Chapter 66
What can’t we do? What does he mean?
Countless thoughts flashed through Ning Zhixia’s mind. He was completely bewildered, watching the fireworks in a daze, then returning to his own plane in a daze.
Life continued as usual, and he started stealing glances at Audrow, but the merman simply seemed busier with Bureau matters, his behavior otherwise unchanged.
His subtle actions were occasionally noticed, but Audrow didn’t seem to mind, casually nuzzling the young man’s face.
The casual intimacy made Ning Zhixia wonder if these non-human beings even experienced love as humans defined it.
“I don’t know, although Popo is big, he’s still a baby for a sea monster!” The pink octopus, the first interviewee, fidgeted with its tentacles and replied shyly, “Sorry, Popo can’t help you, Ning Ning.”
“It’s okay, go play.” Ning Zhixia handed the fox cubs over, letting it enjoy the eightfold joy of petting fluffy creatures.
It seemed he needed to ask an adult…
So, while doing a client’s nails, he asked the sirens.
“Love?”
The beautiful, seductive sea creatures giggled, “We don’t need that, playing with men and enjoying ourselves is enough! Does Boss Ning need it? The sailors on our routes are very well-built, with impressive chests!”
“No, no, no…” Ning Zhixia blushed and focused on his work.
While the client was curing her nails, he observed his other non-human friends.
Su Qiushui was mocking a young idol who was rumored to be having an affair with Yin Fuliu, and the usually domineering actress retorted with the fox’s extensive history of unrequited love.
“Your scholars and fickle lovers, tsk, tsk, I don’t even want to talk about them.”
Su Qiushui, annoyed, took a few puffs from her pipe and childishly blew smoke at the snake demon, then the sound of ear-pulling and angry complaints followed.
The witch, to avoid her newly delivered gel polishes being damaged, expertly mediated the fight, while Pipi came over and whispered in Ning Zhixia’s ear, “I, I… when I grow up, I want to be Master’s partner!”
Such a good little wolf, so ambitious, he just didn’t know how the witch would react, whether she would feel threatened or pleased.
Ning Zhixia sighed and looked elsewhere.
The large centaurs were lying by the table, playing cards, from Dou Dizhu to Guandan, then mahjong, piles of sunflower seeds and peanuts serving as chips, completely engrossed in their games.
If they were human, they would have signed up for a mahjong tournament.
Hmm…
Ning Zhixia silently looked away. Gamblers didn’t have love, asking them would be pointless.
Having asked everyone and received no helpful answers, Ning Zhixia sulked for a few days, then his attention was captured by the trending lacquerware fans.
Lacquer was a natural resin harvested from lacquer trees, used to decorate various objects by brushing or splashing it on, like the ancient wine cups used in the “flowing cup” tradition.
With the recent promotion of intangible cultural heritage, although lacquer fans weren’t officially recognized as such, they had become a popular medium, bringing lacquerware into the public eye.
Making lacquer fans was much simpler. You simply chose your favorite colored lacquer pigments, dripped them onto water, swirled them with a bamboo stick, then dipped a blank fan into the water to transfer the pattern.
This method, a combination of lacquer painting and marbling, created random patterns, like opening a blind box, making the related videos incredibly satisfying to watch.
Qu Banqing, after watching for a long time, muttered, “So beautiful, it would look great on nails, wouldn’t it?”
The nail art industry had to keep up with trends, after all, designs that were popular a few months ago could quickly become outdated.
Hearing his words, Ning Zhixia said without hesitation, “We can do it.”
“I mean this marbling technique, it’s different from blending.” Qu Banqing, worried that he was thinking of using blending liquid, added, slightly skeptical, “Are you sure you can achieve this effect?”
Ning Zhixia nodded: “Yes, with nail polish.”
Nail polish, due to its drying time and smell, was becoming less popular, but it had many uses.
Ning Zhixia even remembered, when he was young, accompanying his mother to get her nails done, the manicurist’s skills were no less impressive than those of today’s manicurists, creating various designs with even the simplest tools, of course, at a hefty price.
One of the most fun techniques was water marbling. You simply needed a cup of water, dripped some opaque nail polish onto the surface, and taking advantage of its film-forming properties, dipped the fingernail face down into the water to transfer the pattern.
This method was mainly used with nail polish, because gel polish would sink, and it became less common after gel polish became popular, as the various functional gels and art materials offered enough creative possibilities.
Hearing Ning Zhixia’s explanation, Qu Banqing was intrigued and immediately ordered a dozen bottles of high-quality nail polish. As soon as they arrived, he eagerly asked Ning Zhixia to try it.
Ning Zhixia chose a few solid colors, dripped a small amount onto the water’s surface, and the polish spread like oil droplets. With a milky white base, he added a few shades of purple and swirled them with a pointed dotting tool, like creating latte art.
