The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 293: You treat him like he’s sick, he’s just acting

Four in the morning.

The worn door of the guesthouse was being pounded with thunderous force.

Sun Zhou jolted awake from his dream, his heart hammering wildly, almost thinking it was the police conducting a room check.

Jiang Ci was already awake.

He hadn't slept much all night.

The stretcher covered with a white sheet on the TV screen overlapped with the hazy image from the depths of his memory of his father's sacrifice, lingering in his mind, refusing to fade.

He opened the door.

Standing outside was the dark-faced man who had picked them up at the airport yesterday, looking thoroughly impatient.

"Director Jiang is calling for you. Gather downstairs in five minutes."

After saying that, he left, leaving only his retreating back.

Sun Zhou scrambled out of bed, half rolling, half crawling. "Bro, what's going on? It's not even light out yet!"

Jiang Ci had already changed his clothes, still that same white T-shirt.

He picked up the army-green thermos cup on the table, checked it, then stuffed it into his backpack.

"Let's go."

It wasn't in the meeting room, and there was no script.

An off-road vehicle took them to an abandoned freight warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

The massive iron door was pushed open, and a wave of stifling, hot air reeking of engine oil mixed with dust hit them in the face.

In the center of the warehouse, only a worn square table and four chairs were placed.

Director Jiang Wen, Lei Zhong who played the drug lord "Cha Cai," and another veteran actor with a resolute face and an imposing aura that commanded respect even without anger were already seated there.

Sun Zhou only glanced at that veteran actor. Although his legs didn't go as weak as before, an inexplicable sense of awe made him instinctively straighten his back.

Wu Gang.

A National First-Class Actor, having won all domestic performance awards, renowned for playing police officers and soldiers.

He was just sitting there quietly, yet Sun Zhou felt as if he had been transported back to his middle school days, facing the strictest dean of students, with every little thought feeling exposed and unable to hide.

The righteous aura emanating from him was too overwhelming.

The four most crucial members of the film crew were all present.

Jiang Ci sat down in the last empty chair.

Jiang Wen looked around, getting straight to the point.

"Today, there is no script."

"Let's talk about the scene where 'Jiang He' meets 'Cha Cai' for the first time."

He looked at Lei Zhong and Jiang Ci.

Lei Zhong grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth yellowed from smoking.

He leaned back, his whole body sinking into the chair. Those cattail-leaf-fan-sized hands rested casually on the edge of the table, his knuckles tapping the tabletop rhythmically.

The air in the entire warehouse instantly solidified.

Lei Zhong, who just moments ago was merely a straightforward veteran actor, transformed in that instant into a beast entrenched in its own territory, lazily sizing up the intruding prey.

Beside him, Wu Gang sat ramrod straight, hands placed flat on his knees, not speaking. Yet, that mountain-like, steady presence forcefully carved out a safe vacuum zone within the violent atmosphere Lei Zhong had created.

This was the silent confrontation between two top-tier actors.

Jiang Wen ignored them. He only looked at Jiang Ci.

"Jiang He, you speak."

Jiang Ci lowered his head, his body slightly hunched.

He stared at the heavily scratched table surface before him, his fingers unconsciously tracing light patterns on it.

Just as Lei Zhong's impatience was about to erupt, Jiang Ci's fingertip stopped moving.

His Adam's apple bobbed. When he spoke again, his entire aura had changed.

"Cha... Brother Cha Cai..."

The voice was very soft, carrying a slight tremor, even exuding a hint of fawning. It was squeezed out from a body hollowed out by drug addiction.

Lei Zhong's tapping on the table stopped.

Wu Gang's body shifted almost imperceptibly.

Jiang Wen was about to speak, thinking Jiang Ci had been crushed by the aura of these two veteran actors and couldn't hold the scene.

Lei Zhong had already leaned forward impatiently, his oppressive presence surging towards Jiang Ci.

"Louder! Didn't you eat?"

Jiang Ci's shoulders hunched, his head burying even lower.

"I want... I want to ask you... for some goods..."

The voice grew even smaller, practically a mosquito's buzz.

Lei Zhong laughed, the sound dripping with contempt.

He reached out, patting Jiang Ci's face. The action was more insulting than comforting.

"Kid, do you know the rules of the street? Trying to get something for nothing?"

Dead silence filled the warehouse.

Wu Gang's aura sank lower.

Jiang Ci remained with his head lowered, his whole person seeming as if his bones had been removed, leaving only a faint breath.

"I... I have information..."

"Information?" Lei Zhong sounded as if he had heard the biggest joke. He looked around, casually picking up a rust-covered wrench discarded in a corner.

*BANG!*

The rusty wrench slammed heavily onto the table with a loud crash.

Sun Zhou, standing by the warehouse entrance, jumped in fright.

Lei Zhong stood up entirely, looking down at Jiang Ci from above. That ferocious scar twisted in the dim light.

"Are you a cop?"

This roar carried tangible killing intent.

At that very moment.

Jiang Ci, who had kept his head lowered, suddenly looked up.

His clean face was covered in a fine web of red blood vessels, his pupils dilated and completely unfocused. Yet, deep within that chaos, there was a trace of madness and fear suppressed to the extreme.

He stretched his lips into a smile uglier than crying.

"Bro, if I were a cop, would I be here begging you for goods while my cravings are hitting me?"

Those words were squeezed out from between clenched teeth.

The warehouse was so quiet not a single sound could be heard.

The violence and contempt on Lei Zhong's face froze instantly.

The rigid straightness of Wu Gang's spine showed a hint of slack.

All emotion vanished from Jiang Wen's square-jawed face, leaving only a bottomless pool of focus.

Jiang Ci knew all too well what drug withdrawal looked like.

He had grown up looking at the case files and video materials left by his father, Jiang Yanjun.

Before coming to the film crew, he had watched every documentary he could find.

That emptiness that penetrates to the marrow, that agony where even the soul screams with craving, that wretchedness that would abandon all dignity for relief.

He didn't need to act.

He only needed to remember.

Lei Zhong was stunned for a full three seconds before he found his voice again, hoarsely delivering the next line.

"...What information?"

The table read ended.

Jiang Wen didn't say a word. He just gave Jiang Ci a deep look, then turned and walked out of the warehouse.

Lei Zhong plopped back into his chair, raising a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Jiang Ci as if he were a monster.

"You, kid... that moment just now, I really fucking thought you were high."

Jiang Ci's state of madness and wretchedness vanished without a trace the instant Jiang Wen said it was over.

His face pale, he pulled the oversized army-green thermos cup from his backpack, unscrewed the lid, and took a long, hard swig from it.

The steaming hot goji berry water slid down his throat, finally making him feel alive again.

He offered an explanation to Lei Zhong and Wu Gang, looking quite embarrassed.

"Low blood sugar, low blood sugar."

Lei Zhong and Wu Gang looked at him, unable to utter a single word.

Just then, the heavy iron door of the warehouse was pushed open a crack from the outside, and a voice came in:

"Director Jiang, are you all done talking?"

It was the Martial Arts Director.

He poked his head in, saw the atmosphere inside, and chuckled.

He walked in carrying several pieces of heavy protective gear, which he tossed on the ground with a loud *clang*.

"Looks like you're done. Perfect timing. Director Jiang asked me to test our 'Jiang He's' physical skills."

He cracked his neck, producing a series of unsettling bone pops.

"I hit hard. If you can't take it, just say so."