Chapter 61
Snow slid off the trees and landed on the hard scales, melting into icy water that traced a path down the center of the shimmering dragon eyes.
“Look, Second Brother!” Cui Ying held up his hand, grinning triumphantly.
His hand wasn’t entirely human-like, perhaps influenced by his dragon form, the skin on his fingertips a gradient of dark colors, with thin, golden lines etched in the middle of each finger, but even that couldn’t distract from the awe-inspiring decorations on his nails.
The dragons snorted, puffing out hot breath that turned into unimpressive wisps of white mist in the snowy air.
“Do you know what this is? A manicure! Never heard of it, right? Come, let me show you…”
Cui Ying waved his hand like a windshield wiper, then quickly pulled it away, grinning mischievously, “Hee hee, you can’t see it!”
This was as annoying as someone eating a popsicle and watermelon in front of new recruits standing at attention. The dragons were irritated, but frozen in place, their teeth gnashing, waiting to thaw and teach their little brother some manners.
However, their attention was indeed captured. Having seen countless treasures, they had never encountered anything like this before, and their curiosity was piqued.
A black dragon couldn’t help but ask, “Who did this for you?”
Cui Ying had been waiting for this question, casually looking around, then, after drawing out the suspense, raised his chin proudly and pointed behind him, “Well, this human, of course!”
Ning Zhixia, enjoying the winter wonderland, happily pushed a snowball past Cui Ying, then stopped, tilting his head in confusion as several gazes locked onto him.
Hmm, cute.
The dragons narrowed their eyes, their gazes intensifying.
“But don’t even think about him.” Cui Ying stood in front of the young man, hands on his hips. “He’s my exclusive manicurist!”
Suddenly given a new title, Ning Zhixia was bewildered: “Me?”
“That’s right! Exclusive! Not for sharing!” Cui Ying flicked his tail, leaned against his brother’s large snout, and nodded, practically twirling a blade of grass between his teeth.
The teenager’s arrogant voice echoed in the valley, and some word or phrase seemed to offend the bad-tempered merman. Audrow raised an eyebrow and, behind the oblivious teenager, slowly smiled, a chillingly possessive smile.
A snap of his fingers, and the ice and snow melted.
The now freed behemoths transformed into their human forms, eagerly expressing their desire for manicures.
“Ah! Help! I’m sorry!”
Amidst Cui Ying’s screams as his siblings scorched his butt with dragon breath, Ning Zhixia readily accepted an ancient gold coin as a deposit, welcoming them to visit his shop anytime.
The dragons’ requests were bizarre and extravagant, some wanting their nails covered in Barrenlands sand and Swarovski crystals, others wanting gold coins painted on their nails with pearlescent watercolor… The tackier the better, like nouveau riche from a remote mountain village, completely clashing with Ning Zhixia’s aesthetics.
A dragon even nudged the small human’s lower back with its snout, its voice rumbling, “Can you cover my scales with shiny gems too?”
“That’s impossible!” Ning Zhixia shrieked.
A dragon’s scales were bigger than his head, not to mention the sheer amount of work and materials… Clearing out his inventory wasn’t the goal here.
To dissuade them from their crazy ideas, Ning Zhixia offered alternative designs.
He kept the dragon eye design, applied gold foil to the other nails, smoothing it with a wooden stick, then, instead of sculpting gel, he used black, gold, and red to create a layered, amber-like effect.
This blending technique, combined with gold foil, could be adapted to the dragons’ different colors, from fiery gold and red to deep blue, quickly earning their approval.
A female snow dragon wasn’t interested in scales or eye patterns, she preferred round, lustrous pearls, and Ning Zhixia naturally fulfilled her request.
He applied a white base coat, outlined iris patterns with 3D plaster gel, and glued pearls of the same size along the center, replacing the raised ridges of a dragon’s spine.
The other nails, although decorated with pearl powder, were adorned with different accessories, either lace or Barrenlands sand beads, the intricate and detailed work greatly satisfying the snow dragon, who gave Ning Zhixia a bouquet of never-melting ice flowers.
Ning Zhixia happily accepted them, placed them in a vase in the living room, and the kittens, unable to resist the temptation to destroy flowers, learned their lesson after getting their noses frozen a few times.
With these wealthy clients, Ning Zhixia was making a fortune, each ancient gold coin worth 20,000 yuan, and he even enjoyed free flights from dragons of various colors. Maureen, hearing that dragons had become regular customers, was shocked and excited.
In the Sigrid Continent, legendary creatures like dragons were rarely seen, let alone these behemoths obediently carrying people around and patiently getting their nails done.
