The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 237: Night Chen Officially Wraps Up

"Ye Chen!"

Su Qingying let out a heart-wrenching scream, the despair in her voice making every seasoned veteran crew member on set feel a tightness in their chest.

She rushed over as if mad, and when she finally reached that body, Jiang Ci was already lying quietly on the scorched earth.

The layer of dark golden light symbolizing rebirth on his body was rapidly dimming and dissipating like a candle flame in the wind.

The cruelest stroke in the script—he had burned everything, not even leaving a complete ending for himself.

Su Qingying's knees gave way, and she collapsed heavily to the ground.

Her hand trembled as she reached out, but she jerked it back just before touching him, as if he were a fragile glass illusion that would shatter at a touch.

"No... don't..." she begged incoherently, unsure whether she was pleading with him or with this cruel fate.

In the end, she still tightly pulled him into her embrace. The feel of his body was so real, yet it became illusory within the fading light.

"Ye Chen... look at me... I'm back... I'm back..."

Her crying transformed from suppressed sobs into completely uncontrolled wails.

After days of immersive filming and the director's near-hypnotic guidance, she was A Li.

The man dissipating in her arms was the lover she had crossed a thousand years and risked her life to find.

And now she had found him, only to watch helplessly as he slipped away from her life once more.

Reunion was death's parting.

This extreme pain pushed her performance to an unprecedented peak.

Behind the monitor, several young female set assistants had already turned away, frantically wiping tears with the backs of their hands.

Zhang Mouyi stared at Su Qingying's face on the screen, completely consumed by tears and despair, and did not call "cut."

Su Qingying cried until she was gasping for breath.

Right then.

The body in her arms, which should have been utterly silent, suddenly let out an extremely faint, soft cough.

"Cough..."

Su Qingying's crying stopped abruptly.

Immediately after, a voice so weak it was at its limit, yet carrying a familiar, annoyingly playful tone, drifted faintly into her ear.

"Stop crying..."

"Keep crying... and your snot will drip on my clothes."

Su Qingying froze completely.

Her tear-laden eyelashes trembled violently as she slowly lowered her head, meeting Jiang Ci's eyes, which had opened at some unknown moment.

Those eyes held none of Ye Chen's power and loneliness, only the mischievous smile that belonged to Jiang Ci.

Su Qingying stared at him, dazed for several seconds.

The strings in her mind snapped, one by one.

Then, she cried.

A hundred times more heartbreakingly than before.

Only this time, it was purely from anger.

She raised her fist, wanting to give his pale, punchable face a hit.

But seeing his appearance, as if he might stop breathing at any moment, the fist she had raised halfway dropped powerlessly.

Finally, she could only collapse onto him, crying and laughing, her fists weakly pounding his chest, appearing utterly deranged.

"Ye Chen! You bastard!"

The surrounding crew members, witnessing this divine plot twist, were first stunned, then understanding dawned.

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and let out a "pfft" of laughter.

Soon, the film set, which had been suppressed for so long, erupted in uproarious laughter of relief.

In the distance, the stand-in playing the spirit of Ling Xi, at the director's signal, gave a relieved smile towards the embracing couple, her figure transforming into shimmering light and dissipating in the imagined scene.

The curse that had lingered for a millennium was thus broken.

...

Filming continued the next day, the script timeline advancing several months after the great battle.

Above the ruins of Shangdu, a new city was being rebuilt, humans and demons coexisting.

The once-menacing Divine Tree had regained its vitality, lush and flourishing. A cozy little wooden cabin had been built beneath it.

Su Qingying changed into simple Shangdu-style clothing, rolled up her sleeves, and was expertly and peacefully turning over medicinal herbs on a drying rack.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on her.

As if sensing something, she looked up towards the branches overhead.

There, Jiang Ci, playing Ye Chen, was lying lazily, a blade of grass in his mouth, idly playing with the repaired Lingxi Bow.

Noticing her gaze, he peeked his head out from the branch and grinned at her.

No words, just an exchange of glances.

The simple peace and tranquility after experiencing life-and-death catastrophe was the most perfect ending.

The camera pulled back, freezing on the silhouettes of the two leaning against each other, a picture of serene years.

"Cut! The entire drama is finished!"

Zhang Mouyi's trembling voice echoed across the set through the loudspeaker.

"Wooo—!"

Someone roared first, and cheers and applause erupted like a tsunami.

The film crew completely released the high pressure of the past few months, hugging and high-fiving each other.

Sun Zhou was the first to rush up: "Bro! It's wrapped! We're wrapped!"

Su Qingying took the water handed to her by her assistant, watching the cheering crowd.

Her usually cool face also revealed a rare, genuine smile.

That evening, the wrap party.

In the banquet hall, everyone's face was radiant with the excitement of release.

After several rounds of drinks, Zhang Mouyi took the microphone and walked onto the main stage. The entire hall instantly fell silent.

"This film, from preparation to today, took three years and four months." He bowed deeply to the audience below. "Everyone present here is a contributor."

Thunderous applause erupted from below.

"I especially want to thank the three lead actors." His gaze swept over Jiang Ci, Su Qingying, and Luo Yu. "Thank you for bringing Ye Chen and A Li to life before our eyes."

"Especially that final scene." A fanatical gleam appeared on Zhang Mouyi's face. "That ending is the shot I've been most satisfied with in my thirty years of filmmaking!"

Jiang Ci sat in the audience. Hearing the director's high praise, what he was actually calculating in his heart was: Looks like this wave of KPI is secure. The year-end bonus (life span) should be quite substantial.

However, Zhang Mouyi's next words plunged the entire hall into silence once more.

"To maintain the mystery and artistic tone of our film."

Zhang Mouyi paused, savoring the suspense in the room, before leisurely announcing.

"I have decided that when the main film is released, the movie's ending will stop at the moment Ye Chen falls from the Divine Tree."

The entire hall erupted in uproar.

"As for that perfect ending we filmed..."

Zhang Mouyi grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth stained yellow by tea.

"It will be included as a 'hidden easter egg,' placed after all the credits have finished rolling. Only the most patient audience members will get to see it."

Jiang Ci's hand, holding the juice cup, froze in mid-air.

The smile slowly vanished from his face.

The main film uses a BE ending to wildly harvest Heartbreak Value, extending his own life.

The easter egg then uses an HE to soothe hearts and earn maximum praise.

Brilliant, truly brilliant!

Jiang Ci silently set down his juice cup and, in his heart, sincerely gave a thumbs-up to that director on stage who was smiling like an old fox.

Director, you, are the true master of heartbreak.