Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 64

Chapter 64

On the weekend, Shen Qingyi arrived at the Shen family villa at the agreed-upon time and got out of the car after parking securely.

At that moment, Tao Wanyue stood by the door, holding Shen Jiaojiao’s hand. Squatting at Shen Jiaojiao’s feet was the small Golden Retriever, who had clearly grown quite a bit.

“Jiejie~” Shen Jiaojiao waved at Shen Qingyi as she got out of the car. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately let go of her mother’s hand and rushed over, plunging into the arms of the person standing next to Shen Qingyi. She laughed happily: “Sister Xiao Ling!”

Shan Ling was seeing such a luxurious villa neighborhood for the first time and had been stunned all the way here. Before, she only thought Shen Qingyi must be rich, but she hadn’t expected Shen Jiaojiao to be rich too, living in such a beautiful house.

Shen Jiaojiao hadn’t expected Shan Ling to be here. She happily held Shan Ling’s hand and said, “Why did Sister Xiao Ling come? Did you and Jiejie come to pick me up especially?”

“That’s right,” Shan Ling recalled what Shen Qingyi had told her on the way. She patted Shen Jiaojiao’s head and said, “I heard you needed company, so I came. Shall we go to your sister’s house together today?”

“Yes, yes!” Shen Jiaojiao said happily: “Sister Xiao Ling, let me introduce you to our new family member. His name is Xiao Pi, and he’s a Golden Retriever!”

Shan Ling instantly breathed a sigh of relief. A dog was fine, as long as it wasn’t a cat.

Shen Qingyi watched the two getting along so well and felt inexplicably unhappy, feeling as if this little girl, Shen Jiaojiao, was stealing the affection that rightfully belonged to her.

Meanwhile, Tao Wanyue, standing on the steps, watched the scene. She quietly asked Aunt Jiang, “Who is that child? Have you seen her before?”

Aunt Jiang looked over and said, “I’m not sure. Yiyi hasn’t let me go to her house to clean lately, saying she’ll do the housework herself, so I don’t know who this child is.”

Tao Wanyue smiled as she saw the three approaching and said to Aunt Jiang, “We can just ask.”

“Mom~” Shen Jiaojiao ran up to her mother, holding Shan Ling’s hand, and told her, “Mom, this is Sister Xiao Ling. She’s Jiejie’s friend. We used to play together often.”

Mainly, Shen Jiaojiao played in the amusement park while Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling chatted outside.

Tao Wanyue understood upon hearing the address ‘Sister Xiao Ling.’ She smiled gently at Shan Ling and said, “Hello, I am Jiaojiao’s mother.”

“A… Aunt…” Shan Ling looked at the young woman in front of her, momentarily unsure whether to call her ‘Auntie’ or ‘Sister.’ Because Tao Wanyue had a gentle demeanor and was well-maintained, she looked like she was in her twenties, not at all like the mother of an 8-year-old child.

Tao Wanyue probably sensed Shan Ling’s hesitation and smiled even more brightly, telling her, “You can just call me ‘Aunt Tao,’ like Yiyi does. I don’t mind.”

“Okay, Aunt Tao,” Shan Ling greeted her: “Yiyi and I came to pick up Jiaojiao.”

“I know. Jiaojiao has been constantly asking to play with Yiyi. I was wondering if I was causing her too much trouble,” Tao Wanyue said politely. “If I didn’t have a lecture at school today, I wouldn’t have bothered you.”

Shen Qingyi said, “It’s nothing. Jiaojiao is not difficult to manage.”

At this moment, Shen Jiaojiao bent down, picked up the puppy, and ran to Shan Ling, saying, “Sister Xiao Ling, look, this is Xiao Pi. Don’t you think he’s cute?”

Shan Ling crouched down, meeting the little puppy in Shen Jiaojiao’s arms at eye level. The little Golden Retriever wasn’t afraid of people. It wagged its golden-furred tail, and its dark eyes looked at Shan Ling, tilting its head in confusion.

“He’s so cute,” Shan Ling stroked Xiao Pi’s head and asked curiously, “Why is he called Xiao Pi?”

Shen Qingyi also turned her head, suddenly realizing that the name ‘Xiao Pi’ sounded a bit odd and maybe wasn’t quite fitting for a puppy.

“Because Xiao Pi’s full name is ‘Pierre’,” Shen Jiaojiao said seriously. “So, Pierre’s nickname is Xiao Pi, just like my nickname is Jiaojiao.”

Shan Ling said “Ah,” amazed by the originality of a child’s thinking.

Tao Wanyue looked at Shen Jiaojiao and said, “Jiaojiao, put Xiao Pi down. Don’t cause trouble at your sister’s house, and don’t be a bother, okay?”

Shen Jiaojiao acknowledged her mother, put Xiao Pi down, and said to Tao Wanyue, “I know, Mom.”

After saying goodbye to Tao Wanyue, Shen Jiaojiao got into the car with Shen Qingyi.

To accompany the child, Shan Ling didn’t sit in the front passenger seat this time, but sat in the back with Shen Jiaojiao.

“Sister Xiao Ling,” Shen Jiaojiao looked up at Shan Ling and asked, “Are you going to Jiejie’s house with me too?”

“That’s right,” Shan Ling said to Shen Jiaojiao in the agreed-upon tone: “Yiyi said you were coming to her house for the weekend, and I wanted to come keep you company. So, the three of us will play at Yiyi’s house today, okay?”

“Great!” Shen Jiaojiao looked at Shen Qingyi driving in the front and said happily, “Then the three of us can be together again today!”

Shan Ling also told Shen Jiaojiao: “I’ve already prepared the ingredients. I’ll make you something delicious for lunch, how about that?”

