Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The coffee shop had a three-day holiday for New Year’s Day.

Three days is not too long, but not too short, yet for Shan Ling, who had nowhere specific to go, the holiday meant lounging around at home.

However, Shan Ling had been feeling gloomy lately because Fang Ran got the book, but her virtue points hadn’t increased.

Why hadn’t they increased?

Shan Ling, sitting on the balcony and basking in the sun, was completely bewildered.

A few little sparrows landed on the balcony. Shan Ling rested her head in her hands and watched them. She realized they were either chattering or singing. The entire balcony was filled with a noisy ‘cheep cheep cheep’ sound.

“May I ask a question?”

Taking advantage of the sparrows’ chattering, Shan Ling sat up straight, looked at them, and asked: “Do you know where I can repair a merit box?”

The little sparrows hopped and flew into the balcony. Some landed on Shan Ling’s shoulder, some on her knees, and others came in to drink some water.

“What is a merit box?” the sparrow on her knee tilted its head and asked.

Shan Ling thought for a moment and said: “It’s something that collects virtue points. I suspect it’s broken, and I want to know where to fix it.”

The sparrow on her shoulder tilted its head and asked: “Did you bring the merit box with you?”

Shan Ling said: “It’s not confined to a physical form. It follows me everywhere, and only I can feel it.”

“Then how can you fix it?”

“Why don’t you try hitting it? I see humans fixing televisions by just hitting them.”

Shan Ling sighed: “That’s an ancient way of fixing things. There are no big box TVs anymore. You need to keep up with the times.”

The three little sparrows immediately surrounded Shan Ling, chirping their arguments.

“We are just sparrows. Why do we need to keep up with the times?”

“What does ‘keep up with the times’ mean?”

“Old sparrows tell us stories, so we know some things.”

“You’re an unfamiliar little sparrow. Maybe you don’t know much about this area. We birds just live happily. Who knows when a cat will catch and eat us?”

“In the city, we can also be hit by cars and turn into bird pancakes.”

“Exactly, bird pancakes!”

“So, what does ‘keep up with the times’ mean?”

Listening to the sparrows chatter, Shan Ling lowered her head, puffed out her cheeks, and admitted her mistake: “I know, I won’t talk to you like that again. Please don’t scold me. I’m just a little tit too.”

As an outsider bird, Shan Ling naturally couldn’t argue with the local birds.

After all, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.

Shan Ling looked at them and asked again: “Do you know if the orange cat in the neighborhood is still around?”

“Yes, it always wanders around the neighborhood, trying to catch and eat us.”

“It’s a good thing you’re a kind bird and leave food outside on the balcony, otherwise, we might accidentally get eaten if we land on the ground.”

Shan Ling smiled when she heard this: “That’s good. Many people in the neighborhood feed it, so it shouldn’t get so hungry that it eats birds.”

One of the little birds tilted its head and told Shan Ling: “But that cat disappeared a while ago, then came back, and had a notch in its ear. I heard it was caught for sterilization, and now they say it’s a happy little cat.”

“What is sterilization?”

“It means it can’t have babies.”

“That’s so miserable. Why would humans call it a ‘happy little cat’? Is it really happy?”

The four birds fell into contemplation for a moment.

Forget it, whether it’s happy or not is the cat’s business. What does it have to do with me, a little tit?

Just then, Shen Qingyi walked in from the door, carrying a bag of stuff. The three little sparrows quickly flew out as soon as they heard the door open and disappeared.

“Yiyi?”

Shan Ling walked over, took the bag from Shen Qingyi’s hand, looked inside, and asked curiously: “Why did you buy so many snacks?”

Shen Qingyi took off her coat, chuckling: “I saw you were bored these past two days, so I bought you some snacks. Let’s find a movie to watch later.”

Shan Ling’s eyes lit up: “Great, great! I’ll go make some milk tea!”

Shen Qingyi looked at her cheerful back and called out: “Mine without sugar.”

“Okay~” Shan Ling replied from the kitchen.

By the time Shen Qingyi changed into comfortable loungewear in the bedroom, she saw that Shan Ling had already prepared everything. Two cups of different-colored milk tea were placed on the coffee table.

Shen Qingyi didn’t like heavy milk flavor or sweetness, so she used a black tea base, resulting in a slight milk fragrance and a slightly bitter black tea taste.

Shan Ling loved heavy milk and heavy sweetness, so she made hers with a white peach oolong tea base, adding pudding and other toppings, filling the cup completely.

The snacks Shen Qingyi bought were all on the coffee table. Shan Ling brought out a plate of sliced fruit from the kitchen and happily announced: “It’s all ready. Yiyi, what movie do you want to watch? You choose first!”

It was generally more atmospheric to watch movies in the cinema, but Shen Qingyi didn’t like the crowded atmosphere. She preferred the feeling of watching a movie at home, so she always watched movies at home.

“Let’s watch a movie that just came out recently,” Shen Qingyi sat on the sofa and let the curtains close automatically. The entire living room became dark. She then used the remote to select a film.

Because the Shen family’s business was somewhat related to shopping malls, some movies could be watched directly at home, which was why Shen Qingyi loved movies but never went to the cinema.

