Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Shan Ling looked at Shen Qingyi, her face troubled as she hesitated for a long time.

She did not like owing people things. The last time Shen Qingyi fed her a meal, Shan Ling acted as a small nanny for almost a month. If she let Shen Qingyi lend her money for a phone again, what would she use to repay her?

“Maybe not…” Shan Ling shook her head and said to Shen Qingyi, “I appreciate your kindness, but I’m doing well without a phone, and I’ll be paid soon. I’ll buy one myself.”

Nuonuo wanted to say a few more words to help, but Shen Qingyi interrupted her. “I understand.”

She turned to Nuonuo and said, “You go back first. See you next Monday.”

“Hmm… alright.” Nuonuo was tactful enough not to disturb the two of them. “I’ll head back first. You two take your time shopping.”

After Nuonuo left, Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling and asked, “I won’t force you if you don’t want it, but you can accompany me to shop for a little while, right?”

Shan Ling glanced at her and nodded.

There was a lot to shop for in the mall. The winter clothes were already fully stocked. When Shen Qingyi shopped, she also brought Shan Ling along. Seeing her thin jacket, she had her try on two down jackets.

“The winter here is very cold,” Shen Qingyi said to Shan Ling while choosing winter clothes. “It’s already this cold, and it will probably snow in a while.”

“Snow,” Shan Ling wrinkled her little nose. She really didn’t have any winter clothes. It seemed that after getting paid, she would have to buy not only a phone but also a down jacket.

Shen Qingyi picked out a white down jacket from the rack, held it up against Shan Ling, and asked, “How about this?”

“It’s white,” Shan Ling said. “It gets dirty easily.”

“But don’t you think it looks good?” Shen Qingyi leaned closer and asked her.

“It looks good, but it also gets dirty easily,” Shan Ling said to Shen Qingyi like an experienced person. “If you’re buying a down jacket, a dark color is better.”

And compared to expensive down jackets, Shan Ling thought it would be better for her to wear cotton-padded clothes in the city this winter; they were warm and affordable.

The two walked around, and Shan Ling truly didn’t have a penny to spend, so she could only be a little book boy, following Shen Qingyi from one shop to the next.

Finally, they reached the phone display area of the mall. The dazzling array of phones and laptops looked sleek and particularly expensive.

“Shen Qingyi…”

Shan Ling had a bad feeling. She gently frowned and tugged at the corner of Shen Qingyi’s trench coat. “What are we doing here?”

Shen Qingyi glanced at her and said, “Stand here and wait for me for a moment.”

Shen Qingyi went in and found someone. The sales associate seemed very happy to see Shen Qingyi. After exchanging a few words with her, the associate pulled out a packaged box from behind the counter and gave it to her. Shen Qingyi then carried the item over to Shan Ling.

“This is for you,” Shen Qingyi placed the bag in front of Shan Ling and said, “It’s not a phone. You should be able to accept it, right?”

Shan Ling blinked, took the bag, and glanced inside, finding it seemed to be… a watch?

“I got this as a gift from the store for spending so much before, and I just never came to pick it up,” Shen Qingyi said to Shan Ling. “This phone watch can make simple calls. Put your phone card in it, and I can use this to contact you in the future.”

Shan Ling was like a little village girl. It was the first time she had heard of such a thing. A watch that could make calls?

“Really?” Shan Ling looked at the square little box and asked curiously, “It can make calls?”

“The most basic calls, yes,” Shen Qingyi smiled. “I’ll help you set it up in a bit.”

In the car, Shen Qingyi helped Shan Ling set up the phone watch, entered her own phone number, and finally fastened it on Shan Ling’s left wrist.

The cool metal touch felt great. Shan Ling looked at the screen, then looked curiously at Shen Qingyi. “Then call me ahead of time when you come next.”

“Okay,” Shen Qingyi smiled. “You can also call me if you need anything in the future.”

Shan Ling nodded heavily, then thought for a moment and said, “I will return this to you when I get paid.”

Shen Qingyi didn’t mind whether she returned it or not, only saying, “It was a gift from the store anyway, so just keep it.”

Shan Ling wanted to say something else, but Shen Qingyi asked her to buckle her seatbelt, intending to drive her back.

By the time they reached the entrance of the residential area where Shan Ling rented her dorm, it was past five o’clock. The night market stalls were just starting to set up. The two ate something casually again, and only then did Shen Qingyi reluctantly leave.

While resting in the car, Shen Qingyi received a call from Zhou Shu.

“Is this a good time?” Zhou Shu asked over the phone.

“Mm,” Shen Qingyi said while driving. “What is it?”

“Tomorrow is Saturday. It’s time for the fourth therapy session. I wanted to ask if you have time tomorrow.”

Shen Qingyi thought for a moment. She had originally planned to drag Shen Jiaojiao to the amusement park, but since Zhou Shu asked, she decided to move the amusement park visit to Sunday.

“I’m free. What time will you come tomorrow?”

“9 a.m. I’ll be at your place.”

“Okay.”

At the same time, after Shan Ling arrived at the dorm, she searched through her belongings, taking out all her winter clothes, preparing to wash and hang them to dry, ready for when the temperature dropped.

Around 10 p.m., Xu Wentao and several other employees returned after work.

“Why were there so many kids today? It will probably be busy again tomorrow.” Xu Wentao’s voice was heard even before she entered the door. She exclaimed, “Working 12 hours a day is truly exhausting.”

