The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 17.2
Chapter 17.2
She was wearing a simple, pale pink T-shirt with a high-waisted A-line skirt and beige sneakers. There were no patterns on her clothes.
Lu Yin walked inside and stopped close to Song Xinlei. She looked at the butterflies on Song Xinlei’s skirt, as if she had just thought of something, and hesitated to speak.
Song Xinlei looked down at her skirt: “What is it? Is there something wrong?”
Seeing that Song Xinlei had asked, Lu Yin pursed her lips and thought for a moment.
Song Xinlei: “Hmm?”
Lu Yin pointed at the butterflies on Song Xinlei’s skirt: “Butterflies that are supposed to be in pairs, but you each have one. That’s not called ‘Flying Side by Side,’ that’s called ‘Worlds Apart,’ destined to never be together, just like some people.”
After saying that, Lu Yin sighed heavily, pretending not to see Song Xinlei’s instantly darkened face. She walked past Song Xinlei toward the inside, suppressing the curve of her lips, and didn’t laugh until she saw Cheng Siyu.
The two of them had been chatting every day for the past week. Although they hadn’t seen each other in many years, when they met again, Lu Yin didn’t feel much like a stranger.
She looked at Cheng Siyu from a distance. She was also dressed up today, in a mature and steady red dress, completely different from how she was in college. But her smile was as bright and sunny as ever.
Seeing that the other person had also seen her, Lu Yin gave a little wave: “Hi~”
The other person was stunned for a moment, her eyes filled with confusion, but in less than two seconds, she ran toward her in her high heels, clackety-clack.
“Lu Yin, oh my gosh, you haven’t changed at all!”
Cheng Siyu looked at Lu Yin, who still looked the same as she did in college, and screamed as she ran to hug her. When she pulled away, she fondly ruffled her hair.
“You haven’t even changed your hairstyle. You still have this student haircut. You look like you’re seventeen or eighteen. Looking at you, I feel like I’m getting old.”
Cheng Siyu’s eyes were filled with envy as she spoke. Why had time skipped over Lu Yin? She felt like she was Lu Yin’s older sister, even though she was younger.
And Lu Yin’s figure hadn’t changed at all, unlike hers. Her clothes were now two sizes larger than they used to be.
Lu Yin smiled and said: “You’ve changed, though. You’ve become a big boss. Congratulations on your grand opening, Big Boss Cheng.”
Lu Yin joked as she handed over her gift.
Cheng Siyu laughed and took the gift, hugging her again: “You still know what to say.”
She then let go of Lu Yin and put her arm around her, leading her inside: “Come on, come to my office and sit down. I have so much I want to talk to you about.”
Lu Yin smiled. They had been chatting whenever they had time these past few days, but they still had so much to say. She had relived a lot of her college life that she had forgotten.
After taking a couple of steps, Cheng Siyu suddenly slowed down. She thought she had seen Song Xinlei behind Lu Yin. She looked back and indeed saw Song Xinlei looking at her.
She quickly stopped and, with her arm around Lu Yin, turned around and smiled at Song Xinlei.
“Xinlei, you should come inside and sit down too. There are people to take care of things outside. We haven’t seen Lu Yin in so many years. We have to catch up properly.”
Song Xinlei scoffed inwardly. What was there for them to catch up on?
She had just been mocked by Lu Yin and didn’t even want to see her again.
But on second thought, if she wasn’t there, she didn’t know what these two would say about her while they were ‘catching up’…
With that thought, Song Xinlei walked inside.
Seeing that Song Xinlei was following, Cheng Siyu continued to walk forward with her arm around Lu Yin, whispering into her ear: “She’s worried we’ll talk about her behind her back.”
Lu Yin chuckled: “Becoming a boss makes you good at reading people’s minds.”
The two of them walked, laughing, to Cheng Siyu’s office, a very large lounge.
Lu Yin took a quick look. The office was simple and elegant. It had everything it needed. Besides a sofa, TV, game console, and massage chair, the office even had a partitioned area with a bed.
Lu Yin laughed and teased Cheng Siyu: “This decor is great. It fully reflects the boss’s desire for comfort and enjoyment.”
