The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: On Purpose

When freshmen enrolled, the school issued two sets of uniforms. Lu Yin had opened hers, looked at it once, and then put it away in the bottom of her trunk.

This was probably the first time Lu Yin had seriously looked at her school uniform up close, and it was on Sheng Xiali.

She was the only one on the entire sports field wearing the school uniform.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all, at least Sheng Xiali looked good in it.

The much-criticized navy blue stand-up collar, which looked stiff and silly on others, made Sheng Xiali’s neck look exceptionally slender and long.

And the baggy, loose sleeves, which made others’ backs look broad and their shoulders droopy, actually made Sheng Xiali’s exposed arms look toned and well-proportioned.

Even the length of the shirt, which Cheng Siyu had complained about being unreasonable when she tried it on, was just right on Sheng Xiali, reaching her waist. When she moved, the hem would lift up a little with her larger movements, revealing her taut, powerful waist, cinched by her pants.

Her waistline was so fluid it felt like it could slide right into Lu Yin’s heart. She uncomfortably averted her gaze a little.

“Did you see that?”

Sheng Xiali’s voice, which sounded a bit cool in the summer heat, brushed past Lu Yin’s head. Lu Yin reflexively closed her eyes.

“No, I didn’t!”

Her mouth was faster than her brain. After shouting this, Lu Yin felt a sinking feeling. It was like a confession. She opened her eyes to look at Sheng Xiali.

Sheng Xiali frowned slightly, looking at the person who had just claimed not to be looking with a righteous tone. There was a moment of silence. She was the one who needed to be taught, so what was this? She didn’t even watch the demonstration.

She wasn’t a very patient person, and now she regretted taking on this task a little.

“I’ll do it one more time. Watch carefully.”

“Huh?”

Lu Yin was slow to realize. She watched Sheng Xiali toss the ball against the wall, and as it bounced back, she caught it with ease and volleyed it back gracefully.

When the ball came back again, Sheng Xiali caught it with both hands, pointed to a spot about ten centimeters above her wrist, and reminded Lu Yin: “Use this part to hit it back. You try it.”

Lu Yin was slow to understand that Sheng Xiali’s “Did you see that?” wasn’t a discovery that she was staring at her, but a question about her demonstration.

She had been too busy looking at the person to notice that the lesson had already begun.

“Based on what I just said, try to do it once.”

Sheng Xiali saw Lu Yin holding a ball and taking a deep breath, and she didn’t realize that her own voice had become a little softer, sounding less serious than before.

Lu Yin was very sensitive to people’s emotions. Feeling the change in Sheng Xiali’s attitude, she quickly straightened up and practiced seriously according to her instructions.

She looked like a well-behaved and diligent student.

Sheng Xiali’s frown relaxed. The thing she disliked the most was wasting time. Teaching was fine, but teaching someone who wasn’t interested in learning was a waste of time.

She had seen Lu Yin and Xinlei’s practice from a distance a few times before. Xinlei hadn’t taught her with her heart, but Lu Yin’s attitude had also been very casual. She was a little confused as to why the situation had escalated as it had.

Xinlei’s temper wasn’t bad, and she wasn’t a person who couldn’t control her emotions, especially in front of others. Losing control like that was a first for her.

As for the person in front of her, she didn’t know her, and she didn’t have time to get to know her.

Sheng Xiali walked over to Lu Yin, took the ball out of her hands, pulled Lu Yin’s hand to a specific spot, and guided her hand to show her how to volley forward, letting her feel the right amount of force.

“Try it.”

She picked up a ball from the side and put it back in Lu Yin’s hand. Time was of the essence.

Lu Yin looked at the part of her wrist that Sheng Xiali had just held. She could still feel the warmth. Sheng Xiali’s palm hadn’t had a single drop of sweat on it throughout the class; it was dry, just a little warm.

She seemed to be the kind of person who didn’t sweat much. She always looked fresh and clean.

Lu Yin came back to her senses. Seeing that Sheng Xiali was watching her, she gave a wide smile: “I’ll try it.”

