The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 33.1

Chapter 33.1: The Questioning

Lu Yin always knew that someone with Sheng Xiali’s vibrant looks would look stunning in red, but Sheng Xiali was reserved and had never liked such a flamboyant color.

Since their reunion, Lu Yin felt that her previous impression of the person had been repeatedly wrong.

Looking at the red swimsuit that was not just flamboyant but rather unrestrained, Lu Yin’s heart pounded like thunder, and her mouth went dry as the person approached.

Although it was a one-piece swimsuit, which wasn’t considered overly revealing, looking at the two thin straps tied around her slender neck that held everything up, Lu Yin felt they were so fragile that they might snap at any second.

This made her wildly beating heart clench with every step Sheng Xiali took closer.

There was also the hollowed-out design on both sides of the waist, like an apple with a bite taken out, revealing a waistline that resembled the sweet, wonderful fruit itself, making one want to take a bite.

Lu Yin held her breath and swallowed hard, her hands clasped together. Sheng Xiali seemed to have trimmed her hair. The chestnut-colored long hair shone in the sun, the ends brushing her slender, pale collarbone, which held tiny beads of sweat that looked faintly pink against the red swimsuit.

Lu Yin’s gaze was again drawn by the sliding sweat droplet, slowly moving downward. As the glimmer disappeared into the red fabric, a scalding heat filled her chest, and warmth surged through her body.

This heat felt like it burned her eyes when she saw the well-proportioned, straight legs revealed beneath the swimsuit. Lu Yin’s eyelashes fluttered, and she tried to look away but was suddenly captivated by a circle of ‘red markings’.

Around Sheng Xiali’s ankle, something red and thin seemed to be wrapped.

As the person walked closer, Lu Yin finally realized that the ‘red markings’ wrapped around her ankle were actually a tattoo!

Sheng Xiali… actually had a tattoo!

When did she get it?

At that location, Lu Yin recalled that when Sheng Xiali was drunk, she had helped her undress but hadn’t taken off her socks. She didn’t know if it had been there then or if it was recent.

While Lu Yin was in shock, Sheng Xiali had already reached them.

Lu Yin looked down, squinting to discern the red tattoo encircling her ankle. It didn’t look like simple lines; the pattern was complex, and there seemed to be characters that looked like English but not quite.

She couldn’t make it out clearly.

“Hi, Designer Sheng, nice to see you again.” Yang Beibei greeted her enthusiastically, grabbing Lu Yin’s hand and waving, her face full of amazed smiles.

Yang Sanhao had known Sheng Xiali for a long time and thought she was used to her beauty, but even she was genuinely struck by her appearance just now.

She really has no inhibitions. This is barefaced seduction, she thought, turning to look at Lu Yin, who had her head down and wouldn’t lift it.

“President Sheng, you look absolutely gorgeous today! As soon as you appeared, everyone around was either staring at you or pretending not to, but secretly looking.”

Yang Beibei chuckled, and under Yang Sanhao’s gaze, she forcibly straightened Lu Yin’s head, which looked lost in thought, making her face Sheng Xiali.

“Yinyin, look, doesn’t President Sheng look great today?”

Lu Yin was forced to look up, and her eyes unexpectedly met Sheng Xiali’s red lips. The unextinguished heat in her body instantly rushed to her face again.

Fortunately, the sun was particularly bright today, making everyone’s face look flushed.

Lu Yin felt everyone’s eyes on her Sheng Xiali, Yang Beibei, and Yang Sanhao. The gaze of each person made her feel a little uneasy.

Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to speak. Lu Yin even felt that people who were walking by and had been attracted by Sheng Xiali’s beauty were now looking at her.

Lu Yin tried hard to pull up the corners of her mouth and finally managed one word: “Hi.”

Her gaze lifted and met Sheng Xiali’s dark eyes shimmering with a strange light.

The light staring at her gradually intensified. Lu Yin felt Sheng Xiali was scrutinizing her. After a complete scan, her gaze became heavy. Lu Yin couldn’t help but look at herself. Was there something wrong with what she was wearing today?

“Hi.”

Lu Yin heard Sheng Xiali speak, just a simple word.

Yang Sanhao and Yang Beibei managed the polite small talk: ‘What a coincidence,’ ‘Can’t believe we ran into each other,’ ‘You look good too,’ ‘Let’s hang out together,’ ‘Sure.’ After they had officially agreed to form a group, a cold sweat broke out on the back of Lu Yin’s neck.

She looked up at Sheng Xiali, who was equally silent and offering no opinion, and saw that her gaze was still fixed on her.

Lu Yin averted her eyes, and her attention fell back to the tattoo on Sheng Xiali’s ankle.

She truly couldn’t imagine a person like Sheng Xiali having a tattoo.

Could it be a temporary transfer? Or drawn on?

Yang Beibei and Yang Sanhao completed their staged ‘coincidence’ and reached an agreement to hang out together. They both looked at their respective partners.

