The director and producer of the program 'The World of Strange People' was Song Wennuan, and she had a strong and solid family background.

She had arranged the most luxurious production studio available at Lemon TV Station for this show, and she would be the first to use it for the sake of recording a non-mainstream variety show.

After coordinating the overall setup and assigning each crew member's duties with difficulty, she finally managed to steal back some free time for herself. Despite the tight schedule, she still needed to do the most important thing that would ensure that the program started well and continued to do well, she needed to call her last hope- her cousin.

"Brother! Brother, help me! Whether or not my show can be filmed smoothly is completely dependent on you! Your appearance and temperament are top grade, and with your presence, the show definitely will be on fire!

"And did you know? I really can't stand it, all the contestants are weird people, so I'm afraid I won't be able to control them. You're my last hope!"

From the other end of the call came a cold and indifferent voice which mercilessly rejected her. "I'm busy. I have to write a very important thesis."

"No, no, can't you write the thesis later? My show's recording will start soon. Come on, Brother! Please, I beg you!

"Without you being our expert consultant, we simply won't be able to control the situation at all. Those contestants are all so strange, and I suspect that many of them are actually crazy!

"You hold both power and prestige in this field, and just your presence can help us prevent a lot of accidents. Without you, I only have to imagine to know how chaotic the scene of the audition will become."

Song Wennuan almost kneeled in desperation as she kept begging her cousin to lend his aid.

"I don't have the time. You should figure it out yourself. Also, you should really think about the kind of audience you intend to attract by creating and broadcasting this kind of program carefully."

The person on the other end of the phone call remained unmoved as he indifferently refused again, though he did warn her.

Song Wennuan felt anxious. She knew that she didn't have the power to shake her cousin's decision at all.

Her cousin appeared to be gentle and modest, but in fact, he kept everyone at a distance from himself, and there existed no one who could cross that boundary.

Sometimes, she would even feel that he was quite scary, because he had never loved anyone, nor had he hated anyone. Most of all, he had never remembered anyone.

Everyone was viewed as being dispensable in his eyes.

Song Wennuan recalled the state her cousin had been in on the day of her uncle and aunt's tragic deaths, and couldn't help but shiver at the memory.

At that moment, a crew member rushed over excitedly and shouted, "Fan Jialuo is here. He really came to participate in the audition!"

"Huh? He's here?"

Song Wennuan glanced at her watch. It was 6:30 p.m., which was neither too early nor too late, and there was still plenty of time left before the start of the audition.

It could be seen that this person wasn't just coming here for the fun of it, but was actually serious about the job.

"I thought he wouldn't come. After all, he is a celebrity, and has a different social status and standing.

"Go and tell his agent that our program is 100% authentic and that we won't ever help him in cheating or faking anything! If he possesses real ability, then let him stay, otherwise tell him to leave as soon as possible, so that he doesn't make a fool of himself in front of the camera.

"The uglier and more foolish he looks on camera, the more I will want to broadcast it. I will do anything for high ratings. Don't let Zhao Wenyan interfere at all, I don't care even if he comes asking for a favor regarding this!"

The Song Family was a political family, and their current younger generation contained plenty of talent more promising than the previous ones.

Unlike ordinary merchant families, they possessed a natural confidence in their words.

The crew member quickly agreed and rushed away to recount the exact words his boss had said to Cao Xiaohui, disregarding the other people present completely.

They truly did not take the other person's reputation into consideration at all.

Song Wennuan looked down at her still lit-up phone screen. Surprisingly her cousin hadn't hung up the call as she thought he would have by now, but had instead been listing to everything happening on her side in silence.

"Hello Brother, are you still there?" Song Wennuan asked in disbelief.

"I'm here." The man actually answered. This action of replying itself was odd, for normally, by now, he would have immersed himself in his thesis, and that would be the reason for why he would have forgotten to end the call.

For the first time, he voluntarily asked, "Did Fan Jialuo sign up to audition for your show?"

"Yes, he's already arrived at the studio. A while ago, in order to salvage his reputation and wash himself white, didn't he say he was a psychic? Well, because of that, we invited him to participate in this program.

"At first, he refused, and then somehow ended up agreeing to do it. Maybe he's thinking that, just like other producers, I will let him do whatever he wants to as long as he brings money for the production group.

"He's been hogging the limelight recently. Zhao Wenyan has also been looking for top grade resources for him, and even Mr. Zhao Guoan sent me a message saying that he should be treated well and at no cost should his image be tarnished.

