Shearing the American Fleece

Early morning.

Right after waking up, Xiao Ran received a call from his father.

His father told him that the six Tang dynasty gilded bronze running dragons and all the other top-tier antique cultural relics had been successfully shipped and arrived safely in Beijing.

Upon arrival in Beijing, those priceless treasures were immediately transported to the Palace Museum for authentication, followed by a public exhibition.

After being exhibited at the Palace Museum for a period of time, they would be shipped to Xi'an to return to the Shaanxi History Museum.

The pair of Yongzheng Chenghua-style blue-glazed celestial sphere vases, along with the antique watches and other items, had also arrived in Beijing on the same flight.

Since they were non-cold-chain goods with a relatively high level of safety, they were also sent to the Palace Museum after undergoing simple disinfection.

Shortly after, Xiao Ran's aunt rushed to the Palace Museum, claimed the items, and placed them all in a vault rented in the Financial Street.

Fifteen days later, the fans who had successfully bid for those items could go to Beijing to pick them up.

From now on, all items sent back to Beijing by Xiao Ran would be handled according to this procedure: received by his aunt, left to sit undisturbed for a period of time, and once confirmed to be completely risk-free, the final delivery would take place.

Upon receiving this news, Xiao Ran let out a long sigh of relief, feeling much more relaxed.

This could be considered a good start and had successfully paved a viable path.

From this moment on, through this method, Xiao Ran could continuously ship the treasures he discovered back to China and make a fortune.

If he ever discovered any precious and special antique artworks that he wished to keep for his own collection, he could also ship those antique cultural relics and artworks back to China under the guise of crafts and store them at home.

As long as these self-collected antique cultural relics and artworks were not sold domestically in Xiao Ran's name, and the transaction funds did not enter his bank account, strict confidentiality could be maintained.

Under such circumstances, naturally, there was no need to pay taxes to the United States, nor was there any need to worry about being caught by the Internal Revenue Service.

This could be considered a tiny loophole!

As long as it was properly utilized, he could continuously shear the fleece of the United States and other Western countries.

After ending the call, Xiao Ran immediately announced the news in his live broadcast room.

Needless to say, the live broadcast room instantly erupted with cheers.

After a few more casual chats, Xiao Ran logged out of the live broadcast room and went out to buy breakfast.

After going downstairs, he didn't head directly to the restaurant. Instead, he walked over to the Chevrolet Suburban parked by the roadside, pulled open the door, and got inside.

As soon as he settled in, Anthony immediately began briefing him on the situation.

"Sean, those guys who tried to rob you last night got into a gunfight with the police on the street ahead."

"One of the guys was shot dead on the spot, and a police officer was also injured."

"The Los Angeles police have launched an investigation and will proceed with arrests soon. Those guys will find it hard to escape."

"After some investigation, we've also gathered some intel. Do you want to pass it on to the police?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Ran nodded immediately.

"You are all law-abiding citizens, of course you should support the police and assist them in catching those robbers as soon as possible."

"Hahaha."

Anthony laughed and nodded, saying:

"That's right, we are all law-abiding citizens and have an obligation to assist the police in solving the case."

Next, he briefed him on other matters.

By extracting fingerprints from yesterday's surveillance equipment and using certain technical means for counter-tracking, they had pinpointed some of the guys who had installed surveillance devices inside Xiao Ran and Elaine's apartment.

Among these individuals were corrupt police officers, professional treasure hunters, and mobsters—a mixed bag of all sorts.

Without a single exception, they were all targeting Xiao Ran, targeting those expensive antique cultural relics and artworks, and targeting his massive fortune.

While briefing him on the situation, Anthony also sent the investigation results to Xiao Ran's mobile phone.

Xiao Ran opened his phone on the spot and checked it.

Among the materials, he saw a few faces that were quite familiar, and his expression instantly darkened.

However, he didn't say much. He then got out of the car and went with Anthony to buy breakfast.

Along the way, he called David to explain the situation. If the police came investigating on his end, he would still need David to step in and handle it.

Before long, Xiao Ran returned to the apartment carrying packed Cantonese morning tea.

Unfortunately, by the time he returned, both Elaine and Fang Yufei were already awake and fully dressed, missing out on a beautiful morning view for nothing.

...

At ten in the morning, UCLA.

Xiao Ran was walking upstairs when someone suddenly greeted him from the side.

"Good morning, Sean."

Hearing this, Xiao Ran immediately turned his head to look.

The person greeting him was a mixed-race beauty, in the same department as him, just one grade lower.

"Good morning, Jennifer."

Xiao Ran nodded in greeting.

