Chapter 33
“Wuwuwu… my poor Meow Meow… you’ve suffered…”
Qu Banqing finally saw his carefully raised little piglet return home. He pulled Ning Zhixia around, checking him over, his wailing gradually subsiding, then glared resentfully at the crumbs on the young man’s mouth. “What’s that?”
Audrow said with a smirk, “Evil cupcakes, he ate a lot of them.”
Qu Banqing was suspicious: “Why do you seem to have had such a good time?”
Ning Zhixia quickly licked his lips: “Wild food can’t compare to home cooking, yours is the best.”
“That’s more like it.” Qu Banqing snorted and went to the kitchen to prepare food.
It was late, the perfect time for a late-night snack. Qu Banqing knew Audrow would bring Ning Zhixia back, so he had marinated some meat and shrimp in the afternoon and brought an electric grill to the living room for Korean BBQ.
Since Audrow didn’t eat hot food, he helped himself to the sweet shrimp and salmon from the refrigerator, eating slowly and elegantly.
The marinated pork belly, scored and coated in reddish sauce, sizzled on the grill, and Ning Zhixia’s eyes were glued to it. There were also intestines, coiled around the edges, dripping with oil.
With two fatty meats grilling, the grill pan quickly filled with oil, perfect for cooking shrimp, squid, and some oil-absorbing vegetables in the center.
The vegetables were simple, just potato and eggplant slices. Ning Zhixia liked the soft, sweet taste of grilled pumpkin, so he went to the kitchen and cut some pumpkin slices.
“Eat, eat, eat, there’s more if you want. I bought several boxes of imported beef this morning, ribeye and short ribs, so milky and delicious.” Qu Banqing urged them to start eating.
Ning Zhixia was piling ingredients onto a lettuce wrap, stuffing it into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster. Audrow put down his sweet shrimp, squinted, and poked Ning Zhixia’s cheek.
Ning Zhixia chewed, letting him poke, and mumbled, “It was so expensive.”
“It doesn’t matter, that centaur, Hecate, gave me a gem before he left. I scanned it, and…” Qu Banqing slapped his thigh excitedly, “Ha ha! One hundred thousand yuan!”
Ning Zhixia froze, the intestines he had just picked up dropping onto the grill pan, caught by Audrow with a small plate just in time.
“That much?!” Ning Zhixia’s face was full of disbelief.
“Of course, that price is almost equivalent to a two-carat pigeon’s blood ruby!” Qu Banqing flipped the pork belly, the tongs scraping against the golden-crispy surface. He said with slight regret, “Too bad there was only one, you should have heard how wonderful the payment notification sounded.”
“It’s okay…”
Ning Zhixia immediately recovered and, under Qu Banqing’s puzzled gaze, took something out of his pocket.
“Clink, clink, clink.”
Three sparkling gems were placed on the table. Ning Zhixia proudly presented them, “Look, there’s more!”
Qu Banqing was shocked: “Holy crap!”
They quickly ate a few bites of meat and placed the gems from the Barrenlands on the QR code scanner—
“Eighty thousand yuan!”
“Sixty thousand yuan!”
“Ninety thousand yuan!”
The phone vibrated, three payment notifications popping up. Ning Zhixia read them out and muttered, “Unbelievable, I only dare to yell like this when playing mahjong…”
There was still a lot of meat on the grill, but they were too full to eat anymore. The pothos by the window extended its vines, taking the leftover food, and even tossed some burnt pieces to the lush plants in the courtyard.
They weren’t picky eaters, their leaves unfurling, their large, gaping flower heads catching the food. In the quiet summer night, there were no cicadas chirping, only the strange crunching sounds.
Qu Banqing, rubbing his temples, went outside to clean up the fallen debris.
These brats were so troublesome, even making a mess while eating!
“Such a good appetite.” Ning Zhixia looked out the window and sighed sincerely.
He turned around and saw Audrow silently finishing two boxes of salmon and a box of sweet shrimp, licking his lips as if savoring the taste.
The salmon was half mid-section and half belly. Ordinary people would find it too rich after a few bites, but Audrow had finished it all.
“Are you full?” Ning Zhixia, remembering the faint scales he had seen, couldn’t help but ask.
