Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

For lunch, Shan Ling made an iron pot stew, cooked a pot of fish soup, and stir-fried a plate of plain vegetables.

“Have some of this soup. I haven’t made soup in a long time, so I don’t know if you’ll like it.” Shan Ling said this while serving Shen Qingyi a bowl of soup. In fact, she knew Shen Qingyi liked soup—meat broth or simple cabbage and tofu soup she liked both, so she didn’t hold back when serving, filling the bowl almost to the brim.

Shen Qingyi felt a little awkward about Shan Ling cooking for her while being a guest in her home. She politely took two sips, only to discover that the soup’s flavor was perfectly to her taste.

“It’s very delicious,” Shen Qingyi rarely praised others’ cooking, but she genuinely found the soup Shan Ling made to be exceptionally good.

Her praise made Shan Ling’s small tail almost wag.

“If you like it, how about I come over and cook for you every week on my day off?” Shan Ling asked ingratiatingly.

Shen Qingyi paused while eating the iron pot stew. She looked up at the expectant Shan Ling, feeling that the mouthful of rice was particularly hard to swallow.

“You work so hard every day. You don’t need to do any work on your rare day off,” Shen Qingyi thought for a moment and said, “But if you want to come to my house, you can come anytime.”

“It feels wrong to come to your house and not do any work,” Shan Ling said thoughtfully while eating. “I actually want to be with you every day, but the amusement park work is really busy. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The salary is high, but it’s genuinely hard work.”

Shan Ling grumbled, “I wish we could be together every day.”

She really wanted to be able to rub the free Merit like she did the previous month.

Shen Qingyi fell silent. She stared intently at Shan Ling, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Shan Ling… was she the same kind as her?

Is she? Is she?

Otherwise, why would she say something like, “I wish we could be together every day”?

But it wasn’t certain. Shen Qingyi frowned slightly; sometimes girls who were close friends would also say such things.

She decided it would be better to ask again.

“Yes, I also want to be with you every day.” Shen Qingyi picked up a piece of meat, placed it in Shan Ling’s bowl, and said to her, “Your cooking is truly delicious. If I were a man, I would really want to date you.”

Shen Qingyi was somewhat nervous when she said this. Her eyes were fixed on Shan Ling, thinking her words were obvious enough. She wondered what Shan Ling would say.

Would she laugh and say she was joking, or would she say two women couldn’t possibly do that?

Shen Qingyi even began to feel anxious.

“I can date you even if you’re not a man,” Shan Ling smiled widely, eating the food she made. “Then let’s stop eating out in the future. Food outside is so expensive. Tell me what you want to eat, and I can cook it for you.”

Shen Qingyi’s heart was pounding, but she forced a smile and said, “Okay.”

The ‘dating’ Shan Ling meant was definitely not the same ‘dating’ she had in mind.

Shen Qingyi wasn’t disheartened, though. Given her condition, she was living one day at a time and didn’t plan on finding a partner in this life. However, Shan Ling was just too unique to her, which led her to the absurd thought of wanting to be with Shan Ling.

Even if they couldn’t be together, at least they were still friends for now.

After the meal, Shen Qingyi peeled apples, and Shan Ling wasn’t idle either, setting up a small saucepan to stew rock sugar pears for both of them.

The sight of the two of them busy in the kitchen, wearing aprons, really did resemble a family.

Shen Qingyi finished washing the dishes, and Shan Ling’s rock sugar stewed pears were also ready. Each of them held a cup of the warm pear soup. Taking a sip warmed them from the throat all the way to the heart.

Because Shen Qingyi didn’t really like sweets, Shan Ling specifically made her a less sugary portion, which Shen Qingyi found quite comfortable to drink.

It was strange; no matter how others made sweets, Shen Qingyi found them too cloying, but whenever Shan Ling made them, the sweetness was just right.

“Xiao Ling,” Shen Qingyi held the warm cup of pear soup, looked at Shan Ling’s curious gaze, and said, “You mentioned before that you wanted to see my study. Do you want to come in and take a look?”

Although Shan Ling had already seen it for a month, to not hurt Shen Qingyi’s feelings, she still smiled sincerely and said, “Okay, okay, take me to see it.”

The study was still clean and tidy, with one desk for work and one desk for the computer.

Perhaps because she wasn’t living here, the laptop that used to be on the computer desk was gone. Shan Ling guessed she must have taken it to the hotel.

“Your study looks great,” Shan Ling looked at the tall bookshelf, feeling as if she had just lived here not long ago.

Shen Qingyi saw that she was interested in her collection of books, so she introduced them. “These books were collected by me from various places. Some are rare editions, there are also many fragments, and there are complete books, but the preservation quality varies.”

Shan Ling bent down, looking at the books behind the glass cabinet. She recognized many of the characters, and one particularly gorgeous book caught her entire attention.

“This is an original German edition book,” Shen Qingyi told her. “Do you want to see it? You can take it out and flip through it.”

“Can I?” Shan Ling curiously looked back at Shen Qingyi. “What if I damage it?”

“Books are meant to be read. If no one opens a book again, then its mission is complete,” Shen Qingyi said, taking out the original German edition book and placing it in Shan Ling’s hands.

