Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 85

Chapter 85

When Shan Ling returned home, she first put the fruits and vegetables bought from the supermarket into the refrigerator, and then opened the bag of bird feed she had bought by taking a detour to the flower and bird market.

Speaking of the bird feed, the purchase made Shan Ling quite embarrassed because she wanted to eat it too.

Shan Ling looked at the wide variety of bird feeds in the market—large and small, with many different textures—and felt unhappy, recalling that Shen Qingyi only bought a few kinds for her initially. With so many delicious options, why did she only choose compressed crackers for her to eat?

It’s enough to anger a bird to death.

There were many small birds in the market. They chirped at everyone who passed by. Although their living conditions were a bit poor, at least they wouldn’t be slaughtered like poultry, which made Shan Ling feel slightly better.

Shan Ling selected a few bird feeds that looked appealing, and mixed them with grains bought from the supermarket, creating a balanced and nutritious bird meal with both meat (insects) and vegetables (grains).

Opening the balcony window, Shan Ling brought the bird feeder inside, cleaned it, and then put the prepared bird food into it.

She also replaced the water bowl with fresh water and even soaked a few mung beans in it, which would make it taste better than plain water.

Kind of like how humans drink barley tea.

After finishing this, Shan Ling saw a grayish-blue bird land nearby, tilting its head to look at her.

“It’s just been prepared. You’re the first one,” Shan Ling politely told the grayish-blue bird: “Eat if you’re hungry. I won’t disturb you.”

The grayish-blue bird watched Shan Ling vigilantly. It seemed to sense the bird-like aura coming from her, and cautiously approached, taking a sip of the ‘mung bean soup.’

“Are you the one everyone talks about, the Northeast White Sparrow who provides food?” the grayish-blue bird asked, tilting its head.

Northeast White Sparrow?

Shan Ling frowned, thinking that this nickname was truly unpleasant.

“I am a Silver-throated Tit,” Shan Ling corrected it: “Not a Northeast White Sparrow.”

You can call me Tit, or Little Fatty, but you absolutely cannot call me a Northeast White Sparrow!

The bird nodded as if it understood, then lamented: “Kind birds like you are rare. Although you look different from us, we are all birds. Tell us if you ever need anything in the future.”

Shan Ling smiled helplessly: “It’s enough if you all can eat until you’re full. I don’t have anything to trouble you with.”

More importantly, she could already transform into a human. What could these birds possibly help her with?

Although they were all of the same kind, there was a fundamental difference. Shan Ling rested her head on her hand, watching the bird eat, and reminded it: “Today, I added some new grains from the supermarket—oats and yellow millet—and some mealworms from the flower and bird market. It’s winter. How can you have the energy if you don’t eat enough? It must be very cold at night.”

Shan Ling thought that if it wasn’t inappropriate, she would even build a few bird nests on the balcony so that her kin wouldn’t be too miserable when it rained or snowed.

The grayish-blue bird flew away after eating its fill. Shan Ling tidied up the balcony, then turned to prepare dinner.

Shen Qingyi walked out of the study and saw Shan Ling humming a tune with a nasal sound, seemingly peeling potatoes.

She walked over and asked Shan Ling in the kitchen: “What are we eating tonight?”

Shan Ling turned around when she heard her and said: “Beef stew with potatoes, and one stir-fried vegetable. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good.” Shen Qingyi would eat anything; she just wanted to talk to Shan Ling.

Opening the refrigerator and seeing it fully stocked, Shen Qingyi thought for a moment, poured a glass of the pear soup Shan Ling had boiled, and felt the ice-cold liquid slide down her throat to her stomach.

Shan Ling knew Shen Qingyi didn’t like sweets, so she didn’t add much sugar to the pear soup, relying entirely on the pear’s natural sweetness. The taste was very light and sweet, completely acceptable even to Shen Qingyi, who disliked sweets.

After finishing the pear soup, Shen Qingyi rolled up her sleeves and told Shan Ling: “I’ll peel the potatoes. Have you taken the beef out to thaw?”

“It’s thawed.” Shan Ling dutifully handed the potatoes and the peeler to Shen Qingyi, watching her and saying: “Cut the potatoes into large chunks. We’re going to boil them for a long time this time.”

Shen Qingyi nodded, taking them from Shan Ling, accidentally brushing against her hand.

When their warm hands touched, Shen Qingyi’s eyes paused slightly. She calmly took the potatoes and whispered to Shan Ling: “I’ll cut the beef later. You go rest.”

Shan Ling felt a tingling sensation in the hands that had just touched, and a flutter in her heart. She nodded and left the kitchen to Shen Qingyi.

After washing her hands, Shan Ling sat at the dining table and started peeling garlic.

She recalled that on the way back from Sister Anxin’s restaurant, Shen Qingyi had held her hand the entire way, only letting go after they got into the car.

They had held hands before, but today it felt strange, as if Shen Qingyi was declaring some kind of ownership.

Is it just my imagination?

Shan Ling pondered while peeling the garlic. She hadn’t felt this internal flutter when holding Shen Qingyi’s hand before. Does holding hands between a bird and a human always feel like this? But she hadn’t felt this way when holding hands with Xu Wentao.

She quietly glanced back at Shen Qingyi, who was cutting potatoes and beef in the kitchen, and suddenly found Shen Qingyi’s serious look very attractive.

Shan Ling was happy that such a beautiful person had such a close relationship with her.

