Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 75

Chapter 75

The coffee shop in Central Park was easy to find because there was only one commercial street, and only a few shops on it.

Fang Ran bought a hamburger next door, carried the bag, and pushed the door into the coffee shop her colleagues had recommended.

“Welcome~”

Behind the counter, a girl greeted her brightly. Seeing Fang Ran, she asked: “What can I get for you? Our basic coffee here is 180 per cup. We can adjust it to meet your specific taste requirements. The signature drinks are listed above, you can take a look.”

Fang Ran walked up to the counter, looked up at the prices, and couldn’t help but gasp.

No wonder her colleague had to share a cup; it was genuinely expensive.

She hadn’t realized there was such an expensive coffee shop nearby.

While Fang Ran was deliberating, she also looked around and found the decor to be quite nice. The aroma of coffee filled the air. She saw a staircase, suggesting there was a second floor.

Fang Ran didn’t order immediately but asked: “Do you have separate rooms on the second floor?”

Nuonuo looked at the person in front of her and said: “There are two private rooms on the south side of the second floor, and a terrace facing the park. The weather is nice today; you can go up and have a look before deciding.”

Fang Ran was slightly surprised: “I can do that?”

“Of course you can,” Nuonuo smiled, glancing at the packaged hamburger in Fang Ran’s hand, and chuckled: “Coffee with a hamburger might be a bit strange. We also have lemonade for 10 yuan a cup.”

“Okay, may I go upstairs to look around before I decide?”

“Sure, feel free.”

After Fang Ran went upstairs, Nuonuo waited at the counter for a while and finally saw Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling return with their takeout.

“Baby, I’m starving!” Nuonuo shouted: “I smell beef noodles!”

Shan Ling placed Nuonuo’s beef noodles on the counter and told her: “That shop has so many people! It’s too painful that we can’t order takeout directly. Yiyi and I waited in line for ages.”

Nuonuo smiled: “It’s a new shop, so it won’t be on the takeout platforms that quickly. If you want to eat it, you have to line up.”

Shen Qingyi placed her and Shan Ling’s takeout aside and asked: “Do we have customers?”

“Not at the moment,” Nuonuo said: “Because of the buy-one-get-one-free offer the other day, no one is coming now that the promotion is over. They’re probably all waiting for us to do buy-one-get-one-free again.”

“We can’t do that kind of promotion every day; it’s too tiring,” Shen Qingyi said solemnly: “I don’t want to be that exhausted.”

Shan Ling couldn’t help but laugh and told Nuonuo and Shen Qingyi: “The two of you go to the back changing room to eat first. I’ll watch things here.”

Shen Qingyi told Nuonuo: “You go first. I’ll stay with her, just in case a customer comes and no one is here to make coffee.”

Nuonuo pouted and sighed: “You two are so clingy. I’m a single dog; I won’t fight with you. A customer just came. She said she wanted to go upstairs to check it out, so I let her. If she wants lemonade later, just charge her 10 yuan.”

Shan Ling nodded: “Got it. Go ahead.”

Watching Nuonuo enter the break room to eat her noodles, Shan Ling smiled at Shen Qingyi: “I told you we should have packaged the noodles separately. Otherwise, we’ll have a big clump of noodles to eat later.”

Shen Qingyi couldn’t help but chuckle: “You’re right. You have more experience in that regard.”

Shan Ling was so smug she was practically wagging her little tail: “When Taotao and I were at the amusement park, we always packed them like this to prevent them from becoming a clump if we ate them after the rush.”

As she spoke, Shan Ling mused: “Eating out is so expensive now. A bowl of noodles is 25 yuan, and you can barely see any meat.”

Shen Qingyi glanced at Shan Ling, immediately catching her drift.

“Don’t think about making them yourself. We only eat out occasionally,” Shen Qingyi said: “Think about it, just preparing the noodles and cooking the beef would take a whole day.”

Shan Ling tilted her head and said: “We could do it on the weekend, so we can eat them at home too.”

Shen Qingyi raised her hand and tapped her on the head: “Stop daydreaming. Some money is meant for others to earn.”

Shan Ling fell silent, letting out a soft sigh and saying: “You’re right. Making it myself is too much effort. Better to spend a few more yuan and let someone else do it.”

Shan Ling decided to stick to what she was good at. She wondered what Sister Anxin planned to do with the shop she took over. If it was catering, perhaps she could sneak into the back kitchen to learn some tricks.

While lost in thought, the corner of Shan Ling’s eye caught someone walking down from upstairs. She immediately remembered the customer Nuonuo had mentioned and looked up at her.

This one look made both of them freeze.

“It’s you?” Fang Ran, carrying her bag, looked at Shan Ling in an apron and said in surprise: “You work here?”

Following her gaze, Fang Ran also saw Shen Qingyi in the same attire.

“Ms. Fang?”

Shan Ling asked in surprise: “Did you come for coffee, or to find us?”

Fang Ran felt a bit awkward and said: “Actually, neither.”

She looked at the two of them, walking down the stairs, and explained: “Song Qinglan’s studio is nearby. She has a magazine interview this afternoon, and I’m looking for a suitable venue. My colleagues said this place was nice, so I came to take a look.”

Shan Ling understood: “I see. So, what do you think of our coffee shop?”

“The environment is very good. I went upstairs and saw that the private rooms are very secluded, which is perfect for an interview and meeting people,” Fang Ran walked up to the counter and told them: “I don’t know who your boss is. Can I talk to her?”