Audrow put down the empty boxes, leaned closer, and rubbed his face against the young man’s cheek.
His cool breath felt especially comfortable in the warming weather. Perhaps because his actions were so natural, Ning Zhixia didn’t mind, blinking and tilting his head up.
Audrow leaned back on the sofa, his light-colored eyes reflecting a certain figure, and said with a satisfied sigh, “I’m full now.”
It was late, and Audrow seemed to have something to do. He declined the offer to stay on the sofa and disappeared into the night, under the kittens’ reluctant gazes.
The office building, filled with worker bees, was brightly lit, the flickering lights illuminating half of Audrow’s face, his eyelashes casting small shadows on his pale skin.
He pushed open the door to his office, and a golden orb, seemingly waiting for him, bounced on the smooth desk like a rubber ball, exclaiming excitedly—
“Oh! My child! You’re back!”
Audrow leaned lazily against the doorframe, his eyes downcast like a rebellious teenager facing his parent, and mumbled an indistinct “hmm.”
“Cheer up!”
The little orb bounced onto his shoulder, pushing aside his silky hair, and whispered mysteriously in his ear, “I have a glorious mission for you!”
Ning Zhixia took a shower and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, sleeping soundly in his pigsty and waking up refreshed, almost ready to do a set of military exercises in bed.
He woke up early today. Qu Banqing was still in the kitchen making breakfast. He went to help, hands behind his back, and was unceremoniously kicked out, sulking by the window.
The pothos patted his head with a vine, tucked a flower behind his ear, made a heart shape with its leaves, and continued swaying in the breeze.
The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, and the evolved plants in the courtyard didn’t need Ning Zhixia’s help, watering themselves with the watering can.
Ning Zhixia’s face froze. Mad, they were so intelligent it was creepy, even zombies would become fertilizer here.
The kittens, initially scared because the plants would occasionally poke their butts with their leaves, were now used to it and didn’t mind at all.
They crawled out of their shell beds and went to play among the flowers.
Ning Zhixia squatted down and examined the exquisite shell bed. It was padded and could be opened and closed, the top decorated with a wind chime made of pearls and seashells, perfect for a kitten to lie on its back and play with.
“Popo’s tentacles are so skillful…” Ning Zhixia played with it for a while, so envious he wanted to shrink himself and sleep inside.
Qu Banqing brought the congee to the living room and saw him spinning the seashell wind chime like a carousel, making Fatty Orange pace around him impatiently, trying to nudge the toy-hogging owner away with its head.
“Breakfast is ready!” Qu Banqing knocked on the bowl impatiently.
“Yay!”
Ning Zhixia, hearing the sound, bounced onto his stool like he had springs in his legs.
Breakfast was yam and pork bone congee with sesame oil and pickled vegetables. Since there were no customers this morning, they chatted leisurely while eating. After breakfast, Ning Zhixia opened the platform messages and started scheduling appointments.
Among the appointment requests, there was a message from the platform itself.
Ning Zhixia opened the message. The platform had noticed his recent popularity and suggested he participate in this month’s “Artisan Awards” live stream event.
“Many crafters have joined recently, you and Banqing should join in the fun too, just to maintain your popularity.”
Ning Zhixia sent the link to Lu Yaoguang, and she quickly replied.
There were always individual crafters or colleagues curious about his techniques in the comments, and replying to each one was too troublesome. It would be more efficient to demonstrate while making press-on nails.
“I think you just want to record some footage for your own videos.” Qu Banqing mercilessly exposed him.
“Hee hee hee…” Ning Zhixia grinned mischievously and set up his phone stand.
The sunlight outside was bright, and with the desk lamp, after adjusting the angle, the camera clearly captured the press-on nails fixed on the nail display.
Ning Zhixia checked the camera and, seeing no problems, started the live stream.
[What? Am I seeing things?!]
[Wow, I just refreshed the live stream page and saw Mr. Ning’s live stream!]
[Yay, finally a manicurist I like is streaming!]
Soon after the live stream started, fans who received the notification, or viewers who came from Lu Yaoguang’s recommendation, flooded in.
Ning Zhixia moved Golden Toast, who was resting with its paws up, and explained, “I have some free time this morning, so I’m doing a live stream of making press-on nails.”
