Chapter 7, Act 1 Magic—Past Life and Present Life

"Liars!" Su Xiaoou naturally didn't believe it.

"Here, take a look." Jiang Shu, having anticipated this, tossed her a document.

Su Xiaoou opened it to see a gold-embossed page bearing Jiang Shu's face and name, along with the large words "Police Special Invitee·Crime Consultant."

"Are you really that amazing?" She couldn't help but look at Jiang Shu, who was meticulously cleaning the room and ended up getting himself filthy, "Looks really can be deceiving... then teach me magic!"

"..." Jiang Shu resisted the urge to hit her, and a thought occurred to him. So he threw the rag and grabbed a handful of coins from the air, throwing them to her, "Like this, when I can't find the coins in your hands anymore, I'll teach you. If you don't have good aptitude, I won't bother."

Generally speaking, coin magic purely depends on sleight of hand, making it among the more difficult types of magic to master. It's virtually impossible for an average person to deceive the audience visually within a year or two, let alone deceive him in several years.

She'd never manage it on her own.

Su Xiaoou spread her hands, showing they were empty, "Oh, then you come and find them."

"Hm?" Jiang Shu raised an eyebrow, "In the pocket."

She checked her pocket and made a face, "It's in my hand."

"Turn your hand over."

She turned her hand over, and then back again, shaking it like a rattle, making it impossible to see the coin in her hand.

"Really, it's in your hand?" Jiang Shu couldn't tell and was a bit confused.

"Yep." Su Xiaoou opened the modified groove cover on her wrist and caught a handful of coins that fell out.

She played with the coins, looking disdainfully at Jiang Shu, "That's it?"

"..." Jiang Shu exhaled deeply, surprised that he had been tricked by a little girl. Clearly, his magic reasoning was still not Cyberpunk enough.

But could he admit defeat? Obviously not.

"Heh, count how many coins there are here," he asked.

"Eighteen." Su Xiaoou counted them out.

"Count to the number of your age this year and carefully look at that coin." He continued wiping the table.

"Fifteen..." Su Xiaoou quickly counted to fifteen and was stunned when she saw the coin.

Where the City Lord's portrait was supposed to be, there was her face, and when she flipped it over, her name—Su Xiaoou—was inscribed on it.

"How... how did you do that?" Su Xiaoou looked back at Jiang Shu, suddenly feeling that he was profound; the coin was special, and it was exactly the fifteenth.

"Just a little trick, now go and mop the floor." Jiang Shu smiled, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward the corner where the 3D printer was operating.

It was good that Mei had given him Su Xiaoou's information beforehand. Otherwise, how could he impress anyone here if he couldn't even fool a kid?

The coins were freshly printed, varying slightly in size; it wasn't much, but it made them easier to handle in order, and if someone was obsessive-compulsive, they might unintentionally arrange them neatly, which he had also stealthily noticed.

Peeking—it sounds cheap, but in magic, it often becomes an unexpected stroke of brilliance.

Of course, if he hadn't noticed, he would have found another way to impress Su Xiaoou. A proficient magician always maintains control.

---

By the time they finished here, it was already 2 PM. They ordered some takeout, and looking at the clean and tidy office, Jiang Shu stirred his spoon satisfyingly and dialed Liu Tingruo's phone:

"Hello? Tingruo?"

"What, you finally remembered me." Liu Tingruo's voice was tinged with reproach.

"I've been busy," Jiang Shu laughed, "There's food in the fridge. Warm it up and eat, I won't be coming home tonight."

"Hm? What are you up to?" Liu Tingruo suddenly became alert.

"I have my performance tomorrow night, the timing is a bit tight, I need to do a bit of preparation. I can't mess up my debut." Jiang Shu said, "I have complimentary tickets for friends and family, will you come tomorrow?"

"Um, so you're really not coming back tonight?" Liu Tingruo's voice became cheerful.

Jiang Shu found this strange and subconsciously "hmm"ed in response.

"That's good." Liu Tingruo nodded, hung up the phone, and left Jiang Shu alone on the other end, frowning in thought.

Hiss—Why is she so happy?

Without reason, the words "Today, my man isn't home~" echoed in Jiang Shu's mind.

He shook his head, dispelling these impractical thoughts.

Tap tap—The wooden door was knocked. A flamboyantly dressed Western woman poked half her body in, her face bearing a deliberate smile, "Is this Magician Mr. Jiang?"

"How can I help you?" Jiang Shu didn't recognize her.

"I'm Maggie, a Third Level ballet dancer, your colleague." Maggie introduced herself, "Welcome to the Black Currant Theater."

"Thank you," Jiang Shu replied, feeling the tea aroma wafting in, hence he kept his response rather distant.

"Well, I have a favor to ask of you." Maggie smiled, "Tomorrow my act is first in the second half, but during today's rehearsal, I found it ran a bit long, so could I borrow five minutes of your time?"

"Will it be returned?" Jiang Shu caught the word 'borrow'.

"That, as the face of the theater, Mei Jie will still give me some face. I'll propose to give you a better spot in the program next time." Maggie, slightly embarrassed, did not answer directly but quickly adjusted and looked at Jiang Shu pitifully, "Can you, just help us this one time?"

"Alright," Jiang Shu frowned slightly and agreed, "if Mei Jie agrees."

"Mei Jie said, as long as you don't mind," Maggie smiled satisfactorily and turned to leave.

Is this the start of workplace politics?

Jiang Shu watched her retreating figure, his mind making plans.

"Hey, are you serious?" Su Xiaoou finally found a chance to speak.

"What?" Jiang Shu turned his head to look at her.

Su Xiaoou looked frustrated, "Your salary is based on the time you are on stage, which is already minimal. Giving her five minutes means you'll only receive two-thirds of your salary."

"Is that so?" Jiang Shu's fighting spirit ignited, "Then, for my salary, I shall strive!"

——

The following evening.

The sounds of the front stage drama faintly carried over, Jiang Shu took a few deep breaths, his anxious mood somewhat eased.

He hadn't thought being away from the stage so long would make him nervous, but thankfully he had the Calming Entry, which prevented complete disarray. Once on stage, he could improvise.

Improvisation is perhaps a magician's most important attribute, and with a magic example library in his mind, he was well-prepared for any emergencies.

"The first half is over, the second half will start in fifteen minutes, next up is the fantastic Magic Performance by Mr. Jiang Shu—Past Life and Present Life," the host announced onstage.

"Magic? What is that?"

"A new entertainment program?"

"Don't know, but what good is bathroom break entertainment, I'm going to the restroom."

The audience below immediately burst into discussion; the intermission was jokingly referred to as bathroom break time, but very few spectators left their seats, curious about what this magic was all about.

As Jiang Shu, dressed formally, stepped onto the stage, the audience quieted down, all eyes fixed on him.

Black suit, white shirt, topped with a fedora—an elegant, mysterious classic magician look.

The warm lights shone on Jiang Shu's head as he looked at the three-tiered seating filled with neatly aligned hundreds of heads, and he bowed slightly, "Good evening, everyone. Before I begin, I have a question."

"Do you believe in fate?" Jiang Shu smiled, "For instance, Past Life and Present Life."