Cao Xinyu continued to complain, “How about this, I won’t perform today. I’ll give my time to her to dance or sing, whatever. The audience loves watching her; they don’t care if it’s a magic show, right?”
“You…” Zhang Yupeng gritted his teeth, “What exactly do you want?”
Cao Xinyu’s tone was harsh, “I just think a magic troupe should look like a magic troupe. I don’t want to be laughed at by our peers. I just saw online that people are saying we rely on a beautiful woman to attract the audience. Who can stand that? Ou Junzhe from the Dream Magic Troupe is always mocking us online, saying we should change our name to the Beauty Troupe. What can we do?”
His wife, Wang Xinuo, looked anxious and kept pulling his arm, persuading him, “Let it go. It’s not a big deal. Don’t be so petty…”
Cao Xinyu shook off Wang Xinuo.
“With your weak temperament, no wonder people bully you!”
Qi Ruige saw Lin Ran coming in, quickly grabbed her arm, and pulled her aside, whispering, “Brother Cao is throwing a tantrum. Go say something nice to calm him down. Remember to be tactful…”
He suddenly remembered that this girl had no tact at all and frowned, saying, “Let me teach you. Just say that although you luckily got some attention, the development of the magic troupe still relies on the efforts of the magicians…”
Before he could finish, Lin Ran walked over directly.
Qi Ruige immediately had a bad feeling.
Lin Ran crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, saying, “Boss, Mr. Cao isn’t participating in the profit-sharing today, right?”
Cao Xinyu angrily said, “Why shouldn’t I participate in the profit-sharing?”
Lin Ran said calmly, “If you’re participating in the profit-sharing, then when more tickets are sold, shouldn’t you get more money? Frankly, these tickets were sold because of me. After a performance, didn’t I help you earn a lot of extra money?”
Cao Xinyu sneered, “I don’t care!”
Lin Ran laughed coldly, “Then don’t take any of it.”
Cao Xinyu got angry, “Why should I?”
Lin Ran’s voice turned icy, “Only your parents would follow you around, begging you to eat. Getting benefits for yourself and still wanting others to bow and offer them to you. Do you think the whole world is your parents? Spoiled you?”
These past few days, Cao Xinyu had been throwing tantrums and making faces, but Lin Ran didn’t pay him any mind. That didn’t mean she was afraid of him.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qi Ruige covered his face.
This girl really dares to scold anyone… But if she angers Cao Xinyu, what about today’s performance?
Cao Xinyu was furious, clenched his fists, and was about to charge forward when Zhang Yupeng stepped in front of Lin Ran, his face dark and his voice cold, “What do you want?”
Cao Xinyu roared, “Today, only one of us can stay here. Let her go! Otherwise, I won’t perform!”
Wang Xinuo got anxious, “Xinyu, we can’t do this. The tickets have been sold. What will we do if we don’t perform? The tickets clearly state three magic shows. If we don’t perform, we’ll be one short…”
Cao Xinyu raised his head and said, “That’s the boss’s problem to consider. The boss should know whether the magicians or the host are more important.”
Qi Ruige nervously walked over, with a forced smile, “Don’t be like this; we are all colleagues. Working together and earning money together is good, isn’t it? Although some of the audience today didn’t come for the magic, they might like it after seeing the performance. The magic industry isn’t very popular right now. Gaining one more audience member isn’t easy. Cooperation to retain the audience is the most important…”
Unfortunately, he spoke too late. Cao Xinyu was already too angry to listen, repeatedly asking, “Boss, there’s no negotiation today. I’ve been performing for so many years and have never been treated like this!”
Zhang Yupeng’s face was dark, his voice cold, “Are you threatening me?” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Cao Xinyu didn’t speak, stubbornly glaring at Zhang Yupeng.
Zhang Yupeng’s face fell, and he slowly said, “Then you… terminate the contract.”
Cao Xinyu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You… you want to terminate the contract with me because of a new host? Are you crazy? What are you going to do about the performance? The tickets are sold out, and the audience is here. What are you going to do? Do you think that just because of her face, the audience will support her for a lifetime?”
Zhang Yupeng said coldly, “Since the contract is terminated, it’s no longer your concern. Mr. Cao, please leave the backstage.”
Qi Ruige was stunned.
He couldn’t believe it, “Um… Lin Ran, the boss really supports you?”
Lin Ran was not surprised, calmly saying, “He’s not supporting me. He just doesn’t want to be threatened. If he gave in today, who would listen to him in the future? He is the boss after all!”
Qi Ruige looked at Lin Ran and said, “But what about the magic show? The tickets say there are three magic performances. If the group terminates their contract, we’ll be one short.”
Lin Ran pondered, “How about you and Liu Zhe split up?”
Qi Ruige shook his head repeatedly and said, “Impossible. Neither of us can perform alone.”
“Maybe…” Lin Ran looked at Zhang Yupeng, “The boss can perform magic?”
