The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 26: A Female Player? There’s Another Expert!

"Welcome to 'Three Lifetimes Tribulation'."

Gu Huai gave Jiang Ci an extremely sincere smile.

At this moment, the scrutiny and suspicion in his eyes vanished completely, transforming into pure appreciation for a fellow performer.

Looking at his smile, the tightly wound string in Jiang Ci's heart finally relaxed.

Done deal.

He had successfully "fooled" this top-tier male lead too.

[Ding! Detected strong Heartbreak Value fluctuations!]

[Heartbreak Value +30 from Assistant Director Wang!]

[Heartbreak Value +45 from other female staff members present!]

The system notification in his mind arrived belatedly.

Only then did Jiang Ci notice that several staff members had quietly gathered at the conference room door at some point, most of them women.

They had clearly been drawn by the commotion inside and came to sneak a peek at the excitement.

As a result, they directly witnessed his performance that could be called "god-tier."

Now, each of them had red-rimmed eyes, obviously deeply affected by Chu Wuchen's five-century-spanning sorrow.

Jiang Ci's heart blossomed with joy.

An unexpected windfall, purely an unexpected windfall!

Just as he was calculating this round's gains, the partially closed conference room door was pushed open.

Su Qingying walked in.

She still wore that simple trench coat, her demeanor cool and aloof, her face showing no particular emotion.

Her gaze swept around the room, eventually landing precisely on Jiang Ci.

"How did it go?"

She was asking the director.

The moment the director saw her, his face blossomed into a chrysanthemum-like smile, rushing over to her in three quick steps.

"Qingying! My great benefactor! This time you've sent our production team an absolutely priceless treasure!"

Su Qingying's appearance made the conference room atmosphere boil over again.

"Qingying, your eye is just too sharp!" The producer also came over, grinning from ear to ear, "The Jiang Ci you recommended is practically the living embodiment of Chu Wuchen! That performance just now, I'm telling you, was absolutely stunning!"

The director even excitedly grabbed Su Qingying's arm as he spoke.

"You didn't see it! Just one look! Really just one look! The progression and transformation of emotional layers—I've been filming for twenty years and I was completely dumbfounded on the spot!"

Su Qingying listened quietly, her expression unchanged, but a faint trace of "I knew it" amusement flashed through her clear eyes.

She had known Jiang Ci wouldn't disappoint her.

Her gaze passed over the excited crowd and landed on Jiang Ci once more.

Jiang Ci felt somewhat embarrassed by all the praise, but could only stand in place maintaining his aloof persona.

Their eyes met.

Su Qingying gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

Jiang Ci understood.

Too bad his number one supporter arrived late.

If she had come a few minutes earlier and witnessed the entire performance, today's Heartbreak Value KPI could probably have been exceeded!

Gu Huai also walked over, smiling at Su Qingying, "Qingying, I owe you one this time."

"You're too kind, Teacher Gu." Su Qingying's response remained composed, "I just did what I should."

Just as the big shots were exchanging pleasantries, Assistant Director Wang had already rushed back like a whirlwind holding a freshly printed contract.

"Jiang Ci! Come quick! The contract! The highest-tier A-level contract our company can offer newcomers, take a look, if there are no issues you can sign right now!"

Jiang Ci took the contract and quickly skimmed through it.

Salary, treatment, working hours... The terms were clear, the conditions generous, even slightly better than the one he signed with Spark Media.

And this acting fee would go entirely into his own pocket, not a cent less.

This was the freedom Lin Wan had fought for him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"No issues."

Jiang Ci closed the contract decisively.

"I'll sign."

Under the watchful eyes of the director, producer, Su Qingying, and Gu Huai, Jiang Ci solemnly signed his name.

From this moment on, he was Chu Wuchen.

"Great! Welcome Jiang Ci officially joining our 'Three Lifetimes Tribulation' family!"

The producer led the applause, and the conference room immediately erupted with thunderous clapping.