"I really don't know what the hell happened to the two of them. In any case, I've already put his scandal aside, and won't make references to it during the shooting. If he wants me to help him hype up his 'psychic ability' in order to gain more influence, I won't do it. It'll already be good if I don't broadcast his shameful performance in the show..."

Song Wennuan complained endlessly. The type of people she hated the most were the ones like Fan Jialuo-those who had no ability yet were still so full of themselves.

If he wanted to use her program as a stepping stone, he needed to weigh himself properly first!

However, before she could finish her rant about this certain person, her cousin gave her an unexpected and brief answer. "I'll be there in 20 minutes. Keep one of the seats on the judging panel for me." And then hung up the phone.

Song Wennuen stared at her phone with a stupid expression on her face, she simply couldn't understand what had just happened.

Had her cousin, the one who always stood firm as a stone and who had never been swayed by any waves, changed his mind just now? Like, what?

Can anyone tell me that I didn't hear it wrong?

-

The cameras were rolling and dozens of spotlights shone down, illuminating each angle and corner of the room, making sure nothing was hidden.

Song Wennuan, who also served as the host of the show, stood in front of the main camera in a bright yellow dress.

"Hello everyone, this is 'The World of Strange People' Season 1, a new and unique reality show where we will set a different theme for each season, for example, psychics, superhumans, supernatural abilities and so forth. The theme for the first season is-Psychics!

"We have gathered together hundreds of people who claim to have psychic abilities. Is what they say true? Or false? Do supernatural phenomenons truly exist in the world? Our show will unveil the truth for you."

Song Wennuan turned to reveal several professional-looking judges sitting on guest seats. One of them was particularly eye-catching, and quickly became the focus of attention for several cameras almost simultaneously.

He was staring at the row of monitors in front of him with a deep furrow on his forehead, and eyes that flickered continuously, looking as if searching for something, or maybe someone.

Dressed in a three-piece branded suit, his demeanor radiated the pride and indifference of the nobility. Even an occasional glance from that pair of eyes, which exuded a coldness that plunged below freezing point would make the cameraman's hand tremble.

That man was stunning, but at the same time, was ice-cold. The more dazzling he was, the less others dared to approach him.

The other three judges were uncomfortable because of the seating arrangement, frequently fidgeting in their chairs and adjusting their appearances as they sat beside him.

Song Wennuan introduced the judges one after the other. From left to right, they were Dr. Ouyang, a sociologist; Dr. Lin, a metaphysician; and Dr. Qian, a philosopher.

When introducing the most dazzling man within the panel of judges, she emphasized, "This is Dr. Song Rui, a world-renowned psychologist. He holds a Master's degree in Philosophy, a Doctorate in Psychology, a Doctorate in Finance, and a Doctorate in Engineering.

"He has also served as a Senior Consultant for many multinational Consortiums, such as Lampson, Dowrton, Renault and McCarthys. He has successfully helmed many classic mergers and acquisitions whilst working with these companies, and concurrently serves as a guest professor in University B.

"In his spare time, he also consults for the police. He has been instrumental in helping with the investigation and capture of several vicious serial murderers such as The Silver Killer and The Rainy Night Butcher.

"It is said that he possesses the ability to see through people's hearts, and can expose all of their lies in just a single glance. So, now, here in our show, will these psychics be able to escape his eyes? Let's wait and see!"

Song Rui's resume and list of achievements was really too brilliant.

Somehow, by inviting such a person to this 'strange' show, it made the show look as if it were plated with gold, seeming classy to an extreme.

Moreover, his appearance alone could be regarded as top notch in the entertainment industry, and easily guaranteed high ratings for the show.

Song Wennuan was so happy that her gums could be seen in her wide smile.

She sat down beside her cousin and introduced, "Dear judges, do you see this row of screens in front of you? These monitors are displaying real time images of the contestants. You can observe our contestants secretly and then comment on your first impressions of them. You can tell us which ones you are optimistic about, and which ones you are not so optimistic about. Let's first make a prediction on these results, eh?"

"I don't dare to predict, I'll just comment a little bit, after all, we are not psychics," said Dr. Qian in his unique smoky voice, while raising the curly hair at his temples.

"Yes, let's observe the contestants' situations first." Dr. Ouyang and Dr. Lin quickly agreed.

Song Rui didn't comment. With a hand on his chin, he seemed to be carelessly glancing at the strange faces being displayed on the monitor.

To him, they all looked the same; two eyes, one nose and one mouth, just like a white board with five holes. Totally plain and dull.

All the contestants were seated in a large auditorium, and faced an open stage covered with thick curtains.

