The Unreturnable Refrigerator - Chapter 9

Chapter 09: Discussing Needs

Song Xinlei enthusiastically reminded Sheng Xiali that she once had a roommate named Lu Yin.

She also reminded Lu Yin that the friend she used to bring back to the dorm was Sheng Xiali.

After hearing this, Lu Yin said with a look of dawning realization: “Oh, so it was her. What a coincidence.”

Sheng Xiali crossed her arms over her chest: “Indeed.”

After she said this, she looked impatient with the pleasantries. She shook the floor plan in her hand and glanced sideways at Song Xinlei.

Song Xinlei understood and didn’t mind Sheng Xiali’s cold attitude at all. The smile on her face deepened.

Her words were also a deliberate attempt to show that her relationship with Sheng Xiali was very close.

“Alright, alright, I won’t disturb your work. You two go ahead and talk.”

She said this to Sheng Xiali, then turned to Lu Yin: “Let’s grab dinner later. It’s been so many years. Oh, and let’s add each other on WeChat first.”

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone and held it up for Lu Yin to scan her QR code.

After they became friends, Song Xinlei added: “What a coincidence, Cheng Siyu was just talking about you a few days ago, saying she couldn’t get in touch with you after college. I remember you two were the closest in the dorm. I’ll push your WeChat to her. She’s also in Hengcheng, so we can all get together sometime.”

They were just polite words, and Lu Yin smiled and agreed.

Seeing Sheng Xiali waiting by the office door, Lu Yin put away her phone and took a step forward, showing Song Xinlei with her actions that she had things to do.

Lu Yin sighed inwardly. Before, she didn’t want to go into Sheng Xiali’s office, but now she would rather face Sheng Xiali’s cold expression inside than have to deal with Song Xinlei’s fake pleasantries.

“Look at me, so happy to see an old classmate. You two go on and talk.”

Song Xinlei stepped aside. Sheng Xiali turned and went back into the office. Lu Yin quickly followed and closed the door, shutting out Song Xinlei’s very present gaze.

The world instantly fell silent.

Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly held her breath again.

Sheng Xiali was looking at her in silence, her gaze as distant as it had been outside.

Lu Yin remembered how she and Sheng Xiali used to pretend they didn’t know each other in front of others. When they were alone after people left, Sheng Xiali would always be silent for a while.

At those times, it was always Lu Yin who would talk about random things to break the silence.

But this time, Sheng Xiali spoke first.

“What style do you prefer for your renovation?”

Sheng Xiali turned her gaze away from Lu Yin, looking as if she had quickly entered work mode. She put down the floor plan and picked up a thick notebook from her desk.

She took a pen from the holder, uncapped it, opened the notebook, and tapped the tip on the paper. Only then did she look up at Lu Yin, as if waiting for Lu Yin to say something so she could write it down.

Her business-like, efficient demeanor made it impossible for Lu Yin to continue feeling awkward about pretending not to know Sheng Xiali in front of others.

Sheng Xiali really was so different from her past self…

But Lu Yin didn’t want to talk about any of this. She wasn’t actually planning on having Sheng Xiali design her apartment. She had only entered this office to avoid Song Xinlei outside.

But not saying anything now would be awkward, and if she left, she would have to face the person outside.

Choosing between the two, Lu Yin pulled out the chair in front of Sheng Xiali’s desk.

“Something simple, not too complicated.”

She didn’t want her home to be grand and luxurious, nor did she want it to be artistic and whimsical. She just wanted it to be simple.

After Lu Yin spoke, she heard the sound of a pen scratching across paper.

Sheng Xiali’s face showed no extra expression, as if Lu Yin were just an ordinary client.

The two of them asked and answered, surprisingly communicating smoothly.

Especially after Lu Yin heard some of Sheng Xiali’s very practical suggestions, she was gradually led to seriously discuss her ideas.

Looking at Sheng Xiali, who was focused on writing and drawing in her notebook, Lu Yin felt a bit dazed. It was as if she was seeing the person from her past who would work overtime, drawing under the lamp after coming home from work.

“So your biggest need is storage space, right?”

The sudden question brought the distracted Lu Yin back to the present. Half an hour ago, she probably wouldn’t have answered Sheng Xiali’s question.

