The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 251: The Qipao-Clad Woman on the Next-Door Balcony

Jiang Ci did not answer their questions.

His obsessive-compulsive tendencies completely erupted when he saw Zhao Zhen's backpack, stuffed to the brim with the zipper nearly bursting open.

Inside the backpack, crumpled T-shirts and several resumes were haphazardly tangled together.

Jiang Ci could not tolerate it.

He took a step forward and, before Zhao Zhen could react, snatched the backpack away.

"Ci-ge, what are you doing..."

Zhao Zhen's words were abruptly choked in his throat.

He watched helplessly as Jiang Ci dumped the entire contents of the backpack onto the carpet.

The next second, Jiang Ci's hands moved with dizzying speed.

The T-shirts, sorted by color shade, were neatly folded in half and rolled into tight, compact cylinders.

The resumes, arranged in alphabetical order by the companies they were submitted to, were secured with a "click" from a bulldog clip.

Charging cables and earphones were perfectly coiled into loops and neatly bundled with small Velcro straps.

Even the half-eaten bag of potato chips Zhao Zhen had stuffed in the deepest corner was resealed by Jiang Ci using a clip.

The entire process had not a single superfluous movement.

Jiang Ci placed everything back into the backpack in layers, based on frequency of use and item weight.

The moment he zipped it up, the entire backpack took on a crisp, neat, and sturdy shape.

Zhao Zhen and Chen Mo were utterly dumbfounded.

Zhao Zhen's mouth opened and closed as he stammered out a sentence.

"Ci-ge, you... when did you sign up for a crash course in housekeeping?"

Jiang Ci threw the backpack back to him, his tone indifferent.

"A top-tier lurker's luggage is always in a state of combat readiness."

"This is muscle memory."

Early the next morning, the three of them arrived at Spark Media.

Jiang Ci walked at the front.

Along the way, he casually straightened a pot of devil's ivy that was tilting on the reception desk.

He smoothed out a poster on the bulletin board that had been stuck on crookedly.

His demeanor didn't resemble that of an artist coming to the company, but more like a Virgo security supervisor here to inspect for safety hazards.

Pushing open the door to Lin Wan's office.

On Lin Wan's desk, files, scripts, and various reports were piled up like a mountain.

Jiang Ci's gaze swept over the chaotic mess, and that hard-to-suppress urge to organize surged and churned within him once more.

As he walked towards the desk, he reported on the upcoming schedule.

"Sister Wan, we're heading to Hengdian this afternoon. Assistant Director Wang has already sent over the hotel address for the film crew."

Lin Wan was buried in a data report and responded with a non-committal "Hmm" without looking up.

In the time it took for her to utter that response, Jiang Ci had already reached the desk.

His hands seemed to have a mind of their own.

His left hand picked up a stack of contracts and arranged them neatly in order of signing date.

His right hand gathered the scattered pens one by one into the pen holder, all pen tips pointing downwards.

Loose script pages were reassembled by page number and secured with a satisfying "snap" from a clip.

The half-drunk coffee cup was moved to the corner of the desk, far away from all paper documents.

His movements were fast yet orderly, carrying a disquieting sense of rhythm.

Lin Wan finally looked up from the report.

Then, she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Her desk was visibly regaining order at a rapid pace.

She was stunned.

"Jiang Ci, you..."

Lin Wan wanted to ask "What the hell are you doing?", but the words reached her lips only to be swallowed back in shock at the sight before her.

Within a few short minutes, the desk that had been as messy as if looted by bandits became neater than when it was brand new.

All documents were categorized by size, color, and importance, arranged like a square formation awaiting inspection.

Lin Wan stared at Jiang Ci in horror, as if looking at a stranger possessed by an alien.

"Are you under too much pressure? Have you lost your mind?"

Jiang Ci precisely placed the last pen into the pen holder and brushed off nonexistent dust from his hands.

He calmly explained, "Shen Qingyuan is someone with an absolute desire for control over his environment. Any disorder makes him feel uneasy. I'm just adapting to his habits in advance."

Lin Wan looked at her completely renewed office and swallowed hard.

Is this fucking an actor's self-cultivation?

This is practically a housekeeping spirit incarnate!

She forced herself to refocus on the matter at hand.

"This trip to Hengdian is a special situation."

Lin Wan's expression turned serious.

"You understand the current public opinion environment outside better than I do. Director Hou is betting on you, and the company is too."

"This film doesn't just represent you personally; it also represents our stance towards those voices outside."

Jiang Ci nodded solemnly.

In the afternoon, the three of them arrived in Hengdian.

The moment they stepped off the plane, they felt air completely different from that of the capital.

Due to the fallout from that international news, the entire Hengdian Film Studio had fallen into a state of fervent excitement.

Several anti-war themed film crews had urgently started production, and the air was tinged with a faint, elusive smell of gunpowder.

Exiting the airport, Jiang Ci spotted their ride at a glance.

It wasn't the usual commercial entourage van.

A black, rather vintage-looking old-fashioned sedan sat quietly by the roadside.

A man in a grey changshan and a flat cap leaned against the car door, slowly rotating two walnuts in his hand.

Seeing them emerge, the man stubbed out his cigarette and opened the rear door.

The immersion started right from the airport pickup.

The car drove into a hotel that had been entirely booked out by the film crew.

Jiang Ci, holding the room key, led his two "villainous" roommates towards his room.

Swipe the card, open the door.

The first thing he did upon entering the room wasn't to put down his luggage and rest.

Instead, like a real agent, he began inspecting every corner of the room.

He first carefully examined the door lock and peephole, then the window latches.

His movements were meticulous, almost as if he were using his fingertips to feel the texture of every inch of metal and glass.

This was actually a passive effect brought by the "Master of Organization and Tidying" skill—an extreme sensitivity to subtle changes in the environment.

He walked to the bedside, his gaze sweeping over the lamp on the nightstand.

At the seam of the lampshade, there seemed to be a slight, extremely unnatural bulge.

Jiang Ci reached out, his fingertip lightly brushing the inside of the lampshade.

A hard, small object, cool to the touch.

His heart gave a sudden lurch.

A listening device?

Is the film crew this hardcore? To help them get into character, they're using professional equipment like this directly?

His adrenaline spiked, a massive sense of crisis from being surveilled enveloping him.

Carefully, he used two fingers to pinch the object out from the crevice of the lampshade.

Holding it up to his eyes for a look.

It was a white, smoothly designed... single Bluetooth earbud.

It still had a bit of dust on it, clearly left behind by the previous guest.

Jiang Ci: "..."

The sinister, ruthless, ready-to-counterattack agent aura he had just been brewing... stalled.

Unbeknownst to him, in the shadows of the balcony next door, a woman wearing a dark green velvet cheongsam was silently holding up a phone.

The camera lens precisely framed his silhouette, bisected by the light and shadow.

Looking at the photo on her phone, the woman's red lips parted slightly, soundlessly forming two words.

"Shen Qingyuan..."