[What did he just move? Wasn’t that a giant loaf of pumpkin bread?]
[Kitty, don’t listen to them, they’re just haters! (Covering the cat’s ears and petting it)]
[Yay! I hope you’ll share some tips, individual crafters really need video tutorials!]
[Can anyone be a teacher these days? The stream just started and there are already so many fans, so many shills!]
[Here comes the Great Yu to control the floods, are you sure you’re in the right place to be spraying?]
[Wife, don’t mind them, I’m a fan of your looks, you don’t have to do anything!]
Ning Zhixia remained unfazed by the various comments. Because he was wearing a mask, no one could see how wide he was grinning from the compliments.
Masks, truly an S-tier item for maintaining composure!
“A customer ordered a set of court-style nails, the main technique is arranging small metal beads, so I can show you the process.”
Ning Zhixia attached the nail tips to the display and was about to start working when the comments exploded.
[I’m not hearing things, right? This is my nightmare! Every time I do it, my eyes get blurry and the customer has to practice their iron butt skills…]
[Never done a beaded design? Is it really that exaggerated?]
[It’s difficult, but seems like a lot of useful information, as long as he doesn’t mess it up!]
“I won’t mess it up, it’ll be done before noon.” Ning Zhixia said casually, but many people didn’t believe him. Court-style beaded nail art sounded complicated, and it was impossible to finish it in less than five or six hours without going blind.
Ignoring the naysayers and those waiting for a show, Ning Zhixia adjusted the desk lamp and brought the nail display closer to the camera.
The base coat was a solid color, nothing technically challenging. The transparent nails quickly turned into a milky white canvas, and then came the main event everyone was waiting for.
The overall design was based on a European jewelry necklace, using a cross-shaped base structure, with beads and pearls outlining the curves, which meant a huge amount of beading work!
Ning Zhixia used a striping brush to apply a thin layer of glue, smoothly outlining the design in one go, a satisfying sight.
But when he picked up the small metal beads with tweezers, many manicurists watching cringed.
[Help, all nail salons use magnetic pens these days, or at least put a small magnet under their tweezers, is he using chopsticks to pick up rice grains?!]
[Isn’t he a newbie?]
[I don’t think he should apply all the glue at once, he’s too hasty, what if the beads get pushed around? He should apply the glue as he goes, and also…]
[I’m so jealous, he doesn’t even need a teaching certificate, just talks nonsense, hee hee.]
[He’s live streaming, he must know what he’s doing, the beads haven’t even been placed yet, why are you so anxious?!]
Ning Zhixia glanced at the comments, as calm as a capybara, muttering, “Don’t fight, don’t fight…”
He worked with zen-like focus, his heart as still as a Buddha, but his tweezers moved rapidly between the nails and the material box.
One, two, three…
The 5mm beads were picked up steadily and placed on the nails, each one perfectly positioned on the transparent glue, the tweezers moving like a blur, like a ruthless bead-placing machine.
[Holy crap… this precision, better than a rain-inducing missile…]
[Where did you buy your beads? They’re so obedient, they seem to be lining up perfectly!]
[What a newbie, are the beads the point? It’s his hands! His godly right hand!]
“You’re exaggerating.” Ning Zhixia was amused by the comments and explained while curing the nails, “Using tweezers is laborious, but it helps you familiarize yourself with the pressure and improves your hand stability.”
He then demonstrated slowly on another nail: “Picking up the beads requires stability, placing them also requires stability, especially when placing them, you can’t rush or your hand will shake, and the tweezers will push the beads around. You can start practicing with larger beads and simple designs, like a cross.”
This classic Western religious or courtly pattern could be used as a simple base structure, creating an elegant effect with rhinestones, or it could be combined with other curves and shapes for more complex designs.
The previously noisy viewers quieted down, some regular customers even expressing their amazement. They knew he was fast, but they hadn’t expected him to be this steady.
Ning Zhixia continued working and explaining, the camera clearly capturing every step.
But someone still couldn’t help but ask—
[I understand that tweezers are a versatile tool, but arranging beads is so laborious, why not recommend using a magnetic pen?]
“Hmm…” Ning Zhixia put down his tweezers, took out a magnetic pen, and said, “Because some of the viewers are individual crafters, beginners, and if their hands aren’t steady yet, using these tools will actually make them shake more, it’s not as easy to use as the ads make it seem. It’s better to use them after you’ve become proficient.”