Cheng Siyu laughed and poured water for Lu Yin and Song Xinlei. She pointed to Song Xinlei and said to Lu Yin: “This was all designed by their studio. Anything from Sheng Xiali is a masterpiece.”
Hearing Cheng Siyu praise Sheng Xiali, Song Xinlei’s smile became more genuine.
“Of course. Xiaxia’s designs have never had a dissatisfied client.”
When Song Xinlei said this, she lifted her chin slightly, and her pride made her feel like she had something to do with it.
It was as if Sheng Xiali was her own creation.
Cheng Siyu knew their relationship was good, so she wasn’t surprised. She turned to Lu Yin, who was drinking her water without saying a word, and threw the topic to her.
She knew that Lu Yin and Sheng Xiali weren’t very close, and their only interaction was at the end of their freshman year volleyball class.
The conversation naturally extended from there.
“Sheng Xiali’s time is very valuable now. You can’t hire her for fifty dollars an hour anymore.”
Lu Yin smiled. Song Xinlei remembered the past and was not happy about it. She also remembered being mocked by Lu Yin earlier and spoke up: “Xiaxia was being kind back then. Otherwise, with your skills, especially Lu Yin, you would never have passed the class.”
Lu Yin continued to smile. Cheng Siyu was laughing happily. When she talked about the past, the floodgates opened, and she couldn’t stop. Her memory was also excellent. She remembered small things that even Song Xinlei had forgotten.
She started to remind them of the fun things they did in college. Lu Yin and Song Xinlei were both a little uncomfortable at first and didn’t really want to remember the past, but in the end, she got them to start reminiscing about which dishes were the best in which cafeteria.
After reminiscing about the past for a while, Cheng Siyu saw that Lu Yin’s aloofness had lessened, so she started asking about what she had been doing since graduation.
“I remember you stayed in Hengcheng at first and even rented an apartment with someone. Why did you suddenly leave Hengcheng later?”
Lu Yin’s smile froze for a moment. She also felt a little uncomfortable hearing the words “rented an apartment.” She glanced at Song Xinlei from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t seem to notice anything.
Maybe to this day, she didn’t know that Lu Yin’s roommate was Sheng Xiali.
Having been in business for several years, Cheng Siyu had become very good at reading people. Seeing that Lu Yin didn’t seem to want to talk about it, she immediately changed the subject.
“Lu Yin, do you have a partner? If not, I can introduce you to someone~”
Lu Yin was caught off guard by the sudden change in topic.
Cheng Siyu was excited: “I have a lot of high-quality resources. Just tell me what kind of man you like, and I guarantee I’ll find one for you based on your criteria.”
Lu Yin’s mouth opened, but she seemed to be stuck, not knowing what to say.
She wasn’t interested in men.
Cheng Siyu continued to talk and took out her phone to find some photos to show Lu Yin.
“Among the people I know, there are some who are single, but I only know three who have been single for a long time. Two of them are right in front of me.” Cheng Siyu said this, looking up from her phone and pointing at Lu Yin, then at Song Xinlei. “You two were single all through college. A lot of people pursued you, but you didn’t like any of them?”
When Lu Yin heard her say this, she looked at the single sofa next to her, and unexpectedly, her eyes met Song Xinlei’s.
They looked at each other for a moment and then looked away.
Cheng Siyu was still flipping through photos on her phone, complaining as she went: “And Sheng Xiali too. I wasn’t close with her in college, but after graduation, I found out she was also single. But she’s a workaholic, so she really doesn’t have time to date.”
She sighed at this point: “I have a few friends who want me to set them up with Sheng Xiali, but every time I mention it to her, she says she’s busy with work. When does work ever end? Found one!”
Cheng Siyu shoved her phone under Lu Yin’s nose. It was a half-body shot of a man taken in a mirror. The bottom of his shirt was pulled up, revealing his abs.
Lu Yin felt a shiver of disgust. It was so gross.
“How is it? He’s not bad, right? Stable job, car, and house, and he loves to work out. Look at those abs. I bet they feel great to touch.” Cheng Siyu enthusiastically shoved the phone into Lu Yin’s hand: “Take a look. Is he your type?”
Lu Yin quickly turned off the screen and threw the phone back to Cheng Siyu: “No.”
