Chapter 132: New Year's Eve Gala

The senior sisters danced gracefully on the stage while Teacher Guo and the senior brother from ’96 Audio-Visual carried the camera, recording from below.

Dong Yanyan suddenly realized that although the school was small, the distribution of majors was quite balanced. Among these eight classes, there were students from program production, broadcasting and hosting, audio-visual, and cable departments. Together, they could produce a professional show, broadcast it smoothly, and even cover cable, television, and after-sales maintenance—a truly comprehensive setup.

The afternoon flew by in cheerful laughter and song until finally, it was Dong Yanyan’s turn to perform. Her act was scheduled last, not to make her the grand finale, but so that after her magic show, she could clean up without affecting the next program.

Zhang Lei and Liu Qiang helped carry the props table onto the stage.

“Let’s welcome Dong Yanyan from the ’97 Broadcasting Class with a warm round of applause as she performs her magic act!” Upbeat music played as Ren Jiaxuan extended the microphone toward the audience. Dong Yanyan ran onto the stage waving a colorful handkerchief, greeting the crowd. “Dear teachers and classmates, hello! Today is the first day of the New Year. I wish you all blossoming wealth and prosperity in the year ahead!” With a flick of her handkerchief, colorful petals arced beautifully through the air, scattering across the stage.

“Blooming like a splendid garden!” A cascade of vibrant flowers fell onto the stage.

“A riot of blossoms!” More colorful petals fluttered down.

The colorful handkerchief in her hand instantly transformed into white. The audience erupted in applause.

Ren Jiaxuan laughed heartily. “All those flowers just fell off? What else can you possibly transform?”

“What would you like me to transform?” Dong Yanyan smiled.

Before Ren Jiaxuan could answer, the broadcasting students in the crowd shouted in unison, “Roses!”

“Then roses it is!” Ren Jiaxuan grinned mischievously. “I want real ones.”

“Wait and see,” Dong Yanyan said, gathering the white handkerchief tightly and twisting it in her hands.

“Hurry up! Holding the microphone for you is hard work,” Ren Jiaxuan teased.

Dong Yanyan slowly unfurled the handkerchief, revealing a vivid red rose at its center, fresh and dewy.

The audience burst into applause once more. Ren Jiaxuan plucked the rose from the handkerchief and smiled. “Even I can’t get this off.”

“Transform!” Dong Yanyan lifted the handkerchief to reveal a rose resting in her palm, while the handkerchief turned pure white again.

The crowd laughed and applauded.

Ren Jiaxuan took the rose and chuckled. “I want more!”

“There’s more!” Dong Yanyan plunged her hand back into the handkerchief and pulled out another rose.

“I want yet another!” Ren Jiaxuan teased cheekily.

Dong Yanyan frowned, snatched the microphone from him, and announced loudly, “Now, I will perform a grand transformation! Are you ready?!”

“Yes!” the crowd responded enthusiastically.

“Alright then, I’ll need the host to cooperate.” Dong Yanyan took a deep red tablecloth from the table, shaking it open beside her, and motioned for Ren Jiaxuan to hold one corner and stand behind it.

Standing behind the cloth, Ren Jiaxuan asked, “Tell me, where are you planning to transform me?”

“I’m going to turn you into a beautiful lady!” Dong Yanyan said proudly, pressing down on his head. “Crouch down; don’t let the audience see you! Now, everyone count with me: One! Two! Three!”

Seizing the moment as everyone counted, Du Jingxuan quietly slipped behind the cloth and gently pushed Ren Jiaxuan away.

“This is the moment to witness a miracle!” Dong Yanyan dramatically shook the cloth, revealing Du Jingxuan standing gracefully behind it, holding up the hem of her skirt and smiling sweetly. “Hello everyone, I am Du Jingxuan!”

Ren Jiaxuan stood up from behind the table, laughing so hard he could barely straighten his back. “So that’s how you play this trick!”

The audience exploded with laughter.

“Alright, just kidding. Actually, my specialty is making ping pong balls disappear.” Dong Yanyan retrieved three paper cups and a ping pong ball from the table.

“The ball is a bit small—could the cameraman zoom in a little? Who would like to come up and help?” Ren Jiaxuan smiled behind her.

Two girls in the front row quickly rushed up. Dong Yanyan recognized them as Zhao Jing and Liu Yan from the transmission class.

She placed the ping pong ball under one of the cups and swiftly shuffled them around. “Now, all you have to do is guess which cup the ball is under. Quick guesses only—get it right and you’ll win a prize.”

“This one!” Liu Yan confidently pointed to the middle cup. Dong Yanyan quickly lifted it. “Nope!” She covered it back.

“This one!” Zhao Jing pointed to the left cup. Dong Yanyan lifted it just as fast. “Nope!”

“It’s here!” Both girls lifted the last cup together.

“There’s nothing!” Dong Yanyan revealed the middle cup again, showing three ping pong balls quietly resting beneath it.

The audience applauded again.

Dong Yanyan smiled. “Thanks to these two for proving they’re not plants, and to demonstrate my skill, I won’t use ping pong balls anymore. I’ll use this!” She pulled out a long nail and three brown paper bags from her desk.

She had the girls inspect the bags, then placed the nail upright beneath one of them and shuffled the bags quickly. Stopping, she looked at Liu Yan. “Now you have to guess quickly which bag the nail is under.”

“This one!” Liu Yan pointed to the middle bag. Dong Yanyan didn’t hesitate to slam that bag flat with her hand.

“This one!”

“Smack!” The bag on the right was flattened too.

All eyes fixed on the last bag on the left.

“The last one’s yours!” Dong Yanyan grabbed Liu Yan’s hand and decisively struck the final bag. Liu Yan gasped as the bag was crushed, and suddenly the stage lights blazed bright. Colorful balloons rose from below the stage, and glittering confetti rained down like a dazzling waterfall. The melody of “Tomorrow Will Be Better” filled the room.

“Sing out your passion, reach out your hands, let me embrace your dreams, let me see your true face...”

All the hosts and performers came onto the stage, while Ren Jiaxuan quietly kicked the ping pong balls that had slipped from her sleeve into a corner.

“Time always passes so quickly. In the blink of an eye, another year has passed, winter fades and spring arrives. We are grateful for the sunshine that bathes the earth, for the spring rain that nourishes the seedlings, for the teachers’ patient guidance throughout the year, and for the companionship of classmates. Let us bless our motherland with greater prosperity and strength; let us bless tomorrow with more brilliance and splendor! That concludes today’s New Year’s Gala. Classmates, see you next year!”

“Time to go home!”

Dong Yanyan gathered her chair and headed downstairs. Looking at the clock, it was already six in the evening. Her train home was at ten-thirty, and all her luggage had been packed in the dormitory, waiting for departure.