“Look…” Ning Zhixia dipped a nail tip into the swirling polish, and when he lifted it, the marbled pattern resembled wisteria flowers in the mist.
“Again! Again!”
Usually, blending took time and effort, but this water marbling technique was quick and easy, and Qu Banqing, watching with satisfaction, urged him to continue.
Ning Zhixia increased the difficulty, adding blue and clear top coat, swirling them around the center, and creating a four-leaf clover pattern before dipping the nail tip in.
Due to the spreading effect, the colors varied in intensity, and the casual brushstrokes created a pattern resembling the prized “Su Ma Li Qing” blue used in porcelain.
“Hee hee, let me try…”
They became engrossed in their experiment, more and more nail polish bottles appearing on the table, and suddenly, Ning Zhixia bumped heads with someone.
He looked up and saw Lu Yaoguang, filming with her phone, her eyes sparkling like a cat seeing a new toy.
Lu Yaoguang felt that Ning Zhixia’s nail salon was like a treasure chest, always offering new inspiration.
So, amidst the numerous lacquer fan videos, Lu Yaoguang and Ning Zhixia’s water marbled nail art video caught the attention of the viewers, who were starting to feel aesthetically fatigued.
“Oh my god, water marbling, it’s a renaissance! I miss this!”
“This was my favorite before hoof-icures became a thing, I’m tired of watching foreign videos, I hope Mr. Ning makes a compilation!”
“How do you all know about this? This is my first time seeing it, it looks so fun, can you do this with gel polish?”
“No, you need oil-based nail polish, and the water temperature also matters, but it’s definitely fun, the surprise of not knowing what the result will be is so addictive!”
As the online discussion grew, Ning Zhixia, ever the fan-pleaser, compiled a video of him and Qu Banqing playing with nail polish. While he was editing, the Yucheng Tourism Bureau contacted him.
The newly developed area needed to attract visitors, and food festivals were too common, so, following the museum’s success, they were planning to create a cultural and creative street and invited Ning Zhixia to participate with his water marbling technique.
Ning Zhixia readily agreed, bought more nail polish, packed his equipment, and drove over with Qu Banqing.
Upon arriving, he found that his stall was in a prime location, already set up with chairs, a beige awning, and small Chinese lanterns.
With government support, the organizers had decorated each stall in a unique style, aiming to create the atmosphere of a bustling ancient market, and of course, to encourage spending!
As a special guest, he didn’t even have to pay for the stall. Ning Zhixia grinned even wider, happily hanging the lanterns on his sign.
“Eh? Isn’t that the Taoist priest from Biluo Mountain?” Qu Banqing tossed a cushion onto a chair, glanced across the street, and nudged Ning Zhixia.
Also invited by the Tourism Bureau, the Taoist priests were setting up their stall. One of the older priests looked familiar, and Ning Zhixia realized it was the one from the fortune-telling session.
The old Taoist priest also noticed them, looked Ning Zhixia up and down, his fingers moving as if calculating something, then he paused and walked towards them, “We meet again.”
Ning Zhixia also greeted him: “What a coincidence, Master, is Biluo Mountain expanding its business?”
The Taoist priest smiled kindly: “It can’t be helped, even Taoist temples have KPIs, and besides, the Buddhist temple from the neighboring mountain is also here.”
They both looked towards the entrance and saw a monk in red robes and his eighteen young disciples.
Carrying sticks and pigments, they seemed well-prepared, and Ning Zhixia suspected the abbot was planning to attract visitors with beautiful calligraphy.
He was about to mutter about their cunning when he turned and saw the handsome young Taoist priests, some even with red dots between their eyebrows, and he took a deep breath.
These cultivators truly understood human desires, their aesthetics on point.
Ning Zhixia marveled at their competitiveness, then the old Taoist priest flicked his dust whisk, rested it on his elbow, and asked with a smile, “Will you be staying in Yucheng, young master?”
Of course!
Ning Zhixia nodded: “Yes, yes!”
The Taoist priest smiled and said, “That’s good.”
Ning Zhixia was confused, but the old priest simply smiled enigmatically and turned to leave.
“Hmm…” Ning Zhixia knew these cultivators always maintained an air of mystery. He didn’t mind and focused on setting up his nail polish and glass bowls.
It would be 25 yuan per person, they could either do it themselves or have him and Qu Banqing help. Ning Zhixia wasn’t expecting to make much money, just to attract visitors to the cultural and creative street.
Everything was ready, and the next day, many tourists, attracted by the official promotion, came to join the fun.
There were many vendors at the event. The visitors strolled around, eating and shopping, and soon noticed Ning Zhixia’s “Water Marbled Nails” sign.
They had seen the large water tanks used for marbling fans, but never water marbled nails, and they looked on curiously.