He poured some beads onto his fingers, held the magnetic pen flat against one end, and in the blink of an eye, picked up a string of beads, then placed them on the nail like a brush, securing them in place.
It indeed looked easy and efficient, and many beginners tried it themselves.
However, even picking up the beads proved difficult for many. They clogged the magnetic tip, and even if they managed to pick them up in a straight line, their hands shook like they had Parkinson’s when placing them on the nail, getting glue everywhere.
After struggling for a while, it was less efficient than using tweezers.
Everyone now believed Ning Zhixia. What was the difference between a bad student and having fancy stationery without a solid foundation?
Ning Zhixia finished arranging the beads and carefully coated them with glue. This step prevented oxidation and ensured a strong bond.
But the amount of glue was also a skill. Each bead had to be evenly coated, too much would create clumps, too little would cause the beads to fall off.
The viewers held their breath, as if Ning Zhixia’s brush was touching their hearts. When he finished coating the entire nail, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
The finished nail art was intricate and elegant, the empty spaces decorated with teardrop or marquise-shaped Swarovski crystals, the moonlight crystal color instantly elevating the design, like a jeweled necklace on the fingertips.
[Gorgeous, so beautiful!]
[He could probably do Rococo style too!]
[So much useful information, first time recording a live stream and taking notes, so satisfying for an individual crafter!]
[How much is this set of press-on nails?]
Ning Zhixia checked his chat log with the customer who had ordered them and replied, “688 yuan.”
[So expensive, just a few cheap beads, it’s so easy for you manicurists to make money, I think 88 yuan is enough!]
“Besides the designs sold in the shop, I don’t usually do custom press-on nails, except for regular customers with high spending, after all…”
Ning Zhixia, already cleaning his tools, said with a smile, “Money talks.”
[Did you hear that? You’re not even qualified to order custom press-on nails!]
[88 yuan! That’s not even enough to pay a slave!]
[For this design, at this price, if you can find a manicurist to replicate it, I’ll kowtow to you!]
[I wouldn’t arrange beads for 688 yuan, wuwuwu, my butt hurts, my eyes hurt, my hands hurt!]
[Sorry, I read that as “my butthole hurts”… ]
[Can you please restock the press-on nails! Not getting the summer limited edition is the biggest regret of my life!]
This comment triggered a flood of similar requests.
Ning Zhixia scratched his face and said awkwardly, “Um, because it’s just me and Banqing in the shop, and other… out-of-town employees working remotely… of course, it’s also to ensure quality…”
[Oh, I see, no wonder the press-on nails are shipped so quickly and the quality is so good, so there are other employees!]
[As expected, a master’s friends are also masters!]
[So… when will you restock? You can definitely make 800 sets a day, right?]
[What, is Mr. Ning going to restock 8000 sets?]
[Let’s thank Mr. Ning!]
Ning Zhixia, startled by the barrage of comments, quickly ended the live stream.
Streaming is good, streaming is good; viewers asking for restocks, viewers are… a little bit bad!
Ning Zhixia, having narrowly escaped, breathed a sigh of relief and started cleaning his workstation.
The kittens, carrying their new favorite toy balls, returned from outside, their tails wagging. Probably having played intensely, they went straight to the automatic water fountain for a drink.
Summer had arrived, and it was time to stay hydrated. These spoiled cats usually acted as if they never felt thirsty, ignoring the water fountain, relying solely on their daily canned food and porridge for hydration.
Finally, Qu Banqing came up with a solution, placing a few plastic lotus leaves on the water’s surface, and for some reason, the little kings seemed to approve.
The sound of lapping water filled the room, and Ning Zhixia watched intently, not daring to make a sound.
Just then, flowing silver-gray hair appeared in his peripheral vision, a long shadow cast by the warm sunlight.
Audrow leaned against the doorframe, following the young man’s gaze, looking at the drinking kittens with slight curiosity, as if wondering what was so interesting about this scene.
Ning Zhixia was stunned: “Here for dinner?”
The young man’s voice brought his attention back.
Audrow nudged his suitcase with his foot and said casually, “Here to move in.”