The hardcover had a vintage feel, and the cover and spine were decorated with metal and gemstones, making it particularly substantial.

“Are those real gemstones on it?” Shan Ling asked curiously.

“I had them appraised before. They are real gemstones,” Shen Qingyi said. “But don’t worry, they are not particularly expensive gemstones, and I reinforced them, so they are very sturdy.”

Shan Ling was then relieved. It wouldn’t be worth it if she had to bankrupt herself to compensate for one book.

The pages seemed to be made with a special technique, as thick and solid as the cover. The characters inside were winding and complex, and Shan Ling couldn’t understand a single word. After flipping through two pages, she even saw illustrations inside. It seemed to be a story about a knight. The illustrations included churches, the protagonist galloping on horseback, and a beautiful portrait of the heroine.

“What is this book about?” Shan Ling could only look at the pictures. After flipping through two pages, she looked up at Shen Qingyi. “Is it a love story?”

Shen Qingyi smiled slightly, leaning closer to Shan Ling to flip through the book with her.

“This book tells the story of a knight,” Shen Qingyi looked at the black-and-white portrait of the heroine and said to Shan Ling, “The male protagonist is a knight. He meets the heroine in a church. After they part ways, the knight can’t forget the beautiful girl. Due to some matters he needs to handle, he rides to the capital. The knight from the small town sees a portrait of the heroine there and realizes she is the most noble princess of their country.”

“So, it’s a story about an underdog rising up?”

“Not entirely.”

Shen Qingyi said, “The later part of the story is about the knight falling in love with the princess and being willing to fight wars for her. They agree to be together after the war ends, but the heroine is forced to marry a prince from another country due to her status as a princess. The knight, who hasn’t returned for many years, only briefly sees her getting married and then returns to the front line.”

“In the end of the story, the knight becomes the most prestigious military man in the country and never sees the princess again in this life.”

Shen Qingyi looked at the luxurious book and commented, “The knight’s life is like this book: solid and luxurious, yet deep inside, it always tenderly conceals the person he deeply loved.”

“A very cliché story. It feels like many knights don’t get to marry princesses,” Shan Ling sighed. “It’s such a pity.”

“The ultimate of aesthetics is tragedy,” Shen Qingyi said to Shan Ling. “People of that era had a kind of mysterious reverence for tragedy, as if separation and death were the only true final chapters.”

Shan Ling wrinkled her nose, handed the book back to Shen Qingyi, and said earnestly, “But I still prefer a perfect ending. Maybe I’m more suited to reading sweet stories.”

Shen Qingyi smiled widely. “If you like, you can come here more often and sit. I’ll make you a pot of tea.”

“Then I will when I have time!” Shan Ling helped put the book back, closed the glass door, and looked up at the entire wall of books, finally understanding what was meant by the ‘ocean of knowledge.’

In the afternoon, the two had nothing planned. Shan Ling seemed to enjoy being at home very much, leisurely wearing fuzzy slippers and tending to the flowers and plants on the balcony.

After she finished, she peered at Shen Qingyi and quietly asked, “What should we do this afternoon?”

“How about watching a movie?” Shen Qingyi sat on the sofa, turned on the TV, and said to Shan Ling, “If you want to go out, we can go shopping again.”

“Hmm…” Shan Ling ran over and sat down next to Shen Qingyi. “I don’t really want to go out. Yiyi, your house is so comfortable. I don’t want to leave.”

A tenderness emerged in Shen Qingyi’s eyes. Seeing Shan Ling’s dirty hands, she said softly, “Go wash your hands, bring the fruit over, and I’ll order some snacks. We can just watch TV at home.”

Shan Ling agreed readily, happily washed her hands, and brought over the bright red apples.

Shen Qingyi’s display screen was very large, and the sound system was professional. With the curtains drawn, the entire room was dark and atmospheric.

The two chose a newly released animated movie to watch. The takeout arrived quickly. At this moment, Shan Ling was curled up on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, snuggling with Shen Qingyi. She could rub Merit and enjoy herself—it was truly wonderful!

Shan Ling ate the fries, dipping them in ketchup and popping them into her mouth one by one. After eating four or five, she remembered that she should also politely offer some to Shen Qingyi. She turned her head, only to see the person leaning back on the sofa, asleep.

The soft music in the movie played like an ethereal melody. Shen Qingyi leaned on the sofa with her eyes closed.

Shan Ling held a fry in her mouth, gazing at the other person without blinking, finding the sleeping Shen Qingyi exceptionally beautiful.

How long has it been since I last saw Shen Qingyi sleep this closely?

Shan Ling thought leisurely. She still preferred when she was the little sparrow, able to be with Shen Qingyi every day.

She liked the faint scent on Shen Qingyi and also enjoyed sticking close to her.

When Shan Ling left this house, she hadn’t expected Shen Qingyi to find her. Although she wasn’t quite sure why the other person could see her at a glance, Shan Ling was still very happy.

She finished the fries, then gently leaned in, pressing tightly against her, just like Shen Qingyi did every time she opened the door.

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