Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 610: Spring Festival Gala Recording, Magic Show Plant

Although Beijing Satellite TV's Spring Festival Gala was only a local station affair, sharing little connection with the official Central Spring Festival Gala other than being held in the same city, it was still Beijing. The local station had considerable funding and, unlike the Central Gala, didn't have as many restrictions. Basically every year, they could invite a large number of popular, buzzworthy celebrity artists to perform on stage.And this year's invitation list prominently included Xiao He.

In fact, without exaggeration, several local stations had extended invitations to Xiao He.

However, considering his upcoming work schedule, Xiao He and his team only accepted the Beijing Spring Festival Gala invitation.

The program content this time was quite interesting too. It actually counted as two segments: one was being a "plant" in a magic show, and the other was going on stage to sing.

The singing didn't need much explanation - it was really very simple. Just stand in place and sing while remembering the melody. There wasn't even any need to memorize lyrics since there would be a teleprompter on site, and the backup dancers behind would handle the choreography. Even if the singing wasn't particularly good, there would be post-production tuning. So for Xiao He, just showing his face on stage was enough. It really didn't have much worth.

This was the beauty of pre-recorded broadcasts. Nowadays, except for the Central Gala, local stations basically all pre-recorded their content - meaning they recorded the gala content in advance and then aired it on the day. And many of these singing segments didn't even require live performance; instead, they were recorded in a studio, and at the actual event, the performers just lip-synced.

This approach could be considered a wise choice for everyone to cut corners. It was convenient for the program team, and it was convenient for the participating guests. Just showing up was already a successful performance.

However, Xiao He wasn't about to resort to such tricks. After the program team inquired, Xiao He decisively agreed to sing live for real. After all, his fans already knew his singing ability was just average. If the program team was willing, they could polish it up a bit in post-production. At least personally, he wasn't being sloppy.

And compared to this singing segment, the idea of being a "plant" in the magic show was something Xiao He found quite interesting.

Apparently, this plant gig was something Zhuang Hongyi had specifically arranged for him and the two protagonists of *The Phantom Thief Alliance 2*. It was essentially a sneaky way to help promote the film releasing during the Spring Festival period.

All he could say was, Director Zhuang, you really know your craft. As expected of you.

Xiao He followed the staff member directly into the spectator seats at the front.

The magic show's performance venue was right there in the audience seating area, so as soon as Xiao He arrived, he could see the magician already sitting in position.

He was a man wearing a tuxedo, looking extremely handsome, with a monocle specifically perched on one eye. His smile was very gentlemanly, giving off quite the aura of a Western grand magician.

"Hello, Teacher Xiao."

He warmly extended both hands to shake Xiao He's hand in greeting.

Xiao He shook his hand and nodded in return, but immediately felt something was off. Before their clasped hands had even parted, his other hand had instinctively pressed down on the magician's other hand that was about to pull back.

The magician's expression was filled with surprise.

Xiao He looked down and realized that in just that single encounter, his wristwatch had already been seamlessly transferred into the other man's hand.

If not for Xiao He's sharp instincts, reacting faster than his brain could process to grab the magician's withdrawing hand, he probably wouldn't have even noticed his watch had been swiped.

Such an astonishingly fast "pickpocketing" technique was truly admirable.

However, the magician himself was somewhat embarrassed and surprised. He opened his palm and returned Xiao He's watch. "You... are the first person to catch me on the spot."

"How is it? How is it?"

Another person walked over from the spectator seats, curiously observing the situation.

This person was none other than Xie Jingshi, the actor playing Lu Xiaokong in *The Phantom Thief Alliance 2*. He had already worked with Xiao He during the New Year's Eve Gala.

Seeing Xiao He's clearly unfastened watch in his hand, Xie Jingshi raised an eyebrow. "Haha, Xiao He, you got swiped too! I knew it. Now I understand why the program team confirmed the watches on our hands earlier - it was all for this moment."

Back then, he hadn't thought much of it, nor had he been on guard against the magician he was about to work with. The result was that in just a few minutes of chatting, Xie Jingshi had been stripped of his watch, ring, belt, and even his tie.

Who knows why he hadn't noticed back then? Anyway, as they chatted and chatted, he kept losing equipment. When he saw the magician's hands full of his belongings, Xie Jingshi was so annoyed he laughed at himself.

So when Xiao He arrived, he was hoping Xiao He would join him in losing his gear too.

But this? Just one watch.

"I didn't succeed," the magician admitted his failure very frankly. "Teacher Xiao was very alert. The moment the watch reached my hand, he already had me caught."

"What? Xiao He, your reaction is that fast?"

Xie Jingshi was shocked, and even a bit defeated. "Does that mean I'm really that dumb? No wonder when I went abroad to film, I was always the one losing my phone."

As for being abroad, whether the phone was lost by himself or stolen - it was basically the same thing. No difference. Finding it was definitely out of the question.

Xiao He held his forehead. "If that's the case, maybe you can't be completely blamed for it either."

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ge Fu. I'm very pleased to be working with Teacher Xiao from now on."

The magician took the initiative to introduce himself to Xiao He.

Xiao He replied, "Hello, hello. I'm also very happy to participate in your performance."

"Come on, let's sit down first."

Ge Fu gestured for Xiao He and Xie Jingshi to come and take a seat first.

"I heard Teacher Chen You won't be here for a while, so let me briefly show you both the general outline of my magic trick first..."

A direct demonstration was more impactful than an on-the-spot explanation.

Actually, to put it simply, Ge Fu's performance was quite straightforward - it was a little trick of stealing and swapping cards. It required a bit of hand speed and the ability to improvise on the spot. It also involved using visual misdirection to a certain extent, using perspective tricks to mislead the audience, and finally sneaking the hidden card back out to show everyone.

Perhaps because Xiao He had seen through his "pickpocketing" technique right from the start, when it came time to have someone pick a card, Ge Fu directly chose Xie Jingshi, who was clearly easier to control and could be subtly guided with psychological suggestions on the side.

Xiao He didn't mind. He just carefully observed the other man's technique.

All he could say was, the guy really had some skill.

Although it was a relatively old-fashioned magic trick, the presentation was fresh and appealing. Ge Fu also had a smooth way with words. More than magic, he might actually be better at psychology. It was easy to let your guard down during the conversation, and he naturally built up goodwill. This might have been exactly why Ge Fu could "clean out" Xie Jingshi so easily from the start.

Xiao He became a bit curious. "Teacher Ge, could I also draw a card this time?"

Ge Fu glanced at Xiao He, his smile unwavering. He very generously placed the cards in front of Xiao He. "Teacher Xiao, please."

Xiao He swept his eyes over the cards, then seemingly casually picked up one of them.

After showing it to everyone, he placed the card back.

- Only, in a spot where no one could see, Xiao He's fingers moved with nimble dexterity. The card he had drawn vanished from his palm in an instant as he slipped it back into the deck.

So at this moment, the deck no longer contained the card Ge Fu was supposed to steal.