Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 50

Chapter 50

A red Ferrari quietly parked by the road. Its vibrant color felt completely out of place with the surrounding old and dilapidated houses, creating a strange sense of dissonance.

An Xin sat in the car. Outside the privacy glass, people came and went, showing great interest in the extravagant vehicle.

Ji Lingyao sat in the driver’s seat, looking displeased. For her young age, her cold demeanor made her seem like an adult, yet An Xin knew she was still only a recently-turned-adult child.

“Who was that woman you were with today? Why were you two being so handsy?” Ji Lingyao asked her in a hostile tone. “You avoid me when I go downstairs to your place, and you never show me a pleasant face, so why can you smile at her?”

Ji Lingyao didn’t understand what was so lacking about herself compared to that ordinary woman. Was she not pretty enough, or was the money not enough? Why was her Jiejie willing to smile at that person but not even spare her a glance?

Faced with such an unreasonable demand, An Xin only felt a buzzing pain in her head.

“Tao Tao is a friend I met at the mall. We were just running errands today,” An Xin patiently explained to Ji Lingyao. “There’s nothing going on between us. She’s just a normal girl.”

“I don’t believe you.” Ji Lingyao turned around, staring intently at An Xin. “You don’t smile at me, so why were you smiling so happily at her?!”

An Xin found it hard to argue.

Ji Lingyao reached out and pulled An Xin into her embrace, her arms squeezing with enough force to seem like they might break her.

“Yaoyao…”

“Jiejie, my dad passed away a year ago.”

Ji Lingyao buried her face in An Xin’s shoulder and said huskily, “Now my second brother is in charge. He doesn’t care if I like men or women, and he won’t interfere in our business. I am an adult now, and the company dividends every year are enough to support both of us.”

An Xin was slightly stunned. She lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Ji Lingyao continued on her own: “Jiejie, there are no obstacles between us anymore. You are the only person I have ever loved in this life. I can’t live without you.”

The person in her arms raised her hand, gently stroking Ji Lingyao’s long hair, and whispered, “You are only 18. ‘A lifetime’ is still too long to say.”

At 18, she was still a child. How could An Xin believe the other person would stay with her for a lifetime?

Ji Lingyao could be willful because she was young, a child who hadn’t fully grown up, but An Xin was different. She was 30 this year. She needed to plan for her future, and from every perspective, Ji Lingyao was not the person she should be involved with.

An Xin gently comforted her, saying, “Don’t be willful. You should spend more time with boys in the future. You have such great qualities; many excellent boys will pursue you. Why insist on getting tangled up with me?”

“You are different,” Ji Lingyao looked up at her and said softly, “I’ve tried being with other people, but there wasn’t a moment I forgot about you. I can’t bear to see you with others, and I can’t bear to see you smile at others… Jiejie, maybe you don’t know just how much I like you.”

Just as Ji Lingyao’s kiss was about to land, the car phone suddenly rang, startling both of them.

Ji Lingyao initially wanted to ignore it, leaning in closer to An Xin for a kiss, but the calls were relentless, one after another, making their heads ache from the noise.

An Xin pushed her away, turning her face aside, and said, “Answer the phone first.”

Ji Lingyao glanced at her flushed lips before reluctantly turning to answer the call.

“Is Sister An Xin with you?”

Because the caller ID wasn’t checked when the phone was answered, both people in the car froze when Shan Ling’s voice sounded.

“Xiao Ling?” An Xin sat up straight and said into the car phone, “How did you get this number?”

Shan Ling was slightly relieved to hear An Xin’s voice: “Sister An Xin, are you okay? Did Ji Lingyao hit you?”

Before An Xin could speak, Ji Lingyao snapped angrily: “How could I hit her? What are you thinking?!”

Ji Lingyao saw the name “Shen Qingyi” displayed and knew the two of them must be together again. She said discontentedly, “This is a private matter between me and Jiejie. Can you two stay out of it?”

At that moment, a third female voice came through: “What do you mean, a private matter between you and Sister An Xin? You smashed her shop and then dragged her off the street. Who knows what your real intentions are?”

Ji Lingyao hadn’t heard this voice and was wondering who it was when An Xin, sitting in the passenger seat, said, “Tao Tao, I really am fine. I… I can go back myself after talking to her for a bit. Please don’t worry about me.”

“Sister An Xin…”

Ji Lingyao suddenly realized that this unfamiliar woman was probably the person who was shopping with An Xin today.

She had seen the woman holding An Xin’s arm on the street, and An Xin was laughing and talking with her. They looked so intimate that Ji Lingyao’s jealousy boiled over. She got out of the car, grabbed An Xin’s hand, and scolded the other woman.

Now that she thought about it, she was indeed being irrationally jealous.

But Ji Lingyao still wasn’t willing to admit she was wrong. She grumbled to the person on the other end of the phone: “Did you hear that? I won’t hurt her. I will send her back when we’re done.”

With that, she abruptly hung up the phone.

An Xin let out a gentle sigh and said helplessly to Ji Lingyao, “Yaoyao, why are you still like this?”

“Like what?” Ji Lingyao pounced, pinning her against the seat and saying, “I’ll be whatever I want to be.”

Saying this, she lowered her head and pressed her lips against An Xin’s.

