The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 5
Chapter 05: Too Crowded
When Lu Yin returned to the third floor of [YueJian], she felt a little lightheaded.
It was too hot outside, and she had worked up a sweat. Now, with the cold air blowing on her, she felt uncomfortable all over.
It was also possible that she was a little hypoglycemic because she had been in a hurry and skipped breakfast.
Lu Yin regretted coming back.
She was hesitating whether to tell Amy that she would just go home and reschedule for another time.
But the moment Amy saw her, she didn’t even wait for her to speak, instead hurrying to push her into the office with the nameplate.
Amy knew how precious her boss’s time was. With Lu Yin wearing a mask, she didn’t notice that her face was pale.
Just a moment ago, the boss had suddenly opened the door, held up the form she had handed in, and asked her to contact Lu Yin. She was startled, thinking something had gone wrong.
She never expected that it was to talk about a design. The boss’s phone call with the big client had seemed like it was going to last for a long time.
Maybe something had come up with the client. Either way, Lu Yin was lucky.
She quickly ushered the person into the office, thinking that maybe in a little while, the boss would have another phone call. Her boss was a very busy person.
Lu Yin was dizzily rushed along. When Amy opened the door and pushed her in, it was no exaggeration to say that Lu Yin’s vision went black.
Fortunately, it didn’t last long, but the next second, Lu Yin wished it had.
She pinched her thigh hard. She must be hallucinating.
But even if she was hallucinating, why would she see Sheng Xiali?
Across a large, well-designed desk, Sheng Xiali was resting her chin on her hand, her gaze heavy as she stared at her.
It made her feel like a marked prey, the kind that could have its neck bitten through at any moment.
“I’m sorry, I must have the wrong door.”
Lu Yin lowered her hat, turned, and was about to leave.
Her hand was just on the office doorknob when she heard that voice, full of the same mockery she had heard a week ago.
“1-3-0-6-6-6-6-1-0-4-4.”
One word, one number at a time, each clearly articulated. Lu Yin’s footsteps froze. The number Sheng Xiali had just clearly stated was her phone number…
She turned her head abruptly, and her vision went black again.
In Sheng Xiali’s free hand, two fingers were holding the form she had just filled out.
The form she had carelessly filled out with all her real information because of Song Xinlei’s sudden appearance.
There was no point in running now, unless she changed all of her contact information again…
Lu Yin took a breath, let go of the doorknob, and turned to face Sheng Xiali.
Sheng Xiali moved her hand, changing her posture to rest her chin on the back of it, which made her look even more like a calm inquisitor.
Clearly, she was waiting for her. Lu Yin pretending not to know her would just be a joke.
So, she wouldn’t pretend anymore.
“Give it back to me.” Lu Yin took a step forward, reaching out to snatch the paper from between Sheng Xiali’s fingers.
“What, you’re not pretending you don’t know me anymore?”
Sheng Xiali pulled her hand back, and Lu Yin grabbed at nothing.
“Sit.”
Sheng Xiali put the form back in the drawer, got up, and poured a glass of water for Lu Yin.
“Didn’t you come here to have me design your apartment?” Sheng Xiali seemed to remember something and let out a sneer. “Aren’t you going to sit down and listen to my ideas?”
…
Lu Yin looked at the menu in her hand, with its colorful pictures of dishes, feeling a little dazed. How did she end up eating with Sheng Xiali?
She tried to recall what happened in her hazy state. Sheng Xiali had said she wanted to talk about the apartment design and that it was lunch time. She said her schedule was very packed and they could save time by talking while they ate.
Looking at the menu, Lu Yin suddenly remembered. Hadn’t Amy ordered takeout for her?
How did…
Lu Yin tilted her head and looked at Sheng Xiali with a suspicious gaze.
Sheng Xiali noticed Lu Yin’s look, stopped ordering, and turned back to Lu Yin, her eyes not looking very friendly.
“What, is the menu on my face?”
Lu Yin immediately dismissed all the random thoughts in her head. This person probably just didn’t want to eat takeout anymore, or couldn’t wait for it. Lu Yin reminded herself not to overthink it.
Seeing Lu Yin stare at the menu without ordering, Sheng Xiali flicked a finger at the menu in Lu Yin’s hand: “Not hungry?”
“Didn’t you order?”
Lu Yin saw that Sheng Xiali had already ordered several signature dishes from the menu. Although she had been so hungry just a moment ago that she was about to faint, now, for some reason, she didn’t feel like eating much.
Sheng Xiali looked at the distracted person and raised an eyebrow: “I ordered what I want to eat. There’s no guarantee there will be any for you.”
