Lin Ran had just gotten up when she saw someone slowly walking into the changing room.
It was Wang Xinuo.
Lin Ran’s expression instantly turned vigilant.
Leaning against the doorframe, Wang Xinuo sighed.
“Why bother? He’s not a good person, and he’s always targeting you.”
Lin Ran replied coldly, “But he doesn’t deserve to die.”
Wang Xinuo shrugged.
“That’s because he hasn’t had the chance to commit his crimes yet. Guess why he raised the payout on my insurance policy to fifty million? At the end of the day, I was just protecting myself.”
She sighed again and added after a while, “He’ll probably divorce me. I’ve had enough of this kind of life anyway. I want to get out and see the world. Too bad… If only I had ten million.”
Meng Xiao, confused for a moment, suddenly realized something.
“Was it you? Did you tamper with it? But you’ll go to jail for attempted murder, won’t you?”
Wang Xinuo chuckled softly.
“But you smashed the evidence with your own hands. I can’t go to jail.”
Meng Xiao looked at Lin Ran, puzzled.
Lin Ran pondered for a moment and said, “I’m guessing the blind spot on the top of the water tank covered by the metal frame originally didn’t have water, so someone could float up to breathe. But you filled it with water, leaving him no way to catch his breath. The music was loud, and the tank was thick. No one could hear his cries for help. Without air, he would drown. But the tank broke, so there’s no way to prove it was filled at the time. The video couldn’t capture the blind spot at the top either. Without evidence, it’ll just be seen as a performance accident.”
Meng Xiao asked again, “So, if I hadn’t smashed the tank, would she have left evidence?”
Lin Ran shook her head.
“She would have drained some of the water before opening the tank. It still wouldn’t have been discovered. Dangerous magic tricks like this have very little margin for error. Many magicians have lost their lives due to their own mistakes.”
Wang Xinuo laughed.
“You got everything right! But as you said, there’s no evidence proving I did it. Anyway, I’m leaving now. Best of luck becoming a great magician! Who knows, we might meet again. I’ll buy you a drink then!”
She turned and left.
Lin Ran also stood up.
“Let’s go. Get some rest. You’re going to be busy soon.”
****
That night, the video of Lin Ran and Meng Xiao saving someone was all over short video platforms.
The incident was already a hot topic, and with the trending topic boosted by Yu Shijia and the strategically released video, it quickly shot to the top of the charts.
Lin Ran had been a regular on trending searches lately, so netizens were familiar with her.
But Meng Xiao was a new face.
Initially, people assumed Meng Xiao was Lin Ran’s boyfriend.
Later, when they found out she was a girl, many expressed admiration for how cool she was.
Yu Shijia seized the momentum and released Meng Xiao’s personal details, deliberately painting her background as tragic.
Clearly an expert in this field, Yu Shijia managed to make many people instantly remember this girl with just a few videos.
Yu Shijia even dug up Meng Xiao’s old stunt double videos.
Her clean, crisp movements and stylish demeanor instantly won her countless fans.
Meng Xiao had an uncertified video account, but somehow Yu Shijia found it and pushed it onto the trending list.
Overnight, Meng Xiao gained over two million followers.
Meanwhile, Lin Ran’s popularity remained high.
However, she didn’t have a personal video account, so fans had nowhere to follow her.
Instead, they swarmed the official account of the Miracle Magic Troupe, leaving messages hoping she would see them.
[How did Lin Ran know the magician was in trouble? She rushed in so decisively. What if nothing had happened? Wouldn’t she have been ridiculed?]
[She’s a magician herself! Of course she knows!]
[Everyone says she’s a top-notch magician. It’s normal for her to notice something wrong with a trick like this.]
[Where did that hammer come from? How did she suddenly have a hammer? I’ve watched the video multiple times and still can’t figure it out.]
[Nonsense, if you could figure it out, you’d be a magician too!]
[Is that how magicians work? They can just summon whatever tools they need?]
[Yep, that’s exactly how magicians work!]
[No, we magicians can’t just summon anything.]
[Please don’t have such expectations of magicians. You’ll be disappointed.]
[Magicians are humans, not wizards. Please understand.]
[Stop asking me how Lin Ran conjured the hammer. I have no idea!]
[Don’t ask me either. I don’t know. Ask again and I’ll lose it.]
***
For the past few days, Lin Ran had become numb to the constant trending searches.
She often thought back to the lifespan shown in the Qiankun Mirror.
Wondering if she had seen it wrong before, she waited until the yellow gem lit up again and tried it on her photo.
This time, she was pleasantly surprised.
[Remaining lifespan: 3937 days!]
Four whole years longer than last time!
Lin Ran didn’t fully understand what had changed.
