Shen Aotian always thought of himself as a Heavenly Pride Son, until he arrived in the Capital City.

When he truly entered the university campus, he realized what it meant to say "there’s always someone better".

He studied well, but his classmates weren’t bad either, and they all had other specialties and skills.

Playing basketball, singing, painting... just one freshman welcome party made Shen Aotian feel the gap in reality.

However, Shen Aotian is the male lead, with good morals and a strong mind. Although he felt inferior, he didn’t let these negative emotions take over.

He was independent, strong, not as wealthy or skilled as his roommates, but he didn’t feel excessively inferior, nor was he envious or hateful.

He acknowledged others’ excellence and recognized his shortcomings.

He was cheerful and open-minded. Although he might not be as popular as he was in high school during his university years, he also didn’t become reclusive or overly sensitive.

His relationships with classmates and roommates were all good. He diligently worked part-time and studied, and after graduation, he put all his efforts into trying to stay in the Capital City.

But as a poor boy from a remote mountain area with no money or connections, staying in the Capital City was extremely difficult.

Even if Shen Aotian found a decent job as a graduate from a prestigious university, with his salary, even saving for years wouldn’t be enough to buy a bathroom in the Capital City.

And for Hua Country people, without a house, there’s no foundation, so it doesn’t really count as settling down in the Capital City.

Yet, Shen Aotian was unwilling to leave the Capital City or simply return home.

After all, he was the hope of the entire village, the pride of his whole family.

Even if he was living in a shared apartment beyond the Fifth Ring, with various expenses leaving him with barely one or two thousand yuan left each month, making buying a house an unreachable dream, in the eyes of his family back home, he was still the most successful person in their village.

Like many ordinary people who drift to the north, Shen Aotian endured the hardships of life while dreaming of staying in the Capital City.

However, Shen Aotian wasn’t an ordinary person; after all, he was the male lead.

During a coincidental stroll through Pan Garden, Shen Aotian noticed a "antique" on a small stall that looked very fake.

According to the stall owner, it was a Bronze Artifact from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

But to Shen Aotian, talk of Shang and Zhou was nonsense; it was simply "Last Week."

Yet, the bronze ornament with a bit of exotic flair gave Shen Aotian an inexplicable feeling.

It was as if this Bronze Artifact, hyped up to a thirty thousand price by the stall owner, was a treasure destined for him.

Suppressing his inner excitement, Shen Aotian directly exposed the stall owner’s lie, "Shang and Zhou? Boss, are you sure there were English letters during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties?"

Shen Aotian turned over the bronze tree ornament, revealing the base and pointing to a mark resembling a letter with a cold voice.

Stall owner:...

Dammit, these counterfeiters are truly unprofessional.

If you wanted to make a mark, why not use oracle bone script.

But instead, they slapped on an English letter, practically inviting guests to question its authenticity.

Although cursing in his heart, the stall owner maintained a shifty merchant face and said, "Well, perhaps it’s a type of writing from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. After all, historical records about the Shang and Zhou periods aren’t very clear or detailed."

Whether the Shang and Zhou Dynasties truly existed is something even some historians doubt.

As someone fiddling with antiques, the stall owner had a basic knowledge of history and could easily spin wild tales or anecdotes.

Shen Aotian was so amused he laughed, directly retorting, "Boss, you’re really good at twisting stories. Why not say it’s an alien civilization?"

"Oh, young man, it’s possible!"

The stall owner seemed inspired, slapped his thigh and said exaggeratedly, "Have you heard of the Sanctuary of the Three Gorges? Those abnormal bronze masks, definitely aliens."

"Perhaps, this treasure of mine is something aliens left behind during the Shang and Zhou periods!"

Shen Aotian:... Dammit, you really dare to bluff, even trying to hitch on the Sanctuary of the Three Gorges.

However, despite the stall owner’s bluffs, Shen Aotian genuinely liked this bronze tree.

So, he continued to pick it apart, asserting that the bronze tree wasn’t an antique from the Shang and Zhou periods but a fake made just last week.

The stall owner understood internally but, as a businessman, had to praise his goods to the heavens even if they were worthless.

The two bartered back and forth, and in the end, the bronze ornament priced at thirty thousand was bought by Shen Aotian for 300 yuan.