Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 84

Chapter 84

The moment Ji Lingyao saw Anxin, she turned off the game on her phone and happily stood up to stick close to Anxin.

“Sister, you left me here alone, it was so boring.” Ji Lingyao looked at her unhappily, her hand reaching out to hold Anxin’s. She pressed close to her and whispered: “Are most of the people here?”

“Almost,” Anxin subtly pushed away Ji Lingyao’s wandering hand and deliberately took two steps back. She then looked at everyone calmly and said: “I’ll go tell the kitchen to serve the food. Everyone can eat in a moment.”

With that, she turned and headed downstairs.

Ji Lingyao pouted unhappily, then her eyes darted, and she followed her downstairs.

Perhaps because it was the grand opening, the third floor was only occupied by Anxin’s friends and regular customers, with no outsiders. The food was also served very quickly. Within half an hour, all the dishes were on the table.

When Ji Lingyao and Anxin returned, the timing was perfect.

Anxin rubbed her slightly messy hair, chose a seat far away from Ji Lingyao, and then smiled, chatting with everyone and eating together.

Meanwhile, Ji Lingyao, who was sitting next to Shen Qingyi, looked displeased. She was leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed, slouching down constantly, not at all resembling an 18-year-old girl, but rather increasingly like a rough brute.

Since most of the guests were women, and the few men present were very refined, only a few people at the table drank alcohol.

Shen Qingyi was driving, so her cup only contained barley tea. Shan Ling, however, loved sweet drinks and had various sodas.

The meal lasted two hours. Anxin, as the main character of the day, was particularly popular. She received many gifts and kept running up and down, her face beaming with a happy smile.

She just wouldn’t look at Ji Lingyao.

Shen Qingyi peeled a shrimp, curiously asking the person next to her: “What’s wrong, did you argue with Anxin?”

“No,” Ji Lingyao crossed her arms, her eyes fixed on Anxin, and said unhappily: “Sister has been incredibly busy lately and hasn’t been affectionate with me for a long time.”

Shen Qingyi’s shrimp-peeling hand paused. She looked at Ji Lingyao and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Why do kids these days talk about everything so openly?

Although she understood Ji Lingyao’s affection for Anxin, as it was her first love, this ‘grieving wife’ look was truly something she wasn’t used to seeing.

Since the two were speaking softly, Shan Ling, sitting next to Shen Qingyi, couldn’t hear anything. She was busy discussing the recently served fried large intestines with green onions with Xu Wentao and Fang Ran.

Shen Qingyi used her long, slender hands to peel the shrimp, placing the pinkish-white meat into a clean small bowl, then told Ji Lingyao: “The shop will definitely be busy as the Spring Festival approaches. Are you going to come help?”

Ji Lingyao smiled: “Sister said she’ll spend that day with me, so I don’t plan on letting her come.”

“Her shop just opened. Can you manage to keep her away?” Shen Qingyi glanced at her and commented: “I think you’re the one being kept on a tight leash.”

“Sister controls me because she cares about me,” Ji Lingyao sat up straight and reached out to take a peeled shrimp from Shen Qingyi’s bowl, but Shen Qingyi slapped her hand away.

Shen Qingyi glared at her and said irritably: “If you want to eat, peel it yourself.”

After saying that, she turned and placed the small bowl of peeled shrimp in front of Shan Ling and said in a gentle voice: “Freshly peeled shrimp. Do you want some vinegar with it?”

Ji Lingyao was stunned by this display, exclaiming: “Ms. Shen, you must be from Sichuan, right? How can your face change so fast?”

Shen Qingyi ignored her, but Shan Ling looked at Ji Lingyao in confusion and curiously asked Shen Qingyi: “What did Ms. Ji mean by that?”

“She didn’t mean anything,” Shen Qingyi didn’t bother with the person behind her and told Shan Ling: “Are you full?”

“Almost.” Shan Ling picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a shrimp, then cupped her hand and offered it to Shen Qingyi’s mouth, smiling: “You take the first bite.”

She’s quite the ritualistic one, knows how to please me.

Shen Qingyi thought happily, opened her mouth to eat the shrimp Shan Ling personally offered, and commented: “It tastes better with a little vinegar.”

Shan Ling nodded, spun the lazy Susan on the table, and got some vinegar.

Some guests had to leave early after eating. Shan Ling and the others didn’t have anything major to do, but sitting there and playing on their phones after eating and drinking was pointless, and Shan Ling was also afraid Fang Ran would feel bored, so she wanted to leave after the meal.

Before leaving, Shan Ling and the others met with Anxin.

Anxin hadn’t seen Shan Ling in a long time, and she was very polite to Shen Qingyi, who had helped her a lot back then.

“Are you leaving?” Anxin looked at Shan Ling reluctantly, rubbing her head and saying: “Why don’t you stay a little longer? I wanted to chat with you.”

Shan Ling missed her too and was now reluctant to leave.

Ji Lingyao stood next to Anxin, making sarcastic remarks: “She has to go home, Sister. You haven’t looked at me properly all day.”

Anxin sighed behind Ji Lingyao’s back, feeling that she was far too clingy!

