Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 35
Chapter 35
“The little sparrow has been gone for a month now, and you still seem not to have forgotten it.”
“Dr. Zhou, you know. I’ve lived alone all these years. It was the only living being that accompanied me.”
“I understand. I met that little sparrow too. It was so cute. It’s normal that you would remember it so clearly.” Zhou Shu laid her notebook open on her lap and said softly, “We can try to look at it from another perspective. It originally came from outside. Perhaps it has just gone home now.”
“Home…”
Shen Qingyi sighed deeply. “Yes, perhaps it has gone home.”
In some warm nest, there were its loved ones, its family. That was the little sparrow’s home, not her birdcage.
Zhou Shu saw her demeanor, reached out and patted her, and smiled lightly. “Let’s not discuss the little sparrow anymore. Let’s talk about you.”
“Did anything happen to you this past week?” Zhou Shu guided her. “Happy, unhappy, frustrating, or scary things, you can talk to me about any of them.”
Shen Qingyi thought for a moment and said, “I met someone.”
“Oh? What kind of person is it?” Zhou Shu asked her.
“It’s… the person in my dream.”
Zhou Shu’s pen paused slightly. She looked up at Shen Qingyi and asked, “Is it the person you’ve been seeing in your dreams for a month?”
“Yes.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last Friday. Nuonuo and I went shopping at a mall, and I saw her.”
“Then why are you only telling me after a week? I came for your therapy the next day, but you didn’t mention this. Did you not want to tell me?”
“No.” Shen Qingyi said calmly, “I wasn’t sure if she truly existed. I didn’t tell you at first because I thought she might be my imagination. So, I spent this past week getting closer to her, and I found out she is real.”
Zhou Shu was silent for a while before writing two words in her notebook: [Visual Hallucination]
Then she put a ‘?’ mark after it.
“Then… what does that person look like? Is she exactly the same as the one in your dream?”
“Exactly the same. I can even be certain that it is her.”
“Did you tell her about the dream?”
“No. I was afraid of scaring her,” Shen Qingyi said. “I was afraid she would think I’m crazy.”
Zhou Shu looked at Shen Qingyi with her light-colored pupils, speaking to her with a professional yet gentle tone. “Shen Qingyi, you are not crazy. You are different from your mother.”
She held Shen Qingyi’s hand, comforting her. “You also need some friendly social interaction, like Nuonuo. I know Nuonuo is a good girl. She is lively, cheerful, and full of energy. Perhaps you can try to treat her as a friend.”
Shen Qingyi lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Seeing her unwillingness to speak, Zhou Shu said again, “This person from your dream must be a fascinating story. Can you tell me what kind of person she is? Is she pretty? What is her name?”
Shen Qingyi looked at her and said, “Her name is Shan Ling, the Ling from ‘feather’ ($líng$).”
“A very pleasant name, like a little bird.”
Shen Qingyi froze slightly at her words. She looked at the recording Zhou Shu with a frown. “What did you say?”
“What?” Zhou Shu poked her chin with the back of her pen, looked up at Shen Qingyi’s expression, and said leisurely, “Did I say something just now?”
“You said her name is like a little bird,” Shen Qingyi reminded her.
Zhou Shu then laughed. “Yes, the character Ling is rarely used. She must be a very lovely girl. Perhaps her parents hoped she could be happy and free like a little bird.”
Shen Qingyi subdued the little flame that had just flared up, frowned slightly, and said, “Is that so? But Shan Ling is indeed very lovely.”
“If you call her lovely, she must be a very perfect girl,” Zhou Shu said with emotion, looking at her. “I’ve been treating you for so many years, and you rarely compliment others.”
Shen Qingyi glared at her. “Do you want to continue the therapy or not?”
Zhou Shu smiled widely. “Just trying to lighten the mood. My little patient, don’t be so rigid. Look how good your expression is now, full of vitality.”
Shen Qingyi said helplessly, “Well, thank you very much, Dr. Zhou.”
“You’re welcome, you’re welcome. I’m just getting paid to do my job.”
Sometimes, Shen Qingyi truly didn’t know whether Zhou Shu was being deliberate or just genuinely mischievous.
Before leaving, Zhou Shu prescribed her some medicine and said to her, “If you really don’t want to live at home during this time, you can also try changing the environment. It might help your condition improve.”
Shen Qingyi nodded. “I understand. I’ll get a long-term rental at a hotel and see the effect after living there for a month.”
Zhou Shu agreed with her. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Everything will get better.”
Shen Qingyi watched Zhou Shu leave in the elevator, subconsciously tightening her grip.
Would everything… really get better?
Shan Ling was yawning heavily as she left the dorm. Xu Wentao glanced at her, sighed, and linked arms with her. “What were you doing last night? Staying up half the night, you woke me up.”
“Playing with the watch,” Shan Ling rubbed her eyes and said.
