The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 224: Cultivating Mind and Body, Waiting for the Willing to Bite

The entire group was still basking in the hilarious afterglow brought by Su Qingying, with laughter echoing through the small mountain courtyard.

He Jiongjiong wiped away tears of laughter, raised the now largely harmless water gun, and announced loudly.

"Alright, alright! I hereby declare the evening game segment, a complete success!"

He deliberately walked up to the three guests, patted each of them on the shoulder one by one, his face filled with a sincere smile.

"The three of you have such a strong sense of variety show entertainment!"

Jiang Ci watched everyone laughing so hard they couldn't straighten up, then looked down at his own thoroughly soaked T-shirt, feeling he had a responsibility to take ownership of this "accident."

He walked up to Luo Yu, who was equally drenched but clearly in good spirits, and spoke sincerely.

"Teacher Luo, I'm sorry."

Luo Yu was drying his hair with a towel and paused at the words.

Jiang Ci continued earnestly, "Was the water pressure too strong just now? I didn't control it well."

Luo Yu: "..."

The prepared "it's okay" got stuck in his throat.

Looking at Jiang Ci's completely serious face, he finally understood—this person was genuinely discussing the water gun with him, not engaging in social pleasantries.

A few seconds later, Luo Yu waved his hand, a smile returning to his face.

"No, it was fine. I enjoyed it."

The laughter gradually subsided.

Huang Yulei brought several dry towels from the kitchen and distributed them to everyone.

He walked over to Jiang Ci, but instead of handing him a towel, he gave Jiang Ci's shoulder a firm, heavy pat.

With the solemn air of appointing a great general, he announced publicly.

"Xiao Jiang, from now on, you are the second-in-command of the Mushroom House kitchen!"

Jiang Ci's face clearly displayed the confusion of "I just came here for a free meal, why am I being given a position?"

On the other side, Su Qingying proactively helped gather the water guns and basins scattered around the courtyard.

As she passed by Jiang Ci, her steps hesitated slightly.

Her movements were a bit stiff, but she still spoke up.

"Thank you for the 'iceberg.'"

Jiang Ci was taken aback.

Su Qingying offered no explanation. After speaking, she turned and continued cleaning up, leaving Jiang Ci with a somewhat hurried-looking back.

After everyone tidied up the aftermath, changed into dry clothes, they gathered around the wooden table in the courtyard to enjoy the cool evening air.

The summer night breeze carried the scent of the mountains and forests, dispelling the day's heat.

He Jiongjiong smoothly initiated the Mushroom House's classic segment—the night chat.

He gave tonight's topic a rather artistic-sounding name.

"The label you most want to tear off since entering the industry."

This question was both sensitive and real for entertainers.

Luo Yu spoke up first.

He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, appearing even more serene under the night sky than during the day.

"Gloomy villain."

He admitted candidly, "I became known through this type of role, and I'm grateful. But I'm afraid of being typecast, that all my performances will be confined within this label."

He glanced at the water gun on the ground and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"But today, getting drenched by everyone with the water guns... somehow gave me a sense of release."

He spoke very sincerely. Huang Yulei and He Jiongjiong, present at the scene, gave encouraging nods.

It was Su Qingying's turn.

Everyone's attention focused on her.

She was silent for a moment, then uttered only four words.

"Ice Queen Beauty."

After saying that, she fell silent again, picking up the water glass in front of her and quietly watching the water sway inside.

But this time, her silence was completely different from the aloof, keep-your-distance aura she had when she first arrived.

That silence held less coldness and hardness, replaced with a touch of frank resignation.

As if saying, see, this is just how I am.

Finally, He Jiongjiong posed the question to the focal point of the entire gathering, Jiang Ci.

"Jiang Ci, the label with the highest discussion online for you right now is probably 'King of BE Aesthetics'."

He Jiongjiong spoke with a hint of curiosity and anticipation, "Do you want to tear off this label?"

The bullet comments in the live stream also reached a density at this moment that made the screen nearly unreadable.

Jiang Ci thought seriously for three seconds.

Then, he shook his head.

"No."

Two words, crisp and decisive.

The scene fell into silence.

Huang Yulei and He Jiongjiong exchanged a glance, both thinking he would follow up with a lengthy explanation.

Something like, this is recognition from the audience, it's an actor's medal, and so on.

However, Jiang Ci's subsequent addition was unexpected.

"Tearing it off would affect their viewing experience."

He then added the latter half with extreme calmness.

"It's bad for box office."

"..."

The entire small courtyard sank into a silence even more bizarre than when Su Qingying had spoken.

Huang Yulei opened his mouth, only to find that his decades of experience navigating the entertainment industry were completely insufficient to handle this peculiar train of thought.

The professional smile on He Jiongjiong's face also froze.

His ten thousand prepared ways to respond—like "you're truly an actor born for your roles," or "you have your own artistic convictions"—were all blocked by this "bad for box office" remark.

This kid... is just too straightforward!

The live stream's bullet comments went into a complete frenzy.

[??? What did I just hear? Bad for box office?] 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

[Hahahahaha help! Is Jiang Ci's thought process governed by quantum mechanics? It's impossible to predict!]

[Everyone else is talking about art, about life, and he's talking about commercial value! What a breath of fresh air!]

[I suddenly understand—this is the highest form of professionalism! For the sake of the film's immersion, even his own variety show persona must serve the film character!]

[Person above, are you a devil? I'm actually convinced by what you said!]

Su Qingying and Luo Yu's reactions were even more complex.

As actors, what they felt first was an indescribable impact.

From Jiang Ci's words, they sensed a different kind of "professionalism."

No empty talk, no sentimentality.

An actor's label is also part of the work.

Maintaining the label well is taking responsibility for the work, taking responsibility for the box office.

Huang Yulei was the first to break the silence. Pointing at Jiang Ci, he said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "You kid, you've really turned the word 'professionalism' into the act of 'being professional'! I'm convinced!"

He Jiongjiong also seized the moment to pick up the thread, smiling as he smoothed things over. "Xiao Jiang is carrying the entire film crew's KPI on his shoulders! Alright, alright, let's not talk about such heavy topics,"

He turned to the staff member who had been waiting on standby and reached out his hand. "Let's talk about something practical. Let's see what our KPI for tomorrow is."

Only then did the staff member appropriately hand over the mission card.

He Jiongjiong picked up the card and cleared his throat. "Alright, let's see what tomorrow's task is."

He read the words on the mission card.

"Tomorrow, the three guests and the permanent members are to go to the reservoir behind the mountain to complete the fishing task of 'Cultivating Mind and Body, Waiting for the Willing to Bite.'"

It sounded like a very leisurely task.

But He Jiongjiong's gaze fell on the line of small print on the back of the card.

He deliberately emphasized his tone, reading it out word by word.

"Friendly reminder: Tomorrow's lunch ingredients will... depend entirely on... everyone's fishing harvest."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole group was shocked.

Huang Yulei's expression turned grave.

As the head chef of the Mushroom House, he understood better than anyone what "no ingredients" meant.

It meant everyone might have to drink the northwest wind tomorrow.

However, Jiang Ci completely missed this critical point.

After hearing the task, he lazily yawned. Far from showing any sense of crisis, his face instead revealed a look of yearning.

"Great."

He sighed sincerely.

"Finally, I can do nothing and just sit there spacing out."

Everyone in the room turned to look at him in unison.

He Jiongjiong looked at Jiang Ci's relaxed face, already envisioning how to slack off tomorrow, and felt deeply concerned.

He quietly turned around, facing away from the camera, and silently mouthed a phrase towards the direction of the distant director's team.

"He... doesn't get our rules, does he?"