The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 32.2
Chapter 32.1
Finally, her refrigerator, also glowing gold, grew legs and followed her home. It opened and spat out piles and piles of gold coins, almost burying Lu Yin.
When she woke up in the morning, Lu Yin was still lingering in the joy of finding treasure, feeling incomplete.
She got up and wanted to say ‘good morning’ to Kuaikuai, who had led her to the treasure. But as soon as she opened her mouth, the word morphed into a scream.
What’s going on? Where is Kuaikuai?
Lu Yin lifted the box up and put it down. No matter how she looked, the small turtle was nowhere to be seen in the transparent box.
Where is her turtle? Where is Kuaikuai?
Did Sheng Xiali steal him last night?
Was the dream a reverse one? She didn’t open Sheng Xiali’s door; Sheng Xiali opened hers and stole Kuaikuai?
Lu Yin looked at the closed master bedroom door and quickly rushed over to check. The door was securely locked from the inside.
Thank goodness, Lu Yin sighed in relief. No one had broken in. Kuaikuai should still be in the room.
Lu Yin searched the entire room, even under the bed, but couldn’t find any sign of Kuaikuai.
Lu Yin anxiously called out repeatedly, “Kuaikuai, where are you? Come out, don’t scare Mom.”
She searched again to no avail. Lu Yin even opened the window to look outside, worried that the little turtle had climbed out.
He wasn’t there. Lu Yin, heart ablaze with worry, grabbed the phone by her bedside and called Sheng Xiali’s voice chat.
Sheng Xiali felt the vibration, took her phone out of her pocket, and seeing it was Lu Yin, she was so surprised that she nearly swallowed the mouthwash in her mouth.
She spat out the mouthwash and answered the call.
Last night, she had hoped to chat a bit more, but Lu Yin hadn’t replied to her subsequent messages. It was very unexpected that she would call this early morning.
As soon as the call connected, Sheng Xiali didn’t have time to speak when she heard a frantic voice from the other end.
“Sheng Xiali, Kuaikuai is gone! Come over quickly!”
“Okay.”
Lu Yin heard the doorbell and flew to open the door, then grabbed Sheng Xiali and pulled her into the room.
Upon reaching the master bedroom, Lu Yin urgently prompted, “Quick, call Kuaikuai’s name and see where he is!”
Sheng Xiali looked at the master bedroom, which looked like it had just been ransacked, her eyes trembling. She looked at the person next to her, who was anxious and seemed confused and barely awake, and got to the point.
“Don’t worry. Did you put Kuaikuai in the room last night? Was the door closed?”
Lu Yin nodded, “Yes, so he must still be in the bedroom. Hurry up and call him!”
Lu Yin urged Sheng Xiali. Kuaikuai never responded when she called him. She thought that since Sheng Xiali had been taking care of Kuaikuai for so many years, perhaps Kuaikuai would respond to her voice.
Sheng Xiali looked at the person who was so anxious she was being a little unreasonable. She held her hand that was tugging her and reminded her, “Kuaikuai isn’t a dog. Calling him won’t work.”
Lu Yin was displeased: “Of course I know he’s not a dog. If he were a dog, I’d have made kissing noises already.”
If he were a cat, she could meow, but she didn’t know how to call a turtle to make it react.
Sheng Xiali couldn’t help but smile, looking at the tuft of hair on the person’s forehead that stood up from sleep, bouncing with her movements. Although she found the request hilarious, she played along and called out.
“Kuaikuai, come out quickly.”
After calling a few times, there was no response in the room.
Of course there wouldn’t be, Sheng Xiali thought. If there were, it would be a Ninja Turtle.
Seeing that calling didn’t work, Lu Yin, frantic, continued her search.
Sheng Xiali watched Lu Yin rummage through the clothes on the end-of-bed bench, even emptying the pockets. She would throw one item aside and immediately start rummaging through the discarded pile again…
If she didn’t know that laughing out loud right now would upset the other person, Sheng Xiali would truly be laughing.
She struggled to suppress the upward curve of her lips, stepped forward, and went to Lu Yin. After pulling Lu Yin’s slipping pajama strap back up, she lifted her up around the waist and moved her outside the door.
“Stay here. Give me ten minutes.”
Sheng Xiali tapped the stone threshold in front of Lu Yin’s feet with her toe, drawing an imaginary line for her.
Lu Yin’s breath hitched when Sheng Xiali’s cool hand touched her shoulder. When Sheng Xiali suddenly lifted her, she was so surprised that she almost screamed.
She glanced sideways at the strap Sheng Xiali had just adjusted. Only then did she realize she was only wearing a slip nightgown, which was why she felt Sheng Xiali’s hand had touched her skin directly when she held her.