One more look and she wouldn’t need to eat. She would be full of disgust.
Cheng Siyu raised her eyebrows, a little surprised: “You don’t like guys with abs?”
She herself found it hard to believe. How could someone not like a partner with a good body? Maybe Lu Yin didn’t like him for other reasons.
Maybe Lu Yin cared more about looks.
Since Lu Yin didn’t like him, Cheng Siyu unlocked her phone and found another person to pitch.
“Xinlei, you’ll probably like this type. You also like to work out, so you’ll have something to talk about.”
This time, she was rejected before she even handed the phone over.
Over the years, Song Xinlei was no longer as secretive about her sexuality as she was in college, but she wasn’t at a point where she would share it with people she wasn’t close with.
In her categorization, Cheng Siyu was not a close enough friend to tell her this secret.
Song Xinlei looked up at Lu Yin. She had known since college that they were the same type of person.
Song Xinlei pouted. Lu Yin was also very good at hiding it, but she was also quite hypocritical. She called Cheng Siyu a friend but didn’t tell her this secret.
Lu Yin saw the mockery in her eyes. She didn’t care about this being a ‘secret,’ but she had promised Sheng Xiali to keep it private back then.
Since it was a secret, it had to be completely sealed, or else it would be easily exposed.
Lu Yin thought that it didn’t matter now. She would find a time to tell Cheng Siyu so that she wouldn’t try to set her up with anyone else.
Cheng Siyu was still flipping through photos, sending all the good-looking ones to Lu Yin and telling her to pick whichever one she wanted.
Lu Yin looked at the photos popping up in her chat and felt a headache coming on.
After urgently telling her to stop, Cheng Siyu sent another one, another one with abs.
“Look at this one. He has a handsome face and eight-pack abs.”
Lu Yin wanted to cleanse her eyes and didn’t care that Cheng Siyu was right there. She selected all the photos to delete them.
“Stop sending them. I don’t like them, and I don’t want to find a partner.”
Cheng Siyu was surprised. She didn’t like any of them? These were the highest quality resources she had.
“What are you guys talking about?”
A clear female voice came from the doorway. The three of them all looked toward the door.
Sheng Xiali’s tall figure stood in the doorway. Today, she was wearing a simple white blouse with a slightly open collar, revealing a single delicate pearl that rested between her exquisite collarbones. Her bottom was a simple high-waisted pencil skirt that accentuated her long waist. The whole person was like the pearl she was wearing, radiant and dazzling.
She stood in the doorway, looked inside, her black eyes like ink, and smiled faintly, her red lips and white teeth showing: “What, are you not going to invite me in?”
Cheng Siyu was the first to react, snapping out of her daze: “Sheng Xiali’s here! Come in and sit down.”
What was with everyone today? They were all dressed as if they were walking a red carpet. She was surprised when she saw Song Xinlei this morning, and now she was even more surprised to see Sheng Xiali.
It wasn’t that they were dressed up in a particularly extravagant way. Sheng Xiali was just wearing a white blouse.
But her looks were so stunning. For a top-tier beauty like Sheng Xiali, sometimes the simpler, the more her beauty shone through.
She wondered if Sheng Xiali knew this about herself.
Cheng Siyu glanced at the dazed Lu Yin and Song Xinlei. She was sure that she wasn’t the only one who was impressed.
Cheng Siyu smiled and got up to welcome her in. When she moved, the seat next to Lu Yin became empty.
She was sitting on the edge of a four-seater sofa. Lu Yin didn’t know why she was nervous. There was a single sofa next to them. Even if Sheng Xiali were to sit in the four-seater, she should have sat on the other end of the sofa.
Just as she was thinking this, the sofa next to her dipped.
After Sheng Xiali sat down, her gaze went to Song Xinlei on the single sofa next to Lu Yin: “Was everything smooth this morning?”
Her actions were completely natural, as if she had sat next to Lu Yin just to be closer to Song Xinlei to talk to her.
Lu Yin’s heart had started to beat faster when she approached. After she sat down, it sped up. When her gaze came over, it went into overdrive. It wasn’t until she started talking to Song Xinlei that Lu Yin’s heart finally found its brakes.
