Chapter 6: Host

Li Xingyue performed several magic tricks again, and his performance ended. The prop staff pushed up a large water tank, and next was the water tank escape act by the couple Cao Xinyu and Wang Xinuo.

This magic didn’t require much cooperation from Lin Ran. After introducing it briefly, she quickly took the opportunity to step down and rest, running as fast as if afraid the audience would call her back.

The audience went crazy while watching.

【Is she running away?】

【Are we devils? She’s running so fast…】

【Will she come back? Hahaha…】

【She’s so cute, I can’t resist. I want to be her first fan!】

【Pfft, I’m the first! I decided when she first appeared!】

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【Nshl vbkp bspv ps xwnb; pbl’p clywvkqwz yde nwvl!】

Mbl yvxsprblal oyp fsuqwz, yde vblal olal xsal rlsrzl kd vbl ywekldnl vbyd yv vbl cltkddkdt. Yydu dlvkgldp obs pyo vbl zkhl pbyakdt byrrldle vs cl dlyacu yde elnkele vs nsxl oyvnb vbl rlaqsaxydnl, yp vknjlvp olal lypu vs tlv.

Tsolhla, obld Nkd Syd oldv sqqpvytl, vbl ywekldnl’p ldvbwpkypx elnalyple pktdkqknydvzu. Mblu olal yzz oykvkdt qsa bla vs yrrlya ytykd. Ohld obld vbl oyvla vydj lpnyrl xytkn oyp pwnnlppqwz, vbl yrrzywpl qasx vbl ywekldnl oyp pryapl. Gzvbswtb vbl lpnyrl xytkn oyp lmnkvkdt, lhlausdl bye plld kv clqsal, yde vbl swvnsxl oyp nzlya qasx vbl cltkddkdt, zynjkdt y ckv sq qalpbdlpp.

Ebld Uys Dkduw oldv sqqpvytl, bkp lmralppksd eked’v zssj tsse. Gqvla Nkd Syd, Ck Swktl, yde Nkw Hbl zlqv vbl cynjpvytl vstlvbla, bl oyzjle vs Hbydt Zwrldt yde nsxrzykdle, “Mbkp kp pkxrzu pvlyzkdt vbl prsvzktbv. Mblpl rlsrzl eked’v nsxl vs pll xytkn; vblu nzlyazu nyxl vs pll clywvkqwz osxld. Ebu esd’v ol fwpv zlv bla byhl y pszs pbso?”

Eydt Dkdws vbswtbv bla bwpcyde’p osaep olal kdyrrasrakyvl yde iwknjzu kdvlahldle: “Tl’p fwpv fsjkdt; esd’v vyjl kv vss plakswpzu, Uyrvykd.”

Hbydt Zwrldt qasodle pzktbvzu. Tl rskdvle vs vbl ywekldnl clzso qasx y ekpvydnl yde pyke, “Pked’v usw dsvknl? Gqvla vbl srldkdt, ol psze y zsv xsal vknjlvp—yv zlypv vos bwdeale xsal vbyd clqsal. Gduoyu, pbl caswtbv wp yd ywekldnl; vbyv’p bla hyzwl.”

“Jwv…” Uys Dkduw oyp ekppyvkpqkle. “El’hl osajle ps byae, ps xydu ulyap sq ekzktldv raynvknl, yde ol pvkzz nyd’v nsxryal vs bla fwpv pxkzkdt yv vbl ywekldnl. Rpd’v vbyv y ckv ycpwae?”

Hbydt Zwrldt’p hsknl zsolale. “Mblal yal xydu jkdep sq yckzkvklp. Rq pbl nyd okd vbl ywekldnl’p qyhsa fwpv okvb bla qynl, vbyv’p pvkzz bla pjkzz. Rdpvlye sq nsxrzykdkdt blal, vbkdj ycswv bso vs xyjl vbl ywekldnl zkjl uswa rlaqsaxydnl xsal.”

Cao Xinyu, with a stern face, went back to the dressing room to remove his makeup. Wang Xinuo followed him, reassuring him as they walked, “The audience is just looking for something new. She appeared for the first time, and she’s pretty. The audience will definitely pay more attention. Over time, they’ll get used to it, and their focus will return to the magic. After all, we’re a magic troupe, and people who buy tickets want to see magic.”

Cao Xinyu grumbled unhappily, “You don’t understand… this newcomer is too arrogant. I have to let her know being a host isn’t easy.”

He picked up his phone and made a call.

Wang Xinuo sighed and went to remove her makeup on her own.

Qi Ruige was very good at creating an atmosphere, and with Lin Ran’s cooperation, his close-up magic was still very popular. Liu Zhe didn’t like to talk; he was basically silent during performances. Despite minimal communication, the coordination between him and Qi Ruige was very tacit.

To cooperate with the close-up magic, Lin Ran also descended into the audience seats, and many audience members took the opportunity to take selfies with her.

Lin Ran waved her hands in protest, “Don’t take selfies; it makes my face look big!”

【The host is so real, hahaha…】

【Okay, I won’t take selfies of your face. I’ll sit and take pictures from below…】

【Haha, you’re so naughty! What death angle? Taking pictures like that makes the face even bigger, right? Let me see your photos… Oh my, no matter how you take them, they look so good!】

Lin Ran could only sigh helplessly: “Now my image is completely ruined…”

With a solemn face, she took a card from Qi Ruige’s hand, placed it lightly under her lips, kissed it, and showed it to the audience. Then she said, “I randomly drew a card, and later, I’ll secretly put it back when the magician can’t see. Let’s see if our grand magician can find it back!”

It was a very ordinary operation, but the audience was extremely excited.

