Chapter 2
Wait, what?
Remove them?
He wants to pull out my nails!
As soon as she spoke, the fox demon bit her lip, as if she couldn’t believe what she had agreed to. Yokai were most wary of promises. A new causality was formed, and the power around her was temporarily drained by the strange rules of the house.
This shop hadn’t appeared in the Yokai Market for a long time. She had bumped into it tonight, originally just wanting to see the excitement, but how had she fallen for it so easily?
The fox demon’s ears drooped. She gritted her teeth in frustration, glancing at the young man who was using a strange tool on her nails.
Now, let alone ripping out his heart, she couldn’t even harm a hair on his head until the nail removal was complete.
The more the fox demon thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. The other party was completely oblivious, his eyes curved in a smile as he asked, “What’s your name? Can I follow you on social media?”
“Su Qiushui.”
“Your name sounds so cultured!” Ning Zhixia complimented. “Here, switch hands.”
Su Qiushui didn’t understand but felt like it was a compliment. She cautiously glanced at the tool in his hand and silently switched hands, placing her other hand on the table.
It’s just nails, if he wants to pull them out, let him. Just give them to him.
While the fox demon was pondering, she didn’t know that the young man opposite her was also thinking about his own little scheme.
Ning Zhixia slowed down the speed of the electric file, gently filing the overly sharp edges of her nails. After brushing away the accumulated white powder, the nail shape had been changed into a delicate long almond shape.
The popular medium-long stiletto shape was highly versatile and almost universally flattering, but her nail beds were narrow and long, and the nail roots were rounded, so the almond shape was more elegant.
The entire filing process was tingling, not painful, but a novel sensation she had never experienced before.
One of her drooping ears slowly perked up.
Su Qiushui suddenly realized that what he meant by removing her nails seemed to be something else.
The clean nail surface was brushed with a base coat, and after curing under the lamp, it was time for the builder gel application, which was also the key step to test a manicurist’s skills.
Ning Zhixia picked up a bead of gel with a flat brush, spread it evenly over the nail surface, inverted it to level, and then patted the table with satisfaction: “Okay, cure it under the lamp.”
“Cure it? Cure…” Su Qiushui came back to her senses, her eyes darting around, blankly extending her hand to the area under the table where the young man gestured.
By the time the builder gel was applied to the other hand, she no longer needed reminding and skillfully switched hands to cure it.
After the prep work on both hands was done, she stared curiously at her hands. Without the bright red flower juice covering them, although they were plain natural nails, they looked fuller and more translucent.
What was this called again?
Oh! Builder gel!
Su Qiushui’s tail wagged, and she asked uncertainly, “Is it done?”
“Eh? Don’t you want any nail art?”
The woman’s clothes and jewelry were all exquisite, and the wig must have been made by some master wig maker, it was simply like natural hair, not to mention how much effort it must have taken to make the lifelike tail and ears.
This outfit must have cost a lot!
Ning Zhixia didn’t want to miss this potential big client, and he was planning to ask her to take some photos for him later.
“Trust me!”
He quickly displayed the price list, propped up his tablet, flipped through his university work like a slideshow, and looked up with a serious expression: “I’m great! I can do anything!”
So this is nail art!
Su Qiushui was completely intrigued, her eyes rolling, she readily placed her hands on the table: “You decide!”
“No problem.”
Ning Zhixia understood. Heh heh, watch my showtime!
Nail art techniques were varied, which was also their charm and fun. Ning Zhixia chose a sheer, slightly pink and turquoise base for a gradient blend. After her slender fingers were covered in a misty pink and green mountain scene, he applied a layer of matte top coat and cured it… Instantly, they became dull and lackluster.
Ugly, so ugly!
Su Qiushui’s face fell. Before she could question him, she saw him take out a small box of watercolors from his tool kit.
Is he going to paint on my nails?
Su Qiushui knew a little about painting, she narrowed her eyes curiously, her nails were so small, what could he possibly do?
The watercolor set was a refill, sufficient for nail art use. The water-mixed pigments spread on the palette. Ning Zhixia dipped his multi-purpose pen, lifted it, and began to paint.
The slightly flexible tip of the pen dabbed and lifted, then he brushed on a shiny top coat, and vibrant pink lotuses appeared on her fingertips.
Su Qiushui raised her eyebrows, lifting her hand to examine it under the light. It was beautiful, but a bit plain after a while.
Actually, to highlight the layers and colors, he could have first outlined the shape with white and then filled in the colors, but the effect wouldn’t be the translucent feel that Ning Zhixia wanted to achieve.
After all, he hadn’t finished yet.
Su Qiushui pursed her lips, staring at the young man’s chest, mischief brewing in her eyes: “Are you done?”