Lu Yin broke through the imaginary line Sheng Xiali had ‘drawn’, grabbed her robe from the bed, and wrapped herself in it.
When Sheng Xiali looked over, Lu Yin’s heart jumped. Before her brain could process it, her feet had already backed up, retreating behind the line Sheng Xiali had ‘drawn’.
After Sheng Xiali withdrew her gaze, Lu Yin’s heart slowed, and she realized something was wrong. Why was she listening to Sheng Xiali?
But the look in her eyes just now made it seem like if she hadn’t retreated, Sheng Xiali would have ‘carried’ her out again…
Watching Sheng Xiali start tidying the pile of clothes she had just messed up, Lu Yin exclaimed, “What are you doing?”
She asked Sheng Xiali to find Kuaikuai, not to clean her room.
Lu Yin stood a little further back by the door and saw how messy that pile of clothes truly was from her rummaging. She couldn’t help but look around the entire room, which she had made incredibly messy.
Sheng Xiali’s hands continued to work as she replied to Lu Yin’s question, “I’m looking for Kuaikuai.”
Sheng Xiali’s method of searching was different from Lu Yin’s. She tidied as she searched, confirming that Kuaikuai was not on the end-of-bed bench while also neatly folding Lu Yin’s pile of clothes.
Each item was neatly stacked, clear to see, and Kuaikuai was not there.
Just as Lu Yin felt that this was not a good way and didn’t want Sheng Xiali to search for Kuaikuai in this manner, Sheng Xiali had already started tidying the dresser in the corner with quick, practiced movements.
… No, I can’t let Sheng Xiali keep tidying. Lu Yin was about to move, but Sheng Xiali turned around as if she had eyes in the back of her head: “Don’t move. Too many people will scare Kuaikuai.”
“Huh?” Lu Yin hesitated and backed up again, worried about scaring Kuaikuai.
Lu Yin just watched as Sheng Xiali quickly tidied the bedroom. The areas she had cleaned, while still containing the same items, were arranged logically, almost visible at a glance.
It was clear that Kuaikuai wasn’t hiding in those spots.
Sheng Xiali’s gaze swept across the entire bedroom. It could be cleaner, but this was enough for now; it looked much more comfortable.
“Well, did you see Kuaikuai?”
Hearing Lu Yin’s question, Sheng Xiali pursed her lips. Kuaikuai was naturally not in plain sight; she had spotted him as soon as she entered the door.
After tidying up, Sheng Xiali’s gaze deliberately swept around and finally lingered on Lu Yin’s side.
As Lu Yin followed the gaze in surprise but saw nothing, Sheng Xiali walked over, moved the pile of boxes behind the door next to Lu Yin, revealing the hidden Kuaikuai.
“Found him. He’s here.”
Sheng Xiali stepped aside to make way for Lu Yin. Lu Yin rushed forward upon hearing her, and sure enough, saw the shell covered in golden lines.
“Kuaikuai!”
So he was hiding behind the door, right next to her! She hadn’t even noticed!
But then again, she was just watching Sheng Xiali tidy the room…
Lu Yin picked up Kuaikuai and gently patted his shell, “Why are you so naughty? You scared Mom to death! You can’t do that again!”
Sheng Xiali smiled, reached out, and gently stroked the spot Lu Yin had patted, her eyes lowered to hide the amusement in them.
Good boy, well done.
Lu Yin put Kuaikuai back in the box and finally relaxed. This early morning ordeal had truly scared her badly. Taking a long, deep breath, Lu Yin turned around and saw Sheng Xiali still standing there, and her relaxed heart instantly tightened again!
Oh no, I was too confused by the urgency. Why did I think to ask Sheng Xiali for help?
Lu Yin quickly stabilized her heartbeat and put on a polite smile.
“Thank you. Kuaikuai is found. As for you—”
Lu Yin motioned outward with her hand in a ‘please leave’ gesture.
Sheng Xiali smiled: “That’s it for thanks?”
Lu Yin thought, as expected. This person is not so easily ‘asked to leave’.
Lu Yin didn’t respond, feeling that anything she said would be inappropriate…
Sheng Xiali slightly restrained her smile: “Aren’t you going to invite me to breakfast?”
Lu Yin looked apologetic: “I was planning to go back to sleep for a bit.”
Sheng Xiali looked at her evasive gaze and suddenly reached out. Under Lu Yin’s watch, she pulled her crooked robe straight.
Her slightly cool fingers brushed Lu Yin’s collarbone, sending a shiver through her. Lu Yin abruptly took a step back, looking at the person in front of her with caution.
Sheng Xiali looked as if she had merely adjusted her crooked robe, withdrawing her hand once she was done.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Lu Yin immediately nodded: “You go.”
