Pats Little Shrike’s Tail - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In the late summer heat, a gentle, melodious tune drifted from a coffee shop, making it an island of tranquility on the bustling street.

It was sunset, and the warm, slanting rays of the sun bathed the street in a golden glow. Today, like every other ordinary day, was uneventful. Most people had finished their work for the day, leaving the tall buildings to hurry toward their own homes.

After finishing her work at the shop, Shen Qingyi left as usual after closing up.

The temperature had dropped, a welcome change. Shen Qingyi hailed a taxi on the street. After telling the driver her residential area, she leaned back against the seat and scrolled through her phone, not noticing a small, snow-white creature landing on the roof of the car.

“The wind on the roof is so strong!”

Shen Qingyi frowned slightly and subconsciously looked out the window. For some reason, she thought she had heard someone speaking. It sounded like they said, “The wind on the roof is so strong?” Shen Qingyi felt puzzled. She figured she must have been hearing things. Why else would such a nonsensical sentence suddenly appear out of thin air? After a while, she didn’t hear the voice again, so she lowered her head and continued to chat with her friend.

The evening rush hour traffic was terrible. Shen Qingyi was glad she didn’t have to worry about cutting in today. She leaned back in the seat and looked at a photo a client had sent her, along with a tracking number.

“Okay, the item should arrive in about three days,” Shen Qingyi said into her phone’s voice recorder. “I’ll let you know when it gets here.” After the client sent an “OK” emoji, Shen Qingyi put her phone away.

Outside the car window, people were bustling about. The traffic was especially bad near a school. Even the taxi driver couldn’t help but complain, but Shen Qingyi wasn’t in a hurry. She just watched her reflection in the window, her face a calm blank. A few high school students walked past the taxi. Shen Qingyi saw a few girls point at the roof of the taxi. After saying something, they took out their phones and started taking pictures. Because of the soundproofing in the car, Shen Qingyi couldn’t hear what they were saying. The taxi soon drove away, and Shen Qingyi put the incident out of her mind.

After paying the fare and getting out of the car, Shen Qingyi walked into a high-end residential area and swiped her card to enter. At that moment, a small, snow-white creature flapped its wings and landed on a branch. It tilted its head, watching Shen Qingyi with its little black eyes, blinking happily, and then flapped its wings to follow her.

The residential area had excellent greenery, so the little creature would fly a bit and then hide in the branches. Shen Qingyi didn’t notice that she was being followed by a small bird until she entered her building and got on the elevator.

The little creature flew into the building, looked at the floor number where the elevator stopped, and then flew out again. It huffed and puffed its way up to the 21st floor and then squeezed through an open window in the hallway. Although there was a protective railing outside the window, it couldn’t stop the little creature. It flapped its wings, landed on the railing, squeezed its round, plump body through the bars, and then started wandering around the hallway.

Oh no, I only know what floor she’s on, but which door is hers?

The little creature wandered around the floor. As it was flying, it landed on the ground and fell over with a soft thump.

So hungry…

The little creature lay on the cold floor, feeling that the people in this city were just as cold as the hallway floor. The little creature lying on the ground, too weak to fly, was not an ordinary bird. She was a mountain sparrow, a little fairy who had lived for 20 years. Last month, the little fairies started spreading the word that the once-in-a-century Phoenix selection was about to begin. This time, they would choose several very outstanding candidates.

What was an “outstanding candidate”? They had to have a proper appearance, be a bird, have a good personality, and their ancestors for three generations had not committed any sins. Only then would they be qualified to be a candidate. But there were too many birds. To stand out, one had to have a kind heart and the spirit of helping others. In short, to be a Phoenix, the entire family had to be good birds.

Shan Ling also wanted to be an “outstanding candidate.” So, she left her village and came to the city, planning to do good deeds to accumulate merit so she could smoothly advance when the selection began. Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned. As a little fairy who had lived in the village her whole life, Shan Ling had no idea that life in the city would be so difficult.

In the past month, Shan Ling had barely had a single full meal. All the money she had brought was gone, and she had reverted to her true form because she hadn’t eaten for three days. Flying up 21 floors in one go had exhausted her last bit of strength.

As Shan Ling lay on the cold floor, which felt like the hearts of the people in the city, she wondered how long it would take for the news of her starving to death to reach her village. She didn’t know if her parents would be sad. The thought made Shan Ling start to sob.

Just as Shen Qingyi entered her apartment and was about to take a shower, she thought she heard someone crying. But when she listened carefully, she didn’t hear anyone. Listening more closely, it seemed to be coming from the front door.

