Wang Qin hadn’t expected Huo Sining to be so straightforward and candid, not holding her accountable, but instead willing to have an open and fair competition with her.
Now Wang Qin completely believed what Xu Yating had said, that Huo Sining was indeed a very amiable and frank person.
"Okay. I accept your challenge, we’ll base it on the final exam results. I am determined to win that spot from you, and I hope you won’t forget today’s promise!"
Huo Sining smiled, "A gentleman’s agreement. I naturally won’t go back on my word, but that’s provided you can win against me."
The next day, Huo Sining found Qin Shaoyou and told him about her bet with Wang Qin, and he naturally agreed to it.
Even though he didn’t have a deep impression of Wang Qin, such a bet could stimulate students’ interest and zeal in their studies, and since Huo Sining didn’t mind, he, as their academic advisor, certainly wouldn’t stop it.
The party membership application was still in his hands, pending until after the term ended, so Huo Sining’s bet wasn’t just empty talk.
Although she had to compete with Wang Qin, Huo Sining didn’t take the matter to heart. The quota wasn’t important to her; it was dispensable, and she felt there was no issue with giving it to Wang Qin.
Having been selected for the preliminaries of the magic performance, the department placed great importance on Huo Sining’s act, which represented the College of Biology’s image, and soon a teacher from the artistic troupe came down to offer her guidance.
"I’ve seen your close-up magic too, and it’s brilliant, but I’m sorry to tell you that your act might not be chosen for the next round."
The teacher who came to give guidance spoke very directly, expressing amazement after seeing the video on the forum, but as the instructor for the welcome party, she had to state the facts.
Huo Sining froze, "Why?"
The guiding teacher explained, "Because the welcome party’s stage is set up on the school’s large sports field, a venue that can accommodate tens of thousands of people, with the stage nearly ten meters from the audience."
Huo Sining quickly realized, "You mean that with such a close-up magic act, the people in the audience won’t be able to see clearly?"
The teacher nodded, "Exactly. During the preliminaries, you performed in a small auditorium, and the judges were no more than three meters away from you, so they could clearly see your performance. But on the large sports field, from such a distance, it’s not just the coins that are hard to see, even what kind of card you’re holding, whether it’s a diamond or a club, can’t be distinguished, and the impact will be greatly reduced."
Naturally, the school’s artistic performance wouldn’t have several cameras for close-up follow shots like CCTV does, nor would there be a big screen broadcasting live, because the school simply doesn’t have such sophisticated, high-end equipment.
And the close-up magic props Huo Sining used were all small gadgets. Without camera tracking on such a large field, the vast majority of the audience would not be able to see her performance clearly.
Huo Sining was taken aback. She hadn’t anticipated this difficulty, but her act had been selected and represented the College of Biology. She absolutely couldn’t afford to have her act eliminated at this crucial stage of the selection process.
Fortunately, Huo Sining could easily control objects. Even though her storage space wasn’t very large—merely twenty or thirty square meters—it was not at all difficult for her to perform a large-scale magic act.
"So is there still time to change the act now?" Huo Sining asked with some uncertainty, considering her magic act had gone viral on the school forum. She was worried that a last-minute change might cause dissatisfaction among other students.
"Change the act on short notice?" The guiding teacher was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
Huo Sining smiled, "If the audience can’t see clearly, then this close-up magic will have to be transformed into stage magic. I’ll have to enlarge the props to ensure that everyone in the audience can see."
Upon hearing this, the guiding teacher was flabbergasted. Could magic be performed like that? Weren’t a magician’s props all prepared in advance, with mechanisms hidden inside for their use? Could this last-minute change of props really work?
She had intended to persuade Huo Sining to modify her close-up magic, but now, hearing that Huo Sining planned to perform stage magic, she was shocked, her mouth hanging open.
"Are you sure you want to switch to stage magic?" the guiding teacher reiterated, seeking confirmation.
This was no laughing matter—Sining was already dubbed "Miss Magic of S University" on the forum, and her act at the welcome party was attracting a lot of attention from students.
If Huo Sining’s act failed during the selection, it would not only be the College of Biology that would lose face, but her own reputation would suffer greatly.
Huo Sining saw the doubt and concern in the teacher’s eyes and explained with a smile:
"Don’t worry, in fact, I can also perform stage magic. I haven’t practiced it, but there’s a week until the selection, which is more than enough time to prepare."
"If you’re confident, then go ahead and change it. It’s common to change the content of the acts during the selection process; you don’t have to worry about any problems."
"Rest assured, teacher. I guarantee you’ll be in for a big surprise when the time comes."
The confidence emanating from Huo Sining, as if she had everything under control, exuded a mysterious self-assurance that made people involuntarily trust her.
The guiding teacher, who had been skeptical at first, no longer questioned after seeing Huo Sining’s calm demeanor, which conveyed a sense of ease and certainty.
To change her magic act content on short notice, she needed to prepare props first.
Huo Sining had watched stage magic on television, especially on CCTV’s International Arts Garden, where magicians like David Copperfield and Daniela Ray had been invited to perform.
While Huo Sining hadn’t made an effort to memorize these acts, she could still recall some specific show names from her memory, such as levitation, metamorphosis, and the Water Tank Escape.
Of course, Huo Sining couldn’t perform some of the more sophisticated and intricate magic, but with a storage ring, she could still put on a few simple acts that would impress the audience.
Playing cards and coins were naturally out of the question. Huo Sining carefully thought it over and quickly sketched out a rough idea of a magic act in her mind.
After class in the afternoon, she returned to her villa, then drove out, first going to the farmers’ market to buy a large cage and several pigeons, then to the flower shop to order a big bouquet of agate roses, followed by a visit to the mall to purchase a tailcoat and a cane that fit her figure.
With all the preparations complete, what remained to be seen was — the performance of Mastiff named Heitan.