The day began like any other—coffee, stretch rehearsal, hair and makeup.
But something was off.
Jiang Yue felt it in the set's silence, in the way no one quite met her eyes. The crew buzzed around like always, but it wasn't natural. Their movements were too neat, too efficient. Too rehearsed.
She stepped into the harness, prepping for the rooftop chase scene for Scarlet Line's midseason climax. Her character, Lin Wan, would leap from a 12-foot drop into a hanging scaffold—choreographed, safe, and already tested twice in pre-production.
Only this time, the tension cables weren't handled by her regular stunt coordinator.
"Where's Lao Xu?" she asked, tugging at her strap.
"Family emergency," the assistant replied, looking at his clipboard. "New guy's certified. Don't worry."
She didn't like it.
The new rigger was quiet. Too quiet. And the knots on her backup line were slightly off—she could tell, even without being a professional. But speaking up now, so close to the shoot, would make her look paranoid.
And Jiang Yue had learned something since going viral:
They want you to flinch before the fall. That's how they write your weakness into their script.
She stepped up onto the rig.The director gave the cue.The rooftop fans howled to simulate storm wind.
"Lin Wan sees the killer's silhouette disappear across the ledge. She runs. She jumps."
The platform tilted.She ran.
She jumped.
And she fell.
Too fast.Too sharp.Too real.
The jerk of the line came late.
Jiang Yue slammed into the scaffold side-first, shoulder crunching, breath knocked out of her as the safety line groaned under her weight. She dangled for a half-second before the emergency brake triggered.
The set exploded into chaos.
"Cut! CUT!"
Medics rushed. Someone screamed. The director dropped his headset. But Jiang Yue didn't black out. She stayed conscious through all of it—pain roaring in her collarbone, vision flickering.
She knew.
This wasn't an accident.
Zeyan arrived within fifteen minutes, faster than the ambulance. By then, Jiang Yue was on a stretcher, her shoulder in a soft brace.
"I'm fine," she muttered through clenched teeth. "Just bruised."
He knelt beside her, his hand firm over hers.
"I reviewed the safety feed," he said quietly. "There was a tamper signal."
Jiang Yue didn't blink.
"Lao Xu wasn't sick, was he?"
Zeyan shook his head.
"Threat trace shows override came from a dummy security request submitted under studio clearance. Same source tag as your script cut—Y.R.Q. proxy."
Yan Ruiqing again.
She'd tried to erase her. Now she was trying to break her.
[System Alert:
FL Injury Detected – Non-Critical System Module Suggestion: Enable Real-Time Scene Hazard Defense
New Option: "Anchor Presence – Tier I"
Effect: Auto-activate emergency rigging intervention on sudden risk detection
Cost: 3.2 BP | 2.9 PP
Bonus Option: Trigger Passive PR Event – Frame Scene as "Actress Chooses Realism Over Stunt Double"]
Zeyan enabled both.
By the time the production team issued a statement, the headlines had already begun:
"Jiang Yue Chooses Realism – Nearly Falls During Rooftop Scene"
"Who Needs Doubles? Rising Star Faces Real Danger for Authentic Shot"
Clips circulated from set assistants who'd recorded the fall.
The impact was real. The way she gasped, her hand twisting midair to protect her face—it wasn't choreography. It was instinct.
Fans ate it up.
Hashtags trended again. #YueNoFear, #RealActressRealFall, #RespectJiangYue
Her follower count surged.
Zeyan used the system to slide one more node into place—a short behind-the-scenes clip that showed Jiang Yue after the medics left. She wasn't crying.
She was rehearsing again.
"I'm doing that jump again. On my terms. With Lao Xu back."
The crew stared.
Even the director looked shaken.
"You sure?"
"If I let someone else write the story of how I fell," Jiang Yue said calmly, "then I don't get to write how I rise."
[System Update:
FL Resilience Score: +0.072
Public Sympathy Spike: +0.04429
Media Favorability: +8.3% (Drama Channels, General News)
New Skill Fragment Acquired:
"Crash Poise – Tier I"
Effect: +4.5% audience retention when performing stunts or crisis scenes live]
That evening, someone left a white rose bouquet outside her dressing room.
No card. No name.
Just a handwritten message:
"If this doesn't stop you, then maybe we need to change the altitude."
Jiang Yue stared at it, then tossed the flowers into the trash.
"Bring it."
Ruiqing watched the footage of the fall on loop. Her lips curled.
"She won't break like that," she whispered. "Good. I don't like toys that crack too early."
Su Cheng didn't answer. But he looked uneasy.
Because if Jiang Yue was surviving everything they threw at her…
That meant soon, she'd start fighting back.
Zeyan sat in his private office that night, system window open, calculations running.
[Projected Trajectory:FL – High Rise ArcCompany Image: StabilizingEnemy Moves: Increasingly Reckless]
He typed a quiet command:
Enable: Flame Frame Protocol
Time to stop playing defense.Time to set the next trap.
Time to burn someone back.