Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The midnight gale was howling fiercely. When Shan Ling heard Shen Qingyi was downstairs, she didn’t dare delay and rushed out in her pajamas, throwing on an outer jacket.

The moment she stepped outside, Shan Ling was chilled to the bone by the cold night wind.

It was so cold!!!

Why wasn’t Shen Qingyi home on such a cold night?

Shan Ling quickly jogged along, shivering, and soon saw the figure standing not far away.

Shen Qingyi was still wearing the same black cashmere coat, standing calmly in the cold wind, letting the fierce wind mess up her hair.

Shan Ling thought, if Shen Qingyi’s black coat were red, it would surely scare a lot of people.

“Y-why are you here?” Shan Ling ran over, her small face scrunched up from the wind. Looking at Shen Qingyi, who clearly chose style over warmth, she asked in surprise, “Aren’t you cold wearing so little?”

Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling, who was almost bundled up like a polar bear, and said calmly, “I’m fine.”

Shan Ling didn’t believe it. She felt cold even in her pajamas with a fuzzy lining. How could a living person like Shen Qingyi, dressed so lightly, be “fine”?

Saying this, Shan Ling reached out and grabbed Shen Qingyi’s hand.

It was a shock—Shan Ling felt like she was grabbing a zombie frozen in an ice block.

“You said you weren’t cold?” Shan Ling felt the person’s hand had absolutely no warmth, and immediately got angry: “Why are you standing outside in such cold weather? Where is your car?”

Shen Qingyi blinked and turned to look at the car not far away, saying, “It’s over there.”

Shan Ling quickly pulled her over, pointed at the car, and said, “Turn on the heat!”

Shen Qingyi obediently turned on the heat. Only then did Shan Ling push her into the back seat and climb in after her.

It would take some time for the heat to warm up, so Shan Ling covered Shen Qingyi’s icy cold hands with hers, saying unhappily, “What are you doing? Not coming home in the middle of the night, and getting yourself into this state.”

Shen Qingyi lowered her head, watching Shan Ling rub her hands, making her originally cold hands warm up.

Once the car was warm, Shan Ling looked up at her, dissatisfied: “Speak. What did you want to see me about?”

Shen Qingyi leaned back against the seat, enjoying the warmth, and held Shan Ling’s hand, which she hadn’t yet pulled away. She whispered, “I went to see Ji Lingyao today.”

Shan Ling was slightly startled and quickly leaned closer to her: “And then?”

Shen Qingyi tilted her head, told her the story Ji Lingyao had recounted, and mentioned the shop-smashing incident.

“How could that happen?” Shan Ling sat beside Shen Qingyi, puzzled. “No wonder Sister An Xin didn’t want to call the police. So that’s what happened.”

Shan Ling thought for a while, still confused: “But why would Miss Ji treat Sister An Xin like that? They hadn’t seen each other for so long, and she was someone she loved. How could she smash her shop?”

It was completely incomprehensible.

Shen Qingyi’s dark eyes looked at Shan Ling and asked, “Do you have any thoughts on Ji Lingyao liking An Xin?”

“Thoughts?” Shan Ling said, puzzled. “Are you referring to the huge class difference, suggesting they shouldn’t be together? But Miss Ji is the one relentlessly pursuing her now.”

“No,” Shen Qingyi held Shan Ling’s warm hand and said, “I mean, they are both women but like each other. What do you think about that?”

Shan Ling blinked and said, “I’m looking at it while standing, what else can I do?”

Shen Qingyi: “…”

Shan Ling blinked again, then understood: “Oh, you’re asking for my opinion on homosexuality?”

Shen Qingyi nodded.

Shan Ling said seriously and earnestly: “It’s a very normal thing. Any sentient being with emotions has the possibility of liking the same sex. You can’t exclude Miss Ji just because she likes a woman, and you can’t look down on Sister An Xin because she was with Miss Ji. Respecting everyone’s sexual orientation is the basic boundary for friends and for human beings.”

Shen Qingyi found it amusing to see Shan Ling look so serious and even lecture her about not being discriminatory.

“I don’t look down on them,” Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling and said, “I just feel…”

Shan Ling: “Feel what?”

Shen Qingyi coughed lightly, covering her head and saying with a pained expression, “My head hurts so much.”

“Don’t pretend.”

“It really hurts.”

Shen Qingyi said, “It might be because of the cold wind.”

In fact, it wasn’t just the cold wind. Shen Qingyi had been under a lot of stress these days. When she had trouble sleeping, her head would also ache, feeling as if the nerves in her brain were being twisted, causing unbearable pain.

Whenever this happened, Shen Qingyi would take a lot of painkillers, which sometimes worked, but sometimes had no effect at all.

Shan Ling looked at her and didn’t think she was faking it. She reached out and touched Shen Qingyi’s head, asking with concern, “Where does it hurt? I’ll help you rub it.”

Shen Qingyi took Shan Ling’s hand and placed it on her temples, saying, “It hurts here.”

Shan Ling nodded, scooted closer to Shen Qingyi, sat up straight, and began to massage her temples.

