The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 241: Have You Suffered Some Injustice Outside?

The next day, Jiang Ci boarded the high-speed train back to the small county town.

After exiting the station, he didn't rush to hail a taxi. Instead, he dragged his suitcase and walked unhurriedly along the mottled street.

The proprietress of the "Li's Noodle House" at the street corner was leaning against the doorframe cracking sunflower seeds. With sharp eyes, she spotted him, froze for half a second, and immediately raised her voice.

"Oh my, isn't this Chu Hong's son? Back for the holiday?"

Jiang Ci smiled and nodded at her.

His home was on the third floor of an old residential building. Before he even arrived, a rich, savory aroma aggressively invaded his nostrils.

The smell of braised pork.

Jiang Ci's steps faltered. His taste buds, tormented by film crew boxed lunches for months, completely revived at this moment.

He fished out his keys and quietly, carefully unlocked the door.

In the kitchen, a figure wearing a floral apron was bustling around the stove.

Hearing the soft click of the lock, the figure stopped moving and whirled around.

Chu Hong saw Jiang Ci at the door. She was stunned at first, then immense joy exploded across her face.

She rubbed her hands hastily on her apron and rushed over in two quick strides.

"You child! Why didn't you say you were coming back ahead of time?!"

Chu Hong grabbed his arm, looking him up and down, unable to stop muttering, "You've lost weight, your face is a whole size smaller. You definitely haven't been eating properly outside again."

"No, Mom, I'm strong." Jiang Ci let her pinch his arm. The string that had been taut in his heart for months finally completely loosened.

"Sit down quickly, the food will be ready soon."

Chu Hong pushed him onto the old, peeling sofa in the living room, then plunged back into the kitchen. Amidst the clanging of the spatula, her anxious follow-up questions were mixed in.

"How many days can you stay this time?"

"Are all your school matters settled?"

"Did you get your graduation certificate?"

Jiang Ci sat on the sofa, answering them one by one.

His gaze swept across this not-so-big living room. The wall was plastered with his award certificates from childhood to now. His childhood scribbles were pressed under the glass coffee table.

Everything was old, yet incredibly warm.

He pondered in his heart how to broach the subject of buying a house without frightening his mother.

Dinner was soon on the table: three dishes and a soup, all his favorites.

Braised pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried pea shoots.

Jiang Ci buried his head and shoveled in two big mouthfuls of rice. The familiar taste of home-cooked food rushed into his stomach, comforting him so much he nearly shed tears.

Chu Hong barely touched her chopsticks. She just watched him eat, continuously adding food to his bowl.

"Mom, you eat too."

"I am eating. Is filming outside especially tiring?"

"It's alright, not hard."

The atmosphere at the dinner table was peaceful and warm.

Jiang Ci felt the timing was about right. He put down his chopsticks and cleared his throat.

"Mom, I've recently... earned some money."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chu Hong's motion of picking up food with her chopsticks abruptly stopped.

She lifted her head. The gentle smile on her face instantly faded, replaced by a look full of vigilance.

"What money? Did you go film that kind of dangerous scene again? The kind where you jump off a building?"

Jiang Ci was momentarily at a loss for how to explain.

"No, Mom, what are you thinking? It's an endorsement fee, for filming an advertisement. Very safe."

"Endorsement?" Chu Hong was unfamiliar with the term, but hearing it was safe, her expression eased slightly.

Jiang Ci felt this was a good opportunity and decided to press forward in one go.

He sat up straight, his tone solemn.

"I've looked at an apartment in Star City. I want to buy it."

Clatter.

The chopsticks in Chu Hong's hand slipped and fell onto the table.

The color drained from her face in an instant.

She stared at Jiang Ci, her lips moving a few times, but no sound came out. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Buy a house?" Chu Hong's voice suddenly rose sharply,

"Xiao Ci, tell Mom the truth. Were you tricked by someone from the company? Did you sign something you shouldn't have? A house in Star City... that's a price that would squeeze a person dry to the bone!"