After thinking for a while, she guessed it might be because she saved Cao Xinyu.
Was the extra four years her reward?
If she saved more people, would she gain more time?
She could keep living!
Life suddenly seemed full of hope again.
***
Meng Xiao had been glued to her phone for days, watching her account’s follower count skyrocket.
She couldn’t help but pinch her cheek to check if it was real.
“So many… girl fans…”
Meng Xiao refreshed the page and saw a flood of new followers.
“Why are they all girls? And they’re calling me hubby…”
“There are a few agencies asking me to sign with them… By the way, Ah Ran, are you signed with any company?”
Lin Ran shook her head.
“No.”
Meng Xiao hesitated.
“Should I sign with one? It’ll be hard to handle things on my own later. But if I sign, I’m afraid of getting scammed…”
Lin Ran smiled.
“Why not sign with me? I won’t scam you… Probably.”
Meng Xiao was stunned.
“You have a company?”
“No,” Lin Ran said, shaking her head.
“But I’m planning to register one. I don’t like others making money off me, so I want all the profits in my own hands.”
Meng Xiao was unsure.
“Will it work? Starting your own company…”
Lin Ran laughed.
“It should. I seem to be worth quite a bit right now.”
Meng Xiao’s eyes lit up.
“Then I’ll sign with your company! No matter when you set it up, I’ll wait!”
“You trust me that much? Aren’t you afraid I’ll sell you out?”
“If you sell me… I’ll help you count the money!”
Lin Ran smiled.
“Don’t worry. I won’t sell you out. To start a company, I need reliable employees. You’re the first. It’s hard to do everything on my own. I need a partner. I’ve got my eye on someone… but poaching them from a major corporation’s CEO will be tough.”
***
The trending topic stayed at the top for three days and even took a strange turn.
Netizens began shipping Lin Ran and Meng Xiao as a couple, even forming fan groups for them.
Calling her future boss “wife” felt a bit awkward.
She had no choice but to ask Lin Ran, “How should I respond to this?”
Lin Ran had been busy with performances and hadn’t been following the online chatter.
Hearing Meng Xiao’s question, she glanced at it and didn’t mind at all.
“Whatever you want. You’re my person. Let them ship us!”
“Your… your person?” Meng Xiao’s face turned red, a rare occurrence.
“That’s… kind of embarrassing to say.”
***
A few days later, Lin Ran received a call from Cao Xinyu, asking to meet.
She went to the park as agreed and saw Cao Xinyu already sitting on a bench waiting for her.
Lin Ran sat beside him, waiting for him to speak.
“Well…” Cao Xinyu lowered his head.
“Thank you for saving me. I never thought you’d help me.”
Lin Ran said lightly, “Don’t think too much of it. I gained something in return, so it’s not a loss.”
“I can’t go underwater anymore, so I won’t be performing magic tricks in the future,” Cao Xinyu said.
“I’ll probably return to my hometown and start a small business. I have more friends there.”
Lin Ran shrugged.
“I’m not interested in what you plan to do next.”
She paused.
“Wang Xinuo said you wanted to kill her too?”
Cao Xinyu raised his head, his eyes visibly red.
“I… I never thought of such a thing,” he said, biting his lip.
“I have a good friend who’s very proud and refuses to accept help even when he’s in trouble. So I… I had the magic troupe buy the insurance he was selling, choosing the highest coverage, just to help him earn a bit more. She… she must’ve misunderstood my intentions and thought I wanted to kill her because of this, right?”
Lin Ran glanced at him.
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”
Cao Xinyu lowered his head again.
“She… left the divorce papers and walked away. I can’t find her.”
“If you can’t find her, then stop looking,” Lin Ran said as she stood up.
“Maybe it’s not such a bad thing for you.”
“I… understand.”
Cao Xinyu also stood up and left.
Lin Ran walked away from the park as well.
When she got home, she suddenly thought about the numbers she had seen on the Qiankun Mirror before.
After meeting Cao Xinyu today, she had a strong feeling.
She took out the Qiankun Mirror again, just as one of its yellow gems lit up.
She held it up to a photo of Cao Xinyu.
Remaining lifespan: 15,962 days.
Over 40 years.
Lin Ran quickly calculated.
The extra time she had gained before was 1,596 days, exactly one-tenth of Cao Xinyu’s remaining lifespan.
So, does this mean if she saves someone, she will receive one-tenth of their lifespan as a reward?
…
In the past few days, Meng Xiao’s account received numerous private messages offering collaboration opportunities.
Many directors invited her to act, with some even offering her the lead role.
Having never had the chance to perform before, Meng Xiao was thrilled by the offers.
But she resisted the urge to reply and instead came to Lin Ran for advice.