Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Fang Ran’s preoccupied expression did not escape Shan Ling. When the customers ahead of her finished ordering and left, it was finally Fang Ran’s turn.

“The shop has a promotion today, 30% off coffee. What would you like to order?” Shan Ling asked the person in front of her politely, treating Fang Ran exactly like any other customer.

Fang Ran glanced at Shan Ling, thought for a moment, and ordered the coffee her colleagues wanted. Then she told Shan Ling: “To go, thank you.”

Shan Ling confirmed the order. Seeing no other customers behind her, she smiled and asked: “How are you going to carry so much coffee back?”

Fang Ran smiled faintly: “A colleague is coming to help me carry them soon, so it’s fine.”

Then, Fang Ran looked at Shan Ling, opened her mouth, and said: “Are you free tonight? I’d like to treat you to dinner. It’s been a while, and we haven’t officially gone shopping. I happen to have some free time and want to buy some things for my parents.”

“But I’m not very good at picking gifts,” Shan Ling thought for a moment and said: “However, I can certainly accompany you to shop. I’m not going home for the holiday this year, and I also plan to buy some things for my parents.”

Although there was no shortage of anything in Bird Tit Village, they didn’t have the variety of goods found in the big city. Shan Ling had saved some money now, and since she didn’t spend much herself, she might as well buy things for her parents and mail them back.

Fang Ran smiled when she heard this: “Great.”

The two chatted briefly. In between, Shan Ling delivered several coffee orders, and Fang Ran stood by the counter, waiting for her coffee.

“There are 13 cups in total. Please check,” Shan Ling counted twice to make sure the order was correct before asking Fang Ran to count them as well.

Fang Ran didn’t look, smiling and saying: “It’s fine, if you’ve counted them, I don’t need to double-check.”

She checked her wristwatch, calculating that her colleague should be arriving soon. Otherwise, carrying so many coffees alone would not only be heavy but could also spill halfway, which would be a shame.

After waiting a few minutes, someone finally walked in through the door, but Fang Ran was stunned when she looked back.

Song Qinglan had pushed open the coffee shop door. She was dressed quite modestly today in a white down jacket and black leggings, wearing a black baseball cap, and black leather shoes, looking slender and tall.

Song Qinglan wasn’t wearing a mask, but even though she pulled her cap low, people could still recognize her, at least Shan Ling did.

She looked at Song Qinglan, then at Fang Ran, blinked, and said nothing.

This reminded Shan Ling of the video Nuonuo had shown her, causing her to involuntarily recall the ambiguous atmosphere between the two and the smile in Song Qinglan’s eyes.

And now, the two people involved stood in front of Shan Ling, talking as if no one else was present.

Song Qinglan looked at the 13 cups of coffee, leaned closer to Fang Ran, and complained: “Why so many? They should come and buy their own coffee. Why make you carry them?”

As she spoke, she lightly held Fang Ran’s hand, right in front of Shan Ling.

Shan Ling blinked, watching the two people in front of her curiously.

Perhaps Shan Ling’s gaze was too candid, making Fang Ran feel slightly awkward. She pulled away from Song Qinglan’s hand, her face slightly flushed, and asked: “Did you drive here?”

“Yes,” Song Qinglan said: “I couldn’t exactly walk all the way here, could I?”

“Then you take these coffees and put them in the car to bring back to the studio,” Fang Ran told her: “I’ll call my colleagues to meet us downstairs later.”

Song Qinglan said “Oh,” and finally shifted her gaze from Fang Ran to Shan Ling.

Shan Ling blinked and smiled: “Hello, Miss Song.”

“Hello to you too,” Song Qinglan smiled, her eyes curved, and she told Shan Ling: “Our studio often buys coffee from you. Can’t we get a discount? Forget ordinary working people; I even think your shop’s coffee is expensive.”

Shan Ling laughed: “The prices in our shop are uniformly set by the boss. I’m just an employee and can’t make that decision. However, our coffee is currently 30% off for the Spring Festival period. If Miss Song likes it, we can switch all your future orders to large sizes.”

Song Qinglan was only kidding earlier, but now that Shan Ling offered this, she was genuinely happy and said to Fang Ran: “See? Now you can get large coffee for the price of a medium one. This is all thanks to me.”

Fang Ran looked at her helplessly, feeling that the other person seemed to be acting spoiled, wagging her tail and asking for a reward.

Although the feeling was strange, Fang Ran felt that their relationship seemed to have returned to the most intimate period they had before, yet it was even more ‘intimate’ than that. Fang Ran could probably guess what kind of ‘reward’ Song Qinglan wanted in her heart.

She sighed internally, then looked at Song Qinglan and said: “You’re not wearing a mask. Go wait for me in the car. I still have something to talk about with Xiao Ling.”

Song Qinglan glanced at Shan Ling, puffed out her cheeks: “Fine, I’ll go wait for you in the car then.”

Fang Ran’s face turned red, she nodded helplessly, and let Song Qinglan carry the coffee out.

Shan Ling hadn’t interrupted the whole time. Only after Song Qinglan left did she blink and ask Fang Ran: “Are you two really together?”

The ambiguous atmosphere between Song Qinglan and Fang Ran was obvious to Shan Ling, so when she asked the question, it was more of an affirmation than a question.

Fang Ran nodded awkwardly, looking away and avoiding Shan Ling’s honest gaze.

