Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 140

Chapter 140

When Shen Hongjun heard Shan Ling’s words, his expression immediately became conflicted, as if he regretted what he had just said.

Before Shen Hongjun could speak, Tao Wanyue smiled and said to Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling, “You both still have work today, so you don’t need to stay here. I’ll stay with your father. You two go on with your busy schedules.”

Shen Qingyi nodded, glanced at Shan Ling, and then took her hand.

Shan Ling saw Shen Hongjun’s face instantly darken, and he involuntarily clutched his chest. Shen Jiaojiao quietly asked him, puzzled, if he was alright.

Why did it seem as if Shan Ling was running off with his daughter?

Shan Ling tilted her head, blinking her eyes as she curiously looked at the strange family. She had thoughts but didn’t speak them rashly, just looked calmly at Shen Qingyi and smiled at her.

Both of their work could be postponed. Furthermore, Shen Jiaojiao’s school open day was over, so Nuo Nuo could peacefully run her stall again.

As for Shen Qingyi’s work, there was no rush. She decided not to focus on work today. She and Aunt Jiang decided to go home first to pack some things. Shen Hongjun would be staying in the hospital for half a month, and many items needed to be brought over.

Shen Qingyi didn’t need to bring Shan Ling to the Shen house. She asked her to spend more time with Jiaojiao. As for Shen Hongjun…

Shen Qingyi held Shan Ling’s hand and reassured her, “He probably won’t trouble you. If you feel uncomfortable, just take Jiaojiao out to play.”

Shan Ling looked at Shen Hongjun in the hospital room and asked helplessly, “Yiyi, does your dad dislike me?”

“Don’t worry about him; he doesn’t like anyone,” Shen Qingyi was right. No matter who stood in front of Shen Hongjun right now, he wouldn’t like them. This had nothing to do with whether it was Shan Ling.

Shen Hongjun purely just didn’t want his daughter to be in a relationship.

After comforting Shan Ling for a few moments, Shen Qingyi and Aunt Jiang left. Shan Ling watched Shen Qingyi enter the elevator, then prepared to walk back to the patient room.

She was actually a little afraid of Shen Hongjun. Perhaps it was the aura that successful people often possess, which was very intimidating.

It wasn’t the kind of strictness one faced from a teacher, but a higher-level suppression that made Shan Ling uncomfortable. She felt secure when Shen Qingyi was around, but now that she was gone, Shan Ling was unsure if she should go back in.

Glancing into the room through the window, she saw Tao Wanyue sitting by the window peeling an apple. Shen Hongjun was sitting in bed holding Shen Jiaojiao. The two seemed to be chatting, causing Tao Wanyue to smile as she peeled the apple, occasionally interjecting, which led to a rare smile from Shen Jiaojiao.

Watching this tender scene, Shan Ling finally understood why Shen Qingyi had said something like, “They are the real family.”

Because to an outsider, Shen Hongjun, Tao Wanyue, and Shen Jiaojiao truly looked like a very happy family of three.

It was so warm that it seemed impossible for another person to blend in.

But it doesn’t matter.

Shan Ling thought firmly. Shen Qingyi was her girlfriend now. In the future, the two of them would definitely be as warm and loving as that family of three.

“Hello.” At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded behind Shan Ling. She turned around and saw several unfamiliar people in business attire, some holding flowers and others carrying fruit baskets. They looked at the room in front of Shan Ling and asked, “Is this Director Shen’s room?”

Shan Ling understood. These people were likely Shen Hongjun’s work colleagues, visiting him.

“Yes,” Shan Ling said. “Mr. Shen just woke up recently. You can visit him, but please don’t stay too long. He still needs rest.”

“Okay,” the group exchanged glances, thanked Shan Ling, and then pushed the door open to enter the room.

Listening to the lively greetings inside, Shan Ling leaned against the wall, with nothing to do. She finally decided to go downstairs to buy some snacks for Shen Jiaojiao.

Just as Shan Ling was about to take the stairs instead of the elevator, she ran into an acquaintance with red hair around the corner.

Hu Ai was very surprised to see Shan Ling. She widened her eyes, looked at the person in front of her, and greeted her after a few seconds: “Shan Ling? What are you doing here?”

Shan Ling smelled the scent of fox and cat on Hu Ai and instantly felt she was about to transform back into her original form. She took a few steps back, bumping against the wall, stammering, “W-w-what are you doing here?”

Hu Ai’s eyes slightly brightened. She watched Shan Ling with interest, stepped closer, and said, “What’s wrong? Still so afraid of me? That makes me very sad.”

Shan Ling thought irritably, I don’t care if you’re sad.

“Are you visiting someone?” Shan Ling uncomfortably changed the subject and said to Hu Ai, “You’ll leave after you visit, right?”

“Of course,” Hu Ai stood up straight and chuckled, “I don’t live in the hospital, so naturally, I’ll go back after I visit.”

As she spoke, Hu Ai looked around and wondered, “Where is Ms. Shen? Is she not here?”