While rubbing, Shan Ling spoke: “It’s probably because you wore too little. You should wear thick clothes like me in the future. Don’t always wear these autumn coats. They look good, but you’re the one freezing yourself. Look, your head hurts now. When you get older, your knees and joints will hurt. Who will massage you then? So, you still need to take good care of yourself. Health is the foundation of everything…”

Shen Qingyi closed her eyes and listened. She thought she was being incredibly patient with Shan Ling. If Zhou Shu were talking to her this much, she would kick the person out immediately.

But Shan Ling’s voice was clear and crisp. When she rambled, it sounded like a bird singing.

It sounded good no matter what.

Shan Ling rambled for more than ten minutes, and her throat was dry. She closed her mouth and began to seriously massage Shen Qingyi’s head. Seeing her brows relax, she knew her massage was comfortable for her.

“I just feel like it’s not easy for them,” Shen Qingyi said with her eyes closed. “Ji Lingyao told me that the book she asked me to find was a bedtime story An Xin used to read to her, and she has remembered it deeply ever since.”

Shan Ling frowned: “Are bedtime stories that intense?”

Could the child even fall asleep?

Wouldn’t her dreams be full of slapping her own siblings and relatives?

Considering Ji Lingyao’s eldest brother’s actions, Shan Ling thought that “fiction comes from life” wasn’t entirely unbelievable.

Shen Qingyi opened her eyes, looked at Shan Ling’s distressed expression, and took her hand, saying, “I feel much better now. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Shan Ling sat back down, then looked aside and was stunned: “Is it snowing outside?”

Shen Qingyi also turned her head, looked at the scattering snow outside the car window, and lowered the window slightly. Sure enough, some brave little snowflakes drifted in. Unfortunately, the temperature inside the car was too high, and they melted into water droplets before they could land.

“It’s snowing.”

Shen Qingyi looked at the fluttering white sprites and told Shan Ling, “No wonder it was so cold today.”

Shan Ling was also curious and fully lowered the window. The moment she spoke, she got a mouthful of wind and snow and quickly rolled the window back up.

“This is the first snow I’ve seen since I came to the city,” Shan Ling said, leaning on the car window and watching the snow. “I wonder if it’s snowing where I live. If it is, it must be heavier than here.”

Shen Qingyi also felt a bit cold, so she rolled the window up and turned to look at Shan Ling.

Shan Ling was leaning on the car window, and the warm air she exhaled fogged up the glass. She wiped it clean with her sleeve, seeming particularly fond of the snow.

Shen Qingyi watched her quietly, finding Shan Ling exceptionally cute as she focused on the snow.

She was just like how Chubby (her missing pet) would look out the window.

Shen Qingyi didn’t know why she always connected Shan Ling with her missing Chubby, but she inexplicably felt they were very similar.

Not similar in looks, but very similar in small actions and personality.

It fascinated her.

The two stayed in the car for a while longer. When Shan Ling checked the time on her phone, it was already past 1 AM.

“It’s so late…”

Shan Ling looked hesitantly at the residential area. Almost all the houses were dark, and the lights in the dorm building were also out.

She turned to look at Shen Qingyi, leaned closer, and asked her, “What are you going to do tonight? It must take half an hour to drive to your house from here at this hour. You should go back soon.”

Saying this, Shan Ling tried to open the car door to get out, but Shen Qingyi stopped her.

“I’m a bit tired, and it’s late. It’s not safe to drive in the snow,” Shen Qingyi stared at Shan Ling and said, “If you go back now, you’ll also disturb your roommates, won’t you? Why don’t you stay with me?”

Shan Ling looked at her, unsure: “Stay together what?”

Shen Qingyi cleared her throat, boldly saying, “Stay together in a hotel.”

There were quite a few hotels near the commercial district. The one Shen Qingyi had booked was a five-star hotel above the mall where Shan Ling worked.

She took the room card and led Shan Ling upstairs. Shan Ling, who had never stayed in a hotel before, looked around curiously.

She had only known that a five-star hotel was above the mall, but because it was too expensive, Shan Ling never imagined she would ever stay there for a night.

The hotel corridor was bright and spacious. Shen Qingyi found the room, swiped the card to enter, turned on the electricity, heating, and power.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Shen Qingyi took off her coat, hung it on the hanger, and looked back at Shan Ling, saying, “Are you going to shower too?”

“No, I don’t need to,” Shan Ling said. “I washed up back at the dorm.”

“Mhm.”

Shen Qingyi didn’t say anything more, only telling her, “Sit down for a while. I’m going to take a quick shower.”

“Okay~”

Watching Shen Qingyi enter the bathroom, and hearing the sound of water soon after, Shan Ling took off her jacket and hung it up with a hanger, just like Shen Qingyi.

Shen Qingyi was right. Going back so late would definitely disturb her roommates’ sleep. Besides, Shen Qingyi’s complexion hadn’t improved much, and Shan Ling was still worried about her, so she decided to stay out with her for the night.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t stayed together before. They used to sleep together every day.

Shan Ling, still in her pajamas, climbed onto the bed. The bed was incredibly soft, so much more comfortable than the hard bunk in her dorm, so much so that Shan Ling fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

When Shen Qingyi came out of the shower, she saw Shan Ling asleep on the bed. She walked to the bedside, leaned over to look at her, and felt a tiny bit disappointed.

“I didn’t expect you to do anything with me, but you fell asleep too fast, didn’t you?”

Support