Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Nuo Nuo wasn’t wrong. Even with Shan Ling’s relatively good memory, she couldn’t remember every customer who passed through the shop.

However, if it were an ordinary customer, they should have left immediately after seeing the shop’s condition. Why would they stop their car?

The two exchanged glances, realizing that regardless of who it was, they needed to meet them to talk.

As Nuo Nuo and Shan Ling pushed the small delivery cart inside, they saw a few people who looked out of place standing with their backs to them in the construction area.

The most noticeable was a short girl. She was wearing a pink dress and a fluffy white vest. She was currently holding a man’s hand and seemed to be talking about something.

Shan Ling only felt the back was familiar, but it was Nuo Nuo who reminded her.

“It’s the boss’s younger sister,” Nuo Nuo said, looking at the group. “It looks like Mr. Shen is here too. Why so sudden? They didn’t even call ahead.”

Although Shen Hongjun and Shen Jiaojiao often arrived without calling, the shop was currently under renovation, with dust and dirt everywhere. Even adults might find it uncomfortable, let alone bringing a child.

Shen Jiaojiao was the first to notice the movement behind her. She flipped her two long braids back and saw Shan Ling and Nuo Nuo standing at the doorway.

Immediately, Shen Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up as if she had seen the light. She shook off Shen Hongjun’s hand and ran over, burying herself in Shan Ling’s arms. She happily looked up at her: “Sister Xiao Ling, I came to see you~”

Shan Ling’s eyes curved in a smile. She touched the little girl’s head and said, “Why did you come?”

“I specially came to see Sister Xiao Ling,” Shen Jiaojiao told Shan Ling seriously: “The last time I saw you injured in the hospital, I wanted to come and see if your injury was healed.”

“The injury is healed. Everything is fine now. Even the scar is barely visible,” Shan Ling replied just as seriously to the little girl.

Shen Jiaojiao touched her two ponytails and told Shan Ling, “Even if the injury is healed, you still need to take care of yourself. Sister Xiao Ling, you should rest more.”

“Yes, thank you for your concern, Jiaojiao. I will remember to rest.” Shan Ling looked at her and Shen Hongjun and asked, “Do you have something planned for today? The shop is still being renovated, so I probably can’t make you any cake.”

Shen Jiaojiao shook her head and focused her gaze on Nuo Nuo. Her big eyes were bright like light bulbs.

Nuo Nuo felt uneasy under her scrutiny. She frowned and asked, “Little girl, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Hello, Sister Nuo Nuo,” Shen Jiaojiao greeted her politely. “You look so good today! You look ten years younger.”

Nuo Nuo gave a dry laugh: “If I were ten years younger, wouldn’t I be the same age as you? Little girl, don’t talk like an adult. Say what you mean directly; this makes me feel awkward.”

Shen Jiaojiao then smiled brilliantly, ran in front of Nuo Nuo, and said, “Sister Nuo Nuo, I actually came here to find you this time.”

“Find me?” Nuo Nuo looked down at the little girl and asked, “Why are you looking for me?”

“Next week, our school is having an Open Day event,” Shen Jiaojiao said. “We can set up stalls and open shops. I want to start a coffee shop, but I don’t know how to make coffee, so I came to ask Sister Nuo Nuo to teach me how.”

Nuo Nuo looked at her curiously: “Isn’t making coffee something anyone with hands can do?”

Shan Ling, however, was very curious and asked, “What kind of event is Open Day? And how can you sell coffee?”

Shen Jiaojiao turned to Shan Ling, then jumped over and told her, “Open Day is a day where we don’t have classes. Everyone can apply for a space to create whatever they want. We invite parents to visit and buy things we make ourselves. All the school’s revenue will be donated to children in the mountains.”

Nuo Nuo added: “Kids nowadays have so many activities. When we were in elementary school, we didn’t have Open Day; it was just classes and spring outings. Now they mix education with entertainment; playing is more important than studying.”

“That’s not true!” Shen Jiaojiao refuted. “We have classes too! It’s just a break sometimes. The teacher said this is called balancing work and rest.”

“Fine, fine, you’re right about everything.” Nuo Nuo patted the little girl’s head and told her, “It just so happens that the shop received a lot of instant coffee. Since you want to open a coffee shop, you can just use hot water to make it.”

Shen Jiaojiao looked at the instant coffee on the cart behind them, wrinkled her nose, and said, “Can I make latte art with this?”

Nuo Nuo shook her head: “No.”

Shen Jiaojiao asked again: “Will this taste better than the coffee you brew?”

Nuo Nuo proudly said: “It definitely won’t taste as good as mine.”

Hearing this, Shen Jiaojiao fell into deep thought. Her small mind processed the information seriously, and she solemnly shook her head: “Then I don’t want it.”

Nuo Nuo: “?”

Shen Jiaojiao looked up at her and said, “I’m serious about opening a coffee shop. I can’t let my customers drink bad-tasting coffee, so I won’t use this instant coffee.”

“Then what do you want?” Nuo Nuo asked, crossing her arms. “You can’t expect me to brew coffee for you on that day, can you?”

Shen Jiaojiao blinked and countered, “Can you?”

“No.”

“Sister Nuo Nuo~”

“I said no is no.” Nuo Nuo originally wanted to say, “Calling me Mom won’t work,” but decided it was inappropriate and changed it to: “Instant coffee is actually quite good; at least it tastes much better than other people’s pour-over coffee. Besides, why are kids drinking coffee? Milk is good for you and helps you grow taller.”

“But I really want to open a coffee shop. Sister Nuo Nuo, please just teach me how to make coffee.” Shen Jiaojiao pleaded charmingly, hugging Nuo Nuo’s waist: “I’ll ask my sister to give you a raise.”

