The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 252: Stunned the entire crew right from the start!
Jiang Ci threw the white Bluetooth earbud into the drawer.
He forcefully suppressed the awkwardness of nearly "getting too into character" and re-examined the room.
However, that keen intuition enhanced by the "Organization Master" skill did not disappear with the fading embarrassment.
His attention was drawn to the balcony.
The glass door was slightly ajar, wind slipping in through the crack.
He walked over and pushed the door open.
His gaze swept towards the neighboring balcony, only seeing an empty space and gently swaying sheer curtains.
Everything seemed normal.
But an extremely faint fragrance drifted into his nostrils.
It wasn't the usual hotel disinfectant smell, nor was it cheap air freshener.
It was a cold, woody scent, hiding a hint of the clean sweetness of white flowers.
This scent was completely out of place with the entire hotel environment.
Jiang Ci retreated into the room and locked the balcony door.
His phone vibrated once.
It was a message from Lin Wan, an electronic document containing character information.
The title was [ "The Lurker" Female Lead: He Xiaoping ].
Jiang Ci opened the attachment, and a line of bolded background introduction jumped into view.
[ Descendant of a military family, her grandfather was one of the veterans who worked in underground intelligence before the founding of the nation. She herself served for five years in the General Political Department's Song and Dance Troupe, enrolled in the directing department of the Capital Film Academy after retiring from the military, and later switched to acting. ]
At the end of the document was a single sentence from Lin Wan.
[ This girl, her roots are pure and red, she has an almost obsessive dedication to that period of history. Director Hou personally went to invite her to play Gu Wanbai. She's not acting a role, she's acting out a belief. You weigh it for yourself. ]
Jiang Ci turned off his phone screen.
That cold perfume scent and this weighty background information overlapped in his mind.
An outline gradually became clear.
The next day, the film crew held the final script reading session before filming began in the hotel conference hall.
Jiang Ci arrived early with Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo.
The three deliberately maintained distance, Jiang Ci walking at the front with an aloof and detached expression.
Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo followed half a step behind him, one looking fierce and intimidating, the other silent as a shadow.
That clear-cut superior-subordinate relationship was self-evident.
The moment they stepped into the conference room, the previously somewhat noisy atmosphere instantly stilled.
Everyone present was a senior industry figure or experienced main creative staff, their gazes towards these three young men filled with scrutiny.
Especially when their eyes fell on Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo, the undisguised examination made Zhao Zhen feel extremely uncomfortable.
Jiang Ci, however, acted as if he saw nothing, walking straight to the seat marked with the nameplate "Shen Qingyuan," sitting down, placing the script on the table, and then closing his eyes to rest.
Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo then consciously stood behind him.
This clear master-and-servant demeanor caused the hushed whispers in the conference room to lower a few more degrees,
Countless gazes focused on the three of them.
The conference room door was pushed open again.
The actress playing the female lead had arrived.
The moment she entered, she changed the entire room's magnetic field.
She wore a sharply tailored black suit, with neat short hair,
No makeup, yet carrying a startling sharpness.
Jiang Ci looked up.
That familiar, cold, woody fragrance drifted over with her movement.
It was her.
Director Hou Hsiao-hsien, seated at the head of the table, raised his hand and pointed to the empty seat next to Jiang Ci.
His introduction of He Xiaoping was just one sentence.
"She is Gu Wanbai."
He Xiaoping acted as if she didn't see the outstretched hands and polite smiles around her,
Her gaze pierced through the crowd, fixing directly on Jiang Ci.
She walked straight to Jiang Ci's side, pulling out the chair and sitting down with clean, decisive movements, carrying the rhythmic sense unique to military personnel.
Her gaze, like a drawn sword, dissected Jiang Ci directly.
The script reading officially began.
The assistant director cleared his throat and announced the scene.
"Scene one, first encounter at the Paramount Ballroom."
According to the script, this was the beginning of Shen Qingyuan and Gu Wanbai's love story.