A young woman recognized them from their videos and approached excitedly, “Are you the two teachers from Monster Manicure Shop?”
Ning Zhixia nodded: “Yes!”
“Yay!”
The girl cheered. Since Ning Zhixia had declared his financial freedom, he had been taking appointments and custom orders on a whim, much to his customers’ love-hate relationship with him, so meeting him here was a pleasant surprise.
The water marbling was intriguing, but the girl hesitated, “I want to try, but I’ve never used nail polish before, and I’m not very good at it…”
Seeing that most of the visitors were still unsure what it was about, Ning Zhixia quickly said, “It’s okay, I can help, you just have to choose the colors you like.”
The girl looked at Qu Banqing, who had arranged dozens of nail polish bottles neatly like soldiers on parade, with clear color charts displayed.
She was mesmerized but overwhelmed by the choices, so she said, “I’m going to rent a ruqun later, can you help me choose a matching color scheme?”
Ning Zhixia looked at the photo of the ruqun, a vibrant and eye-catching style typical of the Tang Dynasty, thought for a few seconds, and picked out a few bottles: “Let’s go with a Dunhuang color palette, it’ll look great.”
The girl trusted his aesthetic sense, and the other visitors, seeing that he was about to start dripping nail polish into the water, gathered around.
The Dunhuang color palette mostly consisted of red, yellow, blue, green, black, and white, with varying shades and intensities, creating a vibrant and dynamic effect. However, since the nail art was just an accessory to the ruqun, overly saturated colors would be overwhelming.
Ning Zhixia chose five or six colors, including orpiment yellow, malachite green, and golden red, but only three colors were needed for each finger.
The water in the glass bowl should be around 10-20 degrees Celsius. He gently touched the surface with a brush loaded with nail polish, and the droplets spread like oil, the seemingly thick colors becoming lighter.
The girl paused: “Won’t it be too light?”
Ning Zhixia shook his head: “No.”
The first layer of color spread widely on the surface, and as he added more droplets, the colors became more intense, which was why he had chosen opaque nail polishes.
He used a dotting tool to create patterns on the water’s surface, then dipped the finger in to transfer the design. However, this pattern would be boring for an entire hand.
Everyone thought he would swirl the fingertip through the colors like with the lacquer fans, but Ning Zhixia, his skills having improved, wasn’t limited to a single technique.
He had the girl dip her finger into clean water, and she obediently followed his instructions, much less apprehensive than dipping it into the colors directly.
The colder the water, the faster the polish would set. Ning Zhixia’s timing was perfect. As he created vertical ripples with a thin stainless steel stick, the nail polish had formed a thin film. He gently guided her submerged finger under the film, which instantly adhered to the nail.
By the time her finger emerged from the water, a delicate, ribbon-like pattern had appeared on her nail.
It looked simple, but the slightest tremor could ruin the film, only someone with steady hands like Ning Zhixia could do it so effortlessly.
However, even if successful, it wasn’t over yet. For an even color, the polish had to spread widely, which meant the skin around the nail would also be covered.
The excess polish could be cleaned with a cotton swab, but Ning Zhixia knew what they wanted to see.
He traced the edges of the nail with a liner brush, then, using tweezers, peeled off the excess film in one clean sweep.
The surrounding visitors, as if witnessing a satisfying cleaning video, exclaimed in delight.
Ning Zhixia repeated the process a few times, adding gold glitter to two of her fingers, and when he finished, everyone felt like they could do it too!
The captivated audience eagerly paid to try it themselves.
Each person chose different colors and created their own patterns, some successful, some not, and unless they were experienced, they wouldn’t know if the result was beautiful or ugly.
Soon, they discovered that as long as the colors were harmonious, it wouldn’t be too bad, and some even deliberately created a My Little Pony-inspired rainbow effect.
The activity was more entertaining than they had imagined, and even those who didn’t participate would stop and watch. His stall was the most popular on the entire street.
Such events were often plagued by a lack of originality, but with Ning Zhixia’s water marbling technique, whether through videos or word of mouth, both locals and tourists flocked to the cultural and creative street.
The number of visitors far exceeded the organizers’ expectations, who were overjoyed and quickly added more facilities, not wanting to miss out on any potential customers.
Ning Zhixia’s stall was expanded, and regardless of the competition from the stoic Taoist priest and the muscular monk across the street, his cash register never stopped ringing.
Many visitors were engrossed in their DIY manicures, and he and Qu Banqing occasionally helped them with color choices, mostly enjoying bowls of hot peach gum dessert and watching the pretty girl at the next stall pop balloons with throwing knives.
The harmonious atmosphere was interrupted by an argument near closing time. A few men, watching the knife-throwing performance, had been making comments about the stall owner’s appearance, and she had retorted.
