Sister, can I be a maid too?

“I just went in and looked,” the proprietress said, her brows furrowed and her tone clearly displeased. “Several new books have dents on their covers, and two books have dust on their spines that you didn’t clean.”

As she spoke, she casually pulled out a few books she had specifically chosen earlier and slammed them down in front of Lin Jianxia:

"How can I put this in the market and sell it?"

Lin Jianxia was stunned and subconsciously looked down at the books on the table.

She remembered very clearly that she was very careful when sorting them, but the creases on the covers of these books were already there before they were opened, which were obviously caused during transportation.

As for not wiping off the dust....

Her job is to categorize and shelve books. If she had to carefully wipe every single book in the warehouse, she probably wouldn't finish even by midnight.

Moreover... she has been organizing according to the same standards for the past month, and Aunt Zhao has never said there was a problem.

Why today, right before payday, do we suddenly start nitpicking these details?

Just as a hint of doubt arose in Lin Jianxia's mind, what she heard next made her breathe a sigh of relief.

"Fine, I won't hold it against you this time," the landlady said, her tone softening as she turned and rummaged through the cash register. "Come and collect your wages."

The words of explanation swirled in her mouth, but in the end, Lin Jianxia simply pursed her lips and whispered:

"Okay, Aunt Zhao, I'll be more careful in the future."

The landlady took a thin envelope from the drawer and pushed it in front of Lin Jianxia: "Here, this is your salary for this month. Go home early, it's getting dark."

Lin Jianxia took the envelope, but stopped abruptly after taking a step.

She pursed her lips, but still opened the envelope on the spot and started counting the letters by the light from the counter.

One, two... When she finally finished counting, her fingers stopped, and her heart sank.

The agreed-upon monthly salary was 1,200 yuan, but now the envelope only contains six 100-yuan bills, a full half of what was promised.

She looked up, her voice hesitant, "Aunt Zhao, this amount... seems a bit off?"

Upon hearing this, the proprietress's relaxed expression vanished instantly. She sighed, and her tone became troubled:

"Xiao Lin, it's not that Aunt Zhao is deliberately making things difficult for you. As you can see, business at the shop has really been bad lately. These books are piling up, and the rent has gone up... We're just really struggling to make ends meet."

Lin Jianxia gripped the envelope tightly, her voice slightly hoarse: "But Aunt Zhao, we agreed on 1,200, and I did everything according to your instructions."

"Agreed?" The proprietress suddenly laughed. "Xiao Lin, do you really think I wouldn't know you were secretly looking through books in the back warehouse?"

"With so many books, who can say for sure if one or two are missing? I haven't held it against you and I'm still paying you your salary, that's already more than enough."

Lin Jianxia's face turned pale instantly: "I've never taken any books from the store! You can see the purchase order, and I always do it after I've finished my work..."

"After you're done?" the proprietress interrupted her, her tone turning sharp. "I'm already being accommodating by letting you do this here, and you still want to be picky?"

"Did we sign a contract? No, right? Then I'll give you whatever amount I want."

She waved her hand impatiently, as if trying to drive away something unlucky:

"Get out of here. This is all the money I have. Take it or leave it. Don't come next week either. My little bookstore can't accommodate someone as important as you."

The argument between the two gradually grew louder, attracting the attention of the few remaining customers in the store.

Lin Jianxia stood blankly in front of the counter, clutching the thin envelope, when suddenly she felt a chill run down her spine.

She opened her mouth, but found that she didn't even have the strength to refute it—in the face of blatant denial and malice, any reasoning seemed so pale and powerless.

Lin Jianxia didn't know how she walked out of that bookstore.

A night breeze blew, leaving her face feeling cold, and only then did she belatedly raise her hand to wipe it.

She clutched the last six hundred yuan tightly, as if it were the last fragile straw she was grasping at while drowning.

But this little bit of money... isn't even enough to cover this month's rent.

I've lost my job. What about next month? Where will I get the money for rent, living expenses...?

She bit her lower lip hard as she walked through the alley under the dim streetlights, her steps growing heavier and heavier, as if filled with lead.

My vision blurred and then cleared, cleared and then blurred again.

The night wind swept through the empty alley, carrying a few withered leaves. Occasionally, car headlights would flash by in the distance, lengthening and shortening her shadow.

Finally, the slender figure slowly squatted down in a secluded corner, burying his face in his arms.

It's as if this way, all the grievances, anger, and confusion can be hidden in this small patch of darkness.

Chapter 16 Jiang Yubai, you bastard!

The alarm clock kept ringing.

