Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The weather in early November had already started to get cold. The pedestrians on the road were wearing thick winter clothes, which further made Shan Ling feel the urgent need for a heavy winter cotton coat.

When she first came to the city, Shan Ling still had an old cotton coat. Initially, she thought the coat was ugly, but now it was truly saving her life.

Secretly, sometimes when she couldn’t stand the cold, Shan Ling would make her body grow some small down feathers the kind that are the warmest and softest hidden under her clothes, unnoticeable to anyone but very warm.

But Shan Ling was a human now, and she couldn’t keep doing this. Wherever she went, she had to abide by the rules of that place, and Shan Ling was no exception.

Shen Qingyi first accompanied Shan Ling to browse winter clothes. There were various styles of winter wear and furs in the mall, but Shan Ling kept looking and couldn’t find anything satisfactory.

She thought goose down felt like wearing her own kind, and fur was simply too expensive.

After browsing for an hour and still not finding any satisfactory winter clothes, Shan Ling quietly said to Shen Qingyi helplessly, “The clothes here are so expensive. Should we go somewhere else to buy?”

Shen Qingyi was currently looking at a khaki trench coat-style fur. The outside was a high-quality trench coat fabric, and the inner lining was soft and warm fur.

The price tag read 20,000 kuai, but it looked very beautiful.

“Is that so?” Shen Qingyi didn’t have much concept of price. Shen Hongjun never scrimped on money to compensate her for her lonely life. Although Shen Qingyi didn’t buy luxury goods, she never worried about daily expenses.

The stores she used to frequent were more upscale than this. She only came to this more affordable mall because Shan Ling wanted to buy cheaper winter clothes.

Shen Qingyi glanced at Shan Ling, held up the 20,000 kuai trench coat fur against her, and said, “Clothes that are too cheap might not be of good quality and might not last until next winter. Sometimes you need a few high-quality pieces to wear when going out.”

Shan Ling obediently acted as a model, spreading her arms for Shen Qingyi to size her up, but said, “But I still need to save money to buy a phone, and I’ve used your watch for so long, it wouldn’t be right not to repay you. I have to give you some money; I can’t let you give it to me for free.”

Shen Qingyi looked at her upon hearing this. “Then do you have enough money?”

Shan Ling closed her mouth, seemingly realizing she really didn’t have enough.

Shen Qingyi really liked the winter coat in her hands. It complemented Shan Ling’s skin tone and didn’t look cheap.

“Try this one on,” Shen Qingyi said. “I think it looks very good.”

Shan Ling ‘oh’ed, took the winter coat, and looked at it, immediately frightened by the price. She shivered and said to Shen Qingyi, “Two, two, two, two, two…”

Shen Qingyi chuckled. “Trying it on doesn’t cost money.”

Shan Ling felt the smooth texture and reluctantly tried it on. The heavy winter coat felt substantial on her, weighty and very warm.

“It’s so warm,” Shan Ling surprisingly touched the fabric of the trench coat, stood on her tiptoes, and quietly said to Shen Qingyi, “It’s just too expensive.”

Shen Qingyi felt delighted by the way she whispered. She reached out and wrapped her arm around Shan Ling’s waist, whispering in her ear, “If you like it, I can buy it for you as a gift.”

“No need,” Shan Ling moved back, took off the coat, and re-hung it. “I don’t need you to buy it. I have money myself.”

In the end, neither of them bought the 20,000 kuai coat. Shan Ling browsed a few more stores and picked a cotton-padded coat with a decent style—a black and white workwear knit fabric coat. Its over-the-knee length was very warm, and the price was cheap, only a few hundred kuai.

With the clothes bought, Shan Ling was ready to buy a phone. Hearing Xu Wentao say to buy the same brand as the watch for easier pairing, Shen Qingyi took her to the store she often went to.

Among the dazzling array of electronic products, Shan Ling chose a sky-blue phone and asked the clerk to help pair it with the watch.

After this shopping trip, the salary she had just received yesterday was down to just over a thousand kuai. Fortunately, Shan Ling had low expenses, so she could manage.

After shopping all day, the two sat in the car, taking stock of the day’s acquisitions.

Shan Ling fiddled with her new phone. Since it was newly bought, it still required a lot of setup. Consequently, when she looked up, she was stunned by the familiar surroundings.

The towering buildings, the wide streets, and the fresh produce supermarket across the street that Shan Ling frequently visited instantly brought her memory back to a month ago, to the days when she was a small nanny at Shen Qingyi’s house.

“This is…” Shan Ling looked out the window and subconsciously asked, “Are you going home?”

Only after asking this did Shan Ling realize what she had just said.

Oops.

Sure enough, Shen Qingyi’s voice came from behind her. Shan Ling heard her say very calmly, “You know my house?”

“No, no, I don’t,” Shan Ling quickly shook her head. “I just noticed that this area looks very unfamiliar and not like a commercial district, so I thought you might be going home.”

Shen Qingyi glanced at her, then turned her attention back to driving. “I’m not going home. I’ve been staying in a hotel recently. I’m going to grab something, and we can have lunch nearby.”

Shan Ling nodded upon hearing this. She looked at Shen Qingyi with lingering fear, finding that she hadn’t noticed anything. Only then did she secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, my mind is quick, and my ability to adapt is strong. Otherwise, what would happen if Shen Qingyi found out I wasn’t human?

