Chapter 077: The Secret Preparations for the Talent Show Finals

They chatted enthusiastically until dinnertime. Judy took off her apron and joined them at the table. Li Lekang praised her cooking skills, and laughter filled the meal, making the atmosphere warm and harmonious.

Then Judy brought up serious matters. “The finals of the Talent Show are next week. All the related pre-show filming and event arrangements need you to keep pace with the schedule.”

“For the finals, do I have any obvious rivals?” Li Lekang was confident that his magic was unmatched, past or present.

Judy told him there was one. “That lady who sings has quite a lot of support. Of course, it’s not just about her own abilities, but also the elements she represents.”

Though he didn’t pay much attention to the Talent Show, Judy’s words reminded Li Lekang clearly. She was a Black singer.

How to put it? Her singing was good, but not quite at the level to compete for the championship. The reason she drew so much attention—enough to rival Li Lekang—was because she had stacked every possible 'buff' upon herself!

Listen! She was Black, a feminist, a lesbian, an LGBT supporter, an environmentalist, and an honorary member of an animal protection organization!

With all these buffs combined—how dare you? No judge dared say anything negative, and no audience member dared question her. In this country where political correctness is becoming borderline fanatical, these auras allowed her to run rampant!

In terms of ability, she was no match for Li Lekang. But in terms of symbolism… everyone understood!

In private, Judy spoke frankly: “Compared to you, she lacks the power to make the entire audience disbelieve what they’re seeing. Only you can get the crowd on their feet time and again.”

Chloe, ever eager to defend Li Lekang, interjected: “I think this isn’t even a fair comparison. She performs, but Lekang creates art!”

“High-five!” Li Lekang laughed, giving his enthusiastic fan a slap of the hand.

Judy continued, “So, as long as you keep your standard, introduce a new magic trick, or even select one of the most spectacular ones from the theater, I believe you’ll thoroughly win over the audience.”

“I don’t want to repeat any acts. I want to surprise the audience. Yes, if you want to beat magic, you need more magic… I think I already have a great idea!”

“Are you keeping it a secret?” Chloe wanted to know.

“Yes.”

Li Lekang couldn’t reveal it yet, but he was determined to astonish everyone.

Only this way could he gain more fans. But levitation as a magic act had reached its peak—as for anything more exaggerated, it would truly look like real magic! So he had to change his approach, and, combining it with a recent creative idea, he decided to add something certain to surprise or even make the audience roar with laughter.

When Judy asked, he kept his air of mystery. “I’ve added something brand new to my original act. Tomorrow, I’ll have my assistant give you a prop list. We’ll need to get started quickly—time’s a bit tight, so I hope we can make it.”

“That’s my job!” Judy replied earnestly.

“I’m sorry to keep you busy when Chloe’s birthday is coming up,” Li Lekang said. “If I have time, I can help look after her. We’re the same age, after all—we should have plenty to talk about.”

Chloe was delighted. “Of course! I want to plan the party theme with Lekang!”

Judy had no objection. “As long as you don’t make trouble!”

She couldn’t help but exclaim, “I want to plan the most unique theme of the year, so those little witches in my class—cough, I mean, so they’ll all see what it means to set the world on fire!”

Her daughter’s trendy language made Judy frown, but Li Lekang smiled. “Don’t scold her. Who wasn’t like this when they were young? She’s adorable now!”

…

Before Chloe’s birthday arrived, the Talent Show finals came first!

As a long-running show, already in its tenth season, its popularity had once waned. But this year, it was surging again, and the key figure behind it was undoubtedly Li Lekang!

His very first appearance gave the Talent Show a spectacular ratings debut. His second appearance set a new record for live viewership. Though he hadn’t appeared on stage many times, offstage he was the king of trending topics, constantly at the top of the charts.

He’d set the audience record for a live broadcast on an obscure NBC channel. One of his YouTube videos had racked up over three hundred million views. His total online following exceeded thirty million. By skillfully leveraging the internet, Li Lekang had become a household name among young people, which in turn made any Talent Show featuring him a blazing hit.

Before the finals, NBC contacted Li Lekang to plan the show’s content with him. They filmed several VCR segments before the competition, helped him coordinate the use of props, and even discussed how to organize the awards ceremony and the season finale performance.

This showed just how much the production team valued his input and his act.

Online, people were already saying: this year’s Talent Show champion would be decided by either merit or political stance!

Most viewers didn’t care who won the crown—they just wanted to see another of Li Lekang’s magic performances! Some even sent letters to the producers, begging for him to perform more than once, offering all sorts of wild and imaginative suggestions.

With popularity at such heights, Li Lekang was already the uncrowned king. This made him feel the weight of expectations and resolve to devote even more effort to his act.

When filming the VCR segments, he didn’t resort to the usual talent show tricks—no sob stories, no tragic childhood, no heartbreak or career setbacks to fish for sympathy. Li Lekang never played the victim; his image was always full of energy and confidence. What he relied on was his ability—on the applause of audiences he’d won over.

Now he promised his viewers an impossible mission in the finals!

At the same time, Li Lekang posted related photos on social media: a coffin, a human-shaped dummy, some planks, chains, and handcuffs. These were his tools for the upcoming performance.

He released them in advance, creating an air of mystery and attracting attention. Audiences had always been curious about his props, and now Li Lekang gave them a chance to speculate and search for the secrets behind his magic among this array of tools.

Countless fans were waiting eagerly for Saturday night. Once the content was released, likes and comments surged. It seemed as if never before had people anticipated a variety show performance so much.

“I see a coffin—what’s he going to do?”

“Is that a human-shaped dummy in the corner?”

“Chains, handcuffs, and even a welder? I want to see it all at once!”

“I’ve never wanted to fast-forward my life this badly!”

People pored over every detail in the photos and videos, discussing passionately. Even some professional enthusiasts had already deduced some clues, sparking countless likes and heated debates.

Everyone was desperate to know what the finals would hold—a level of excitement normally reserved only for concerts of the world’s biggest stars!

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