Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 10 It's a pity not to be a charlatan

Although the Du family had many children, Mr. and Mrs. Du always treated them equally and almost never showed any particular favoritism towards any one of them. Therefore, Du Hexuan was greatly shocked after hearing about Yang Jiantao's wife and brother-in-law's affair, and his gaze towards his old friend was filled with more sympathy.

After figuring out the whole story, Du Anrao began to feel troubled again.

[I was just thinking how sharp this guy's eye was, seeing right through that top celebrity, but how come he's completely blind to his own wife's brother? He's my second brother's friend, and he even helped him out before. Shouldn't I have given him a heads-up?]

[But how should I remind her? Should I do what I did with Ye Mengzhen before, and go back to my old profession?]

Upon hearing this, Du Hexuan's eyes lit up. His mother had mentioned what had happened at the restaurant before, so he naturally knew what Du Anrao meant by "old profession".

His gaze swept over Yang Jiantao, finally settling on the enamel mug in his hand, when an idea struck him.

"Brother Yang, this cup doesn't look like the one you usually use."

Yang Jiantao touched the cup, his expression revealing a hint of regret and nostalgia. "I accidentally knocked it over a couple of days ago."

Those who know Yang Jiantao know that he has the habits of an old cadre. He doesn't smoke or drink. He has been acting for decades and when he has nothing to do on set, he likes to carry his enamel mug around.

He had that cup for over ten years. You get attached to old things after using them for a long time, so even though he bought a similar one, he still felt a little out of place.

"I don't know if I've been having a run of bad luck lately, but I keep losing things."

He does not mean that.

Du Hexuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he subtly picked up the conversation: "I often hear people say that when things are abnormal, there must be something fishy going on. It's fine if one or two things are missing, but if many things are missing, we still have to pay attention."

Du Anrao, who was hiding behind Du Hexuan and pondering how to start the conversation, nodded in deep agreement.

"Isn't that right? Most of the stuff that went missing from your house was probably taken by your wife to sell and pay off her brother's debts. Once she's emptied the house and has nothing left to sell, she'll be targeting you!"

"My sister just happened to grow up in a Taoist temple and is quite knowledgeable about these things. Why don't you let her do a fortune telling for you?"

Upon hearing this, many people around stopped what they were doing and looked over.

Du Anrao was also startled, not understanding how the topic had suddenly shifted to him.

Yang Jiantao was stunned for a moment, then laughed again: "Your sister has this skill? I'll have to support her."

It's clear that he doesn't believe in so-called fortune-telling, or simply doesn't believe that such a young girl has such abilities.

This cooperation is merely to give Du Hexuan face and help him coax the child.

Du Anrao nodded, feigning composure. Although she had many questions in her heart, she had to admit that her brother's brilliant move had saved her a lot of trouble.

"Then I'll trouble you, Brother Yang, to write something."

"Writing..." Fortunately, these seniors all had the habit of carrying paper and pen with them to make marks on the script at any time.

Yang Jiantao quickly wrote down the character he wanted to have divined in his notebook, which was the character "Jian" from his name.

Du Anrao stared at the character for a long time, his expression growing increasingly serious.

Even though Yang Jiantao didn't believe it, he couldn't help but feel uneasy upon seeing this.

"An'an, did you figure something out?"

Du Anrao sighed deeply, frowning, and said, "This is the character for 'injury' or 'damage'." "The character for 'injury' or 'damage'? What does that mean?"

"The word '伤破' (shāng pò) simply means a word that may cause harm to a person and also lead to financial loss."

"This..." Yang Jiantao's face turned somewhat ugly. Even the most good-tempered person would be in a bad mood if suddenly told that he might be injured or lose money, especially since the hurtful word was contained in his own name.

Du Anrao knew these words were unpleasant to hear, but honest advice is hard to swallow. In order to prevent the person in front of her from following in the footsteps of the original plot, she gritted her teeth and continued speaking.

"The character for sword is composed of gold on the left and a knife on the right. Gold, needless to say, represents wealth and fortune, while the knife is a sharp blade, and the hook points to the left, implying financial loss."

"Just financial loss?" Du Hexuan frowned, feeling that this statement differed somewhat from what Du Anrao had just said.

"Of course, it's not just about losing money." Du Anrao took the pen from Yang Jiantao and wrote another word in the notebook.

"This is……"

"The character '劍' is also pronounced 'jian', and it's actually the same character as the one Brother Yang mentioned, just with a difference between simplified and traditional forms. Now look at this character again, can you see any difference?"

Yang Jiantao carefully compared the differences between the two characters, his expression slightly somber: "The 'gold' on the left has been replaced by 'mouth' and 'person' at the bottom."

"That's right. The original gold under the character has become two mouths and two people. These two mouths and two people indicate that Brother Yang, you may have a verbal conflict with someone over money recently."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jiantao's eyes widened suddenly. He had indeed been arguing with his wife about money lately.

The reason was that his wife's younger brother had a girlfriend, and after dating for only two months, they started talking about marriage. The total cost was quite high, so his wife wanted him to use most of his savings to help his brother get married.

Yang Jiantao's daughter is about to enter university. She has excellent grades and loves fashion design. Yang Jiantao plans to send her abroad for further studies after she finishes her college entrance examination.

The couple argued fiercely about this.

The wife believed that no matter what, a girl will eventually get married, so what's the point of studying so much? Studying abroad is a complete waste of money, and it would be better to use that money to help her younger brother get married.

Yang Jiantao believes that he only has this one daughter, and he has spoiled her like a precious pearl as she grows up. He thinks it is worth spending any amount of money on her and he cannot tolerate others pointing fingers or gossiping about her.

Since it was an internal matter, Yang Jiantao hadn't mentioned it to anyone, not even Du Hexuan.

Now that Du Anrao mentioned it, Yang Jiantao's heart trembled. He comforted himself that it was just a coincidence, but unconsciously stroked the cup in his hand.

Du Hexuan noticed Yang Jiantao's change and was amazed by his younger sister's ability to fabricate stories.

If I hadn't known what she was thinking beforehand, I probably would have been fooled by her.

Putting everything else aside, with that kind of talent, it would be a shame if he didn't become a charlatan.

"Not only that, because the gold on the left has turned into a person, the knife on the right is also pointing at a person." Du Anrao pointed to the character that Yang Jiantao had just written, "The character that Brother Yang just wrote has the knife on the right end elongated and raised. If it were replaced with my character, it would be pointing directly at the person on the right."

"As we just mentioned, a knife is a sharp blade, and the hook pointing to the left (representing metal) signifies financial loss. Now the knife is pointing at a person..."

"...What will happen?"

Du Anrao's eyes narrowed slightly, and her expression became very serious, making people unconsciously overlook the childishness on her face and feel respect for her.

"What was originally just a financial dispute can escalate into a violent confrontation if a weapon is added to a verbal argument. This is the hidden... murderous intent beneath the surface of financial ruin."

The onlookers: !
(End of this chapter)