The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 17.1
Chapter 17.1: Blacklist
The air suddenly froze, and Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat.
She looked at Sheng Xiali in surprise, at her sharp, well-defined, and aloof profile.
After speaking, Sheng Xiali picked up her water glass, leaned back slightly, and ran her fingers over the transparent glass.
As if feeling Lu Yin’s gaze, she slowly turned around, looking unconcerned and at ease.
It was as if she didn’t realize that every word she had just said had caused Lu Yin a great deal of trouble.
Lu Yin truly hadn’t expected Sheng Xiali to say something like that. In this moment, she actually thought of Song Xinlei. She had always dismissed her words, but this time, she found herself agreeing with what she had said to her back then: ‘Is it great to be rich?’
She hadn’t expected Sheng Xiali to use money to humiliate people…
In that instant, Lu Yin recalled many idol dramas she had watched as a child. She used to not understand why the female lead would get so angry when a check was thrown at her.
But with Sheng Xiali’s face and the subtle mockery in her eyes, she instantly empathized. No, it was more like she felt it first and then empathized.
If Sheng Xiali were to throw a check at her now, she would slap her and yell, ‘Is it great to be rich?’
How infuriating. Lu Yin looked at Sheng Xiali’s arrogant posture and crossed her own legs.
Her bulky athletic shoe kicked away the sharp, intimidating toe of Sheng Xiali’s shoe.
But a second later, Lu Yin regretted it.
Her legs were short. Putting one on top of the other looked like she was propping it up, completely different from Sheng Xiali’s effortless pose.
But since she had already done it, letting it down now would make her look even weaker. Lu Yin simply crossed her legs, grabbed her ankle, looked at Sheng Xiali, and sneered.
“You want me? Heh, you’ll have to add a zero.”
She wasn’t used to making that expression and didn’t know if she was doing it right.
Sheng Xiali’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, and her cold gaze deliberately and intensely scrutinized Lu Yin, making her feel uneasy.
After Sheng Xiali’s inspection, she leaned back in her chair and smiled without responding. Lu Yin immediately understood the meaning behind that smile.
She was laughing that Lu Yin wasn’t worth that much!
How infuriating!
Lu Yin took a deep breath, reminding herself to stay calm. Sheng Xiali was clearly trying to provoke her, and if she got angry, she would lose.
Lu Yin leaned back in her chair and also scrutinized Sheng Xiali from head to toe, looking at her for even longer and more deliberately than Sheng Xiali had looked at her.
Finally, her gaze landed on Sheng Xiali’s face. Her expression wasn’t as expressive as Sheng Xiali’s, and she was worried she wouldn’t understand, so she simply said mockingly: “Don’t act like you’re rich when you’re not!”
After saying that, and meeting Sheng Xiali’s gaze, Lu Yin uncrossed her legs and turned away, ending the argument and not giving Sheng Xiali a chance to retaliate!
She looked out the window. This time, even if the sky fell, she would not respond to Sheng Xiali’s provocations again!
…
When Yang Sanhao returned with the others, she saw the two silent figures by the window from a distance.
One of them was staring at the menu as if it were a multi-million-dollar contract, with a serious and solemn expression. The other was lost in the view of the uninteresting artificial lake outside the window, not even blinking.
The two of them were sitting so close together, but there seemed to be a vast distance between them, like they were cut off from electricity and signals.
Yang Sanhao narrowed her eyes.
This pair of ‘old acquaintances’ was more complicated than she had imagined. What kind of past could make these two people sit together like this, yet act as if they were sworn enemies for life?
It was contradictory, but also very interesting. She really wanted to know what had happened between them.
Yang Sanhao smiled and stopped, looking at Yang Beibei behind her: “Oh, Beibei, let’s exchange WeChats. If you have friends coming in the future, just let me know in advance, and I’ll save you a private room.”
Yang Beibei was overjoyed. She had wanted to ask for her WeChat while they were playing, but she didn’t know how to. Her face flushed as she took out her phone, trying to suppress her excitement as she scanned Yang Sanhao’s QR code: “I’ll make sure to promote your business a lot and get my friends to come.”