They had either gathered together in groups of two and three and were talking, or were sitting by themselves among the rows of chairs and meditating, or else were performing dance-like movements in order to flaunt their talent. The entire scene looked very chaotic.

Attached to the truss above them were hundreds of cameras which were capturing their every move from every angle.

The off-site host randomly selected several pleasing participants to interview.

One of the contestants sniffed and said, "I can smell their scent and judge whether they are strong or not by their smell."

So the host asked, "Then, which one, in your opinion, is the most powerful psychic?"

Upon seeing this scene, Song Rui's slightly drooping eyes suddenly lifted, and his deep pupils followed the movement of this camera, but he did not catch sight of the distinct face that he was expecting to see.

Under the guidance of this contestant, the camera pointed towards a face full of vicissitudes, which was followed by a 100% confidently stated comment, "It's him, that middle-aged man in the black robe sitting in the corner. His scent is full of violent energy, he is very strong!"

The middle-aged man was still meditating with his eyes closed, ignoring the noise around him. Sure enough, he looked like a virtuous man.

The host then asked, "Besides him, who else do you think is strong?"

The contestant looked around, hesitated and pointed three other people out. "Her, him and her. Their energy is quite abundant, I can smell it from far away itself."

The camera searched through the crowd for these three 'strong' psychics.

The first one was a young girl with a pale face who was leaning against the arms of a middle-aged woman. She seemed to be extremely uncomfortable.

The second one was a young man in a Taoist robe, who was smiling and talking to the people beside him. His personality seemed very sunny.

The third one was a tall and beautiful woman who had her hands crossed at her chest, and was looking around coldly, appearing somewhat imposing.

The host wanted to make it more interesting for the audience, so he craned his neck and looked for a specific person.

Then he pointed at a young man sitting in a dark corner and asked the contestant, "What about him? What do you feel about his ability? Can you smell something from him?"

"Him?" The player followed the direction of the host's fingertips and his chattering mouth suddenly seemed to be jammed.

It was because, although the person sitting in the corner had initially gone unnoticed, once discovered, he turned out to be a brightly shining moon in the dark night.

Against the backdrop of the pure black fabric, his skin was somewhat transparent and glowed as white as a jade of the highest quality. But his eyes were black, pitch black, as if a bottomless abyss existed in them.

His head was drooping slightly, his back was straight, his hands were clasped under his jaw, and he looked to be waiting quietly, just the way pine trees and cypresses stand for centuries on cliffs. He was completely devoid of any anxiety or panic, and he didn't move even a muscle to examine his surroundings.

Whatever his eyes saw was closed to the rest of the world, which made the people around him, consciously or unconsciously, stay away.

The contestant who had asserted that he possessed a psychic ability related to the sense of smell stammered, "He, did he come to the wrong set? It's 'The World of Strange People', not 'Idol 101', right? Hey, he seems so familiar, isn't that so? A celebrity?"

The host didn't answer the contestant's question and instead asked again, "Can you smell it? Is he strong?"

The contestant immediately dispelled his previous doubts and shook his head. "I can't smell it. I can't smell anything from him. He's just an ordinary person."

"Really? Then let me tell you, he's Fan Jialuo, a celebrity who stirred up the Internet a while ago, when he declared himself to be a psychic, and it's also said that Gao Yize's death was predicted by him," explained the host.

The contestant suddenly had a realization and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, he's a celebrity! No wonder he looks so good!"

At the same time, there were several videographers who were taking a long, focused shot of Fan Jialuo's face.

As he waited in silence, he seemed to grow impatient with this silent prying, and suddenly raised his head, looking straight into the cameras.

That pair of sharp eyes, mixed with light and darkness, penetrated through the center of the screen and pierced straight into the observing eyes of the several judges just like the sharp tip of a blade, making them unconsciously gasp out in a low voice.

The few people who had initially been dissatisfied with Fan Jialuo's sudden addition to the show at the last second, now experienced an indescribable feeling. It almost felt as if their souls itself had been firmly hooked.

Song Rui had mentally prepared himself for this meeting for a long time, so naturally, he did not lose his composure, but his breathing still stagnated for a moment.

He stared at the young man on the screen, and then was stunned to find that the other party seemed to be staring at him through the camera, breaking the barrier of time and space once again. He slowly parted his lips and mouthed silently-We meet again.

With the onset of intense palpitations, Song Rui suddenly remembered the words the youth had spoken the last time they had been on the phone- "...I'm looking forward to our next meeting."

He hung his head, covered his face with one hand, and let his lips curl up secretly.

It turns out that you even foresaw this reunion.

...