Lu Yin pursed her lips and leaned back against the sofa, trying not to obstruct their conversation. If Sheng Xiali hadn’t been in the way, she would have tried to move to the single sofa on the other side.
She knew she would see Sheng Xiali today. She thought she was fully prepared. She had even thought about how she would answer if Sheng Xiali asked her why she had blacklisted her.
She just hadn’t expected Sheng Xiali to be dressed like this today.
She also hadn’t expected that she would still be so easily captivated by her beauty, and that she would be left staring.
This made her blacklisting seem less impactful. Lu Yin had a hunch that Sheng Xiali had noticed her unusual behavior, which made her even more embarrassed…
Song Xinlei looked at Lu Yin, who was in the way between her and Sheng Xiali, and she was very unhappy. She wanted to switch seats with Lu Yin, but she didn’t want to have to ask Lu Yin.
In the end, she had no choice but to talk to Sheng Xiali through Lu Yin.
“Everything’s fine. It’s all set up. Why did you come so early? You should have gotten more sleep. You can trust me to handle things here.”
Song Xinlei had come so early today to supervise the opening arrangements for Sheng Xiali. Sheng Xiali had a late meeting with a client last night and had to revise a proposal, so she wanted her to get more sleep.
She hadn’t expected her to come so early anyway.
Cheng Siyu knew Sheng Xiali’s habits. She made a cup of coffee and walked over: “You stayed up all night again, didn’t you? I’m telling you, Big Designer Sheng, your health comes first. Work is never-ending. You have to take care of yourself.”
Sheng Xiali took the coffee and thanked her. She asked casually: “What were you guys talking about just now? I could hear your laughter from far away.”
Cheng Siyu’s smile grew even wider. Sheng Xiali had asked herself: “I was trying to set up Lu Yin with someone. What about you? Do you want to consider your love life? I can introduce someone to you too.”
Sheng Xiali turned her head to look at Lu Yin, her eyes still a little cold from the morning mist that hadn’t cleared yet.
Lu Yin felt a moment of guilt and looked away first, but she quickly felt Sheng Xiali’s gaze still on her. The look was a little heavy. She secretly glanced over and saw that Sheng Xiali was looking at her phone.
Only then did Lu Yin realize that she had forgotten to turn off her phone screen. Without paying attention, she had accidentally opened a photo.
A half-body shot of a man was blatantly displayed on her screen.
Cheng Siyu, following Sheng Xiali’s gaze, also saw the photo on Lu Yin’s phone and laughed out loud.
“Lu Yin, you like this guy? You have good taste. This is my boyfriend’s roommate. He’s a very honest guy. He’ll be here in a little while. I’ll introduce you two.”
Lu Yin looked at Cheng Siyu with suspicion. Could a man who deliberately took photos to show off his watch and had a greasy hairstyle be considered honest?
Song Xinlei had seen the photo when Sheng Xiali looked over. When she heard Cheng Siyu’s words, a hint of mockery flashed in her eyes. In her opinion, the person in the photo was a good match for Lu Yin. She could tell at a glance that he was fake.
The displeasure she had felt about the seating arrangement earlier disappeared. She smiled and joined the conversation: “So, Lu Yin, you like this type. No wonder you didn’t like the other guy. You have good taste. This one looks much more steady than the last one.”
Steady? If Lu Yin didn’t know Song Xinlei’s intentions, she would have to wonder if her vision had deteriorated to the point of blindness. The only thing that seemed steady about the man in the photo was his belly, which was so plump it looked like he had a watermelon stuffed in his shirt.
Lu Yin quickly deleted the photo and turned off her phone: “How could a ‘successful person’ like that be interested in an unemployed person like me? You should introduce him to someone else.”
Cheng Siyu just thought she was being shy. However, Lu Yin not having a steady job was indeed a disadvantage when it came to matchmaking. That was what she thought, but her words were still very polite.
“You’re just being humble, Lu Yin. Your job is called freelance. And with your number of followers, you’re like a minor internet celebrity, right? You probably earn more than us, and you have flexible hours. So many people are envious.”
