The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get โ My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 248: Persimmon and Jujube Seedlings, the Evening Breeze of the Other Side
The next morning, sunlight from the capital filtered through the gaps in the hotel curtains. ๐ง๐๐๐๐คโฏ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฃโฏ๐ญ.๐คโด๐ฎ
Jiang Ci sat up in bed, the clamor of last night's celebration banquet and the heartbroken cries of fans still echoing in his ears.
He picked up his phone, intending to check on the ongoing buzz around "Three Lifetimes Tribulation" and see how much more "lifespan" he had gained overnight.
However, when he habitually swiped open the screen, ready to welcome a new wave of "Heartbreak Value" frenzy, he froze.
What flooded his vision wasn't discussions about Chu Wuchen or fans' tearful, desperate movie reviews.
A bolded international news headline had savagely occupied the splash screens of all apps.
So, that news from yesterday had completely exploded!
[New Female Leader of Island G Makes Controversial Remarks!]
The accompanying news picture showed a woman with a peculiar appearance addressing countless cameras, giving a speech.
Three words surfaced in Jiang Ci's mind.
Cart Titan.
He opened Weibo. The sight on the trending chart was nothing short of a spectacle.
Number one: #NeverForgetNationalHumiliation#
Number two: #ChuWuchenUnresolvedInjustice#
Number three: #ThreeLifetimesTribulationMakesYouCrySoHard#
National grievances and the joys and sorrows of a fictional character were juxtaposed on the same chart in an extremely discordant way.
The direction of public opinion online had shifted violently overnight.
Netizens who were crying their eyes out yesterday over Chu Wuchen's soul scattering had now transformed all their sorrow into a towering rage against reality.
In the comment sections, discussions about the movie were quickly drowned out.
"Still crying over Chu Wuchen? Everyone, come look at reality! They're already riding roughshod over us!"
"Damn it, I was so angry I couldn't sleep all night. Screw Chu Wuchen, right now I just want to tear those devils apart with my bare hands!"
"Let's not talk about 'Three Lifetimes Tribulation' for now, I'm going to dig out anti-Japanese war movies and watch them a hundred times first!"
Jiang Ci quietly read these comments.
He didn't feel that his "hard work" had been overshadowed. Some things were more important than extending his own life.
Ten in the morning, Spark Media.
Jiang Ci pushed open the door to Lin Wan's office.
A huge LCD TV was mounted on the wall, playing that nauseating press conference.
Lin Wan sat behind her desk, not looking at him.
Her body was ramrod straight, her aura icy.
Jiang Ci walked in. The woman's voice from the TV was harsh and shrill.
Lin Wan picked up the remote and pressed the power button.
The screen instantly went black, and the office fell quiet.
She looked up at Jiang Ci.
"Now," each of her words seemed squeezed out from between clenched teeth, "this film is no longer just a movie."
Her finger pointed to the thick script on the desk.
"The Lurker."
Jiang Ci walked over and picked up the script.
Shanghai during the War of Resistance, a turbulent era.
The protagonist, Shen Qingyuan, maneuvers between the Japanese devils and the traitors, walking alone in the darkness.
In the current public opinion environment, this movie had been endowed with a completely different significance.
It was no longer just a work pursuing artistic heights; it had become an outlet carrying national sentiment.
Jiang Ci opened the script, his gaze falling on a particular scene.
To gain trust, Shen Qingyuan is forced to bow and scrape before a Japanese military officer in public, even personally lighting the other's cigarette.
The words were cold.
But at this moment, Jiang Ci's mind automatically replaced the Japanese devil officer in the script with the face of that "Cart Titan" from the TV.
An unfamiliar emotion, not belonging to any character, rose from his chest.
It was disgust from the very marrow of his bones.
This time, he didn't need to act.
He and the character Shen Qingyuan, transcending time and space, had achieved a certain spiritual resonance.
Right then, Lin Wan's phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID, answered, and put it on speakerphone.
A robust, vigorous voice came through the speaker.
It was Director Hou Hsiao-hsien.
The other side got straight to the point.
"Is Jiang Ci with you?"
"He is, Director Hou," Lin Wan replied.
A video call request popped up. Lin Wan accepted.
On the screen appeared Director Hou Hsiao-hsien's wrinkled face, the background his private studio piled high with books and film reels.
The old master's eyes searched the screen for a moment, quickly locking onto Jiang Ci standing before the desk.
He only said one sentence.
