Ch 22: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

After the Dragon Festival, the nail salon underwent an upgrade and renovation, making the lobby more spacious and luxurious than last year.

Lu Yao pushed open the door and was greeted by Ambrose and Edward, dressed in formal attire like male models, sitting on opposite ends of the long sofas. Behind them sat Sijin, Tina, Clarissa, Mumu, Merulu, Puxiu, Eugenia, and a few newly recruited human staff.

The scene was so grand it felt as though, at any moment, they would bow their heads in unison and chant, “Welcome home, Boss!”

Alarms went off in Lu Yao’s head. Something wasn’t right.

In the back, Harold lay on a single sofa, engrossed in a comic book, pretending to have nothing to do with any of it.

Lu Yao straightened up, took a deep breath, and strolled over casually. “Why is everyone still here? No one’s resting?”

Silence.

Silence filled the nail salon that night.

Lu Yao glanced around. “…Eugenia, your shift ended ages ago. Why haven’t you gone home?”

Eugenia, the most senior human staff member, looked uneasy.

On the Alexander Continent, strength was revered above all else. Humans lived stable lives here only under the protection of the strong. The dragon clan, in particular, was a presence humans could only look up to in awe.

Although Lu Yao favored Harold, Eugenia had no desire to compete with him.

When her shift ended that evening, she and the other human staff had planned to leave but were stopped by Clarissa, the newly ascended archdemon, who insisted they wait for Lu Yao to return.

Originally a half-demon, Clarissa had joined the nail salon not long ago and later advanced into a full-fledged demon. After a visit to the demon realm at the end of the year, her power had grown immensely, earning her the title of archdemon.

Eugenia didn’t dare meet Lu Yao’s gaze and murmured, “I… I’ll leave soon.”

Lu Yao nodded and closed the door behind her. She walked to the center of the lobby, bypassed the sofas, and took the main seat.

A newly hired human staff member quickly stood up and poured her a cup of tea.

Lu Yao accepted the delicate rose-patterned cup, took a sip, and then looked up. “What’s the matter? Speak.”

The new human staff, who had rarely seen Lu Yao before, were astonished. They had heard the boss was a human woman but couldn’t fathom how someone like her could lead so many powerful non-humans. Now, they finally understood.

Ambrose lowered his head, admiring his newly done leopard-print nails as if they held a mysterious allure. He remained silent.

Edward crossed his legs, stroking the emerald atop his cane with an air of elegance and detachment.

The silence was suffocating, broken only by Mumu’s soft, worried “chirp” as her large, watery eyes glanced at Lu Yao.

Lu Yao sighed, set down the teacup, and pulled a second box from her storage space.

“A few days ago, I went to the electronics plaza. With how fast phones are updated these days, I saw some at good prices and decided to buy each of you one as a New Year’s gift.”

Lu Yao sighed again, retrieving the gift boxes from the container.

Each box was individually wrapped with a beautiful ribbon and bow, with the recipient’s name clearly labeled—clearly a well-prepared gesture.

The awkward tension in the room grew, especially for the ringleaders Ambrose and Edward, both well into their years.

Harold peeked over his comic book, silently enjoying the show.

As the gift boxes piled on the table, Lu Yao stowed the container, rested her hand on her forehead, and let out a sorrowful sigh. “If you all have such a problem with me, you probably won’t like these gifts either. Forget it. Tomorrow, I’ll ask the clerk if they can help me return them for a refund.”

Nail Salon staff: “…”

She had clearly prepared carefully, even putting in a lot of thought.

Yet, her face was now completely lost.

…

Lu Yao slumped into the sofa, elbow resting on the armrest, hand covering her eyes, and stopped talking.

Silence filled the room again, this time shifting the pressure to the other side.

Harold put down his comic book, stood up, and walked over to Lu Yao’s side, his brow furrowing as his gaze swept over the surrounding staff, shooting metaphorical daggers from his eyes.

The necromencer, vampire progenitor, archdemon, dragon, and others straightened their backs stiffly, their expressions frozen.

Someone, please, give us a way out!

Mumu slid off the sofa, waddling over to Lu Yao’s side. He reached out his chubby little paw and placed it gently on Lu Yao’s hand. “Chirp.”

The twin fairies couldn’t hold back, fluttering to Lu Yao’s face, tears streaming down like golden beads. “Lu Yao, Lu Yao, we were wrong. Please don’t cry.”

Lu Yao brushed aside her bangs, her jet-black eyes shining brightly. She affectionately patted Mumu and ruffled Merulu and Puxiu’s heads. “So… do you like these gifts?”

Mumu, Merulu, and Puxiu nodded vigorously.

The others collectively relaxed their shoulders, quietly letting out a sigh of relief.

…

When Lu Yao was a teenager, her mother died in a traffic accident, and the compensation money was taken by her uncle’s family. For years, she stayed with them.

During the New Year, her cousins would receive new clothes and toys while she got nothing, wearing only their discarded old clothes.

As she grew older, her cousin would sometimes demand duck legs, throwing tantrums at their mother. Her aunt would return home after work with a single braised duck leg for him, while Lu Yao and her other cousin could only watch him eat.

When Lu Yao went to college, she worked tirelessly to earn money and never returned to her uncle’s home.

These memories rarely crossed her mind now, and when they did, they no longer caused her sadness.

The day she bought Harold his phone, those old memories suddenly resurfaced.

She wasn’t inherently the meticulous person she appeared to be now. Her care and attentiveness were habits forged over years of trials and tribulations.