In the past few days, with Cheng Siyu’s enthusiastic inquiries, Lu Yin hadn’t hidden what she was doing and had also told her her account name. Her number of followers was indeed impressive, but that was just because she had caught a good wave back then. Now, she was just an unemployed person worried about getting a business deal.
“Freelance, what freelance? Don’t even mention it. I haven’t had a single business deal in a long time. I’m practically starving. I shouldn’t waste anyone’s time. Besides, there are two others here. You should introduce them to someone.”
After Lu Yin diverted the attention, she felt some prickly stares. She looked over and saw that Sheng Xiali had already looked away.
Cheng Siyu was absorbed in the joy of playing matchmaker. Despite her sharp eye for detail, she had noticed that the three of them were all a little awkward, but she attributed it to the fact that they had been single for almost thirty years and were too pure and shy to talk about relationships.
“Don’t worry, I have plenty of resources. I’ll forward some photos. It’s not possible that all three of you would be interested in the same person. If you are, then you three have the same taste and should just get together.”
Cheng Siyu laughed heartily by herself and even pulled up a few more photos, specifically introducing them to the three of them, thinking they would be a good fit.
Lu Yin looked at the photo Cheng Siyu showed to Sheng Xiali. It was a skinny man with glasses and an ordinary appearance. She looked at Cheng Siyu with confusion. How did she think this man was a good match for Sheng Xiali?
“This guy is one of my old clients. He’s a teacher at a vocational school. His schedule is very stable, 9 to 5, and he’s an excellent cook. He’s perfect for a workaholic like you, Sheng Xiali. Just think, every day you come home from working overtime, someone has already made dinner for you. You won’t have to worry about the household chores, and if you have kids in the future, someone will be there to take care of them. You won’t even have to worry about their tutoring. How is that? Isn’t it great?”
Song Xinlei scoffed: “The money Xiaxia makes is more than enough to hire a personal chef. As for a kid, can he even have one?”
Her words were very impolite. Cheng Siyu’s expression froze for a moment. She just wanted to introduce Sheng Xiali to someone. Why was Song Xinlei so angry?
She was clingy with Sheng Xiali in college, and her possessiveness was still so strong now.
Sheng Xiali’s face was unreadable. She leaned back against the sofa. Lu Yin was sitting close and saw the dark circles under her eyes, which even her foundation couldn’t completely cover.
“Thank you, but there’s no need to go to the trouble. I like my work. At least work won’t let me down. If I put my heart into it, it will give me value in return. And work is not a job that will disappear without a word.”
It was rare for Cheng Siyu to hear Sheng Xiali make a joke. Although it wasn’t very funny, she still laughed along: “That’s true. Work doesn’t have legs, so how can it run away? Besides, if work ran away, that would be great. You wouldn’t have to do it anymore, hahahaha.”
Lu Yin was probably the only person there who understood what Sheng Xiali was saying. She clenched her hands behind her back, pressing her fingers so hard into the leather sofa that it left five deep fingerprints.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Cheng Siyu’s employee came to remind her that it was time for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The auspicious time for the opening was a little early. The ceremony ended before lunch, so Cheng Siyu arranged for everyone to try out the services at the shop.
Lu Yin didn’t want to go through the trouble, but after some persuasion, she finally chose a simple shoulder and neck massage.
She followed the employee to a small private room on the second floor. The masseuse’s technique was very comfortable. In just a few moments, Lu Yin really felt what she meant when she said her shoulders were too tight and felt so much better after they were loosened. It was truly comfortable.
Soon, Lu Yin, who had stayed up all night without sleep, started to feel drowsy. The movements behind her also became softer.
In her grogginess, Lu Yin thought of the past.
Sheng Xiali used to work very hard, and she had even bought videos to learn how to give massages, but she didn’t have the patience for it. It was Sheng Xiali who ended up learning.
On weekends when she had free time, she would give her a massage.
Her hands were indeed excellent at everything she did.
“Mm~”
A sudden force on her neck made Lu Yin let out a comfortable sigh, and she woke up, opening her eyes.
Looking at the long fingers that were sliding down her chin, Lu Yin instantly realized something was wrong. She grabbed the hand on her neck and quickly sat up.
In the dim light, Sheng Xiali was leaning against the bed, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and looking down at her.