Shan Ling leaned against the wall and said, “She had something to do and went out. She’ll be back soon.”

Hu Ai nodded: “Is that so? I thought you two were conjoined twins, inseparable.”

Shan Ling didn’t say anything, still watching the other person warily, afraid that the little fox would suddenly show her claws and eat her alive.

Faced with the little mountain sparrow’s “concern,” Hu Ai couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She smiled warmly and reached out her hand to Shan Ling.

Shan Ling: “?”

Hu Ai told her, “Didn’t I explain the psychological desensitization therapy to you before? It won’t do for you to be so afraid of us. You’ll meet many people while living in this city, and you can’t always hide, can you?”

Shan Ling looked at the outstretched hand.

It was a delicate and slender hand, with distinct knuckles. Under the sunlight, it even had a translucent quality, white like a piece of jade.

She remembered what Hu Ai had told her at the door of her apartment building that day—that she could treat her fear through gradual exposure.

And now, the other party clearly wanted Shan Ling to touch her, to try and approach something she was afraid of.

But Shan Ling shook her head repeatedly, refusing.

“No, thank you, Ms. Hu,” Shan Ling said, sticking to the wall. “I think even if I live in the city, I probably won’t always run into people like you, so I don’t need the therapy.”

Disappointment showed in Hu Ai’s eyes. She reluctantly withdrew her hand and casually tucked it into her pocket, saying to Shan Ling, “In that case, I won’t force you.”

She asked casually, “Are you here to visit someone?”

“Yes,” Shan Ling nodded. “An acquaintance was hospitalized, and I came to visit him. We’ll go back after Yiyi returns.”

“That’s great,” Hu Ai’s eyes lit up. She smiled and told Shan Ling, “I actually need to see her about something. Send me a message when she arrives.”

Hu Ai touched her lips, slightly narrowing her eyes at the little mountain sparrow: “You still have my contact, right? You haven’t unmatched or deleted me, have you?”

Shan Ling shook her little head like a rattle. She thought deleting a friend was very impolite. Since they had already added each other, deleting her wasn’t right. So, even though she was very afraid of Hu Ai, she had kept her in her friend list.

“That’s good then,” Hu Ai was relaxed. She told Shan Ling, “Send me a message when Shen Qingyi arrives. I’ll leave now.”

Watching Hu Ai walk away, Shan Ling slowly calmed down and quietly let out a sigh of relief.

She wasn’t sure why Hu Ai suddenly wanted to see Shen Qingyi, but the other party hadn’t given her any trouble. Looked at this way, she was actually a very nice little fox.

Shen Qingyi and Aunt Jiang did some simple tidying up at home. Aunt Jiang had already brought some change of clothes the day before, so this time, the two just needed to pack the things they hadn’t gotten around to.

Hospital documents, clothes for Tao Wanyue, and so on—all needed preparation.

Aunt Jiang kept talking about how they hadn’t rested well last night, taking turns looking after him with Tao Wanyue, and that they should bring a soft pillow.

Shen Qingyi had no objection. Since they were here, they might as well bring everything at once so they wouldn’t have to make another trip.

Aunt Jiang had planned to make soup to bring over, but Shen Qingyi was worried Shan Ling would be uncomfortable at the hospital, and she was afraid Tao Wanyue alone wouldn’t be able to manage everything. The two decided to just take the packed items and leave. As for the soup, it was best to make it themselves, but if not, they could ask someone else to do it.

While driving, Shen Qingyi kept worrying whether Shan Ling would feel wronged at the hospital, but then she thought, Shan Ling is such a clever girl, she probably wouldn’t be bullied by Shen Hongjun… Right?

Aunt Jiang, being older, liked to talk a lot and shared many things with Shen Qingyi in the car. But Shen Qingyi only half-listened, occasionally giving a “Mhm” as a response.

When they arrived at the hospital, Shen Qingyi saw Shan Ling sitting outside the patient room. She walked over curiously with the items and quietly asked, “Why are you sitting outside? Aren’t you going in?”

Shan Ling shook her head, smiling helplessly: “There are so many visitors in the room, all coming to see Mr. Shen. I really had nowhere to sit, so I came out here.”

Aunt Jiang also looked into the room, puzzled, and saw that it was exactly as Shan Ling had said. People were crowded shoulder-to-shoulder, making the single room almost impossible to move in.

“Why are there so many people?” Aunt Jiang frowned. “How can Mr. Shen rest like this? Nobody is managing this, really…”

Shan Ling was too polite to say that this was already the third wave of visitors, and the first two had already left.

She turned to Shen Qingyi, crooked her finger, and signaled that she had something to say.

Shen Qingyi looked at her curiously, put the items on the chair, and told Aunt Jiang, “Aunt Jiang, I’ll go call a doctor over. They can’t keep blocking the room like this. Please help bring these things inside first.”

With that, she took Shan Ling’s hand, and the two walked toward the nurse station.

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