The male employee next to her said, “Yeah, if this continues, I won’t have a girlfriend.”

“Even if you didn’t work 12 hours, you still wouldn’t have a girlfriend.”

“But at least I would have time for a date.”

One of the employees said, “I’m quitting after this month. Even if they include food and board, I spend 12 hours a day at work. I come back, play on my phone for a bit, sleep, and wake up to do it again. I really can’t stand it.”

“I want to leave too. Xiao Zhang, if you find a good job, you have to connect us. We’ll all go join you.”

Talking as they went, the group walked into the dorm.

“Xiao Ling, you’re back.” Xu Wentao saw Shan Ling and walked over. “When did you get back? Did you have fun with Miss Shen today?”

Shan Ling smiled. “It was alright. We had a meal together, and she even gave me a watch. Miss Shen’s colleague gave me some pastries. Do you want to try some? These pastries are delicious.”

Xu Wentao was also a foodie. Hearing this, she looked at the milk bei in Shan Ling’s hand, took one, and said muffledly while chewing, “Delicious, delicious. Is this the internet-famous shop in Dongcheng Plaza? I’ve wanted to try their pastries for a long time, but unfortunately, they never open a branch.”

The dorm was a three-bedroom, two-living room apartment rented in the residential area. The male colleagues shared one room, and the female colleagues shared another. The two bathrooms were also used separately. With a kitchen and a balcony, it was a somewhat standard dorm.

Xu Wentao and Shan Ling, as the only two female colleagues, naturally lived together. The two locked the door and sat by the small table in the room, eating desserts.

While eating, Xu Wentao let out an ‘Hmm,’ looking at Shan Ling’s wrist. “Xiao Ling, did you buy a phone watch?”

“Yes,” Shan Ling said. She recounted her shopping trip with Shen Qingyi today and even praised her. “Miss Shen is really nice. She knew I didn’t have a phone and gave me this. I’ll return it to her when I get paid. If she doesn’t want it, I’ll give her the money.”

Although the amusement park job was a bit tough, the salary was not low. Shan Ling wouldn’t be so financially tight after receiving her first month’s salary. At that time, she could buy a phone and a new set of winter clothes.

Xu Wentao looked thoughtfully at the watch on her wrist. “She bought it to give to you?”

“No, she said she got it as a gift for frequent purchases and didn’t need it, so she gave it to me.”

Xu Wentao sighed lightly, popping the last bit of pastry into her mouth, and lamented, “Schemes. It’s all the schemes of city people.”

She looked at Shan Ling with sympathy but still advised her, “Xiao Ling, I don’t think this Miss Shen is simple. Look at what she wears, and then look at how she immediately gave her sister a 10,000 kuai card. You have to be careful with people like that, so you don’t get cheated out of your money or yourself.”

“No way,” Shan Ling laughed softly. “Miss Shen is very nice. I understand her.”

“Well, I’ve said my piece.” Xu Wentao got up, preparing to go to the bathroom. She said to Shan Ling, “The cheapest version of this watch Miss Shen gave you is two to three thousand kuai. What store would run a business that loses money? Think about it yourself.”

On Saturday, Shen Qingyi returned from outside and saw Zhou Shu leaning against her apartment door, holding a bag in one hand and playing with her phone in the other. She looked up at Shen Qingyi when she heard the elevator open and blinked.

“Why are you returning from outside?” Zhou Shu narrowed her eyes slightly. “Staying out all night with some beauty?”

Shen Qingyi ignored her, opened the door and entered the apartment, saying to the person behind her, “I haven’t been back for several days. If you weren’t coming, I might not have come back today either.”

“What’s wrong?” Zhou Shu bent down to change her shoes. She looked at her in confusion, her expression changing. “Has your condition deteriorated recently?”

Shen Qingyi didn’t speak, but Zhou Shu knew her so well that she could immediately tell her condition wasn’t good.

The house, which hadn’t been visited for several days, had a faint smell caused by poor air circulation. Shen Qingyi first opened the windows for ventilation, boiled a kettle of water, and made tea for Zhou Shu.

“Please sit comfortably,” Shen Qingyi sat on the sofa, saying to Zhou Shu, “I haven’t been back for three days. I’ve been staying in the hotel next door.”

Zhou Shu didn’t speak, just stared at her with light-colored eyes.

The room had excellent light during the day. With the curtains pulled back and the windows open, you could even hear the wind outside.

Zhou Shu sat on the single sofa diagonally opposite Shen Qingyi, picked up a cup of tea, and said, “Then how is your sleep recently? Are you still taking sleeping pills?”

“Mm,” Shen Qingyi softly replied. “I’ve been taking them continuously. It started with half a pill, and now I need a whole one.”

Zhou Shu glanced at her, put down the teacup, took out her notebook, started the recording, and looked at her. “You said you haven’t been home for three days. Why?”

“I always feel… this place is terrifying.”

“This is your home. Why would you feel it’s terrifying?”

“I don’t know. When I was alone before, I didn’t feel afraid. I even indulged in the silence. When the night was deep and quiet, I could only hear my own breathing, which made me feel at ease.”

“But ever since Xiao Pang left, I’ve increasingly felt that this house is terrifying,” Shen Qingyi held the warm teacup, her face pale. “It’s as if, all of a sudden, I lost everything.”

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