Because she knew Sheng Xiali was aware of some of her “flaws.”

But now, their roles seemed to be purely designer and client. Sheng Xiali had successfully made her buy into this dynamic.

Lu Yin nodded, honestly saying: “Yes, that’s the main reason I want to renovate.”

After quickly jotting it down on the paper, Sheng Xiali put pressure on the pen tip and drew a horizontal line.

Lu Yin knew this was Sheng Xiali’s habit, signifying the end of one topic. The task was complete.

Sure enough, the next second, Lu Yin saw Sheng Xiali cap her pen, put it down, and look up at her.

Lu Yin’s heart tightened.

Sheng Xiali’s gaze was no longer distant and unfamiliar like before; it had a little more emotion in it.

“A good design is based on the user’s needs. To truly understand the user’s needs, I need to see their living habits firsthand.”

“Huh?” Lu Yin’s eyebrows shot up.

Sheng Xiali placed her pen on the desk, clasped her hands, rested her chin on them, and said leisurely: “In other words, I need to go to your home to see your living habits.”

As she said this, she seemed to think of something, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: “Let me know when you’re available. Once you’ve confirmed, you can finalize the schedule with Amy.”

Lu Yin opened her mouth. She wasn’t available! And she never would be!

If Sheng Xiali saw her home in its current state, she would be laughed to death!

When they lived together, Sheng Xiali didn’t like her hoarding things. Every time she came back from a business trip and saw more things at home, even if she didn’t say anything, her actions showed her displeasure.

The first thing she would do after putting down her luggage was to organize the new things Lu Yin had hoarded.

She even had a notebook dedicated to recording the things Lu Yin bought. She would also label them with an estimated time of how long it would take for the two of them to use them up, based on their consumption rate.

Sometimes, when Lu Yin saw a good promotion and couldn’t control her urge to buy, Sheng Xiali would remind her to look at the booklet she had compiled.

It worked most of the time, but there were exceptions.

For instance, one time, she saw a promotion for trash bags. Buying a lot would get her a lot of free ones, which was a great deal. But the booklet Sheng Xiali had compiled said their trash bags were enough for three years.

Lu Yin thought that trash bags don’t expire, and three years wasn’t a long time. Wasn’t it a good idea to stock up while they were cheap?

Later, Sheng Xiali changed that number to ten years.

At the time, Sheng Xiali had also said that trash cans might automatically change their bags by then, and the ones she hoarded would be useless and would go to waste.

Thinking of this, Lu Yin looked at the automatic trash can next to Sheng Xiali’s desk. Sheng Xiali had actually been right…

She wondered what Sheng Xiali had done with all the trash bags she had hoarded.

Not just trash bags, but many other things, so many that she couldn’t remember.

She wondered if Sheng Xiali had used up all those things by herself.

Lu Yin thought of Sheng Xiali’s empty apartment, so completely decluttered. She probably got rid of all those things long ago.

“Is there a problem?”

Sheng Xiali had always known that Lu Yin had a habit of spacing out. After a few years, it seemed to be even worse than before.

She was talking, but Lu Yin got lost in thought just by looking at a trash can.

“Do you like this trash can? Good. The studio is having a promotion. All clients who sign a contract this month will get one.”

Lu Yin looked at Sheng Xiali, wondering if she was being sarcastic or serious.

She didn’t need another trash can.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Sheng Xiali stand up, walk around the desk, and come to a stop in front of her.

Sheng Xiali leaned against the edge of the desk. Her legs, revealed by the skirt, were slender and well-proportioned. The tips of her pointed shoes were slightly raised, directly facing Lu Yin’s exposed round toes.

Lu Yin instantly tensed up, curling her toes. She moved her chair back, as if she was afraid the pointed shoes would poke her toes, creating some distance between her and Sheng Xiali.

A soft laugh came from above her head. Lu Yin looked up, but only saw Sheng Xiali’s expressionless face, not a hint of a smile.

Lu Yin was confused. Was the laugh just her imagination?

Sheng Xiali spoke again in a business-like tone: “If it’s not convenient, I’ll first create a preliminary design based on what I know so far. Then we can schedule a time to finalize the details—”

“Knock, knock, knock.”