They were just waiting for the two of them to agree.

Seeing the two people fall into silence, Yang Beibei and Yang Sanhao exchanged glances.

Yang Sanhao: What play are they putting on?

Yang Beibei: A long-lost reunion?

It was always like this in TV dramas. When the long-separated main characters meet again, there’s a slow-motion, multi-camera shot to show the emotional entanglement within them.

It’s just that Yang Beibei was struggling to figure out what kind of romantic script this pair was following.

There didn’t seem to be any particularly intense emotion.

Yang Sanhao felt it was incredibly strange for the four of them to just stand there in the scorching sun without saying a word.

Especially with Sheng Xiali’s supermodel figure standing there, the attention drawn by her long legs was practically surrounding them.

Yang Sanhao gave Yang Beibei a look.

Yang Beibei immediately understood, grabbing Lu Yin and moving forward: “Alright, let’s go, let’s go! It’s too hot. Let’s hurry up and get in line. I did my research; some popular rides have long waits.”

Lu Yin was pulled forward. Hearing that, her mind finally snapped out of its preoccupation with Sheng Xiali’s tattoo. She looked back and saw Yang Sanhao and Sheng Xiali following.

Lu Yin squinted, turned back, and whispered a question to Beibei: “What’s going on? Why is Sheng Xiali here?”

Yang Beibei smiled without an ounce of guilt.

“She’s here to have fun too. Hengcheng isn’t that big, and there are only a few fun places. This new resort has good reviews, so she must have heard about it and came to play.”

Lu Yin didn’t believe her, her gaze becoming scrutinizing: “Why do I feel like this has something to do with you?”

Yang Beibei feigned surprise: “Ah? What does it have to do with me? I didn’t invite President Sheng to play! Those tickets are so expensive. Where would a jobless person like me get the money?”

What Yang Beibei said was true. The ‘prize’ tickets were given to her by Yang Sanhao. As for Sheng Xiali, at most, she knew she would be coming too.

She didn’t own this place, so why couldn’t Sheng Xiali come?

Lu Yin looked at Yang Beibei’s righteous face and felt that she might not be lying.

But this whole thing was too much of a coincidence. She felt it was suspiciously coincidental.

“What’s going on between you and Sister Hao?” Lu Yin glanced back at the people following and noticed the two of them were talking too.

“What do you mean, ‘what’s going on’?” Yang Beibei blinked.

Lu Yin’s gaze was sharp: “Just now, was that a chance encounter?”

She saw the two of them chatting animatedly as soon as she left the changing room.

Yang Beibei immediately nodded: “It was indeed a coincidence.”

Even if they had arranged to come on the same day and set a rough time, they couldn’t have precisely timed it so that two groups entering the park separately would finish changing at the exact same moment.

It was genuinely a coincidence. The original plan was to stage an ‘accidental’ meeting at one of the rides.

Yang Beibei added with a smile: “It’s fate.”

What fate? What fate could she possibly have with Sheng Xiali? Lu Yin immediately rejected the idea in her mind.

She quietly glanced back. Sheng Xiali’s long legs took a step at a time, looking like she was walking a catwalk even in flip-flops.

Lu Yin also noticed that people they passed would pause and stare for a moment after seeing Sheng Xiali.

She even overheard people nearby discussing whether Sheng Xiali was a celebrity.

Honestly, Sheng Xiali, how could she wear something like that?!

Although the outfit wasn’t inherently wrong, she should consider the effect it had when she wore it. Did she really want to be the center of attention that much?

She truly had changed too much. She even had a tattoo now.

Qi Qing also had one. Lu Yin had worried at the time, hearing that tattoos could be addictive one leads to two and she worried Qi Qing would cover herself in them.

Luckily, Qi Qing only got one, and it was also red. Lu Yin had looked into it a bit then: red was harder to remove than black, it hurt more, and it was more prone to rejection.

Fortunately, Qi Qing hadn’t experienced any issues. Lu Yin couldn’t help but look back at the tattoo on Sheng Xiali’s foot again.

She patted Yang Beibei’s arm that was linked with hers and whispered, “Did you see the tattoo on Sheng Xiali’s ankle?”

Yang Beibei looked at Lu Yin, who was being secretive and covering her mouth, thinking she was about to ask something serious.

“I saw it.”

Lu Yin had stared at it for so long; it would be hard not to notice.

Just as she opened her mouth, Lu Yin patted her again: “Lower your voice.”

“Oh, oh.” Yang Beibei lowered her voice and covered her mouth mysteriously, just like Lu Yin. “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with that tattoo?”

It looked quite unique. Why was Lu Yin so concerned? Did she dislike it?

She knew some people were prejudiced against tattoos.

Lu Yin whispered, “Could you make out the design? Do you know what the words mean?”

Yang Beibei shook her head: “I didn’t look closely. It’s on her ankle; it’s hard to see clearly.”

