Chapter 033
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Xia Zui watched the woman twitch the corner of her mouth and walk away. She opened her mouth to speak but hadn’t gotten a word out before the vendor at the neighboring stall greeted her.
“Hey,” said a woman with a buzz cut. She wore black lipstick, giving her a wild and untamed look.
“What are you selling here?” Xia Zui glanced at the stall, which was covered in floral cloth. It displayed various framed leaves and twigs, artistically arranged into different shapes.
It actually looked quite nice—a distinctly artistic vibe.
This was a stark contrast to the vendor’s appearance; if Xia Zui had met her on the street, she would have guessed she was a model from some fashion show.
Her style was so trendy it almost gave Xia Zui rheumatism.
Xia Zui pointed to a sign beside her. “Restoring beauty.”
Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow as she looked at the sign, her eyebrow piercing adding to her wild aura.
She frowned. “What’s this?”
A beauty restoration machine? One thousand yuan per use, and it could eliminate acne, dullness, and so on?
Sounds too fake!
“Listen, sis, I’m just saying, if you’re really short on cash, I can get you a job.”
Xia Zui: ...
“Do I look familiar to you?”
She couldn’t keep up the act anymore! She was the viral vendor online!
Zhang Yang carefully examined Xia Zui’s masked face and nodded. “Familiar. All college students look like you.”
Xia Zui took a deep breath. “Have you heard of that really popular vendor online?”
“Oh!” Zhang Yang exclaimed dramatically, pointing at Xia Zui.
Xia Zui widened her eyes and nodded. “Exactly!”
Come on, say it!
“You’re cosplaying that vendor!” Zhang Yang clapped her hands. “Am I right?”
Xia Zui: ...
“Yes, I am!” she ground her teeth.
Others at nearby stalls were drawn by the conversation. A long-haired man looked over, propping his chin with his hand. “Looks pretty similar.”
“But most people look like that with masks on,” someone added.
The two sounded like they were doing a comedy routine.
Xia Zui pursed her lips and was silent for a moment. “Why don’t you try my beauty restoration machine?”
“It removes dullness, acne, even offers painless weight loss, restoring your beauty~”
Zhang Yang sat on a small stool, propping her hands on her knees. “One thousand yuan? Come on, I only make a few hundred running a stall all day.”
Xia Zui: “...If it doesn’t work, I’ll refund you.”
Annoying!
What’s going on with the people of Yuanchong City?
“Alright, I’ll give it a try,” the long-haired man stood up. “Your coffin design is unique—I like it.”
Xia Zui sighed and massaged her forehead.
Whatever, let it be. As long as they’re happy.
The long-haired man’s name was Baiyuan. He took out his phone and scanned the QR code, then asked, “How does this work?”
Seeing he’d scanned the code, Xia Zui stood up. “Please, step right in.”
She walked over to the coffin—no, the beauty restoration machine—and pressed a white button on it.
The crowd watched as the high-tech hatch opened, the lid sliding back to reveal the space inside.
It was empty, but the bottom seemed to have some padding, looking relatively soft.
“Just lie down,” Xia Zui said. “Remember to take off your shoes.”
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Actually, not taking off shoes wouldn’t matter much since the beauty restoration machine automatically cleaned out dust and debris.
But Xia Zui glanced at the mud on his shoes and decided it was better if he removed them.
Baiyuan took off his shoes and climbed into the chamber, closing his eyes with a pleased expression. “Feels great—I feel like a vampire.”
Xia Zui pressed a button, and the hatch closed.
Sleep now!
“Is this a magic trick?” two passing middle-aged women looked over curiously.
Zhang Yang smiled. “It’s pretty similar to magic.”
The difference is one makes a person disappear; this makes acne and dullness vanish.
Xia Zui opened her mouth to explain but closed it again. She felt out of place.
The people of Yuanchong City sure had a sense of humor.
The middle-aged women grew more curious and even took out their phones to record, wanting to see how someone could be made to disappear.
“How long does it take?” one of them asked.
Xia Zui scratched her head. “About ten minutes.”
The woman clicked her tongue. “That’s slow. Others vanish in seconds. Eh? Beauty restoration machine?”
“It’s not magic!” Xia Zui thought. She had never said it was magic!
Zhang Yang chuckled, and the crowd patiently waited. The middle-aged woman put away her novel and began browsing items at other stalls, bargaining with Zhang Yang for a while.
Eventually, she bought a leaf art piece for twenty-five yuan.
Just then, the beauty restoration machine’s hatch opened.
The middle-aged women and surrounding vendors all looked curiously. Xia Zui rose to check on Baiyuan lying inside.