Recently, Lu Yao had been reflecting on her forgotten memories of Lu Mingxiao and what role he played in her life.

Thinking back to her past self from those days, she found her former self even more surprising than Lu Mingxiao.

…

Lu Yao distributed the phones, instructing Harold to teach everyone how to use them, and had them all sign updated agreements.

The in-house network system was currently limited to the bounds of the shopping street and Lu Yao’s world’s VIP customers. All interdimensional employees had to sign an additional agreement before logging into the network.

Like Harold, they were restricted to three hours of internet use per day. Once they left the store, their phones would switch to “no signal” mode.

Except for work-related matters, interdimensional staff were prohibited from privately contacting staff or customers from other worlds.

…

That night, the shopping street’s backend chat group saw the addition of over a dozen new accounts, all with the prefix “Nail Salon.”

The next morning, Lu Yao woke up feeling unusually uncomfortable. Her blanket was inexplicably heavy, and the pillow and bedding beneath her were lumpy.

She tried to lift her head but was forced back down by the weight of the blanket. “What’s going on?”

Budu, sitting by the bed, answered softly. “Ambrose, Edward, Sijin, Tina, Mumu, the twin fairies, and Harold snuck in multiple times last night, leaving many things in your room. This morning, Eugenia and the new staff also brought freshly brewed wine and smoked meat, leaving them outside.”

Lu Yao stretched out a hand from under the blanket. “Budu, pull me out.”

Budu jumped down from the small bedside table and helped pull Lu Yao out from the pile of gems, herbs, magical beast materials, and gourmet delicacies.

Their awkwardness was almost endearing—none of them coordinated, taking turns sneaking into her room to leave treasures, each offering a pile of rare and precious items.

If not for Budu keeping watch, Lu Yao might have been buried alive, and no one would have known.

Lu Yao woke up late and didn’t have time to tidy up her room. She quickly changed clothes and headed out the door: “Budu, I’m leaving now. Remember to eat properly.”

Budu didn’t reply, silently watching as Lu Yao hurried away. Then, bending down, Budu began picking up the scattered gemstones one by one.

The nail salon staff felt somewhat awkward when they saw Lu Yao emerge.

Lu Yao, however, seemed unaffected. She greeted them with a quick “Good morning” before disappearing out the door.

As a seasoned “master of balance,” Lu Yao considered herself a professional.

If the nail salon staff were given phones, then it was only fair that the staff of the snack shop, blind box shop, little pet café, interdimensional cinema, childhood tutoring center, Qingshan noodle shop, and even the inn received them too.

Unexpectedly, the largest expense at the start of the year turned out to be buying phones.

Lu Yao spent the entire morning distributing phones to each shop.

Once all the employees had joined the backend staff chat group, Lu Yao created separate chat groups for each store.

The staff went wild adding each other as friends, with the general chat group quickly racking up hundreds of messages within minutes.

Messages in different world languages were automatically identified by the system and translated into mutually understandable languages.

This real-time language conversion technology, capable of multi-language display, was inspired by the Dream Fulfillment System. Developing it as a standalone feature had been a significant technical challenge.

The Dream Fulfillment System had previously provided interdimensional language translation services for the cinema and various interdimensional shops. Lu Yao utilized the blessing of the goddess Fula to integrate this feature into the in-house network system.

After numerous tests and adjustments, the system now boasted a 95% accuracy rate. However, the sparse documentation of Nitean characters meant further data collection was necessary.

…

In the main chat group, the employees were as lively as freshmen at the start of a new semester, chattering non-stop.

Lu Yao returned to the nail salon and called Budu out.

Budu, as always, was quiet and obedient, following Lu Yao closely.

The entire street was abuzz with activity, yet Budu remained isolated, left out of the festivities.

As Budu gazed at Lu Yao’s slender, upright back, a trace of black mist crept into his bright red pupils.

No matter what, Budu could never compare to that person.

In that moment, Budu was painfully aware of this reality—both clear-headed and utterly despairing.

Lu Yao led Budu out of the shopping district, down the long staircase by the main road, and all the way to the riverside.

Budu didn’t know why Lu Yao had brought him here. The wind against his pale cheeks made him seem almost translucent.

Lu Yao turned back to look at him. “Tired?”

Budu shook his head and quickly caught up with her.

Lu Yao stopped by the riverbank, gazing out over the water. “Budu, I’ve been thinking lately… should I keep you by my side like this, or…”

Budu tilted his head up to look at Lu Yao, her pupils contracting slightly.

“…send you to kindergarten. You’re not even a year old yet. We could wait a few more years before you go. But I’m busy every day, and having you move around the shopping street all the time doesn’t seem ideal. Maybe in kindergarten, you could make friends your own age and learn about human society’s rules.”

Lu Yao had been considering this for a long time and had even consulted Ji Feiming about it.

But as divine messengers, the Ji clan had never thought about such a thing before.

In other words, the gods they served had never gone to school.

Budu’s tightly clenched fists slowly loosened. “What would Mother prefer me to do?”

Lu Yao: “Whatever you decide, I’ll respect your choice.”

Budu: “I… I want to stay with Mother forever.”

Lu Yao: “Going to school doesn’t mean leaving me.”

Budu: “I don’t want to leave the shopping street yet. Maybe in a few years, I’ll go to kindergarten. Is that okay?”

Lu Yao: “Alright. If that’s the case, I have something important I want to entrust to you. I don’t trust anyone else but you.”

Budu’s eyes widened in shock, and then pure joy flooded his face.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️