With that, she adjusted her posture and did as Sheng Xiali had told her. She successfully volleyed the ball, and they went back and forth, making rapid progress.

“Good. Keep that feeling.”

Sheng Xiali wasn’t a fan of encouraging education. She was just telling the truth. It was indeed good.

At least much better than she had expected.

Lu Yin agreed wholeheartedly and, after showing enough progress without being too outstanding, she intentionally hit a heavy ball, missed it, and stopped.

“It’s not bad. Practice a little more and try to find that feeling I mentioned.”

Sheng Xiali’s praise wasn’t just to be encouraging. It was the truth. It was indeed not bad.

At least much better than she had thought.

Lu Yin agreed completely and smiled as she ran out to retrieve the ball. She followed the ball to the grandstand at the edge of the field and saw Song Xinlei sitting there.

Song Xinlei watched Lu Yin with a smile on her face. Before she picked up the ball and left, Lu Yin lifted her chin at her, looking smug and victorious.

She no longer looked pitiful and dejected like she did before.

As she walked past a group of people practicing, she said to them with a happy grin, “I can catch the ball now~”

Song Xinlei heard those people express their joy for her, saying she had found a good partner and was making fast progress. They told her not to be sad about what had happened before and that with more practice, she could pass.

Lu Yin smiled and replied: “Yes, I’ll work hard, I’ll definitely pass!”

Scattered words of encouragement reached Song Xinlei’s ears, and many people were also looking her way.

Their gazes were a little different, but overall similar.

It was the look of a righteous bystander, filled with reproach and questioning, as if they were saying, “See? Lu Yin isn’t bad at all. You’re the one who can’t teach, and you have a bad temper.”

Song Xinlei’s face darkened. There was nothing she didn’t understand now. She had been set up!

Lu Yin had done it on purpose. She had let herself be scolded, intentionally not talked back, deliberately not learned well, and purposely made her even angrier. In the end, she had lost control and became the bad-tempered bully in the eyes of her classmates.

And Lu Yin had become the perfect victim.

What a scheming person!

She was probably planning it from the very beginning when she first scolded her. She was planning to pretend to be wronged and have everyone feel sorry for her and be on her side!

But why? Lu Yin was scolded for so long just to ruin her image in the eyes of these people?

But these classmates were only in the same P.E. class. They had different majors, and they might not even see each other again after the course ended.

Song Xinlei watched Lu Yin and Sheng Xiali, who had moved to the shaded corner, from a distance. Seeing Sheng Xiali seriously teaching Lu Yin, her heart was in turmoil.

Lu Yin’s target was Xiali!

Song Xinlei stood up abruptly, wanting to go and tell Sheng Xiali to stay away from Lu Yin. But as soon as she stood up, she thought of the current situation. If she went now, it would look even more like she was targeting Lu Yin. Xiali probably wouldn’t leave either; she would definitely finish what she promised to do.

No, she couldn’t just go like that. She suppressed her anger and sat back down on the plastic chair.

She also couldn’t let Xiali know about this, or it would expose her feelings.

Song Xinlei looked at the two of them in the distance, her gaze finally locking on Lu Yin. This person was truly cunning. She even used her…

If it weren’t for her, Xiali wouldn’t have agreed to teach that idiot. Xiali hated wasting time on idiots.

Song Xinlei had disliked Lu Yin from the beginning of the semester. Lu Yin’s belongings were more than all the things of the other two put together, and she had taken up all the extra space in the dorm.

In the beginning, the other two, including her now good friend Cheng Siyu, were also unhappy, but Lu Yin acted as if she hadn’t noticed their feelings at all.

Living in the same dorm, people usually tried not to have a falling out, so they spoke more indirectly. The dorm leader, who was unhappy with Lu Yin’s many belongings taking up space, would only say that the dorm was small and everyone should be more mindful.

Lu Yin would smile and say she agreed, then take out a pack of tissues and distribute them to everyone, asking them to help use them up so they could make more space.

It wasn’t just tissues and trash bags; there was also food. Lu Yin was a person who, whether she was truly generous or just being polite, or maybe she just liked to waste money, would buy food as if she was stocking up for the end of the world.

