novelraw Chapter 85: He Didn’t Shatter—He’s Reinforced Steel!
Chapter 85: He Didn’t Shatter—He’s Reinforced Steel!
At 3 PM.
Shanghai, Spark Media underground parking garage.
A striking red Audi Q7 came to a steady stop.
The car door opened, and Jiang Ci stepped out from the driver's seat.
Seven consecutive hours of long-distance driving had drained the last ounce of his energy.
Not to mention the two days back in his hometown, where he first endured a hardcore blind date, then visited the cemetery alone.
The emotional ups and downs and exhaustion were far more tiring than driving.
He closed the car door, his body leaning against the cold vehicle as if drained of all strength, barely managing to stand steady.
In the elevator, the polished metal walls reflected his current appearance.
Even he felt unfamiliar with what he saw.The door to Lin Wan's office was slightly ajar.
Jiang Ci walked to the doorway, not knocking.
He peered through the crack.
Inside the office, the blackout curtains were tightly drawn, leaving only a few dim spotlights on.
Lin Wan was wearing huge noise-canceling headphones, facing a triple-screen setup, her fingers flying across the keyboard in a frenzy.
She was completely immersed in her own world.
Jiang Ci recognized this posture.
Sister Wan had entered "battle mode."
He pushed the door open, his movements as light as a cat's.
Then, he tiptoed to the sofa in the reception area and sank into it.
The sofa was very soft, and Jiang Ci's consciousness almost instantly began to sink.
He forced his eyelids to stay open, waiting quietly.
In the office, only the rhythmic, dense tapping of the keyboard remained.
Who knows how long passed.
The keyboard sounds, abruptly ceased.
Lin Wan took off her headphones, habitually rotating her stiff neck, producing a faint cracking sound of bones.
Then, she turned her head.
Her entire body instantly froze.
On the sofa, at some unknown time, an extra person had appeared.
That person was quietly curled up there, head bowed, as if already asleep.
The dim light outlined his exceptionally gaunt silhouette.
Lin Wan's pupils contracted.
She carefully scrutinized before recognizing it was Jiang Ci.
When did he come back?
How come there wasn't a single sound?
When she clearly saw Jiang Ci's face, pale as paper, and the heavy, indelible shadows under his eyes, Lin Wan's heart instantly tightened.
She had already mentally prepared a complete set of "end-of-life care" level opening lines, ready to carefully soothe this piece of art that seemed to shatter at a touch.
Right at that moment.
The person on the sofa, moved.
Jiang Ci heard the keyboard sounds stop and used all his strength to lift his head.
He saw Lin Wan, her eyes swirling with complex emotions he couldn't decipher.
No energy to delve deeper.
Jiang Ci just wanted to report as soon as possible, then find a place to sleep until the end of time.
He moved his dry lips, his voice terribly hoarse.
"Sister Wan, I'm back."
These simple five words, entering Lin Wan's ears, were automatically translated by her brain into another, terrifying layer of meaning.
'Back.'
Was it Jiang Ci who came back, or was it 'Chu Wuchen' who came back?
Her heart tightened even more.
Lin Wan forced herself to put on her gentlest expression.
"Mhm, it's good you're back, it's good you're back."
"You must be... exhausted from the trip?"
"You look in very poor condition, go rest first. We can talk about anything tomorrow."
She just wanted to immediately pack up and send away this "fragile item" with extremely unstable mental state, for proper safekeeping.
Jiang Ci, however, shook his head.
Quick battle, quick resolution.
He braced against the sofa armrest, forcing his back to sit up a bit straighter, getting straight to the point.
"No need."
"Sister Wan, there's something I need to report to you."
He paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, then said in a flat tone used for stating KPIs:
"Director Wei's drama is confirmed."
"It's called 'The Legend of Han and Chu.'"
Lin Wan: "..."
All the psychological counseling drafts she had prepared instantly got stuck in her throat.
That gentle, maternal expression she was about to give Jiang Ci to help him "relax" also froze on her face.
A full three seconds.
The brain of the ace screenwriter began operating at overclocked speed, spinning wildly.
'The Legend of Han and Chu.'
The Chu-Han Contention!
Xiang Yu! Liu Bang!
The Wujiang River suicide!
The Farewell My Concubine!
Wasn't this exactly the ultimate collection of tragic material that Jiang Ci had previously been obsessed with, repeatedly analyzing—"tortured love, unattainable love, life and death separation"—that he kept talking about?
Lin Wan suddenly lifted her head, staring intently at Jiang Ci.
This kid...
He was a thorough, absolute... weirdo with an extreme obsession for tragic themes!
Having figured this out, Lin Wan's gaze toward Jiang Ci completely changed.
That bit of worry and pity instantly vanished without a trace.
She suddenly felt that her previous thoughts about worrying his mental state might have problems were utterly ridiculous to the extreme.
A person who could pursue efficiency like clocking in on an assembly line when it came to acting in tragedies.
His mental core was probably harder than reinforced concrete!
Stable as hell!
Lin Wan let out a long sigh, her entire body completely relaxing.
She leaned back into her executive chair, sizing up Jiang Ci with the scrutinizing look one gives a monster.
"Understood."
She spoke, her voice tone already completely switched back to the decisive, efficient boss mode.
"'The Legend of Han and Chu,' Director Wei Song's project."
"The company will immediately form a special task force for you. From now on, you are the project core."
"All your schedules and needs, highest priority."
Lin Wan's decisiveness was displayed to the fullest at this moment.
She picked up the internal line phone and directly dialed the Administrative Director.
The call was answered instantly.
"Hello? Director Lin?"
"Apartment 1502, Building A, clear it out immediately." Lin Wan's instructions were clear, decisive, and brooked no argument.
"Yes, that large flat reserved for S-class artists, the highest authority password lock."
"Clean it up, send the initial password directly to Jiang Ci."
"He's staying there tonight."
Hanging up the phone, she looked at Jiang Ci and extended her hand.
"Car keys."
Although Jiang Ci didn't understand why, he still took out the Q7 car keys.
Lin Wan took them and casually tossed them on the desk.
"Don't drive, leave the car at the company."
"What are you driving in this state? Get a good night's sleep."
"Tomorrow morning, a driver will take you to the airport."
Jiang Ci nodded.
He really needed this.
Having a place to sleep and someone to drive him was exactly what he wanted.
"Okay."
He responded, adding, "Sun Zhou booked a flight ticket to the capital for tomorrow."
"Got it." Lin Wan waved her hand. "Go upstairs and rest. The password will be sent to your phone soon."
Jiang Ci stood up, nodded to her, turned, opened the door, and left.
Not a single unnecessary word throughout.
The office door was gently closed.
Lin Wan watched his gaunt, exhaustion-filled back disappear, sinking into thought.
Her worries about whether his spirit was fragile were indeed set aside.
But this didn't mean she was completely at ease.
A new, deeper layer of concern quietly surfaced.
An actor, so obsessed, even fixated, on only taking tragic roles.
He threw himself, again and again, into those sad, desperate, pain-filled character lives.
From the "Young General" to "Chu Wuchen."
Next, it would be the hero destined for a doomed end in 'The Legend of Han and Chu.'
In the long run, was that really okay?
Even if he had a powerful ability to detach, repeatedly soaking in a tragic atmosphere would wear down one's humanity.
She didn't want the once-in-a-century talent she discovered herself to ultimately burn himself to ashes on a path no one had walked before.
Lin Wan opened her computer, her fingers slowly typing a line into the search box.
"Research on Sustainable Mental Health Intervention Plans for Actors Long-Term Performing High-Intensity Tragic Roles."