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

Chapter 11 I was fooled and crippled

A simple fortune telling session turned into a financial loss and a potential threat of death. Many crew members who originally just wanted to join in the fun are now in a daze, wondering, "Who am I? Where am I? What happened?"

Yang Jiantao opened his mouth, about to say something, but was interrupted by Du Anrao.

"The way you write a character may just be a personal habit, but character divination is about your state of mind at that moment and your future. Just like when I asked you to write a character, Brother Yang, the first character that came to your mind meant that your future was related to that character."

Yang Jiantao was speechless. Just like some people always say that they would do this or that if they could do it all over again, but can things in this world really be done over again just like that?

Similarly, he now wishes he could go back to the beginning and replace the word he wrote with something else.

But is this really possible? Can a future that can be changed still be called fate?

Du Anrao didn't directly tell Yang Jiantao that he had to believe in him, but he still easily led him into a logical trap, causing him to begin to doubt himself.

Du Hexuan looked at his old friend, who had clearly been completely fooled, and his lips twitched slightly. He gained a deeper understanding of his sister's ability to lie through her teeth.

"It sounds quite serious, we need to take it seriously. But An'an, what you're saying is a bit too broad. Even if Brother Yang wants to take precautions, there's nothing he can do. Could you please be more specific?"

Du Anrao immediately put on a profound and troubled expression: "Then I'm afraid I'll have to ask Brother Yang to write another character, because that's all I can make out about the character from the last one."

Upon hearing this, everyone's attention immediately turned to Yang Jiantao once again.

Yang Jiantao was deeply moved but refused, fearing that the words he casually wrote might become another ticking time bomb.

Unfortunately, the crew members who were watching the drama unfold were unwilling to let him off so easily. They laughed and egged him on, saying, "Brother Yang, just write one more word. The little girl is just playing around, we adults can't spoil the fun."

“Yes, yes, just write one more word and let us see what else she can say.”

Yang Jiantao was caught in a dilemma. He picked up his pen and, thinking of Du Anrao's words, inexplicably wrote a word on the notebook.

Du An glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and almost couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!" on the spot.

The second character Yang Jiantao wrote was 娣, the same 娣 from his wife's name!
Is it fate, that even the heavens can't bear to see an honest man being wasted by two wicked people? This woman and her brother—aren't they blatantly telling you that the ones who want to harm you are your woman and brother? Sigh, a wife's brother is still a brother, he just doesn't treat you like one.

While the words were straightforward to those in the know, Du Anrao struggled to find a way to interpret them.

[I'm just telling him directly that his wife and brother-in-law are planning to run off with all his money and give him an exorbitant loan with exorbitant interest rates. What's the difference between that and a fool running away and blatantly threatening someone?]

In short, it's too straightforward and lacks sophistication, making it less effective at convincing people and not mysterious enough.

[At times like these, a little linguistic artistry is needed. Watch how I... cough cough, to remind him.]

Du Hexuan, whose "superior" image had been shattered, and Xi Jingyue, who had just gone out and scolded his cousin, returned to find Du Anrao preparing to lie: ...

Du Anrao first mentally rehearsed his lines before slowly drawing out his words: "This character..." Yang Jiantao's heart skipped a beat: "What's wrong with this character?"

"First, looking at the shape of the character, it's left 'woman' and right 'brother'. The left half of the 'woman' is opposite to the person on the bottom left of the 'sword' character. If the 'knife' on the right side of the 'sword' character points to the person on the right side, which refers to Brother Yang, then the person on the left side refers to the other person who had a verbal argument with Brother Yang. Therefore, it should be... a woman."

"A woman?" Many people stared in surprise.

Du Anrao had just talked about money disputes and knife fights, and everyone almost assumed that the person who could fight Yang Jiantao and injure him was most likely a man. But now he's saying it was a woman!
Looking at Yang Jiantao's pale face again, it seemed... he was right again?!

"The character '娣' generally refers to the terms used between sisters-in-law, sisters-in-law, or even concubines of the same husband. In other words, judging from the meaning of the character, this person has a close relationship with Brother Yang and can be considered a relative, but there is no blood relation between them."

With so many preconditions, it's hard not to guess who this person is.

Du Anrao stopped there and changed the subject to another person: "Look at the right half of the character '娣' (di), which is '弟' (di), and this '弟' corresponds to the '刀' (dao) on the right. If we talk about cause and effect from the perspective of past events, the right side is the cause, and the various things that happen afterward in relation to the left side are the effects."

Yang Jiantao had suspected something before, and after Du Anrao's pointed remarks, he couldn't help but take it personally, and his face became even more unpleasant.

The crowd that had been egging them on noticed the unusual atmosphere and dared not utter a sound, and the scene became somewhat tense for a moment.

"What are all these people doing here? Don't they have anything better to do?"

The slightly stern question startled everyone, and they then realized that the director had somehow appeared behind them, his sharp gaze fixed on the group of people within the encirclement.

Several staff members who were familiar with the director were also shrewd and, with a grin, shifted the blame onto Yang Jiantao and his colleague.

"Brother Yang found a little girl to help him interpret the characters, and we just watched the excitement for a while."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because what he said made the director laugh in anger: "Still watching the show? Don't think I don't know what you old foxes are up to. Watching the show is just an excuse, you're really just trying to slack off. Get back to work! If you delay today's filming, everyone's pay will be docked."

As soon as the tactic of deducting wages was employed, everyone scattered like birds and beasts.

The director snorted coldly, glanced at the three people involved, and, not wanting to offend the big shot, decisively turned his guns on Yang Jiantao.

"Why go to those old guys with sunglasses under the overpass for fortune telling? Why go to this little girl? If she's wrong, fine, but if she is, does she want to steal your money? Old Yang, no offense, but you're a grown man, what a lack of ambition!"

Yang Jiantao, feeling somewhat relieved, wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, it's my fault, it's my fault."

The other party's good attitude in admitting their mistake made the director feel a little guilty. After thinking about it, he decided to give both sides equal blame.

"Xiao Du, I know you're young and like to do new and interesting things, but the film crew is a serious place. I'll let it go this time, but don't let it happen again!"

This was practically a direct message telling Du An to stop promoting these feudal superstitions on their film set.

Du Anrao: "..." Oh no, now I'm really being treated like a liar!
(End of this chapter)