Yang Sanhao smiled, thinking that wasn’t necessary. Her shop was already busy enough for her. She wasn’t a workaholic like Sheng Xiali. In her opinion, as long as she had enough money, that was fine. She wanted to save time to enjoy life and gossip.
But seeing Yang Beibei’s serious expression, Yang Sanhao swallowed her words: “Well, thank you in advance. Go ahead and have a seat. I’ll go to the kitchen and see how the herbal tea is coming along.”
Yang Beibei watched her leave and then, with a bright, cheerful face, went to find Lu Yin.
“Yinyin, we’re back! I’m so hungry. What did you guys order?”
Hearing Beibei’s call, Lu Yin’s gaze finally shifted from the artificial lake to Yang Beibei’s face. She pulled out a tissue and handed it to her: “Are you hungry?”
Yang Beibei raised an eyebrow. Lu Yin’s tone seemed a little resentful. She took the tissue from Lu Yin’s hand and wiped the water droplets from her face after washing it.
“I’m starving. I feel like I could eat an extra bowl of rice right now. What did you order? I’ll see if we need to add anything. I’m really hungry.”
Yang Beibei smiled and reached out for the menu from Lu Yin, only to receive another tissue.
“Order whatever you want to eat yourself.”
There was no menu. Lu Yin had just realized she had forgotten to order…
Yang Beibei raised an eyebrow. Amy, who was next to her, scanned the ordering QR code on the table before she did. When she found that their table hadn’t ordered a single dish, she looked at her boss in shock.
Sheng Xiali looked up from the menu, glanced at her: “Order for yourself.”
Amy immediately lowered her head, muttering to herself. What was wrong with the boss today? Didn’t she come here because she was starving? How had she not ordered a single dish until now?
When Yang Beibei found out that Lu Yin hadn’t ordered anything, she also started complaining: “Yinyin, didn’t you say you were hungry? How could you not have ordered a single dish? Hurry up, hurry up, or I’m going to starve to death.”
Yang Beibei and Amy, who were not very hungry before, were now truly starving after exercising. They looked at the two people across from them who were also complaining about being hungry but still weren’t ordering. They exchanged glances, both confused.
What had happened? Or had they secretly eaten something and were full?
If Lu Yin knew what they were thinking, she would hit Beibei. She was full of anger.
Yang Beibei and Amy quickly ordered a few dishes first. While they were starving and eating watermelon, Yang Sanhao brought over a few signature dishes to ease their hunger.
Yang Beibei, eating a chicken foot, couldn’t wait to post on her social media to share this restaurant with her friends.
The meal ended with Beibei’s praise. Because of her live eating stream, Lu Yin also ended up eating a lot.
Part of the reason was Sheng Xiali. Seeing that she was completely unaffected and was enjoying her food, Lu Yin naturally didn’t want to lose face.
But when she was full, Lu Yin felt a little confused. What was she comparing with Sheng Xiali? Eating… even if she won, she would just be a glutton…
She got even angrier!
When it was time to pay, Lu Yin found that the bill had already been paid. She looked at the price, which was 818 in total. Lu Yin transferred the money to Sheng Xiali without a second thought.
Ding. Lu Yin looked at the notification. The 818 transfer had been accepted.
Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to owe Sheng Xiali anything. Just as she was about to put her phone away, she heard a ding. A new message had arrived.
She opened it and saw a message from Sheng Xiali.
It was an emoji, a cartoon person exaggerating a bow and holding a sign that said ‘Thanks, Boss.’
Lu Yin was surprised. She turned her head to look at Sheng Xiali, who had put her phone away and was drinking water. She hadn’t expected her to suddenly become so polite. And what was with that emoji? It was a little out of character for her, a bit flippant and even a little mischievous…
But she didn’t plan on replying. Just as she was about to put her phone away, she saw Yang Sanhao approaching with post-meal desserts.
She smiled and handed one of the ice creams to Lu Yin, asking: “How was it? Did you like the food today?”
