Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The night market in the cold wind didn’t have many people. By ten o’clock, most people had gone home. Only those like Shan Ling, who got off work from the mall, would come here for a quick late-night snack.

Generally, Shen Qingyi didn’t go to night markets. She didn’t like noisy places, but today was an exception. She sat in a corner. The stool was so short that her coat was sweeping the floor, which made her frown slightly.

Shan Ling saw her frown and knew she wasn’t used to this place, so she said to her, “If you’re not used to this place, we can go somewhere else.”

“It’s fine,” Shen Qingyi glanced at her. Now that she had finally gotten rid of that colleague, she didn’t want to make another move.

“This place is good. They have all kinds of food,” Shen Qingyi said, lifting her coat. “What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.”

Shan Ling didn’t know if she should be polite at this time. Although she had lived with Shen Qingyi for a month, this was the first time they had sat and talked face-to-face.

“No, you don’t have to,” Shan Ling thought about it and said, “I’ll go buy it myself.”

Shen Qingyi stared at her and said with a smile, “I said I’d treat you. You just sit here.”

Shan Ling watched Shen Qingyi get up and go to a nearby stall to buy things. They were all very ordinary and cheap snacks, but Shen Qingyi seemed to think for a long time before asking the owner for some things. Then she went to the next stall and bought some grilled meat. When she came back, she was holding a lot of things.

“Isn’t that too much?” Shan Ling looked at all the snacks. Normally, when she was hungry, she would just get a plate of noodles, add two eggs or a few small skewers, which would cost no more than a dozen yuan. But what Shen Qingyi had bought was all meat.

Shen Qingyi put the things down and said with a helpless tone, “I don’t know what you like to eat. I just ordered these randomly. If it’s not enough, I’ll go buy more.”

If it weren’t for her urgency to sit down and talk to Shan Ling properly, Shen Qingyi would have wanted to take her to a more high-end restaurant.

“No, no. We can’t finish all of this.”

“If you can’t finish it, we’ll eat slowly.”

Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling’s reserved expression and said with a gentle smile, “I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself. My name is Shen Qingyi. What’s yours?”

“My name is Shan Ling,” Shan Ling smiled at Shen Qingyi. “The ‘ling’ from the feather.”

Shen Qingyi put some snacks on her plate. Just then, the fried noodles she had ordered were also delivered. The steaming noodles gave off a delicious aroma.

Shan Ling didn’t hold back. She was genuinely hungry. She ate the noodles while looking at Shen Qingyi, politely asking her to eat some as well.

Shen Qingyi broke apart the disposable bamboo chopsticks and ate a few bites before putting them down.

The night market snacks had a strong flavor, and they were both salty and spicy. For someone like Shen Qingyi, who didn’t eat late-night snacks, it was indeed a bit too much.

She opened a bottle of mineral water to moisten her throat and watched Shan Ling eat.

Shan Ling ate very gracefully. She ate the fried noodles chopstick by chopstick, occasionally picking up some snacks. She chewed in small bites, but her movements were not slow.

It was obvious that she was hungry.

Shen Qingyi’s eyes flickered slightly. She was still thinking about what to talk about with the girl in front of her.

Shan Ling was half full after eating half a bowl of noodles. She looked up and saw Shen Qingyi staring at her.

“What’s wrong?” Shan Ling blinked and asked curiously, “Miss Shen, aren’t you eating?”

“I am,” Shen Qingyi glanced at the snacks on the table and said with a slight smile, “It tastes good, but I’m not very hungry. You eat more.”

“That would be rude,” Shan Ling saw that she had almost finished a bottle of water and said, “How about I get you another bottle of water?”

Shen Qingyi shook her head. She glanced at the time and said, “It’s almost 11 o’clock. You should finish eating early, and I’ll take you back.”

Then she asked, “Where do you live?”

“I live in the company dormitory,” Shan Ling said, chewing on a piece of grilled squid. “It’s in the community next to this one. You don’t have to take me back.”

Shen Qingyi pursed her lips slightly. She looked at the community separated by a wall and said with some disappointment, “Then… we can still take a walk after we eat.”

Shan Ling was confused. “In this cold weather?”

Shen Qingyi: “…”

Indeed, in this cold weather, and with Shan Ling living so close, it wouldn’t be right for Shen Qingyi to force her to go for a walk. But she really didn’t want to part with Shan Ling so early. It was a bit awkward to talk about dreaming of her for a month, but Shen Qingyi still wanted to spend more time with her.

Shan Ling was full. There were still a lot of snacks left on the table, and they were getting cold in the wind.

“Are you full?” Shen Qingyi asked her.

“Yes,” Shan Ling looked longingly at the things in front of her. She looked up at Shen Qingyi and said, “Can I get a doggy bag?”

That way, she could have an extra meal for lunch tomorrow.

Shen Qingyi’s eyes crinkled into a smile. She said to her, “Of course, you can. I’ll go ask for a bag.”

By the time Shen Qingyi came back with the plastic bag, their table had already been cleaned. Shan Ling was standing by the table with the snacks in hand, waiting for her. When she saw Shen Qingyi return, she walked up to her.

“What?” Shen Qingyi glanced at the person cleaning and said with some displeasure, “They haven’t even left yet. Why are you already cleaning?”

