Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 115

Chapter 115

The next morning, Shan Ling started preparing the small pastries she planned to bake today.

The house had the necessary ingredients and molds for butter and cranberry cookies. Shan Ling planned to make one batch of each, thinking the two flavors could be enjoyed alternately without getting bored.

Shen Qingyi stood on the balcony, serving tea and water to the birds. Occasionally, a few bold ones would fly onto Shen Qingyi’s shoulder to take a look, but they’d quickly fly away in alarm after making eye contact.

These birds were definitely becoming less afraid of people.

After tending to these intelligent little creatures, Shen Qingyi made her way to the kitchen.

Shan Ling had tied her hair up in a high ponytail and was wearing a gray-and-white cartoon apron. She had rolled up her sleeves, revealing her small forearms, which looked like white jade.

With white flour dusting her fingers, Shan Ling was diligently kneading the dough. The golden-yellow dough looked very sweet. Standing at the kitchen entrance, Shen Qingyi could smell a very rich butter aroma.

The sweet and fragrant scent lifted Shen Qingyi’s mood. She slipped into the kitchen along the wall, crept behind Shan Ling, and hugged the little sprite who was busy working.

“Hmm?” Shan Ling was startled. She turned her head and saw Shen Qingyi resting her head on her shoulder, looking down at the dough in front of her. Shen Qingyi commented, “It smells wonderful.”

“It’s just flour now, and you think it smells good. What will you do when it goes into the oven?” Shan Ling allowed her to hug her, still diligently kneading the soft, white dough.

She took out a rolling pin, flattened the dough, and rolled it into a sheet of medium thickness. Then, she took out the cleaned molds and pressed them onto the dough, one by one.

Soon, star-shaped and patterned dough pieces were ready. Shan Ling didn’t waste the remaining dough; she rolled it into a ball, flattened it again, and repeated the process.

The baking tray was quickly filled with various shaped small cookies. Shen Qingyi watched Shan Ling place them into the oven and set the temperature and time.

“Why are you so attentive to that little girl?” Shen Qingyi said, sounding displeased. “I never see you bake cookies for me.”

Shan Ling turned around in surprise and asked, “Don’t you dislike sweets?”

Shen Qingyi: “…Even if I don’t like them, you can still make them for me. You shouldn’t only make things for outsiders.”

“Outsider?” Shan Ling was even more confused. She tilted her head and looked at her: “Isn’t Jiaojiao your sister?”

Shen Qingyi was truly speechless this time. She let out a grumpy sigh and whispered, “Birds shouldn’t be so biased.”

“But a heart is naturally biased~”

“…Shan Ling.”

Shan Ling quickly smiled, coaxing Shen Qingyi, “Alright, alright, I’m just teasing you. I still have another batch of cookies with a different flavor coming up, and you’ll definitely get some. I deliberately didn’t add too much sugar.”

That’s more like it.

Shen Qingyi felt better and told Shan Ling, “That little girl doesn’t need so many treats. Her parents are wealthy; she doesn’t lack this kind of food.”

“It’s different though,” Shan Ling said. “Jiaojiao loves the things I make so much. She’ll be very happy if she knows I baked cookies for her.”

Then, she tilted her head and gave the childish Shen Qingyi a quick kiss on the cheek, saying with a ‘smack,’ “I need to mix the dough now. Stop clinging to me. Since you’re so free, go and clean the house.”

After driving her out of the kitchen, Shan Ling went back to preparing her next batch of cookies.

Shen Qingyi glanced at the spotless house. With truly nothing to do, she went to wash the clothes she had changed out of yesterday.

Cookies don’t take long to bake. Soon, the entire house was filled with the sweet aroma of butter cookies.

A whole tray of cookies was taken out of the oven. Shan Ling found a place to let them cool and started working on the other batch of cookies.

The cranberry ones weren’t made into fancy shapes but were cut into small rectangular strips. She used a mold to hold the shape, then sliced them one by one and neatly arranged them on the baking sheet. They looked quite cute.

Besides the cookies, Shan Ling had heard that Jiaojiao kept a small Golden Retriever, so she took out the chicken breast she had bought earlier. She shredded it and put it directly into the oven to bake. This way, the child could eat, and the pet could also have some.

After nearly a whole day of busy work, including cooling and packing, Shan Ling finally handed the bag of small treats to Shen Qingyi just before she left.

“Two batches of cookies and one batch of baked chicken breast strips for the dog,” Shan Ling instructed Shen Qingyi, “You promised Jiaojiao you’d go early to spend time with her. It’s getting late now, and with potential traffic, you should arrive about an hour early.”

Shen Qingyi listened to Shan Ling’s incessant chatter and found the little bird quite noisy. In truth, she really didn’t want to go to the Shen family for dinner.

She had to go once a month. When Shen Jiaojiao was younger, she was always awkward around her. Although Tao Wanyue was polite, she truly didn’t know how to have a heartfelt conversation with such a grown-up ‘stepdaughter.’

And Shen Qingyi’s attitude towards Shen Hongjun was always cold, making every dinner at the Shen family feel like an ordeal.

But now, Shen Qingyi’s reluctance was purely because she preferred to stay home with Shan Ling. Even if they did nothing, being together was enjoyable.

Shan Ling sensed that the other person was not in a good mood and seemed very reluctant.

She tilted her head to think, then tugged on Shen Qingyi’s sleeve, signaling her to lean closer.

