Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Shan Ling’s fear of cats was extremely amusing to Shen Qingyi. After all, she had met people afraid of dogs, but never a girl afraid of cats.

Kittens are soft and fuzzy, and their meows are so delicate that almost no one can resist them. Especially now that cats are little online celebrities, they are adored by almost everyone.

After Shen Qingyi returned home, she followed Shan Ling’s instructions: not talking to her, washing her hands three times, and using hand sanitizer.

While washing her hands, Shen Qingyi even thought that if circumstances allowed, Shan Ling would probably demand that she bathe and change clothes before speaking to her.

After washing her hands, Shen Qingyi took off her coat and hung it up. Seeing Shan Ling sitting in the living room, she couldn’t help but smile, raising both hands to her and saying, “They’re clean. Can I talk to you now?”

Shan Ling still looked at her fearfully. She thought for a moment before nodding: “You can talk now.”

Shen Qingyi asked her, “Why were you downstairs at that time?”

“I was eating noodles at the noodle shop outside the complex. There were a lot of people, so I waited in line for a while,” Shan Ling hugged the cushion on the sofa and said, “And I figured you should be back by then, so I planned to take a walk and wait for you downstairs.”

Who knew that ginger cat would appear so brazenly and scare Shan Ling half to death?

She had thought she was lucky these past few days, never running into the plump cat, but tonight it finally happened.

The thought of it eating several birds made Shan Ling’s heart pound.

Too scary, too scary. All felines are terrifying!

Shen Qingyi walked over, stroked Shan Ling’s head, and sat beside her, comforting her: “Alright, we’re home now. That cat can’t open the door.”

Shan Ling nodded, then shook her head, still saying cautiously: “I’m afraid it will remember me. Let’s go out together from now on. If you’re not home, I won’t go down. I’ll just order takeout. Now you can buy groceries, rice, noodles, grains, oil, vegetables, and fruits through takeout.”

Shen Qingyi listened to Shan Ling rambling about the convenience brought by modern society, sensing that she was much more relaxed than before, and couldn’t help but smile warmly.

“Why are you always smiling?” Shan Ling looked at her, confused. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she asked, “By the way, how was your dinner at home?”

“It was good,” Shen Qingyi said blandly. “I ate and came back.”

And then I ran into you being afraid of a cat.

Shan Ling nodded and said to her, “Did your dad and stepmother give you a hard time?”

Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling with interest, leaning closer to ask, “Are you worried that I might be bullied there?”

Shan Ling nodded honestly: “I heard that stepmothers are very fierce. Even if they’re nice at first, once they have their own children, they won’t be good to the child from the first marriage. Although Jiaojiao is very cute, I’m still worried you might be bullied.”

Hearing this, Shen Qingyi felt that being cared for was a wonderful feeling—the kind of warmth that could be felt even in the midst of misfortune.

And Shan Ling was the one giving Shen Qingyi this small warmth.

She looked at Shan Ling’s serious eyes, restrained the impulse to hold her close, and said, pretending to be calm: “It’s not as scary as you think. Jiaojiao’s mother is a very gentle woman and is very polite to me. She doesn’t bully me.”

Tao Wanyue came from a good background and was very accomplished herself. For a woman in her twenties, in the prime of her life, to marry an older man like Shen Hongjun in his forties or fifties, he was truly lucky. Tao Wanyue had always been polite to Shen Qingyi, never overstepping, and considered the harmony of the family.

At least on the surface, Tao Wanyue was a very decent stepmother.

“Really?” Shan Ling looked at her worriedly, unconvinced.

“Of course it’s true,” Shen Qingyi asked curiously, “But where did you hear about this wicked stepmother trope?”

Shan Ling blinked: “That’s how it is in TV shows. Before, when Tao Tao and I couldn’t sleep in the dorm, we’d binge-watch shows. She has a tablet, like a small TV, and we watched it often.”

Shen Qingyi stroked her head and said, laughing, “Watch fewer TV shows.”

Shan Ling tilted her head and looked at her: “Why?”

“Well…” Shen Qingyi couldn’t exactly say why, but she felt that Shan Ling was very much like a child—she copied whatever she saw—which worried her.

“In short, just listen to me,” Shen Qingyi thought for a moment and added, “If you want to watch TV shows, watch them with me. Understand?”

Shan Ling smiled knowingly.

If she wants to watch TV shows with me, she should just say so. Why all the circling around?

The hour wasn’t too late, so Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling washed up and went to bed. Tomorrow, Nuonuo was going to teach Shan Ling how to make coffee. Although she was only a general assistant, she still needed to learn how to brew coffee.

Early the next morning, Shan Ling noticed more sparrows than usual. Half a bowl of millet was no longer enough for them, so she planned to buy more mixed grains from the supermarket on her way back today.

She asked the birds about their favorite grains and tentatively decided to buy some mung beans, red beans, oats, and millet.

So, Shan Ling cooked the remaining mixed grains together for Shen Qingyi’s breakfast.

With everything ready, the two set off for work.

At the coffee shop, Nuonuo had arrived earlier, already swept the floor, and the open sign was up. When Shan Ling and Shen Qingyi pushed the door open, they saw a tall woman standing in front of the counter.