She truly hoped they could maintain this relationship forever.

On the first day of work, Fang Ran looked at her workstation, which was completely empty. The desk, which usually had a pile of things, was now spotless.

This situation had lasted for over a week. Her colleagues’ looks were becoming increasingly strange. Privately, they were even secretly discussing whether she and Song Qinglan had broken up, wondering why she was being treated this way.

To this, Fang Ran could only reply with a long sigh.

Checking the time, a contract for one of Song Qinglan’s endorsements was about to expire. The brand representative was scheduled to come to the studio at 9 AM to discuss renewal with Song Qinglan. Estimating the time, Song Qinglan should be arriving at the studio soon.

Fang Ran took her resignation letter from her bag, intending to hand it to her before the brand representative arrived, to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Five minutes later, Song Qinglan entered from the elevator. Today, she was wearing a houndstooth pencil skirt and a brown sweater, with colorful sunglasses, walking with a confident stride.

Fang Ran saw her enter, quickly stood up, and walked over with her resignation letter.

Song Qinglan naturally saw Fang Ran. She slightly slowed her pace, restrained herself, and didn’t speak, just taking off her sunglasses.

“Qinglan…”

Fang Ran tried to call out to her, but Song Qinglan only grunted when she looked at Fang Ran, walking past her and heading straight into her office.

The colleagues in the studio looked at Fang Ran even stranger. Some were even whispering to each other, though Fang Ran was too far away to hear anything.

Brother Zhang walked in carrying Song Qinglan’s bag. He greeted Fang Ran warmly: “Fang Ran, morning. This is the boss’s bag. It was left in the back seat, so I brought it up. Help me take it in for her. I still have some errands to run, so I have to leave now.”

“Brother Zhang.” Fang Ran looked at him awkwardly: “Qinglan might not want to see me. Why don’t you take it in for her?”

Brother Zhang was stunned when he heard this. He quickly pulled her aside and said to Fang Ran: “What’s wrong? Did you two have a falling out?”

Fang Ran wasn’t sure if it counted as a falling out. She smiled bitterly and said: “Brother Zhang, please don’t ask. I… probably won’t be working here much longer.”

“Ah?” Brother Zhang looked at her in surprise: “Why so sudden? You’ve been with the boss for so long. Is there any problem you can’t discuss? There’s no need to resign.”

Fang Ran shook her head, not continuing the topic, only asking him: “Did Qinglan ask you to pick up my parents at my house before?”

Brother Zhang nodded.

“You don’t need to pick them up anymore,” Fang Ran told him: “The New Year is approaching, and I don’t want to trouble you.”

“Listen to you talk,” Brother Zhang looked at her and comforted her: “Fang Ran, you should talk to the boss properly. I feel like she treats you differently than us. Don’t overthink it. You know the boss’s temper. Who else can coax her besides you?”

Fang Ran sighed: “Now, she won’t listen to me anymore.”

“How do you know if you don’t try?” Brother Zhang shoved Song Qinglan’s bag into Fang Ran’s hand and told her: “Go and try. Talk to the boss properly. The brand representative will be here in half an hour anyway. I’ll go take care of my errands first. Any later, the roads will be jammed.”

Brother Zhang handed the bag to Fang Ran and ran off, leaving Fang Ran holding the bag in one hand and the resignation letter in the other, standing in the corner at a loss.

Finally, Fang Ran sighed and, as if resigned to fate, knocked on Song Qinglan’s office door with the bag.

One must serve faithfully while in office. Since she was taking Song Qinglan’s salary, she had to work diligently.

It’s just delivering a bag. It’s no big deal.

Knock, knock, knock—

Under the watchful eyes of almost everyone in the studio, Fang Ran knocked on Song Qinglan’s office door and heard a familiar voice from inside.

“Come in.”

Fang Ran took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

Song Qinglan was playing on her phone in her executive chair. She looked up and was slightly startled to see Fang Ran enter, but quickly her expression darkened. She turned her body away from her, not intending to speak.

“Brother Zhang said you left your bag in the car and asked me to bring it in,” Fang Ran said, holding the bag up to Song Qinglan: “Where should I put it?”

Song Qinglan puffed out her cheeks and didn’t answer her.

Fang Ran sighed for what must have been the hundredth time that day, walked over to the nearby sofa, and intended to place the bag there.

“The brand representative will be here soon. If you put the bag there, where do you expect them to sit?” Song Qinglan asked irritably, looking at Fang Ran.

Fang Ran was stumped by the question. She held the bag, thought for a moment, and asked: “Then, on the cabinet?”

“Is it a bag worth showing off, to be placed on the cabinet? The brand representative will think I’m treating a ten-thousand-yuan bag like an offering.”

“…”

Fang Ran turned to look at Song Qinglan. She knew the other person was just trying to find fault, and watching her, she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

Even if she doesn’t like me, there’s no need to be so hurtful, is there?

Fang Ran didn’t speak. She just walked up to Song Qinglan, placed the bag near the corner of the desk, and whispered: “Is this acceptable?”

Song Qinglan opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but seeing the emotion in Fang Ran’s eyes, she stopped talking. She just sullenly turned her face away and mumbled: “Fine, you can go out.”

Fang Ran paused, then nodded and said: “Okay.”

After saying that, Fang Ran turned and left very decisively, as if she had only come in to drop off a bag.

Song Qinglan watched the receding figure, feeling even more frustrated in her heart.

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