Monster Manicure Shop Operation Guide 46

Chapter 46

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

Qu Banqing nervously entered the house, holding a cat, thinking that it was just a few hours out with the precious jewel, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

Audrow rarely looked so angry. He ignored Qu Banqing and stared at the young man as if his beloved donut had been bitten into.

“Why are you suddenly so angry…” Ning Zhixia stood frozen, muttering, then, seeing Audrow approaching menacingly with a raised hand—

“Hey, hey, what are you doing?!”

A cool breath brushed against his nose, and Ning Zhixia instinctively flinched, but his chin was caught by cold fingers and turned.

Audrow’s soft voice sounded in his ear: “Don’t move.”

Ning Zhixia mumbled an “mmm,” his body relaxing slightly. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Audrow’s other hand brushed his cheek and reached behind him.

“Gasp—”

Qu Banqing inhaled sharply and exclaimed in horror, “Oh my god! Meow Meow, your back is smoking!”

A thick, greenish smoke rose from his back, swirling around his head, wisps of smoke rapidly being pulled out of his skin.

Ning Zhixia had only heard of ancestral graves having this treatment, he didn’t know humans could spontaneously combust. He turned to look at his back in confusion, the smoke gradually forming a blurry human shape, a faint sobbing echoing in the room.

With a sharp tug, Audrow pulled a woman in a long, flowing dress to the ground.

She looked up, her eyes, nose, and mouth… incredibly human-like, her features painted in greenish-blue, slightly stiff, like a porcelain doll, creating an unsettling, uncanny valley effect—

“Holy crap, holy crap! What is that?!”

Ning Zhixia’s face turned pale, his eyes wide with terror, as he scrambled into Audrow’s arms, “There’s a ghost on my back!”

Audrow held him with one arm, his expression softening slightly. He sniffed the air, the young man’s scent now mixed with something else, and muttered softly.

Not fragrant anymore.

“I’m not a ghost…” The woman lay on the ground, sobbing pitifully, her voice filled with grievance, “You two young masters just complimented my beauty.”

She looked like a virtuous woman wronged by a spoiled son, letting out another sob.

Audrow’s softened expression instantly hardened. He pushed the trembling young man away and asked, his eyes narrowed, “You complimented her beauty?”

“No, no…”

Audrow’s questioning tone made Ning Zhixia feel inexplicably guilty. He exchanged a look with Qu Banqing, who was shaking his head blankly, then regained his confidence and said, hands on his hips, “That’s not true, don’t talk nonsense, when did I ever compliment—”

The woman looked up again, tears falling onto her sleeves, and Ning Zhixia suddenly remembered something, his words catching in his throat.

Oh no, he seemed to have actually complimented her.

“So it’s an old acquaintance.”

A light voice came from behind him. Audrow glanced at his expression, casually dropped the remark, and turned to leave.

Ning Zhixia’s head started to ache. He quickly grabbed Audrow: “Hey, Xiao Ao, don’t, don’t…”

Audrow looked down at him, a strange smile appearing on his lips: “Don’t be unreasonable?”

“No, no!” Ning Zhixia shook his head rapidly and sighed, “I mean, there’s no need to be so harsh on a national treasure vase.”

“Her? Vase? National treasure!”

Qu Banqing’s eyes widened in shock. He suppressed his unease and took a closer look, realizing it was indeed her. “It really is you, how did you get out of the museum?”

“I’m not the vase, just the painting on it. The vase was once consecrated and absorbed a thousand years of auspicious energy, which gave me sentience.”

The woman avoided Audrow’s cold gaze and explained softly, “Then the tomb was robbed, and I, along with other treasures, saw the light of day again. A Taoist priest with some skill discovered my essence, he said I possessed auspicious energy, worthy of being called a ‘vase fairy,’ and he took me on a journey across the land.”

Qu Banqing was intrigued and asked, “Then what?”

The porcelain fairy recalled, “The Taoist priest was also mortal. When he grew old and couldn’t travel anymore, he placed me in a Taoist temple. Many years passed, wars raged, and I changed hands many times, until I arrived here. But it’s no longer as interesting as those years of traveling.”

“So that’s how it is…”

Ning Zhixia sighed with emotion, then frowned, “Wait, so you wanted to go out for a stroll, so you attached yourself to me?”

“Not exactly.”

The porcelain fairy stood up and said slowly, “I felt a sense of familiarity with your aura, young master, and I learned that you were the artist invited by the museum to paint on fingertips, so I was curious and followed you.”

Ning Zhixia realized: “Oh! You want a manicure!”

The porcelain fairy nodded shyly: “You’re very perceptive, young master!”

