“What’s wrong? Isn’t she coming?” The assistant walked over.
“These newly popular internet celebrities are really quite haughty.”
Ge Siyu was a bit absent-minded.
“If she doesn’t come, she doesn’t come. From the way she talks, she doesn’t seem easy to get along with. Internet celebrities with low emotional intelligence might get some attention for a while, but they won’t last long.”
The assistant nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. You even called her personally, and she still refused. She really doesn’t know how to make a connection. It’s not a big deal; she’s only trended twice. Once her popularity fades, she won’t be anything.”
“Exactly.”
…
The next day, almost at noon, Lin Ran checked out of the hotel, carrying her luggage to Meng Xiao’s place. She already had the key to the room and directly opened the door.
Meng Xiao was still sleeping. Afraid of disturbing her, Lin Ran quietly took off her shoes and tiptoed to her room to pack her things.
Most of her stuff was in the qiankun bag, and her suitcase only contained some lightweight daily clothes.
Dahua and Xiaohua also came to help. Dahua fetched some small items from the Qiankun bag and even thoughtfully arranged them. Xiaohua, though not very strong, enthusiastically grabbed a small brush and climbed to the top of the curtains to clean the hard-to-reach corners.
Lin Ran spent over two hours packing, and it was past 2 p.m. when Meng Xiao finally woke up. She groggily heard noise from the next room and remembered she had a new roommate. The door to the next room was ajar, but she still knocked. “Can I come in?”
Lin Ran responded, “Of course.”
Meng Xiao rubbed her eyes. “You brought so much stuff… Why didn’t you wake me? I thought you only had a suitcase. If I had known, I wouldn’t have slept so long and would have helped you move.”
“Please don’t. Your arm is still injured. You need more rest.”
Meng Xiao suddenly noticed a mouse in the room. She quickly bent down, grabbed her slipper, and threw it at the mouse.
At that moment, Dahua leapt up, caught the slipper in its mouth, and matched Meng Xiao’s reaction speed. Xiaohua, realizing what was happening, quickly covered its head and scurried under the bed to hide.
Meng Xiao was amused and frustrated. “No, I wasn’t playing a game with you. I was aiming at that mouse… Hey, Ran, your cat is useless. The mouse was right behind it, and it didn’t even try to catch it. Do cats these days not catch mice anymore?”
Lin Ran continued packing her clothes, casually making up a story: “That mouse… Dahua is raising it… as rations, yes, rations. It’s waiting to fatten it up before eating it. Don’t worry; with Dahua around, the little mouse won’t dare steal your food.”
Meng Xiao was speechless for a moment, then finally managed to say, “Are all magicians’ pets this quirky?”
“Uh… actually, I’m not a magician,” Lin Ran explained.
“I’m the host of the magic troupe. The troupe has magicians.”
“Don’t be modest. That magic trick you did last time left me stunned. I’ve never seen a magician who can conjure up whatever people point to. Isn’t it possible that Qiqi is just a joke?”
“Just a coincidence, really. I happened to have chips in my hand.”
“By the way, these are complimentary tickets from the troupe leader for friends. Are you free on Friday night? Would you like to come to the magic show? You can bring friends.”
Meng Xiao took the tickets. “Sure, I’m free this week. I’ll bring friends to support you! By the way, have you had lunch? I have instant noodles. Want me to make you a bowl?”
“Instant noodles…” Lin Ran had finished packing the wardrobe and closed it. “Isn’t there a kitchen here? Why eat instant noodles?”
“Uh…” Meng Xiao felt a bit embarrassed. “I don’t know how to cook. Usually, I eat the crew’s boxed meals, order takeout, or have instant noodles at home.”
Lin Ran walked out of the room, opened the fridge in the living room, and found it almost empty, with just a few eggs placed haphazardly inside, and they didn’t look fresh. She shook one egg as if it were a water balloon, realizing it had turned into liquid inside.
“These… have been here for a long time…” Meng Xiao quickly took the eggs and threw them into the trash can.
Lin Ran glanced into the kitchen. Apart from basic kitchen utensils like pots, knives, and a cutting board, as well as a few sets of tableware, there was nothing else. These items showed signs of multiple uses, clearly not by the non-cooking Meng Xiao but most likely by the landlord.
“I’m going to the supermarket downstairs to buy some groceries,” Lin Ran said, picking up her bag. “Wait for me; I’ll be back soon.”
There was a fresh produce supermarket right downstairs at the entrance of the residential area. Lin Ran simply bought some ingredients and carried them back to the apartment.
Meng Xiao was already helping to tidy up the kitchen. These items hadn’t been used for a long time. Though they were stored in the cabinet and didn’t gather dust, they still needed to be washed before use.
Lin Ran brought the ingredients back and made a pot of tomato and egg noodles.
Just smelling the aroma made Meng Xiao’s mouth water. As soon as the noodles were ready, she unceremoniously devoured two big bowls.
Lin Ran also ate quite a bit; it had been a long time since she had cooked her own noodles. Previously, she had been staying in hotels and hadn’t had the opportunity to cook.
