His voice was surprisingly pleasant. Even muffled behind a mask, it had a low, clear quality.
"I'm Xiaolin. I have a group presentation for a course in my major this afternoon that I can't get out of. Sorry for the trouble." She pointed at the press-on nails on the table. "The price labels are all on the backs. Anyone who buys three sets gets free application. Do you know how to put them on?"
Song Shi'an said confidently, "No problem. I watched the tutorial video you sent."
Amused by his tone, Xiaolin opened the toolbox and showed him everything inside. After going over the things he needed to watch out for, she glanced at her phone, cried, "I'm going to be late!" and slung her bag over her shoulder before running off.
A few steps away, she turned back and called, "Whatever you sell is yours-just give me the cost price! If you don't sell anything, it's twenty an hour!"
Song Shi'an waved to her, then plopped down on the folding chair.
At two or three in the afternoon, there weren't many people on the pedestrian street.
A few girls who looked like students passed by, glanced at his stall, and walked on, chatting and laughing.
He picked up the press-on nails on the table one set at a time and examined them. Some had tiny rhinestones, some had gradient cat-eye effects, and some featured cartoon designs.
He picked up a nail and tilted it in the sunlight. It really was quite pretty.
After four, more people gradually began to arrive. Two girls stopped in front of the stall, and one picked up a cat-eye set and held it against her hand.
"How much is this?"
Song Shi'an stood up and tugged his mask higher. "That set is forty-five. It uses jelly adhesive tabs, so it doesn't do much damage to your nails. Once applied properly, it can last about a week. The set beside it has rhinestones and costs the same, but the stones are applied by hand, so every one is positioned differently."
The girl had only been browsing, but after hearing his introduction, she picked up the rhinestone set for another look. "It's pretty nice. Are you the owner?"
"I'm watching the stall for a friend."
"I'll take these two sets, then." She put both sets on the table, then pointed at a pink gradient set beside them. "And this one too. That makes three. Can you put them on for me?"
"Sure. Sit over here." Song Shi'an pointed at the little stool beside the stall.
He dug alcohol wipes and jelly adhesive tabs out of the toolbox. Following the steps in the tutorial video he had watched, he first cleaned the girl's nails, then selected adhesive tabs of the right size and stuck them onto her nails before gently pressing the press-ons into place.
His fingers were long and slender, with well-defined joints, and his movements were light and steady as he did the delicate work.
The girl looked down at his hands, the corners of her mouth curling higher and higher.
"Your hands are so pretty," she blurted out.
"Thanks. Are the nails okay like this?"
"Yes, yes, they're great." The girl paid and left with her little bag. Even after walking several steps away, she turned back to look at him.
By evening, more and more people were gathering in front of the stall.
Some had been drawn over by the sparkling nails on the table, some had arranged with Xiaolin beforehand to pick up their orders, and two girls stood beside the stall watching for quite a while, too shy to come closer. They pretended to scroll on their phones while constantly stealing glances his way.
By the time the girls who had arranged to collect their orders arrived, several people were already gathered around the stall.
The girl in front squeezed her way in and froze for a moment when she saw Song Shi'an. Then she whispered something to her companion, who also adopted a knowing expression.
"You're the guy Xiaolin said was helping watch her stall, right?" Her tone was distinctly nosy.
Song Shi'an took the bag he had prepared out from under the table and handed it over. "Here's your order. Three gradient sets and one French-tip set. Xiaolin told me about it."
The girl in front took the bag, her gaze lingering on his face for several seconds. "Why do you look kind of familiar... Are you from Jingchen too?"
Song Shi'an hurriedly tugged his mask higher and shook his head.
"Really? You look like that..." She frowned in thought. "Never mind, never mind. I probably mistook you for someone else. Thanks!" Her companion pulled her away as she finished speaking, and she glanced back as they walked.
By around eight that evening, nearly all the nails on the table had sold, leaving only a few scattered sets in assorted designs.
Song Shi'an was just about to start packing up when Xiaolin came running back, out of breath.
She ran up to the stall and looked down at the almost empty tabletop, her mouth forming a circle.
"You sold out that fast?!"
Song Shi'an nodded. "Yeah. There were quite a few people today."
Xiaolin sifted through the remaining sets of nails in disbelief, then looked at him again.
Even on weekends, when foot traffic was at its highest, she had never sold them this quickly. And today wasn't even at the evening peak yet-it was only eight, and her stock had already nearly hit bottom.
While she was still reeling, her phone vibrated in her pocket with several messages in a row.
She took it out and saw that they were from the regular customers who had arranged to collect their orders that afternoon.
"Who's that guy helping you run the stall?!! Even with a mask and cap on, he's seriously insanely hot, okay?!!"
"His voice is gorgeous, he's tall, and his hands are seriously so pretty!!! I stared at his hands the whole time he was putting my nails on. That's just cheating!!"
"He's my absolute dream type!! Can you introduce us? There were too many people this afternoon, and I was too embarrassed to ask!!"
Xiaolin looked up at Song Shi'an. He was sorting the remaining nails by design and putting them into storage boxes, his movements unhurried. Under the lights, his fingers really were outrageously pretty.
She lowered her head and replied, "Just someone I found at random in the school's part-time job group. I thought it was a girl at first because the profile picture was a kitten. I didn't expect a guy to show up."
The reply came instantly. "Please!! Ask him for me!! I'll remember your great kindness till my dying day!!"
Caught between laughter and tears, Xiaolin replied, "I'll ask him sometime. It wouldn't be right to give out his contact details without asking," then put her phone away and went over to help Song Shi'an pack up.
"Thanks for all your work today. How much did you sell?"
Song Shi'an pulled up the payment records for her to see. Xiaolin was stunned all over again by the figure, then transferred his commission as they had agreed.
"If you have time in the future, you can come help watch my stall again," Xiaolin said earnestly as she closed the toolbox. "You sell things so much faster than I do."
Song Shi'an thought it over and said he could if he had time. The two of them finished packing up the stall, and Xiaolin left, pushing her little cart.
He took off his mask to get some air, then climbed onto his little electric scooter and headed back.
The evening breeze was considerably cooler. As he rode, he took stock of what he had gained that day.
Running a stall was a little easier than delivering takeout, and the pedestrian street really did get plenty of foot traffic. With the university district and shopping street nearby, spending power wasn't low either.
In just one afternoon, he had gotten a rough grasp of the patterns in customer traffic. He now had a good idea of which times were busiest and roughly what age groups the customers belonged to.
He could look into what to sell once he got back. As he rounded the street corner on his little electric scooter, he was already working out what to sell the next time he set up a stall.