AMRWFA -Chapter 214 Sympathy in Adversity

“How can you blame yourself? No one expected that there would actually be an old grandpa living inside that ring. You couldn’t see it or touch it—you just took a bad loss.”

“Exactly! If it weren’t for Ma Aotian’s cheat-like golden finger, you would’ve definitely caught him.”

……

As they talked, the three of them got more and more into it. Even terms like “Gu” and “old grandpa” were brought up. Was this world really full of mysticism and supernatural stuff?

Xu Hongye and Liao Xuwei were still discussing whether the two of them had basically stepped into the “doorway of the mystical world.” If so, did that make them practitioners of the supernatural now?

Weren’t novels always saying that if you don’t enter the gate, you’re not part of that world—so now that they had “entered,” did that mean they were officially in it?

Would they start encountering supernatural events regularly from now on?

And since they were already in the circle, should they also learn some mystical skills to protect themselves?

And then—join a national team?

Zhai Zuo’s mouth twitched.

Liao Xuwei was one thing, but Xu Hongye… didn’t he realize that his mother was the biggest “mystic” of all?

Yanyao rubbed her nose, feeling a slight itch.

Although she didn’t need to worry about the talent show—she was only a guest—her son clearly didn’t intend to let her stay idle. He dumped a pile of application forms on her and asked her to get an early impression and do a preliminary screening.

Ruan Yaoyao: “……”

What was there even to look at in this bunch of mediocre-looking candidates?

Before debuting, how many celebrities were actually pretty?

Celebrities are all “raised” into beauty.

Only after becoming popular do they develop that aura. Otherwise, they’re just “neighbor boy” or “neighbor girl,” always carrying a slightly plain, small-town vibe.

Unless they were naturally well-endowed with good bone structure, she mostly skimmed past the rest.

Even she didn’t realize that at some point, she had already learned to judge bone structure.

Whether it was facial aesthetics, bone structure theory, or what kind of facial contours were more likely to produce beauty—she could now determine most of it at a glance.

Tens of thousands of applications, and she barely selected a few. She placed them aside and planned to hand them to Yun Jinxian when she returned at night.

Yun Jinxian discovered that the list Ruan Yaoyao submitted was very different from those recommended by others. For example, a well-known small influencer “Chu Ge”—she actually didn’t choose him.

“Auntie, isn’t this photo quite good-looking? Why didn’t you pick him?”

Because it was a request from a close friend, Yun Jinxian specifically picked it out to show her, thinking Ruan Yaoyao might have missed it.

Ruan Yaoyao glanced at it and said with disgust, “Him? Take it away, don’t dirty my eyes! He’s ugly is one thing, but he’s also an attention-seeking troublemaker who did all kinds of disgusting things……”

Yun Jinxian was shocked. “What disgusting things? Auntie, what did you see?”

This platform had finally managed to organize such a big event—she couldn’t let it fall apart in her hands.

Ruan Yaoyao thought to herself:

【What did I just say?】

【Oh… I said he’s ugly and attention-seeking and did disgusting things…】

【But I didn’t even see him—how do I know that?】

【So strange!】

【Is this what cultivation brings?】

【Before, I had to see a person directly, and even then I needed to read their detailed profile…】

【Even after reading a long time, I might not find what I wanted. But now it’s different—even just a photo gives me a faint feeling about something…】

【It’s unclear, but it feels like I should just know it instinctively.】

【Instinct?】

【But this feeling is different from the “profile page” feeling. It’s more vague.】

Ruan Yaoyao sensed it again. Indeed, there were some blurry fragments again, like someone had told her bad things about a person, leaving her with a negative impression.

You couldn’t explain why—but you just didn’t like them.

“Maybe… I just don’t like people who’ve had plastic surgery!” she said, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

Yun Jinxian, who could hear her inner thoughts: “……”

That’s a pretty good excuse. Convincing enough.

But honestly, she didn’t expect that the “cute boy” her friend liked was actually someone who had cosmetic surgery. She wondered what he originally looked like.

She imagined it for a moment and felt she should warn her friend not to be disgusted by it.

People naturally prefer “original” beauty.

“Then Auntie, help me look again—among these people, who has had cosmetic surgery?” Yun Jinxian said with full trust. “Our talent show wants pure natural beauties. Those who’ve had surgery are not acceptable.”

“I don’t trust others—they don’t have your eye. But you’re different. You can read faces. With your help, I can avoid many mistakes.”

Seeing that she had successfully “deflected” the situation, Ruan Yaoyao finally relaxed and started sorting through the resumes again.

This time it went much faster—those who had surgery went into one pile, those who hadn’t into another. She could tell at a glance.

“Does a minor tweak, like a nose adjustment or double eyelid surgery, count?”

“It counts! I only want completely natural beauty—original products.”

“Alright, then this one is out too. And this one, and this one…”

As she worked, Ruan Yaoyao muttered, “I really don’t understand why people do this. They’re not even ugly—why get nose jobs or double eyelids? Natural is already pretty.”

In the middle of all this, she almost forgot about the poor girl Li Haidong, who had her fate “borrowed.”

It wasn’t until the audition day, when she arrived early at the venue and saw her among the volunteers, that she remembered.

【Oh!】

【How did I forget about her?】

【This poor girl—the issue of her stolen life hasn’t been resolved yet?】

Following behind her, Ruan Zhihe thought: because it couldn’t be solved, so it was “sent” right back to you.

Ruan Yaoyao pointed at Li Haidong and had her arranged to bring her water.

Soon, the busy, sweat-covered Li Haidong hurried over with a bottle of water.

“Teacher, here’s your water!”

“Thank you.” Ruan Yaoyao glanced at her name tag. “Your name is Li Haidong?”

“Yes, teacher. I’m Li Haidong—Li as in plum, Hai as in sea, Dong as in winter.” The young woman in her twenties smiled, hoping to leave a good impression on this “big sponsor.”

Yes, that’s right.

Not long after Ruan Yaoyao appeared, word had spread among the volunteers that the reason a normal person could become a talent show guest was because she was a “big sponsor.”

Besides her, the judges included popular star Yu Yang, big influencer Li Chunyi, celebrity makeup artist Mao Ping, and former singer Han Yi.

Most volunteers were there for the celebrity Yu Yang. Being a “volunteer” still paid, just less than official staff.

But for struggling college students, it was already a great deal—extra credits, social practice experience, meals included, and even a salary.

As for why Li Haidong ended up among the volunteers, it was related to her “bad luck.”

After Ma Aotian’s club was shut down, she couldn’t find proper work again. Every job she tried ended badly—being harassed at a café internship, breaking plates at a hotel job, failing at construction work due to lack of strength… she thought she could endure it, but employers wouldn’t take her.

After being picked over again and again, she eventually ended up in the same group as college volunteers, doing temporary work.

At least—they provided meals.