“…” Xu Wentao looked conflicted. “That watch can only make calls. You’ll get paid in a few days. Just buy a phone then. If you buy the same brand, you can use them together. It will be much more convenient.”
Shan Ling yawned again upon hearing this, walking sleepily towards the compound gate.
She couldn’t quite hear what Xu Wentao was saying next to her. She just felt so sleepy that she couldn’t keep her eyes open, hoping a quick breakfast would make her feel better.
The residential area was old, mostly consisting of tenants working nearby. So, there was still a lot of traffic at this hour. Shan Ling noticed many people wearing the mall’s work uniforms, likely working at the mall like herself.
“How can you just say you’re not coming?”
At this moment, Shan Ling heard the person walking in front of her talking on the phone. The person was slender, with black hair tied up at the back of her head. Her clothes were quite ordinary, making it hard to tell what her job was, but her voice was a little loud on the phone.
Xu Wentao also noticed the person talking on the phone in front. The two of them tilted their heads together, following closely behind the woman, listening to her phone conversation.
“I know, you mentioned this to me before, but it’s really busy lately. Didn’t I say I would make up your vacation time after this busy period?”
The woman said helplessly, “I’ll even give you a raise next month. How about that?”
The person on the other end of the phone must have said something, and the woman sounded anxious. “But, but if you don’t come today, I can’t open the shop alone.”
“The first two days were manageable because I turned off the takeout service.”
“How can I turn it off today? And even if I turn it off today, do I have to keep it off for the next few days?”
“It’s not easy for me to run a shop. If you’re not coming, you should at least let me know. What am I supposed to do when you suddenly call me like this?”
The woman was focused on her phone call and didn’t notice an electric bike approaching on the side road near the compound gate. Just as she was about to step into the road, the electric bike didn’t swerve and drove straight toward the woman!
Shan Ling reacted quickly and pulled the woman aside. The electric bike wobbled past, and the rider even turned back to glare at the woman before riding away without a word.
The woman was also startled, only then realizing that if someone hadn’t pulled her just now, she would have been hit by the bike.
Merit +50.
“Are you okay?” Shan Ling asked her with concern.
The woman turned to look at Shan Ling, saying gratefully, “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” Shan Ling smiled and waved her hand, saying to her, “Don’t just focus on your phone when crossing the road. There are a lot of cars here.”
“Okay, okay.” The woman recovered and looked at her phone, realizing the call had been disconnected.
The woman didn’t bother calling back. She sighed softly, put her phone away, and looked at Shan Ling again. She said, “Are you employees of the amusement park in the mall ahead? I think I’ve seen you.”
Xu Wentao smiled widely upon hearing this. “Sister, you know us?”
The woman felt a little embarrassed being called ‘Sister’ and said, “Your work uniforms are easy to recognize. I also run a shop in that mall.”
She glanced at Shan Ling and smiled at her. “I remember. You brought a little girl to my shop for porridge a couple of days ago. I was busy alone at the time, so I remembered you.”
“It’s you,” Shan Ling also looked at her in surprise. “You live here too?”
“Yes, I bought a second-hand apartment here.”
Xu Wentao exclaimed, “The housing prices here aren’t cheap. A set of apartments must cost at least a million, right?”
The woman’s expression subtly changed, but she quickly showed a gentle smile again. “Yes, the housing prices here are not cheap, so after buying it, I opened a porridge shop in the mall across the street to make a living.”
“Sister’s porridge is very delicious,” Shan Ling reminded Xu Wentao. “You bought it before. It tastes really good.”
Xu Wentao also remembered. She smiled at the woman. “Right, right, right. I remember your porridge. The taste is excellent.”
The woman smiled and said to them, “Let’s walk and talk. Thank you so much for pulling me just now, or I would have been hit by that bike.”
“Sister, be careful when walking,” Xu Wentao hooked Shan Ling’s arm and looked at the woman, asking, “I heard you arguing with the person on the phone just now. What happened?”
“It’s an employee at my shop,” the woman said helplessly. “She kept asking for leave these past few days, and today she suddenly told me she’s not coming. I guess she was looking for a job these past few days and is only telling me now that she’s found one.”
She said, rubbing her head in distress, “It’s just her and me in the shop. She was originally in charge of the cashier, and I made the porridge and other braised dishes in the back kitchen. Now that she’s not coming, and it’s a weekend, I’m afraid I’ll be in a very difficult situation these two days.”
Xu Wentao also said, “Ah, suddenly quitting like that must be overwhelming. What are you going to do today?”
“I’ll have to keep the takeout service closed. I can manage the shop alone for now,” the woman sighed. “It’s just that I still need to hire another person.”
The three walked all the way to the mall entrance, where Shan Ling and Xu Wentao were about to part ways with her.
“Thank you very much today,” the woman smiled at them. “I’ll bring you some food for lunch. It’s all homemade. I hope you won’t refuse!”
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