Chapter 17: The Most Valuable Graduate

Lin Ran let out a sigh of relief; it seemed she had saved the situation.

She deliberately added a table next to her so that… no one would suspect that she was using real magic, right?

Zhang Yupeng, who had been watching the entire process from backstage, couldn’t resist calling Old Ding, his voice trembling with excitement.

“Old Ding, be honest with me. Where did you dig up such an amazing magician? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Were you trying to scare me to death?”

Old Ding, who was used to going to bed early, was groggy after being woken up.

“Huh? Magician? Aren’t you the magician? Who died?”

Zhang Yupeng replied, “Lin Ran… It’s Lin Ran. Who is she, exactly?”

Old Ding yawned.

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“Fbl’p… vbl eywtbvla sq xu qsaxla nyrvykd. Rv’p vbl xkeezl sq vbl dktbv… Uyrvykd… owowowow…”

Hbydt Zwrldt blzrzlppzu bwdt wr vbl rbsdl.

Ohlau vkxl Xze Pkdt xldvksdle vbl nyrvykd, bl oswze nau.

Tl’e byhl vs ypj ydsvbla eyu.

Jwv kq bl ypjle ytykd ydsvbla eyu, oswzed’v kv cakdt wr vbl nyrvykd ytykd?

Eswzed’v bl nau ytykd?

G hknkswp nunzl, aktbv?

Fvkzz, bl xydytle vs tlv psxl jlu kdqsaxyvksd.

The captain’s daughter… If her father was the captain, where did she learn her magic tricks?

Qi Ruige and Liu Zhe were watching the magic replay, analyzing it.

“Slow it down… These props didn’t come from under the table. How did she do it?”

Liu Zhe pondered for a long time and concluded, “It’s her unique magic trick. If you figure it out, what’s left for her to perform?”

“True, we have our own unique tricks too.”

Qi Ruige nodded in agreement.

Li Xingyue was on the phone.

“Yes, I had Xing’ao cooperate with the magic performance… That girl is my colleague… There’s nothing between us; don’t get your hopes up. I didn’t expect this kid to be on hot search. I haven’t even gone on hot search yet, damn it…”

After the performance, Lin Ran planned to go home and rest.

She was exhausted and had no intention of accepting any interviews.

But all the exits were blocked, and if she walked out directly, she would definitely be noticed.

However, this wasn’t a problem for her.

Lin Ran found an empty room, climbed into her Qiankun Bag, and then urged Dahua to leave and take the bag back home.

Dahua let out a pitiful “meow” but obediently crawled out of the Qiankun Bag, hung the accessory containing the bag around its neck, and darted out of the room.

There were many people outside, but Dahua was so fast that it squeezed through the crowd and quickly disappeared into the night before anyone could react.

Meng Xiao returned home over an hour later, and the first thing she said was, “Ah Ran, you’re back already? You were in hot search again… How do you keep going in the hot search every day? Are you used to it by now?”

Lin Ran had also seen the trending topic, and to be honest, she was kind of getting used to it.

#LinRanMagicSkills#

#LinRanMagicReveal#

#LinRanLiXingAo#

Many people online had recorded videos and posted them, attracting the attention of magic enthusiasts and even magicians.

Many netizens went to the magicians’ video accounts to ask about Lin Ran’s magic level.

The videos were shot by different people from different angles, so there was no issue of specific angles or editing tricks, which made the magicians very interested.

A video blogger named “Magician Ou Junzhe” quickly posted a video replicating Lin Ran’s magic.

In the video, he performed the same magic as Lin Ran but stated that out of respect for his peers, he would not reveal the secret.

Soon, netizens concluded that Lin Ran’s magic was not that advanced and could easily be replicated by professional magicians.

However, the audience at the scene still found it quite impressive, saying that the experience was excellent, and that was enough. After all, most magic tricks can be figured out, but the magician’s skill lies in their speed and technique. Even if ordinary people understood the principles, they wouldn’t be able to replicate them.

Meng Xiao only saw the video the next morning during breakfast and was annoyed.

“What? Isn’t this just belittling a peer? And he talks about respecting peers, but he made a video overnight. He’s just trying to ride the wave.”

Lin Ran didn’t have time to make breakfast because she had to go to rehearsal, so Meng Xiao went downstairs to buy breakfast for them to eat together.

While munching on a bun, Lin Ran said, “It doesn’t matter. The fact that he could replicate it is a skill in itself.”

In her heart, she thought it was a good thing that it could be replicated. At least it showed her “magic” wasn’t too outrageous.

Today’s rehearsal would be even tougher because Lin Ran not only had to host but also officially participate in the magic performance. Moreover, since Cao Xinyu had dropped out, the last rehearsal was now useless, and today’s rehearsal would be performed tonight.

Due to a lack of manpower, Li Xing’ao was dragged out of bed early by Li Xingyue to help with the magic performance. When he arrived at the theater, he was still sleepy and yawning.

But when Li Xing’ao looked up and saw Lin Ran, the little guy immediately perked up and couldn’t wait to show off to Lin Ran.

“Sister, sister! I’m in the hot search! My brother has never been in the hot search, but I did! I’m better than my brother!”

Li Xingyue: “…”

Lin Ran ruffled his little head.