“It’s cleaned up for the next customer,” Shan Ling didn’t mind. She took the bag from Shen Qingyi and put the snacks inside. Then she looked up at her with a satisfied expression. “Thank you for treating me to dinner today, Miss Shen.”

Shen Qingyi looked at her and smiled slightly. She said, “You’re welcome.”

“Then I’ll go back now?”

“Wait a moment.”

Shen Qingyi thought for a moment. She took out her phone from her trench coat pocket and said to Shan Ling, “What’s your phone number? Let’s… exchange contact information.”

Shan Ling looked at the full-screen phone in Shen Qingyi’s hand. She was slightly stunned before saying, “I… I lost my phone last month. I haven’t bought a new one yet.”

Shen Qingyi: “…”

Shan Ling was afraid she wouldn’t believe her, so she turned out her pockets in front of her. “It’s true, I’m not lying to you. I only use cash when I go out now.”

Seeing Shan Ling turn all her pockets inside out, her sincere expression didn’t look like she was lying. Shen Qingyi could only put her phone back in her pocket with a sense of disappointment.

“Is that so…”

“Mm.”

Shan Ling saw her disappointed expression and said to her, “If Miss Shen wants to find me, you can find me at the playground in the mall. I work six days a week, so I won’t be running around.”

Shen Qingyi looked up at her. “Really?”

“Of course, it’s true.” Shan Ling also wanted to be with Shen Qingyi every day to earn free merit, but she had to work and couldn’t cling to her like a bird all the time. If Shen Qingyi could come to her, that would be perfect!

The more Shan Ling thought about it, the more she felt this was the case. She quickly said to Shen Qingyi, “And since you treated me to dinner today, I should treat you back, right? When I have time, I can treat you to dinner.”

Shen Qingyi couldn’t help but smile with her eyes crinkled. She nodded with satisfaction and said, “Okay, I’ll be waiting for you to treat me to dinner.”

Shan Ling smiled, her eyes curved like a little crescent moon.

Shen Qingyi also smiled at her. “I’ll walk you to the entrance of your community. It’s on my way to get the car anyway.”

Shan Ling nodded. “Okay. This way, we can walk a little more.”

And I can get a little more merit~

After walking Shan Ling back to the community entrance, Shen Qingyi watched her go in before turning back to her car.

Perhaps it was because she had met Shan Ling today, but Shen Qingyi’s long-stifled mood suddenly cleared up. The cold night wind that was slipping in from the car window now felt refreshing to Shen Qingyi.

But when Shen Qingyi got home and looked at the empty room, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable again.

She walked to the balcony and looked at the birdcage in the corner. Inside, there was a nest that Shen Qingyi had meticulously arranged, and there was uneaten bird feed. All of this was proof that the little white furball was no longer there.

Shen Qingyi still couldn’t figure out how it had flown away when the doors and windows were all closed.

But if it was a hallucination, Nuonuo and Zhou Shu had both seen it with their own eyes. It must have been real.

Shen Qingyi looked at the familiar birdcage, her brows furrowed. She finally turned her head and didn’t look at it anymore.

If it wants to leave, then let it leave.

Shen Qingyi thought that there was no one in this world who could be with her forever.

Not family, and not even pets.

…

The next day, Shan Ling woke up early. Xu Wentao was still in bed, playing with her phone even though she was already awake.

Shan Ling had already finished washing up. She glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost nine o’clock.

“Aren’t you getting up?” Shan Ling asked Xu Wentao while expertly tying her hair into a ponytail. “We have to be at the mall by 9:30. You’re going to be late if you keep lying in bed.”

Xu Wentao rolled over, put down her phone, and rested her chin on her arm. She looked at Shan Ling and said, “Xiao Ling, I didn’t have time to ask you yesterday. What’s the deal with you and that beautiful woman?”

Shan Ling said with a smile, “Nothing. We just know each other.”

“Just that simple?”

“Mm. What else could it be?”

Xu Wentao said lazily, “But I feel like the way that beautiful woman looks at you is different. And she said she didn’t know you. It’s so weird.”

Shan Ling thought for a moment and said, “Maybe… she saw me in a dream.”

Xu Wentao felt a sour taste in her mouth. She got up, washed up, changed into her uniform, and went to the mall with Shan Ling to start their day’s work.

Since it wasn’t the weekend, there weren’t many children at the playground today. Xu Wentao and Shan Ling were able to relax a bit. They sat on the side, watching the children in the playground to make sure they didn’t get hurt.

To be honest, the playground was a giant inflatable toy. The ball pit balls were also very light, so even if a child fell, it wouldn’t be a big problem. But for safety, they still needed someone to supervise these little guests.

Shan Ling’s job was to be the cashier. Sometimes she would go inside to help, but most of the time she would stand on the outside. When there were no customers, she was very relaxed.

The morning passed by quickly. There were even fewer people in the afternoon. Shan Ling was sitting in her chair, feeling a bit sleepy. She rested her head on her hand, looking at the two or three children in the playground, and let out a big yawn.

Just then, Shan Ling’s peripheral vision caught sight of a very familiar person holding a shopping bag and walking toward her from the other end of the mall.

“Miss Shen?” Shan Ling instantly became alert. She watched Shen Qingyi walk to her side and then belatedly asked, “Why are you here?”

Shen Qingyi’s face was calm. She placed the drink in her hand on the counter and said to her, “I just happened to be passing by. I’m treating you to a drink.”

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