The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 32.1
Chapter 32: Tidying the Master Bedroom
Midnight fell, and the elevator carried the late returnees smoothly upward.
As soon as she stepped out, Sheng Xiali spotted the box by the door of 902, and the steps she was about to take to turn right toward 901 halted.
The corridor’s sensor light was already on, illuminating the walkway connecting the two apartments.
Sheng Xiali glanced at the tightly shut door of 901, lost in thought, and finally moved toward 902.
The light fell on her stationary figure, and the shadow it cast enveloped the box on the ground.
It was difficult to make out its contents for a moment.
Sheng Xiali crouched down, opened the cardboard lid as wide as possible, and examined the items inside.
A laptop, clothes, a toothbrush cup, a toothbrush… all her belongings, almost everything she had kept at Lu Yin’s place.
However, she definitely didn’t check the kitchen, Sheng Xiali pursed her lips, there are still ‘fish that got away’ in the kitchen.
Sheng Xiali picked up the toothbrush from the box. She thought, I should have brushed my teeth in the kitchen. She turned to look at the closed door of 901.
Her ability to ‘move in’ was still very far away.
Sheng Xiali put down the toothbrush and picked up the box from the floor, walking toward 901.
It’s me who dragged these things into being kicked out.
But compared to her being ‘kicked out’, she was more worried about that person’s ‘departure without a word’.
Her leaving is better than me leaving.
If she leaves, she will always come back.
Sheng Xiali reached the door of 901. Although she knew the person was still inside, she still wanted a glimpse.
Just as she was about to press the doorbell, Sheng Xiali hesitated, silently looking at the items in her hands.
Perhaps Lu Yin would use the excuse that something was left behind to return to her doorstep tomorrow.
Sheng Xiali quietly stared at a tiny reflection of light on the metal door number plate of 901. It was so long that the sensor light dimmed, and the number plate was shrouded in darkness before Sheng Xiali turned around and went back to 902.
The light was once again switched on in 902. The originally empty house was now cluttered with items neatly stacked against the walls, starting from the entryway.
Sheng Xiali’s steps were a little slow as she entered. She was still somewhat unaccustomed to this ‘crowded’ home.
After taking a moment to adjust in the entryway, Sheng Xiali carried the box further inside.
She temporarily placed the box on the dining table and took out the laptop, powering it on.
The laptop contained a spreadsheet of the things she had tidied up at Lu Yin’s house. Sheng Xiali had been attempting to find some pattern in the data these days.
This pattern should contain Lu Yin’s current living habits, such as what types of items she tends to hoard. She wanted to incorporate these habits into the design.
The computer screen lit up. Sheng Xiali went to the kitchen fridge for a bottle of water, drank it, and walked through the cluttered living room to the balcony, where she turned on the light.
She could be ‘kicked out’, but she couldn’t just leave like this; she had to find a way to go back.
Looking at the little creature under the lamp, which sensed the light and lazily poked its head out as if greeting her, Sheng Xiali gently smiled and touched Kuaikuai’s constantly cool tortoiseshell.
“Good girl, this time, it’s up to you.”
You can’t catch the ‘mother’ without sacrificing the ‘child’. (A variation of a Chinese idiom, meaning you have to give up something to get something bigger).
The doorbell rang just as Lu Yin had finished showering and was about to lie down.
The sudden sound startled her, causing her to jump out of bed, her bare feet hitting the floor.
Who would be ringing the doorbell this late? Only one person came to Lu Yin’s mind.
Did she just get back? Did she see the things by the door?
Why is she looking for me? To demand an explanation? Or something else?
She couldn’t possibly still want to stay here, could she?
Lu Yin’s heart pounded. Everything Yang Beibei and Amy had said during the day had troubled her all evening. Her mind was a mess, and she absolutely didn’t want to see Sheng Xiali.
The doorbell kept ringing with a persistent urgency that made Lu Yin’s heartbeat even more erratic.
She also thought of the things she had packed up and left outside Sheng Xiali’s door. A feeling of guilt, a sense of crossing the river and demolishing the bridge (a Chinese idiom for discarding someone after they’ve served their purpose), welled up…
After all, Sheng Xiali had taken care of her these past few days, and she hadn’t even offered to buy her a meal or anything. Without even a word, she had ‘dumped’ the person’s things out.