"Free at noon? Let's grab a cup of coffee, you pick the place. There are some things I'd like to consult you about."

As she spoke, Jennifer flashed a flirtatious wink, full of temptation.

"Whoa!"

Exclamations of envy came from nearby.

However, completely oblivious to the romantic subtext, Xiao Ran simply shrugged.

"Sorry, Jennifer, I'm busy at noon. Let's talk about coffee another time. See you later!"

With that, he turned and walked up the stairs.

Jennifer was left standing frozen in place, dumbfounded, her eyes filled with shame and anger.

At UCLA, no one had ever rejected her so directly, which caused a strong sense of humiliation to well up inside her.

Xiao Ran, continuing up the stairs, shook his head dismissively.

Jennifer was a member of the school's cheerleading squad. She was very pretty and sexy, with an hourglass figure, but she was also a notoriously toxic green tea bitch.

In the past, she would never have bothered to greet an ordinary international student like Xiao Ran, acting as if she didn't know him at all when they crossed paths.

Today, she suddenly became so enthusiastic and issued such an ambiguous invitation. Anyone could guess the reason with their heels.

Xiao Ran didn't even have the slightest interest in getting involved with such a green tea bitch and public bus.

A moment later, he arrived at the door of an office on the third floor.

This was his advisor's office. After more than a week, he knocked on the door and walked in once again.

After exchanging greetings, his advisor looked him up and down and said with curiosity:

"Sean, I've heard quite a few legends about you these past few days. You've practically become a legendary figure at UCLA now!"

Xiao Ran was already accustomed to his advisor's curious gaze.

Ever since leaving the consulate, returning to the apartment building, and right up to the present, he had encountered such gazes countless times.

Almost everyone he knew would look him up and down like this upon meeting, and curiously ask a few questions.

Many guys he didn't know before would take the initiative to come over to chat, get acquainted, and ask a few questions.

Even many beautiful women would take the initiative to introduce themselves and ask for his phone number, leaving him overwhelmed and finding it hard to accept.

In this regard, American girls were much more straightforward and aggressive than gold-diggers back home.

As long as you had money, there were definitely countless beauties throwing themselves at you.

And there were no small number of them who would sue you in court afterward to demand huge settlements.

In addition, many Chinese international students came forward one after another to greet him and asked to join his live broadcast room.

To these guys, Xiao Ran merely responded with polite greetings.

As for the requests to join his live broadcast room, he didn't agree to a single one.

"Stephen, those legends about me are a mix of truth and falsehood. Overall, they're a bit exaggerated and not that dramatic."

Xiao Ran didn't deny it; there was no need to.

Without a doubt, the Los Angeles police must have questioned Stephen about the situation.

What Stephen knew was probably more than, and more specific than, the legends circulating outside.

"So, you've really become a professional treasure hunter, and the kind with off-the-charts luck?"

"I heard you've successively discovered several priceless antique cultural relics and artworks. Is that true?"

Xiao Ran nodded and then briefed him on the situation.

He gave a brief overview of how he became a professional treasure hunter and the process of his multiple discoveries of heavyweight antique cultural relics and artworks.

Even though he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, using very few exaggerated descriptions and rhetoric, it still brought a massive shock to Stephen and his assistant.

Both of them stared at him dumbfounded, their eyes filled with disbelief.

When he finished his introduction, the two men sat in a daze for a long while before snapping back to reality.

"Whoa! This is simply magical. Can a person's luck really be this good?"

"To unearth so many heaven-defying bargains back-to-back in such a short period of time, I just can't believe it!"

Xiao Ran smiled helplessly.

"Why are you two just like everyone else, only seeing me eating meat while ignoring those auctions where I lost money?"

"Besides, I don't rely entirely on luck. To become a better professional treasure hunter, I've been studying like crazy lately and constantly visiting museums."

"Through studying, I'm working hard to increase my knowledge reserve and improve my discernment. These recent bargains are also rooted in the enhancement of my own abilities."

Stephen nodded and said approvingly:

"Hahaha, I do believe that. Your learning ability is very strong, and you have a persistent drive for research."

"But the world is just like this. Everyone loves success; no one cares about failure, and I'm no exception."

At this point, his tone abruptly shifted.

"If you make another major discovery, like a top-tier artwork similar to that Braque painting, save one for me too. I'm willing to buy it at a high price."

"No problem, Stephen. I hope I can keep having that good luck and make more discoveries."

Xiao Ran nodded with a smile.

This advisor of his was a wealthy man with deep pockets who also enjoyed collecting things.

Xiao Ran naturally welcomed such clients—the more, the better.

After a few casual chats, they got down to business and began discussing Xiao Ran's thesis.