The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 184: The Refined Scoundrel and the Naive Wicked Girl

Director Zhang Mouyi's words caused the investor representatives in the back row, who had been watching with arms crossed, to relax their postures almost simultaneously.

They leaned in, lowering their voices to whisper among themselves, their expressions shifting from the playful mockery of spectators to barely concealed excitement.

The way they looked at Jiang Ci and Su Qingying had changed.

Coming back to his senses, Jiang Ci's emotional isolation skill quietly activated.

He broke free from that feeling of being nailed to a cross of destiny, the suffocating pressure in his chest gradually receding.

He straightened up, gently rotating his stiff neck.

He instinctively looked towards Su Qingying.

She was also slowly rising from the ground.

Those eyes, which just moments ago had been brimming with despair, had now regained their usual cool clarity and composure.

Their gazes met in mid-air.

There was no need for any superfluous exchange.

Only a silent understanding, the kind shared after fighting through a brutal battle together.

"Alright."

Director Zhang Mouyi's voice sounded again. He picked up the script from the table, lightly patting it against his palm, pulling everyone's attention back.

"The 'eyes' of the protagonists are established."

"Now, let's talk about the 'blades' that push them to their deaths."

He opened the script and pointed to several other names on the character relationship chart.

"Chi Jie, Mo Ying, Xuan Shuang."

The atmosphere in the screening room, which had just eased, tightened once more.

If Ye Chen and A Li were the heart of this story, then these three names were the sharp blades piercing through that heart.

Director Zhang Mouyi posed the first question.

"Chi Jie, son of the demon army leader, avenges his father, lays waste to Shangdu."

"Is it really that simple?"

He swept his gaze across the room.

"If it's just about revenge, this character becomes thin, a mere functional villain. The audience will only hate him, not fear him, and certainly won't remember him."

Gu Huai picked up his pen, seemingly wanting to analyze the layered motivations of the character from a professional perspective.

However, before he could speak.

A cool, somewhat gloomy male voice rang out from the back row of the screening room.

"It's not just revenge."

"It's more like a twisted form of 'inheritance'."

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice.

They saw a young man in a black shirt and gold-rimmed glasses slowly standing up.

His skin was pale, with the quality of someone who rarely saw sunlight. He carried an air of gloom, yet his eyes behind the lenses were exceptionally bright and sharp.

A refined but depraved aura blended strangely on his person.

His name was Luo Yu, the actor cast to play Chi Jie.

A rising star in the industry who had gained attention through villain roles in web dramas.

Luo Yu adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and continued.

"He wants to prove to his father's vengeful spirit, and to the entire demon race, that he is more qualified to represent the demons than that sealed half-demon."

These words made many in the room pause.

Luo Yu didn't hesitate; his train of thought was frighteningly clear.

"The core of Chi Jie's character is not hatred, it's inferiority."

"He has lived his entire life under two enormous shadows. One is his father, who was defeated and sealed. The other is the half-demon Ye Chen, who was undefeated a thousand years ago."

"All his cruelty, all his slaughter, are essentially a hysterical act of self-validation. He wants to tell everyone that he is the true king of the demons, that he is stronger and more worthy of following than that half-breed with impure blood."

Luo Yu's words instantly sliced through the stereotypical exterior of the character, revealing the flesh and blood woven from jealousy and inferiority beneath.

"Therefore, his targeting of Ye Chen is not just about hatred, it's also jealousy."

"A jealousy rooted in bloodline, burning for a thousand years."

He looked towards Jiang Ci in the center of the room, already viewing him as a fated rival.

"What he wants to take is not a city."

"What he wants to take is 'everything' that Ye Chen should have possessed a thousand years ago."

Luo Yu's voice paused for a moment. Then, he slowly uttered the final words, carrying a chilling greed.

"Including, that witch."

His words shocked the entire room.

Jiang Ci's heart skipped a beat.

Brilliant.

With this interpretation, the villain Chi Jie instantly transformed from a stereotypical avenger into a tragic usurper.

His hatred for Ye Chen, his desire to seize A Li, all gained a deeper motivation rooted in jealousy and inferiority.

This would double the tragic intensity of the drama!

A satisfied expression appeared on Director Zhang Mouyi's previously calm face.

He raised his hand, pointing at the gloomy young man still standing, and announced decisively.

"That understanding is spot on."

Luo Yu adjusted his glasses and calmly sat back down.

Immediately after, Director Zhang Mouyi's gaze shifted to the seat beside Luo Yu.

There sat a girl whose aura was the complete opposite of Luo Yu's.

She wore a pink puff-sleeved princess dress, with her hair in twin ponytails, her face adorned with a sweet, energetic makeup.

She was watching everything with wide, innocent eyes like a fawn's, full of curiosity.

Tang Xin, an idol who rose to fame with a sweet-girl image, was making her first foray into a major film production.

"Then," Director Zhang Mouyi's tone didn't change at all, "what about Mo Ying?"

Tang Xin immediately stood up, giving Director Zhang a sweet smile that revealed two adorable dimples.

Then, in the sweetest voice, she uttered the coldest words.

"Mo Ying has no thoughts of her own."

This opening statement left everyone stunned.

The smile on Tang Xin's face didn't waver at all as she continued in that soft, glutinous tone.

"She is merely the sharpest, most obedient, and most disposable blade of her master, Chi Jie."

"All her actions are based on orders. Her master's happiness is her only logic."

She tilted her head, her twin ponytails swaying, appearing innocent and charming.

"So, when she manipulates that spirit cat named Xue Rong to attack Ye Chen's companions, sets traps to put Su Yan and Qing Yue in danger, these actions are, to her, simply obeying commands."

"There is no pleasure, nor any guilt."

"She is completing a task and then anticipating her master's praise."

Her sweet smile formed a stark contrast with the "innocent cruelty" in her words.

Both Gu Huai and Su Qingying in the room cast scrutinizing looks at this seemingly harmless girl.

Looking at Director Zhang Mouyi, Tang Xin delivered her final definition of the character.

"She is not evil."

"She is 'the evil of ignorance'."

A tool with no self-awareness, committing evil only to please its master, is far more terrifying than a villain with a clear purpose.

The role was cast.

Director Zhang Mouyi didn't give everyone much time to digest this before announcing the next.

"Xuan Shuang, under Chi Jie's command, the one with the replication ability, will be played by Ji Lan."

The mention of Ji Lan's name caused another wave of low exclamations.

A powerhouse actress renowned on the domestic stage theater scene as the "Thousand Faces," she herself was famous for her ability to precisely mimic others' acting styles. Casting her for this role was practically tailor-made.

Protagonists, antagonists, the core team was settled.

Director Zhang Mouyi closed the script with a soft *snap*.

He stood up, scanning the entire room.

Finally, he uttered the last, and most chilling, sentence of the day.

"In this story, there is no absolute villain."

"They are all, in their own ways, loving something 'unattainable'."

As his words fell.

The entire screening room once again sank into deep contemplation about the entire story.

Jiang Ci sensed Su Qingying's body move ever so slightly.