Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

The benches at Happy Valley were quite spacious; even with three people sitting, there was still some empty space.

Shan Ling sat in the middle. She watched the crowd heading towards the exit and then glanced out of the corner of her eye at Fang Ran sitting next to her, noticing that the other woman held her phone tightly but didn’t open it. Was she waiting for a message?

Whose message could she be waiting for?

Shan Ling didn’t know. She and Fang Ran had only met once. At this moment, her mind was entirely focused on the autographed photos.

Xu Wentao needed one, Nuonuo needed one, and she needed to get one for Nuonuo’s friend as well—a total of three.

Shan Ling thought about it, looked again at Fang Ran, and after a long deliberation, asked: “Ms. Fang, how did you get here? Did you drive?”

Fang Ran probably didn’t expect Shan Ling to initiate a conversation. Hearing Shan Ling’s words, Shen Qingyi also turned her head and looked over.

“I took a taxi to get here,” Fang Ran replied calmly.

She had originally planned to have Driver Zhang drive them back after the fireworks show, but that was all ruined. Fang Ran would have to take a taxi back by herself now.

“It must be hard to get a taxi at this hour,” Shan Ling looked at the sea of people at the entrance and said: “Taking the subway might be faster.”

At this point, Shen Qingyi interjected: “The subway will also stop running soon at this hour. With so many people, it might take a while to even get on a train.”

After speaking, Shen Qingyi glanced at Fang Ran and said, “Assistant Fang, if you don’t mind, we can drive you back later.”

Fang Ran looked at the two of them, surprised: “Is that appropriate?”

“It’s perfectly fine,” Shan Ling smiled at her: “The way back to the city is only in one direction anyway. Where do you live, Assistant Fang? We can see if it’s on the way once we get into the city.”

“Please don’t call me Assistant Fang; just call me by my name,” Fang Ran said thoughtfully: “I didn’t get a chance to thank you the other day. If Song Qinglan had found that book, I might not be able to sit here so calmly.”

Shan Ling responded: “That letter was written by you in the first place. Whether you tell her or not is your business. We won’t say anything more.”

Shen Qingyi glanced at Fang Ran, saw the expression behind her glasses, and refrained from speaking some thoughts aloud.

She wanted to say that even if Song Qinglan didn’t know Fang Ran liked her, they were at least friends, right?

A signed, original edition novel given by a friend was sold just like that, and it was almost brand new, meaning Song Qinglan probably hadn’t even flipped through it. If Shan Ling hadn’t discovered the secret in the inner layer, Fang Ran’s letter might never have been found.

Was such a person truly worthy of the affection of the girl sitting in front of her?

Shen Qingyi had deep doubts.

But in the end, it was a private matter between two people, and she, as a stranger, had no need to get involved. The most she could do was… give Fang Ran a ride back to the city.

After waiting for another twenty minutes or so, most of the crowd had left. The three of them stood up from the bench and headed toward the exit.

Once in the car, Shan Ling didn’t sit in the front passenger seat. Instead, she got into the back seat with Fang Ran.

Because she was about to start asking for autographed photos!

“Fang Ran, I was wondering if I could trouble you with something.” This was Shan Ling’s first time asking for autographed photos, and she was a little nervous, which made Fang Ran feel a bit uneasy.

The car was already driving smoothly on the way back to the city. Fang Ran had nowhere to run, so she smiled gently: “What do you want me to help you with?”

Shan Ling then smiled and said: “I have a friend who is a fan of Song Qinglan. I was wondering if you could help me get three autographed photos for them as a souvenir.”

Fang Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She thought these two had kidnapped her for some earth-shattering endeavor.

It turned out they just wanted three autographed photos. Those things were everywhere in the studio; no one cared about them anymore.

“No problem at all. I’ll ask Qinglan for a few when I get back,” Fang Ran even smiled and added: “If your friends have any desired message or dedication, you can also tell me, and I’ll have her write it on there.”

Shan Ling’s eyes immediately lit up: “That’s wonderful! But I need to ask my friends what message they want.”

“Keep it short and simple,” Fang Ran advised: “If it’s too long, it won’t look good when written.”

This was wisdom gained from experience.

Shan Ling quickly took note, planning to ask Xu Wentao and Nuonuo if they had any specific sentences in mind when she got back. If not, she would just give them the signed photos.

Taking advantage of a lull in the conversation in the back seat, Shen Qingyi spoke: “Where do you live, Assistant Fang? I’ll check if I need navigation.”

Fang Ran straightened up and told Shen Qingyi, who was driving: “Jia Yuan Residential Area Phase 1. If it’s too inconvenient, you can drop me off on the side of the road once we enter the city. It’s easier to get a taxi there than at Happy Valley.”

“I know that area, and it’s on my way, so you won’t need to call another taxi,” Shen Qingyi asked calmly: “Do you rent a house there?”

“It’s Song Qinglan’s house; she’s temporarily lending it to me to stay in.”

“Understood.”

Shen Qingyi didn’t say anything more. Jia Yuan Residential Area was a small villa district. Hearing Fang Ran’s explanation, she understood: Song Qinglan lent her house to Fang Ran. Logically, their relationship should be close, right?

At least it shouldn’t be as bad as she suspected. She just wondered who she was supposed to come with to see the fireworks today. The excuse about negotiating a contract could only fool Shan Ling.