Lu Yin covered her ears, feeling that every ring of the doorbell was a condemnation of her conscience.
After a while, the doorbell finally fell silent, and Lu Yin breathed a huge sigh of relief.
She really didn’t want to see Sheng Xiali right now. Her heart was a mess, constantly replaying the words of Yang Beibei and Amy.
They said Sheng Xiali liked her, they said Sheng Xiali was pursuing her…
This whole thing was truly absurd. Although Lu Yin logically found the claim reasonable, emotionally, she was somewhat unwilling to believe it.
The ringing stopped. Lu Yin clutched her still-pounding heart and took a deep breath.
Before she could fully exhale, her phone rang abruptly.
Lu Yin jumped, scrambling to find her phone. Seeing the incoming voice call, she felt a strong, inexplicable emotion.
Sheng Xiali’s persistent pursuit of her like this was a rare occurrence.
After all, she had never been unreachable by Sheng Xiali before, except for the time she resolutely decided to leave. Before that, it was always Lu Yin who frequently couldn’t find Sheng Xiali and worried.
Lu Yin hastily hung up the call.
But as soon as she hung up, Lu Yin realized her mistake. This proved she was awake and hadn’t gone to sleep; she should have just silenced it. She was so stupid.
Just as Lu Yin was annoyed, a message came in.
Lu Yin clicked it open. It was still Sheng Xiali.
“Something’s come up. If it’s convenient, please open the door.”
Lu Yin muttered to herself, “Not convenient, not convenient at all.”
Lu Yin closed her phone, intending to pretend she hadn’t seen the message, and she didn’t want to reply.
However, on second thought, Sheng Xiali, when she says something is up, it’s usually genuinely important…
What could be so important this late?
Could it be that she still has something here? Or maybe, something is missing from the things she left at her door?
It couldn’t be lost, could it?
After pondering, Lu Yin softly walked out and turned on the monitor at the entryway.
Sheng Xiali was still outside. Lu Yin narrowed her eyes, looking behind her, and saw that the corner where she had placed the items was now empty.
Lu Yin hesitated. Could it really be that something was lost and Sheng Xiali couldn’t find it?
Just as Lu Yin was wavering, there was a ‘ding’ sound, and the phone in her hand rang.
Trouble. Sure enough, Lu Yin watched on the monitor as Sheng Xiali looked up. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the monitor and see Lu Yin peeking behind it.
Lu Yin was embarrassed. Although it was late, she quickly switched her phone to silent.
She opened her phone to see another message from Sheng Xiali.
“I’ll be away on a business trip for a few days. Could you please look after Kuaikuai?”
Kuaikuai?
Lu Yin lifted her head from her phone and looked at the monitor. Only then did she notice Sheng Xiali holding something.
It was a transparent box, and inside seemed to be a small turtle.
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. Kuaikuai, Sheng Xiali is actually entrusting Kuaikuai to her care.
She had tried to get Kuaikuai back before, but Sheng Xiali never agreed!
In her excitement, Lu Yin wanted to open the door, but the thought of Sheng Xiali standing outside made her hand pause on the lock.
What if she opens the door and Sheng Xiali comes barging in again? Then she won’t be able to get rid of her. That would be so awkward.
Moreover, she now knew that Sheng Xiali still had ‘lingering feelings’ for her. At this late hour, two women alone…
Thinking this, Lu Yin hesitated, even suspecting that Sheng Xiali might be using Kuaikuai to trick her into opening the door…
As she was contemplating, she saw Sheng Xiali suddenly bend down and take action on the monitor.
After Sheng Xiali placed the item down, she sent Lu Yin another message.
“Kuaikuai is by your door. Please take care of him while I’m away.”
Lu Yin was surprised by the message. She looked up at the person on the monitor, and after sending the message, Sheng Xiali turned and left.
Soon, Lu Yin watched her turn her back and perform the action of verifying her fingerprint on the lock.
Wait, a fingerprint lock!
Lu Yin recalled her failed attempts to test Sheng Xiali’s fingerprints when she was drunk. She had tried her left index finger and thumb, and then her right index finger and thumb, but none were correct.
The hand Sheng Xiali was using now, visible from her back, was her right hand!
