During my livestream today, a little girl connected with me to get an antique appraised. Staring at the battered vase in her hands, I knew instantly it was junk, not even worth fifty bucks. But when I clicked on her profile, I saw a wall covered in academic awards and a medical report for a serious heart condition. I kept a straight face. "This vase is from the Qianlong period. I'll buy it for $15,000." I thought I was doing a good deed. I never expected a woman claiming to be her mother to jump on the mic: "Streamer, that's not right. A Qianlong vase is worth at least $150,000! You're a big-shot influencer; you can't bully poor people just because we don't have power or money!" 1 Faced with this mother's aggressive tone, I didn't have the heart to tell her the vase was obviously fake. Because her daughter had heart disease, this money could be a lifesaver. I've done this before—pretending a client's item is real to give them financial support. So I smiled. "Ma'am, the market price for this vase is exactly what I offered. I can't go higher." Unexpectedly, the woman, whose voice had been gentle a moment ago, suddenly turned harsh. "Impossible! A Qianlong vase is worth at least $150,000!" "If I had known, I wouldn't have let my daughter connect with you. You're just bullying her because she's young!" "I'm telling you, I won't take a penny less than $150,000. You need to send the remaining $135,000 right now!" "We're already struggling enough. Why do you have to kick us while we're down?" A fan checked her profile and immediately commented: [Oh my god, her daughter has such good grades. How did she get heart disease?] [If she can really sell it for $150k, the little girl can definitely get treatment and maybe even go to a good college. Streamer, don't take this black money, okay?] [You need a conscience in this business. What kind of person bullies the desperate?] I kept my patience. "Ma'am, not all Qianlong pieces are that valuable. Who told you it's worth a hundred fifty grand? Can I see proof?" The next second, she slapped a certificate of authenticity onto the screen. "Don't try to trick me! The seller gave me this certificate when I bought it! See for yourself!" On the certificate, the minimum valuation was written in bold: $150,000! 2 My assistant whispered, "That looks like a fake certificate from a knock-off shop." I sighed. She was right. Antiques can be forged, and so can certificates. She probably got scammed at a flea market. "Ma'am, this certificate... it's fake." "I'm not saying the vase is fake, of course, but this certificate greatly overestimates its value!" "The normal price is around a few thousand. But since your daughter needs the money, I'll add another $7,000. How about $22,000?" The woman suddenly burst into tears. "I knew it! You big influencers with millions of fans, you just suck the blood of poor people like us to get where you are!" "You make so much money, you don't need this little bit. You don't scam the rich, why do you have to scam us?" "I'm telling you, I won't agree. If you don't give me $150,000, I'll report you to the platform! I'll report you to the Better Business Bureau!" The comments started to turn against me. [Honestly, the rich get richer by exploiting the poor. Big influencers are just capitalists. You can't expect them to do good.] [No, streamer! I've followed you for so long. Don't do something shady!] [Can you be honest? You forgot how sincere you were when you were a small streamer? Now that you have capital, you're floating away?] The comment section was spiraling out of control. I frowned. "Ma'am, I've been appraising treasures for five or six years. I know better than anyone how much things are worth. I haven't scammed a single person in all these years!" "Your vase is worth $15,000 tops! The extra $7,000 is because I pity your daughter!" "I'm not going to ruin the reputation I've built over years just for this. I'll add another $3,000. I'll take the vase for $25,000. Deal?" The woman cried harder. "You buy it for $25,000 and turn around to sell it for over $150,000. How can you be so black-hearted?" "What did my family ever do to you? Why do you have to cheat us? My baby is counting on this to save her life! How can you steal life-saving money?" I was getting angry. "I'm not stealing from you! I don't need to steal from you! I..." "Then send the money!" Amidst the woman's heart-wrenching sobs, the chat went crazy. [Does your conscience not hurt doing this?] [Unsubscribing and reporting. This kind of person doesn't deserve to make money.] [Refund all the gifts I sent you!] My DMs instantly hit 99+ with insults. The platform sent a warning notification—people were reporting the stream. The woman cried even louder. "Everyone, judge for yourselves! We can't let this streamer keep harming people!" "Enough!" I roared. "I'm not doing this deal! Okay?!" 3 The woman stopped crying. I pointed at the camera. "I'll return the vase to you, and you return the money to me. You say this vase is worth $150,000? Fine. Take it to someone who knows their stuff. Good goods sell themselves, right?" The woman choked back a sob. "Can't you just send the remaining $130,000?" "No!" I said firmly. "I don't deserve this vase, okay?" Silence on the other end. Then, she spoke. "Fine. Send it back. But it must be my original one. Don't try to swap it with a fake." "Don't worry! I have unboxing videos for every item I receive! There's surveillance in the shop! I'll video the packing process too, okay?" She finally agreed. I immediately cut the connection. After going offline, I carefully packed the vase, recorded a video, and shipped it back to the original address. Not long after, my phone showed it had been signed for. But three days passed, and she hadn't returned the money. When I called, I found I was blocked. 4 I immediately posted about this online. Since the livestream, fans had been following the story. When they learned I was blocked after returning the vase, suspicion arose. [Could that vase actually be fake?] [I was too emotional then, but thinking about it now, what certificate has crooked text?] [Even if the streamer wanted to flip it for profit, since the vase was returned, the money should be refunded.] The incident continued to ferment. Finally, during another broadcast, she connected with me again. "Streamer, how can you be like this? It's one thing that I didn't ask for compensation, but how dare you slander me online?" She pointed the camera at the base of the vase. There was a faint crack. I frowned. "Ma'am, I have video of the packing. Your vase already had that crack." "Impossible! It was perfectly fine when it was in my house!" Her tone was agitated. I sighed. "Ma'am, that crack has been there for years. I have no reason to lie to you. Like you said, I wouldn't ruin my reputation for a few thousand dollars." "What do you mean a few thousand?! You obviously didn't want my vase to sell for a high price, so you deliberately sabotaged me!" She started crying again. "My daughter needs surgery right now. We need money! Just because I exposed you for trying to flip it for profit! Hit me, scold me, but why damage my vase? You're killing us!" "I was going to treat that $15,000 as compensation and not pursue it, but you're smearing my name..." Her cries were incredibly aggrieved. The chat buzzed with discussion. [Is she humiliated and lashing out after being exposed? But devaluing the vase is too malicious!] [Exactly, how is this different from murder?] [Streamer, you're a big shot. Is $15k worth it to you? That's a human life!] "Okay, Ma'am, you're sure I did it, right?" I asked. She was emotional. "Who else could it be! Why would I break my own vase and delay my daughter's surgery!" I nodded. "Okay, then let's call the police."
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