A simple character reading had turned into a prediction of financial ruin and mortal danger. Many of the crew members, who had only gathered to watch the fun, now looked completely dazed, as if to ask, 'Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?'
Ken Young opened his mouth to say something, but Arabella Donovan cut him off.
"The way a character is written might just be a personal habit, but divination reads one's state of mind and future in that specific moment. For example, when I asked you to write a character, Young, the first one you thought of is the one your future is tied to."
Ken Young was left speechless. It was like those people who always talk about what they'd do differently if they could get a do-over. But could you really get a do-over in life just by saying so?
By the same token, he now desperately wanted to go back to a moment ago and change the character he had written.
But was that really possible? If you could change your future, could you still call it fate?
Arabella Donovan hadn't directly told Ken Young to believe her, yet she had effortlessly trapped him in a logical paradox, causing him to doubt himself.
Watching his clearly bamboozled old friend, Hector Donovan's lip twitched. He was gaining a new appreciation for his little sister's talent for barefaced lying.
"That sounds quite serious; he should really pay attention. But Serena, what you've said is a little too vague. Young can't take precautions even if he wants to. Can you be more specific?"
Arabella immediately adopted a profound yet troubled expression. "For that, I'm afraid I'll have to ask Young to write another character. This is all I could glean from the previous one."
The moment she spoke, all eyes snapped back to Ken Young.
Ken Young desperately wanted to refuse, terrified that another casually written character would become a ticking time bomb.
Unfortunately, the crew members on the sidelines, who loved nothing more than a good spectacle, weren't about to let him off the hook. They jeered good-naturedly, "Come on, Young, just write another one! The girl's just having fun; us adults can't be spoilsports."
"Yeah, yeah! Write another one! Let's see what else she can come up with."
Caught in a bind, Ken Young picked up the pen. With Arabella Donovan's words echoing in his mind, he acted on some strange impulse and wrote another character in the notebook.
Arabella caught a glimpse of it from the corner of her eye and had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out, "Holy cow!"
The second character Ken Young wrote was the very one from his wife's name!
'Could this be the will of heaven? Even the gods can't bear to watch an honest man be tormented by two villains? The character is literally "woman" next to "younger brother." Isn't that just spelling it out for him? The people trying to harm you are your woman and her brother! Ahem, a wife's brother is still a "brother," he just doesn't think of you as family.'
While the character's meaning was blatant to anyone in the know, Arabella was in a bind about how to explain it.
'If I just tell him straight up, "Your wife and your brother-in-law are planning to clean you out and saddle you with an astronomical high-interest loan," how is that any different from some moron running up and point-blanking someone with their ultimate?'
In short, it was too blunt. It lacked flair. When you're trying to bamboozle someone, that approach is all effort for little reward. It's not mysterious enough.
'This is where a little linguistic artistry is needed. Now, watch how I con... ahem, *warn* him.'
For Hector Donovan, the illusion of his sister as some profound master shattered completely. As for Caspian Rhodes, who had just returned from chewing out his cousin only to hear Arabella preparing to run her scam: ...
Arabella mentally rehearsed her speech before speaking, her voice slow and drawn out. "As for this character..."
Ken Young's heart suddenly clenched. "What about this character?"
"First, let's look at its form. The left side is the radical for 'woman,' and the right is the character for 'younger brother.' This 'woman' radical corresponds to one of the 'person' radicals in the first character you wrote. Now, if the other 'person' radical—the one being threatened by the 'knife'—was you, Young, then this 'woman' must represent the other party in your dispute. From this, we can deduce that this person is... a woman."
"A woman?" Many people's eyes widened in surprise.
After Arabella's talk of financial disputes and knives being drawn, everyone had assumed the person who would fight and injure Ken Young would almost certainly be a man. Yet now, she was saying it was a woman!
A glance at Ken Young's ashen face told them... she was right again?!
"Furthermore, the character you wrote often refers to relationships like sisters-in-law, or how wives in a polygamous household might address each other. In other words, based on its definition, this person is intimate with you, Young. They're family, but not by blood."
With so many clues laid out, it would be difficult *not* to guess the person's identity.
Arabella left it at that, shifting the focus. "Now, let's look at the right side: the character for 'younger brother.' This 'brother' corresponds to the 'knife' from your first reading. In terms of cause and effect, the right side is the *cause*, and everything that follows involving the left side—the 'woman'—is the *effect*."
Ken Young already had his suspicions, but after Arabella's pointed analysis, he couldn't help but apply it to his own situation. His expression grew darker.
The crowd, who had been egging him on, sensed the shift in atmosphere and fell silent. The scene grew tense and quiet.
"Why is everyone crowded around here? Don't you have work to do?"
The sharp reprimand made everyone jump. They only then noticed the director standing behind the crowd, his sharp gaze fixed on the small group at the center.
A few of the savvier crew members who knew the director well grinned cheekily and shifted the blame onto Ken Young and Arabella.
"It's nothing, really! Young just asked this young lady for a character reading, so we were watching the show. Just for a minute."
That was the wrong thing to say. The director laughed, but not from amusement. "Watching the show? Don't think I don't know what you seasoned slackers are up to. 'Watching the show' is just an excuse for slacking off! Now get back to work! If we fall behind on today's schedule, I'm docking everyone's pay!"
The ultimate threat of docking their pay worked like a charm. The crowd instantly scattered in all directions.
The director snorted, glancing at the three people at the center of the commotion. Unable to offend the VIPs, he decisively aimed his fire at Ken Young.
"If you want your fortune told, you go find some old coot in sunglasses, not a young girl. Fine if she's wrong, but if she's right, are you planning to cheat her out of her Divination Money? Honestly, Young, you're a grown man! Where's your pride?"
Feeling as if he'd just survived a catastrophe, Ken Young wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and smiled placatingly. "Yes, yes. My mistake, all my mistake."
Since he was so quick to admit fault, the director actually felt a pang of guilt. He thought for a moment and decided to blame both parties equally.
"Look, Donovan. I know you're young and into all sorts of new-fangled things, but a film set is a serious place of work. We'll let it go this time, but this is your only warning!"
His words were all but a direct order for Arabella Donovan to cut out the superstitious mumbo jumbo on his set.
Arabella Donovan was speechless. 'Great. Now they actually think I'm a con artist!'