The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 51: Xia Meng’s First Heartbreak

Xia Meng was stunned.

She had prepared ten thousand theories about "stage discipline" and "technical standards" to refute Jiang Ci, even rehearsing all the possible intense reactions he might have.

But she had never expected this.

A light, airy "I'll listen to you."

It was like punching cotton, making all the strength she had built up instantly lose its target. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

In the corner, several observing students exchanged bewildered looks.

That was it... it was over?

Where was the promised clash of the titans?

How come one of the titans surrendered at 15 minutes before it even started?

Sitting in his chair, Liu Guodong's mouth curled into a barely noticeable arc.

This kid was smarter than he had imagined.

Knowing when to retreat was rarer and more valuable than knowing when to advance.

He was curious to see what trick Jiang Ci had up his sleeve.

"Again!" Liu Guodong commanded in a deep voice.

The rehearsal started over.

This time, Jiang Ci seemed like a completely different person.

He put away all his improvisational, wild outbursts.

Every one of his stage movements landed precisely on the rhythmic beats Xia Meng was accustomed to.

Every pause was not a second too long, nor a second too short.

Xia Meng's brow, however, furrowed tighter and tighter.

Something was wrong.

This was all wrong!

Jiang Ci's body had been "formatted," his movements were standardized.

But...

When he spoke his line again.

"You are my warm gloves, my cold beer, my shirt that smells of sunshine, my day after day dream."

The voice, thick with an undissolvable obsession and humility, instantly flooded the entire rehearsal hall once more.

His body was restrained.

His movements were controlled.

Yet the irrepressible sorrow in his voice and eyes, because of this, appeared even more torrential!

This created a terrifying sense of dissonance.

This kind of performance had even more tension than the previous pure emotional outburst.

It made people feel a tightness in their chest.

Xia Meng felt her own breathing become erratic.

Her proud technical fortress was, for the first time, shaken from within.

She looked at Jiang Ci.

It was like looking at a monster.

He was using his actions to silently tell her:

"See, even if I put on the so-called 'technical' shackles you speak of, my 'soul' is still screaming."

"You can confine my body, but you cannot confine my sorrow."

Boom!

Xia Meng's mind went completely blank.

She completely lost the rhythm with Jiang Ci.

No, it should be said that Jiang Ci perfectly matched her technical rhythm,

yet in a way she completely could not comprehend, he utterly crushed her on an emotional level.

It was her turn to speak her line.

She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

"Stop!"

Liu Guodong's voice finally rang out.

He stood up and slowly walked to the center of the stage.

He didn't criticize Xia Meng's mistake, just gave Jiang Ci a deep look, his eyes full of shock.

Then, he announced, "That's it for today. Everyone, go back and think carefully about this."

The students in the rehearsal hall were as if pardoned, rising to leave one after another, frequently looking back as they went, gazing at Jiang Ci and Xia Meng with looks reserved for deities.

Jiang Ci breathed a sigh of relief, picked up a towel, and wiped his sweat.

That performance style just now consumed far more of his mental energy than a pure outburst.

He was just about to pack up and leave.

"Wait."

A clear, cold voice sounded behind him.

Jiang Ci turned around.

Xia Meng stood not far behind him, her face somewhat pale.

This was the first time she had actively stopped him.

She looked at him, her eyes, usually as still as an ancient well, were now filled with confusion and struggle.

"How did you do it?"

She asked, her voice trembling.

"Maintaining that... emotional intensity under a strict technical framework?"

Looking at the rare, truly "human" expression on her face, Jiang Ci suddenly felt it was a bit amusing.

He thought for a moment and decided to crack a joke to lighten the mood.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth, speaking in a half-serious, half-joking tone:

"Maybe because... my sorrow is a factory setting, it can't be deleted?"

The moment the words left his mouth.

Xia Meng's face instantly turned "deathly" pale, white as a sheet.

"Factory setting..."

She murmured, repeating these four words, her body swaying uncontrollably.

The smile on Jiang Ci's face froze.

He keenly sensed that he must have said something wrong.

The next second, Xia Meng abruptly turned around and rushed out of the rehearsal hall.

Jiang Ci stood rooted to the spot, completely baffled by the situation.

What did I say wrong?

This could break her defenses too?

Right then, the system's notification tone rang out in his mind without warning.

[Ding-dong!]

[Heartbreak fluctuation detected from Xia Meng!]

[Heartbreak Value +88!]

[Current Heartbreak Value Balance: 346]

[Life Duration: +7 days]

[Life Countdown: 109 days]

Jiang Ci: "..."

No way?

Even this works?!

He looked in the direction Xia Meng had disappeared, his feelings complex.

10 PM, Dorm Room 404.

The moment Jiang Ci pushed open the door, he was pinned by two pairs of eyes shining like hungry wolves.

"Brother Ci! You're finally back!" Zhao Zhen sat up from his bed with a carp flip. "Quick, tell us, how was rehearsal today? Did you fight with that Ice Queen?"

Chen Mo also pushed up his glasses, looking at him with a thirst for knowledge. "Analyzing from a performance theory perspective, the first collision between the technical school and the method acting school is bound to produce intense sparks. Where was your point of conflict? How was it resolved?"

Jiang Ci ignored his two gossipy roommates.

He walked straight to Zhao Zhen's bed, pushing the still-gesturing and miming Zhao Zhen back down.

"Cut the nonsense."

Jiang Ci's expression was unusually serious.

"Teach me a few exercises for core strength."

"Huh?"

Zhao Zhen was completely dumbfounded.

He looked Jiang Ci up and down, his face full of question marks.

"Brother Ci, aren't you going to be an actor? Why are you suddenly training this? Do you have fight scenes in your next project?"

Jiang Ci shook his head.

He recalled today in the rehearsal hall, when he tried to control his body and internalize his emotions, his lack of core strength almost made him lose his balance.

Xia Meng was right, his foundation was unstable.

He looked at the utterly confused Zhao Zhen and seriously uttered a sentence.

"To stand more steadily."

"So when the soul storm comes, I won't be blown over."

"..."

Zhao Zhen's mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time.

Damn.

That was way too badass!

Meanwhile, Chen Mo beside him looked as if struck by lightning.

He frantically pulled a notebook from his pile of books and excitedly began scribbling furiously, muttering to himself.

"So that's it... that's it! The body's stability is the container for extreme emotions! Core strength is the foundation of the container! I understand! I understand everything!"

As he wrote, he pushed up his glasses, the lenses flashing with the light of wisdom.

On the title page of the notebook, a line of text appeared in bold:

*"On the Role of Actor Core Strength in Emotional Expression Stability – A Case Study of Jiang Ci."*

Jiang Ci paid no mind to his roommates who had fallen into obsession.

He changed into workout clothes and, under Zhao Zhen's guidance, began training from the most basic plank hold.

Sweat soon soaked the hair on his forehead.

The soreness in his muscles made him even more alert.

Just as he gritted his teeth, feeling he was about to give out, his phone, tossed on the table, suddenly vibrated with a "buzz."

The screen lit up.

It was a WeChat message.

From someone he hadn't contacted in a long time, and whom he never expected.

[Su Qingying: You're not with the *Three Lifetimes Tribulation* crew anymore?]