Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 132

Chapter 132

The sudden appearance of several medicine boxes for unknown purposes in the house, even for someone as easygoing as Shan Ling, could not be ignored.

She noticed at least three or four empty boxes in the trash can. She picked one up, opened her phone, and searched the name, finding that it was a type of prescription painkiller.

Prescription medications, especially strong painkillers, couldn’t be bought over the counter at a pharmacy.

Shan Ling looked at the boxes curiously. There were only two people in the house, so if it wasn’t Shan Ling, it had to be Shen Qingyi; there was no one else it could be.

But why would Shen Qingyi be taking painkillers?

Shan Ling frowned slightly, feeling that her girlfriend seemed to be hiding something…

When Shen Qingyi woke up, it was already ten in the morning.

She hadn’t gone to bed until past 2 AM the previous night, which caused her to unintentionally oversleep. She sat on the bed feeling groggy.

A side effect of the painkillers was a lack of energy. Although Shen Qingyi had taken the medication many times, she still wasn’t used to the feeling of weakness throughout her body and a foggy mind.

“Yiyi?”

Hearing movement in the bedroom, Shan Ling poked her head in from outside. Seeing that Shen Qingyi was awake, she smiled and said, “You’re awake! This is the perfect time for brunch.”

Shen Qingyi glanced at Shan Ling and beckoned her over. The cute little mountain sparrow ran over, thoughtfully asking, “What is it?”

“Nothing.” Shen Qingyi smiled, taking Shan Ling’s hand and pulling her into a hug. Smelling the warm, sunny scent on her, she asked, “Have you been sunbathing?”

“For a little while, the weather is nice today.” Shan Ling wrapped her arms around Shen Qingyi’s shoulders and smiled: “Do you want to get up and sunbathe too? Spring sunshine is the best; it’s not too cold or too hot, and it makes you feel so warm.”

The sun was warm in every season, but Shan Ling still preferred sunbathing in winter and autumn. In spring, you didn’t need to wear much, and the ample sun made you feel cozy all over—it was incredibly comfortable.

Shen Qingyi didn’t like sunbathing, so she refused: “No, I prefer smelling your scent.”

Shan Ling sat in her embrace, looked at her, and naturally leaned in, exchanging a good morning kiss with Shen Qingyi.

“Time to get up,” Shan Ling said with a smile. “Once you wash up, we can have lunch. What would you like to eat? I’ll go make it now.”

“Just something simple,” Shen Qingyi threw off the covers, got out of bed, put on her slippers, stood up, and said, “I still have to be busy in the study today. I’m going to take a shower first.”

Shan Ling saw Shen Qingyi about to leave and reached out to tug her clothes.

“Hmm?” Shen Qingyi looked back at her in confusion and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shan Ling was uncharacteristically silent for a moment before raising her eyes to look at Shen Qingyi and saying, “When I was cleaning this morning, I found empty painkiller boxes in the trash can.”

Shen Qingyi froze slightly.

Shan Ling took in her expression and asked, “Were all those medications for you?”

Shen Qingyi originally wanted to lie, but seeing how genuinely worried Shan Ling was, she struggled for a moment internally, then sighed and sat back down.

“Yes, they were for me,” Shen Qingyi decided not to hide it. She held Shan Ling’s hand and said, “I wasn’t trying to hide anything, but I’ve been getting bad headaches recently. This is an old problem, and Doctor Zhou knows about it. These pills were prescribed by her.”

Shen Qingyi guiltlessly shifted the blame to Zhou Shu and gently told Shan Ling, “So you don’t need to worry about me too much.”

Shan Ling still looked concerned: “Are you really okay? If you have headaches, it’s better to get checked out. We don’t have much planned recently, and I can go with you to see Doctor Zhou.”

Shen Qingyi smiled, reassuring Shan Ling: “I’m genuinely fine. I know my own body. Plus, I plan to go for a check-up with Doctor Zhou after I finish these two days of work. Everything is arranged, so don’t worry about me.”

Hearing Shen Qingyi talk about it this way, Shan Ling could only nod, making a mental note that she absolutely must accompany Shen Qingyi to the check-up that day.

After the two finished lunch, they got busy with their respective tasks.

Shen Qingyi’s work was meticulous, so Shan Ling rarely entered her study, only going in when she was cleaning or when Shen Qingyi asked her to. Normally, Shan Ling kept busy on the balcony, in the living room, and in the kitchen.

The plants on the balcony were thriving. Shan Ling watered them, calculating that they would probably bloom in three to five days. She planned to show them to Shen Qingyi, knowing she would love them.

The whole day was uneventful. Shan Ling baked a cake and several bags of cookies at home, intending to take them to Nuo Nuo when she went to the stall, so Nuo Nuo could taste her baking.

The next day, Shen Qingyi had to continue confining herself to the study all day. Shan Ling finished her own tasks, said goodbye to Shen Qingyi, and left the apartment.

Shen Qingyi had wanted to drive her, but Shan Ling refused.

She felt the subway was very convenient and didn’t want to bother Shen Qingyi with drop-offs and pick-ups. Besides, the weather was so nice that walking and sunbathing was a lovely thing to do.

Shan Ling had agreed on a meeting time with Nuo Nuo. The delivery person wouldn’t arrive until after 3 PM, so Shan Ling was not in a hurry and slowly ambled to the shop.

The main framework of the coffee shop’s renovation was complete; they were now in the coating and painting phase.

Shan Ling stood at the doorway, looking at the chaotic coffee shop, finding it hard to imagine what it would look like when finished.