Shan Ling didn’t understand all that. She just watched if the movie looked good. She peeled an orange as she spoke: “What movies are out recently?”

As Shen Qingyi was selecting, she suddenly paused.

She saw Song Qinglan’s face on the poster. She was wearing a pink evening dress, sitting on a red and black single sofa, surrounded by four men either standing or squatting.

It seemed that a movie starring Song Qinglan had been released, titled Fairy Tale Girl.

“Song Qinglan?” Shan Ling saw her too, blinked, popped a piece of orange into her mouth, and asked: “Is this drama any good?”

Shen Qingyi glanced at the rating next to it: 9.2 stars?

How did a movie that looks so scandalous get such a high rating?

“The reviews look good,” Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling and asked: “Should we pick this one then?”

Shan Ling nodded, took a sip of the sweet milk tea, and said: “Sure.”

The movie started playing. The two leaned on the sofa, eating snacks and drinking milk tea while watching the film.

Shen Qingyi initially thought it would be a very ordinary plot, but after watching for ten minutes, she became immersed in the profound storyline. After the two-and-a-half-hour movie ended, Shen Qingyi understood why the film had such a high rating.

Aside from the exciting plot and mysterious setting, Song Qinglan’s acting was solid. She played two roles in the drama, and each character possessed their own distinct demeanor, demonstrating exceptional acting skills.

It seemed that Song Qinglan’s fame wasn’t solely based on her beautiful face.

Shan Ling had forgotten to eat her snacks while watching. After a long while, she asked Shen Qingyi: “Should we… watch another one of her movies?”

Shen Qingyi had no objection. She chose another movie starring Song Qinglan, and the two nestled together to watch again.

Throughout the day, they watched three of Song Qinglan’s movies. Each one was excellent. Some were niche productions, and some were big-budget features, but without exception, the screenplays were all superb. A good movie is about storytelling, and a good script guarantees at least half the success.

In the evening, Shen Qingyi checked her phone and told Shan Ling: “Stop watching. My package has arrived.”

Shan Ling tilted her head and asked: “What package is it?”

Shen Qingyi didn’t hide it. She half-hugged Shan Ling and said: “Fang Ran’s book has arrived.”

Shan Ling immediately sat up straight, put down her snacks, and said seriously: “I’ll go get it!”

Shen Qingyi found it strange. Although Shan Ling was certainly diligent, she had never been this excited before, as if the package wasn’t the book sent by Fang Ran, but a large box of gold.

Less than ten minutes after the delivery call, Shan Ling was squatting at the door and saw the book she had been eagerly awaiting.

Shan Ling’s reasoning was simple: Fang Ran got the book, but she didn’t gain any virtue points. It must be because the other book was still in transit. Once this book arrived, she would receive the ‘delayed’ 100,000 virtue points!

How could she not be excited!

One hundred thousand! One hundred thousand virtue points! I can’t let them slip away like this!

Shan Ling took the box from the delivery man, quickly tore it open, and pulled out The Longest Confession, which was wrapped in several layers.

This book clearly showed signs of being handled, yet it was quite new for a book published six or seven years ago.

Shan Ling held the book, looked at it left and right, up and down, flipping it over and over.

The virtue points simply did not increase at all.

Shan Ling’s originally cheerful, upturned lips gradually settled down. She looked at the book in her hand with a somber expression, feeling disbelief.

Where are my virtue points?

Where is my 100,000 virtue points?

Where is all that virtue I was owed????

Shen Qingyi didn’t understand why Shan Ling’s mood fluctuated so drastically. At first, she was so excited she couldn’t stop smiling, and then she sat alone with the book for over half an hour, her face growing more and more clouded.

If she was honest, Shen Qingyi had never seen Shan Ling look so serious.

She looked as if the world was ending.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Qingyi looked at her with concern, picked up the book from her lap, and flipped through a couple of pages: “Is there something wrong with this book?”

“No problem,” Shan Ling frowned: “There’s no problem at all.”

That is the biggest problem!!!

If Shen Qingyi hadn’t been home, she would have furiously pounded the floor and screamed, “Give me back my virtue points!”

Could it be because this matter was resolved too smoothly, so I didn’t earn any virtue?

Shan Ling considered this seriously. She felt this might be the case. This book was handled too quickly and easily, unlike the previous two books, which was why there were no virtue points.

It seemed she had placed too high an expectation on it.

Shan Ling let out a long sigh, looked up at Shen Qingyi, and said in a dejected voice: “I’m so tired. I’m going to rest first. I have to work tomorrow.”

Shen Qingyi was slightly stunned. Before she could say anything, she watched Shan Ling head to the bathroom to shower, utterly crestfallen.

What happened?

Shen Qingyi frowned in confusion, looked down at the book, flipped through it, confirmed that no one had written a love letter in the back pocket, no pages were missing, and the signature was intact. Only then did she put it back on her bookshelf in good spirits, placing it where Fang Ran’s book had been.

One family rejoices, another grieves.

Shen Qingyi had solved her problem and received a new book, while, for the first time, Shan Ling suffered from insomnia.

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