The same went for fruit. No one else bought it by the box.

The dorm leader and the others might have been too embarrassed to accept other things, but fruit would indeed go bad if it wasn’t eaten, just as Lu Yin said. So, taking some was a form of “helping.”

But this “helping” was essentially taking advantage. As the saying goes, “He who takes a handout is soft-mouthed.” This was how Lu Yin slowly eroded the others’ opinions of her in the dorm.

Like a gentle spring breeze turning into rain, she did it without any conflict.

The dorm leader even told her once that she felt very bad and apologized for her initial attitude toward Lu Yin at the beginning of the semester, and was glad that Lu Yin was so big-hearted and didn’t care.

Song Xinlei now understood that this wasn’t being big-hearted; this was Lu Yin’s strategy!

Song Xinlei clenched the ball in her hand. She remembered the first time she took Sheng Xiali to their dorm. She had noticed then that there was something wrong with the way Lu Yin looked at Xiali, but thankfully, Xiali was “oblivious.”

She had been waiting for many years for Xiali to “come to her senses” and was prepared to keep waiting. She didn’t want to scare her. She wanted to tell her at the right time.

Preferably when Xiali was already used to having her around. That way, even if she failed, they would still have an unbreakable bond.

She and Xiali were meant to be together forever!

She would not allow any surprises, and she would not allow anyone to steal her Xiali from her.

No one!

The bell for the end of class rang. Song Xinlei got up and ran toward Sheng Xiali.

Lu Yin was a little confused about why the class was so short. Cheng Siyu was also confused. She hadn’t even had a chance to practice with Sheng Xiali again. Sheng Xiali had spent the whole time teaching Lu Yin.

However, Lu Yin did need Sheng Xiali more than she did, so Cheng Siyu had no complaints about it.

Seeing Song Xinlei running over, her opinion of her grew even more. It was all her fault. If she had taught Lu Yin properly, they wouldn’t all have to bother Sheng Xiali.

Song Xinlei was also something else. They were all classmates and dorm mates. She had used so many of Lu Yin’s things and eaten so much of her food. How could she have the nerve?

Lu Yin wasn’t as stupid as she made her out to be. She had only been taught for half a class by Sheng Xiali, and she was already able to volley several balls.

Song Xinlei ran up to Sheng Xiali and immediately felt Cheng Siyu’s unfriendly gaze. She couldn’t be bothered to deal with it and only looked at Sheng Xiali: “Xiali, let’s go to the first cafeteria for dinner after class.”

Sheng Xiali nodded, took the ball from her hand, then turned and took the ball from Lu Yin’s hand, and then looked at Cheng Siyu.

Cheng Siyu saw that she was holding three balls and immediately refused: “I’ll go and return mine myself.”

Sheng Xiali nodded, and the two of them walked together toward the equipment return area.

Song Xinlei wanted to follow, but she thought of something and fell back a step. After Sheng Xiali had walked a little farther, she looked at Lu Yin.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean by what?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t.”

“Lu Yin!”

“Hmm?”

Lu Yin smiled at the furious Song Xinlei, looking confused. Song Xinlei was about to confront her when she saw Sheng Xiali and the others turning back.

The teacher had told everyone to practice hard at home as well, and after the exam next week, the class would be over.

Cheng Siyu was a little worried. Her passing the exam depended on luck. She saw Song Xinlei linking arms with Sheng Xiali and walking out of the field. She grabbed Lu Yin and ran after them.

Lu Yin didn’t know what she was doing. Before she could ask, Cheng Siyu had already blocked Sheng Xiali and Song Xinlei’s path.

“What are you doing? Class is over. Are you still bothering Xiali?”

Song Xinlei glared at the two of them. Her face, whether from the sun or from anger, looked darker than usual.

Cheng Siyu didn’t care about her attitude. She wasn’t here for her.

