The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 5: Heartbreaking Blows from the Movie Queen

The third layer of emotion: [Reluctance].

The storm in Jiang Ci's eyes abruptly calmed.

All struggle had lost its meaning.

He knew there would be no tomorrow between them.

Today's parting was an eternal farewell.

His lips moved slightly as if wanting to call out that name engraved in his bones, but ultimately no sound emerged.

Only his gaze seemed to say:

"Take care."

Then came the fourth layer.

[Killing Intent].

—Cafeteria Window Three! That auntie who always precisely trembled her hand, shaking his braised pork from three pieces down to two!

Exactly this kind of hatred!

This hatred, combined with the "Eye Micro-expressions" skill, was perfectly transferred onto his character by him. To outsiders, it appeared as a completely different, heart-stopping interpretation.

He wanted to kill the part of himself that still loved her!

From this day forward, there would no longer be that childhood sweetheart boy in the world, only an iron-blooded general serving his country with a heart of steel!

These four distinctly different emotional layers, progressing step by step in less than ten seconds, ultimately perfectly fused into a single gaze.

Jiang Ci withdrew all his focus.

His eyes became hollow, without a single ripple of emotion remaining.

He took one last look at Su Qingying—a look that seemed to regard her as already dead.

Then, he resolutely turned and disappeared from the camera's view.

Leaving only Su Qingying, playing the princess, standing dazed in place.

Unbeknownst to her, her face was already covered with tears.

That wasn't in the script.

She had genuinely been pierced by this man's gaze.

"CUT!"

The director's roar echoed throughout the set.

"My god... what did I just see?"

"That gaze... absolutely stunning! I got goosebumps all over!"

"Holy shit! That final killing intent! He actually portrayed it completely!"

"How did he do that? In just those few seconds, it felt like his soul had been swapped!"

"He's a newcomer? You call this a newcomer? With acting skills like this, I'd believe he was a veteran actor with ten years of experience!"

All the staff, including those seasoned veterans who initially came with popcorn-watching attitudes, now looked at Jiang Ci with completely changed expressions.

Behind the monitor, the director suddenly stood up, ripped off his headphones, and shouted.

"It's a wrap! One take! Perfect!!"

He rushed over and grabbed Jiang Ci's arm.

"Kid! You're a fucking monster!"

Lin Wan, standing beside the director, still had her arms crossed, her face showing little expression.

But the slight upward curve of her lips and the unconcealable satisfaction deep in her eyes betrayed her current mood.

Jiang Ci felt a bit dizzy from the director's shaking. He waved his hand modestly, saying, "You flatter me, Director. It's mainly thanks to Teacher Su's excellent guidance."

As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes shifted collectively toward Su Qingying, who still stood in place.

Su Qingying remained immersed in the previous emotions, not completely emerged yet.

Her assistant quickly stepped forward, offering tissues and warm water.

She took the tissues, gently wiping away her tear stains, then lifted her head to look at Jiang Ci.

Her gaze was complex.

There was shock, inquiry, and a hint of... the tremor and excitement of meeting one's match.

"You're very good."

Su Qingying's voice remained cool, but this time, everyone detected solemnity within it.

Receiving an evaluation of "You're very good" from this icy movie queen spoke volumes about its significance.

Just as Jiang Ci prepared to say a few more polite words, the long-awaited voice finally arrived in his mind.

[Ding! Detected intense heartbreak emotion!]

[Heartbreak Value +100 from 'Su Qingying'!]

Holy shit!

One hundred points?!

No wonder she's a movie queen! The quality of this heartbreak is just superior!

However, this wasn't the end.

[Ding! Detected heartbreak emotion!]

[Heartbreak Value +20 from 'Lin Wan'!]

[Heartbreak Value +5 from female staff member 'Zhang Xiaoya'!]

[Heartbreak Value +3 from female staff member 'Li Li'!]

[From...]

A series of system notification sounds densely echoed in Jiang Ci's mind.

Although most were scattered single-digit points, there were so many people!

[Settling...]

[This performance earned a total of 152 Heartbreak Value points!]

[Current total Heartbreak Value balance: 172 points!]

[Congratulations to the host for extending 7 days of life time!]

[Current remaining life: 20 days, 11 hours, 08 minutes, 45 seconds]

Only seven days?

Jiang Ci felt somewhat displeased. The system's random reward of life days still relied too much on luck.

As someone who could even fail guaranteed pulls in gacha games, he had never won in the lottery aspect.

But on second thought, at least the Heartbreak Value was tangible!

He had already started calculating whether to save up for something big or take it step by step, first exchanging for some minor skills to arm himself.

However, extreme joy begets sorrow.

Right at this moment, the system unexpectedly sounded an alarm!

[Warning! Warning! Detected host exploiting core rule loophole, obtaining excessive profits in a short time. System's underlying logic has been impacted, performing emergency repairs...]

What the hell?

Exploiting a loophole? I earned this money through my acting skills—how is that exploiting a loophole?!

[Initiating "Newcomer Behavior Guidelines" patch program...]

[Patch loading... 10%... 50%... 100%...]

[Patch installation successful.]

[To protect the basic rights and safety of the host and potential "heartbreak targets," the system will forcibly exchange for a safety protection item for you.]

Before Jiang Ci could react, he saw the once-warm "172" in his account instantly change.

[Heartbreak Value -100]

[Exchange successful! Obtained special category item: 《Player Identification Aura》 (Passive)]

[Current total Heartbreak Value balance: 72 points.]

Jiang Ci was completely dumbfounded.

He stared blankly at that glaring "72."

Then, a surge of rage erupted from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!

"Damn it!!"

His shout wasn't loud but filled with grief and indignation, startling the director who had been excitedly spraying saliva beside him.

"What's wrong, Jiang Ci? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Jiang Ci ignored the director. His consciousness was roaring madly in his mind.

"System! Get the hell out here! Forced transaction?! Did I agree before you deducted my Heartbreak Value?!"

"And! 《Player Identification Aura》? What kind of crap is this? I'm a perpetually single, upstanding young man of twenty-two years! What use do I have for a 'Player Identification Aura'? To identify whether I'm a single dog myself?"

"I want acting skills! Things that can save my life! What's the damn use of this?! I want a refund!"

Jiang Ci felt like his lungs were about to explode from anger.

After working so hard performing for so long, his hard-earned money was taken away before it even warmed his hands, extorted by the system for a large chunk.

And exchanged for something that sounded utterly unreliable from the name alone.

How was this any different from being scammed by telecom fraud?!

Facing Jiang Ci's internal roar, the system offered no further response.