Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Ji Lingyao walked through the mall, one hand in her pocket, the other looking at the work report sheet on her phone’s WeChat group.

She started helping with the Ji family’s business with the elders right after turning 18. However, she was still young and had a lot to learn, so she specifically came to the mall today to walk around and study.

Ji Lingyao put away her phone and walked aimlessly. Downstairs earlier, she had met Miss Shen from the coffee shop and her friend. That handsome friend said there was a porridge shop upstairs, and since she was hungry, she wanted to come over and eat something.

The ‘A Bowl of Porridge’ shop wasn’t big, but it wasn’t hard to find. Ji Lingyao saw the shop sign after walking a couple of steps.

There weren’t many people inside the glass window, and the open kitchen looked clean and tidy.

Ji Lingyao smelled the aroma from the shop and thought the recommendation from Miss Shen and her friend was quite good.

Walking into the shop, the cashier asked, “What would you like to order?”

Ji Lingyao looked at the menu board, ordered a bowl of porridge and a few side dishes, paid, and found an empty seat to sit down.

With nothing else to do, Ji Lingyao looked toward the kitchen behind the glass wall. A woman with her hair tied up in a bun was chopping vegetables in the kitchen. She was facing away from her, and her movements were sharp, making Ji Lingyao feel a sense of familiarity.

It seemed that many years ago, there was also a person bustling in the kitchen, facing away from her, saying: “Go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon.”

At that time, Ji Lingyao was young. In her early teens, she went to school and came home every day, and the person she most wanted to see was her.

In their earliest years, people always depended inexplicably on those closest to them, and Ji Lingyao was no exception.

She sat on the chair, looking at the woman’s back in the kitchen, thinking that if the porridge at this shop tasted good, she might become a frequent customer.

But when the woman scooped out a bowl of porridge and turned around to hand it to someone else, Ji Lingyao sprang up from her chair.

An Xin initially didn’t notice Ji Lingyao sitting in the shop. She had simply filled a bowl of porridge according to the customer’s order, instructed the cashier about something, and then raised her head.

That single glance caused An Xin to freeze in place.

The silent particles in the air began to churn chaotically. The bowl of porridge the cashier carried was knocked over by Ji Lingyao with a slap. Ji Lingyao rushed straight into the kitchen, grabbed An Xin by the collar, and slammed her against the kitchen counter.

Ji Lingyao’s strength was considerable, no longer the weak and powerless girl she was as a child. An Xin instantly broke out in a sweat from the pain when her lower back hit the counter.

“Yaoyao…”

An Xin did not blame her for her recklessness. Staring at the person she hadn’t seen in four years, she whispered, “You’ve grown so big?”

“What else?”

Ji Lingyao stared intensely at the woman in front of her, her eyes red, perhaps from anger, looking completely on the verge of tears.

“Four years, and you have nothing to say to me?” Ji Lingyao asked her. “When you took the money and left my house, did you ever think we would meet again?”

“Yaoyao.” An Xin grabbed Ji Lingyao’s wrist and propped herself up, saying, “That three million was given to me by your father, and I promised him I would never see you again in this lifetime. Can we please not argue today?”

“Argue?” Ji Lingyao laughed angrily. She let go of An Xin’s collar and kicked over the pot of porridge that was simmering in the kitchen. The white, bubbling porridge splattered all over the floor. She turned and looked at An Xin: “Do you think I came to see you for nostalgia?”

“My dad told you to leave, and you left. Why didn’t you stay when I begged you to stay?!”

“You knew how much I needed you, so why did you choose to leave?”

“If you like money so much, fine.” Ji Lingyao looked at An Xin, her voice low and hoarse. “Then I’ll make sure you don’t get a single penny.”

“Sister An Xin?”

An Xin was jolted back to the present by the calls of the several people. She looked up at Xu Wentao and Shan Ling, forced a strained smile, and said, “I’m fine.”

“How can you be fine like this?” Xu Wentao looked at her worriedly. “Your face is terrible.”

“Yes,” Shan Ling agreed. “Should we call the police?”

“No!”

An Xin quickly said, “No need to call the police. It’s no big deal. We can handle it ourselves. No need for the police.”

Shen Qingyi looked at An Xin’s complexion, remained silent for a moment, and then said, “I suggest this matter should not be settled privately. You should call the police.”

“No need,” An Xin gripped the corner of her clothes, her face growing paler, but she insisted, “This was just an accident today. There’s no need to call the police. Besides, the loss to the shop isn’t much. We can just clean up.”

Shan Ling wanted to persuade her again, but An Xin stood up and said to the group, “Don’t worry about me. I’m an adult; I know how to handle this. You all should go do what you need to do and don’t worry about me.”

Xu Wentao wanted to talk her into it, but An Xin clearly didn’t want to listen. She rushed back into the shop to busy herself, acting like she didn’t want to deal with anyone else.

Shan Ling found this very strange. An Xin was normally very considerate in how she dealt with people and conducted herself; she was a very gentle person. But her current demeanor was completely baffling.

Xu Wentao looked worriedly at An Xin, then turned to Shan Ling and asked, “What’s wrong with Sister An Xin? Why doesn’t she want to call the police after her shop was smashed? Who exactly was the person who did it?”

Shan Ling shook her head. She wasn’t familiar with Ji Lingyao either, having only met her once at Shen Qingyi’s coffee shop. Furthermore, she didn’t know for sure if it was her who smashed the shop, or why she would have done so.