A sudden knocking on the door interrupted Sheng Xiali’s words. They both turned to look at the door.

Sheng Xiali looked at Lu Yin, who seemed startled, and furrowed her brow. She said “come in” to the door.

The door opened. Song Xinlei walked in with an overly enthusiastic smile and a pile of things.

“I ordered some afternoon tea. How was the chat? Take a break and have a drink.”

Song Xinlei walked in. When she saw where Sheng Xiali and Lu Yin were sitting and how close their legs were, her movements noticeably froze.

Lu Yin didn’t know why she was nervous. After seeing Song Xinlei’s unnatural reaction, she followed her gaze and looked at her and Sheng Xiali’s legs.

Huh? Why were they so close? They were almost touching. Lu Yin abruptly stood up.

Feeling Sheng Xiali’s gaze on her, she pursed her lips and didn’t look back. She spoke to Song Xinlei:

“We’re done talking. I have to go.”

Song Xinlei was only unnatural for a moment, and she quickly recovered. After entering, she put the things on the side table. Seeing that Lu Yin was about to leave, she handed her a cup of milk tea.

“Why are you leaving? It’s so rare that we get to see each other. Let’s have dinner together.”

Sheng Xiali also stood up after Lu Yin did. She walked around the table, went behind her desk, and picked up her bag from the cabinet behind her.

“Don’t forget you have to do a final inspection of your apartment.” Sheng Xiali tapped the watch on her left wrist. “It’s time.”

Song Xinlei hadn’t forgotten. She had timed her entrance to remind her of this.

Although Sheng Xiali was very organized, for some reason, she was a little worried that this sudden “client” would make Sheng Xiali forget her original plans.

She smiled and said: “Of course I wouldn’t. It’s my own apartment; how could I forget? I’m just so happy to have run into Lu Yin. It’s been so many years since we last saw each other.”

Seeing that Sheng Xiali hadn’t forgotten her original plans, Song Xinlei’s smile became more genuine, and the look she gave Lu Yin became a little friendlier.

“Lu Yin, why don’t you come with us? My apartment is not far from the office. You can come and take a look, and then we can have dinner afterward. You can get some ideas for your renovation—”

Before she could finish, Sheng Xiali, who had grabbed her things and was standing by the door, interrupted her: “You said it yourself, it’s been so many years. You two aren’t familiar with each other. Why would you invite a stranger to your home?”

Sheng Xiali’s words made everyone in the room pause. Song Xinlei looked at Sheng Xiali in confusion, not understanding why she would say something like that. It was a bit rude. Lu Yin was a client of the studio, after all.

It was a little strange.

Lu Yin pretended not to hear and smiled: “Then I’ll get going.”

Although Sheng Xiali’s words were sarcastic, she did help her fend off Song Xinlei’s fake pleasantries.

Not wanting to disturb the two of them, she was about to leave when she was called back again.

It was Sheng Xiali who called her.

“Wait, I have some documents for you to take back and look at.”

Lu Yin stopped and turned to look at Sheng Xiali. What documents? Hearing this, she suddenly remembered the form she had filled out. She really wanted to get it back. Should she ask Amy if she could have it?

Sheng Xiali handed the car keys in her hand to Song Xinlei: “You go down and get the car first.”

Seeing Sheng Xiali go to get the documents that the studio prepared for clients, Song Xinlei smiled: “Okay, I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Sheng Xiali waited for Amy to get the documents. She turned back to Lu Yin and realized she was spacing out again.

She handed the documents to her. Seeing that Lu Yin was still standing there frozen, Sheng Xiali gently took hold of Lu Yin’s arm.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Lu Yin came back to her senses and found herself being led into the elevator.

As soon as they entered the elevator, before Lu Yin could say anything, Sheng Xiali let go of her hand.

Sheng Xiali leaned against the handrail on the other side and silently watched her. Her gaze was no longer distant and cold like before.

It wasn’t enthusiastic, but it was very aggressive, as if she wanted to cut through her skin and look inside.

The elevator slowly descended.

Lu Yin’s heart, however, was slowly rising with each passing moment under that intense gaze.