The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 178: You’re Playing Both Ling Xi and A Li

Zhang Mouyi's words were the final verdict.

The oppressive atmosphere in the private room seemed to be sliced in two by this statement.

The heavy stone in Jiang Ci's heart concerning his KPI finally settled to the ground.

He immediately rose from his seat and gave a slight bow towards Zhang Mouyi at the head of the table.

"Director Zhang, I fully understand and submit to all your requirements regarding artistic authenticity."

His enunciation was clear, carrying not a hint of bargaining.

After speaking, he sat back down, his movements crisp and decisive.

On the surface, he was an outstanding junior who respected his seniors and was devoted to art.

In reality, a cost-benefit analysis report concerning "Heartbreak Value" was instantly generated in his mind.

A real kiss.

Meant emotional impact was maximized.

The audience's empathy experience would reach its peak.

When the subsequent tragedy erupted, the harvesting efficiency of "Heartbreak Value" would hit its maximum.

Perfect.

But soon, his thoughts turned to another key point.

In this scene, it was "A Li" who took the initiative.

It was she who, in extreme pain and guilt, actively kissed the unconscious "Ye Chen."

That kiss needed to contain pity, despair, heartbreak, farewell... all the emotions complex to the extreme, that kind of "Broken Feeling" that would wrench the audience's hearts upon seeing it...

The main pressure of the core KPI was not on him.

The pressure had been passed to Su Qingying.

Now it all depended on the performance of this icy Best Actress.

As if to confirm his thoughts.

For a moment, three gazes within the private room—Zhang Mouyi's scrutiny, Gu Huai's probing, and Jiang Ci's curiosity—all fell upon Su Qingying.

The air, which had just eased, solidified once again.

They were waiting.

Waiting for this Best Actress who "didn't film intimate scenes" to give her final answer.

Su Qingying's thoughts drifted away for an instant.

What appeared before her eyes wasn't the script's intense scenes of life-and-death separation.

But a dusk.

On the film set of *Palace Conspiracy*, on the Gobi Desert, wind and sand filled the sky.

That young general wearing blood-stained, broken armor silently led her horse for her, step by step, walking in the setting sun.

He said nothing.

He only used his back, not particularly broad but sufficiently resolute, to shield her from all the wind, sand, and the prying eyes of others.

The setting sun stretched the shadows of the two people very long on the ground, briefly converging, then separating.

That image had been frozen deep in her memory.

Now, the scene before her began to strangely overlap with the image in her memory.

The "General Gu" in the drama bore everything with his back.

Jiang Ci outside the drama, in a clumsy yet direct way, had unceremoniously placed the issue of "authenticity" she had long avoided squarely on the table.

He showed no awkwardness, nor any ambiguous probing.

He was merely discussing a pure, performance-related issue.

Clean. Frank.

She pulled herself out of the brief recollection.

She raised her head to meet Zhang Mouyi's eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

Her cool, clear voice rang out clearly in the quiet private room.

"I have no problem."

Her reply carried a professional certainty.

"Everything for the role."

The moment her words fell, Gu Huai's fingers holding the teacup paused for an instant on the rim.

He looked at Su Qingying, a flash of surprise passing through his eyes.

He understood Su Qingying's principles better than anyone.

He had even prepared himself that if Su Qingying refused, he would immediately step in to smooth things over and persuade Director Zhang to make some compromises in the performance.

But she had just conceded like that.

This in itself was a huge surprise.

The atmosphere of the meal finally relaxed completely.

The most critical and sensitive issue was settled.

However.

Right within this newly descended harmony.

The man who had been controlling the pace of the entire gathering spoke up again.

Zhang Mouyi picked up the teacup before him, leisurely blowing on the steam rising from it.

As if he were merely mentioning an insignificant little matter.

"Since everyone has no objections regarding 'authenticity,' that's perfect."

His movements were slow, every detail exuding the composure of one with a plan already in mind.

"I've made a slight adjustment to this script."

He put down the teacup. The base collided with the tabletop, producing a light sound.

That sound, though light, made the hearts of the three present skip a beat.

Zhang Mouyi didn't look at Gu Huai, nor at Jiang Ci.

His gaze landed precisely on Su Qingying.

"Ling Xi and A Li."

"Both will be played by you alone."

"One person playing two roles?"

Gu Huai was the first to break the silence in the private room.

He looked at Zhang Mouyi, his brow tightly furrowed, his tone urgent from an actor's perspective.