Lu Yin nodded: “It was delicious.”
She wasn’t just being polite. The food was genuinely excellent, even for a culinary desert like Hengcheng.
Yang Sanhao’s smile grew even wider: “Then come more often. This meal is on me. Thank you for all your support. From now on, if you mention my name, you’ll get a discount.”
Lu Yin’s hand, holding her phone, paused. On the other side, Beibei had already started exclaiming: “Oh, we can’t just have a free meal! Oh, how did you already pay?”
Yang Sanhao smiled: “It’s not free. You promoted my business on your social media.”
Yang Beibei hadn’t expected her to see it so quickly. She checked her social media and saw that “Sister Hao” had indeed liked her post.
Her face flushed, and she put her phone away: “Well, thank you, Sister Hao.”
Yang Sanhao agreed. She had a lot to do in the kitchen, so she chatted for a moment and then left.
Yang Beibei, eating her ice cream, said with emotion: “Sister Hao is such a good businesswoman. She’s so pretty, her voice is so gentle, and she’s good at playing ball.”
Amy nodded in agreement: “I heard she had a lot of trouble when she first started her business.”
Yang Beibei became interested and started asking about Yang Sanhao.
The two of them were deep in conversation and didn’t notice that the two people across from them were also having a “lively conversation.”
Lu Yin: Give me back my money!
Sheng Xiali: ?
Lu Yin: Stop pretending. You didn’t pay for the meal. Give me back my money right now!
Sheng Xiali sent back a smiling emoji, the default WeChat one. Lu Yin took a deep breath. For the first time, she felt that emoji was so punchable!
Lu Yin started a barrage of angry emojis, demanding her money back.
The other person only occasionally replied with an (* ̄︶ ̄).
How infuriating. Lu Yin sent out all her hitting-people emojis, continuing to demand her money back.
Yang Beibei and Amy suddenly fell silent and looked at the two people across from them who were both looking at their phones.
The two people across from them didn’t notice at all that their phone notifications were bothering others.
Sheng Xiali’s phone went ding ding ding ding ding, and Lu Yin’s phone went ding, a very strange rhythm.
Yang Beibei looked at Amy, and Amy looked at Yang Beibei. The question in their eyes seemed to be the same.
Were these two people messaging each other?
No way. Yang Beibei spoke up: “Yinyin, who are you messaging?”
Lu Yin didn’t even look up: “A deadbeat. Someone who owes me money.”
Yang Beibei looked at Sheng Xiali. She didn’t look like a deadbeat. Amy tapped her arm. Her eyes told her that was impossible. Her boss was rich and generous, and she would never owe a client money.
It was always the clients who owed them for their projects.
Amy saw that Sheng Xiali had a lot of messages and was worried it was work-related, so she asked: “Boss, is it something from the studio?”
Sheng Xiali had just heard Lu Yin’s reply. She put her phone away, looked up, pursed her lips, and smiled. She picked up the ice cream on the table, scooped a spoonful into her mouth, and from the corner of her eye, saw Lu Yin’s puffed-out cheeks.
Soon, a sweet taste spread through her mouth and across her tongue. It was the rum flavor she liked.
Sheng Xiali only took one bite and then put it down. She tapped the transparent glass bowl with her finger and replied to Amy’s question: “No.”
Yang Beibei, who was sitting diagonally from Sheng Xiali, looked over. The first thing she noticed was Sheng Xiali’s hand holding the ice cream bowl.
Her fingers were long and slender with distinct joints. They were overly beautiful, making the glass bowl she was holding look much more elegant.
The fingers moved again, and their owner spoke again.
“I received a transfer from an ex.”
Amy swallowed a mouthful of ice cream, and her stomach shivered from the cold: “An ex, a transfer?”
Before she could be surprised that Sheng Xiali had an ex, and that she was suddenly talking about it, she saw her boss, who usually did everything with precision and seemed unstoppable, slightly furrow her brows.
“I don’t know what it means.”
Yang Beibei tapped her small silver spoon against the glass bowl: “That’s easy. She regrets it, wants to get back together, and still likes you!”