Shen Qingyi didn’t ask further about it.

It took over an hour to reach Jia Yuan Residential Area. Fang Ran got out of the car, waved to Shan Ling and Shen Qingyi, and waited for the car to leave before pulling out her phone.

The light from the phone screen was harsh in the darkness. Fang Ran saw that Song Qinglan still hadn’t replied to her message, and it was already past ten o’clock at night.

Did Song Qinglan go home?

Did she drink at the cocktail party?

This worry made her feel somewhat uneasy. After a moment of hesitation, she called Driver Zhang.

He was the only person she dared to call.

He answered after a few rings. Zhang sounded sleepy as he said “Hello,” asking Fang Ran what she needed.

“Is the cocktail party over?” Fang Ran sounded worried, listening to his sleepy voice.

“Huh?” Zhang sounded visibly surprised: “It ended around 9 o’clock. I’ve already dropped the boss off at home. She should still be there now.”

It’s over?

If it was over, she should have seen her phone by now.

“Is that so? I understand.” Fang Ran didn’t ask more. She told Zhang: “Get some rest. I won’t bother you anymore.”

Zhang said “Oh,” then asked: “The boss didn’t go to Happy Valley today. Did she call you?”

“Yes,” Fang Ran said: “She sent me a message, but I didn’t see it. I saw it after I called you.”

“Alright. I was worried you made a trip for nothing. I’ll go rest then. You should go to sleep early too.”

“Okay.”

Hanging up the phone, Fang Ran looked at the darkened screen. After thinking it over, she decided not to do anything.

Returning home, she changed out of her cold clothes and went into the bathroom for a hot shower to drive away the chill.

Song Qinglan bought this house after she became famous because she had attended a tea party at a director’s home, and an artist there had scoffed, implying Song Qinglan couldn’t afford a house of that caliber. So, the first house Song Qinglan bought was this one.

However, she didn’t particularly like living here, so she quickly bought a second house, and this one became vacant.

Song Qinglan didn’t like strangers living in her house, nor did she need the rent money. Just as Fang Ran’s rental contract expired during that time, Song Qinglan gave her the house key and told her to move in.

She had been living here for over two years.

Fang Ran finished her shower and walked out of the bathroom, drying her wet hair.

While waiting for her hair to dry, even though she checked her phone every so often, she didn’t receive a message from Song Qinglan. It seemed like she had completely forgotten about her.

Fang Ran didn’t get the message she wanted until she fell asleep.

The Christmas fireworks show was truly spectacular. Even on Monday, Shan Ling was still reminiscing, watching the recorded videos over and over, thinking about showing them to her family and friends back in Sparrow Village to let them see such a beautiful scene in the city.

Nuonuo also got to enjoy the fireworks show thanks to Shan Ling that night. The two were planning to have a good chat when the store was slow on Monday, but they quickly realized the customers today were a bit unusual.

“Is the Christmas buy-one-get-one-free promotion still on?” A white-collar worker standing in front of Shan Ling at the register asked before even placing an order.

Shan Ling was stunned, then politely said: “I’m sorry, the Christmas promotion has ended.”

The white-collar worker worked nearby and was a regular customer of the coffee shop. Hearing this, she said disappointedly: “Your shop has too few promotions. How come the buy-one-get-one-free event only lasted one day?”

“And you closed two hours early, and you weren’t open on the weekend either,” the person behind the white-collar worker also chimed in: “Shouldn’t you run the promotion for a few more days?”

Shan Ling looked at everyone with some difficulty. Just then, Shen Qingyi came out from the back, and Shan Ling immediately turned to look at her.

The customers also looked at her in unison.

Shen Qingyi had already heard the customers’ complaints from the back. She glanced at the clock hanging in the coffee shop, thought for a moment, and said: “I see. We’ll continue the buy-one-get-one-free promotion for one more day today.”

The white-collar worker was delighted and looked at Shan Ling, asking: “Can I order now?”

Shan Ling blinked: “Yes, what would you like?”

After the white-collar worker ordered two coffees, the people behind her were also excited and took advantage of the opportunity to order two coffees for the price of one.

Perhaps due to the word spreading, despite it being a normally slow Monday, the coffee shop was suddenly packed because of the “Buy One, Get One Free” promotion. Shan Ling felt dizzy taking orders, and Shen Qingyi was busy packing coffees for take-out.

Nuonuo, who was making the coffee in the back, wished she had three heads and six arms to brew three cups of coffee at once.

The crowd grew even larger around noon. Fortunately, after 3 PM, the flow of customers started to slow down, allowing the three exhausted people to catch their breath.

Shen Qingyi asked Shan Ling to stay at the counter while she cleaned upstairs and downstairs. Nuonuo brought a low stool, sat by the doorway, stretched her legs, and gasped from exhaustion.

“I ordered some takeout. We still haven’t eaten lunch,” Shan Ling checked the time—it was 3:30 PM.

They had all missed lunch.

Nuonuo sighed and whispered: “I drank a large cup of black coffee in the back. I’m not hungry at all now. It counts as a diet.”

“You still need to eat,” Shen Qingyi took a mop from the storage room and told the two: “Let’s not do the buy-one-get-one-free promotion anymore.”

Nuonuo nodded seriously, wholeheartedly agreeing with Shen Qingyi’s wise decision.

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