The cashier heard them and turned to them, leaning closer to whisper, “I think that young girl and our manager seemed to know each other.”

Shen Qingyi frowned when she heard this: “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” the cashier told them. “When that girl slapped the bowl of porridge out of my hand, it startled me. Then I saw her rush into the kitchen and pin the manager against the counter. They exchanged a few words, and it sounded like they’ve known each other for a long time.”

Xu Wentao was puzzled: “If they are acquaintances, why would she smash the shop?”

Shen Qingyi said, “It’s hard to say. They might be enemies.”

Xu Wentao and Shan Ling both turned to look at her, thinking Shen Qingyi’s words made a lot of sense.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stay and help Sister An Xin clean up. You family of three still have a date, so hurry and go,” Xu Wentao told Shan Ling. “Miss Shen finally came all this way to see you; you can’t stand her up.”

Shan Ling looked at Shen Qingyi, feeling torn: “We…”

“We won’t go today,” Shen Qingyi told Shan Ling. “If you’re worried about her, stay here. Even if you forced yourself to go, you wouldn’t enjoy the meal. It’s better to stay. We can make plans for next time.”

Shan Ling looked at her gratefully and nodded: “Okay, then. You take Jiaojiao to eat first. We’ll reschedule.”

Shen Qingyi watched Shan Ling go into the shop to help, then took Shen Jiaojiao’s hand and walked away from the crowd.

“Sister,” Shen Jiaojiao held Shen Qingyi’s hand and asked, “Do we really not need to stay with Sister Ling? What will she eat tonight?”

Shen Qingyi looked down at Shen Jiaojiao and said, “How about I ask Uncle Zhao, the driver, to come pick you up and take you home, and I’ll go help your Sister Ling?”

“Okay,” Shen Jiaojiao said. “Sister doesn’t have to eat with me either. I’ll ask Uncle Zhao to eat with me. He can still take me to have steak.”

“Mhm.” Shen Qingyi took out her phone and called Shen Hongjun’s driver, Uncle Zhao, asking him to come to the mall to pick up Shen Jiaojiao for dinner.

Uncle Zhao arrived quickly. Shen Jiaojiao was very familiar with him, so Shen Qingyi confidently handed Shen Jiaojiao over, reminding the little girl to call her on her watch after she got home from dinner. Shen Jiaojiao answered crisply.

After seeing Shen Jiaojiao off, Shen Qingyi took out her phone and called Ji Lingyao.

The call connected quickly. Shen Qingyi asked her, “Where are you now?”

Ji Lingyao didn’t speak.

Shen Qingyi said, “Was it you who smashed the shop?”

“Yes,” Ji Lingyao admitted readily.

“Why?” Shen Qingyi felt confused. Although Ji Lingyao looked young, she seemed quite level-headed in her actions. Shen Qingyi didn’t think she was someone who would easily lose control of her emotions.

“Why so many questions?”

“We recommended that shop to you. Now that you’ve smashed it, I have to ask, don’t I?”

Ji Lingyao remained silent for a long time, then gave a dry laugh and said, “Got time for a cup of coffee?”

Shen Qingyi did not meet Ji Lingyao at the mall. Instead, she found a café located farther away. Although the atmosphere and taste were not as good as her own café, it was at least a good place for a conversation.

After ordering coffee, they waited for about half an hour before Ji Lingyao finally arrived. She plopped down across from Shen Qingyi and immediately picked up the coffee to drink.

She even commented, “It tastes awful.”

Under the atmospheric lighting of the café, Ji Lingyao’s expression looked a bit strange, appearing reluctant yet also a little wronged.

“Are you feeling wronged now?” Shen Qingyi picked up her coffee and took a sip. “You owe me an explanation for what happened today, don’t you?”

Ji Lingyao stirred her coffee with a small spoon, looking down and seemingly lost in thought.

Shen Qingyi didn’t pressure her, changing the question: “Or, is the book you asked me to find, The Little Mermaid, also related to this incident?”

Inside ‘A Bowl of Porridge,’ Shan Ling was mopping the floor with the cashier, cleaning up the grains of rice in the corners. A ‘Temporarily Closed’ sign was hung on the door.

Xu Wentao bought some takeout, setting the containers on a table, and then told Shan Ling, “I just went to the mall security office to ask. That person seems to be well-connected. She’s already been released.”

Shan Ling leaned her crossed hands on the wooden handle of the mop and sighed lightly.

It seemed she could be 100% sure that the person who smashed the shop was Ji Lingyao. But Shan Ling really didn’t understand why she would smash An Xin’s shop for no apparent reason. What kind of intense hatred was this?

Xu Wentao leaned closer, looking around before asking, “Where is Sister An Xin?”

“Sister An Xin looked really bad, so I made her go home first,” Shan Ling looked at Xu Wentao and asked, “Do you think this matter will just be dropped?”

“What else can we do?” Xu Wentao said helplessly. “Sister An Xin absolutely refused to call the police. I have a feeling she’s protecting the girl who smashed the shop. Hey, Xiao Ling, how does Sister An Xin know that girl? I heard the girl is only 18, and Sister An Xin is 30. There’s a 12-year age difference.”

Shan Ling shook her head: “I don’t know either.”

However, she thought that Shen Qingyi would definitely find the answer. After all, she was a very warm-hearted person and wouldn’t let this matter drop.

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