But her face remained serene. She smiled and talked to Shan Ling and Shen Qingyi, and naturally noticed the unfamiliar face behind them.

“And this is?” Anxin looked at Fang Ran curiously.

Shan Ling quickly introduced her: “This is the friend I told you I was bringing today. Her name is Fang Ran.”

She didn’t mention Fang Ran’s job, feeling it was unnecessary. Who knew how much longer Fang Ran would be by Song Qinglan’s side, so she didn’t elaborate.

Anxin smiled and asked: “Nice to meet you, Ms. Fang. Did you enjoy the food here? It’s the first day of business, and I’m still gathering customer feedback.”

“The food is excellent,” Fang Ran was someone who had eaten all kinds of cuisine worldwide, and she highly rated Anxin’s dishes. She smiled and said: “I wonder if I can reserve a table for New Year’s Eve dinner? My parents, brother, and sister-in-law will be joining me here for the holiday soon, and I haven’t decided where to book the meal.”

Anxin smiled and replied: “Of course. Here is my business card. You can also add my WeChat, and I’ll send you the various New Year’s Eve set menus later.”

Fang Ran nodded, added Anxin’s WeChat, and asked a few more questions. The three then left the restaurant.

Shan Ling raised her hand and waved to Anxin and Xu Wentao, quickly walking toward the parking lot with Shen Qingyi, who was waiting for her.

“Thank you both so much today,” Fang Ran stopped in front of the parking lot and told Shan Ling and Shen Qingyi: “I got a free meal out of you two. I’ll send you some fruit later. I happen to have Ms. Shen’s address.”

Fang Ran was referring to the address used when she sent the original copy of The Longest Confession from Japan.

“You don’t have to be so formal,” Shen Qingyi glanced at her and said plainly.

Fang Ran smiled and pushed up her glasses: “I’d like to take a walk alone, so I won’t ride with you. I’ll see you on Monday at the coffee shop.”

Shan Ling, wearing her little round hat, was puzzled: “It’s not close to your house, is it? Are you really going to walk all the way back?”

Fang Ran nodded, her eyes darkening: “I also plan to think about some other things.”

“In that case, we won’t bother you,” Shen Qingyi saw Shan Ling about to speak, so she took her hand and said softly: “Let’s go back first. Didn’t you say we were out of groceries? We can stop by the supermarket on the way.”

Shan Ling was slightly taken aback, then nodded and said: “We also need to buy some mixed grains. If we pass by the flower and bird market, I’d like to buy some bird feed.”

Shen Qingyi knew she fed the wild birds, so she nodded and turned to Fang Ran: “Then we’ll be going now. If you encounter any difficulties, you can call me.”

“Okay.” Fang Ran smiled, waved goodbye to the two, and walked away from the parking lot.

The winter sun filtered through the dry branches of the banyan trees, scattering light on the crosswalk.

Melodious music drifted from the shops lining the street. Fang Ran walked on the paved bluestone street, feeling the strands of sunlight quietly settling on her head, her shoulders, and her back.

Some things, once started, can never be undone.

Like her heart, which loved Song Qinglan.

From the moment Song Qinglan stopped speaking to her, Fang Ran understood that the other person would never be able to love her as deeply as she loved her.

Song Qinglan hadn’t fired her because she was mindful of their past relationship.

And Fang Ran’s importance to the studio.

In the industry, everyone knew Song Qinglan had a bad temper, and only Fang Ran could soothe her. In the studio, Fang Ran was also the person Song Qinglan valued most.

How could Song Qinglan fire such a person like an intern assistant?

Rather than waiting to be abandoned by the person she deeply loved, Fang Ran decided to proactively resign.

Today, Shan Ling and Shen Qingyi brought her here, allowing Fang Ran to clearly see one thing: although the boss, Anxin, and the young woman next to her hadn’t clarified their relationship, Fang Ran, who had observed countless people, could naturally tell that their relationship was unusual.

It also made Fang Ran realize that that was what true mutual love looked like.

Like the boss, Anxin, and her girlfriend.

Like Shan Ling and Shen Qingyi.

Some people might not say it, but their hearts and eyes were already filled with each other.

This was what it meant to love and be loved, not like her, living in pain every day.

Fang Ran looked up at the sunlight dappling through the tree shadows, finding them both glaring and dazzling.

It was the warmth she envied but could not possess.

Staying by Song Qinglan’s side made both of them miserable. Perhaps the return of that book was foreshadowing that the two of them would eventually part ways.

Fang Ran let out a long sigh. She stood in a spot where the sun shone down and opened her phone.

The work group had posted a few more photos of Song Qinglan. Fang Ran saved them one by one. Perhaps for a long time to come, she would only be able to see her situation on TV and Weibo.

After saving the videos and pictures, Fang Ran opened Song Qinglan’s WeChat, hesitated, and then pulled her into the blacklist.

There was no pain as imagined.

Fang Ran lowered her eyes, feeling that letting go was not as difficult as she had thought.

Her heart felt calm, only slightly sour and tingling with a subtle ache.

Returning home, Fang Ran turned on her computer and searched for resignation letter templates online. Ultimately, she decided against using any, turned off the computer, picked up a pen, and meticulously wrote a resignation letter.

“To Song Qinglan…”

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