"Li Yue, how is it? Are you ready to go on stage?" Uncle John asked Li Yue backstage, poorly hiding his worries.
"Don't worry, mister. The performance will be successful. You don't have to worry; it will be very exciting," Li Yue comforted Uncle John before turning to the young couple beside him. "How is it, Barry, Iris? Are you ready?"
"Don't worry, Li Yue. I have checked and re-checked the props over and over. There's absolutely zero problem," Barry replied confidently.
"No problem here either. Please take care of me on the stage, Li Yue," Iris added.
Iris was a very beautiful white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her facial features were exquisite, and her figure was eye-catching. She was the stage assistant for Peter, the magician that Li Yue was replacing for the night.
Li Yue was quite excited to have such a beautiful partner. He was the kind of person who couldn't refuse a beautiful woman.
The previous performance on the stage ended while they were talking. The host began to introduce the next show: the magic performance of Li Yue and Iris.
Li Yue had changed into his magician outfit: a black tuxedo and a black top hat. Obtaining a superpower had unwittingly changed his demeanor; he was a natural in his suit.
"Without further ado, let us welcome the magician Li Yue! I hope that his performance will bring a wonderful experience for us all. Give us a round of applause!" The host gave the cue for Li Yue's show; he had been informed that the performer had changed, but he had no idea about how Li Yue would perform, so he simply led with applause to reduce the tension.
Following the host's cue, Li Yue walked to the center of the stage. The audience followed the host's lead and gave applause, but some of the regulars were confused when they saw Li Yue. Wasn't the magician of this theater called 'Peter?' Why was it changed this time? And with a Chinese person? They wondered how his magic performance would be.
Regardless of the audience's surprise, Li Yue reached the middle of the stage. He took off his hat with his right hand and bowed with his left hand behind his back.
"Wasn't the magician supposed to be Peter? Why did they replace him? The new one looks good, but I don't know about his performance," one of the regular audience whispered to their friends.
There was some ruckus among the audience, but they weren't enough to affect the performance. Uncle John and the others breathed a sigh of relief behind the stage. As long as the audience didn't loudly reject Li Yue, the magic performance didn't even have to be good. He only had to avoid major accidents.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Li Yue, and I come from China. Some of you must have realized that I am not Peter. However, I hope that my performance would regardless bring you an exciting and unforgettable experience. I will not speak too much; please enjoy my performance." Li Yue proceeded with his performance, ignoring the perplexed audience. His voice was completely calm; Li Yue was a little surprised that he could maintain his composure, even though this was the first time he had performed in front of so many people.
The magic performance started with small and simple magic tricks using the many small tools hidden across Li Yue's costume. This included turning a wand into a rose and pulling pigeons out of a hat. His skills weren't very good, and he couldn't execute the tricks perfectly, but his composed demeanor eased people into enjoying the performance. The applause from the audience became louder and louder.
The small magic tricks had been exhausted, so it was time for the larger performances with complicated props. Iris, Li Yue's beautiful partner, also participated in the performance.
The audience was already captured by Li Yue's performance. They had long forgotten about the fact that Li Yue was not the usual performer, paying full attention to his performance. There would even be cries of surprise as the magic show proceeded—it was obvious that the magic show was a success, judging from the intense applause.
Transfiguration, flight, and other large-scale tricks were performed one after another.
The series of large-scale magic soon came to an end, and the theater staff cleared the stage of the props, signaling to the audience that the performance had ended. Some of them still felt dissatisfied, but they prepared to leave regardless.
However, right as the audience began to stand up, they noticed the staff pushing a pair of large boxes to the stage. The boxes were taller than most people and just wide enough to fit one person. The audience that noticed these props returned to their seat; they didn't expect that there was still another trick to be performed. They eagerly looked forward to the trick that Li Yue had prepared.
It was reasonable to expect that the magic show had ended; Li Yue had performed all the magic tricks on his predecessor's list. However, Li Yue still had his own magic trick to perform.
"What do you think of my performance?" Li Yue faced the audience in the middle of the stage while the staff set up his props.
"Great! It was awesome!"
"Encore! I haven't seen enough!"
The audience showered Li Yue with endless cheers, and some even demanded encores.
"I am glad that everyone likes it. Now, I shall show you a new magic trick that I will be performing for the first time. I hope that everyone will like it. However, I require a participant from the audience. Those who would like to participate, please raise your hands!" Before Li Yue even finished speaking, many in the audience had already raised their hands, shouting to pick them.
Li Yue didn't particularly care who would be picked as the volunteer; they wouldn't have to help in the magic trick, so anyone would do. Li Yue scanned the audience, thinking about who to pick before a little boy no older than ten years old caught his eye.
The boy's hands were raised high, a glint of desire in his eyes. Sitting around him was a middle-aged couple—they didn't raise their hands, but they watched over the boy tenderly.
Li Yue looked at the little boy, and his eyes lit up. He jumped off the stage and approached the group. The audience watched Li Yue's movements closely, curious about who he would pick.
Li Yue went straight to the little boy and squatted in front of the little boy.
"Hello, little boy. What's your name? Would you like to perform magic with me?" Li Yue asked softly.
"My name is Peter, Peter Parker." After introducing himself, the little boy turned to the middle-aged man beside him with pleading eyes.
The middle-aged man nodded in approval, and the little boy returned his eyes to Li Yue. He said excitedly, "Let's go!"
The little boy had agreed, and his guardian didn't object. Li Yue was about to hold the little boy's hand but paused and offered his hand to the middle-aged man instead. "Hello, my name is Li Yue."
"Hello, Mr. Li Yue. Nice to meet you. My name is Ben Parker. Your magic performance has really opened my eyes. It's really wonderful." The middle-aged man accepted and shook Li Yue's hand, praising Li Yue's magic performance.
"Peter Parker and Ben Parker, could you be...?"