"The registration for the auditions has long been closed, but I used Starlight's influence to get you a slot. This season's theme is medium, and it's perfect for you." Cao Xiaohui said confidently, "That one million is definitely yours!"
"Okay, I will be at the TV station at six o'clock sharp," Vajra glanced at his phone screen, realizing that time was running short. Then, he stood up from the bathtub, with black water droplets falling down his pale skin. His body seemed to have become more supple, with every contour and line appearing perfect, as if created by God. Furthermore, there were numerous mysterious runes shimmering in gray and white light on his body, gradually fading away.
He put on a delicately tailored black shirt and black trousers, and slowly descended the stairs, coincidentally meeting Xu Yiyang, who was returning home from school.
The young boy seemed to have gained a little weight, and many of the bruises on his body had faded, a clear sign that he was being well cared for by his father. When he saw Vajra, his eyes sparkled, but he pursed his lips, unsure of how to greet him.
Vajra stood at the top of the stairs, gazing at him for a long time with a look of inner struggle. The wind outside the building was blowing heavily, like a high-speed train heading towards a collision. With a bang, a window in a nearby house was slammed shut by the strong winds.
Amidst the noise, Vajra took a step and slowly approached the young boy. He gently touched the boy's forehead with his fingertips and whispered inaudibly, "Stay away from your father."
The young boy stared at him in bewilderment, finding it difficult to comprehend his words. Why should he stay away from his dad? His dad never hit or scolded him, and he even brought things for him to eat, much better than his mom.
Vajra withdrew his fingertips and let out a soft sigh.
The staff promised and ran off without hesitation, issuing a warning to Cao Xiaohui in front of everyone, without considering the reputation of Fanguo.
After Song Wenxu finished speaking, she glanced at her phone and was surprised to find that her cousin didn't hurriedly hang up the call this time, but instead listened silently.
"You're still there?" Song Wenxu asked incredulously.
"I am," the man was actually there, not buried in his research paper, and he even took the initiative to ask, "Did Fanguo sign up for your audition?"
"Yes, he's already at the studio. He said before that he is a psychic, right? So, we sent him an invitation to come and record the show. At first, he refused, but later for some reason, he agreed, perhaps thinking that I, like other producers, would allow him to do as he pleased as long as he brought money. He's been in the limelight recently, Zhao Wenyu has been gathering top resources for him, and Zhao Guo'an even said that they would spare no expense to support him. I don't know what's gotten into those two. Anyway, I've already warned him, if he wants to use me to hype up his psychic image, it's not possible. I'm being merciful by not broadcasting his ugly side..."
Song Wenxu continued to complain, unable to tolerate people like Fanguo who had no skill but loved to show off. If he wanted to use her show as a stepping stone, he should first see what he was capable of!
But before she could finish her words, her cousin quickly and briefly instructed, "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Keep a seat for me as a judge."
The call ended, but Song Wenxu still stood holding her phone, not knowing what had just happened. Her cousin, who never changed his mind because of others' pleas, had suddenly changed his mind? What's going on? She wasn't hearing things, was she?
---
The cameras were all in position, with dozens of spotlights shining from all directions, leaving nothing hidden in the scene. Wearing a bright yellow dress, the co-host Song Wenxu stood in front of the camera and introduced, "Hello, audience friends, this is the recording site of 'The World of Wonders.' We set a theme for each season, such as psychics, people with special powers, and so on. The theme of the first season is psychics, and our competition venue has already gathered hundreds of people who claim to have psychic abilities. Are they telling the truth? Does the world really have supernatural phenomena? Our show will reveal the truth to you."
Song Wenxu turned to reveal the professional-level judges sitting in the guest seats, one of whom was particularly striking and was instantly captured by several cameras. He had a furrowed brow as he stared at a row of monitors, his eyes flashing as if searching for something. Wearing a three-piece suit, he exuded a nobility and indifference, and the occasional, temperatureless glance even made the cameramen's hands tremble involuntarily.
This was a handsome man, but also a cold man. The more dazzling he was, the more unapproachable he seemed. The other three judges sitting beside him seemed somewhat uncomfortable, shifting in their seats and adjusting their appearances.
Song Wenxu introduced the judges one by one, from left to right, they were Dr. Ouyang, a sociologist, Dr. Lin, a metaphysician, Dr. Qian, a philosopher, and finally she emphasized, "This is the renowned psychologist, Dr. Song Rui. He holds two master's degrees in philosophy, three PhDs in psychology, three PhDs in finance, and one PhD in engineering. He has served as a senior advisor for multinational conglomerates such as Langpensen, Dworton, Renault, and McKethers, and led many classic acquisitions. He also served as a visiting professor at B University and provided consulting services to the police in his spare time, capturing notorious criminals such as the Silver Killer and the Night Butcher. It is said that he has the ability to see through people's hearts, and can expose all your lies with just one glance. So, in our show, can these psychics escape his scrutiny? Let's wait and see!"
