The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 227: The Smoke and Fire in the Stove
Jiang Ci put down the guitar, feeling his throat was a bit dry.
He picked up the water glass on the table and gulped down a large mouthful of cold boiled water.
After moistening his throat, he felt comfortable.
He completely failed to notice the unusual state of Su Qingying beside him, and even less did he see the complex admiration on the faces of Huang Yulei and He Jiongjiong.
Luo Yu beside him had already silently taken out his notebook.
He pushed up his glasses, and the tip of his pen swiftly moved across a brand new page.
"Practical Application of Chaos Theory in Vocal Art — Analysis of the Jiang Ci Phenomenon."
He completely classified Jiang Ci's performance as a variable that was unpredictable yet capable of producing wondrous chemical reactions.
He Jiongjiong, worthy of being a gold medal host, was the first to snap out of that peculiar sense of emotion.
He stood up, clapped his hands, pulling everyone's attention back.
Huang Yulei also followed with a long sigh, looking at the clouds on the horizon gradually tinted with warm colors, and said with emotion, "What you just sang reminded me of the cooking smoke in the village when I was a kid. That smell, that's the feeling of hearth and home."
Several guests, including Jiang Ci, immediately sensed a different atmosphere.
How could this song be linked to hearth and home?
Their faces were full of question marks.
He Jiongjiong smilingly continued the conversation, smoothly taking a box from a staff member, "Speaking of hearth and home, our sponsor today has something to say."
He opened the box, revealing several new phones inside, cleverly positioning the logo towards the camera, "The latest Chrysanthemum phone focuses on 'capturing life's moments.' So, how about we have a 'Mountain Photography Contest' this afternoon?"
Just as they thought, the client's task had arrived!
He announced the mission.
"The theme is the core of our show — hearth and home."
"Everyone is required to use this phone to submit one work that you think best embodies the word 'hearth and home' before dusk."
A photography contest?
Jiang Ci glanced at the phone.
A sponsor's KPI segment, understood.
It didn't matter, he wanted to find a place to rest anyway, and this task sounded even less effort than fishing.
However, upon hearing this theme, Su Qingying immediately entered a different state.
She sat up straight.
Hearth and home.
This was a broad and poetic proposition.
In her mind, words like light and shadow, composition, and artistic conception began to spin rapidly.
Was it a roof with curling cooking smoke, or the back of a farmer returning home late?
She wanted to capture the most poetic and moving scene of the mountain village at dusk.
On the other side, Luo Yu also picked up the phone.
He didn't go out immediately but opened the browser and started searching.
"Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment theory."
"Marc Riboud: Eastern Composition Aesthetics."
"Ansel Adams: Application of the Zone System in Mobile Photography."
Just as Su Qingying was conceiving poetry and Luo Yu was researching theory, everyone realized Jiang Ci was gone.
"Hey? Where's Jiang Ci?" He Jiongjiong looked around.
"Probably went to find inspiration?" Peng Yanchang guessed, "Brother Jiang Ci's train of thought is definitely different from ours."
Everyone deeply agreed.
The bullet comments in the live stream also began to wildly speculate.
"He must have gone to find some incredibly beautiful secret spot!"
"Under Jiang Ci's lens, might hearth and home also carry a hint of that Broken Feeling? I'm starting to look forward to it!"
In reality.
At this moment, Jiang Ci was sneakily wandering to the other end of the village.
The following cameraman was panting heavily behind him. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Jiang Ci didn't go to the scenic mountain peak, nor did he search for light and shadow on the ancient stone-paved roads.
He walked straight into a farmhouse with its courtyard gate half-open.
In the yard, a white-haired old granny was preparing to light the fire to cook dinner.
The cameraman was stunned and quickly aimed the camera at the yard.
Jiang Ci very politely walked forward.
"Granny, are you going to cook?"
The old granny looked up, saw it was a young person, and nodded cheerfully.
"Yes, the grandkids will be home from school soon, they get hungry fast."
Jiang Ci rubbed his hands together, smiling a bit sheepishly.
"Granny, I... can I watch you cook here?"
The old granny was amused by his strange request.
"What's there to see, it's like this every day, lighting the fire, stir-frying."
"I just like watching it." Jiang Ci's reply was very earnest, "And I like smelling this cooking oil smoke."
The old granny didn't ask further, waving her hand cheerfully.
"Watch then, watch, if you want to watch, watch."
She turned around and began stuffing dry straw and firewood into the stove hearth.
"Scratch—"
A match lit, igniting the straw.
Orange-red flames licked at the dry firewood.
"Whoosh—"
The old granny picked up a Cattail-leaf Fan and fanned it unhurriedly towards the stove opening.
The fire suddenly blazed up.
The flames crackled softly in the not-so-spacious stove hearth.
Jiang Ci squatted to the side, watching quietly.
The firelight reflected in his pupils, flickering bright and dim.
He smelled that familiar scent in the air from his childhood again.
That always chattering figure, that face warmed by the firelight...
The corner of Jiang Ci's mouth curved up slightly.
He raised the phone, aiming the lens at the blazing stove hearth.
"Click."
The shutter sound rang out.
He believed this perfectly fit the theme.
At dusk, the glow of sunset dyed half the sky red.
In the yard of the Mushroom House, everyone gradually submitted their works.
"Alright, our Mountain Photography Contest now enters the judging phase!"
He Jiongjiong placed the several phones side by side on the table.
The first to be displayed was Su Qingying's work.
Everyone gathered around, letting out exclamations of awe.
A backlit photograph.
The last rays of the setting sun outlined the silhouette of distant mountains. On a winding country path, a villager carrying a load on a shoulder pole was walking towards home.
The entire image was artistically breathtaking.
"So beautiful! Sister Qingying!"
The second was Luo Yu's.
His photo also drew a wave of admiration.
He photographed the bamboo grove on the back mountain.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps between bamboo leaves, casting countless fragmented spots of light on the ground.
The composition was meticulous, the contrast of light and shadow was strong, full of technical skill.
"Professional! Teacher Luo's level is absolutely professional-grade!"
After two works that could be called artistic masterpieces.
Everyone's gaze fell on the last phone.
Jiang Ci's phone.
He walked over slowly, opened his photo, and placed it in the center of the table.
It was a close-up shot.
No composition, not even a clear focus.
In the frame, there was only a blurry yet scorching mass of flames and the kindly back of an old person cooking at the stove.
The bullet comments in the live stream went completely blank for a full three seconds after Jiang Ci's photo appeared.
Then, the comment section exploded.
"Holy crap? That's it? Jiang Ci, are you slacking off again! Can't you even focus!"
"Does the person upstairs understand anything! Su Qingying's photo is art! The artistic conception is incredible!"
"Luo Yu's light and shadow composition could be used directly as teaching material, that's what professional means!"
"A CP fan timidly says, Teacher Su's 'The Distance,' Jiang Ci's 'Home,' isn't this just 'homecoming'? Thank you, I'm shipping it!"
"Don't ship randomly! Since when has our King of BE Aesthetics been so down-to-earth? I'm a bit uncomfortable... but the more I look, why do I feel hungry?"
"Technical skill my ass! Art my ass! The first two look lofty, but they're cold! Only Jiang Ci's photo, it's steaming hot, and it even carries the sound of my grandmother scolding me for sneaking food!"
"That's right! I declare, Jiang Ci wins! No rebuttals accepted! Because I can seriously smell the food aroma!"