Shen Jiaojiao blinked: “What delicious things can Sister Xiao Ling make?”

“What do you like to eat?”

“I like pizza and fries, and fried chicken and egg tarts.”

“I can make those. I can also make canned fruit, cheese ribs, garlic steak, and coconut chicken.”

Shen Jiaojiao looked at her in surprise: “Can you make pudding cake?”

Before Shan Ling could speak, Shen Qingyi said sternly: “Your mom doesn’t let you eat sweets. You’ve already lost several teeth, you can’t have any more sweets.”

Shen Jiaojiao covered her mouth when she heard this, then gave Shan Ling a look. Shan Ling quietly leaned her ear closer and heard the little girl whisper: “Sister Xiao Ling, my sister is so fierce, how can you stand her?”

Shan Ling smiled warmly and quietly said to Shen Jiaojiao: “She is very good to me.”

Shen Jiaojiao’s mouth widened, and she laughed out loud in surprise.

Shan Ling kept Shen Jiaojiao entertained the entire way. Although Shen Jiaojiao was young, she was quite easy to get along with. Her occasional little girl temper was normal, given her privileged background.

This was Shen Jiaojiao’s first time visiting Shen Qingyi’s home, and she looked around curiously from the moment she entered.

Perhaps she felt the two-bedroom apartment was a bit small. She walked around twice and had seen everything. Then she tugged on Shan Ling’s sleeve and said, “Sister Xiao Ling, Jiejie’s house seems a little small.”

Shan Ling smiled: “But don’t you think it’s very nice?”

Shen Jiaojiao nodded. She pointed at the study and said, “Jiejie has a wall full of books! Even more than my mom!”

“You can only look at those; you can’t touch them,” Shan Ling told her. “They are your sister’s treasures.”

“But they look old. Are they still treasures?”

“Precisely because they are old, they are treasures.”

Shan Ling sat Shen Jiaojiao down next to the sofa, then sat next to her, turned on the TV, and asked, “Watch TV for a while, I’m going to make you lunch.”

Shen Jiaojiao happily climbed onto the sofa, hugged the soft cushion, and said, “Sister Xiao Ling, you go ahead and get busy. I’ll find something to watch myself.”

Shan Ling didn’t interfere further. After handing her the remote control, she went to the kitchen to prepare.

Shen Qingyi changed her clothes and walked out. Seeing Shen Jiaojiao relaxing on the sofa watching TV, she detoured to the kitchen and saw Shan Ling tie on an apron, roll up her sleeves, and take out a large, transparent glass bowl.

“I think we could actually eat out,” Shen Qingyi didn’t want Shan Ling to work so hard. She noticed that making a meal always took at least an hour or so, plus eating and washing dishes. It was two hours of cooking for five minutes of eating—it didn’t seem worth it.

But Shan Ling didn’t agree. She told Shen Qingyi, “I think what I make is no worse than what’s outside, and homemade food is safer. It just takes a bit more time.”

Shen Qingyi said helplessly, “I still think this is too tiring.”

“But aren’t you employing me to make three meals a day?” Shan Ling looked at her confusedly: “If we eat out, what’s the use of having me here?”

Shen Qingyi was speechless at her question, feeling like she had shot herself in the foot.

“Fine,” Shen Qingyi compromised helplessly. Standing next to Shan Ling, watching her pour low-gluten flour into the glass bowl, she asked, “What are you making? Do you need help?”

“No, no,” Shan Ling waved her away: “I’m making pure milk cake. You can’t do it.”

The clearly rejected Shen Qingyi was a bit unhappy. She shot a dark glance at Shen Jiaojiao, who was lying on the sofa watching TV, and felt that she definitely couldn’t bring this little girl home again next time.

Since Shan Ling found her bothersome in the kitchen, Shen Qingyi had to go find her sister, grab some snacks she had bought at the supermarket before, and watch cartoons with her.

For lunch, Shan Ling made many delicious dishes, all Shen Jiaojiao’s favorites. Shen Qingyi had no choice but to eat the sweet rice and sweet buns along with them.

There wasn’t much to do in the afternoon. The oven was baking bread, and the entire apartment was filled with a sweet aroma.

With the oven baking, Shan Ling didn’t have much to do, so she sat on the sofa with Shen Jiaojiao, watching a currently popular TV drama and the love and hate story of the male and female leads.

When Shen Qingyi came out of the study, she heard the two, one big and one small, laughing happily on the sofa.

“What are you watching that’s so funny?” Shen Qingyi asked sourly. She glanced at the TV in the living room, and her eyes widened slightly at the drama being played. Especially when the camera cut to the female lead’s exquisite face, Shen Qingyi frowned and fell into thought.

Shan Ling didn’t notice Shen Qingyi’s unusual behavior. She told her, “We’re watching this TV show. It’s quite good.”

Shen Jiaojiao also agreed: “I like this actress. I’ve watched all the TV shows she’s been in.”

“Is that so? What do you like about her?”

“I just think she’s beautiful, the TV show is good, and the person is beautiful.”

Shan Ling understood. She didn’t follow any specific person when watching TV dramas. If the plot was good, she watched it; if it wasn’t, she didn’t. She was very casual.

Shen Qingyi averted her gaze, not looking at the actress, and asked the two: “Are you two planning to just stay cooped up at home like this all afternoon? Don’t you want to go out for a walk?”

Shan Ling blinked: “But I have cake baking in the oven. I can’t leave it unattended.”

Shen Jiaojiao also hugged Shan Ling and told Shen Qingyi, “We don’t want to go out either. Minority submits to the majority. We’re staying home today and not going anywhere!”

Shen Qingyi sighed helplessly. It seemed her weekend was spoiled.

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