"What are you thinking about?" On their way back, Douglass Kirkland asked Wu Xiaoming.
"I'm just thinking - nobody seemed to have missed me - I mean my friends." Wu Xiaoming looked out the window. He still could not get used to the sight of Los Angeles, it was one thing to see it on TV, but another to see it in real life.
"Oh. " Douglass Kirkland shook his head: "Sorry, Xiaoming, but hope they'll come around."
"Yeah." Wu Xiaoming shrugged: "To be honest, I don't even know their last names…"
"Well, that's not THAT uncommon." Douglass Kirkland chuckled: "I have a friend, for years I just knew him as 'Steve'. And only when at his wedding I knew his last name was Lucas. "
"Must be a really good friend." Wu Xiaoming laughed out loud.
They reached Wu Wentao's house in just under half an hour, since they took off from the Woodside Hotel early. Wu Wentao was already waiting for them by the door, and was waving at them: "You're just in time, the food's just here!"
Wu Xiaoming took a peek at the direction of the house he visited in his dream last night. There was quite a bit of police presence in front of the house. And the house was surrounded by police tape. A few people gathered around the house, the neighbors, possibly.
Douglass Kirkland also noticed the scene at the place:"What happened right there? That's - that's the house of Tom Barracuda, right?"
"Yeah. Apparently he died, possibly for a few days." Wu Wentao sighed and shrugged: "You came just at the right time. Just a bit later this place would be swamped with paparazzi."
"Shit, can I stay here for a bit then, if this happens?" Douglass Kirkland frowned.
"Hey, stay for the week if you want." Wu Wentao smiled, waving at Wu Xiaoming to come in: "Come in, Xiaoming, I just made a fresh pot of my best Yunnan Pu'er tea."
Wu Xiaoming fixed his eyes on the scene for a moment. It seemed that as he gained the Path to Enlightenment skill, his eye sights also received a non-negligible upgrade. Right now, he could easily see, from almost a street's length over, people in hazmat suits moving a body covered in white cloth out of the house. On the edge of the white cloth, dangled a bear suit arm with dark brown fur. He shivered, took another quick look to make sure he was not mistaking it as something else, before going into his father's house.
"What did that guy do - uh, I mean - who was he? " Wu Xiaoming asked before he even sat down.
"Who, Tom Barracuda?" Douglass Kirkland sighed and shook his head: "You haven't heard of him?"
"I - I just can't remember." Wu Xiaoming shrugged.
"It's only natural. He hasn't been in anything for years." Wu Wentao sighed as he poured Douglass Kirkland and Wu Xiaoming each a cup of dark hot tea: "I heard he's gone kinda - out of his mind in the last few years, obsessed with dressing up as a bear. Even bought a full, real bear fur suit from some out of state hunter and - "
Wu Xiaoming coughed, not from the hot tea but at what his father just mentioned: "Real bear fur? He dressed himself in a suit made of real bear fur?"
"Yeah. That's what they say." Wu Wentao shrugged.
"I don't know if that's legal, or safe." Douglass Kirkland sighed again: "But he used to be such a big shot. Method actors, man, they do go this way a lot."
Wu Xiaoming fell silent for a moment. A connection he always suspected had just been confirmed. The other thing he was curious about now would be: if his defeating the man-bear shadow in the ethereal realm had anything to do with him being dead, or discovered. "How - how did he die? Who found him?" He asked, trying his best to be nonchalant.
"Not sure. But nobody's heard from him for a few days. His agent came looking for him and - you know." Wu Wentao shook his head: "But - enough about that, Douglass, you mentioned that we have a potential deal to discuss?"
"Yes. Thank you." Douglass Kirkland nodded and put down the teacup: "First of all, congratulations, Xiaoming, Timothy liked your performance, and his people said he's going to consider inviting you back for other cameos later - pending audience reaction, of course."
"Nice. Very good." Wu Wentao smiled at Wu Xiaoming.
"Thank you." Wu Xiaoming scratched his head. He was actually not very used to being praised like this, for a performance of acting, no less.
"The next thing is more important - Charlie Manchester - Timothy's brother, apparently discovered Xiaoming all by himself, for some reason." Douglass Kirkland nodded at Wu Wentao: "And he's planning to offer you, Xiaoming, to be the host of a new show. A real life paranormal investigation show."
"Yes - he told me." Wu Xiaoming nodded: "He told me I just need to go into haunted houses - "
"That's not good." Wu Wentao frowned: "Doesn't sound like a well thought out idea."
"I know, I know. But it really could be a nice change of pace for Xiaoming." Douglass Kirkland turned to Wu Wentao: "The reaction to my calls for Xiaoming hasn't been very good for a while. And - also with recent events - what I'm trying to say is, it's a new avenue you can explore."
"How do these shows usually go? I go into these haunted houses and shoot?"
"You will need to do some of the recording, yes." Douglass Kirkland nodded: "Usually, in order to make better suspense, they will only allow at most one cameraman and one sound guy with you. The production crew will handle all the other arrangements, they will tell you where you will go, for how long, and prepare homework for you."
"Who's the director?" Wu Wentao asked.
"Leslie McKinsey." Douglass Kirkland answered: "Not the most high profile reality show director, but still decent name recognition. "
"What show has she directed before?" Wu Wentao asked again, frowning.
"He, he did one and half seasons for 'Haunt and Flaunt', a show where people find haunted and cursed items and try to sell them…"
"Another reason why I don't think it's a good idea. " Wu Wentao looked Wu Xiaoming in his eyes: "I don't know much about these things, son. But it's always wise to be respectful but distant from them."
"It's probably not real most of the time anyway." Douglass Kirkland shrugged: "I heard they wanted to audition someone from the Medium Association, but - "
"But it's steady, right? And the money is - is it good?" Wu Xiaoming asked.
"Wait, son, you're not really thinking about this - ?" Wu Wentao raised his voice a little: "I thought you don't like this stuff - "
"I want to do something different now, dad." Wu Xiaoming had to tell a bit of a half truth: "And I don't want to trouble you for too long and have you and Xiangyu take care of me … "
"Nonesense, we love taking care of you, as long as you're healthy." Wu Wentao shook his head: "Your brother was very happy that you decided to look into traditional Chinese culture. He had his people send those books to you at the hotel the moment he saw them delivered!"
"Oh, did he?" Wu Xiaoming nodded. A bit of invasion of privacy aside, it was indeed a surprisingly kind gesture. He thought for a moment to look for another way to convince his father: "But I wouldn't feel good, you know. I know my acting career hasn't been good for a while. And I can never be as good an action star as you - not to mention with all the computer effects, the competition is really stiff right now. So - I want to at least work on something - where I can maybe earn my keep and gain some - some exposure." He turned to Douglass Kirkland: "Is there a way to, say - have a few 'trial episodes', and then see how the audience will react?"
"That's not uncommon, I can talk with them. But - Charlie was pretty insistent that you be the host, so he will push for a bigger commitment."
"Tell him no big commitment, maybe only a limited trial." Wu Wentao poured tea for Douglass Kirkland and Wu Xiaoming.
"Yeah, I agree." Wu Xiaoming nodded: "I want to make sure that - if things don't work out, backing out would not hurt me - hurt us."
"Okay, I'll see what I can do." Douglass Kirkland nodded with a smile: "But remember - there's still a chance that you'll need to audition, because the director still has his say, and he might even have his own pick."
"What's the name of the show again?" Wu Wentao asked.
"Unwise Encounters - subject to change."