Although An Xin assured them on the phone that she was fine, Shan Ling and Xu Wentao were still very worried about her. After all, Ji Lingyao was the person who had smashed her shop, and they were uneasy about the two of them being together.

Xu Wentao was anxious. An Xin was essentially taken away right in front of her, making her feel uneasy.

“What if something happens to Sister An Xin?” Xu Wentao said. “That young girl looked fierce. She scolded me and then dragged Sister An Xin away. I was stunned at the time. If I had reacted any slower, she would have driven off.”

Xu Wentao thought for a moment and added, “That car was really cool. It must cost at least a million yuan. How does Sister An Xin know such a rich young person?”

Shan Ling glanced at Shen Qingyi and gently poked her with her finger: “Yiyi.”

“Hmm?” Shen Qingyi raised her eyebrows and looked at her calmly.

“Do you think Ji Lingyao will resort to violence against Sister An Xin?” Shan Ling was worried.

“Don’t worry. Ji Lingyao would smash her own car before laying a hand on An Xin,” Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling and smiled. “If you are truly worried, I can wait here with you until we confirm they return safely, and then I’ll go home.”

Shan Ling blinked: “Don’t you have anything to do on the weekend? Why have you spent the last two days hanging around here?”

Shen Qingyi said, “I really don’t have anything to do. The coffee shop is closed on weekends.”

Xu Wentao was surprised: “There are coffee shops that don’t open on weekends?”

“Yes,” Shen Qingyi said. “My shop doesn’t open.”

Xu Wentao could only shake her head at people like this. Well, they were the boss, after all.

Around four or five in the afternoon, An Xin called Xu Wentao to say she was back, and Xu Wentao immediately told Shan Ling.

Shen Qingyi watched Shan Ling’s relieved expression, drank the coffee she had bought, and said, “Tomorrow is Monday. Let’s arrange a talk with Ji Lingyao.”

“Is that appropriate?” Shan Ling asked. “I’m not familiar with her, am I?”

“Whether you’re familiar or not, we’ll find out after a chat,” Shen Qingyi said. “And I think she definitely wants to share her story with us.”

Shan Ling nodded: “Then I’ll take compensatory time off tomorrow and come to the coffee shop to find you.”

“Good.” Shen Qingyi stood up from the chair, looking at Shan Ling with gentle eyes, and said, “Then I’ll go home now. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”

“No, no need,” Shan Ling smiled at her. “I checked last time. It only takes one transfer and a two-minute walk from here to the coffee shop by subway.”

Shen Qingyi looked at her, sounding a bit reluctant: “Are you sure you don’t need me to pick you up?”

In truth, Shen Qingyi wanted to spend more time with Shan Ling.

She didn’t know if others felt this way, but Shen Qingyi just really liked Shan Ling and wanted to be with her every day.

She couldn’t reveal this little secret yet, though.

“I’ll still come pick you up tomorrow,” Shen Qingyi stood up, holding her half-finished coffee, and said, “The subway is very crowded on weekdays. I’m afraid you won’t be used to it. I’ll schedule a time with Ji Lingyao and let you know later.”

Shan Ling leaned on the table. Seeing Shen Qingyi so insistent, she couldn’t say much more and just waved at her: “Then make sure to call me tonight.”

Shen Qingyi touched her head before turning to leave.

After the person left, Shan Ling touched her own head, imagining Shen Qingyi’s natural gesture, and couldn’t help but feel happy.

Around eight or nine in the evening, Shen Qingyi called. She had arranged to meet Ji Lingyao at the coffee shop at 11 AM tomorrow.

“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow,” Shen Qingyi said while sitting on a balcony, looking at the flickering neon lights outside. “Get home early after work. The temperature tomorrow will be below 0 degrees Celsius. Remember to keep warm.”

“Okay~” Shan Ling replied softly. “See you tomorrow.”

The next day, Shan Ling requested a leave of absence from her boss. Her boss sounded a little unhappy over the phone, subtly suggesting that Shan Ling had been taking too much time off recently. Shan Ling was puzzled. She hadn’t taken that much leave, and she worked shifts of over ten hours without complaint. Why was her boss preempting her complaint?

Having finally secured the time off, Shan Ling changed her clothes and went out.

It was a rare sunny day, but the moment she stepped out, she was nearly knocked off her feet by the cold.

It was so cold! Why was it this cold?

Shan Ling walked forward, shivering, stepping deep and shallow on the ice shards. In the sunlight, they had melted into water. Shan Ling had only walked from the building entrance to the community gate, and her canvas sneakers were already soaked through.

She wished she could turn into a bird.

Shan Ling looked down at her wet shoes, thinking that if she were a bird, she would be warm and wouldn’t get her shoes wet.

Shan Ling had initially planned to go back and change her shoes before Shen Qingyi arrived, but thinking that her other shoes were also canvas and she didn’t own waterproof leather or rubber shoes, she wrinkled her little nose.

It seemed she needed to buy a pair of waterproof shoes for rainy and snowy days.

Just then, a familiar black sedan stopped in front of Shan Ling.

Shen Qingyi rolled down the window, poked her head out, glanced at Shan Ling’s wet, dark, and soggy sneakers, and then looked up at her, saying, “Your shoes are wet?”

“Mhm.” Shan Ling put her hands in her pockets, shaking one foot, and said, “They’re soaked through.”

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