The wealthy young master who had just returned from abroad falls in love at first sight with the proud newspaper reporter at the dance, embarking on a romantic and pure pursuit.
Jiang Ci spoke first.
His tone was light and lively, carrying the naivety of youth and an unconscious elegance,
Perfectly portraying Shen Qingyuan's heart-pounding excitement upon first encountering love.
It was He Xiaoping's turn.
Her response, however, was cold and stiff, without a hint of the shyness and joy a girl falling in love should have.
"Mr. Shen, with the nation in peril, I have no time for romance and idle pleasures."
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly froze solid.
This was completely acting against the script.
The assistant director's face showed a troubled expression, wanting to smooth things over.
"Teacher He, the emotion for this scene..."
He had just opened his mouth when a look from Hou Hsiao-hsien at the head of the table stopped him.
Director Hou leaned back in his chair, that look of keen interest clearly saying: Continue, I'm watching.
He was happy to see this kind of conflict.
He Xiaoping simply put down the script.
She didn't look at the director, looking directly at Jiang Ci.
"Teacher Jiang."
As soon as she spoke, she broke the silence filling the room.
"I've watched all your works. You seem very skilled at portraying tragedy, and very skilled at making the audience's hearts break for your characters."
These words were too sharp.
They had already strayed from script discussion, turning into an attack on the actor himself.
"But Gu Wanbai is different."
He Xiaoping's speech wasn't fast, but each word carried immense weight.
"The man she fell in love with was a Shen Qingyuan who played the piano in the sunlight, who recited Shelley's love poems. An idealist with a pure heart, full of light."
She leaned forward slightly, the sense of oppression increasing.
"The man she fell in love with was not a 'Bad Ending Aesthetics Master' who already knew his tragic ending and had entered that state in advance."
She leaned forward slightly, the sense of oppression increasing.
These words almost publicly accused Jiang Ci of having a single acting range, only capable of one style of performance, fundamentally unable to handle Shen Qingyuan's early innocence and brightness.
Zhao Zhen's face flushed crimson instantly, his fist tightening under the table, veins bulging on the back of his hand, about to erupt.
Chen Mo pressed down hard on his arm under the table.
All eyes focused on Jiang Ci, waiting to see how he would respond.
Jiang Ci was not angry.
He even smiled.
The smile was faint, but it made He Xiaoping's aggressive momentum feel like a fist hitting cotton.
Jiang Ci was not in a hurry to defend himself.
He didn't even change his posture, raising his gaze from the script to meet He Xiaoping's scrutiny.
Those originally calm eyes were now lazy and bright.
He tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting,
As if he were in the afternoon of some high-end café in Shanghai.
"Mademoiselle,"
He spoke, in pure, fluent Parisian-accented French,
"le soleil le plus brillant jette toujours l'ombre la plus sombre."
The entire room was stunned.
Most of the people present couldn't understand French.
But they could hear that composure and ease.
Several actors behind Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo had already started whispering.
"Damn, he knows French too?"
"That pronunciation... it's too authentic, like a movie's original audio."
He Xiaoping was completely stunned.
Of course she understood.
"Miss, the brightest sun always casts the deepest shadow."
She hadn't expected Jiang Ci's French to be so authentic, and even less expected him to respond to her provocation in this way.
He didn't try to defend his ability to portray "sunlight."
He directly defined "sunlight" itself as the foreshadowing of tragedy.
The tragic core of Shen Qingyuan, as he understood it, was destined from the moment he basked in the sunlight.
This, in turn, made He Xiaoping's earlier insistence on the character's purity seem one-sided and shallow.
Director Hou Hsiao-hsien, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke.
He didn't comment on the exchange between the two, slowly standing up, closing the script in his hand with a soft sound.
"Very good."
His gaze swept between Jiang Ci and He Xiaoping.
"It seems you've already started 'getting to know' each other."
He announced.
"Starting tomorrow, we begin actual filming."
