Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The heating in the mall was turned up high. The children in the amusement park were all sweating profusely. Shan Ling’s uniform was a polyester jacket with the amusement park’s logo printed on the back, and she wore a thick crew-neck sweatshirt underneath. Due to the warmth, she didn’t feel cold, but she would still need a padded coat when going outside.

Shen Qingyi found a spot near the cashier desk and sat down, sipping her coffee and watching Shan Ling work diligently.

Today, Shan Ling had her hair tied in a ponytail. Her sideburns and bangs were styled in a nice curve, making her nose look sharp and her eyes bright and energetic. Every time she spoke to a child, Shan Ling’s expression would become very gentle as she carefully helped the children put on their wristbands so they could go in and play.

Shan Ling could actually feel a fiery gaze fixed on her from the side. When she finally had a moment to rest, she turned her head to look at Shen Qingyi.

Shen Qingyi subconsciously turned her head away, but immediately regretted dodging, and looked back directly.

“Why do you keep looking at me?” Shan Ling asked curiously, leaning closer to Shen Qingyi.

Shen Qingyi countered, “If you weren’t looking at me, how would you know I was looking at you?”

Shan Ling pouted, took a sip of her milk tea, and sighed with appreciation: “It’s so sweet, and it has a milky aroma.”

“If you like it, I’ll bring you a cup whenever you come here.”

“No, no. This cup costs over twenty yuan. Hot water is just as good for me.”

Shen Qingyi thought for a moment and said to Shan Ling, “Do you want to go out to dinner with us tonight? Jiaojiao mentioned on the way that she wants to eat steak, and that place requires a drive.”

Shan Ling “Ah’d” and asked, “How long will it take?”

“If we drive straight to the reserved spot, it’ll be about an hour round trip.”

“That’s acceptable, then?”

Shan Ling tilted her head and thought. One hour was fine; she could just ask Xu Wentao to cover for her for a while. They always covered for each other when eating, eating like a relay race.

Shen Qingyi was happy—she had actually already made the reservation—and smiled, saying, “Great, then let’s go early. We’ll leave at 5 PM.”

Shan Ling took a long sip of her milk tea and nodded without hesitation.

Being with Shen Qingyi meant good food, good drinks, no need to squeeze onto public transport, and the chance to earn free ‘good karma.’ Of course, Shan Ling wanted to spend more time with her, so she wouldn’t miss the opportunity for dinner contact.

While the two were chatting, Shan Ling saw a girl in a white padded coat walk towards them.

From a distance, Shan Ling hadn’t recognized who she was, but when the girl reached their side, Shan Ling finally looked at her in belated recognition: “Miss Ji?”

Ji Lingyao had both hands in her coat pockets. Her eyes darted between Shan Ling and Shen Qingyi. She tilted her head and smiled: “What a coincidence, to run into you two here.”

Shen Qingyi was also very surprised. It was one thing for this girl to frequent her coffee shop, but she hadn’t expected to run into her on the weekend as well.

“Are you university students this idle every day?” Shen Qingyi looked at her unhappily. “Why did you come here? If I’m not mistaken, this place isn’t close to Hunan University, is it?”

Ji Lingyao laughed, revealing her small canine tooth: “Miss Shen, don’t be so fiery with me. I came here to check on my family’s assets.”

Shan Ling blinked: “Your family’s assets?”

“Yes, this mall is owned by my family. I came with the elders to take a look around and do some shopping,” Ji Lingyao said very casually, then told the two of them, “But this is my first time here, and I’m not very familiar with it. I’ve been looking at reports all day and haven’t had time to eat.”

Shen Qingyi didn’t care whether she had eaten or not, only narrowing her eyes slightly and asking, “Are you from the Ji family?”

“What else would I be?” Ji Lingyao smiled cutely, then turned to Shan Ling and asked, “Sister, do you have any recommendations nearby? I haven’t eaten all day; I’m starving.”

Shan Ling looked around and said, “Isn’t this area full of places to eat? The mall is for eating, drinking, and entertainment.”

“I don’t really want to eat those things.” Ji Lingyao slumped on a nearby table like a lazy white sea cucumber. “The food in the mall is all heavy on oil and spices. I have a bad stomach, and eating that will give me severe stomach aches at night. Is there any place that’s easy to digest and also clean?”

Shan Ling thought for a moment: “Do you drink porridge?”

Ji Lingyao paused slightly, and after a while, said, “Yes, I do. But I haven’t seen any signs for a porridge shop. Is it in this mall?”

“Mhm,” Shan Ling said. “Take the escalator up to the third floor. Walk two or three steps inside, and you’ll see a small porridge shop called ‘A Bowl of Porridge.’ It’s run by my friend, and the taste is really good.”

Ji Lingyao didn’t know what she was thinking, but she scrambled up from the table like a white sea cucumber, covering her stomach. “Then I’ll go check it out. Thank you, sisters!”

Watching Ji Lingyao take the escalator up, Shen Qingyi reluctantly withdrew her gaze and told Shan Ling, “It seems like we’ll be seeing her often on weekends now. This is going to be trouble.”

“What’s wrong?” Shan Ling asked curiously. “That book Miss Ji asked you to find, haven’t you found it yet?”

“Not yet,” Shen Qingyi said, shaking the coffee in her hand. “I asked a few people I know to look for it, but they haven’t found any leads. I even posted a thread on the forum, but no one has heard of this book. I think it must be a dubious story rewritten from some obscure novel. There are too many books like that; looking for it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Shan Ling didn’t understand much about this, but she knew that finding a book was much harder than restoring one. She encouraged her: “Take your time. Miss Ji doesn’t seem to be in any particular rush.”

