5.
【Huh—That kind of makes sense. So Tôn Khả Khả is the one lying?】
【The person above should take a closer look at the shoes. There really is a sticky, greasy layer on them, so I’m siding with Mộ Dung Nguyệt.】
【It’s all an act, folks. Give them to me and I’ll write you a 300-word explanation in a minute. Mộ Dung Nguyệt got exposed and started spouting nonsense, then bought a bunch of paid commenters to whitewash her. What a joke.】
【You’re the paid commenter. I believe Mộ Dung Nguyệt too. Tôn Khả Khả said that was her sister-in-law, so what, is her sister-in-law a mummy?】
【So are mummies the same as those leather corpses, like zombies? Mom—come here—hold me!】
The chat started spamming “Namo Amitabha” and the five-star red flag. I couldn’t help but laugh helplessly.
“That wouldn’t happen. Ordinary zombies form in dry environments, while mummies are well preserved, so they can’t turn into zombies.”
“Tôn Khả Khả, hurry up and turn that thing in to the police.”
Most of the viewers believed me, and Tôn Khả Khả was so furious she nearly flipped the table.
“What the heck! Don’t let Mộ Dung Nguyệt fool you, either. She’s been talking nonsense since high school, and she still hasn’t kicked the habit.”
“I connected with her today because I wanted to expose her for who she really is!”
As she spoke, Tôn Khả Khả stood up and waved at someone.
“Sister-in-law, come over here!”
The camera shifted, and a young woman in a qipao appeared onscreen. She had an oval face and delicate, willow-leaf eyebrows—the very picture of a refined young lady.
“This is my sister-in-law, Liễu Oanh. How could she possibly be a mummy?”
Tôn Khả Khả pulled her over to sit, then placed the embroidered shoes in front of the camera again.
“Tell them whose shoes these are.”
In the bright café, Liễu Oánh sat down on the sofa with easy grace and greeted everyone. The warm amber light cast a glow over her, making her seem gentle and demure. She hadn’t even spoken, yet she already inspired a little trust.
Liễu Oanh covered her mouth and smiled shyly.
“I embroidered these myself.”
【Aww—This sister is so sweet. Sis, let me snuggle up to you.】
【She even came forward to prove it. Mộ Dung Nguyệt, what do you have to say for yourself now?】
【Exactly. So what if she got it wrong? Even antique experts make mistakes, especially when they’re judging something through a screen. If she was wrong, she should just admit it. What’s the big deal?】
【Not necessarily. Maybe that woman’s in cahoots with Tôn Khả Khả. You’ll believe anything she says, but what if Mộ Dung Nguyệt didn’t misidentify them?】
【Paid commenters, stop it! She’s given you clear evidence, and you’re still denying it with your eyes wide open?】
6.
The chat was in an uproar. With so many people believing Tôn Khả Khả, she lifted her chin in smug satisfaction.
“Mộ Dung Nguyệt, you don’t actually know how to appraise antiques, do you? That thing a few days ago was just a stunt to get attention, right?”
“It got you a million followers, though. You’re pretty good at that!”
Tôn Khả Khả glanced at the livestream viewer count, then stared at me with envy and jealousy in her eyes.
“I knew you wouldn’t admit it, so this time I’m going to make you lose so completely that you’ll have no choice but to accept it!”
Tôn Khả Khả stood up and pointed the camera toward the floor-to-ceiling window. Only then did I realize this was the café near my house. As she introduced herself, Tô Khả Khả led her sister-in-law toward my home.
“Hi, everyone. My name is Tôn Khả Khả. You can check out my profile—I livestream every night at eight.”
【After all that grandstanding, turns out she just wants to ride Mộ Dung Nguyệt’s coattails?】
【Exactly. You accuse Mộ Dung Nguyệt of hyping herself up, but aren’t you and your sister-in-law trying to ride her coattails too?】
【She’s just jealous because the other woman is more popular!】
Tôn Khả Khả glanced at the chat, then covered her mouth and laughed.
“Unlike poor Mộ Dung Nguyệt, I don’t need this kind of self-promotion to make money or get famous.”
“My followers know that’s just the kind of person I am. I can’t stand watching people pull a fast one. If my sister-in-law says she embroidered the shoes, then we must have proof to back it up.”
After saying that, Tôn Khả Khả stopped in front of the courtyard of an old house and pounded on the door.