Lu Yin paused and turned to look at Sheng Xiali, raising an eyebrow in return.
Sheng Xiali did indeed look different from her skinny self back then. On her wrist, exposed by her rolled-up shirt sleeve, she could clearly see a thin layer of muscle.
She used to eat very little. At first, Lu Yin thought it was for her figure and diet, but later, she found out it was simply because she didn’t have money.
However, after Sheng Xiali worked several jobs and saved some money, she no longer deliberately skimped on food, but due to years of ingrained habit, her appetite was still very small.
What happened now? Did she become a big eater?
Or were the portions at this restaurant just particularly small?
Regardless, since she had said that, Lu Yin casually picked two or three of her favorite dishes and placed an order. Just as she was about to pay, she saw that the ordering screen on her phone showed it had already been paid for.
This was different, too. She used to be the one who paid. Lu Yin was a little unaccustomed to it. She saw Sheng Xiali pouring her a glass of water, so she picked up the cup and took a sip.
After pouring herself a glass of lemonade, Sheng Xiali spoke, as if making small talk.
Her attitude was much better than before. At least Lu Yin no longer saw that hurtful, mocking smile or those eyes that were as cold as a sixteen-degree air conditioner breeze.
“When did you come back?”
Sheng Xiali used the word ‘come back,’ but Lu Yin didn’t pay attention.
“Half a year ago.”
Lu Yin didn’t want to talk about these things. Their questions and answers were as brief as possible.
“When did you buy the apartment?”
“A year ago.”
“Planning to renovate?”
“Mhm.”
Sheng Xiali gave a soft laugh. She thought of the fridge Lu Yin had abandoned at her apartment. Her thoughts were actually easy to guess. Although she liked to make things convoluted and hard to read, once you knew the outcome, you knew why she did what she did.
She was renovating and decided to store her fridge at her neighbor’s house.
But then an accident happened, and she ran into her.
Sheng Xiali pursed her lips, and her clasped fingers lightly tapped together.
She was about to ask Lu Yin how many fridges she had at home when her phone rang.
Sheng Xiali’s phone was placed between the two of them. Lu Yin immediately saw the profile picture of the person she had seen not long ago.
She truly never expected that the inseparable duo she had often seen in the past would still be together after all these years.
She should have thought of it earlier. Lu Yin cursed herself as an ‘idiot,’ forgetting her past experience that where Song Xinlei was, Sheng Xiali was likely to be.
If she had thought of this earlier and run away with the form, she wouldn’t be having this inexplicable meal now.
Lu Yin looked away, picking up the water on the table and taking a big gulp.
Sheng Xiali said “I need to take this” to Lu Yin and walked out of the private room.
“Xinlei, what is it?”
Sheng Xiali didn’t go far, taking the call in the central courtyard outside the room.
There was a small piece of light blue glass embedded in the door of the private room. Sheng Xiali was standing in a position where she could see the person inside, so she wouldn’t leave without her knowing.
“Xiali, where did you go?”
Song Xinlei looked at Sheng Xiali’s empty office with a frown. Just now, the big client who was supposed to be on a voice call with Sheng Xiali had sent her a WeChat message, clearly unhappy that Sheng Xiali had suddenly said she had an appointment and told her to wait.
She had calmed the client down and wanted to ask Sheng Xiali what was so important that she would make a major client, whose project affected the studio’s year-end bonus, wait.
Sheng Xiali looked at the person who had already started eating in the private room. From the way she was eating, it was obvious she was hungry.
She pursed her lips and replied: “Eating with a client.”
Song Xinlei was surprised. She didn’t know Sheng Xiali had a new client: “Is it a bigger project than CEO Qian’s project for the Shangning Resort? Big enough for you to make CEO Qian wait?”
Although the Qian project was pretty much a sure thing, as long as the contract wasn’t signed, there was a possibility of it being snatched by another firm. The voice call with CEO Qian at noon was about finalizing the last details. If it went well, they could sign the contract.
Sheng Xiali looked at the person eating quietly under the light blue glow, thinking of the design requirements she had filled out on the form: the more storage space the better.
Sheng Xiali turned around, pressed her lips into a thin line, and tapped her slightly hot phone with her fingers.
“It’s a very difficult one.”
Song Xinlei understood. She was getting ‘an itch.’
Sheng Xiali took on projects not just for the money, but also for their difficulty. Song Xinlei had no objection to this. She knew Sheng Xiali wasn’t the penniless student who had to plan out every meal she used to be. She also knew that even at her lowest, Sheng Xiali wasn’t only focused on money.