“We’re just talking, it’s not illegal, a man doing manicures and a woman throwing knives, what a pair of sissies and tomboys, ruining the atmosphere of this cultural and creative street, can’t we even comment?”
The leader of the group, his voice loud, and Ning Zhixia and Qu Banqing turned to look, their gazes meeting.
“Damn, isn’t that Zhang Bin, who used to call us sissies in elementary school?” Qu Banqing muttered in Ning Zhixia’s ear, recognizing the annoying classmate.
The other party kept glancing over, clearly having recognized them too, no wonder he was being so loud.
“Bullshit!” The stall owner and her assistants, all women, retorted fiercely, but Zhang Bin’s companions, taking advantage of the argument, kept crowding around them, their hands wandering.
Qu Banqing frowned and was about to intervene when someone stepped forward, grabbing something from the table.
Zhang Bin, thick-skinned, was feeling smug after being scolded by the girls, when he casually glanced over and saw Ning Zhixia approaching menacingly, holding an empty glass bottle.
The usually gentle and cheerful young man’s cold expression, especially under his dark, intense gaze, made Zhang Bin feel uneasy.
Just as he was about to make another sarcastic remark, the bottle shattered at his feet with a bang.
“W-what are you doing?!”
Zhang Bin jumped, startled, and saw Ning Zhixia picking up the shards, walking towards him with a dark look in his eyes.
The sudden outburst from the usually docile young man was terrifying, and the onlookers gasped, wanting to intervene.
Zhang Bin quickly hid behind someone, only to hear a few chuckles.
“Look, what’s the use of acting tough?”
Ning Zhixia suddenly smiled, and he, the girls, and Qu Banqing looked at him coldly, their gazes fixed on his cowardly attempt to hide.
The surrounding people understood the implication and burst into laughter. Zhang Bin and his companions, surrounded and red-faced, looked like clowns.
“What are you laughing at, get lost, stop filming!”
He raised his collar, pushed the people around him, and tried to escape.
Ning Zhixia chuckled and said, “Using gender stereotypes to define someone, that’s all you’ll ever be, you pathetic excuse for a man.”
Hearing Ning Zhixia mocking him in his own words, Zhang Bin glared at him angrily, then ran off even faster.
Ning Zhixia clapped his hands, humming smugly as he returned to his stall. Not long after, he received a plate of cupcakes from the neighboring stall owner, and they exchanged knowing smiles, clinking their cupcakes in the air—
“Cheers!”
The fox cubs, holding glasses of juice, gulped them down, burped, patted their bellies, and sighed contentedly.
While Ning Zhixia and the others were away, Popokula had brought the foldable bathtub to the living room, dripped some of the witch’s colorful pigments into it, swirled them with a stick, and eagerly dipped a tentacle in.
“Ta-da! Mr. Audrow, look!” Popokula held up its colorful tentacle, waving it in front of Audrow’s face. “Isn’t it pretty!”
The fox cubs oohed and aahed in admiration.
Audrow grabbed the waving tentacle and asked calmly, “Why did you do that?”
Popokula, its heart trembling, afraid he would bite it, quickly retracted its tentacle and muttered, “Because it’s pretty, and it’s trendy in the human world.”
“Is that so…” Audrow looked down at the water, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Mr. Audrow, want to try?”
“Me?”
Popokula, always envious of his friends’ vibrant colors, rubbed its tentacles together and enthusiastically suggested, “Let’s do your tail too, more colors are prettier, you won’t get bored of it!”
Audrow’s eyes narrowed sharply.
Bored of it!
So a single color could become boring!
This thought instantly took root in his mind. Audrow, decisive as ever, transformed and leaned back on the sofa, his powerful fishtail exposed.
Popokula eagerly poured the pigments into the tub, and he was about to lower his tail into the water when—
“I’m back!”
Audrow froze, a flicker of panic in his usually calm eyes.
Ning Zhixia, afraid they would be lonely, rushed back with cupcakes and pushed the door open excitedly. The silver tail flicked up, accidentally hitting a fox cub perched on the edge of the tub.
“Splash!”
Water splashed everywhere, and Baizhu fell in headfirst.
Ning Zhixia hurried into the living room and saw a foldable bathtub, Audrow sitting on the sofa, flipping through a recipe book, Popokula diligently absorbing the spilled water like a smart mop, and a cluster of fox tails dangling from the edge of the tub.
“Wh-what’s going on here?” Ning Zhixia, looking at the seemingly unrelated scene, asked in confusion.
“Nothing much, just dyeing something…”
Water splashed, and Baizhu lifted his little head, turning slowly and, under the dim light, revealed his colorful face with a shy smile.
“Ah!”
Ning Zhixia’s eyes widened in horror, and he pressed his philtrum.
