Chapter 24
“It’s finally here!”
The first customer to receive her order was a fan of Yin Fuliu. Excited to have the same press-on nails as her favorite celebrity, she immediately filmed an unboxing video.
A gold dried flower was tucked into the bow. She removed it and untied the ribbon, a sweet fragrance wafting from the open box.
The tool kit was complete, with both jelly glue and adhesive tabs, allowing for different application methods.
She opened the transparent box containing the nails. Under the sunlight, the little snake on the nails looked lifelike, its body twisting as it poked its round head out from behind the shimmering, off-center Swarovski crystal, lazily resting on the edge of the decoration, even more lively and beautiful than in the product photos.
The exquisite craftsmanship and quality of the materials instantly impressed her. At least the high price seemed justified.
The customer was about to put away the box when she realized there was something heavy inside. She removed the tissue paper and found a small porcelain jar.
Usually, sellers would include a few candies or a sachet as a small gift, but they were often discarded along with the packaging.
The first-time customer hesitated, holding the small jar. Although these hand cream freebies weren’t usually good quality, throwing it away seemed wasteful, so she decided to keep it on her dressing table as a decoration.
Many unboxing videos were posted online, and the highly anticipated little snake nails instantly outshone all the imitations.
“I bought a cheaper version while waiting, but after receiving the one from Monster Manicure, I realized you get what you pay for!”
“The quality and craftsmanship are amazing, and the material kit is generous!”
“You get what you pay for, it wouldn’t make sense for them to be stingy with such a high price.”
“If the high price means good quality, I’m satisfied! Their nail measurements are very detailed, they even measure the width and curve. It’s a bit troublesome, but after trying them on, they’re the best-fitting press-on nails I’ve ever bought!”
“The dried flower in the bow is so pretty! Mine is gold, I heard it brings good luck!”
“What? There’s such a thing?”
“I think so. I received a purple dried flower the day before yesterday, and today I met a potential new client while hiking, it’s like I met a lucky star!”
“Anyone want to sell their balm? Price negotiable!”
“What balm? I didn’t get one?”
“Look for the small porcelain jar in the box. They give it as a gift with purchases over 500 yuan. It’s moisturizing and not greasy, I think it’s better than high-end hand creams!”
“Oh my god! I threw it away, what have I done!”
Everyone who saw this comment was shocked and quickly rummaged through their boxes for the balm they had almost discarded as cheap junk.
As the smooth balm melted into their skin, they felt a sense of satisfaction.
“Ning Meow Meow, I’ll put this batch of balm in the storage room!” Qu Banqing called out to the young man in the work area, holding a box.
Business had been good recently, and because of the press-on nail sales, they had bought a lot of packaging materials. Early in the morning, the two of them were sorting through the packages, the cats taking the opportunity to jump around in the empty boxes.
“Okay, go ahead.” Ning Zhixia replied, shooing the cats away, grumbling, “Why do you always play with empty boxes instead of sleeping in the cat beds I bought you?”
Fatty Orange ignored him, chewing on a cardboard box like an automatic stapler, leaving little teeth marks.
Qu Banqing finished and came out of the storage room, glanced at the time, and said in surprise, “The customer with an appointment isn’t here yet? Give her a call.”
“I did, it keeps going to voicemail.” The next customer’s appointment was almost here. Ning Zhixia sighed helplessly and sent a message to cancel the appointment.
“Hello! Young Master Ning, long time no see!”
The glass wind chimes by the window jingled, and He Mingzhu appeared at the door, carrying a new handbag.
Under the bright sunlight, the elegantly dressed girl looked radiant, like a scene from a magazine photoshoot, if she wasn’t waving a spicy rabbit head…
Ning Zhixia pointed towards the restroom, and He Mingzhu, who had just finished a rabbit head, walked over, her mouth covered in red oil.
Qu Banqing’s customer also arrived soon. He filed her nails, sniffed the air, and muttered, “Rabbits are so cute…”
Ning Zhixia, afraid of hurting his friend’s love for rabbits: “Um…”
Qu Banqing looked up, his eyes gleaming: “And so fragrant!”
Ning Zhixia was stunned: “I thought you loved rabbits.” After all, all his childhood toys had been bunnies.
“Of course I do.” Qu Banqing said with feeling. “Its meat is also a part of it.”
Ning Zhixia: “…” Such deep love.
As they were chatting, a thin man with heavy makeup pushed the door open, looked around with his chin raised, rolled his eyes at the ceiling, and snorted.
Ning Zhixia paused. Had they added new moves to the eye exercises?
The customer beside him was a little surprised and whispered to them that this was a popular live streamer named Shi Baxian.