Lu Yin was disappointed: “Then take a closer look later.”

Yang Beibei’s eyes widened at the request: “Isn’t that inappropriate?”

Although it was on her foot, she wasn’t close to Sheng Xiali. Was it appropriate to stare at her foot?

Lu Yin explained: “Don’t you study languages? Maybe you’ll recognize it.”

Yang Beibei was surprised: “I study Swahili. Would President Sheng really tattoo a language that obscure?”

That would be too niche…

Lu Yin felt it wasn’t impossible. The current Sheng Xiali felt strange in so many ways. Otherwise, who would set their fingerprint lock to bypass the index finger and thumb?

“Maybe. Look later. If you don’t recognize it, write it down. Didn’t your teacher teach you to write down unfamiliar words so you can look them up later?”

Yang Beibei’s mouth twitched but she agreed: “Fine.”

Since Lu Yin asked, she would reluctantly take a look.

But Sheng Xiali’s legs were truly beautiful. They were even better than the supermodel who opened the lingerie show she scrolled past last night.

It was obvious she exercised; the muscle lines were very strong. If she were to wrap her legs around someone’s waist during a fight, Yang Beibei thought, glancing at Lu Yin, that person wouldn’t be able to run away.

Lu Yin was so preoccupied with Sheng Xiali’s tattoo that she didn’t realize where Yang Beibei was leading her.

It wasn’t until they were in line and she felt the person behind her was less than an arm’s length away that the uncomfortable feeling made her want to run again.

Unfortunately, just as she was about to tell Yang Beibei that she didn’t want to do this ride, a large group of people arrived behind them. They were on the stairs, and the messy line behind them completely blocked their path.

Just then, the staff in front removed the barrier chain and let their group enter.

Lu Yin could only follow the crowd, steeling herself to go through with it.

She decided that after this ride, she would tell Yang Beibei she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t be part of the four-person group, and would find a quiet place to rest.

Climbing the stairs, Lu Yin saw the ride they were lining up for was a double-rider waterslide, and her heart sank.

Sure enough, just as it was their turn, Beibei pulled Yang Sanhao from behind her and said with a smile, “Yinyin, I’m with Sister Hao. You team up with President Sheng.”

Yang Sanhao chuckled: “Exactly. Sheng Xiali and I both have long legs. Sitting together would be cramped. You two are a better fit.”

With that, she and Yang Beibei walked forward. Lu Yin had no time to stop them and could only watch as they climbed onto the double rubber raft.

Seeing Yang Sanhao, following the staff’s instructions, sit behind Yang Beibei, practically embracing her, Lu Yin still wanted to struggle.

“Beibei, I’ll go with you!”

Yang Beibei was waiting for Yang Sanhao to adjust her position. She turned her head, winked at Lu Yin: “No way. I want to be with Sister Hao.”

With a brilliant smile, she was pushed by the staff and slid into the enclosed flume, screaming with excitement.

Lu Yin could only hear her excited cheers.

Prioritizing lust over friendship! Truly prioritizing lust over friendship!

And now she was absolutely certain that today’s outing was a ‘setup’! Yang Sanhao was also part of the plan!

Lu Yin wanted to leave. She didn’t want to fall into their trap, nor did she want to ride such a thrilling attraction with Sheng Xiali in such an intimate posture.

Just as she was about to turn away, the staff beside her had already set up the double raft and urged Lu Yin.

“Next! Young lady, come quickly! You sit in the front; let the tall one sit in the back.”

Lu Yin waved her hand, about to refuse, when the staff urged her again: “Young lady, hurry up! There’s a queue of people waiting behind you.”

It was a popular ride, and a queue of people was lined up behind them. The staff member was about to reach out and pull her, clearly busy, but the outstretched hand was blocked.

Sheng Xiali had been standing behind Lu Yin. As the people behind them also started to hurry them, she stepped forward, put her arm around Lu Yin’s shoulder, and guided her to the ready rubber raft.

Seeing that this was now inevitable, Lu Yin stopped creating trouble for the staff, quickly climbed in, and took the front seat.

Forget it. I’ll just close my eyes, and we’ll be at the bottom.

But this thought was immediately regretted when Sheng Xiali sat down behind her.

Sheng Xiali’s long legs passed around Lu Yin’s waist, practically pressed against her body.

Lu Yin tried her best to shrink inward, otherwise, their bare legs would be touching.

Feeling the heat from behind, Lu Yin’s heartbeat accelerated. Looking at the deep, dark opening of the slide, she grew nervous, feeling like the moment before the drop was slowing down minute by minute.

Just as Lu Yin was thinking of something to distract herself, she saw Sheng Xiali’s legs extended in front of her. The tattoo on her ankle was now very close.

Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. Just as she was about to look closely, she heard the staff yell, ‘Ready?’, and without waiting for their reply, pushed the raft.

A gust of wind rushed over, her vision darkened, and they immediately entered a corner inside the slide.