If she didn’t leave soon, her rapidly beating heart would send her away.
Having successfully sent Sheng Xiali away, Lu Yin wiped the sweat from her brow. How could she forget that this ‘god’ is not easily invited; inviting her makes it hard to send her away.
Annoyed by her lack of clarity this morning, she returned to the bedroom and gently patted Kuaikuai in anger.
“It’s all your fault. Don’t you dare scare me like that again.”
Lu Yin sighed. Raising a child really isn’t easy. She opened the turtle food and poured a handful: “Eat up.”
After feeding Kuaikuai, Lu Yin couldn’t fall asleep even when she lay back down, so she just got up.
She already had plans to go out today. Lu Yin first went to the sanatorium.
Lu Huiying was recovering quite well, but she still got a little agitated when she saw her, so Lu Yin only stayed for a short while before leaving.
In the afternoon, Lu Yin visited several decoration companies to inquire about renovations. The house was currently clean and tidy, especially since Sheng Xiali had organized her master bedroom. She took advantage of this to schedule all the companies for site measurements the following day.
She had dinner with Yang Beibei. Lu Yin felt a bit traumatized having meals with Yang Beibei now, always sensing that something unexpected would happen. Luckily, this time no one else suddenly showed up, and Yang Beibei didn’t mention Sheng Xiali again, which greatly relieved Lu Yin.
After dinner, the two went shopping and bought swimsuits. Three days later, they went to the ‘Hengcheng Maldives’ together.
Yang Beibei’s prize tickets were valid for weekdays, so they scheduled their visit for a Monday.
Lu Yin hadn’t expected there to be so many people even on a Monday.
Perhaps it was because it was a newly developed scenic area, coupled with various internet celebrity promotions. Lu Yin saw many people filming videos right at the entrance.
Looking at the professional equipment, they were likely not just documenting personal life but were probably commercial collaborations.
She was envious. It had been a long time since she had been approached for commercial work.
After validating their tickets and entering the park, the two followed the signs to the changing area, paid a deposit, got a locker key, and went inside to change.
When Lu Yin came out, she didn’t see Yang Beibei. She wanted to call her but saw a message from Yang Beibei saying she was waiting outside.
Lu Yin walked out with the crowd and indeed saw Yang Beibei, but strangely, there was another person next to her.
That person had her back to Lu Yin, wearing a beige one-piece swimsuit with a hollowed-out back. From her figure, she was a tall, curvaceous, mature woman.
A familiar face?
Lu Yin’s heart inexplicably started to pound. She stopped in her tracks and didn’t move forward.
She didn’t know what they were talking about, but Yang Beibei was shaking with laughter. Before long, she spotted Lu Yin and waved at her while laughing.
“Yinyin, over here.”
As she moved, the person next to Yang Beibei also turned her head.
Lu Yin was surprised. She knew this person too…
Yang Sanhao turned and saw Lu Yin, her eyes lighting up.
Lu Yin’s swimsuit was a one-piece style, with a bow at the bust and a cutout section underneath. The sunflower yellow was fresh and bright. The skirt, which swayed as she walked, just covered her thighs, making her look both innocent and sexy.
Her shoulder-length hair was tied into two pigtails today. When she smiled, her eyes curved, making her look vibrant and youthful, like a lively oil painting. Yang Sanhao’s eyes were full of admiration.
She wondered what ‘that person’ would think when she saw this. Why is she taking so long to change? Is she embroidering in there?
Yang Sanhao glanced out of the corner of her eye behind Lu Yin but didn’t see Sheng Xiali, muttering to herself inwardly.
She smiled as Lu Yin approached.
Yang Beibei pulled Lu Yin: “Yinyin, look who I ran into! Sister Hao, the owner of that private kitchen we went to.”
Lu Yin smiled and greeted her: “What a coincidence.”
Yang Beibei shook Lu Yin’s hand: “Since we ran into Sister Hao, let’s hang out together.”
Lu Yin agreed: “Sounds good.”
Yang Sanhao smiled and said, “The more the merrier. Wait a moment; I have a friend changing inside.”
For some reason, hearing Yang Sanhao mention a friend, Lu Yin’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Seeing Yang Sanhao look at her apologetically, as if she was taking up her time, Lu Yin quickly shook her head: “It’s fine. No rush.”
The tickets were valid for the whole day.
But when she saw Yang Sanhao wave and call out ‘Sheng Xiali’ behind her, and turned to see the person approaching from behind, Lu Yin suddenly felt a great rush.
So urgent that she wanted to run.
How did they run into each other again!
And Sheng Xiali, how… how could she be wearing something like that!