Qi Ruige rolled his eyes, “What magic? He’s just a businessman with clumsy hands!”
Wang Xinuo was still trying to salvage the situation.
She held Zhang Yupeng’s arm, pleading, “Don’t do this, boss. We’ve been with the magic troupe for five years and have never made a mistake. You can’t treat us like this…”
Zhang Yupeng was resolute: “Either perform properly today or terminate the contract. There’s no third option. I don’t think the host did anything wrong. I’m not going to fire her.”
Cao Xinyu roughly pulled Wang Xinuo away, saying, “Stop embarrassing yourself here. Let’s go! Let’s see who can’t do without whom!”
Wang Xinuo had no choice but to repeatedly apologize and follow Cao Xinyu out of the backstage area.
Li Xingyue had just returned from the dressing room. As soon as he entered the backstage lounge, he saw Cao Xinyu leaving. He was stunned, “What’s going on?”
Li Xing’Ao, following behind, looked puzzled, “Ah… why did the bad uncle leave?”
Li Xingyue kicked him.
“Watch your words.”
Li Xing’Ao, with a lollipop in his mouth, pouted, “He always wants more money and bullies you, making you help him with work. He especially likes to badmouth the pretty sister. Brother, weren’t you also unhappy about it?”
Li Xingyue’s face turned red, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Qi Ruige, looking dejected, sighed, “I know you all don’t like him, but if he leaves at such a critical time, what will we do about our performance? How will we manage three magic shows?”
Li Xing’Ao smiled, “Xing’Ao is here! Xing’Ao can also do magic!”
He said in a deep voice, “I have made my decision. You two groups will perform as usual. After that, apologize to the audience and refund their tickets.”
Li Xing’Ao exclaimed, “Uncle, aren’t you a hidden expert? Xing’Ao has always felt that uncle is the most powerful!”
Zhang Yupeng glanced at Li Xingyue in the distance.
Li Xingyue quickly waved his hands, “Boss, I didn’t teach him that, really!”
Lin Ran suddenly said, “I don’t think we need to refund the tickets. The tickets don’t list the names of the three magic acts. As long as we have three performances, it should be fine!”
She patted Li Xing’Ao’s head and said, “Maybe we can really let little Xing’Ao perform on stage!”
Li Xing’Ao was very confident. He patted his chest, “Xing’Ao comes from a family of magicians. I’m really good!”
Zhang Yupeng shook his head and said, “No, we can’t deceive the audience. The magic you two know combined is only beginner-level. Although many audience members came because of you, there are still many true magic enthusiasts. If we deceive them with such magic, our reputation will be ruined. I would rather lose money than damage our reputation!”
Lin Ran smiled slightly, “Let us try. Maybe… everyone will really like it? There are so many members of the audience here today. The ticket sales must be over a million yuan, right? Half of that goes to the theater. If we don’t make money, that’s one thing, but if we refund all the tickets, we’ll lose nearly five hundred thousand! Who do you think Boss An will make pay for that?”
Zhang Yupeng was troubled by the thought of refunding the money, but he still couldn’t believe Lin Ran had any ability to perform. He was torn, but then heard Lin Ran say, “Just let us try. If the audience is dissatisfied, I will personally apologize and then announce the refund. How about that?”
Seeing Lin Ran’s serious expression, Zhang Yupeng finally nodded, “Alright, you and Xing’Ao will be the third act.”
As soon as he said this, even Liu Zhe, who had been silent, couldn’t help but speak, “This… is too reckless, isn’t it? They haven’t even rehearsed.”
Qi Ruige agreed, “It might be better if Liu Zhe and I split into two groups… although that’s not a great idea either.”
Lin Ran turned to Qi Ruige and said, “You two have always been partners; you can’t split up. Even if you could perform separately, the audience would think we lowered the show’s quality by splitting one act into two. Don’t worry, I’ve watched online magic shows these past few days and learned a bit of magic.”
Qi Ruige: “Online…”
Time was running out. Lin Ran didn’t explain further. As the host, she had to be the first on stage, and if she didn’t get her makeup done soon, she would be late.
Li Xing’Ao looked relaxed, “Don’t worry, chatty brother, we can do it!”
Qi Ruige glared at Li Xingyue, “You…”
Li Xingyue vehemently denied, “I didn’t teach him!”
At seven in the evening, the performance officially began.
As soon as Lin Ran appeared on stage, the audience erupted in applause, even more enthusiastic than last time. She smiled and made a downward gesture, and the applause gradually subsided.
“Hello everyone, welcome to the Miracles Magic Troupe’s grand magic show. I am Lin Ran from the Miracles Magic Troupe!” Lin Ran smiled and extended her hand, a vibrant red rose appearing out of thin air.
“Tonight’s theme is ‘The Rose Rendezvous!'”
Rose petals fell from the stage like a red rain. A breeze blew from the stage, sending the petals towards the audience and carrying the scent of roses, turning the stage into a dreamlike garden.