“Of course, our little Xing’ao is amazing. After all, you’re my teacher!”

She still remembered the first time she met Li Xing’ao, calling him “Teacher Li” and learning magic tricks from him.

Li Xing’ao was practically floating with happiness.

“Hehe, I’m my sister’s teacher… hehe…”

Before long, Qi Ruige and Liu Zhe arrived, and everyone began preparing for the magic rehearsal.

However, Zhang Yupeng still hadn’t shown up, which was strange because he was never late.

Lin Ran didn’t have many demands for the rehearsal. As long as there was something to obscure the view so people wouldn’t notice she was actually making objects appear out of thin air, it was fine. The key was not letting anyone suspect she was using real magic.

While they were rehearsing, a young girl walked in through the back door.

The girl didn’t seem very tall and had a cute, round face. At first glance, Lin Ran thought she was a middle school student who had accidentally walked in. Just as she was about to say something, Li Xingyue spoke up, “Sister Tongtong, what are you doing here?”

“My dad was called away for an interview, so I’m here to help out,” the girl replied with a serious expression.

Seeing such a serious look on such a cute face didn’t quite fit; it made her seem like a child pretending to be an adult.

But since Li Xingyue called her “sister,” Lin Ran realized this girl must be at least 21 years old.

“Oh, by the way, my name is Zhang Yuetong,” Zhang Yuetong said, walking toward Lin Ran and extending her hand.

“Zhang Yupeng is my dad. Nice to meet you.”

Lin Ran also extended her hand and shook hers.

“Nice to meet you; I’m Lin Ran.”

“I know who you are,” Zhang Yuetong nodded.

“You’re very talented. I’m glad you’re performing with the Miracle Magic Troupe.”

“You’re too kind.”

Zhang Yuetong walked over to Lin Ran’s magic table and saw a bunch of random items scattered on it.

She picked up a toy and, after pondering for a while, asked, “Miss Lin, do you have any special requirements for the magic props? Do they need to be custom-made?”

Lin Ran shook her head. “No, they’re just ordinary items.”

Zhang Yuetong thought for a moment and then suggested, “If there are no restrictions on the props, how about performing magic around a specific theme? It could make things more interesting. For example… a magic kitchen?”

Lin Ran paused, seriously considering the idea before nodding.

“That’s a good idea. It would definitely make it more fun.”

Zhang Yuetong smiled slightly.

“Right? Then I’ll have someone replace the table with a kitchen counter. How about bringing in a gas stove and cooking on stage?”

“That could work,” Lin Ran agreed with a nod.

“It just so happens that I can cook.”

“Great, I’ll go make the arrangements,” Zhang Yuetong said.

“You all continue, I won’t disturb you.”

She walked off the stage and sat down, pulling a laptop out of her bag and starting to work on it while deep in thought.

Qi Ruige leaned over.

“Sister Tongtong is a top student. She graduated with a PhD from Qingdao University, and she’s quite famous there!”

Lin Ran was genuinely surprised.

“She graduated with a PhD? How old is she?”

“Twenty-eight. Hard to tell, right?”

“Definitely… She looks eighteen.”

After a bit more rehearsal, Zhang Yuetong handed Lin Ran a few stapled sheets of A4 paper.

Lin Ran was puzzled. “What’s this?”

“A themed proposal I made for you. You can use it as a reference,” Zhang Yuetong said casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Lin Ran: “…”

So she had been sitting there working on a theme proposal?

Wasn’t this level of efficiency a bit terrifying?

Lin Ran skimmed through the proposal Zhang Yuetong had given her.

The plan detailed everything from her entrance to her lines and the steps of the magic tricks. It even included alternative plans A, B, and C for various segments, complete with linking phrases and explanations for why each element was necessary.

If she remembered correctly, this proposal had only taken twenty minutes?

Seeing Lin Ran’s surprised expression, Qi Ruige grinned.

“You had no idea, right? Let me tell you, Sister Tongtong completed her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD at Qingdao consecutively, serving as the student council president for nine years straight! She’s known as the ‘Networking Queen’ of Qing City! She was also named the most valuable graduate of Qingdao this year… and that’s the top university in the country! So she’s also the most valuable graduate nationwide!”

“Oh? How valuable?” Lin Ran was intrigued.

“Rumor has it that the CEO of Feiye Group wants to hire her as a vice president with an annual salary of ten million yuan! And that’s just the starting offer! Feiye is a Fortune 500 company, and she’d be entering as a vice president right away! A salary in the millions to start!”

Qi Ruige’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

“Every university student in Qing City knows the name Zhang Yuetong. How can she be so amazing!”

Once he started talking about Zhang Yuetong, Qi Ruige couldn’t stop.

“She once participated in the Qing City University Student Proposal Competition and submitted the best proposal in just fifteen minutes! The judges were shocked!”

He was so excited that he didn’t notice the intense gleam in Lin Ran’s eyes.

“I heard that the CEO of Feiye approached her a year ago. Can you imagine? It wasn’t the CEO interviewing her; it was her interviewing her future boss!”

Qi Ruige’s voice rose slightly.

“I bet she’ll sign with Feiye soon, don’t you think?”

Lin Ran narrowed her eyes slightly and said softly, “Well… not necessarily!”