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Generation Z: people born between 1995 and 2009.
At twenty, Bai Jiayu became the youngest magician ever to perform on the Spring Festival Gala.
Who could possibly have been more famous than she was that year?
Well, infamous, actually.
She made it onto the Gala, but she also messed up. In the middle of a trick, she forgot to trigger a prop. Her mind went completely blank, but she had to carry on with the rest of the act while curling her toes onstage so hard she could practically build a villa with them.
One second after the blunder, she was number one on the trending lists across every platform: Weibo, Douyin, Zhihu, and countless others.
That blazing red word “Viral” was impossible to miss.
Jiayu: Wait, weren’t you people always saying you don’t even like watching the Spring Festival Gala?
As if they’d finally found something to amuse themselves with after being bored out of their minds, netizens dug up her entire past:
1. Way too many signs of plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures.
2. A little too full of herself, and her promotional campaign was way too aggressive.
3. She doesn’t take her work seriously. She posts hand-dance videos and selfies every day. She looks more like a beauty influencer than a magician.
4. Have you ever seen a magician walk the red carpet and sing and dance?
After being discussed and insulted on eighty or ninety social media platforms for a week, Jiayu returned to her hometown.
There, she unexpectedly found a diary she’d written as a child:
“If I ever lose my way, I’ll go to the place with the strongest magical atmosphere and hone my skills!”
But it wasn’t going to be easy. After arriving in France, she struggled with the language and couldn’t adjust to the local climate, and ended up in a hospital for Chinese patients.
That was where she met some people.
The teachers and friends who would change her fate looked at her with curiosity.
By day, she took to the streets and performed magic everywhere.
By night, she practiced with a deck of cards so worn that its edges had started to fray.
Sometimes, after practicing for too long, she would find blood on the cards.
It was the most exhausting stretch of her life. Every day, she gritted her teeth and held her breath, so tense her temples hurt.
She had to return to the top, take up the baton, and become the second nationally beloved magician after that legendary master to break into the mainstream.
Sometimes, she would think about it and laugh.
So naive, little girl.
But that was what a dream was.
The turning point came when she entered the World Magic Competition, known as the Olympics of the magic world.
She overcame obstacle after obstacle and made it all the way to the final.
On the finals stage, countless spotlights shone down on her. This time, though, she could see the audience who had supported her all along through the blinding light.
At that moment, she had only one task:
Pick up the playing card that belonged to her and let the audience witness a miracle once more.
The secret to magic, after all, was simply sincerity.
And she had already given her heart to magic.
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A few things to know:
1️⃣ The story is told nonlinearly. Chapters set in the present are marked with ⭐.
2️⃣ Almost entirely female cast.
3️⃣ The full manuscript is complete, and new chapters are being posted daily.
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Theme: Hold fast to your dreams
