After Leaving Showbiz, I Took the Antiques World by Storm

Shen Luli was once a gifted practitioner of mystical arts two thousand years ago. After transmigrating into a supporting female character in an entertainment novel, she was destined to be hated by the entire internet and eventually jump into the sea to end her life.

After awakening, she stared blankly at the script forcing her to follow the entertainment-industry plotline.

Wait, she majored in archaeology as an undergrad. You want her to act?

Whoever wants to follow this lousy script can do it themselves!

Facing a wave of online hate, she quit showbiz and started livestreaming antique appraisals.

A wealthy big shot joined her stream for an appraisal, boasting, "Streamer, I'll help boost your popularity. Tell the viewers the story behind this blue-and-white porcelain bowl worth ten million steamed buns."

"How many buns did you pay for it?"

"Five million."

"Oh, no need to explain. It's fake."

The whole internet was stunned. Something bought for five million could still be fake? Was the streamer a fraud?

Less than an hour later, the big shot came back online.

"I confirmed my childhood friend and the appraisal agency both swindled me. I've already called the police. Thank you, streamer."

The viewers were instantly shocked. This free livestream appraisal was more accurate than a professional appraisal agency?

On another call, the viewers saw a boy squatting on a chair, slurping noodles. On the table was a square, bronze-looking box, with steaming rice inside.

The boy tapped the bronze object with his chopsticks. "Hey, streamer. My grandpa insists this thing is an antique rice steamer from ancient times. It's gotta be fake, right? Help me cure Grandpa of his habit of bragging."

After examining it, Shen Luli smiled. "This is called a yan steamer. It's clearly authentic."

The boy was dumbfounded. "What does that mean?"

Shen Luli kindly explained, "It's real."

The boy hurriedly tried to scoop the rice out of the bronze vessel. His grandfather walked in, saw his treasure being used to steam rice, grabbed a feather duster, and chased the boy around the room. The entire livestream filled with the boy's screams.

The viewers were in stitches.

[Hahaha, talk about turning things upside down. I've never seen anyone cook rice in a bronze vessel before.]

[Grandpa: That grandson's damn filial, huh.]

"What's so interesting about your scraps of metal? Take a look at mine and tell me if it's authentic."

A man crouched in a cave, shining a flashlight on a bronze vessel as he asked with a malicious grin, "Well?"

Shen Luli ignored him. She took out her backup phone and snapped a couple of photos of the video. "You're quite the daredevil, showing off something that was just excavated."

The man froze. He clearly hadn't expected Shen Luli to see through him. When his scheme was exposed, he brazenly admitted it.

"So what? What can you do about it?"

Shen Luli smiled faintly. "I've already figured out your location and sent it to the cops. You aren't getting away."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of police sirens came from the man's end of the call.

Before long, he was arrested.

The next day, the Beisheng Provincial Police Department announced that it had cracked a case involving grave robbing and the trafficking of cultural relics. Shen Luli's livestream shot to the top of the trending topics.

Note:

1. Antique appraisal plus a touch of mysticism. There's some mystical stuff, but not much.

2. This is a fictional setting. Don't try too hard to match it to real people or events. Sources will be listed when there is a lot of information.

3. Inspired by "Tingquan Appraises Treasures."

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