The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 188: The Doorbell Ringing in the Middle of the Night

"Amazing."

Coming back to his senses, Luo Yu spoke.

Two words spoken lightly and quickly.

"Teacher Luo performed excellently too," Jiang Ci politely replied.

But Luo Yu paid no attention to his courtesy, still completely immersed in the exhilaration of the scene they just did.

"Are you free tonight?" he suddenly asked.

Jiang Ci was taken aback.

"I want to run through the 'Agony of Control' scene with you again," Luo Yu said at an extremely fast pace. "The scene where A Li, under my control, stabs you. I feel the understanding we had during the script reading can be explored even deeper."

Jiang Ci could feel the other's enthusiasm, a passion so intense it felt almost devouring.

But his mental energy at this moment was truly drained to the bottom.

Consecutive high-intensity emotional outbursts had left his brain with nothing but exhaustion.

"Sorry, Teacher Luo," Jiang Ci politely refused. "My mental energy is too depleted today. I need to rest tonight, otherwise it will affect my filming condition tomorrow."

His reason was impeccable.

Hearing this answer, the fanatical fire in Luo Yu's eyes cooled slightly.

He nodded, not pressing further.

"Alright."

With that, he turned and walked towards his own rest area, his retreating back still carrying that lingering, gloomy aura.

Jiang Ci finally let out a sigh of relief.

Working with a fellow acting fanatic of this caliber was truly amazing, but it was also truly exhausting.

After the afternoon filming wrapped, the crew disbanded.

Jiang Ci politely declined Luo Yu's offer to drive him back to the hotel and slowly strolled back alone.

The moment he entered his room, without even turning on the light, he collapsed onto the bed.

His entire being was in a state of hollowed-out emptiness.

He closed his eyes and summoned the system panel in the darkness.

[Deep Sleep LV1]

Without the slightest hesitation.

[Use]

The moment the thought settled, an irresistible, gentle drowsiness engulfed him.

One second, he could still feel the softness of the mattress and the breeze from the air conditioner.

The next second, his consciousness completely sank into a dreamless darkness.

The whole world fell silent.

...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

"Ding-dong-dong—"

Urgent and rhythmic doorbell sounds forcibly yanked Jiang Ci out of his bottomless sleep.

His eyes snapped open.

The room was pitch black, only a faint urban glow seeping through the gap in the curtains.

His body felt none of the heaviness or sluggishness of just waking up.

On the contrary, he felt his spirit was unprecedentedly full and clear, as if he had just completed a system reboot, all cache and junk files thoroughly cleaned out.

That feeling of exhaustion pressing on his nerve endings was gone.

He glanced at his phone.

Eight o'clock in the evening.

Exactly two hours had passed since he returned to the hotel.

Two hours, in exchange for a full recovery.

"Ding-dong-dong—"

The doorbell continued to ring persistently.

Who would come looking for him at this hour?

Lin Wan? Impossible, if she had something, she would just call.

Luo Yu? Even more impossible. That kind of acting fanatic was probably in his room practicing his craft in front of a mirror right now.

With a trace of puzzlement, Jiang Ci got up from the bed, shuffled over in his slippers to the door.

He didn't open it immediately, instead peering through the peephole first.

Under the corridor lights stood a slender figure.

She wore a simple, solid-colored long dress, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders, her face completely free of makeup.

It was Su Qingying.

Jiang Ci froze.

What did this icy Best Actress want with him?

He pulled open the door.

Su Qingying at the doorway was still her usual aloof self, the aura around her seemingly capable of lowering the corridor temperature by several degrees.

In her hand, however, she held a transparent, seemingly quite exquisite square food container.

Inside the container were small, crystal-clear boneless chicken feet, garnished with yellow passion fruit seeds and green chopped cilantro, looking tangy and appetizing.

Su Qingying extended the food container towards Jiang Ci.

The action was exactly like when he handed her the rice ball during the day—direct, without any superfluous emotional preamble.

Jiang Ci subconsciously took it.

Then, he heard Su Qingying speak in her usual, mostly flat tone, concise and to the point.

"My assistant made it."

"Lemon passion fruit flavor, boneless chicken feet."

She paused, as if organizing her words, then added one last sentence.

"It's not smelly."

Holding the container that still carried a slight chill, Jiang Ci froze completely in place.

Not smelly.

Two short words instantly cleaved through his freshly rebooted brain.

He immediately understood.

This was her response to his outrageous "durian-stuffed stinky tofu rice ball" analogy from earlier in the day.

A response that was extremely "Su Qingying" in its directness.

He looked at Su Qingying.

After saying that, she averted her gaze, as if looking at him for one more second would make her uncomfortable.

After handing over the item, she didn't even wait for Jiang Ci to say thank you before turning and walking away.

Her retreating figure was aloof, solitary, as if she had merely completed an unimportant task.

Jiang Ci watched her quick steps disappear around the corner at the end of the corridor.

This Best Actress didn't know how to make small talk, nor did she know how to express concern.

She was merely using the only method she was good at, the one that wouldn't make her feel awkward, to extend a bit of goodwill to him, her "comrade-in-arms" fighting side by side.

Jiang Ci lowered his head to look at the container in his hand, then closed the door.

He walked to the table in the room and opened the container.

A wave of tangy, sweet, and fresh aroma instantly assailed his nostrils, completely dispelling the stuffy air in the room.

He picked up a piece of chicken foot and put it in his mouth.

Springy, smooth, the freshness of lemon and the sweet-sour tang of passion fruit perfectly blended, carrying a hint of spiciness that instantly awakened his taste buds.

The flavor was unexpectedly good.

This wasn't just a serving of food.

It felt more like a silent acknowledgment, a tacit understanding only the two of them could comprehend.

Munching on the chicken feet, Jiang Ci felt inexplicably cheered up.

After finishing over half the container, Jiang Ci felt a bit full.

He decided to go out for a stroll to aid digestion and also familiarize himself with the hotel surroundings.

The hotel corridor was carpeted thickly, making footsteps utterly silent.

He had only taken a few steps, just about to turn towards the elevator lobby, when a stunning figure at the doorway of a room diagonally opposite caught his attention.

It was a fashionable young woman, tall and slender, with wavy long hair and meticulously applied makeup.

She seemed very cautious, glancing left and right, then quickly knocked on the door in front of her.

The door soon opened a crack from the inside.

Jiang Ci recognized it—that was Luo Yu's room.

The stunning figure didn't speak, just turned sideways and swiftly slipped inside.

The door clicked shut again.

The entire process took no more than three seconds.

The corridor returned to silence once more.

Jiang Ci's steps paused briefly.

Someone visiting on set?

Such things weren't uncommon in film crews. Actors' family members or friends occasionally came to visit.

Jiang Ci, of course, didn't pay it much mind either.

He shook his head and continued walking towards the elevator lobby.