At that moment, Baiyuan felt a profound comfort, as if floating on water—neither sinking nor drifting away, but at peace.
He felt carried by the waves, as if the water and wind were massaging him.
“All done, you can come out now,” Xia Zui called, waking him. He reluctantly opened his eyes.
He wanted to lie a little longer.
He wondered if this coffin-like device would sell well—sleeping in it was seriously comfortable.
Better than a massage chair.
He felt all his discomfort melt away; even his slight back pain seemed gone.
Baiyuan sat up but hadn’t yet exited the chamber when a voice exclaimed, “Wow!”
He looked up at Zhang Yang, whose mouth hung open in stunned disbelief.
Baiyuan sensed something was off just as Xia Zui handed him a mirror.
He took it and saw a man with drooping eyes, smooth and pale skin like a baby’s, eyes noticeably brighter, no trace of acne.
Even his dry hair looked as if it had been treated with wax.
Smooth and glossy black.
Baiyuan: !!!
What the heck?
Who is this?
The middle-aged woman gasped, “It really is magic—he’s a different person now!”
She took out her phone and began filming.
Baiyuan fell silent for a moment, then looked at his hands. They were softer, and a scar on his right hand had disappeared.
“Is this me?”
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Xia Zui rested her hands on the hatch edge. “Satisfied with the results?”
“Beauty restoration machine! Restores your beauty! Not 9,999, only 1,000 yuan, removes acne, dullness, spots…”
Zhang Yang stood up, staring incredulously at Baiyuan. She boldly lifted the fringe on his forehead, revealing a smooth, full brow. Her jaw nearly dropped.
“You... have reversed aging?”
Baiyuan stepped out of the chamber and rolled up his pant leg. His thick, dark leg hair was almost completely gone.
“Boss…”
Xia Zui closed the hatch. “How about that? Didn’t I tell you?”
Baiyuan licked his lips. “You didn’t lie, but what’s the principle behind this? Why is my leg hair gone?”
“And my face! This is unbelievable!”
Zhang Yang laughed out loud, patting Baiyuan on the shoulder. “It’s okay, now you can be sisters with your girlfriend!”
Baiyuan looked devastated. “Boss, I’m a real man! How can I face anyone like this?”
Xia Zui stared at him expressionlessly. “The beauty restoration machine works according to the user’s own desires. In other words, your current appearance is exactly what you want.”
After all, everyone has different preferences. Some might think a certain mole looks good and don’t want it removed. The machine wouldn’t remove it.
Or with weight loss—some are fine at 100 pounds, others want 90.
So the machine truly reflects what the user wants.
Of course, if the request is too extreme or harmful to health, the machine won’t comply.
For example, someone wanting to weigh only 40 pounds—that’s impossible.
Completely damaging to the body.
Hearing Xia Zui’s explanation, Zhang Yang couldn’t stop laughing. “So it’s your own idea, Baiyuan. Didn’t expect you actually like how you look now.”
“No worries, I won’t make fun of you, haha!”
Baiyuan turned away sadly. “Boss, you’re making things difficult for me.”
Indeed, he had always thought his acne was unattractive, his skin rough, and himself too dark.
Even his leg hair wasn’t exactly elegant.
Come to think of it, it did seem like everything was exactly how he wanted.
At that moment, one of the middle-aged women approached Xia Zui, pointing at the sign. “Is it true you can help with weight loss?”
Xia Zui nodded. “Of course.”
“You, you, you…” another middle-aged woman suddenly spoke, “Are you that vendor from the internet?”
She pulled out her phone, searched for videos of the viral vendor, and compared it to Xia Zui. “It’s you!”
“Oh my goodness, why have you come to our city?”
“If you’d said earlier,” she grabbed the other woman’s arm, “that’s her—the one selling bamboo dragonflies. You should call your Qinqin over; hasn’t she always wanted to lose weight?”
“If it’s from this vendor, Qinqin might really slim down.”
Zhang Yang tilted her head. “So you really are that vendor?”
Xia Zui: “No, I’m cosplaying the vendor.”
Zhang Yang burst out laughing. “Alright then, I’ll try it too.”
She scanned the code and waited for Xia Zui to open the hatch.
After she went in, Baiyuan sat down on a chair and looked up at the sky. “My reputation is ruined for life.”
“By the way, boss, can you sell me a bamboo dragonfly to comfort me?”
Xia Zui: “...No.”
Baiyuan pouted, continuing to examine himself in the mirror. “What’s the principle behind this? My acne is gone without a trace, even my moles disappeared.”