Before Ning Zhixia could speak, Audrow suddenly said, “You have no money.”

“Money…” Like a bolt of lightning, the porcelain fairy was confused.

Audrow added, like he was tattling, “She wants to freeload.”

“I, I—”

The porcelain fairy was embarrassed and angry. She thought for a moment and reached for the hairpin in her hair.

“No, no, no!”

Qu Banqing quickly stopped her, “You’re a spirit born from an antique, any change in your appearance will also change the painting on the vase.”

If she removed her hairpin, the museum staff would go crazy tomorrow.

The porcelain fairy paused, her hand dropping in disappointment: “You’re right, I’m a vase fairy, I can’t change my appearance.”

Audrow nodded, casually created a glowing doorway, and said calmly, “Please leave.”

Qu Banqing: “…”

Ning Zhixia: “…”

“I apologize for the intrusion.”

The dejected porcelain fairy, dragging her long sleeves, was about to leave when she heard someone call out—

“Wait.”

Ning Zhixia leaned against the armrest of the sofa, twirling a strand of Audrow’s silver-gray hair between his fingers.

Audrow glanced at the young man, his lips pursed, then waved his hand, the doorway disappearing, and leaned back on the sofa.

He moved his fingers slightly but didn’t pull his hair away.

“Do you have any further instructions, young master?” The porcelain fairy turned around anxiously.

Ning Zhixia looked at her dress, her long, flowing sleeves completely covering her hands, making any manicure invisible.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you want a manicure?”

“Actually, when I was overseas, trapped in the land of the blue-eyed people, I often looked through the window at a painting of two swallows greeting spring, which had also gained sentience.”

Every night after the museum closed, she would stroll around with the two swallows, her days not so boring.

The porcelain fairy sighed sadly, her face melancholic, “Now that I’ve returned, I can no longer see the two swallows… If you could paint them on my fingertips, young master, it would be a memento.”

Ning Zhixia was touched by her story, lowered his head, thought for a moment, and waved his hand, “Fine, I’ll paint them for you.”

The porcelain fairy was delighted: “Really?”

After all, it was a bond between artifacts lost in a foreign land. Ning Zhixia nodded readily: “Yes, I’ll paint any kind of swallows you want!”

“Wait…”

Qu Banqing paused, his fingers tapping rapidly on his phone screen, his brow furrowing, “But this…”

“Th-thank you, young master!”

Unexpectedly, things had taken a turn for the better. The porcelain fairy quickly thanked him profusely.

Ning Zhixia chuckled and waved his hand, saying it was nothing, thinking that a few little birds wouldn’t be a problem.

But when Qu Banqing showed him a picture of the “Two Swallows Greeting Spring” painting, his vision went black, and he collapsed onto the sofa, half of his body falling into Audrow’s arms.

Audrow, his eyes half-closed, glanced at him and nuzzled his hair.

No wonder Ning Zhixia felt dizzy. He hadn’t expected the “Two Swallows Greeting Spring” to be a boneless painting, and he sighed softly, clearly regretting his earlier boast.

In ancient Chinese painting techniques, ink lines served as the “bones,” and ink washes as the “flesh.” Boneless painting used colors directly, requiring a high level of skill.

Where to leave blank space? Where to apply washes? Every brushstroke had to consider the overall composition and meaning, requiring meticulous observation and a mastery of spontaneous expression.

And the “Two Swallows Greeting Spring” painting perfectly showcased the colors and charm of boneless painting. The swallows were lively and delicate, and replicating them on nails would take half of Ning Zhixia’s life.

The porcelain fairy, seeing his troubled expression, let out a soft sob and covered her nose with her sleeve, asking worriedly, “Is it too difficult for you, young master?”

“No, no…” Having already said it, Ning Zhixia gritted his teeth, sat up, and went to his workstation, slapping the table and saying, “Come, let’s paint!”

The porcelain fairy was delighted, gently placing her hand on the hand rest, watching as he arranged the small bottles on the table.

She hadn’t had a chance to talk freely for a long time, and after a few seconds of silence, she started showering him with compliments—

“This shop’s decor is unique, it’s truly an honor to visit today. You must be as talented and handsome as a crane in the clouds, your noble character like jade from Kunshan, your artistry as vibrant as the Cangshan Mountain and the sea…”

“Oh, hee hee hee…”

Ning Zhixia couldn’t stop grinning, and Qu Banqing was stunned, thinking that it was indeed a national treasure, filled with poetic words, unlike some people, whose minds were filled with desserts.

Audrow, his legs crossed, leaned back on the sofa, continuing to read his dessert recipe book, surrounded by his loyal cat followers.