The woman had her back to Shan Ling, wearing a creamy white casual windbreaker, skinny jeans, and small leather boots. A single-shoulder bag hung at her side. She was leaning lazily on the counter, chatting with a smiling-but-forced Nuonuo.

“The coffee you make is truly delicious. I think your contribution is indispensable to the fact that Yiyi’s shop has been open for so long,” the woman said.

Nuonuo forced a smile: “Dr. Zhou, you’re too kind. It’s mainly because our coffee beans are roasted well.”

The woman propped up her head and laughed: “If the coffee beans are good, doesn’t that just prove your skill is good? Honestly, Nuonuo, if you ever quit working here, come work at my clinic and make coffee just for me.”

Nuonuo didn’t know what to say, and the smile on her face was almost gone.

“I don’t think you want coffee; you want the person, right?” Shen Qingyi walked over, unceremoniously patted the woman’s lower back, then pressed her against the counter, saying ominously, “Trying to poach people even in my own shop?”

Zhou Shu turned her head to look at Shen Qingyi and smiled widely: “Hi, good morning~”

Nuonuo greeted Shen Qingyi: “Good morning, Boss. Dr. Zhou came specifically to see you today. It seems she has something to discuss. Should I make coffee for the two of you?”

“The only reason she comes to the coffee shop is to find me,” Shen Qingyi said with a cold face to Nuonuo. “Go make two cups of coffee and bring them up to the second floor.”

Nuonuo was relieved. She quickly nodded and ran into the back kitchen.

Shan Ling didn’t understand what was going on and watched from a distance in confusion.

Zhou Shu instantly noticed Shan Ling, who was watching from the sidelines. She turned and looked her up and down, saying, “And who is this…?”

Shan Ling quickly introduced herself: “My name is Shan Ling. I’m the new employee.”

“Shan Ling?” Zhou Shu thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to Shen Qingyi, teasing: “So, this is the ‘dream lover’~”

Dream lover?

Shan Ling looked at Shen Qingyi, puzzled: “What is a dream lover?”

“Nothing,” Shen Qingyi’s face darkened. She pinched Zhou Shu’s waist and told her, “Let’s go upstairs to talk.”

Zhou Shu smiled widely, waved at Shan Ling, but was directly dragged upstairs by Shen Qingyi.

A peculiar pair.

Shan Ling watched the two go upstairs in confusion, then walked into the changing room to put on her uniform. When Nuonuo finished the coffee, she quietly told Shan Ling, “Xiao Ling, Xiao Ling, can you take the coffee up for me? I really don’t want to see Dr. Zhou. Everything she says to me is so strange.”

“Huh?” Shan Ling took the coffee, puzzled: “Does that Dr. Zhou come to see Yiyi often?”

Nuonuo thought for a moment and said, “Not often, but she comes every now and then.”

Shan Ling said “Oh” and told Nuonuo, “Then I’ll deliver the coffee. You help watch the counter.”

Carrying the two cups of coffee, Shan Ling went upstairs and found the private room Shen Qingyi usually used. She knocked on the door and brought the coffee in.

Zhou Shu had been watching Shan Ling with one hand propping up her head since she entered. Only when Shan Ling left did she withdraw her gaze. She turned her head and saw Shen Qingyi looking at her like she was a pervert, which instantly wiped the smile off her face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Zhou Shu said with a victimized look. “Can’t I even look?”

“No,” Shen Qingyi said. “When you’re treating other people, can you also treat your own brain? Stop corrupting my employees.”

Zhou Shu didn’t get angry, saying helplessly, “With your dream lover here, you don’t care about this poor, struggling doctor anymore. And here I thought of you and made a special trip to see you today.”

As she spoke, she sighed dramatically and took a sip of coffee.

“Mmm, this must have been made by Nuonuo. I can taste her flavor.”

Shen Qingyi rolled her eyes, then got serious: “Why did you come to see me today?”

“Of course, I came because I had something to say,” Zhou Shu glanced at Shen Qingyi and said, “Your dear father called me this morning and said that you have a new employee at your shop. He also heard that this new employee has a very good relationship with you and asked if this would be helpful for your treatment.”

“As soon as I heard that, I knew he was indirectly asking me to come investigate, so I came,” Zhou Shu said lazily. “And then I saw your dream lover.”

Shen Qingyi frowned when she heard this: “My dad is investigating me?”

“It’s not exactly an investigation. He just asked me to check out the situation. After all, you haven’t had any friends for so many years, and I’m curious too after one suddenly appeared,” Zhou Shu looked at Shen Qingyi, put down her coffee, leaned in slightly, and whispered, “Yiyi, tell me the truth. Do you like this little girl?”

Although Zhou Shu had only glanced at Shan Ling, she could tell the girl was beautiful and cute. Shen Qingyi’s attraction to girls was no secret to her, so she naturally knew her intentions.

Shen Qingyi, however, didn’t answer directly. She silently drank her coffee and said, “Does it matter if I like her?”

Zhou Shu was slightly stunned.

Shen Qingyi continued: “You should know my current situation better than anyone. Although my condition is stable, who can guarantee that I won’t have a relapse like my mother?”

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