What is she trying to do?
Leon Chen was puzzled.
"When I shuffled the deck, I used a PASS to move the King of Hearts to the top, then palmed it, handing the rest of the deck to you to shuffle. When I took the deck back, I inserted the palmed King into the chosen position…" The girl meticulously recounted Leon's entire performance, missing only one detail.
"The so-called Bagras effect has been modified from its original form, perhaps making it even more impressive... How did you manage to predict the suits, ranks, and numbers that three spectators would choose? I still haven't figured that out…" The girl's eyebrows knitted tighter. "I asked them, and they didn't seem like accomplices, which means you used some technique. To my knowledge, you're the first to combine the Bagras effect with mind-reading..."
Leon smiled but did not answer.
"Can you tell me? I'm willing to buy the patent for this trick. It could astonish the magic community," the girl said, her voice tinged with excitement.
Leon felt helpless. Even if he wanted to sell it, who would believe he used real mind-reading?
"To be honest, even if I tried to perform it again, I couldn't. It was purely luck," Leon admitted frankly.
"Why?"
"Can I trust you?" Leon asked, casting a skeptical glance.
The girl patted her chest confidently. "I'm the Vice President of the Magic Club, aspiring to become a world-class magician. I assure you of my professional integrity."
Leon nodded. Since it was just a made-up explanation, it didn't matter. "Actually, during that performance, I used certain items on the table to create psychological suggestions for them."
"Psychological suggestions?" She raised an eyebrow.
"In magic terms, it's called 'forced choice'," Leon explained.
The girl nodded, intrigued. It sounded similar to forcing a card.
"The first spectator chose the King of Hearts. I can understand that; after all, you were quite charming then, Leon, which could easily influence a girl's mind."
Leon hadn't even mentioned it yet, but she had already found an excuse.
"What about the second King? Why would he think of that out of 13 cards?"
"That's simpler. When I fanned the cards and shuffled them, I made sure the King appeared frequently in his line of sight, creating an impression," Leon continued with his fabricated explanation.
The girl seemed to accept this reasoning.
"The 14th card is more complicated and also the hardest," Leon said, noting that the girl agreed. It was indeed difficult for a magician to guess one specific card out of 52.
"The third spectator volunteered himself."
"Was he an accomplice?"
"No, he was more like a rival who wanted to see me fail," Leon smiled, a flash of inspiration hitting him as he spun a perfect excuse. "He's a freshman, quite naive or perhaps a bit antagonistic. I guessed he would choose 14 because in Chinese, 14 sounds like 'want to die.'"
The girl was stunned. Could it be guessed that way? "But such a guess is too bold," she frowned.
"That's why I said I couldn't perform it a second time. The success rate is one in 52, purely a lucky guess."
"But what if you guessed wrong? What would you do?"
"Simple. I had already palmed a card. If I guessed wrong, I'd change my patter and transform the King of Hearts in my hand into the card they chose."
The girl was speechless. Such meticulous thinking.
"Isn't magic boring once the secrets are revealed?" Leon smiled. "That's why it's better to enjoy magic without knowing the secrets behind it."
The girl shook her head, excitedly saying, "No, Leon, you're incredible. This kind of thinking is worth studying. Thank you for sharing so generously. If you need anything magic-related, you can ask me! I'll help as much as I can."
"Alright," Leon nodded.
"I'll go back and ponder over this. It's been quite inspiring," the girl said sincerely, making Leon feel a bit embarrassed for his fabrication.
Finally, when faced with her request for him to join the Magic Club as Vice President, Leon took a long time to refuse. Jokingly, he thought, he wasn't skilled enough, not even capable of endless card tricks. However, Leon suddenly realized that his abilities could indeed astonish the magic community.
After sending off the Magic Club members, the Paranormal Investigation Club members stared curiously at Leon.
"Hey, dear Leon, what were you two lovebirds doing in there for so long?" Luna Hu teased, her slender eyes full of mischief.
"Discussing the secret of that magic trick," Leon didn't hide it.
"You told her?" Luna's eyes lit up, and the other members gathered around. They hadn't attended the welcoming party, but they knew about Leon's performance from the school newspaper's feature, "The World's Greatest Magic Reappears."
The members of the Paranormal Investigation Club, who naturally had keen insight into mysteries, had discussed it at length but couldn't come to a conclusion.
However, Luna's guess that "Leon had given those spectators psychological suggestions" was quite close to the excuse Leon had fabricated.
"Vice President, how did you do it? It's amazing," Sandra Yue laughed. "I almost thought you really had mind-reading powers!"
Leon could only smile wryly.
…
Lily Lin and Celia Qing left the student council, Lily's face blushing like a tomato, while Celia was elated. They had just learned that their performance at the welcoming party had won first prize in the music and dance category, and they had even received a special "Best Couple Award." Celia was already thinking about how to get a meal out of Leon.
Lily listened quietly, knowing that she and Leon weren't a real couple, but still felt a bit of sweetness in her heart upon hearing the news, her lips unconsciously curving into a smile.
As they walked, Lily suddenly stopped and looked up at the window, her eyes filled with confusion and unease.
"Lily, what's wrong?" Celia followed her gaze but saw only a large locust tree.
"Nothing," Lily's voice had a hint of panic but quickly steadied.
"Are you okay? Should I tell Leon?" Celia asked with concern.
"No, it's nothing. I just felt a bit cold suddenly," Lily forced a smile.
Celia nodded. "It's autumn, the weather is getting colder."
After they left, two figures emerged from behind the tree Lily had been staring at. A man and a woman, Isabella Xiang's bodyguards.
"That girl is unusual. She noticed our presence," the man sighed deeply.
The woman, still in a cheongsam, her long, white legs exposed, played with a short sword, blowing on its blade. "Is that the girlfriend of the boy who kissed our lady? She's very pretty and pure. He's quite lucky…" A few leaves fell, and the woman sliced at them with her sword.
The leaves continued to fall.
"We should just kill the boy who kissed our lady," the woman's smile turned sinister. "There are only two fates for those who can touch our lady, and I prefer the first fate for this boy!"
"Stop it, Red. You know our lady's temperament. If she didn't want it, no man could touch her," the man scolded.
Red looked dissatisfied but couldn't deny the truth she hated.
"Then let's kill this girl. She looks so cute."
The man shook his head helplessly at Red's bloodthirsty tone. "Let's observe for a while longer."
"Whatever, but I have an interesting idea…" Red laughed wickedly.
"Just don't overdo it," the man said, and the two quickly left the tree.
Everything seemed as if nothing had happened, except for a few slowly falling leaves.