“Keep it down, this is a private visit.” Shi Baxian glanced at the customer disdainfully, took out a mask, and put it on.
Ning Zhixia stared blankly as he adjusted his mask and hair, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Hey, boss, I’m a busy person, do you have to call so many times just because I’m a little late? Alright, alright, let’s start quickly.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ning Zhixia hooked the chair leg with his foot, put on a professional smile, and said, “Because you’re already late and past your appointment time, it’s the next customer’s turn now. You should have received my notification message.”
“So what if I received it, I came all the way here, and you just cancel on me?”
Shi Baxian frowned, looked at Ning Zhixia, and sneered, “Do you know who I am? It’s an honor for me to come to your shop.”
“No, the next customer is already here.”
Ning Zhixia refused, glancing towards the restroom, and patiently persuaded him, “You should leave. If you want to come again, you can reschedule for another day.”
Shi Baxian was so angry he laughed. No one had dared to talk to him like this since he became popular. He waved his hand dismissively: “Are you stupid? Just make the other customer wait!”
“You little brat, say that again!” Qu Banqing instantly turned fierce, protectively putting his hand on Ning Zhixia’s head.
Just then, the restroom door was pushed open with a bang. The sound of He Mingzhu’s high heels clicking grew closer. She looked at the man standing by the seat with a puzzled expression.
Shi Baxian, seeing who it was, froze: “He, He Mingzhu…”
He Mingzhu didn’t have a huge following and rarely made public appearances, but her status as a corporate heiress was undeniable.
Ning Zhixia handed He Mingzhu a mask and reminded her with a serious face: “Keep it down, this is a private visit, don’t greet people randomly.”
The customer beside him paused, then smiled warmly.
“Who is this person, standing there awkwardly?” He Mingzhu vaguely heard the commotion outside, took the mask, and sat down, displeased.
Shi Baxian quickly forced a smile and took out his phone ingratiatingly: “Miss He, I’ve always been your fan, what a coincidence to meet you today, can we take a picture together?”
“And give up your manicure appointment to him.” Ning Zhixia’s cheerful voice interrupted.
“…”
The smile on Shi Baxian’s face instantly froze, and he quickly turned to look.
The young man blinked innocently and reminded him helpfully, “You just said it yourself!”
“I didn’t, I didn’t mean it like that…” Shi Baxian cursed inwardly, his breathing becoming erratic as he frantically denied it.
He Mingzhu sneered: “Even I have to make an appointment to get my nails done at my friend’s shop, what do you mean, trying to pull rank?”
The other customers hadn’t realized that this newly popular nail salon had such connections. Shi Baxian was even more shocked, glancing sideways: “Your friend…”
“Hmph!” Ning Zhixia puffed out his chest, his face cold.
Shi Baxian felt embarrassed but couldn’t argue, so he could only chuckle awkwardly: “Sorry, boss, I didn’t express myself clearly, I’ll just reschedule.”
Ning Zhixia leaned back in his chair: “Oh.”
The others looked at him with amusement, not saying a word. Shi Baxian’s face turned red, and he chuckled awkwardly a few more times before quickly turning and leaving.
After seeing off the unpleasant clown, Ning Zhixia ordered spicy rabbit heads to celebrate. That kind of person, whose head was swollen from sudden popularity, would eventually fall from grace.
None of them took the matter seriously. Unexpectedly, that night, the influencer started a live stream.
His fans curiously asked why he didn’t get his nails done, and Shi Baxian poured out his grievances as if he had been greatly wronged.
“I went, but there was another blogger there. Maybe I’m not famous enough for that shop owner, he asked me to reschedule.”
He started crying, then raised his head, pretending to be strong, fanning his eyes with his hands, his voice choked with sobs, “It’s okay, don’t blame the owner, it’s because I’m not good enough…”
“What kind of nail salon is so arrogant? Who do they think they are?”
“Just because a few of their designs are popular, I can get the same thing done at another shop!”
His fans, seeing his pitiful display of vulnerability, so different from his usual confident image, felt that he must have been greatly wronged to lose control in front of the camera, and their impression of the nail salon plummeted.
“Damn it! He’s twisting the facts! He’s being sarcastic!”
Ning Zhixia, munching on a rabbit head, angrily stomped his foot on the table, wanting to jump into the screen with a machine gun and shoot the fake-crying influencer.
Just as the fans were being riled up and demanding an explanation, He Mingzhu started a live stream.
She usually only shared her daily life and rarely got involved in online disputes, so her sudden high-profile live stream surprised her fans.
“I’ve seen people expose others, but I’ve never seen someone hang themselves. He booked an appointment for 10 am, and he’s complaining about being late and unreachable?”