"Director Zhang, I've read the script. The personalities of Ling Xi and A Li in it are completely different."

"One is possession intense to the extreme, the other is warm and resilient protection."

"Forcing one actor to take on both is very likely to cause confusion in the performance, blurring the boundaries between the two roles. In the end, neither might be performed well."

Gu Huai's concern was the concern of all professional actors.

This was no longer a simple acting challenge; this was walking a tightrope.

One misstep, and the whole game was lost.

Su Qingying was also stunned.

Her fingertips unconsciously traced lightly over the cool surface of the teacup.

Her mind rapidly analyzed the feasibility and immense risk behind this crazy decision.

Ling Xi.

That legendary witch who loved passionately, hated decisively, and ultimately chose to use a seal to obtain eternity.

Her emotions were externalized, carrying a destructive quality.

A Li.

This girl from modern times, kind, clumsy, yet incredibly resilient.

Her love was restrained, healing, permeating through daily companionship.

Having the same face portray these two diametrically opposed souls.

For her acting career, this was a huge gamble.

Zhang Mouyi, however, merely waved his hand, directly cutting off Gu Huai.

His gaze was focused, tightly fixed on Su Qingying.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a kind of obsessive insistence.

"I want the audience to see the repeated tearing between two kinds of love on the male lead Ye Chen."

"To make them unable to distinguish whose shadow Ye Chen sees through A Li's face."

"This tearing, this fateful cruelty, must be presented through the same face!"

Zhang Mouyi stood up, took two steps in the narrow private room. A burning light danced in his eyes, as if he could already see the finished film before him.

"Ling Xi's love is about seeking eternal possession through destruction! She personally sealed her lover away. That was the only way she could think of to keep him by her side forever! This love is so intense it's impossible to dissolve; it is itself a grand tragedy!"

"A Li's love is about giving redemptive warmth through companionship! She cares for him, warms him in a modern way, clumsy yet sincere. This love is resilient yet fragile hope!"

"One is the woman from a thousand years ago who gave him his deepest trauma."

"The other is the girl from a thousand years later who gave him his only redemption."

Zhang Mouyi stopped walking and looked at Su Qingying again.

"They are the same person, yet not the same person. They are each other's shadows, yet each other's opposites. This is the true tragic core of this story!"

Jiang Ci listened quietly beside them.

On the surface, he was like a good student listening attentively, his expression focused.

In reality, his inner self was boiling over once again.

Ling Xi sealing Ye Chen away was the first heartbreak.

A Li accidentally injuring Ye Chen, replicating the scene from a millennium ago, was the second heart-death.

Two traumas etched deep into the bone, both completed by the same face.

While the audience's hearts ached for A Li's "helplessness," they would inevitably think of Ling Xi's "ruthless decisiveness" from a thousand years ago.

While recalling Ling Xi's tragedy, they would superimpose A Li's innocent yet pained face.

Emotions repeatedly layered.

Pain infinitely magnified!

This...

This was practically the top-tier feast of Bad Ending Aesthetics!

Gu Huai still wanted to say something more, but Zhang Mouyi had already lost his patience.

He didn't want to hear any more professional analysis about the market or the actors' condition.

Right now, he only needed one, most direct answer from the person involved.

Zhang Mouyi's gaze was tightly locked on Su Qingying.

"Qingying."

He was almost glaring at her, asking word by word.

"Do you dare to take it on?"

Gu Huai frowned, saying nothing more, but the worry in his eyes grew heavier.

Jiang Ci picked up his teacup, took a small sip, using this action to conceal his nearly splitting grin.

The gazes of the three men once again focused on Su Qingying.

She still sat quietly, her long hair draped over her shoulders.

No one knew what kind of inner turmoil her heart was experiencing at this moment.

Her gaze inadvertently drifted towards Jiang Ci diagonally across from her.

He was looking down at his own teacup, the lines of his profile clean and sharp under the light.

He always seemed to be like this.

No matter the storms outside, he could always find a core within himself that allowed him to settle into calm.

Su Qingying suddenly remembered back in the *Palace Conspiracy* crew, when she asked him why a performance major student could portray a general's sorrow so well.

How had he answered at the time?

He said, "Because I believe in him."

Believe.

Two simple words.

Su Qingying's heart suddenly settled.

She raised her head to meet Zhang Mouyi's eyes full of pressure.

Then, she uttered two words.

"I'll take it."