Sure enough, her cooking skills hadn’t deteriorated.
Especially since she took the Nine Resurrection Pill, her physique had changed, and despite eating a lot these days, she showed no signs of gaining weight.
This reminded Lin Ran of the time when she was an entertainer, forced to eat only cabbage, cucumbers, and eggs every day, with not a drop of oil in the dishes. She couldn’t stand it and binge-ate for a while, immediately gaining weight. Photos of her were taken and posted online, mocking her for not managing her figure.
By the time they finished the meal, it was already past 3 p.m. Lin Ran felt sleepy and went to her room to sleep. Meng Xiao, not feeling sleepy, went downstairs to the supermarket to buy more groceries. She didn’t like to take advantage of others. Since Lin Ran cooked for her, she felt it was only right to buy the groceries.
Just as she stepped out, her phone rang. Seeing that it was Liu Yixin calling, she quickly answered.
“Are you free?” Liu Yixin asked on the other end of the line.
“I’m free; I just finished filming my scenes yesterday,” Meng Xiao said.
“Director Liu, do you have a role for me?”
“No, my next film is a modern romance; there is no need for a stunt double,” Liu Yixin said.
“My son is insisting on seeing the Miracle Magic Troupe’s magic show. I finally have some free time, but when I tried to buy tickets, they were already sold out. I didn’t realize Lin Ran was this popular… Since you know her, can you get tickets? I’m willing to pay a high price. I need three tickets if possible; my son’s dad wants to go too.”
Meng Xiao took out the tickets Lin Ran gave her and counted them—exactly four. She had been thinking about which friends to give them to, but since Liu Yixin asked, she said, “Lin Ran just gave me four tickets. Come to the theater on Friday, and I’ll give them to you.”
Liu Yixin didn’t expect it to be this easy and thanked her profusely. “Thank you so much! How much do I owe you?”
“No need; I happened to have the tickets and was planning to give them to friends anyway,” Meng Xiao replied.
“That’s too kind. These tickets are over 2,000 yuan each now, aren’t they?”
“You don’t know?” Liu Yixin was surprised. “You’re not close to her? You just know her? That doesn’t make sense… Why would she give you tickets if you’re just acquaintances?”
“We are… roommates.”
“So you don’t know anything about your own roommate?” Liu Yixin was almost speechless. “Just look her up…”
Meng Xiao hung up the phone and searched for Lin Ran on a short video platform.
What she found left her completely stunned.
When she received the tickets, she thought they were unsold tickets, so she accepted them, even planning to invite some friends to support Lin Ran’s magic troupe. Nowadays, tickets for these theater performances rarely sell out, especially for relatively niche magic shows.
Only after searching did Meng Xiao realize that the Miracle Magic Troupe’s magic show didn’t need anyone to boost its popularity. The tickets sold out as soon as they were released, and then Lin Ran trended online. Many people wanted to see the magic show, with some willing to pay high prices for tickets. There were even wealthy individuals offering tens of thousands of yuan for a front-row ticket.
She glanced at her seat numbers; all four tickets were in the first row, excellent seats. However, these tickets were marked as “complimentary,” making them different from regular tickets.
She felt that she had inadvertently gained an extraordinary roommate.
…
Lin Ran had just fallen asleep when her phone rang, waking her up. It was a call from Zhang Yupeng.
“The theater wants us to add two more performances,” Zhang Yupeng said.
“Get ready. We need to rehearse tomorrow and the day after in the morning, and we have shows on Saturday and Sunday nights. Also… I’ll come pick you up for a photo shoot later. We need the photos for promotion.”
Lin Ran, still a bit groggy, replied, “Isn’t Saturday night a stand-up comedy show?”
“They moved it to Thursday night.”
Zhang Yupeng’s voice was clearly amused. “They’ve had the best time slot every week for the past few years, and now it’s finally our turn.”
The theater’s busiest times were Saturday and Sunday nights, especially Saturday night, which had the highest traffic of the week. Tickets for this slot sold the best, and only the most popular acts could secure it.
Yang Tengfei must be shedding tears over this right now.
Zhang Yupeng felt a sense of triumph and even wanted to see Yang Tengfei’s expression at this moment.
Lin Ran sent her new address to Zhang Yupeng, got up, took a shower, dried her hair, and changed her clothes.
Since it was quite a distance, it took Zhang Yupeng over an hour to reach the residential complex to pick her up. Once Lin Ran got into the car, Zhang Yupeng discussed the recent schedule.
“It was the theater owner who asked us to add more shows. She also suggested making new posters. Of course, this is temporary; the online buzz will eventually die down. She said, If we can maintain a ticket sales rate of over 70%, the Saturday night slot will remain ours.”
“That’s great.” Lin Ran nodded. The more tickets sold, the more money she would earn.
“Also, she’s personally overseeing today’s poster shoot. She just sent a WeChat message saying she’s already arrived.”
Zhang Yupeng paused.
“She has a… bit of an exaggerated personality. You’ll get used to it. But she’s a good person… probably.”