her heart and intestines were severed, she was completely in a state of unity with her character.

How was she going to switch later into that aloof, tsundere soul of Ling Xi, whose eyes still hid a trace of schadenfreude?

This wasn't just about affecting her performance in the next scene.

More importantly, that famous scene of Ling Xi's overwhelming jealousy was a pre-scripted, perfect node for harvesting Heartbreak Value!

He absolutely could not let her perform "Ling Xi's" scene while carrying "A Li's" sorrow!

He had to take care of the physical and mental well-being of this "Annual Best KPI Partner"!

Quickly, Jiang Ci made up his mind.

At a moment when the entire set was still shrouded in boundless sorrow, where even breaths carried sobs.

Jiang Ci moved.

Propped up by Su Qingying's support, he struggled to sit up a bit straighter, still covered in horrifying "bloodstains."

Then, under everyone's astonished gaze, he reached out a finger and very seriously wiped his own lips.

He leaned close to Su Qingying's ear—she was still immersed in grief, holding him tightly.

Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said.

"Teacher Su."

"Our props team's blood... is it maple syrup flavored?"

Jiang Ci paused, as if savoring the memory, then offered his professional judgment.

"Isn't it a bit too sweet?"

"..."

The despair and sorrow on Su Qingying's face—enough to make those who heard it grieve and those who saw it weep—instantly froze.

Her whole body stiffened, maintaining the posture of holding Jiang Ci, motionless.

What?

Maple syrup flavor?

Too... sweet?

She raised her head extremely slowly. Those eyes, which just moments ago were filled with a millennium of joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, now held only utter astonishment and bewilderment.

She looked at the man before her.

His face was still painted with the tragic makeup of a dying man, three fatal "arrows" piercing his shoulder and chest, his whole body drenched in "blood," so weak he seemed on the verge of taking his last breath any second.

Yet, it was this very face that was seriously discussing the sweetness level of the prop blood with her.

This extreme contrast between tragedy and absurdity smashed the despair belonging to "A Li" in her mind to pieces.

Vanished without a trace.

She even forgot to cry.

She stared blankly at Jiang Ci. That love and regret in her heart that felt like her intestines were being severed quietly transformed into a strange, mixed feeling of both irritation and amusement—one she herself hadn't even noticed.

This man... what on earth is he thinking?

At that moment, Sun Zhou and several crew members finally snapped out of the sadness from the scene and rushed over in a flurry.

"Brother! Brother! Are you okay!"

"Teacher Su, are you alright too?"

The crew carefully "released" Jiang Ci from the tree and helped Su Qingying, who was still kneeling on the ground, to her feet.

Supported by Sun Zhou, Jiang Ci staggered towards the rest area.

He finally had time to open his system panel.

That chaotic and emotional scene just now; he only had time to hear the first wave of Heartbreak Value contributed by Su Qingying.

Now, it was time to check the final results of his labor.

[Settlement complete.]

[Total Heartbreak Value harvested: 648 points.]

[Reward Life Extension Duration: 88 days.]

Looking at those two fresh and outstanding numbers on the panel, Jiang Ci felt a sense of peace and solidity in his heart.

[Current Heartbreak Value Balance: 4049 points]

[Remaining Lifespan: 1244 days 4 hours]

He smacked his lips.

That damn maple syrup flavored blood just now seemed to have become a bit sweeter and more palatable.

This round, not a loss.

And all of this "ridiculous" behavior, so outrageous it was infuriating, was seen clearly and without missing a detail by Zhang Mouyi behind the monitor not far away.

He didn't miss the moment Jiang Ci leaned close to Su Qingying's ear to whisper, nor the dramatic turning point of the expression change on Su Qingying's face.

The Assistant Director watched from the side, his mouth twitching. He lowered his voice and said, "Director Zhang, this Jiang Ci... isn't he a bit too erratic? Just finished such a tragic scene, and he's..."

Zhang Mouyi, however, waved his hand, cutting him off.

He looked at Jiang Ci's retreating back as he was being helped away. In his usually critical eyes, a complex expression now surfaced.

Erratic?

No.

That was a state of control so effortless it was almost terrifying.

It was also an "atypical" form of gentleness towards his partner.

Zhang Mouyi understood better than anyone how difficult it was for an actor to extract themselves from extreme emotions.

Su Qingying's state just now was almost a complete unity with her character. Sinking in any deeper could have caused irreversible damage to her mind.

Yet Jiang Ci, with just one seemingly nonsensical, out-of-the-blue remark, effortlessly pulled her out from the abyss of emotion.

This kid, using his own unique way, was gently protecting his partner.

Zhang Mouyi picked up his thermos, unscrewed the lid, took a sip of the scalding Pu'er tea, suppressing the shock in his heart.

He looked at Jiang Ci's retreating figure, his gaze growing even more complex.

A genuine, through-and-through monster.

On the other side.

With her assistant's help, Su Qingying simply cleaned the tear stains and blood from her face and changed into a set of clean everyday clothes.

Her mind was still a mess.

Maple syrup... too sweet...

This sentence seemed to have a magical quality, playing on a single-loop repeat in her mind, effortlessly dilating the sadness and heartbreak that "A Li" had brought her.

She walked to the rest area.

Jiang Ci was leaning back in a chair, resting with his eyes closed, while Sun Zhou handed him water nearby.

Su Qingying walked up to him and stopped.

Looking at his face, now cleansed of the injury makeup and restored to its original refined handsomeness, her feelings were extremely complicated.

She wanted to ask him, why did you say that just now?

She also wanted to challenge him, do you know how much that ruined the atmosphere?

But all those churning emotions, when they reached her lips, ultimately converged into a single thought: to say thank you to him.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something.

"Qingying!"

A powerful, booming shout came through the loudspeaker.

It was Zhang Mouyi.

"Touch up makeup! Film Ling Xi's scene immediately!"

This directive made the crew, which had just begun to recover from the sadness, explode into chaos once again.

Film it now?

Everyone knew the script's setup.

After A Li's despairing kiss with Ye Chen ended, the soul of Ling Xi, who had been hiding nearby, would appear beside the Divine Tree.

She would use her coldest demeanor to force A Li to leave, engaging in an intense confrontation between the two "female leads" from different times, centered on love and possession.

Zhang Mouyi's instructions continued, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Makeup team! Lighting team! Props team! Get moving!"

"I want all traces of A Li gone from her face!"

The entire crew began operating at high speed again.

Before Su Qingying could even utter a single word to Jiang Ci, two makeup artists "escorted" her away, one on each side, and directly sat her down in the chair before the makeup mirror.

Makeup remover splashed on her face, washing away the dust and blood belonging to "A Li."

The makeup artist opened a brand new makeup kit.

Switching from the utterly grief-stricken, dust-covered "A Li" to the frosty, aloof, untainted-by-mortal-dust "Ling Xi."

With almost no buffer time in between.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats for Su Qingying.