At five o’clock in the afternoon, Shen Qingyi called Shen Jiaojiao, who was still in the amusement park, out.

The little girl was sweaty from playing. The princess hairstyle that Aunt Jiang had painstakingly done was messed up. Shan Ling thought she looked like a little kitten, so she smiled, borrowed a comb from Xu Wentao, and started combing Shen Jiaojiao’s hair.

Xu Wentao folded her arms, leaned nearby, and said, “Xiao Ling is truly talented. Even her hair combing is beautiful.”

Shan Ling wasn’t actually good at fancy hairstyles. She just braided two small pigtails at the temples for Shen Jiaojiao and tied them together with a hair tie at the back of her head, making it look neat and tidy.

“The main thing is that little Jiaojiao is pretty,” Shan Ling complimented Shen Jiaojiao, patting her head, and said, “See if you like it.”

Shen Jiaojiao didn’t even look, tilting her head up to Shan Ling and saying, “I’ll like it no matter how Sister Ling styles it.”

Xu Wentao shook with amusement: “Oh my goodness, you’re only 8 and you’re already so smooth. You’ll definitely be a ‘Sea King’ when you grow up.”

Shen Jiaojiao was small. She looked up seriously at Xu Wentao and asked, “What is a Sea King?”

“A Sea King is someone who keeps many ‘fish’.”

“Then it shouldn’t be called a Sea King; it should be called a Fishing King.”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes. Whatever you say it is, that’s what it is.”

Xu Wentao watched Shan Ling put on her coat, then told her, “Come back early after dinner. The boss has been coming around especially frequently lately. I suspect he might be looking for trouble.”

Shan Ling nodded seriously: “Okay, we’ll come back early after we eat.”

As the two were walking out of the amusement park’s storage room with Shen Jiaojiao, they saw some commotion outside. Mall security guards rushed past Shan Ling, looking flustered.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Wentao’s curiosity immediately spiked. They only went to change their clothes, so why did it suddenly get so lively?

Shan Ling also found it strange. Fearing something was wrong, she quickly found Shen Qingyi, who was still in the amusement park area.

Shen Qingyi saw Shan Ling and Shen Jiaojiao and hurried over, telling them, “I heard someone is causing trouble upstairs.”

“Causing trouble?” Xu Wentao immediately perked up. She looked upstairs and said, “Wait here, I’ll go take a look!”

Xu Wentao ran off instantly, driven by her love for gossip. Shan Ling had no choice but to say to Shen Qingyi, “Let’s wait. We’ll leave after Tao Tao comes back. I’m worried the amusement park might be short-handed.”

Shen Qingyi nodded. Shen Jiaojiao hugged her thigh and looked up, asking, “Sister, is someone fighting?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Mommy said not to join in the fun casually, and not to mind other people’s business.”

Shen Qingyi patted Shen Jiaojiao’s head and said, “Your mother is right. We won’t go join in the fun.”

Just as she spoke, Shan Ling’s phone in her pocket rang. It was Xu Wentao, who had just gone upstairs.

As soon as she answered, Xu Wentao’s voice came through: “Xiao Ling, hurry up and come up! Sister An Xin’s shop has been smashed!”

“What?!” Shan Ling never expected this ‘excitement’ to involve someone she knew. She quickly hung up the phone and told Shen Qingyi, “I’m going up to see. Tao Tao said Sister An Xin’s porridge shop was smashed.”

Shen Qingyi wasn’t familiar with the name, but she recognized the porridge shop. She frowned upon hearing this: “The one we went to before?”

Shan Ling nodded.

“Then let’s go together,” Shen Qingyi held Shen Jiaojiao’s hand, looking down at her. “Sister needs to go upstairs. Stay with me, don’t get lost.”

Shen Jiaojiao tightly held Shen Qingyi’s hand, saying seriously, “Don’t worry, Sister, I won’t get lost!”

The three of them went upstairs. A crowd had gathered in front of the porridge shop. Shan Ling pushed through the crowd and saw that An Xin’s porridge shop was severely vandalized. The sign had been ripped off and thrown on the ground, and the shop floor was covered with broken pots, bowls, and white porridge.

Xu Wentao had her back to Shan Ling and was comforting An Xin. Hearing Shan Ling call her, she turned around and saw the people who had arrived: “Why did all of you come up?”

Shan Ling didn’t have time to answer. She was shocked by the mess: “What happened? Who would smash the shop like this for no reason?”

An Xin was sitting on a chair, pale-faced, tightly clasping her hands, and didn’t speak. Xu Wentao answered for her.

“It was a woman,” Xu Wentao described. “A white padded coat, she looked very young, a girl of eighteen or nineteen. The auntie who works here said the girl was fine at first, but then suddenly started smashing things. Her eyes were red.”

Shan Ling had a bad feeling. This eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl in a white padded coat sounded too much like one person.

She turned and glanced at Shen Qingyi. Shen Qingyi’s expression was also strange. They made eye contact, and Shen Qingyi quietly told her, “It’s highly likely to be her…”

Shan Ling didn’t know if her guess was right. She and Shen Qingyi looked at An Xin, and she finally asked, “Sister An Xin, where is the person who smashed your shop?”

An Xin finally lifted her head and said slowly, “Yaoyao… she left after smashing everything.”

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