But at this moment, she thought, it was better to make the money they could get their hands on first.
Song Xinlei subtly urged Sheng Xiali to hurry up and come back after eating.
The dishes were served one after another. Lu Yin started eating without waiting for Sheng Xiali. She really was hungry. She had thought she wouldn’t be able to eat much, but as soon as the food arrived, her appetite came back immediately.
She planned to eat quickly and leave.
Sheng Xiali was really different from her past self. When Sheng Xiali had ordered, she said she hadn’t ordered for her, and Lu Yin thought the portions here were just a few bites per person.
Now that the dishes were on the table, although the portions weren’t huge, they were definitely not single servings.
Four of Lu Yin’s previous self couldn’t have finished this entire table of dishes. She didn’t believe Sheng Xiali could eat it all.
The person who used to hate wasting food the most was now also being wasteful.
Lu Yin felt a bit sentimental. Time really could change a person without a sound. She took a photo to share her feelings with Beibei, and her phone rang.
The screen flashed with the name ‘Qi Qing.’
Lu Yin wiped her hands and swiped to answer: “Hello, Dr. Qi.”
Her slightly upward-curled tone held a hint of playfulness. The other person was clearly amused by the title, and a smiling voice came through the phone: “The doctor is checking in. What are you doing?”
“I’m eating with someone. A friend introduced me to a designer for my apartment renovation.”
Speaking of which, it was Qi Qing who had given her some advice about renovating. He was one of the few people who knew she was a little ‘odd,’ so Lu Yin didn’t have to hide anything.
“That’s high efficiency. When I get back to the country, I can come over to your place for a visit.”
Outside the private room, Sheng Xiali had promised Song Xinlei she would call CEO Qian back after lunch and had hung up. Walking back to the room, she saw that Lu Yin also seemed to be on the phone, so she paused before opening the door.
The glass embedded in the door blocked the sound from inside. Sheng Xiali couldn’t hear what Lu Yin was saying, but looking at the smile on her face, she was sure Lu Yin was talking to someone she liked.
In Sheng Xiali’s memory, Lu Yin was smiling most of the time. ‘Smiling’ was just a facial expression for Lu Yin, an expression to make her seem easy to get along with, not her true feelings.
It had taken Sheng Xiali a long time to figure out the subtle differences between her ‘expressions’ and her ‘feelings.’
She saw Lu Yin’s legs swinging back and forth under the table. Besides the smile on her face, there was also a softness and a sense of relaxation, like a summer evening breeze.
When Lu Yin put her phone down, Sheng Xiali opened the door and walked in.
At the same time as the cold air rushed in, Sheng Xiali saw that gentle aura on Lu Yin instantly vanish, replaced by a layer of cold caution and defensiveness, as if she were some kind of great beast.
Sheng Xiali’s own temperature dropped. She walked over and sat down in silence.
Lu Yin didn’t know why this person came back from her phone call looking so unhappy. Did she have a fight with Song Xinlei?
She didn’t think so. They had never had a single argument before.
But whatever happened between her and Song Xinlei was none of her business.
She lowered her head and continued eating.
After Sheng Xiali hung up, Song Xinlei went to ask Amy who the client Sheng Xiali was meeting for lunch was.
Amy honestly said it was a client she had introduced. She also hadn’t expected the boss to set aside a major client, and she didn’t know why her boss had changed her mind.
Song Xinlei was even more unhappy when she heard it was a small client, but she felt a bit better when she remembered Sheng Xiali was indeed eating with a client.
For some reason, she had felt a vague sense of unease earlier.
In the private room, Lu Yin’s heart was also a little shaken by Sheng Xiali’s gaze.
Sheng Xiali had probably moved her chair when she sat back down. She was sitting too close. It felt like if she reached out to get a dish, she would touch her.
“Move over a bit. It’s too crowded.”
There was plenty of space. Although it was a small private room, the table was a six-person round table. There were only two of them, so there was more than enough room.
Sheng Xiali looked at a puddle of water on the table, which had condensed from the ice in her lemonade glass. If she didn’t deal with it, it would run down the edge of the table and onto her thin pants.
Hearing Lu Yin’s words, Sheng Xiali looked at her and saw her furrowed brow.
Her hand accidentally touched the puddle, which was cold and wet.
Sheng Xiali leaned sideways, one hand on the back of Lu Yin’s chair, as if deliberately responding to the phrase ‘too crowded.’ She reached across to grab a few tissues and slowly wiped the water from her hand.
“Crowded? Back when you were seducing me, why didn’t you complain that my dorm room bed was too crowded?”