Monster Manicure Shop Operation Guide 53

Chapter 53

“Whew, what a strong wind and rain, that was close…”

The little flower fairy stood on tiptoe and gratefully kissed the puppy’s cheek.

As the culprit behind the “strong wind and rain,” Ning Zhixia gave a sheepish smile, tore off a small piece of tissue, folded it into a neat square, and offered it to the little fairy.

“Oh! Thank you!” The little fairy took the tissue, wiped her face, and exclaimed in delight, “It’s so soft and comfortable…”

Her dress was a small skirt made of petals, sewn together with thin vines, as delicate as a doll’s outfit, but now wrinkled and messy from the “strong wind.”

This wasn’t the image of a refined little fairy. She looked at her skirt and gave Ning Zhixia a shy smile.

Ning Zhixia blinked, then suddenly understood, cupping his hands around her to create a small, enclosed space.

The little fairy thanked him softly and waved her tiny hands, releasing a spell. Tiny, sparkling lights danced around her messy hair and skirt.

Ning Zhixia looked up at the ceiling, and after a while, he felt a tap on his palm.

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

Ning Zhixia opened his hand carefully.

The little fairy fluttered her wings and landed on his warm palm.

Apart from the pair of translucent, butterfly-like wings, she looked like a miniature human girl, elegantly curtseying, her long, white-gold braid hanging down, the tip tickling his palm like a feather.

Ning Zhixia remembered playing computer games in elementary school, diligently catching pigs, while the girls in his class played similar web games, controlling these little characters, growing flowers, selling them for money, and buying pretty clothes.

“You’re so cute, hee hee hee…” He couldn’t resist poking her little head with his fingertip.

The little fairy lost her balance and fell onto his hand, blinking her watery eyes and giggling.

Ning Zhixia didn’t dare poke her again, and gently stroked her delicate braid, suddenly understanding why everyone liked teasing him when he was small.

Because it was fun!

“Meow Meow, what are you laughing about? I thought I heard someone talking?”

Qu Banqing, having chased the red-faced centaurs out after their card game, looked around, puzzled, rubbing his ears and muttering, “Can you hallucinate even without eating bad food?”

“It’s not a hallucination!”

Ning Zhixia opened his palm and cheered softly, “Ta-da! Mini flower fairy!”

“Woof!”

Xiao Long Bao, lying by his feet, also looked up, his dark eyes reflecting the fluttering wings.

The little fairy tilted her head and introduced herself: “Hello, my name is Dorothy, I’m a flower sprite from the Whispering Woods.”

Qu Banqing, awestruck, replied in a high-pitched voice: “Hello, hello…”

The tiny flower sprite was very polite, holding onto Qu Banqing’s extended finger and swinging back and forth.

Qu Banqing’s heart melted, and he whispered, “Oh my god, where did she come from? She’s so cute.”

“Yes, they’re both sprites…” A light voice came from the living room.

Qu Banqing’s face darkened instantly. He wished the other person was a mute fish.

The bright light from the workstation illuminated Audrow’s silky silver-gray hair as he sat down, his eyes half-closed as he studied the little girl in the young man’s palm.

Ning Zhixia proudly presented his hand: “Look!”

Audrow, his chin resting on his hand, said lazily, “I see, a young flower sprite.”

Ning Zhixia raised an eyebrow: “Cute, right?”

Audrow glanced at her indifferently: “…Not bad.”

Dorothy, intimidated by his cold gaze, cautiously sniffed the air, then her eyes widened in disbelief. She turned and hugged Ning Zhixia’s thumb, mumbling, “So much blood, so smelly… he smells bad…”

Audrow lowered his gaze, and seeing her trying to hide, tapped her head with his finger and said coldly, “You’re not pretty either.”

Dorothy covered her face with her hands, her eyes welling up.

Ning Zhixia was confused, not understanding their sudden animosity, and swatted Audrow’s cold finger away, moving Dorothy out of reach.

Qu Banqing, however, understood. Flower sprites were close to nature and loved all things pure and innocent, naturally repelled by the scent of blood ingrained in Audrow’s soul.

Dorothy pursed her lips, clinging tightly to Ning Zhixia’s thumb for safety, and warily glanced at Audrow several times.

Seeing that he seemed to listen to the fragrant human and had no intention of tearing her wings apart, she straightened up and flew onto the table.

She curtsied again, using a hand rest as a sofa, smoothed her petal skirt, placed her tiny hands on her knees, and explained her situation in a soft voice.

It turned out that in the Whispering Woods, on the day after a rain when a rainbow appeared, these little fairies, dressed in flower bud skirts and carrying vine-woven bags, would gather for a ball, enjoying flower nectar drinks and showing off their new dresses.

