Chapter 1363 - Manicure

Getting married soon.

Xia Yingluo thought she’d heard wrong and couldn’t stop herself from turning towards Wei Lingnan.

Wei Lingnan’s expression stiffened ever so slightly. But he stood silently, making no attempt to deny it.

Xia Yingluo felt her heart go a little cold and a little more hollow. From the moment she chose not to acknowledge her identity as Queen, she’d told herself that she didn’t want him anymore. How strange, it was she who abandoned him first, why did she still feel so sad?

She tipped her chin a little higher, unwilling to reveal even a hint of vulnerability.

Gu Jinxiu’s lips curled into a sly smile.

Marriage?

She hadn’t even brought it up to Wei Lingnan before. It was an impromptu choice to mention it to Xia Yingluo.

That woman’s appearance had given her a sense of crisis, and she felt that she was losing ground on her rightful territory. Announcing this marriage was the best strategy against her love rival. She’d figured that given Wei Lingnan’s devotion to the Queen, he wouldn’t go against her in front of others.

She took advantage of her little victory and added, “Wishing Miss Xia a blissful love life with Jiang Yu soon.”

The man she was holding tensed up slightly.

Gu Jinxiu was shocked and terribly afraid that she’d angered him. But he seemed to compose himself rather quickly as he said to her, “Let’s go.”

He led her out of the little private room.

Xia Yingluo watched as they left, and her upright posture crumbled as quickly as the proud look on her face. She lay on the couch weakly, as if all the energy had been sucked out of her.

She looked down at her hands.

They were just skin and bones, barely any flesh was left. Her manicured fingernails were starting to change in shape and becoming more pointed than before. The Skatana species had fingernails that resembled claws, and they were now growing on her—she wanted to kill someone. She wanted to kill that horrid woman for robbing her of her Guardian. And also her guardian Wei Lingnan... what happened to “standing by her forever”? What happened to giving her his life and protecting her for life?

Why was his betrayal so... heartless.

Her hands trembled slightly. This pair of hands—once equipped with claws that had killed countless in this universe—shook, and they now looked so weak and fragile.

She was no longer the invincible Queen.

She couldn’t even keep her lover by her side.

She buried her face in her distorted hands, with no care that those razor-like fingernails would scratch her skin.

“Ah!” Someone yelled all of a sudden.

Xia Yingluo looked up with a start.

A female staff was standing at the door and looking at her with concern. “Y-You are... Miss Xia Yingluo, right? Y-Your face...”

She reached her hand up to touch her face, but the female staff screamed, “Don’t touch!”

She rushed over and held her hands down. “Your nails are too sharp and your face is already scratched, you’re going to get disfigured!” She looked at the bloodstains on the floor. Those were what scared her when she first entered the room.

Xia Yingluo was stunned for a while before realizing her face hurt.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She couldn’t hide her claws in time but hurriedly shifted her hands to her sides. “I’m alright, but I wish to rest alone for now. Please leave, and don’t let anyone come in to disturb me.”

But the female staff looked at her all worried. “You need to treat the wounds on your face. I’ll get someone to bring the first aid kit over.” She dared not leave Xia Yingluo here alone. While this was a high-end clubhouse, they couldn’t afford to bear with the consequences if anything were to happen to the Li family’s daughter. Seeing Xia Yingluo in this state—her face hurt and looking all haggard—who knew if she might self-harm, or even commit suicide?

That’d be terrible!

The female staff decided that she’d stay by Xia Yingluo no matter what she said.

Xia Yingluo saw her look of determination and said tiredly, “Do whatever you wish.”

She then gave Tan Ying a call and got him to fetch her.

She’d just hung up when Jiang Yu’s call came. He sounded anxious. “Yingluo, where are you? I lost my way after getting the scarf, and when I went back to the cherry blossom forest, you weren’t there. Why haven’t you been picking up my calls?”

Xia Yingluo said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear my phone ring. I’m on the third floor of the department store, in...”

She glanced at the female staff.

The staff said, “Hua Ting Grand Place.”

Xia Yingluo gave Jiang Yu the address, and he told her to stay where she was as he was coming to get her.

Only after hanging up did she realize that there were over 10 missed calls on her phone, all of which were from Jiang Yu. But she hadn’t heard her phone ring at all. Perhaps she’d been too caught up with the fans coming after her and the surroundings drowned out her ringtone.

She sat on the couch and waited.

The female staff looked at her with concern and worry, and tried to make some small talk. “Miss Xia, your nails are very unique.”

Xia Yingluo looked down at her hands casually and said, “They’re newly done for the new show. I’m not used to the length yet, that’s why I accidentally scratched myself.” Thankfully she’d been weak and fatigued lately. Although her claws had emerged, they didn’t look horrendously sharp or weapon-like, and more like an exaggerated manicure style instead.

Hence, the female staff took her word for it and complimented her for her professional work ethic.

But she still kept her eye on Xia Yingluo, worried that it was, in fact, intentional self-harm.

They remained silent for the next 10 minutes until Jiang Yu arrived. He heaved a sigh of relief the moment he saw Xia Yingluo, “You’re sitting here well and alive, that’s great—wait, what happened to your face?”

“I...” Under the watchful eyes of the staff, Xia Yingluo had no choice but to show him her hands. “It was too boring in the cherry blossom forest, so I went to get my nails done.” And then it was the same “I’m not used to the length” story.

Jiang Yu was speechless.

He bent over and took a closer look at her wound. “It’s fine, just superficial injuries. But it’s good to get it treated as soon as possible. Let’s go, I’ll take you to the hospital. It’d be bad if it left a scar.”

Xia Yingluo nodded. She didn’t want to stay there any longer, either.

Jiang Yu took a card out of his pocket and said to the female staff, “For the tab.”

The female staff was almost in a daze. She was seeing the King of Film, Jiang Yu, in person! No young girl could resist handsome men, especially when this one was a superstar! She managed to maintain her composure before she pounced on him asking for an autograph, but still, she was completely bedazzled by him. “Sure...”

She took Jiang Yu’s card and left the room feeling it was all a dream.

Only then did Jiang Yu look at Xia Yingluo’s hands skeptically. Why didn’t he remember seeing such a manicure store nearby, one that provided such exaggerated, flashy and almost theatrical nails? Even if there was such a store, would Xia Yingluo enter it without an assistant or manager by her side?