"Jiang Ci, we have to help the common people vent this anger on the silver screen."
The old master's voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense weight.
"The character Shen Qingyuan must be ruthless, must be absolute. He must make the audience grind their teeth with hatred while watching, and then, by the end, cry their hearts out for him."
Jiang Ci faced the screen and nodded solemnly.
"I understand, Director Hou."
Hou Hsiao-hsien seemed very satisfied with his reaction. Without saying more, he directly hung up the video call.
The office returned to quiet once more.
Lin Wan rubbed the space between her eyebrows, seeming somewhat weary.
"There's something I need to tell you."
She took two actor profiles from a drawer and tossed them on the desk.
"The two actors originally cast for the roles of the villainous thug and the information broker have backed out last minute."
Jiang Ci picked up the profiles to look.
Lin Wan continued, "The reason given is dissatisfaction with the low pay, not wanting to waste time on such 'minor roles.' But the real reason is clear to everyone."
She scoffed derisively and threw the two profiles back on the desk.
"The PR team's official statement is 'scheduling conflict.' The agents privately complained to me, saying the actors are recently 'emotionally sensitive' and can't play such 'complex' roles."
Lin Wan gave a cold laugh. "To put it bluntly, they're afraid of dirtying their 'pure and unsullied' feathers, afraid of being drowned in netizens' spit, affecting their chances of playing upright gentlemen in their next project."
Jiang Ci put down the profiles.
These two roles indeed didn't have many scenes, but they were crucial to the texture of the entire film.
One was the first provocateur the protagonist Shen Qingyuan encounters when infiltrating the enemy, a ferocious-looking thug, stupid, yet thoroughly evil.
The other was an information broker lurking in the Paramount Ballroom, superficially refined, but in reality, sinisterly selling out the lives of his compatriots.
One needed to be "ferociously stupid and evil."
The other needed to be "sinisterly high-intelligence evil."
In Jiang Ci's mind, two familiar faces almost immediately surfaced.
One was Zhao Zhen's face, which practically screamed "I can fight," and his physique of bulging muscles about to burst his T-shirt.
The other was Chen Mo, wearing glasses, expressionlessly analyzing "human bladder capacity."
Jiang Ci's fingers began to tap lightly on the desktop.
He looked up at Lin Wan.
"Sister Wan, for these two roles, I have some candidates to recommend."
Lin Wan raised an eyebrow.
"Who?"
"My roommates."
Lin Wan's expression turned serious.
"Jiang Ci, this is Director Hou's film. Are you sure you want to use your 'nepotism' at a time like this?"
She thought Jiang Ci, having become popular, was now trying to insert his own people into the film crew.
This was a major taboo in the industry, especially before a director of Hou Hsiao-hsien's caliber.
But Jiang Ci was very calm.
"What Director Hou wants is 'authenticity.'"
He met Lin Wan's scrutinizing gaze and spoke word by word.
"These two people are more authentic than actors."
Lin Wan was stunned.
Looking at Jiang Ci's utterly confident demeanor, she momentarily didn't know how to refute.
Jiang Ci didn't give her much time to think.
He directly took out his phone, found Zhao Zhen's number in his contacts, and dialed a video call.
The phone rang for a long time before being answered.
The screen shook violently, the background noise chaotic, as if on a subway or bus.
Zhao Zhen's big face suddenly filled the camera, covered in sweat.
"Ci-ge? What's up? I'm out hustling for auditions! Just came from a crew on the west side, the assistant director dismissed me without even looking at my resume, I..."
Jiang Ci directly cut off his complaints.
"Stop hustling."
Zhao Zhen froze. "Huh?"
"Come to Spark Media immediately." Jiang Ci's instruction was clear and direct. "There's a chance to play a 'traitor,' for Director Hou Hsiao-hsien."
He paused, delivering the final blow.
"Coming or not?"
There was five seconds of silence on the other end of the video.
Zhao Zhen's mouth slowly dropped open, wide enough to fit an egg.
Immediately after, an earth-shattering roar exploded from the phone speaker, almost shattering Jiang Ci's eardrums.
"Holy shit! I'm coming!"
Jiang Ci hung up the video call expressionlessly.
Then, he opened the WeChat chat with Chen Mo, his fingers flying across the screen.
[High-intelligence villain role. Director Hou Hsiao-hsien. Pay isn't high, but can be written into your resume. Interested?]
Message sent.
He put down his phone and looked up at Lin Wan, who was now completely dumbfounded.