“I don’t know if it counts as being together,” Fang Ran said slowly: “I originally planned to resign and leave this city, but Qinglan… she said she wants to try being with me.”

Shan Ling was a bit confused: “Try what?”

Fang Ran scratched her cheek, looking at Shan Ling: “Try being in a relationship with me.”

Shan Ling was momentarily stunned by the words. Although she hadn’t dated, she had heard stories. She had never heard of a relationship needing a ‘trial period.’

“Ranran,” Shan Ling frowned slightly, tilting her head to look at her: “Can emotions be put on trial?”

Fang Ran couldn’t answer that question.

“Isn’t it ridiculous?” Fang Ran lowered her eyes, radiating a feeling of helplessness, and told Shan Ling: “I feel ridiculous myself.”

Shan Ling looked at Fang Ran, thought for a moment, and said: “It’s not ridiculous. I don’t know what happened between you and Miss Song, and I can’t make decisions for you. But you should clearly communicate your thoughts to Miss Song, to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“Thank you.” Fang Ran felt very reassured by Shan Ling’s words. She smiled faintly at Shan Ling: “You go back to work. I’m heading back to the studio. Let’s go out to dinner tonight. My treat.”

“Sure,” Shan Ling smiled: “Then I won’t be polite.”

Fang Ran also smiled, waved at her, and left the door with the coffee. Shan Ling watched Fang Ran’s figure disappear around the corner, then frowned slightly.

Shen Qingyi walked out of the break room, looked at Shan Ling’s dazed expression, and leaned closer to ask: “What’s wrong?”

Shan Ling turned to look at her and said: “Yiyi.”

“Mmm,” Shen Qingyi stood beside Shan Ling, rolled up her sleeves, and said: “Tonight we…”

“I’m going out to dinner with a friend tonight,” Shan Ling told Shen Qingyi: “Fang Ran came to see me, and we agreed to go out to eat tonight.”

Shen Qingyi was stunned. She had been busy in the back and didn’t know Fang Ran had been here.

“Then…” Shen Qingyi asked tentatively: “Just the two of you?”

Not me?

Shan Ling thought for a moment and said: “It should just be the two of us. You can go straight home after work. Fang Ran and I are going straight to shop.”

Shen Qingyi pursed her lips. She opened her mouth but said nothing, reluctantly agreeing: “Fine, then I’ll go home by myself.”

She thought about what was in the refrigerator, and it seemed like only last night’s leftovers.

Shen Qingyi watched Shan Ling serve customers, feeling unhappy, and lowered her head, deciding to just eat whatever was convenient tonight. It didn’t matter what she ate alone anyway, since no one was accompanying her.

Before 5 PM, Fang Ran arrived at the coffee shop to wait for Shan Ling.

“Ranran, wait for me for a bit,” Shan Ling saw Fang Ran standing at the counter with a white canvas bag and told her: “Go sit on the side for a while. I finish work in fifteen minutes, and I can brew you a cup of fruit tea to go with us while we shop.”

“Sounds great,” Fang Ran was delighted and smiled widely: “Don’t put too much sugar in mine; I want a lighter taste.”

Shan Ling nodded: “I know your preference. I promise to brew you a delicious cup of fruit tea.”

As the two were chatting, Shen Qingyi walked over with a sullen face and glared at Fang Ran.

Fang Ran drew back her neck and smiled as she greeted Shen Qingyi: “Hello, Miss Shen. I’m taking Shan Ling out shopping tonight~”

Shen Qingyi looked at her displeasedly, saying sourly: “Come back early. Don’t stay outside the mall for too long in this cold weather.”

Shan Ling looked at Fang Ran curiously and asked: “What are we eating later? I have some dietary restrictions; I don’t eat poultry, but chicken and duck are okay.”

“Oh, really? Then how about seafood?” Fang Ran suggested.

“Are there still seafood options this season?” Shan Ling looked at her, puzzled: “Will it be expensive?”

Fang Ran smiled: “I know the owner of a seafood restaurant. Their food is very fresh, and they can give us the best price, so it won’t be too expensive.”

Shan Ling nodded and told her: “I’ll go brew your tea. Wait for me a moment.”

After Shan Ling went into the back kitchen, only Shen Qingyi and Fang Ran were left at the counter. The two weren’t very familiar, and Shen Qingyi didn’t talk much and lacked Shan Ling’s approachable manner, making Fang Ran feel a bit uneasy.

“Miss Fang.”

Suddenly, Shen Qingyi spoke. She said calmly: “Is Song Qinglan treating you well?”

Fang Ran was startled. She pursed her lips and nodded: “She’s not a bad-hearted person, just a bit short-tempered and somewhat willful, but her intentions are good.”

Shen Qingyi waited for her to finish, then said plainly: “You don’t need to explain so much to me; I’m not the one in a relationship with her. I just hope you can think things through. Some feelings, once you fall into them, are very hard to escape.”

Fang Ran didn’t speak. She didn’t know what to say.

Her relationship with Song Qinglan was too complex. And after loving her for ten years, Song Qinglan only needed to crook her finger, and Fang Ran would return without hesitation, completely powerless to resist.

“I understand,” Fang Ran still appreciated Shen Qingyi’s advice, knowing that despite her cold exterior, she was actually a very kind person inside. She smiled and said: “I’ll make sure to bring Shan Ling back to you early. Don’t worry about us too much.”

Shen Qingyi paused slightly, then only grunted: “I’m not worried!”

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