The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 6: System Backstab! I’ve Become the Nemesis of the Sea King?
Jiang Ci stood in the center of the film set, surrounded by a crowd of admirers and well-wishers.
The director was still excitedly analyzing how amazing the previous shot had been right by his ear, and Lin Wan had also given him a look of approval.
But he couldn't process any of it.
His mind was completely occupied by the one hundred Heartbreak Value points that had been forcibly deducted.
One hundred points!
Just gone like that? In exchange for some worthless aura?
"Jiang Ci? Jiang Ci? What are you still thinking about?" The director gave him a push.
Jiang Ci snapped back to reality and forced a smile. "Nothing, director, it's just... I'm a bit tired."
"Being tired is normal! The emotional drain was massive!" The director wore an "I understand" expression and waved his hand grandly. "You're done filming for today, go back and rest first. Think carefully about your next scene!"
Jiang Ci couldn't wait to escape this place of sorrow. After saying goodbye to the director and Lin Wan, he walked dejectedly toward his dressing room.
As soon as he entered, he locked the door behind him, collapsed onto the sofa, and immersed himself in his mind again.
【Heartbreak Value Balance: 72 points】
【Remaining Life: 20 days 11 hours 03 minutes 45 seconds】
Although his lifespan had increased.
Jiang Ci was still furious!
He opened the System Store and navigated to the 【Special Items】 category.
Sure enough, at the very bottom of the list, a golden icon was glowing.
【Player Identification Aura (Passive)】 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
【Type: Permanent Special Item】
【Effect: When a target matching the "player" definition (i.e., someone simultaneously maintaining abnormal intimate relationships with three or more members of the opposite sex, involving deception, manipulation, and other behaviors) appears within fifty meters of the host and initiates player behavior, the aura will automatically activate and warn the host in a special form.】
【Note: This item serves as a system security patch, designed to guide the host in correctly utilizing the "Heartbreak Master" ability, combating genuine emotional fraudsters, and promoting positive energy. Maintaining a healthy online environment starts with me.】
Jiang Ci: "..."
What the hell does "maintaining a healthy online environment" mean!
You're a system that makes people cry from heartbreak, and you're talking to me about positive energy?
Have you forgotten what you're called?
"Trash system! Scam software! Bundled installation! I'm going to report you to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology!" Jiang Ci raged internally.
But after cursing for a long time, aside from making himself angrier, it was completely useless.
Those one hundred Heartbreak Value points were definitely not coming back.
What exactly is the use of this worthless aura?
Does this mean in future filming, I'll have to moonlight as a women's best friend, helping female cast members identify scumbags?
I'm not a neighborhood committee auntie!
Besides, even if I identify them, what can I do?
Go up to the female lead and say, "Hey, sis, don't date him, that guy's a player—I have system certification!"
She'd definitely think I'm crazy!
The more Jiang Ci thought about it, the more he felt those 100 points were wasted.
He stayed gloomily in his dressing room for a long time until someone knocked, saying the crew was wrapping up. Only then did he lethargically change clothes and prepare to return to his rental apartment.
By the time he left the film studio, it was already dark.
Jiang Ci didn't take a taxi, instead walking slowly along the road.
The evening breeze against his face slightly soothed his agitated mood.
Forget it.
Consider it spending money to avoid disaster.
At least my life is extended, and I still have 72 points left. If I spend them carefully, I should be able to last until this drama finishes filming.
As long as I get a few more "heartbreak crits" like today's in the future, recouping the loss shouldn't be a problem.
Comforting himself this way, his mood finally improved a bit.
He pulled out his phone, planning to call his mom to reassure her and listen to her nagging to ease the frustration of being scammed by the system.
Just as he unlocked the screen, an unfamiliar number called.
Jiang Ci frowned and answered.
"Hello?"
"Is this Jiang Ci? This is Lin Wan."
Lin Wan's cool, efficient voice came from the other end of the line.
Jiang Ci jolted upright immediately, his voice becoming several degrees more respectful. "Teacher Lin! Hello! Do you need something?"
"Where are you?"
"I... just left the film studio, heading home."
"Wait at the entrance. I'll give you a ride."
Lin Wan's tone brooked no argument, hanging up immediately after speaking.
Jiang Ci stood frozen in place, phone in hand.
Lin Wan wants to drive me home?
He didn't dare neglect the screenwriter's request.
He could only obediently stand by the roadside at the film studio entrance.
Within minutes, a black Porsche Cayenne silently pulled up in front of him.
The window rolled down, revealing Lin Wan's expressionless face.
"Get in."
Jiang Ci opened the back door and sat inside.
The car's interior was spacious, filled with a woody fragrance.
It was very clean, and very cold.
"Address." Lin Wan looked straight ahead, speaking succinctly.
Jiang Ci provided the address of his shabby rental apartment.
Lin Wan entered it into the navigation, and the car smoothly merged into traffic.
Throughout the journey, neither spoke.
The atmosphere was so awkward you could dig out a three-bedroom apartment.
Jiang Ci fidgeted uncomfortably. He'd rather go back and curse at that feigning-death system,
than be in the same enclosed space with this award-winning screenwriter whose aura extended three meters.
The pressure was immense.
He secretly glanced at Lin Wan, who was driving.
She was still wearing her efficient black suit today. Her profile was beautiful, with a high nose bridge and very thin lips.
They say people with thin lips are fickle in love, and this Teacher Lin certainly didn't seem like a warm person.
But it was this very icy woman who, yesterday, because of one of his performances, had cried uncontrollably in front of hundreds of people.
Jiang Ci's mind began uncontrollably wandering again.
Could she actually be a hidden domineering CEO who's taken a fancy to my astonishing acting skills and looks, planning to become my sugar mommy?
"What are you thinking about?"
Lin Wan's cold voice suddenly interrupted Jiang Ci's internal fantasy.
"Ah? No... nothing." Jiang Ci jumped in surprise and quickly straightened up.
Lin Wan glanced at him through the rearview mirror and said lightly, "You acted very well in today's scene."
"All thanks to Teacher Lin's excellent script and well-established character." Jiang Ci, with strong survival instincts, delivered a flattering compliment.
"Cut the nonsense." Lin Wan wasn't buying it. "What I wrote is just the skeleton; you provided the flesh and blood."
She paused, seemingly organizing her thoughts.
"Especially that final glance, that inwardly destructive killing intent—how did you conceive of it?"
This question made Jiang Ci tense up.
He couldn't possibly say, I was thinking about the auntie who stole my braised pork in the cafeteria, could he?
He could only reuse his old trick, blaming everything on "the past."
"Teacher Lin, as I said, whose life doesn't have a few..." He gazed out the car window at a forty-five-degree angle.
Lin Wan fell silent.
She looked at Jiang Ci's young face in the rearview mirror, her expression becoming somewhat complex.
What exactly has this young man been through?
To be able to portray that kind of despair... that even she, the creator, found shocking.
The atmosphere in the car sank into silence once more.
Jiang Ci secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He'd managed to bluff his way through again.
It seemed the "man with a past" persona was quite useful.
Just then, a traffic light ahead turned red.
Lin Wan gradually pressed the brakes.
During the wait, a Mercedes S-class stopped in the adjacent lane. The driver rolled down his window and whistled toward Lin Wan's car.
It was a young man with slicked-back hair and a powdered face, with a heavily made-up influencer-type woman in the passenger seat.
"Hey, beautiful, all alone? Driving such a big car, feeling lonely?" The man smiled with a frivolous expression, completely ignoring Jiang Ci in the back seat.