Clang! Lu Yin’s phone slipped from her hand, fell to the floor, and landed by Sheng Xiali’s feet.
Sheng Xiali bent down, picked it up, and handed it back to Lu Yin: “Still likes me?”
Her heart pounded fiercely, and the fingers that were touched suddenly went cold. Lu Yin’s head felt hot. She met Sheng Xiali’s narrow, long eyes and saw the hidden currents within them.
“That’s right, she must still like you. Otherwise, why would she send you money? Isn’t that saying, where the money is, the love is.”
Yang Beibei was originally worried about Lu Yin’s phone screen. When she heard Sheng Xiali’s words, she thought she was questioning her, so she confidently gave her the answer.
She might not have any dating experience, but she had read a lot of romance novels.
“I think you left your brain at home!” Lu Yin turned off her phone, looked at the cracked screen, and calmed down. “Can’t a person just transfer money to the wrong person? Thinking someone likes you is a sickness!”
Yang Beibei said without a care in the world: “But what if? What if she does like you? It would be such a shame to miss out.”
“What’s so a shame about it? If you can miss out on it, it means it’s wrong.”
Lu Yin said this and stood up: “I just remembered I have something to do this afternoon. I’ll get going. Amy, let’s hang out sometime.”
Amy stood up and smiled: “Okay, and Beibei, let’s hang out together next time.”
Although Yang Beibei wanted to stay a little longer, and she still wanted to hear Sheng Xiali’s gossip, the ex topic was so exciting. But Lu Yin had already stood up, so she had no choice but to get up. After saying goodbye to Amy, she smiled and said goodbye to Sheng Xiali: “Big designer, remember to give me a discount if I ever hire you.”
Before leaving, she quickly leaned in and said to Sheng Xiali: “Don’t listen to Lu Yin. She can’t even figure out her own feelings. A transfer from an ex definitely means she still likes you.”
After saying that, she quickly caught up to Lu Yin, who was waiting for her, and also took the herbal tea that Yang Sanhao had prepared for the two of them.
One two-liter thermos each.
Yang Beibei was very satisfied and felt that today was a day filled with happiness.
Lu Yin felt that today was terrible.
When she got home, she chugged a few sips of the herbal tea and immediately went to the apartment next door to try the password again. She refused to believe it. It was only six digits, ten million possibilities.
If she could become Sheng Xiali’s next-door neighbor in such a big city, anything was possible.
If not today, then tomorrow. Lu Yin was determined to get back her lost fridge on her own!
When she received a message from Sheng Xiali that night, Lu Yin thought Sheng Xiali had a change of heart and was going to return the money. She opened it and saw a picture of Quick-Quick.
It was a photo that looked like it had just been taken. The shoes visible in the corner were the ones she had worn during the day.
She didn’t know if she was drunk again. It was just a photo, and there was no other information.
Lu Yin saved the picture but didn’t reply. She hesitated about whether to blacklist her.
But then she thought, what if Sheng Xiali had a change of heart and wanted to return the money and her fridge? In her hesitation, Lu Yin looked at the darkened screen, still not taking action.
But every day after that, she received messages from Sheng Xiali.
A photo of Quick-Quick in the morning, and a photo of Quick-Quick at night, like clocking in and out of work.
The morning message was usually around 6:30 AM. The time for the evening message was irregular. Sometimes it was as early as 10:00 PM, and other times it was past midnight.
This reminded Lu Yin of the year she lived with Sheng Xiali. Sheng Xiali’s routine was hard to describe as regular.
She often worked overtime, and the time she came home and went to bed was inconsistent, but she always woke up at 6:00 AM.
Lu Yin had never been awake at 6:00 AM. Sometimes Sheng Xiali came home late after Lu Yin had already fallen asleep, and she wouldn’t see her in the morning either. If it weren’t for Sheng Xiali’s morning and evening messages, she wouldn’t have known she had come home.
Lu Yin looked at the regular morning and evening “clock-in” messages over the past few days. She opened the chat and couldn’t figure out what Sheng Xiali was doing. Was she just sending her photos of Quick-Quick, or did she have another meaning?