He Mingzhu said disdainfully, “Not only does he have no concept of time, but he even tried to take another customer’s appointment time. If it weren’t for Boss Ning’s firm stance, it would have been unfair and unprofessional.”
Ning Zhixia smiled, impressed by He Mingzhu’s fighting spirit, and clearly explained the events of the day in chronological order, attaching screenshots of call logs and messages, creating a detailed PPT and posting it on social media.
The onlookers and fans felt like they were in a conference room, stunned by the well-organized evidence.
“Wait, is eating melon this convenient now? I used to beg for summaries and translations, I felt like an orphan!”
“Lol, the shop owner must have worked in an office, this presentation is so professional!”
“Anyone want to refute? I suggest Shi Baxian bring his own PPT and speech when he refutes, his crying is unbearable.”
“One is a social media wannabe throwing a tantrum, the other is presenting evidence calmly and rationally, isn’t it obvious who’s right?”
The customer who had witnessed the whole thing also came forward to testify, her account matching Ning Zhixia and He Mingzhu’s. The fans calmed down and asked Shi Baxian for the truth in his live stream.
Shi Baxian didn’t dare to speak. He had originally thought that He Mingzhu was just showing off her status by standing up for someone, and had discussed with his company about using this incident to create hype, but he didn’t expect their counterattack to be so swift, not even giving him time to react.
Looking at the comments demanding the truth, he gulped and decided to frame it as a rich heiress and her friend bullying a small-time streamer.
However, before he could even finish his sob story, his arrogant behavior had already offended too many people. With Ning Zhixia taking the lead, many other businesses also came forward with their own stories.
“This Shi Baxian, under the guise of reviewing businesses, not only freeloads but also demands exorbitant advertising fees. If you don’t pay, he slanders you in his videos and live streams. Any fans who feel sorry for him, please come and settle his bills!”
The fans, after seeing the evidence, were greatly disappointed. They followed him because they were attracted by his positive qualities, but Shi Baxian clearly lacked any qualities worthy of their sincere support.
“He Mingzhu’s friend, Yin Fuliu’s manicurist, dude, please, they don’t need your publicity.”
“This isn’t a warning, it’s a recommendation! I’ve been so frustrated by the double standards of those famous shops, I love this kind of fair and impartial owner!”
“Seriously, any random chicken can become popular these days, just create a persona and exploit the fans’ enthusiasm!”
The overwhelming negative comments, like arrows shot back at him, devoured him. The fans, realizing they had been used, unfollowed him and turned against him.
Shi Baxian watched his follower count plummet, cold sweat dripping down his back, regretting his cleverness.
Just as he was trying to do damage control, his assistant called, panicking: “It’s bad, we’ve lost most of our sponsorships, and the company wants to terminate your contract!”
“What?!”
Having barely tasted the sweetness of fame, he was about to be kicked back to reality. Shi Baxian clutched his chest, his breathing erratic, and fainted…
Meanwhile—
“I can totally imagine him throwing evidence at that unlucky guy like firecrackers.”
In a luxurious, retro-style Chinese villa, Yin Fuliu chuckled, holding her phone. “Such a swift counterattack, wouldn’t you say so— esteemed Mr. Audrow?”
She glanced at the corner of the room, where a tall figure was casually scrolling through his tablet, his silver-gray hair falling from his shoulders.
Every PPT slide had a stick figure kicking and punching in the corner, clearly showing how angry he was, eager to vent his frustration.
Audrow tilted the tablet back and forth, a chuckle escaping his lips.
Yin Fuliu didn’t understand what he was laughing at and said teasingly, “As a Bureau member, you’re not supposed to interfere with the plane, are you?”
“I can’t, but you can.” Audrow stopped smiling, his eyes narrowing as he asked, “Your friend is in trouble, aren’t you going to help?”
Such a loophole exploiter. Not to mention that she would never stand idly by, with his tone, if she dared to say no, her tail would definitely be twisted into a pretzel!
Yin Fuliu cursed inwardly, then spread her hands helplessly: “But it seems like there’s nothing I need to do now.”
“Indeed.”
Audrow put down his tablet and stood up, casually tapping the dressing mirror, which rippled like water.
He slowly stepped into the mirror, and just as the ripples faded, as if remembering something, a hand reached out from the mirror, beckoning in a certain direction.
The limited edition cake, intended as a thank-you gift, instantly floated towards the mirror.
Yin Fuliu was so angry she laughed. What a stingy fish, not giving her the cake just because she didn’t help, huh?
As the cake box floated past her, she suddenly asked, “What is Ning Zhixia to you?”
“I don’t know.”
A cold voice came from the mirror, carrying a hint of impatient warning, saying simply and directly, “Whoever tries to take him from me will become an ice sculpture.”