Jiang Yubai fumbled around on the bedside table for a while before finally finding the noisy little thing and turning it off.

He closed his eyes and lingered for a while before slowly reaching for his phone on the bedside table, squinting at the screen.

11:00 AM.

Jiang Yubai let out a long yawn before reluctantly sitting up from the covers.

Unlike most high school seniors who get up at five or six in the morning without fail, he always sleeps until late morning on weekends.

After all, it's a rare opportunity to relax so completely, and sleeping until noon means I can skip breakfast.

In this remote suburb, every meal I cook is torture; I just try to get by.

Jiang Yu, who was slowly brushing his teeth and washing his face, walked to the refrigerator with his stomach growling. After hesitating for a while, he gave up the idea of ​​cooking for himself.

Firstly, he was going out later and was too lazy to wash the dishes.

Secondly, and most importantly, he really didn't want to eat the food scraps he made anymore.

With a sigh, Jiang Yubai had no choice but to turn around and go back to his room. He rummaged through the snack box and finally pulled out a bucket of braised beef noodles, along with two sausages.

Although he has an abundance of convenience foods, he really wouldn't touch them unless he had no other choice.

Instant noodles are a delicacy for one meal, but become tasteless after two. Eating them frequently... is practically torture.

After hastily finishing lunch, Jiang Yubai was about to leave when he stopped in his tracks as he passed the full-length mirror.

Her hair was messy from sleeping poorly, and she was wearing a plain black T-shirt and plain black sweatpants, making her look like a crow that had just crawled out of its nest.

He thought for a moment, then slipped on his slippers and went back to the room.

Although Jiang Yubai didn't know what Lin Jianxia was up to, he took it as an invitation to visit, so he figured he should at least tidy up a bit.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Yubai, having taken a shower and changed her clothes, came downstairs again.

Plain white T-shirt, light gray sweatpants.

It looks like it has turned from a black crow into... a grayish-white pigeon.

However, he was quite satisfied. He nodded at himself in the mirror before stepping out the door.

By the time I stood in front of Jinxiu New Village again, it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon.

He turned to look at the row of closed shops along the roadside, his gaze lingering on the signs of several snack shops for a while before reluctantly turning away and stepping into the residential area.

...How awful!

Why isn't this food street located downstairs from his house?

While muttering to himself, Jiang Yu dragged his feet up the stairs.

Just as I climbed to the second floor, a chubby figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, Mr. Jiang, here to collect rent?" Because he had been notified in advance, Landlord Li was not surprised by Jiang Yubai's appearance and greeted him with a smile.

Jiang Yubai nodded casually and was about to go upstairs when the other person called out to him.

Under Jiang Yubai's questioning gaze, Aunt Li lowered her voice:

"I ran into that young lady surnamed Lin last night. She seemed to be in a bad mood, and her eyes were a little red."

Feeling down?

Jiang Yubai was taken aback.

Wait a minute, everything was fine at school yesterday.

Could it be that the landlord met Lin Tingwan?

Before he could even process what was happening, Landlord Li leaned closer and said mysteriously:

"Girls are most vulnerable at times like this, young man, this is a rare opportunity, you must seize it."

"I..." Jiang Yubai subconsciously wanted to refute, but swallowed the words back. In the end, he just twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "...I understand."

No wonder they had that expression.

After all, I clearly said last week that I could just transfer the rent, but this time I suddenly called and said I had to come and collect it in person...

Oh well, let him think about it as much as he wants. At least it will make the landlord treat them better.

After saying goodbye to landlord Li, Jiang Yubai climbed a few more floors and finally stopped in front of the twins' house.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

The room was quiet.

Jiang Yubai raised an eyebrow and knocked twice more forcefully. This time, only then did the sound of rustling footsteps come from inside the house.

"check......"

Jiang Yubai was about to jokingly say "check the water meter," but he swallowed it back the moment he saw the girl in front of him.

Lin Jianxia, ​​standing inside the door, was completely different from the girl Jiang Yubai had met at school.

Her eyes were slightly dark and her face was pale. Even her usually neatly tied ponytail had a few loose strands hanging softly down her neck.

He looked like he hadn't slept well all night.

It seemed to be Jiang Yubai's imagination that Lin Jianxia's face turned even paler the moment she saw him.

“No,” he couldn’t help but ask, “what are you doing?”

Lin Jianxia didn't answer. After hesitating for a moment, she stepped aside to make way for him: "...Come in and talk."

His voice was a little hoarse.

Jiang Yubai walked into the house with a belly full of doubts, but as soon as he entered, he was attracted by the aroma of food.