If it were anyone else, Lu Yin would only have one thought: the other person liked her.
Although she had told Beibei not to always assume someone likes you, with these kinds of messages, if there wasn’t a hidden meaning, then there was something mentally wrong with the person.
But this person was Sheng Xiali. Lu Yin didn’t think it was love… How could she still like her…?
She had never even liked her that much in the first place.
The relationship between Lu Yin and Sheng Xiali had always been Lu Yin taking 99 steps and waiting for Sheng Xiali to nod before she took the final step.
Sheng Xiali had just passively accepted her love…
At first, Lu Yin didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. It was wonderful to be with someone you loved.
But people are greedy. Once you have one thing, you want another. Love isn’t enough; you also want to be loved.
Being loved isn’t enough… you want more attention…
Lu Yin sighed. She really didn’t want to have anything to do with Sheng Xiali anymore. After thinking about it, Lu Yin finally blacklisted Sheng Xiali.
…
Soon, it was the day of Cheng Siyu’s wellness center grand opening.
Lu Yin had been having trouble sleeping for the past two days, and last night she couldn’t sleep at all, so she just stayed up all night editing videos and came straight to the opening this morning.
She wasn’t surprised to see Song Xinlei there, but she was a little surprised that she was there so early.
And she was also very dressed up for the occasion.
Song Xinlei was wearing a custom-made, off-white cheongsam with a modernized design that looked like it took a lot of work. Her chestnut-colored long hair was neatly pinned up with a simple jade hairpin. Her makeup was also done to complement her outfit, giving her an elegant and refined look.
The emerald green jade bracelet she was wearing was particularly eye-catching and looked very expensive.
She had to admit, her outfit today was so elegant that she could have worn it to a red carpet event, but it was also gentle enough for a casual setting, making her stand out without being too flashy.
She had put a lot of thought into it.
Lu Yin took another look at the butterflies on her skirt that looked like they were about to fly away. These butterflies seemed to be hand-embroidered, three-dimensional and exquisite.
She didn’t know much about cheongsams, but the last time she saw embroidered butterflies like these was in Sheng Xiali’s office. Sheng Xiali sat in front of her, and the butterflies on her skirt seemed to want to fly toward her.
Thinking about it, the cheongsam Song Xinlei was wearing today was very similar to Sheng Xiali’s.
Although the styles were different, the overall color scheme and feel would make you think they were designed by the same person.
Lu Yin had no knowledge of cheongsams and didn’t know what brand it was, but she felt that it wasn’t very common. At least, Lu Yin hadn’t seen anyone wearing anything similar on the street, and cheongsams were usually custom-made.
Perhaps they had them custom-made together.
A term popped into Lu Yin’s head without her wanting it to: matching couple outfits…
“What’s wrong with my outfit?”
Song Xinlei had spent a lot of time and effort getting ready today. As soon as she arrived at Cheng Siyu’s shop this morning, she had received many admiring glances. But Lu Yin was the only one who seemed to get lost in thought while looking at her.
Lu Yin came back to her senses and shook her head with a smile: “Nothing. It’s just very beautiful, so I took another look.”
Even though it was a compliment, coming from Lu Yin’s mouth, Song Xinlei couldn’t be happy about it.
But thinking about how she had looked at her with a dazed expression, Song Xinlei pursed her lips: “If you like it, I can give you the address. But the cheongsam maker is very famous, and her clients are booked for a year in advance.”
“I got this because of Xiaxia. The cheongsam maker is one of Xiaxia’s clients. She likes Xiaxia, and by extension, she likes me too. She made one for each of us. Look at these butterflies. She embroidered them herself.”
“The master artisan said that butterflies should come in pairs. Every butterfly on my skirt corresponds to a butterfly on Xiaxia’s dress. It even has a beautiful name, called ‘Flying Side by Side.'”
As Song Xinlei said this, she covered her mouth with a light laugh and glanced at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin laughed: “Don’t look at me. I don’t have any butterflies on me.”