Song Rui's resume and achievements were indeed magnificent, and the show felt significantly elevated with his presence. Furthermore, his appearance belonged to the top tier in the entertainment industry, ensuring high viewer ratings.
Song Wenxu was delighted and sat down next to her cousin, saying, "Judges, have you seen the row of screens in front of you? Through the monitoring screens connected to these displays, you can secretly observe our contestants and make your first impressions of them. You can express your opinions on who you favor and who you don't, we'll make the predictions based on that."
"I dare not predict, just make a few comments, as we are no psychics ourselves," Dr. Qian said with a wry smile, playing with the curls at his temple.
"Yes, let's observe the contestants' conditions first," Dr. Ouyang and Dr. Lin quickly chimed in.
Song Rui didn't say a word, just supporting his chin with his hand, nonchalantly glancing at one unfamiliar face after another on the monitors. To him, all these people looked the same, just two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, as plain as a whiteboard with five holes, terrifyingly bland and boring.
All the contestants were gathered in a large auditorium, facing an empty stage covered with a thick curtain. They were chatting in groups of two or three, sitting in rows of chairs meditating, or performing movements with their hands and feet, creating a chaotic scene. Over their heads, hundreds of cameras from various angles were filming their every move.
The off-site host randomly selected a few visually pleasing contestants for interviews. One of them sniffed and said, "I can smell their scent and judge their strength based on it."
The host then asked, "Which psychic do you think is the strongest?"
Upon reaching this point, Song Rui's slightly lowered eyes suddenly lifted, and his deep gaze followed the movement of the camera, but didn't see the unique face he had expected.
The camera recorded a mature face at the direction of the contestant, followed by an assurance, "It's him, the middle-aged man sitting in the corner in a black robe. His scent is full of violent energy; he's very powerful!"
The middle-aged man continued to meditate with his eyes closed, paying no attention to the surrounding commotion, like an enlightened sage.
The host then asked, "Besides him, who else do you favor?"
"He met with who? Which participant does he know in the arena?" Song Wenwan was perplexed.
Song Rui chuckled, then slowly said, "I was involved in the Guo Yi Ze falling case, and I have clashed with Master Fan twice and lost both times. He is looking directly at us. In this observation room, it seems that the only person worthy of this reunion talk is me."
He lifted his head, gazing directly at his cousin with a voice as hoarse as a gust of wind. "Have you never thought that he can actually penetrate the barrier of time and space, and see us hiding here? There are two cameramen surrounding him, and there are dozens of monitors around him, and yet he didn't hesitate for even a moment, finding the precise angle among all the recording devices, connecting it to the central large screen in the observation room, allowing all of us to simultaneously see his monitor. His keenness far exceeds your imagination."
Song Rui gazed at the young man on the screen and said slowly, "I don't know if he's a medium, but I know he is definitely not ordinary."
Song Wenwan incredulously asked, "You just said that you clashed with Master Fan twice and lost both times?" No wonder she couldn't accept this reality, because in her over twenty years of life, she had never seen her cousin in a state of defeat. She had always firmly believed that her cousin could do anything.
Song Rui nodded slightly, his eyes showing no signs of defeat, but rather shining brightly.
Song Wenwan carefully pondered over her cousin's words, only now realizing that Master Fan seemed indeed out of the ordinary. With so many monitors installed around him, and the images captured by these machines constantly changing and cutting on the screens, everything was random and uncertain. Yet he, without any hesitation, accurately found the best shooting angle, connecting precisely to the central screen, making all the judges could not help but be shocked by his sharp gaze. He even knew that there was a former acquaintance of his in this observation room. Were all these just coincidences?
Song Wenwan couldn't find the answer, but she knew for certain that a person who could make her cousin take notice must not be ordinary. This Master Fan was quite interesting!
Thinking of this, she avoided the camera and sent a message to the director, asking him to arrange more shots for Master Fan. In fact, she didn't need to instruct him because the director had also realized that Master Fan's participation had brought a fantastic effect to this reality show. Regardless of whether his abilities were real or fake, his appearance alone was enough to attract many people's attention.
Having not appeared in public for a long time, his appearance was even more majestic than before, and his temperament had become more unique. Even the smallest actions he made exuded a thrilling beauty. But his features had not changed much; they had just lengthened slightly, adding more sophistication, and leaving more room for reverie. Especially those intensely black eyes, radiating with a mysterious light.
In theory, his appearance should have captivated everyone, but when he stood in the darkness, he seemed to have truly vanished.
The cameramen, faithfully recording the exclusion and criticisms of Master Fan by the participants, had become a major highlight of the show after the broadcast.
Watching the footage switched by the director, Song Wenwan exclaimed excitedly, "Inviting Master Fan to participate in the show was indeed a wise decision. The first episode's dramatic conflicts are almost all about him. Cousin, you sure haven't seen the posts tearing him apart on the internet. If you had, you would know that he's just a fraud. The death sketch he drew was fake, and someone must have provided false testimony to the police for him!"