So, one night, after the dragons left, the witch, wrapped in her magic robe, arrived quietly and whispered, “Are the goods I ordered ready?”
“Yes.”
Ning Zhixia looked around, then carefully took out a small box from under the workstation.
Just as Maureen reached for it, Ning Zhixia stopped her, tapping the box with his fingers, his tone suggestive, “Hold on, I collected these bit by bit, if you want them all…”
He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, “You have to pay extra.”
The witch’s red lips curved into a smile: “How much extra?”
Ning Zhixia made a number with his fingers.
“Hmph, quite bold.” Maureen raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and waved her wand, the box flying into her hand. “Alright, but I have to inspect the goods first!”
Ning Zhixia slapped the table confidently: “Inspect all you want, you won’t find another supplier!”
Qu Banqing, carrying a plate of cupcakes, paused, feeling like he had stumbled upon a drug deal, his gaze shifting between Ning Zhixia and Maureen, curious about their shady transaction.
As the box slowly opened, Qu Banqing leaned closer, his mouth slightly agape—
Ah! A pile of… nail clippings?
His inner scream took a sharp turn, and Qu Banqing frowned, stood there for a moment, rolled his eyes, picked up a cupcake, and turned to leave.
“Hmm, very good.” The witch stroked her chin and left a bag of gold coins on the table.
Ning Zhixia, like a squirrel finding its winter stash, happily plunged his hand into the bag, feeling the weight of the coins, then asked curiously, “What do you need dragon nail clippings for?”
Nail clippings were usually discarded as trash, but Maureen had insisted on keeping them ever since she heard about the dragons’ visits.
“You wouldn’t understand, these are excellent magical materials! They can be used for making wands and brewing potions, powerful mediums are hard to find.”
Maureen explained, pocketing her newly acquired otherworldly treasures.
“Oh, oh, for brewing potions too…”
Ning Zhixia nodded as if he understood, then his face paled, and he looked up incredulously, “You use nail clippings to brew potions?”
“Yes.” Maureen didn’t see anything wrong with it and waved her hand dismissively, “As long as it contains magic, anything can be used for potions!”
“Then, then the potion I drank…”
Ning Zhixia’s lips trembled, recalling the potion he had drank, a bad feeling rising in his stomach.
Maureen patted his head, a comforting smile on her face: “Dear, just drink it and don’t ask.”
“Ugh—”
Ning Zhixia gagged.
After Maureen left, humming cheerfully, Ning Zhixia drank some honey water to settle his stomach and dejectedly returned to his workstation, working on new press-on nails.
Dragons’ eyes, from any angle, were more beautiful than any jewel, a rare and valuable reference material for him.
He diligently worked on the nail tips, then, as he was about to start painting, he heard the sound of a chair being pulled back.
He looked over and saw Audrow, his chin resting on his hand, looking at him and saying casually, “Time for exercise.”
Sitting for long periods of time was bad for his back and neck. Qu Banqing would remind him occasionally, but after realizing that he would just agree and continue sitting, he had entrusted the task to Audrow, who would lose his patience after three ignored calls and carry him away.
Ning Zhixia, afraid of being lifted again, mumbled softly, “Coming, coming, just one more.”
He huddled under the lamp, his eyelashes casting shadows on his porcelain-like skin. Audrow, in a good mood, decided to wait for five more minutes.
He tilted the magnet in his hand, creating a crescent-shaped shimmer, and as Ning Zhixia admired the beautiful light, his sleeve was tugged.
Hmm?
Ning Zhixia stopped and blinked: “What’s wrong?” Five minutes weren’t up yet.
“Can you paint my eyes too?” Audrow casually glanced at the finished nail tips on the table, his gaze returning to the young man.
His eyes were more beautiful than any gem, but their beauty was dangerous. Just like prolonged eye contact with a feline could be seen as a challenge, no one liked to look a merman in the eye, because piquing their interest was often akin to walking into a trap.
Ning Zhixia knew that Audrow liked to stare at him, especially when his ethereal singing started, his light-colored eyes turning into shimmering pools of moonlight, drawing people in.
If eye contact was a spiritual kiss, they must have kissed countless times.
Ning Zhixia chuckled at the thought, then shook his head, “I can’t, your eyes are too beautiful.”
The sincere answer brought a strange sense of satisfaction to Audrow, who stared at him silently for a moment, then gently caressed his cheek:
“You must have eaten a lot of cupcakes to say such sweet things.”
Ning Zhixia blinked and chuckled smugly, “I’m sweet even without cupcakes.”