“Xiao Ling!”

Nuo Nuo started greeting Shan Ling from a distance. Shan Ling waved back. When Nuo Nuo got closer, Shan Ling took the pastries out of her bag and handed them to her.

“What’s this?” Nuo Nuo curiously looked at the packaged box, smelling a sweet and fragrant aroma.

Shan Ling hadn’t told her she had prepared snacks. Seeing Nuo Nuo’s curious look, she smiled and said, “Open it and see.”

Nuo Nuo didn’t stand on ceremony. She opened the box and found baked butter cookies, her eyes lighting up: “Did Xiao Ling bake these personally for me?”

“Yes,” Shan Ling said. “I had time while resting at home yesterday, so I baked these butter cookies. I hope you like them; I didn’t put in too much sugar.”

“I love them, I love everything Xiao Ling makes.” Nuo Nuo took a bite of a cookie and exclaimed, “I wish you were my wife!”

Shan Ling knew she was joking and didn’t mind. She smiled and said, “When the coffee arrives later, you can brew a cup and have an afternoon tea.”

“You’re right,” Nuo Nuo put the cookies away, checked the time on her phone, and said, “The delivery should be here soon. Let’s wait a bit. We don’t have much else to do today. Once we get the goods, we can head back.”

Saying this, Nuo Nuo pushed open the shop door and told Shan Ling, “Honestly, you shouldn’t have come. I told you I can manage by myself. You should be resting at home.”

Shan Ling replied, “Being home alone is boring, too. Yiyi is busy restoring her book. She barely has any extra time to spend with me outside of meals and bathroom breaks. I’d rather come find you. At least I have something to do, and you can chat with me.”

“Hmm?” Nuo Nuo was surprised to hear this: “What’s going on? Aren’t you two going out on dates?”

Nuo Nuo had assumed that after Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling got together, they would be lovey-dovey and inseparable, wanting to stick together 24/7.

Was that not the case?

Weren’t they in the honeymoon phase?

Shan Ling didn’t fully understand either, only saying, “We usually eat at home, occasionally go downstairs to buy groceries or things, and sometimes go antique shopping or eat out.”

The more Nuo Nuo listened, the more she frowned. What was this? Was this what two people in a relationship were supposed to do?

Antique shopping?

Were these two an old married couple?

“You two can’t keep doing this. It doesn’t look like you’re dating at all,” Nuo Nuo chastised her righteously. “You should frequently go shopping, eat meals out, travel, and see the sights, instead of just staying home.”

“But we don’t lack anything. What should we buy when we go shopping?”

“Shopping is just shopping! You don’t necessarily have to buy anything.”

Nuo Nuo crossed her arms, looking disappointed: “I’m truly worried sick about this shop.”

Shan Ling smiled: “Alright, alright, I generally understand what you’re saying. I’ll go back and talk to Yiyi about it, and we’ll go out more when we have time.”

“It’s not ‘go out more.’ It’s dating, do you understand dating?” Nuo Nuo corrected her.

“Okay, dating.” Shan Ling sat on a nearby stool and told Nuo Nuo, “Go check if the coffee delivery has arrived. That way, we can get off work earlier.”

Nuo Nuo pulled out her phone and checked the time. Just then, the delivery person called, saying they would arrive in ten minutes.

“They’ll be here soon,” Nuo Nuo hung up the phone and said, “Once the goods are here, we can go off work. We’ll sell again tomorrow. Several customers have already messaged me asking when we’ll set up the stall, so it seems our instant coffee is selling well.”

Shan Ling nodded, found the small cart used for pulling goods from inside the chaotic shop, and the two headed out just in time to pick up the delivery.

There were quite a lot of goods this time. Nuo Nuo figured that since coffee has a long shelf life and the shop wouldn’t open anytime soon, they might as well get more instant coffee to sell. Who knows, they might even start a new business venture later.

The two placed all six large boxes of coffee onto the cart. One pulled, and the other pushed, moving the goods into the shop step by step.

With the cart, even six boxes weren’t a big problem. Nuo Nuo and Shan Ling pulled the cart and wondered where to put the boxes. Since the shop renovation was now in the painting phase, they needed to find a place that wouldn’t get in the way.

“I think we should put them in the original back kitchen,” Nuo Nuo said. “I checked with the workers. The kitchen is the last area to be renovated, and it’s a simple job. It’s a bit far from the door, but it’s not a huge issue.”

Shan Ling straightened up and took a couple of breaths, then continued pushing the cart: “Sounds good. It doesn’t matter much where they are.”

Nuo Nuo was also panting: “We’ll have to ask the workers to help us move these things later. They’re so heavy. Why is coffee so heavy?”

The two hurried toward the shop, chatting. At the entrance, Nuo Nuo noticed a black Maybach.

“Huh?” Nuo Nuo could only recognize it as a Maybach, a very expensive car, but she didn’t know whose it was.

“The shop is still under renovation. Why is there a customer?” Nuo Nuo gestured for Shan Ling to stop. The two looked at the car and the open shop door, exchanging glances.

Shan Ling also didn’t recognize the car. She only recognized Shen Qingyi’s car, and this clearly wasn’t hers.

“Let’s go take a look. We don’t want the customer to leave empty-handed,” Shan Ling told Nuo Nuo. “Do you know all the regular customers who used to come to the shop?”

“There are so many customers every day, I can’t remember them all,” Nuo Nuo shrugged helplessly. “I don’t have facial recognition.”

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