Shen Qingyi spoke up: “The shop is mine. What do you want to talk about?”

Fang Ran turned to look at Shen Qingyi, her eyes wide: “You, you were selling used books, weren’t you?”

“That’s a sideline,” Shen Qingyi looked at her calmly: “My main job is running a coffee shop.”

Shan Ling glanced at Shen Qingyi and quietly added: And being a rich second generation.

Despite her surprise, Fang Ran didn’t forget the task she was out for today. She told Shen Qingyi: “Ms. Shen, can we chat nearby for a bit?”

“Sure.” Shen Qingyi didn’t refuse. She turned to look at Shan Ling, intending to ask her for two coffees, but recalling the taste, she changed her mind: “Two lemonades.”

Shan Ling nodded and went to the back kitchen to slice lemons.

Fang Ran and Shen Qingyi sat at a window seat. From here, they could see the park lake. The scenery was still beautiful even in late autumn, although the grass was yellow and looked a bit desolate.

“Song Qinglan has a magazine interview this afternoon. I just checked your private rooms, and they look great. I’d like to rent the entire second floor of your coffee shop this afternoon,” Fang Ran asked: “How much would it cost to rent it for the afternoon?”

Shen Qingyi paused, then asked: “What time will you start and end?”

“Roughly 3 PM to 5 PM.”

“Can you finish ten to fifteen minutes early?” Shen Qingyi said: “The coffee shop closes at 5 o’clock. I don’t like overtime.”

Fang Ran felt that the woman in front of her was incredibly willful. It was the first time she had heard of a coffee shop owner who insisted on closing exactly at 5 o’clock, just like Song Qinglan.

But remembering the sight of her and Shan Ling holding hands with their hands tucked into the same pocket at Happy Valley on Christmas Day, Fang Ran wondered if Shen Qingyi wasn’t so difficult to deal with after all.

“That’s doable.”

After all, Song Qinglan just wanted to come and take photos. Two hours already factored in various possibilities. She might just come, take a few photos, and leave in five minutes.

“Then that’s fine,” Shen Qingyi said: “You can decide on the afternoon fee.”

Fang Ran thought for a moment and said: “A thousand yuan.”

“Deal.”

Shen Qingyi didn’t hesitate. She stood up and told Fang Ran: “The venue fee is one thousand yuan, but we only have a few people working here. You’ll need to arrange for your own staff to guard the staircase. If customers go up by themselves, that’s not my responsibility.”

Fang Ran understood and stood up to tell her: “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll arrange it.”

Just as the two finished their discussion, Shan Ling arrived with two cups of lemonade. Seeing both of them standing up, she asked curiously: “Are you done talking?”

“We’re done,” Shen Qingyi took a lemonade from Shan Ling’s tray, turned to Fang Ran, and said: “You haven’t had lunch, right? Eat here. It’s still early.”

Early?

Early for what?

Shan Ling looked at Shen Qingyi, wondering what they had just discussed and why they had set a time.

Fang Ran didn’t stand on ceremony. She took the cup of lemonade Shan Ling had prepared and sat back down.

Shan Ling followed Shen Qingyi to the counter and watched her go into the back kitchen, then followed her in.

Nuonuo had already finished eating. Seeing both of them enter, she assumed they were coming to eat and told Shan Ling: “Xiao Ling, I’m heading out first. Can you help me clean up the takeout bags later? I’ve packed everything up.”

“Sure,” Shan Ling replied, following Shen Qingyi into the changing room.

Shen Qingyi took out her lunch, unwrapped it, placed the separately packaged noodles into a plastic bowl, and stirred them with her chopsticks.

“What did you just chat about with Ms. Fang?” Shan Ling asked curiously while unwrapping her own takeout: “Do we have something on this afternoon?”

“Yes,” Shen Qingyi glanced at Shan Ling and said: “Song Qinglan is using the coffee shop’s second floor for an interview this afternoon. The usage time is from 2:45 PM to 4:45 PM, and the venue fee is a thousand yuan.”

As soon as Shan Ling, the little money fanatic, heard “a thousand yuan,” her eyes sparkled.

“Does that count as extra income for our restaurant?” Shan Ling rubbed her hands together and said: “That’s great. We can earn a thousand in one afternoon. I wish we could get more work like this.”

Shen Qingyi was unbothered and told her: “Tell Nuonuo later. You two split this thousand yuan equally. I don’t need it.”

“Is that alright?”

“It’s money given by someone else anyway. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Shan Ling was very happy. She still had several days until payday, and the money remaining in her pocket was dwindling.

Although she lived and ate at Shen Qingyi’s house and didn’t need much money, and didn’t have to pay for groceries or snacks, Shan Ling still felt more secure when she had cash.

After eating, Shan Ling told Nuonuo about the matter. When Nuonuo heard the news, her eyes widened. She covered her mouth, too surprised to say anything.

“Song Qinglan?” Nuonuo asked in surprise: “Is it that Song Qinglan?”

Shan Ling nodded: “Who else could it be but Song Qinglan?”

Hearing the slightly tongue-twisting exchange, Shen Qingyi told the two of them: “When the real person arrives later, don’t say anything strange. Pretend they don’t exist, and just focus on your work.”

Shan Ling had no problem with that; she had already met her once. Nuonuo, however, was very excited. Her eyes widened, and she asked: “Can I get an autograph?”

Support