Avoid checking when response is empty

qa/qa/specs/features/api/4_verify/pipeline_deletion_spec.rb

@@ -49,9 +49,7 @@ module QA
       let(:pipeline_data_request) { Runtime::API::Request.new(api_client, "/projects/#{project.id}/pipelines/#{pipeline_id}") }
 
       before do
-        Support::Waiter.wait_until(max_duration: 30, sleep_interval: 3) do
-          JSON.parse(get(pipeline_data_request.url))['status'] != 'pending'
-        end
+        Support::Waiter.wait_until(sleep_interval: 3) { !pipeline.empty? && pipeline['status'] != 'pending' }
       end
 
       after do
@@ -61,9 +59,21 @@ module QA
       context 'when deleted via API' do
         it 'is not found', testcase: 'https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/quality/testcases/-/issues/931' do
           delete(pipeline_data_request.url)
-          expect(JSON.parse(get(pipeline_data_request.url))['message'].downcase).to have_content('404 not found')
+
+          deleted_pipeline = nil
+          Support::Waiter.wait_until(sleep_interval: 3) do
+            deleted_pipeline = pipeline
+            !pipeline.empty?
+          end
+          expect(deleted_pipeline['message'].downcase).to have_content('404 not found')
         end
       end
+
+      private
+
+      def pipeline
+        JSON.parse(get(pipeline_data_request.url))
+      end
     end
   end
 end