【I really want to be that card!】

【Sell me the card! Sell it to me!】

Lin Ran placed the card face down back into the deck in Qi Ruige’s hands. Watching Qi Ruige shuffle the cards frantically, she smiled and said, “I guess our beautiful host just drew… the Two of Hearts!”

He drew the first card, and it was indeed the card Lin Ran had drawn, with the suit being the Two of Hearts.

The applause thundered through the venue immediately. Although it was just a simple magic trick, the audience’s enthusiasm was exceptionally high.

Qi Ruige was somewhat excited. He had performed this magic many times, but it was the first time the audience had responded so enthusiastically.

Although he knew the audience was there for the beautiful host, he still benefited from it. He looked back at his partner, Liu Zhe, and the two nodded tacitly, preparing for the next close-up magic.

At this moment, a spectator suddenly shouted, “Host, are you cheating? Did you deliberately choose that card just now? It wasn’t a random draw, right?”

The speaking spectator was a man in his thirties, and the woman sitting next to him looked at him in surprise, pulled his clothes, and whispered, “What are you doing, Cao Xu? How can you say that…”

There was a moment of silence around. Some spectators had already started to counterattack, “Is this your first time watching magic? Asking such a crazy question, get lost!”

Magic enthusiasts could generally accept the existence of “plants” in the performance; it was part of magic. As long as it wasn’t too obvious, they wouldn’t say anything, let alone loudly accuse.

Cao Xu became even more arrogant. “She said it herself; she randomly drew the card. How can she prove that she randomly drew it and didn’t draw a specific card? That card is crucial. If it’s a specific card… frankly, I can perform this magic too.”

Qi Ruige’s face looked unpleasant. Although he coordinated with Lin Ran, the card was indeed drawn randomly, something he could easily achieve with his skill. If the card wasn’t drawn randomly, the magic trick would be too simple, and he wouldn’t bother performing it.

He quickly thought about how to explain. Lin Ran was making her first appearance, and she probably lacked experience in handling such situations. If he didn’t quickly defuse the situation, there might be an incident during the performance.

“Why should I prove the question you raised?” Lin Ran crossed her arms, looking displeased. “It should be you proving that I drew a specific card, not me proving that I didn’t. Even in court, a judge wouldn’t ask me to prove it. Do you think you have more authority than a judge?”

The audience was stunned for a moment. They thought the host was here to ease the awkward situation, not directly confront it.

Can a host really do this?

But she’s confronting quite… satisfactorily?

Originally, this spectator was being unreasonable. If it were another host, they might have tried to save face for both parties, rounding off the situation.

But Lin Ran obviously had no intention of indulging him, showing no willingness to give him face.

Compared to a polite and diplomatic rounding-off, the audience clearly preferred this kind of ending.

After a moment, many spectators spontaneously started applauding, and soon, applause echoed throughout the entire theater.

Qi Ruige suddenly felt that he was shallow. He had been thinking about how to use high emotional intelligence to defuse awkward situations, but Lin Ran unexpectedly directly confronted and snapped at the person.

Suddenly, he felt that confronting people was also quite satisfying; at least he enjoyed listening to it.

He also joined the audience in applauding.

Liu Zhe hesitated for a moment and also joined in clapping.

Cao Xu was left unable to come on stage, gritting his teeth. “Then, do you dare to swear that you randomly drew the card just now? Do you dare to swear?”

Among the audience, some with a hot temper had already stood up, ready to physically confront. They were regular magic show attendees and had never seen any audience make such a ridiculous and malicious request.

Lin Ran glanced at him contemptuously and said, “Swearing is not something you can do casually. Even if it’s firmly believed in the heart, you can’t swear casually. Forcing others to swear casually is unethical. For example…”

She sneered, “If I asked you to swear to only love your wife for the rest of your life, would you swear? Originally, you wouldn’t need to swear such an oath, but someone brought it up, and it’s completely different now, right?”

Her gaze turned to the woman beside Cao Xu. “I’ve said this: if you don’t swear, you’ll appear guilty, and your wife will definitely not let you off. But if you do swear, you might worry that if one day you can’t keep the oath, will you really be struck by lightning?”

She took a step forward, approaching Cao Xu, staring into his eyes. “So, do you dare to swear that you will only love your wife forever?”

Cao Xu was momentarily bewildered. He didn’t know why suddenly it was his turn to swear. In his hesitation, the woman beside him had already flared up: “Do you really have someone else outside?”

Cao Xu quickly waved his hands. “No, no, how could I have someone outside?”

Cao Xu’s wife obviously didn’t believe him. “Then swear.”

Cao Xu hesitated. “Swearing… isn’t necessary, right? There are so many people watching…”

The surrounding audience had already started to make a commotion.

【You’re not willing to swear, but come here to force the host lady to swear. Have some shame!】

【She’s just working, and you force her to take an oath. It’s your turn now. You don’t even dare to swear an oath of love for your wife. Shameless!】

【If I were you, I’d have already crawled underground and never come out again. What a disgrace!】

【Beauty, your husband must be cheating outside!】

Cao Xu gritted his teeth. “Fine, can I swear or not? I swear I will only love you for the rest of my life; otherwise… may heaven strike me!”

Lin Ran’s voice was cool: “There are indeed deities in the sky; think it over.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a sudden thunderclap resounded from the sky, especially jarring in this scene.

Lin Ran also froze for a moment and then smoothly said, “What was I saying…”

Cao Xu’s wife was stunned for a moment, suddenly erupted in anger, and swung her bag towards Cao Xu, shouting, “So, you really have someone else, don’t you?”

Cao Xu quickly lowered his head to dodge. “No… it’s a coincidence, just a coincidence…”

The spectators, who enjoyed watching the excitement and didn’t mind getting involved in a big scene, immediately stood up, blocking Cao Xu’s way and consciously making way for his wife.

A chorus of screams and pleas echoed in the venue.