"Mom, it's not a scam." Jiang Ci explained patiently, "It's a legitimate development. I've seen it."

"Legitimate? How do you know it's legitimate? You've only been out for a few days, do you understand how treacherous people can be?"

"What if you don't get any acting jobs later? You're still so young! Money should be saved for emergencies, you can't spend it so recklessly!"

Chu Hong grew more anxious the more she spoke, her chest heaving violently.

Jiang Ci tried to calm her down: "Mom, don't worry, I have a plan."

"What plan! Your greatest skill is not to get scammed!"

Chu Hong abruptly stood up and hurriedly rushed into the bedroom.

Jiang Ci was left standing there, stunned.

A few seconds later, Chu Hong walked out holding something.

It was a passbook. The red cover was already worn white, its corners curled.

Slap!

She slammed the passbook heavily onto the dining table.

"This is what I've saved over the years, plus what you gave me before. Three hundred thousand in total, all in here."

"If you're truly dead set on buying, take this too! Don't shoulder it all alone outside!"

Jiang Ci's gaze was nailed to that passbook.

He even remembered drawing a little stick figure on the cover with a pencil when he was a child.

This three hundred thousand was what his mother had exchanged for a lifetime of toil and frugality.

Behind every digit were arguments over a few cents in the wet market, were old clothes mended and patched again and again.

He shook his head and reached out to push the passbook back.

"Mom, I don't want it. My own money is enough."

Chu Hong's eyes instantly reddened.

"Do you think Mom is old and useless now? That I can't even help with this little bit?" Her voice carried a thick sense of grievance.

"That's not it!" Jiang Ci panicked.

He quickly got up, walked around the table, and grasped his mother's cold hands.

"Mom, listen to me, it's really not what you think."

He looked into his mother's eyes, enunciating each word clearly and distinctly.

"This apartment, I'm buying it for you."

Chu Hong was completely dumbfounded, staring at him blankly as if she didn't understand the meaning of his words.

Jiang Ci continued, "The apartment is in Star City, not far from home, just over an hour by high-speed train. In the future, you can come back to the old hometown anytime you want, or you can live there."

"Three bedrooms, two living rooms, good north-south ventilation, and a big balcony. Don't you always say our balcony at home is too small, you can't even properly grow flowers? That balcony is big enough for you to plant a whole garden."

The living room fell silent.

Chu Hong just looked at him, not speaking, but tears welled up in her eyes.

After a long while, she suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

"You... have you suffered some great injustice outside?"

The question made Jiang Ci's heart ache with a bittersweet softness.

He shook his head, forcing out a smile: "No, Mom, I'm doing very well. I just... want you to live more comfortably in the future."

Chu Hong looked at the unwavering resolve in her son's eyes. There wasn't a single trace of hesitation there.

She suddenly realized that the child who needed her protection in every way had truly grown up.

The anger that had risen in her chest due to panic slowly dissipated just like that.

She sat down again, picked up the passbook, and slapped it firmly into Jiang Ci's hand.

"Fine. But for a big matter like buying a house, I have to go see it with my own eyes. I can't let you be out there alone, getting cheated without even knowing!"

"Okay." Jiang Ci immediately agreed.

The night deepened.

Jiang Ci lay on the small bed he had slept in since childhood. The wooden slats felt a bit uncomfortable against him.

From the next room came the faint sounds of his mother tossing and turning.

He knew she was destined to be sleepless tonight.

He lay with his eyes open, staring at the familiar water stain on the ceiling left by dampness.

What flashed through his mind, however, was that string of cold numbers on the system interface—the Life Countdown.

He had acted in so many heart-wrenching tragedies, made countless people weep for his characters. The extended life and money he earned in exchange,

wasn't it all for this moment of peace before him?

For the woman who had toiled for him her whole life to have a big balcony where she could fill with flowers?