Lu Yin also extended her right hand, pressed her index finger and thumb, making an ‘OK’ sign. This meant that the fingerprint was set to Sheng Xiali’s middle, ring, and/or pinky finger on her right hand.
A total of three options. The next time Sheng Xiali gets drunk, with four chances and three fingers, she will definitely be able to get in!
Lu Yin wiggled her fingers, feeling she had stumbled upon a great idea. Perhaps she just needed to get Sheng Xiali drunk! Then she could use her finger to enter 902 and reclaim everything she had lost!
While Lu Yin was excited, Sheng Xiali had already unlocked and entered 902. Watching the door close, Lu Yin’s breathing intensified. She felt she had mastered the way to unlock the treasure, just needing a little alcohol!
Looking at the empty corridor and remembering how Sheng Xiali had drunkenly knocked on her door, Lu Yin began to pray, hoping this situation would happen again.
Lu Yin quietly waited for a long time, confirming that Sheng Xiali probably wouldn’t come out again, before she quietly opened a small crack in the door, quickly reached out, and pulled the box inside.
She ran all the way back to the master bedroom with the box and locked the door before finally feeling at ease.
Looking at the familiar small turtle in the box, Lu Yin jumped up and down twice, smiling with pure joy. It really was Kuaikuai.
She carefully picked up Kuaikuai, looking at the beautiful golden patterns on its shell under the light. Sheng Xiali had truly taken excellent care of it.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be with Mom now, and Mom will take good care of you too.”
Lu Yin said, placing Kuaikuai back in the box. She opened the turtle food Sheng Xiali had left, intending to feed him.
But as soon as she opened it, she suddenly wondered if Sheng Xiali had already fed him. It wouldn’t be good if he overate.
After much hesitation, even though she was extremely reluctant to contact Sheng Xiali, especially after not opening the door for her, Lu Yin swallowed her embarrassment and opened the chat box for Kuaikuai’s sake, sending Sheng Xiali a message.
“Has Kuaikuai eaten?”
Sheng Xiali smiled, seeing the person finally respond. This is why the ‘child’ is the glue of the relationship.
“I just fed him. No need to feed him for a while.”
Then she sent a few points of precaution.
Lu Yin read them all and finally replied: “Got it.”
She ignored the last point, which was Sheng Xiali saying she would come to pick Kuaikuai up when she returned from her business trip.
Now that he was back in her hands, there was no way she would return him to Sheng Xiali.
Lu Yin happily opened her camera and took photos of Kuaikuai from various angles. He looked utterly adorable. She even sent the pictures to Yang Beibei and Qi Qing, showing off how cute her ‘child’ was.
Qi Qing was just about to leave for class when she received Lu Yin’s message. Seeing it was a turtle, she quickly understood.
“Is that Kuaikuai?”
Lu Yin immediately sent a bright, smiling cat emoji.
“Got custody back?”
Lu Yin sent an even happier smiling emoji.
Qi Qing looked at the set of ecstatic, dancing cat emojis Lu Yin sent next, and a bit of worry crept into her eyes.
She knew Lu Yin hadn’t completely moved on from that person, but she believed that time heals everything. As long as they didn’t meet again, many feelings would slowly fade with time.
She had been worried that Lu Yin would run into that person when she returned to Hengcheng, but she hadn’t expected that person to live right across from Lu Yin.
Feeling uneasy, Qi Qing opened the flight booking page she had been looking at last night. The page showed ‘unpaid’.
She hadn’t planned to go back this year.
But now… Qi Qing switched back to her chat with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin: Yep, got him back. Kuaikuai will be with me from now on.”
Qi Qing switched back to the booking system and clicked pay.
Lu Yin had no idea that her few photos had made someone book a flight home.
She was truly delighted. She had always felt a little guilty for not taking Kuaikuai with her. Later, when she controlled herself and stopped thinking about Sheng Xiali, she still often thought of Kuaikuai.
“Kuaikuai, you’ll be with Mom from now on.”
Lu Yin slept exceptionally well that night, having pleasant dreams all night.
In the dream, Kuaikuai led her to pry open Sheng Xiali’s door. Inside, it was glittering with gold, full of treasure, and she pushed it all home, carload after carload, with a little pushcart.