“What is it?” Shen Qingyi asked curiously, but her body honestly leaned in anyway.

As soon as she leaned in, Shan Ling pressed herself against her. Their lips briefly touched, carrying a faint, sweet creamy scent.

“Come back early after dinner,” Shan Ling looked at Shen Qingyi and smiled, “I’m planning to eat alone tonight. If you come back early, I might even share a bite with you.”

“Is that so?”

Shen Qingyi felt a tickle in her heart from the teasing. She was about to leave, and Shan Ling was still leaning in for a kiss. Did she want her to go or not?

So, Shen Qingyi held the bag of small treats in one hand and wrapped the other around Shan Ling’s waist, lowering her head to linger between her lips and teeth.

It was strange. Since they officially started dating, they had only been together for a little over a week, but the frequency of their kisses increased almost daily.

They had a good morning kiss, a good night kiss before bed. Occasionally, when they were bored watching TV, Shan Ling would lean over to ask for a kiss. Even while cooking or cleaning, if they made eye contact, they would kiss anywhere in the house.

Now, she didn’t expect to have to share another one right before leaving.

Their lips mingled continuously. In the quiet entryway, the faint sound of kissing could be heard.

Shen Qingyi found that Shan Ling genuinely enjoyed physical intimacy with her, especially the contest of wills during a kiss. If she had known this, she would have confessed the moment she first met Shan Ling and locked her up at home.

That way, she could kiss Shan Ling whenever she wanted.

If it weren’t entirely inappropriate, Shen Qingyi would have wanted to kiss Shan Ling’s slender, graceful, swan-like neck and leave marks all over it, making her too embarrassed to go out.

Lost in these thoughts, the two had already lingered at the door for nearly 20 minutes. Shan Ling’s eyes were flushed pink from the kissing, and her lips were moist and plump.

Perhaps having tasted the sweetness, Shan Ling also started to feel reluctant to let Shen Qingyi go, but Shen Qingyi had already promised Jiaojiao she would be there for dinner. Shan Ling truly couldn’t find a way to keep her.

“That’s enough,” Shan Ling pushed Shen Qingyi away and told her, “If you don’t leave now, you’ll hit the evening rush hour.”

Shen Qingyi eyed Shan Ling’s cherry-like red lips, lowered her head to gently peck them one last time, and then separated from her, whispering, “I’m leaving now. I’ll try to come back early.”

Shan Ling reluctantly let Shen Qingyi out. After hearing her take the elevator downstairs, she closed the door and prepared to make her own dinner.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingyi got in the car with the bag of treats and drove out of the complex.

The traffic wasn’t bad on the way. She was currently unemployed, and with the design plan not yet finalized, she didn’t have much to do. She drove aimlessly towards the Shen family’s house.

There weren’t many cars on the road, and she successfully avoided the evening rush hour.

When Shen Qingyi arrived at the Shen family villa, it was not yet five o’clock. The people who greeted her, besides the short Shen Jiaojiao, were the noticeably larger Golden Retriever.

The young Golden Retriever was no longer small; it sat by Shen Jiaojiao’s feet, its head nearly reaching the little girl’s height.

“Jiejie~”

Shen Jiaojiao saw Shen Qingyi get out of the car and happily ran over, naturally taking her hand and looking up to ask, “Jiejie, you came so early today! Was it for me?”

Shen Qingyi neither denied nor admitted it. She simply took the bag of small treats from the passenger seat and handed it to Shen Jiaojiao, saying, “These are cookies your Xiaoling Jiejie baked for you, and this bag has baked shredded chicken breast, which you can feed to the dog.”

“Oh?!” Shen Jiaojiao’s eyes suddenly lit up. She loved her big Golden Retriever. Hearing this, she immediately tore open the small bag containing the chicken breast strips, took one out, and waved it in front of the dog: “Xiaopi, Xiaopi, this is a treat from Xiaoling Jiejie. Do you want to try it?”

The Golden Retriever didn’t understand what Shen Jiaojiao was saying. Seeing the meat strip waving in front of it, it opened its mouth wide, snatched it, and swallowed it with barely a chew.

Perhaps the taste was good, as the big dog vigorously wagged its tail like a thick brush.

Shen Jiaojiao didn’t give it any more, though. She giggled, took Shen Qingyi’s hand, and led her into the villa, saying as they walked, “We’re having roast lamb leg today! Dad bought a really big one, enough for all four of us to eat!”

Shen Qingyi allowed her to lead her. Once inside, she saw that everyone was present.

Seeing Shen Jiaojiao bring someone in, Shen Hongjun, who was sitting on the sofa, smiled and stood up: “Yiyi, you’re here. You’re earlier than usual today.”

“Baba~”

Shen Jiaojiao ran up to Shen Hongjun with the small treats. Like presenting a treasure, she showed him everything, smiling brightly, “Xiaoling Jiejie baked these cookies for me. Everything she makes is delicious! I love being with Xiaoling Jiejie the most!”

“Is that so?” Shen Hongjun also laughed heartily, patted his little daughter’s head, and told her, “Didn’t you want to show your sister the new trophy you won? Go upstairs and bring it down for her to see.”

“Okay!” Shen Jiaojiao crisply agreed and went upstairs with the big Golden Retriever.

After the child left, Shen Hongjun looked at his other daughter and chuckled awkwardly: “Did you come alone? You didn’t bring your… girlfriend?”

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