Nuo Nuo was stunned. She looked down at the little girl clinging to her and asked, “You keep your promises?”

Shen Jiaojiao nodded: “Of course. Even if my sister doesn’t give you a raise, I’ll give you some of my allowance.”

It wasn’t that Nuo Nuo genuinely coveted a child’s allowance, but she felt that the little girl’s serious expression right now was quite similar to Shen Qingyi’s.

They are sisters, after all.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll teach you,” Nuo Nuo patted the little girl’s head and said, “But you are still too young, and you won’t know how to use the coffee machine. We’ll just practice with the instant coffee; we can still make very delicious coffee that way.”

Standing beside them, Shen Hongjun and the driver looked at the three girls, their gaze unconsciously falling on Shan Ling’s face.

It wasn’t the first time Shen Hongjun had seen Shan Ling. He had seen her in the shop several times before and had even heard her name from his youngest daughter. He knew Shan Ling wasn’t originally an employee of the shop but someone Shen Qingyi had gone to great lengths to recruit.

Looking back now, Shen Qingyi probably had plans for Shan Ling even back then. Otherwise, given her personality, why would she take her sister to an amusement park?

He thought at the time that Shen Qingyi had finally come to her senses, but it turned out he was wrong.

Shan Ling noticed Shen Hongjun’s gaze, looked up, met his eyes, nodded, and greeted him: “Hello, Mr. Shen.”

“Hello,” Shen Hongjun showed no strange reaction, maintaining his usual gentle and affable expression. He told Shan Ling, “Long time no see. I heard you were injured in the fire before, and I didn’t have time to visit you.”

A visit was just a polite formality, and Shan Ling naturally understood this. She smiled faintly and said politely, “Thank you, Mr. Shen, for your concern. I’m all better now. That was just an accident, and thankfully, it’s over now.”

“Yes, it’s good that you’re fine,” Shen Hongjun looked at the shop’s renovation and said, “It can be considered a blessing in disguise. It’s good to renovate the old-fashioned shop. It just wasted a lot of time.”

Shan Ling smiled, unsure what to say in small talk. She wasn’t skilled at this kind of thing.

Shen Jiaojiao had apparently finished negotiating the ‘payment’ with Nuo Nuo. She ran over happily, grabbed Shen Hongjun’s hand, looked up, and asked, “Dad, what are you talking about?”

Shen Hongjun smiled kindly at his daughter: “Dad was talking to Sister Xiao Ling about her injury. Jiaojiao, you must never play with fire again; it’s very dangerous, understand?”

“The kindergarten teacher taught us that,” Shen Jiaojiao scoffed at her father’s belated reminder: “Our school has fire drills every semester now. I even know how to use a fire extinguisher. The teacher praised me for being smart.”

Faced with this proud little princess, Shen Hongjun couldn’t help but adore her. He immediately picked her up, laughing until the lines around his eyes showed: “Jiaojiao is so great.”

Shen Jiaojiao also felt she was great. She sat proudly in Shen Hongjun’s arms, looked back at Nuo Nuo and Shan Ling, and said, “Well, Sister Nuo Nuo, can I come to your stall with you tomorrow?”

Nuo Nuo gasped and frowned: “Aren’t you in school tomorrow?”

“I can come after school.”

“But we’ll be closing up after school, won’t we?”

The little girl looked at her miserably, her eyes turning red: “Then what should I do…”

Faced with the boss’s father and sister, Nuo Nuo could only say helplessly, “What can we do? Of course, we’ll work overtime for you~”

However, in return, Nuo Nuo planned not to set up the stall in the morning. If Shen Qingyi asked, she would just say she was working overtime elsewhere, which was perfectly reasonable.

Seeing the little girl’s smile return, Shen Hongjun chuckled and told the two: “Thank you for your effort. My daughter is very serious about things. I will pay you overtime wages after the Open Day ends.”

Nuo Nuo was delighted to hear about getting paid and thanked him repeatedly.

“But I see your shop isn’t finished yet. When the driver picks up Jiaojiao after school tomorrow, he can drive you home as well,” Shen Hongjun said. “We have everything at home. Even if you need to buy something, it’ll be easy. What do you think?”

Nuo Nuo naturally had no objection but looked at Shan Ling.

Shan Ling shook her head and said, “I don’t know how to make coffee, so I won’t go with you.”

Shen Jiaojiao blinked: “But Sister Xiao Ling’s tea is very delicious—sweet and better than coffee.”

“But you’re planning to open a coffee shop, so my tea-making skills won’t be much help,” Shan Ling smiled and told her, “Besides, Nuo Nuo can teach you everything you need. She’ll surely be a great teacher.”

Since Shan Ling had made up her mind, Shen Jiaojiao didn’t pressure her further. She simply confirmed with Nuo Nuo that they would meet at her house tomorrow evening to learn how to make coffee, and then left with Shen Hongjun.

It was as if their entire reason for coming was to arrange for Nuo Nuo to teach her how to make coffee.

After they got into the car and the black Maybach drove away, Shen Hongjun leaned back in his seat and sighed: “Jiaojiao, your sister’s little girlfriend seems okay—sensible and beautiful. It’s just a shame she’s a girl.”

If it were a boy, Shen Hongjun would agree without hesitation. He wouldn’t even care about the boy’s family background, as they certainly wouldn’t be as wealthy as the Shen family.

When the two got married, Shen Hongjun planned to give them three villas, tens of millions in cash, company shares, and a grand wedding. All the proper procedures would be followed; his daughter wouldn’t suffer any disadvantage.

But why did it have to be a girl?

Shen Hongjun was perplexed, his brow furrowed with worry, sighing repeatedly. Meanwhile, Shen Jiaojiao, sitting next to him, swung her feet and spoke like a little adult: “Dad, why are you still sexist?”

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