The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 305: Bloody Footprints Next to the Cake
Behind the monitor, Jiang Wen did not call cut.
He just watched, watched as that young man stripped of all pretense,
naked and kneeling in the mud,
actually reached out, picked up that luxurious silk jacket, and began wiping the water stains on the ground.
His movements were slow, numb.
Only when that slippery fabric was smeared with mud did Jiang Wen pick up the walkie-talkie,
and softly utter a single word.
"Cut."
There was no applause.
Dozens of crew members, dozens of background actors, stood there in the cold wind,
watching that young man covered in filth.
"Brother!"
A figure broke through the crowd. It was the assistant, Sun Zhou.
Holding a blanket he had gone to great lengths to get from a set assistant, he wrapped Jiang Ci tightly in the October chill of Yunnan province.
The blanket carried the warmth of another person.
Enveloped by that sudden warmth, Jiang Ci's stiff body couldn't help but give a violent shudder.
He buried his face into the rough fabric that smelled of smoke and sweat.
The trembling of his body took a long time to subside.
Sun Zhou felt the person in his arms stir.
He wanted to say some words of comfort, but his throat felt blocked.
Jiang Ci lifted his face a little from the coarse blanket, his voice muffled as he asked:
"Sun Zhou... can you check for me... is that pair of underwear still salvageable?"
Sun Zhou's brain short-circuited for three seconds before he processed what he was talking about.
"...I, I only brought two pairs for changes," Jiang Ci added, his tone filled with genuine distress.
Sun Zhou's arms holding him froze. The heartache that had just surged up got stuck halfway.
...
Lei Zhong picked up the silk jacket from the ground, now unwearable.
His calloused hand was still trembling uncontrollably.
He looked towards the figure not far away, being helped up by Sun Zhou, who was being force-fed hot water.
The moment Jiang Ci lifted his face from the blanket, Lei Zhong instinctively averted his gaze.
That face held no expression, his eyes empty as they stared ahead.
The soul that had just been rolling in the mud, losing control, and offering up all dignity,
had completely dissipated the moment the director said "Cut."
Jiang Wen had already returned to the monitor, replaying the footage from just now over and over.
On the screen, Jiang He curled up on the ground, unable to suppress his hiccups, his body tense with shame and fear.
Jiang Wen's eyes were filled with an almost fanatical excitement.
He grabbed the script from the table, flipped to a later section, and with a thick red pen,
heavily circled a scene originally scheduled for a week later.
Then, he picked up the walkie-talkie.
"Everyone listen up, tomorrow and the day after are rest days. The day after tomorrow, we move to Soundstage One, shoot the villa scenes."
His decision left everyone stunned.
Soundstage One was the opulent, gilded luxury villa of the drug lord Cha Cai, built by the crew at great expense.
To go from shooting a scene that trampled human dignity into the mud, immediately to such an extravagantly luxurious setting?
It didn't make sense.
"Director..." the Assistant Director hesitantly spoke up, "The actor just finished this scene, his emotions and body need time, shouldn't we..."
"What I want, is exactly this state."
Jiang Wen cut him off, his gaze sharp,
"Just fished him out of the mud, before he's had a taste of being human again, immediately throw him into paradise."
"I want to see him standing in that gilded villa, smelling the sweetness of cake, with someone else's blood under his feet."
"I want to see how that spine that was just broken gets completely ground to dust under a sugar-coated shell!"
In Jiang Ci's mind, a belated notification tone also rang out at this moment.
[Ding! Detecting intense heartbreak emotional fluctuations...]
[Heartbreak Value Source: Female film crew members on-site (group)]
[Emotion Judgment: Ultimate humiliation, destroyed dignity... pity and heartbreak.]
[Value Settlement: +388 points.]
[Current Lifespan Duration: 15 years, 8 months, 7 days.]
The performance from that previous scene had earned Jiang Ci nearly two more months of lifespan.
The next two days were mandatory rest for the crew.
Though called rest, the atmosphere on set was even more oppressive than during filming.
Everyone unconsciously avoided Jiang Ci.
Jiang Ci himself showed little change, except for acquiring one strange habit.
During meals, he wouldn't sit on a stool. Instead, he would just hold his lunchbox and squat in a corner.
His back slightly hunched, his whole body curled into a ball.
He was using his body to maintain Jiang He's muscle memory of being completely broken.
Two days later.
The crew moved to Soundstage One.
It was the complete opposite of the previous abandoned, cold warehouse.
This was a heaven built with money and power.
A massive crystal chandelier hung from the dome, its light illuminating the polished marble floor that gleamed like a mirror.
Expensive oil paintings hung on the walls, their subjects incomprehensible. The air was filled with the mixed scent of high-end cigars and red wine.
This opulent, gilded splendor formed a stark contrast with the faded, washed-out T-shirt Jiang He wore.
This was Cha Cai's villa.
And also Jiang He's hell.
The scene was already set up.
A long mahogany dining table was covered with a pristine white tablecloth.
In the center of the table sat an exquisite, two-tiered cream cake.
On the cake, written in red jam, were the words "Happy Birthday."
Next to it, two number candles were inserted: "2" and "6."
And right beside this dining table symbolizing warmth and celebration.
On the floor, lay a man covered in blood, emitting low, mournful groans.
He was a "traitor" being punished in public for secretly stashing goods.
The thick scent of blood and the sickly-sweet smell of the cake's cream mixed together bizarrely.
Jiang Wen walked over to Jiang Ci.
He didn't explain the scene, nor did he give any instructions.
He reached out, pointed at the beautiful cake on the table, then pointed at the dying man on the floor.
Then, he leaned close to Jiang Ci's ear and said something in a volume only the two of them could hear.
The voice was soft, but it made Jiang Ci's entire body stiffen.
"Now, let me see, to what extent Jiang He can endure!"
The clapperboard snapped shut in front of the camera.
"Action!"
Cha Cai, wearing a dark red silk bathrobe, descended the spiral staircase.
A smile was on his face, the image of a kind elder preparing to celebrate a child's birthday.
He walked to the dining table, picked up a silver cake knife, and expertly cut a large slice of cake.
The biggest piece, with the most cream.
He pushed the bone china plate holding the cake towards Jiang He, who was kneeling on the floor.
The candlelight flickered, reflecting the gentle smile on his face.
"Ah He, according to your ID card, today's your birthday."
"Twenty-six now, a grown man."
"Have a taste. Uncle had it specially made for you."
That slice of cake piled high with sweet cream stopped right in front of Jiang He.
The sweet scent, mixed with the gurgling sounds from the man's throat not far away, drilled into his nostrils.