“Mộ Dung Nguyệt, open up!”
The iron gate rattled violently, and flakes of its red lacquer peeled off and fell.
Grandpa, who was lying in a recliner, jolted upright.
“The cops are here! Run!”
He shouted as he ran to the corner and gathered up a pile of clay pots and vases. I hurriedly tossed my phone aside and ran out of the room.
“Why are you panicking?”
“Those are all things you bought at the antique market. Why run?”
“Oh, right.”
Grandpa patted his chest.
“Occupational hazard. What kind of lunatic bangs on someone’s door in the middle of the night? You scared the life out of this old man.”
Tôn Khả Khả’s shrill voice came from outside.
“Mộ Dung Nguyệt, open the door! You won’t face me because you’re afraid I’ll expose you, right?”
7.
I glanced at the iron gate with a headache. I really didn’t want to open it.
Tôn Khả Khả had a bad habit of never respecting other people’s privacy. Luckily, our house was in the city center, where all the gates looked alike. She didn’t know the house number, so she probably still didn’t know exactly where I lived.
“She was my old high school classmate. She brought me something to appraise, then said she didn’t believe me and insisted on coming here to confront me. She’s such a pain.”
Grandpa chuckled.
“That’s normal. Your friend must be new to the field, right? Beginners tend to be blindly confident about their own things. Even if an appraisal agency has issued a certificate, they still refuse to believe it.”
“No, the shoes are genuine. They’re early Ming multicolored silk shoes embroidered with clouds, and they’re in excellent condition. But she insists they’re fake.”
“What? Early Ming multicolored silk shoes, and they’re still in good condition?”
His eyes lit up like headlights, and he hurried over to open the gate.
Tôn Khả Khả and her sister-in-law stood outside the gate. She held a phone broadcasting the livestream in one hand and rummaged in her bag for the embroidered shoes with the other.
“So you finally decided to open the door.”
“For old times’ sake, I’ll give you one more chance. Tell me again: are these shoes from the Ming dynasty or not?”
In the dim light, the shoes in her hand seemed to give off an eerie glow.
Grandpa took one look, then clapped his hands and burst out laughing.
“Hey, brat, did a dog eat all your know-how? These colorful shoes are supposed to be from the Ming dynasty? That’d be more believable if you said they were made today!”
He laughed uproariously, while the chat erupted again.
【Is this the host’s grandfather who went to prison? He looks so kind. He doesn’t seem like a bad person at all.】
【He knows how to appraise things too? I’m dying. He just threw his granddaughter’s reputation right under the bus.】
【Exactly, you paid trolls! Even the host’s grandpa is denying it now. Go on, keep spinning your story—I want to see what you come up with.】
Tôn Khả Khả was stunned, then clapped a hand over her mouth and laughed until she doubled over.
“Ha ha! Grandpa Mộ Dung really has a good eye. He knew at a glance.”
“Mộ Dung Nguyệt, I guess you learned your tricks from your grandpa. What do you have to say now?”
Now I was getting annoyed.
“Before you say anything, take a closer look. How could these be from modern times? Look at the embroidery technique and the material!”
I pulled Grandpa inside and examined the shoes under the fluorescent light.
“Mộ Dung Sơn, take another close look!”
Tôn Khả Khả followed us inside, phone in hand, livestreaming, leaving Liễu Oánh alone at the gate.
She glanced back at us, then reached out and latched the gate.
8.
“Ah—well, this is looped embroidery, and brocade silk too. No way. How could something like this have been preserved so well?”
He ran his fingers over the embroidered shoes, then picked them up and held them to his nose to sniff. His brow immediately furrowed.
“So that’s the smell of corpse wax. No wonder!”
“Congratulations, brat! Grandpa was mistaken just now. These really are early Ming shoes—fine pieces! This pair is worth more than two hundred thousand.”
“You’re Tiểu Nguyệt’s classmate, aren’t you? How about this: I’ll offer you 230,000 for the shoes. Would you sell them to me?”
Grandpa gazed at the shoes, practically drooling with desire. Tôn Khả Khả was so furious her delicate brows nearly shot upward. She reached out, snatched the shoes back, and glared as she said:
“What are you pretending for? A moment ago, you said they were fake, and now you’ve changed your tune. Are you two trying to team up and scam people?”
“No wonder Mộ Dung Nguyệt’s been a liar since high school. She learned it from you!”
In the chat: