The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 31.2
Chapter 31.2: The Ex
“No, cough cough, there’s no ex. Don’t talk nonsense! Oh, I just remembered, I didn’t turn off the faucet when I left the house. I have to go back and check immediately.”
She couldn’t continue this conversation. If she did, all the things from the past would be brought up.
Yang Beibei couldn’t stop her and watched helplessly as she fled like a rabbit.
This was not the behavior of someone who had no ex. So there really was an unforgettable ex…
Amy grabbed Yang Beibei. “Your faucet isn’t off. Come tell me, what’s with the ex?”
She wasn’t just slacking off now; she was being a wingwoman for her boss’s love life.
…
On her way home, Lu Yin replayed everything that had happened since she had reunited with Sheng Xiali.
As long as she accepted the premise that Sheng Xiali still liked her, everything suddenly made sense.
Including that kiss that Sheng Xiali called “even.”
But, how could it be? How could Sheng Xiali still like her? It had been so long…
Lu Yin got out of the elevator and saw things at the door of apartment 902. The person wasn’t back yet?
Lu Yin looked down. Nothing was missing. She glanced at the password lock again.
Forget it, I’m not in the mood to guess the password today.
…
At Yuesimple Studio, it was almost closing time. The receptionist was packing up, planning to leave on time, when she suddenly saw Sheng Xiali walk in the door.
It was after work hours, and the boss was still coming back after meeting a client. She was truly dedicated to her work.
After greeting her, the receptionist quickly sent a message to the company’s small group chat to let everyone know.
The message was passed on and eventually reached Song Xinlei. She was just about to leave when she grabbed her bag and headed up to the third floor.
The client Sheng Xiali had met with was near the company. A few parts of the design needed to be changed, and she wasn’t one to procrastinate, so she immediately returned to the office.
Just as she was about to start the revisions, the office door opened, and she saw Song Xinlei enter without knocking. Sheng Xiali frowned.
“Xiaxia…”
In less than a week, Song Xinlei felt like Sheng Xiali was a stranger. She had so much to say, but when she saw her, she suddenly didn’t know how to start.
Sheng Xiali put down the design draft in her hand: “Xinlei, you haven’t left yet. Is something wrong?”
Her attitude was the same as before, but Song Xinlei felt that it was different. It felt very unfamiliar.
Thinking about the company rumors from the past few days, the phone call that Lu Yin had answered, and the subsequent call from Sheng Xiali that she had hung up on, she slowly walked over to Sheng Xiali’s desk and sat down.
“What’s going on with you and Lu Yin? Are you two living together?”
The words ‘living together’ were practically squeezed out through her teeth.
For the past few days, she had wanted to call Sheng Xiali countless times to ask her what was going on, who she was talking to in her video conference, and who she was making breakfast for.
But every time she picked up the phone, she felt flustered and couldn’t press the call button. When she came to see Sheng Xiali, she didn’t actually want to ask about this directly, but the sense of unfamiliarity from Sheng Xiali just now made her not want to deceive herself anymore.
“No.”
Hearing Sheng Xiali’s reply, Song Xinlei let out a big sigh of relief, but before she could finish, she heard Sheng Xiali continue.
“We’re not living together. I’m still pursuing her.”
The hand Song Xinlei was using to grip her bag suddenly left a mark on it: “Why? Do you, do you like her?”
Sheng Xiali nodded, her eyes serious and open: “I like her.”
Song Xinlei didn’t want to believe it: “How could you? How could you like her? What is it about her—”
She was interrupted before she could finish: “She’s great.”
Song Xinlei was speechless. Seeing the gentleness in Sheng Xiali’s eyes when she said that, her heart felt like it was being torn into several pieces.
She asked in a hoarse voice: “What about me? Am I not good? Why, why don’t you like me?”
Sheng Xiali’s eyes softened. She pushed a tissue box toward her.
“Xinlei, you’re a great person, and I cherish our friendship. I’m sorry—”
“Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it.”
Song Xinlei stood up abruptly, covered her eyes, and looked at the apologetic Sheng Xiali. She didn’t want to hear an apology. What did she have to be sorry for anyway?
“When? When did you fall in love with her?”
It was obvious who “her” was.
“Was it after you reunited this time?”
Song Xinlei instinctively felt that something was wrong. It was too sudden. Sheng Xiali was so reserved with her feelings. How could she fall in love with someone so quickly?
Sheng Xiali: “A long time ago.”
“In college?”
Sheng Xiali nodded: “Mm.”
Song Xinlei turned away in defeat and ran out the door.
For so long, Sheng Xiali had liked Lu Yin for all this time…
…
As night fell, Lu Yin was chewing on a biscuit with a frustrated crunching sound when she answered Qi Qing’s call.
Hearing the noise, Qi Qing was surprised, knowing that Lu Yin wasn’t smoking: “What, did you quit smoking?”
Lu Yin was frustrated about something else: “My house was robbed!”
Everything was gone. Lu Yin looked back at her empty living room, and a sense of loneliness enveloped her that night.
“What do you mean?” Qi Qing asked, confused.
Lu Yin: “I was a victim of a home invasion.”
Qi Qing: “Did you call the police?”
Lu Yin gave a bitter laugh: “Don’t ask. It’s a mess.”
Qi Qing felt something was wrong: “What happened?”
Lu Yin looked at the people coming and going by the river. Their laughter was endless, the atmosphere bustling and lively. She pulled her legs in and curled up in the hanging chair. After a moment of silence, she spoke: “I ran into her.”
Qi Qing raised an eyebrow: “Hmm?”
Lu Yin sighed.
Back then, Qi Qing had asked her if she would be able to control her emotions if she were to run into her ex again in Hengcheng.
Lu Yin had been full of confidence, saying, “Hengcheng is so big; what kind of fate would bring us together?”
She didn’t expect that a bad fate was still a fate.
Qi Qing finally understood: “Ran into who? Your ex? The one who rejected your marriage proposal?”
Lu Yin responded with a soft but heavy “Mm.”
How could Hengcheng be so small that they could run into each other?
Qi Qing was also a little surprised. When Lu Yin said she was returning to Hengcheng, she had worried about this: “How are you? Can you control your feelings?”
Lu Yin looked at the river. The night breeze was sobering. “Of course.”
…
At the Tangerine Bar, Yang Sanhao saw Sheng Xiali the moment she appeared and waved to show her their location.
“Over here.”
When she got closer, Yang Sanhao moved aside a bit so Sheng Xiali could see the person lying on the sofa.
“I told her not to drink so much, but she wouldn’t listen.”
Song Xinlei was curled up on her side, clearly not sleeping comfortably.
Yang Sanhao couldn’t wake her up and didn’t know Song Xinlei’s address, so she had to call Sheng Xiali.
“Thank you,” Sheng Xiali said, about to go and carry her, but Yang Sanhao stopped her.
Yang Sanhao pulled Sheng Xiali to sit down and ordered her a non-alcoholic drink.
“Song Xinlei said a lot of things when she was drunk just now. A lot of things feel off to me.”
Yang Sanhao was bored today and came to the bar alone. She didn’t expect to run into Song Xinlei and heard a lot of things from her.
She had already felt that something was off between Sheng Xiali and Lu Yin, and today, she finally got the chance to catch her. She was determined to get some answers.
Sheng Xiali knew she wouldn’t be able to leave anytime soon. She leaned back, adjusted to a more comfortable position, and looked at Yang Sanhao while massaging her stiff neck.
“What do you want to ask?”
Yang Sanhao was surprised. Sheng Xiali seemed very approachable tonight.
“Song Xinlei said you and Lu Yin weren’t close in college. Was it a secret crush you were playing at? But I feel that’s not right. The last time you two met at my shop, the dynamic was very strange. Lu Yin didn’t act like you were strangers, and you didn’t either. What happened between you two in the past?”
Sheng Xiali massaged her neck, which was a little sore from working on the design draft. She gave a short response to Yang Sanhao’s question.
“Lu Yin and I were together in college.”
Everything made sense now, it all made sense!
The awkwardness Yang Sanhao had felt between Lu Yin and Sheng Xiali made perfect sense when she introduced the word ‘ex’!
“You were secretly together, and even your good friends didn’t know?”
Yang Sanhao pointed to Song Xinlei.
Sheng Xiali nodded.
Yang Sanhao: “Was it Lu Yin’s idea?”
To hide it so well.
Sheng Xiali: “It was my idea.”
Yang Sanhao was surprised. She felt that if Sheng Xiali had feelings for someone, she would want to announce it, even to the whole world.
Don’t let her cold demeanor fool you; when this kind of person falls in love, they can be crazier than anyone.
“Were you afraid for people to know?”
“Mm,” Sheng Xiali replied. “Of course, I was afraid…”
When she and Lu Yin were together, they were just two students with nothing.
No, to be precise, she was the one with nothing.
Lu Yin had a lot. She had loving family and friends and a life where she didn’t have to worry about money. Sheng Xiali felt that Lu Yin’s world was a sweet, beautiful cake, and she was just a small decoration on top of it.
She didn’t know if Lu Yin knew what the consequences would be if they were together.
She had heard Lu Yin’s family talk about their expectations for her with her own ears. She didn’t think her family would be able to accept her…
If they found out the two of them were together, everything Lu Yin had could be at risk.
It might not be a total loss, but it could become leverage to get her back on the “right track.”
Parents’ control over their children was very simple. The most direct way was to control their finances.
Sheng Xiali wanted to be with Lu Yin for a little longer, just a little bit longer, long enough that even if Lu Yin lost those things, she could provide them for her.
Long enough that maybe one day, she could tell Lu Yin’s family about her love, and they could see her ability to make Lu Yin happy.
After listening to Sheng Xiali’s thoughts, Yang Sanhao was silent for a long time, her heart touched: “What happened then? Why did you break up?”
Sheng Xiali shook her head: “I don’t know.”
On the morning Lu Yin disappeared, she had replayed it for five years and still couldn’t figure out the reason.
Yang Sanhao understood. Lu Yin had unilaterally dumped Sheng Xiali.
“What about now? What are you going to do?”
After asking the question, Yang Sanhao felt foolish. Sheng Xiali had already said it: she was going to pursue Lu Yin.
She was dumped and now wanted to win her back.
Tsk, she really couldn’t stand seeing lovers who couldn’t be together.
Yang Sanhao took out her phone.
On the other side, Lu Yin had just hung up with Qi Qing when she got a call from Yang Beibei.
Because of what had happened during the day, Lu Yin was a little awkward and worried that Yang Beibei would continue to ask questions.
While she was hesitating, the call ended. Soon after, she received a message from Yang Beibei saying it was urgent.
When the phone rang again, Lu Yin answered.
“Yinyin, I won a prize! A couples’ pass to the Hengcheng Maldives, with free access to all the activities! Let’s go together!”
Lu Yin: “Huh?”
It took her a moment to remember. She had promised Yang Beibei that she would play beach volleyball with her after she got better. That place’s tagline was “Hengcheng Maldives.”
“There’s also a water park! It’s so much fun! Let’s go, let’s go. It’s a perfect way to celebrate you getting better.”
Lu Yin hesitated and then agreed. She had already promised her before and it would be bad to back out now. At the same time, she was glad that Beibei was someone who loved fun. She wouldn’t dig for details if there was something fun to do.
After she agreed, the message was quickly sent through the 5G network to Yang Sanhao’s phone.
After Yang Sanhao received it, she smiled and sent the time and location to Sheng Xiali, who had already left with Song Xinlei.
Finally, she added a friendly reminder: “Bring a sexy swimsuit~”