Dorothy, wearing an iris petal skirt, went to the ball, only to find her rival wearing the same dress, and was accused of being a copycat.

“I would never imitate her!” Dorothy crossed her arms and snorted angrily, then her mood deflated, her wings drooping. “But I’m so sad…”

The sad little sprite flew around with her small bag and accidentally stumbled into an unfamiliar cave deep in the woods, and then…

“Oh, I know this one.”

Ning Zhixia stroked his chin and nodded, “At first, it was narrow, only allowing one person to pass through, then after walking… flying for dozens of steps, it suddenly opened up.”

Qu Banqing clapped and immediately took out his phone to record, saying proudly, “Our Meow Meow is so eloquent!”

Ning Zhixia raised his chin: “Hmph~”

Dorothy, not understanding but impressed, also clapped her tiny hands.

“This is a nail salon that connects to many planes, you just stumbled in by accident.”

Ning Zhixia, after his moment of literary appreciation, put on a serious face and said, “But if you want a special outfit, why not try decorating your nails?”

“I’ve tried using flower juice, but it’s a bit strange.” Dorothy held up her tiny hands, her fingertips stained red and orange, as if she had been eating spicy sticks.

She looked up expectantly: “Kind, fragrant human, can you help me?”

Ning Zhixia put down his magnifying glass, tilted his head, and said, slightly troubled, “Your fingers are so small, otherwise I could paint them for you…”

“There’s a way!”

Dorothy flew around excitedly, then landed on Xiao Long Bao’s head, patting her chest and saying cheerfully, “I can shrink you and your tools!”

“Ah?”

Ning Zhixia’s smile faded, and he pointed at himself, stunned, “M-me?”

Dorothy: “Yes!”

“Why not make yourself bigger?”

“Because I haven’t learned that yet.”

Ning Zhixia choked. So she was a half-baked flower fairy?

Dorothy, embarrassed by his stare, hid behind the puppy’s head and said softly, “Don’t worry, you’ll return to normal after the spell wears off!”

“Excellent, excellent, what a wonderful idea.”

Qu Banqing chuckled, nodding eagerly, ready to grab the box of doll clothes he had made.

Ning Zhixia turned to Audrow with a pained expression: “Xiao Ao…”

Audrow blinked, looking helpless, and casually reminded him, “I told you, I’m not good with spells.”

Ning Zhixia sighed deeply and resigned himself to his fate.

He packed his toolbox, including the battery-powered UV lamp the centaurs had given him.

As Dorothy danced in the air, shimmering fairy dust fell, the sparkling specks gradually disappearing around the young man.

Soon, a miniature figure appeared on the table, sitting cross-legged.

Qu Banqing waved with a smile: “Hi~”

Ning Zhixia: “…” Such a familiar perspective.

A soft chuckle came from above, and Audrow, sitting by the table, his chin resting on his hand, pushed the miniature toolbox towards him with his fingertip.

“Thank you!”

Ning Zhixia, imitating Dorothy, held his finger and shook it, then turned to the little fairy hiding behind the desk lamp: “Come on, let’s start!”

Dorothy cautiously glanced at the figure behind him and slowly approached.

The two tiny figures, no bigger than a finger, sat on a jar of balm. A tissue box was placed between them, filled with various tools and materials. If they used Qu Banqing’s miniature furniture, it would look like a tea party.

Dorothy was fascinated by everything, flipping through the color chart and wanting to try everything, so Ning Zhixia waved his hand and decided to fulfill her wishes.

Of course, using many colors required careful planning. Ning Zhixia chose a translucent white base and held the tiny brush, tilting it slightly.

White polish easily showed brush strokes, so for a smooth finish, the brush had to be almost parallel to the nail, and the polish applied patiently and evenly.

He then took some plaster gel and applied it like frosting, creating a textured, oil painting effect. However, the white base was too plain, so he used bright watercolors like blue, pink, and purple to create a blended effect, like a mix of colorful marshmallows.

“It looks like fruit juice on the nails…”

Dorothy whispered, her mouth slightly open, and she couldn’t help but gulp, but her voice was so soft that no one heard her.

But the watercolor wasn’t refined enough, it looked like chalk dust.

So it was time for the veteran, pearlescent watercolor, to shine.

Ning Zhixia used mint and pale gold pearlescent watercolor, carefully blending them along the edges of the color blocks, instantly upgrading the texture, like a dreamy nebula on her fingertips.

“Wow!”

Dorothy stomped her tiny feet excitedly, the tapping sound attracting the kittens, who gathered around, peering curiously.

However, this was just one finger. He didn’t use the textured plaster gel for the other nails.