“Sheng Xiali, the exam is next week. Our skills are probably not enough to pass. Especially Lu Yin. She only just started learning from you today. She’s still a long way from passing. Are you free? We want to practice with you some more. It can be when you don’t have class, or on the weekend.”

As Cheng Siyu said this, she winked at Lu Yin, telling her to cooperate. Lu Yin understood immediately and clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

“She’s not free. Xiali also has a part-time job. She doesn’t have the time!”

Song Xinlei rejected them on Sheng Xiali’s behalf and tried to pull her away.

Cheng Siyu was disappointed, and her opinion of Song Xinlei grew even worse.

She wasn’t even asking her. Why was she acting as if Sheng Xiali belonged to her and making decisions for her?

But seeing Sheng Xiali not saying anything and following her, Cheng Siyu deflated. Maybe Sheng Xiali didn’t want to teach them either.

Lu Yin watched Sheng Xiali being led away by Song Xinlei, who was holding her arm. She grabbed Cheng Siyu’s hand and quickly took a few steps forward, blocking Sheng Xiali’s path again.

Cheng Siyu turned to her in surprise. Why was Lu Yin suddenly so enthusiastic? She had only grabbed her to be more persuasive. She thought Lu Yin didn’t seem to care much about the exam.

But Lu Yin was the kind of person who didn’t care much about anything. At the end of last semester, everyone was rushing to the library to get seats, and she had said whether she passed or not was up to fate.

But she was lucky. She passed everything with a low score and didn’t fail a single class.

Lu Yin looked directly into Sheng Xiali’s eyes with a look of sincerity: “Classmate, are you free this weekend? We really need you.”

Lu Yin had a natural advantage. When she wanted to please someone, her round face, which was not easy to guard against, and her large eyes, which curved into a crescent moon when she smiled, made her look like a clear spring under the scorching summer sun, refreshing and able to reach a person’s heart.

She smiled at Sheng Xiali, with a look of pleading in her eyes, looking very much like those stray kittens that would cling to people, pitiful yet also very proud.

At least Sheng Xiali hesitated for a moment.

“Xiali has a part-time job on the weekend. Get out of the way!”

Song Xinlei’s face grew even darker. She reached out to push the obstacle out of her way.

Lu Yin avoided her hand and continued the conversation based on what she had just said: “How about this, classmate? We’ll pay you. Whatever you get for your part-time job, we’ll pay you that much. It’s really not right to have you waste your time for free.”

Cheng Siyu was stunned. Was that even an option?

Song Xinlei was also taken aback, and then she became even angrier: “I know you’re rich, but not everyone wants your money! Get lost, stop insulting people!”

Lu Yin didn’t look at her. Her eyes were fixed on Sheng Xiali, still with that look of utter sincerity, as if she genuinely believed that Sheng Xiali’s time was valuable and there was no intention of insulting her with money.

Sheng Xiali froze for a moment when Lu Yin mentioned money. She looked at Lu Yin with a little more emotion in her eyes. She knew Lu Yin wasn’t short on money; she had known from the first time they met.

Sheng Xiali lowered her head slightly, her long eyelashes covering most of her eyes. She looked at the other person’s bright and open gaze, was silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

“Fifty an hour.”

When she said this, the other three people were all surprised to varying degrees.

Cheng Siyu hadn’t expected Sheng Xiali to actually ask for money, and a pretty high amount at that…

Song Xinlei hadn’t expected Sheng Xiali to ask Lu Yin for money!

Lu Yin recovered the fastest and smiled brightly: “Okay, Saturday afternoon, from 1 PM to 6 PM. Is that okay?”

Cheng Siyu quickly did the math in her head. 1 PM to 6 PM, five hours, fifty an hour, two hundred fifty…

She looked at Lu Yin anxiously, wanting to remind her that this price for this time was not right, and could easily be misunderstood!

And since she was the one who brought this up, she would have to pay for half of it, right? Over a hundred yuan. It was almost the end of the month, and if she paid that, she wouldn’t have enough money for food. She didn’t want to be a part of this anymore…

Lu Yin didn’t look at her or receive that message.

She smiled at Sheng Xiali, waiting for her reply.