“Not yet.” Ning Zhixia was clearly engrossed, rummaging through the acrylic box, saying cheerfully, “Only halfway there.”
Su Qiushui’s eyes widened.
What?
Only halfway!
But my butt is numb!
Ning Zhixia patted the table, and Su Qiushui’s hands reflexively rested on it. She stuffed two of her tails underneath her to cushion herself.
The multi-purpose pen was temporarily discarded. Ning Zhixia scooped up some transparent sculpting gel with a silicone tool, buried his head, and quietly molded it.
The difficult-to-control gel became obedient under the wedge-shaped tip, quickly forming two large and two small transparent ice lotuses.
Shape still needed color. Ning Zhixia squinted under the lamp and used colored gel to paint and blend the petals from light to dark.
He didn’t use a mold. The ice lotuses he sculpted were half-open and half-closed, their posture lively, not seeking to be realistic but expressive, as if the painting that had just landed on her fingertips had emerged from spring water.
Su Qiushui watched with her mouth slightly open. As she was lost in thought, she heard Ning Zhixia ask: “I think it’s about done, do you want any other decorations?”
“Decorations?”
Ah!
I understand this!
The shelves behind the workstation were filled with supplies. Small display boards on the bottom shelf were covered with all sorts of small items, clearly labeled with names and specifications, corresponding to the grids of the acrylic boxes next to them.
Her gaze swept over them, and a particularly large acrylic box sparkled brilliantly under the warm light, Su Qiushui’s eyes lighting up along with it.
“These are my newly arrived Swarovski crystals, the color selection is pretty complete…”
Ning Zhixia pulled open the nine-layer, 56-grid transparent “mansion,” tilting his head and asking, “Which one do you like?”
Which one?
Su Qiushui’s tail perked up, her eyes gleaming.
Need you ask? Of course, all of them!
Su Qiushui waved her hand generously: “One of each! I want them all!”
“Greedy much…” Ning Zhixia tactfully rephrased, “I mean, you only have ten fingers.”
Su Qiushui frowned: “Can’t you just stack them up for me?”
Ning Zhixia was shocked: “I’m a manicurist, not an architect!”
“I don’t care, I want it!”
Ning Zhixia had clearly underestimated this lady’s enthusiasm for Swarovski crystals. After arguing for a while, Su Qiushui seemed to be in a hurry and finally compromised on a design.
The middle finger of her left hand featured a pink rose Moonlight square crystal as the main stone, fixed at a slant at the end of the nail bed, and then filled the gaps with small ice lotuses. The ring finger of her right hand was decorated with a large ice lotus and small round crystals in a noble olive color. The remaining fingers were individually adorned with the remaining ice lotuses and small scattered crystals.
Although there were many decorations, they were clearly prioritized and arranged in a pleasing manner. Su Qiushui’s ten fingers shimmered, and she kept looking at them, unable to take her eyes away.
So this is nail art!
Simply… wonderful!
Ning Zhixia, seeing her satisfied expression, happily took out a calculator, tapping away with a bobbing head.
“Complex design, fixed price 368, Swarovski square crystal 40, two solo crystals 30… oh, and three small crystals… total 450 yuan.” Ning Zhixia pointed to the QR code stand with a sticker on it, “Scan the code here to pay.”
“What’s your name?”
Su Qiushui glanced in the direction he pointed, slowly standing up.
Ignoring her numb buttocks, she looked at the shop owner with interest, “I’ll come back to you next time.”
A returning customer, a returning customer!
Ning Zhixia excitedly gave his name.
“Ning… Zhixia…” Su Qiushui smiled meaningfully, “Good, I’ll remember it.”
“Hehe, my name is easy to remember.” Ning Zhixia took out a simple fill light and clipped it to his phone, holding his phone shyly, “Can I get a picture for…”
“Clink.”
With a soft sound, a golden hairpin was placed in front of the QR code like an offering. Ning Zhixia looked up in astonishment, only to see the dark red hem of her dress quietly disappear at the doorway.
“Wait, Qiushui—”
Ning Zhixia immediately dashed to the door, then abruptly stopped, gripping the doorknob tightly.
Outside, an eerie green light seemed to lock onto a target, gradually brightening in the cold fog, becoming denser and denser…
Ning Zhixia’s face turned pale, like a rusty old robot, his movements stiff as he closed the door.
In the strange atmosphere, he stood still. The second hand, which had been stuck at 7:28, suddenly moved.
The ticking sound that had disappeared returned, coinciding with his increasingly rapid breathing. Ning Zhixia opened the door again, and the familiar street scene was brightly lit, the noise flooding back into his ears like a wave.
He blinked, glancing at the workstation. The golden hairpin was gone. A female electronic voice sounded in the quiet room—
“24,800 yuan received.”
It was like hearing celestial music, his ears temporarily cleared.