Ning Zhixia used a flat brush, applying horizontal strokes of pink, rose, light green, and blue… creating a hazy, layered effect.

Dorothy, tilting her head, couldn’t figure out what he was painting, when Ning Zhixia switched to a very fine brush and drew some blue-green lines vertically.

He then changed colors and added bright dots, and a pond with scattered flowers appeared before Dorothy’s eyes.

Since lotuses looked abstract when miniaturized, Ning Zhixia added many clusters of three dots.

He looked at the effect with satisfaction, then a panda-themed beanie was placed on his head.

Ning Zhixia looked up with a deadpan expression: “…”

“Smart babies all wear this.” Qu Banqing said, slightly guilty.

Before the final top coat, a butterfly-shaped Swarovski crystal was added to the nebula design on the ring finger, sparkling in the light. Dorothy held up her hand, admiring it.

Oh my god, oh my god! This was what a manicure should be! Her previous attempts with flower juice were unbearable!

“Thank you, fragrant human!”

The little fairy flew around excitedly. Fatty Orange, unable to resist any longer, pounced on the glowing, buzzing butterfly, its large shadow looming over the other tiny figure.

Ning Zhixia looked up, his pupils constricting slightly.

“No.”

A long arm reached out and grabbed Fatty Orange by the scruff of its neck.

Its four paws flailed in the air, its round, green eyes meeting Audrow’s indifferent gaze, and it meowed innocently.

Audrow tossed it to the floor and extended his hand towards the young man, who had almost been crushed by Fatty Orange.

“Phew… that was close…” Ning Zhixia patted his chest, lifted his beanie, wiped his forehead, and put it back on.

He grabbed Audrow’s shirt and climbed onto his shoulder, his hands behind his back, surveying his kingdom (the workstation) and his subjects (the cats and dog) with an air of authority, muttering about deducting Lord Orange’s canned food.

Lord Orange twitched its whiskers and defiantly licked its paw.

“By the way, where’s Dorothy?” Ning Zhixia, having enjoyed the 188cm perspective, tugged on a strand of Audrow’s silver-gray hair.

“Here…”

A small voice came from under Xiao Long Bao’s belly.

Everyone looked down and saw her fly out shyly, away from the bad kitties, and land on the puppy’s head, clinging to a caramel-colored ear.

Xiao Long Bao wagged his tail, not daring to look up, his dark eyes glancing upwards.

“Oh, it’s the first time I’ve seen Xiao Long Bao so happy…” Qu Banqing squatted down, scratched the puppy’s chin, and chuckled, “If only we knew what he was thinking.”

Ning Zhixia paused, his gaze fixed on the inside of the puppy’s front legs, where the fur was wet and matted.

This wasn’t a good sign…

He watched worriedly for a while, then turned, parted Audrow’s silky hair like he was drawing a curtain, and whispered in his ear, “Xiao Ao, do you have any way of knowing why Xiao Long Bao is unhappy?”

A warm breath tickled his ear as he spoke.

Audrow tilted his head slightly, wanting to nudge the small head away with his finger, but he was afraid of knocking him off, so he pursed his lips, trying to ignore the ticklish sensation.

If his ear fins were still there, they would be fluttering uncontrollably.

“No way.”

Audrow added softly, “Really, no way…”

Ning Zhixia sighed in disappointment: “Okay.”

Audrow: “But it’s not difficult.”

Ning Zhixia’s eyes lit up: “Really?”

Audrow lowered his voice, speaking to the young man almost pressed against his cheek, and their gazes shifted to Dorothy.

The passage was about to close, and Dorothy was flapping her wings, preparing to leave, when Qu Banqing called out to her.

He pointed at the QR code scanner: “Miss, you haven’t paid yet.”

“Pay…?”

Dorothy’s small eyes were filled with confusion.

“Don’t sprites use money?” Qu Banqing looked at her, puzzled. “Are you going to be a freeloading sprite?”

“Freeloading? Oh no, no!”

Dorothy blushed, rummaged through her small bag, and offered a tiny flower as payment.

However, she looked up and saw the beautiful dried and fresh flowers in the shop. She looked down at the wilting flower in her hand and, embarrassed, almost buried her face in the puppy’s fur.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to pay.”

Having just finished whispering to Audrow, Ning Zhixia sat properly on his shoulder, dangling his legs, and said, “You just need to do us a small favor.”

Dorothy blinked and asked softly, “What kind of favor?”

“I heard that flower sprites can understand animals’ thoughts and their past…”

Ning Zhixia pointed at the fluffy white terrier beneath her, “We want to know—what’s going on in that puppy’s little head!”