He didn’t even look up at the commotion from the workstation, only flipping the pages with a deadpan expression.

The barrage of compliments recharged Ning Zhixia’s energy bar, and he picked up his brush.

The porcelain fairy’s fingers were as smooth as porcelain, requiring no prep work. He simply wiped them with an alcohol pad as a formality.

Boneless paintings were usually done on absorbent xuan paper, so the base coat had to match. Ning Zhixia chose a light grayish-yellow nude gel polish.

One layer was too sheer, so he applied two, creating a saturated, translucent base that perfectly matched the color of antique xuan paper.

He rarely painted birds, so he hesitated before starting, practicing on a piece of cardstock until he felt comfortable, then picked up a multi-purpose brush and flattened the tip.

Imitating the split-brush technique, Ning Zhixia used the spread-out bristles to paint the fine feathers on the swallow’s neck and body, then switched to a smaller brush and started painting the details with colored gel.

Each stroke was a feather, layered and blended, paying attention to the variations in light and shadow. When the bird’s body took shape, Ning Zhixia blinked repeatedly, his eyes strained.

“Your skill is unparalleled, young master, every stroke is full of spirit…” The porcelain fairy, looking at the delicate swallows on her fingertips, continued praising him.

His emotional value replenished, Ning Zhixia felt energized and continued painting. Even Qu Banqing was captivated and sat down to help.

They painted a pair of swallows on each hand, but finding it a bit plain, they dipped their brushes in shimmering, silver watercolor and added highlights to the feathers.

They painted mountains on the remaining nails with blue-green watercolor and added irregular gold glitter accents.

Instantly, the light swallows seemed to come alive, overcoming the limitations of the nail surface.

Ning Zhixia clapped his hands with satisfaction: “Done, do you like it?”

“I, I love it!”

The porcelain fairy held her hands under the light, admiring them, almost crying with joy, her voice trembling, “Truly a master’s hand painting spring, a thousand miles depicted on a small surface… you two young masters are truly exceptional!”

Showered with praises from a national treasure, Ning Zhixia blushed and fidgeted with his clothes.

He mumbled “it’s nothing, it’s nothing,” but his finger stealthily turned on the phone’s voice recorder, his mind screaming—More! More!

“My wish fulfilled, I have no regrets in this life.”

The porcelain fairy spun around happily, her flowing sleeves brushing against the kittens’ heads, making their paws twitch. After enjoying herself for a while, she saw the clock on the wall and gradually slowed down, stopping.

Qu Banqing, who had been planning to open some snacks for her to feed the cats, asked, “What’s wrong, National Treasure?”

“I have to go back…” Although a spirit of this plane, not bound by the connection point’s time limit, she couldn’t leave the vase for too long.

She had some skill and didn’t need Audrow’s help. Having memorized the way, she could silently float back on her own.

Ning Zhixia scratched his face, sat down on the sofa, and looked at Audrow, who had been quiet.

Audrow was reading his recently acquired dessert cookbook.

As Ning Zhixia sat down, he glanced at him indifferently, his finger tracing the page, turning another page, and continued reading.

Ning Zhixia leaned closer, staring at his profile with a smile.

Audrow stopped flipping the pages and asked casually, “What are you looking at?”

Ning Zhixia replied quickly, “You’re beautiful.”

Audrow raised an eyebrow, inviting him to elaborate.

Having just received a masterclass in flattery, Ning Zhixia felt eloquent.

Unfortunately, under Audrow’s intense gaze, his mind went blank. He scratched his head, struggled for a while, and finally blurted out a simple—

“Xiao Ao is beautiful and kind.”

Oh, so cheesy. Ning Zhixia, dissatisfied with his performance, was about to try again when his fidgeting fingers were caught.

Audrow’s handsome face suddenly approached, and Ning Zhixia was forced to rub his face against his, the familiar scent enveloping him, and a slightly exasperated but indulgent voice sounded in his ear, “You’re the owner here, it’s up to you.”

Ning Zhixia chuckled, his hair ruffled from the nuzzling, and turned away.

The porcelain fairy was bidding farewell to Qu Banqing and the kittens, quickly stuffing her mouth with snacks.

Ning Zhixia, afraid she would burst, quickly said, “If you want to visit again, I’ll open the door for you at 7:28 pm.”

“Ah! Young master, you’re so kind…”

Overwhelmed by happiness, the porcelain fairy was grateful and, before leaving, grabbed the little calico cat and said, pushing her luck, “I’d also like to take this little kitty back with me!”

At the thought of a cat appearing on the vase, everyone’s faces changed, and they yelled in unison, “No!”