Shan Ling looked at the familiar scenery rushing past outside the window and couldn’t help but secretly think that she needed to think twice before speaking in the future.

Otherwise, if someone really discovered that she was a little spirit, they would probably be scared away.

But… wait?

Shan Ling reacted belatedly, turning her head to ask, “You said you’ve been staying in a hotel recently. Aren’t you living at home?”

Shen Qingyi nodded, saying tactfully, “I haven’t been feeling well recently, and the doctor suggested I change environments to recuperate.”

Shan Ling looked at her with concern. “You’re not feeling well, yet you still came shopping with me?”

Shen Qingyi was slightly taken aback. She slowed down the car and looked at her, smiling. “Coming out to shop with you is a form of relaxation. The doctor also told me to go out and walk around more.”

“Really?” Shan Ling asked uncertainly.

“Really,” Shen Qingyi turned her head and continued driving.

Shan Ling sat in the passenger seat without speaking. It wasn’t until they were nearing the hotel that she finally spoke leisurely, “If you’re not feeling well, let’s not eat out. The food outside is heavily flavored, and there are too many people.”

Shen Qingyi paused. Was this person concerned about me?

“But… if we don’t eat out, where do we eat?” Shen Qingyi parked the car on the side of the road, turned to her, and asked, “Do you have somewhere in mind?”

“I can cook,” Shan Ling stared at Shen Qingyi with her dark eyes. She said, “Let me cook for you. What would you like to eat? We can go to the supermarket across the street to buy ingredients.”

“Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

Shan Ling thought to herself, It’s not like you haven’t eaten my cooking before, besides, she hadn’t cooked for a while, and her hands were itching.

Shen Qingyi felt a little awkward, but Shan Ling’s attitude seemed quite firm. The two had no choice but to park the car and went to the supermarket.

Shan Ling pushed the small cart, skillfully darting around the aisles. Shen Qingyi followed behind her, somehow feeling that this person was exceptionally familiar with this supermarket, knowing exactly which aisle the condiments were in.

After half an hour of shopping, Shan Ling bought a chicken, a fish, a large Chinese cabbage, and many other ingredients that Shen Qingyi didn’t even know how to eat.

Shan Ling looked at the contents of the cart and calculated, “That should be enough for now. We won’t be able to finish too much.”

Then she asked Shen Qingyi, “For lunch, we’ll stew a chicken and a fish, and stir-fry some vegetables. Is there anything else you want to eat?”

Shen Qingyi looked at the cart full of things and blinked, saying, “Let’s get some fruits and drinks. The fridge at home is empty.”

“Okay!” Shan Ling then pushed the cart, turned two corners to grab drinks, then went to the fruit section to pick some apples and pears. She also grabbed a bag of rock sugar, saying she wanted to make rock sugar stewed pears for Shen Qingyi.

Entering the house after a long absence, Shan Ling felt like she had been transported to another world, but she still pretended to ask, “Where is your kitchen?”

Shen Qingyi pointed to the area behind the sliding door. “It’s there. Wait for me for a moment. I’ll go turn on the main power switch.”

Watching Shen Qingyi leave, Shan Ling quickly put the bags on the table and went to the balcony to check on the flowers she had taken care of for a month.

Sure enough.

Shan Ling looked at the wilting flowers again, seeing the soil in the pots dry and cracked, and felt particularly heartbroken.

“How did they get like this again?” Shan Ling tenderly helped the flowers up, picked up the watering can from a nearby corner, saw a layer of dust on it, and couldn’t help but quietly say, “If you keep neglecting them like this, they’ll die sooner or later.”

Shen Qingyi turned on the main power and water switch. When she walked into the room, she saw Shan Ling squatting on the balcony, doing something.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Qingyi walked over, looking at Shan Ling’s back. “Why did you come to the balcony?”

“Oh, nothing.” Shan Ling turned her head to look at her, shaking the watering can in her hand. “I saw the flowers on your balcony were almost dead, so I wanted to water them.”

Only then did Shen Qingyi look at her few pitiful plants and said helplessly, “I… really don’t pay much attention to them.”

Shan Ling naturally knew this, but hearing Shen Qingyi say it herself still made her angry. She jumped up, thrust the watering can in front of her, and said righteously, “If you keep flowers, you have to take good care of them. If you keep neglecting them like this, they will eventually die.”

Shen Qingyi obediently took the watering can, looked at Shan Ling, not understanding why she was suddenly so angry.

Shan Ling glared at her. “What are you looking at me for? Go get water.”

Shen Qingyi nodded, saying docilely and obediently, “Then I’ll go to the kitchen to get water.”

“Why go to the kitchen? Isn’t there a faucet right here on the balcony?”

“…Oh.”

Shan Ling looked at her helplessly, crossed her arms, and said, “I’m going to cook. You are responsible for cleaning up the house. Water the flowers, but don’t water them too much, or they will drown.”

Shen Qingyi looked at the old watering can in her hand, paused, and then asked, “Xiao Ling, I find that you seem remarkably familiar with my house.”

Shan Ling instantly flinched.

“Do I?” Shan Ling scratched her cheek and said, “Your house isn’t big; this small two-bedroom apartment can be seen through with a glance. Finish watering and ventilating. I’m going to cook now!”

Watching Shan Ling run away, Shen Qingyi stared at her back, her dark eyes slightly sinking.

Support