Outside the door, the two other male stars who had been waiting anxiously, Zhang Yang and Li Zhe, heard the commotion inside and their faces instantly turned ashen.

They knew they had completely missed their chance.

The two exchanged a glance, seeing thick resentment and jealousy in each other's eyes.

"Let's go."

Gritting their teeth, they turned and left angrily.

...

The news of Jiang Ci's successful audition and contract signing spread through the production team like wildfire.

That afternoon, the main creative team held a script reading session.

As the male fourth lead, Jiang Ci was naturally included.

In the conference room, besides the main cast, director, and producer, there were several unfamiliar faces.

Thanks to Su Qingying's recommendation and the dual "seals of approval" from both the director and Gu Huai, Jiang Ci had clearly become the center of attention.

Many people proactively came over to greet him, politely addressing him as "Teacher Jiang."

Jiang Ci responded with surface humility while internally complaining like crazy.

I haven't even gotten my graduation certificate yet!

Just then, a crisp, sweet voice sounded beside him.

"Hello, Teacher Jiang! I'm Qiao Xinran, I play your little disciple Su Nian in the drama. Please guide me in the future!"

Jiang Ci turned to see a sweet-looking girl with two small dimples when she smiled, blinking playfully at him.

Qiao Xinran.

From his memory, she was a rapidly rising sweet romance drama starlet with quite high popularity.

He hadn't expected that the female second lead, Chu Wuchen's reincarnated dao companion five hundred years later, would be played by her.

And crucially, their relationship was that of master and disciple.

"Hello, Teacher Qiao." Jiang Ci responded politely, "Looking forward to working with you."

"Oh, don't call me teacher! Just call me Xinran!" Qiao Xinran was very familiar, directly sitting in the empty seat next to him, speaking cheerfully, "Teacher Jiang, you seem even more aloof in person than in photos! Exactly like Dustless Immortal Venerable Chu Wuchen's aura!"

As she spoke, her elbow seemingly accidentally lightly brushed against Jiang Ci's.

"In the future on set, this clumsy disciple will have to rely on you, honored master, to take good care of me!"

Her voice was charming, her eyes lively.

That innocent, artless appearance perfectly matched the naive young girl Su Nian from the script.

Jiang Ci twitched the corner of his mouth, about to offer a polite response.

Suddenly!

A cold alarm sound exploded sharply in his mind!

[Warning! Warning! Player behavior detected!]

[Target: Qiao Xinran]

[Player Level: Junior Fisherwoman (Casting Wide Nets Type)]

[Current Behavior Analysis: 'Accidental' physical contact, combined with 'innocent' language, closing distance, testing target reaction...]

[Next Action Prediction: Request contact information, use 'rehearsing scenes' as pretext for further contact...]

The polite smile on Jiang Ci's face instantly froze.

Holy shit?!

He stared in shock at this sweet starlet smiling innocently before him.

Fish... fisherwoman?

This Player Identification Aura could identify females too?!

System, you're really a multifunctional life assistant!

He thought someone like Lu Yifeng was already a high-level player.

Never expected there was another one hidden in the production team!

Casting Wide Nets Type?

Meaning she used this standard procedure on every desirable male creature in the production team?

Jiang Ci felt like the door to a new world had been kicked wide open.

He instinctively glanced at Gu Huai not far away.

Sure enough, Gu Huai wore a polite but distant smile, completely ignoring Qiao Xinran's enthusiasm nearby.

It seemed this top-tier film emperor had long been accustomed to such storms.

"Teacher Jiang? Why aren't you speaking?" Seeing Jiang Ci unresponsive, Qiao Xinran tilted her head, looking even cuter, "Am I being too noisy?"

"No... not at all." Jiang Ci snapped back to reality and quickly shook his head.

Looking into Qiao Xinran's "innocent" big eyes, only one thought remained in his heart.

Incredible.

With acting skills like this, it's truly a waste of talent not winning an Oscar.