Shen Qingyi frowned slightly. The faint sobbing was gone in a flash. She tried to listen again, but she couldn’t hear it. What was going on today? This was the second time she had heard things.

Shen Qingyi felt it was very strange. She looked at the area outside her front door. She thought about it and walked to the door, turning on the security camera. The camera showed that there was no one in the hallway. This was a high-end apartment building. You needed a card to enter the residential area, the building, and the elevator. The security was definitely not an issue.

Looking at the empty hallway, Shen Qingyi shook her head, wondering if she had been working too hard lately. It seemed she needed to go to bed early today. Just as she was about to turn off the camera, she noticed something unusual on the white hallway floor. Looking closer, she saw a small, snow-white creature. At first, Shen Qingyi thought it was a tissue, but a closer look revealed that it was a small bird.

Had I seen this bird when I came in?

Shen Qingyi thought about it and realized she hadn’t paid attention. She didn’t really want to get involved, but when she saw the bird lying on the ground, looking like it was on its last breath, she couldn’t bring herself to be heartless. She quickly opened the door, bent down, and brought the starving, unconscious Shan Ling into her apartment.

…

Now, the unconscious Shan Ling was having a dream. She dreamed that she was back in the Sparrow Village, the small village that was her home. It had the familiar mountain springs and fields. Shan Ling loved looking for wheat ears in the autumn fields. Sometimes, she would pick up the wheat ears not just to eat, but for fun. In the Sparrow Village, Shan Ling never had to worry about food or water. Although she had many siblings, her parents were hardworking, and the village was prosperous. Shan Ling had never been hungry before.

In her dream, Shan Ling smelled the fresh scent of corn. It was the smell of nature. The sweet corn smelled so good. Shan Ling’s stomach started to rumble. She was really hungry, as if she hadn’t eaten for three days.

Wait a minute.

Shan Ling opened her eyes. Hadn’t she not eaten for three days?

“Chirp, chirp?”

Shan Ling was lying in a small box. It looked like a tissue box, but it was lined with a thick, very soft towel that made Shan Ling want to roll around in it.

Shen Qingyi heard the chirping and walked out of the kitchen. She looked at the small, plump bird on the coffee table. It was peeking out and didn’t seem to be afraid of people. Shen Qingyi teased, “You’re awake?”

Shan Ling tilted her little head and looked at her, shocked. How did I get here?

Shen Qingyi looked at the small, plump bird and said to her, “You were lying motionless in front of my door. I didn’t know if you were dead or alive, so I brought you back.” After saying that, Shen Qingyi felt a little crazy. Why was she talking to a bird?

She sighed and walked over to Shan Ling. She placed a small dish of millet in front of her and filled a small teacup with water. She watched as the small, plump bird looked back and forth between her and the millet several times before finally standing up from the towel. It hopped over and started eating. While eating, the small, plump bird made a ‘chirping’ sound. Shen Qingyi sat on the sofa, resting her head on her hand, and couldn’t help but wonder, Is millet that delicious?

Shan Ling didn’t have the energy to look at Shen Qingyi right now. Her mind was filled with food. She didn’t care if she looked good while eating. She just had to eat! After eating her fill, Shan Ling was finally satisfied. She stretched her legs and felt her body fill with strength again!

“Chirp, chirp!”

Shan Ling happily flew up and landed on Shen Qingyi’s knee. She tilted her round, little head and looked up at her.

Merit +1

…

“Chirp, chirp.”

Shan Ling blinked. She had actually discovered this morning that as soon as she got close to this woman, her merit would increase by one point per second. You have to know, Shan Ling came to the city to accumulate merit. Before, helping an old lady cross the street would only give her 100 points of merit. She never expected that just being close to this woman would increase her merit by one point per second. That’s like helping half an old lady cross the street in one minute! One hour is like helping 36 old ladies cross the street! One day is like helping 864 old ladies cross the street! The most important thing was that as long as she stayed with this woman, Shan Ling could help old ladies cross the street every day without even moving!

What a temptation!

So, Shan Ling had followed this woman all day. She watched her work at the coffee shop, and she watched her take a taxi home. Shan Ling flapped her little wings and landed on the roof of the taxi, following Shen Qingyi all the way home.

Now, Shan Ling looked up at Shen Qingyi, chirping at her as if she were a spoiled child. Her little head was tilted, and the way she blinked her eyes was incredibly cute.

Shen Qingyi looked at the little bird’s adorable expression. She reached out her finger and scratched the little creature’s cheek, teasing, “Are you trying to scam me, little fatty?”

Support Pats Little Shrike’s Tail