The midsummer heat in July was unbearable. Cicadas clung to the trees, their chirping noisy and irritating.
Xia Mian turned into the alley entrance, followed the navigation on her mobile phone, and finally stopped in front of a tattoo shop named "Chán".
She compared the navigation information on her mobile phone several times and finally confirmed that this was the right shop.
Xia Mian stood at the doorway, suddenly hesitating whether to go in.
The shop's storefront was small and had no plaque hanging above it. There was just a wooden board standing by the door, with a one-line poem written in chalk in a flamboyant style—
"Chán"
So much personality.
Xia Mian thought to herself.
She had found this shop online. There were no specific photos of the storefront, but there wasn't a single negative review; they were all praising the boss's skills.
Xia Mian flipped through the tattoo photos under the reviews, and the technique was indeed good.
However, she couldn't see the situation inside the shop clearly. The sunlight reflected on the glass door, and she could only see her own reflection—
And the sounds of screaming coming from inside the shop from time to time.
After hesitating for a long time, Xia Mian decided to push the door open and enter.
Inside the shop, Zhuang Zhong was lying on the bed with his pants pulled down halfway, revealing half of his buttock.
A man was sitting beside him. After finishing the last needle, he stood up, appraised the half-exposed buttock for a while, and said.
"Done."
As soon as Zhuang Zhong heard this, he hurriedly tried to climb up. But as he moved, the pain in his buttock hit him, and he collapsed back down.
"Hey, what kind of technique is this! It hurts like hell! Didn't you say tattooing the butt doesn't hurt?"
The man clicked his tongue and said sarcastically, "Who the f*ck knew you were such a wimp."
He slapped Zhuang Zhong on the buttock: "Did I tattoo your throat? Stop f*cking howling."
"F*ck! Are you trying to kill me? I still want this buttock after it's just been tattooed!"
He made a move to climb up and fight.
"I f*cking hit your other buttock!"
When Xia Mian walked in, she happened to see this scene.
A male with half his buttock exposed was kneeling on the tattoo bed, a man holding a machine, and a green-haired man sitting on the sofa, scrolling through his mobile phone and munching on a cucumber, looking completely indifferent to the world.
The wind chime at the doorway rang, and several people turned to look at Xia Mian.
She stood where she was, looking at this scene awkwardly, wanting to say she had come to the wrong place.
The man reacted first, took off his black gloves, and threw them into the trash can: "Getting a tattoo?"
Xia Mian came back to her senses and nodded: "I want to get a butterfly tattooed just below my wrist."
She raised her hand and pointed to the spot on her forearm: "Right here."
"A butterfly, huh? Little girls all love to get that. Do you have a design? Do you want to choose a pattern or design it yourself?"
Xia Mian paused; she knew nothing about this.
"Can I design it myself?"
Zhuang Zhong, who was lying on the bed, took over the conversation: "Sure, it depends on what kind you want and if you have your own ideas. The one on my buttock was designed by me. Do you want to see it?"
Xia Mian waved her hands repeatedly: "No need."
The man slapped him on the head: "Is that how you talk to a little girl?"
Zhuang Zhong chuckled and raised his hand to Xia Mian: "I'm embarrassed, I'm just a joking person, don't mind me."
Xia Mian pursed her lips: "I want to design it myself."
"Fine," he turned his head and called out to the green-haired man on the sofa, "Zhou Ran, you come over."
He explained to Xia Mian: "He is the boss here. He handles all our custom designs. He has a 100% satisfaction rate, I guarantee you'll be happy."
The green-haired man called "Zhou Ran" slightly lifted his eyelids and glanced at Xia Mian.
The girl was wearing a white dress that reached her knees, white patent leather small-heeled shoes, lace socks pulled up to her ankles, a sun hat on her head, and she was carrying a small square bag. She looked quite fresh and pretty, and her big eyes blinked as she looked at him.
The little girl standing there looked like a Barbie doll.
It's just that she wasn't very tall.
Zhou Ran withdrew his gaze and said indifferently: "We don't tattoo minors."
Xia Mian was stunned. She hurriedly took out her ID card from her small square bag and said while searching: "I, I am an adult. I just turned eighteen a few days ago."
As soon as Xia Mian said this, the half-exposed buttock burst into laughter.
He pinched his voice and mimicked Xia Mian in a sarcastic tone.
"Just turned eighteen~"
Xia Mian stood there, clutching her ID card, her face turning so red it looked like it would bleed.
She carefully appraised Zhou Ran.
The man had light green hair, like spring buds. The hair on his forehead slightly covered his eyes. His nose bridge was high, and his jawline was clearer than her life plans.
The man didn't look at her, but shot a sharp gaze over: "Lao Lu, why didn't that needle just now pierce your throat?"
Hearing this, Zhuang Zhong immediately shut his mouth.
Lao Lu took the opportunity to continue: "Alright, as long as you're an adult. We in this business are afraid of working on minors; it's hard for us to deal with it if the parents come looking for us later."
Xia Mian nodded to show she understood and repeated: "I am an adult."
Zhuang Zhong, who was lying there with his chin propped up, added: "You look quite obedient, but you're actually quite rebellious deep down. You just turned eighteen and you're already thinking about getting a tattoo. Did you plan this long ago?"
After he finished speaking, he hurriedly raised his hands and looked at Lao Lu and Zhou Ran.
"I'm speaking properly this time, you can't scold me again, right?"
Lao Lu pulled out some plastic wrap and wrapped it around the exposed half of the buttock, and the boy's voice was immediately replaced by screams.
"Don't mind him, he has no filter."
Lao Lu tightened his movements, clearly trying to vent for Xia Mian: "What color butterfly do you want to tattoo? Have you decided?"
Xia Mian thought for a moment, her voice sounding a bit timid.
"Green."
"What kind of green?"
She pursed her lips. For a moment, she didn't know how to describe this green, so she could only point to Zhou Ran's head: "Just like his green."
The sound in the shop died down, and both of their gazes turned to look at Zhou Ran sitting on the sofa.
The cucumber he was biting hadn't been bitten through yet.
Zhou Ran, who was used as an example for the color green, looked up: "?"
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