Ning Zhixia stood stunned for a long time, touching his chest, as if a heat lamp had shone into a coffin.
Hmm, heart warmed.
Unsure if it was an urban legend or a dream, Ning Zhixia slept through his confusion.
The next day, he woke up to a light drizzle, the entire street lush and green with spring.
Ning Zhixia took gardening shears to trim the overgrown branches and leaves in the flower stand. Several furry balls darted out from the corners, mewing and rubbing against his legs, clearly hungry and looking for their free nanny for food.
“Three Stripes, Five Dots, Eight of Myriads, White Dragon… wait a minute…”
Ning Zhixia had something on his mind. He avoided them, squatted down, and after a moment of silence, took out his phone.
He originally wanted to check his account records again, but a new comment on his manicure shop’s Sweet Potato platform popped up first—
“Boss Ning has a wide range of styles and great aesthetics. He even complimented my nail shape and said I didn’t need extensions, heehee! It was worth the wait! The only problem is that there were too many Swarovski crystals, making it a little inconvenient to rip out hearts…”
Default avatar, garbled username.
Ning Zhixia’s eyes widened when he saw the end, like a startled cat, he quickly moved his phone away.
Eww! What does it mean, inconvenient to rip out hearts!
A few carefree kittens climbed up his back, the calico cat at the front proudly reaching his shoulder, a cat head soon appearing on his dark hair.
“That shouldn’t be right, how is it gone?”
Ning Zhixia returned to the online banking interface and refreshed, but the transaction record from last night had vanished without a trace, leaving only a noticeably increased balance.
Checking the details carefully, it had actually been dispersed into several other incoming payments, as if some rule had made its existence reasonable.
While he was puzzled, the calico cat meowed softly, jumped down from Ning Zhixia’s head, its nose twitching slightly as it sniffed the air.
It wasn’t clear what scent it had caught, but its round eyes suddenly sparkled, and it twisted its tail and ran towards the courtyard fence, bumping headfirst into a pair of long legs, purring and shaking its dizzy head.
The spreading branches of the camphor tree covered the eaves, dappled shadows swaying on the umbrella’s surface.
The man was very tall, his mixed-race features easy on the eyes. He stood still in front of the mewing kittens, ignoring them, only lowering his light blue eyes, gazing in Ning Zhixia’s direction, his gaze deep and serene.
Holy crap, how does he look like that?
A model-like customer came on a rainy day. Ning Zhixia’s legs were numb, so he could only look up and greet: “Hello, do you want a…”
The man paused: “…?”
Ning Zhixia corrected himself: “Uh, I mean a manicure.”
The man shook his head: “No.”
Ning Zhixia was confused: “Then…”
“I’m Audrow.” He stopped in front of the young man. “I’d like to invite you to come with me. There’s a tricky matter that will take up some of your time.”
Ning Zhixia pointed at himself: “Me? Me?” It sounded so serious.
Audrow nodded seriously.
“Can you elaborate?”
“I can’t explain right now.”
Ning Zhixia frowned, shaking his head warily and refusing: “Then I won’t go.”
“Is that so…”
Audrow seemed troubled, raising the brim of his umbrella, his beautiful eyes seeming to want to look into his very soul, “That didn’t count, answer again.”
Ning Zhixia was stunned.
Dude, are you playing a dating sim and reloading a save?!
However, just as he was shocked, the color of those quietly gazing eyes became more intense. Ning Zhixia felt like he was being sucked into a whirlpool on the sea, as if a hazy song was echoing in his mind, a violent and strange palpitation suddenly spreading through his body.
Audrow softened his voice: “Will you come with me?”
The words of refusal took a turn in his mind, and this time Ning Zhixia quickly replied: “Okay!”
Audrow gave a satisfied “Hmm,” and leaned towards the dazed young man. His waist-length silver-gray hair slid down, a few strands brushing against the other’s unfocused face.
It tickled a little, and Ning Zhixia pursed his lips, the corners of his mouth curving.
Audrow’s gaze was inquisitive, staring at the dimple that appeared on his cheek.
Fingers longer than those of ordinary people touched his cheek. As the soft flesh enveloped his fingertips, a warm sensation, completely different from his own, spread to his fingertips.
His mischievous fingers poked once,
Then poked again…
Ning Zhixia giggled foolishly, not dodging, until the other party stopped and covered all light and shadow with a black silk blindfold, suddenly flinching.
Audrow: “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just…”
Ning Zhixia fidgeted with the zipper of his jacket, muttering in a low voice, “I think for this kind of play… things are moving a little too fast.”
“Hmm?”
What’s moving too fast?
Audrow looked bewildered, lost in thought.
What a strange human.
Here in the U.S, that nail art will easily be $100 more or less. At least he got a few extra? 😭