Sister, can I be a maid too?

"Landlord Jiang, we have no grudge against each other, why are you targeting me like this... what are you after?"

She really couldn't understand how she had gotten herself into trouble with this unreasonable big shot.

Who collects rent like this? Aren't they afraid of alienating their tenants and driving them away?!

What's the point?

Jiang Yu chuckled, but didn't answer directly.

He turned his head and caught a glimpse of a furtive little head peeking out from outside the door.

The moment their eyes met, the head darted back inside.

"Stop hiding," Jiang Yubai said with a smile, "Come in quickly."

A few seconds later, a figure peeked out from the doorway and hesitantly walked inside.

Following Jiang Yubai's gaze, the proprietress finally saw the figure in front of her and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, it's Xiaolin..." She forced a very unnatural smile, her voice dry and strained, "Haven't seen you all day, are you... are you alright?"

The awkwardness and reluctance in his tone were almost overflowing.

She now completely understood why the words she had just heard felt so familiar...

These are all her lyrics!

Lin Jianxia lowered her head and moved to Jiang Yubai's side, pursing her lips, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Even a day later, when they met again, she could still clearly recall the boss's arrogant demeanor from the previous night, as well as the lingering sense of grievance she felt.

"Hey," Jiang Yubai said irritably, "what's with this 'I'm wrong, I'm the one who's taken the blame' act?"

Despite her chaotic thoughts, Lin Jianxia couldn't help but raise her head and glare at him upon hearing these words.

What does it mean to be a doormat?

Seeing this, how could Boss Zhao not understand why he was being targeted at every turn today?

She quickly said, "It was my fault, it was my fault."

Jiang Yubai shifted his gaze and raised an eyebrow: "Where did you go wrong?"

The proprietress: "......"

She took a deep breath and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace:

“I shouldn’t have deliberately made excuses to deduct her wages just because Xiaolin is young and shy.”

Lin Jianxia suddenly raised her head, biting her lower lip stubbornly, and said, "The crease in the page was there when it was delivered, and I didn't secretly take the book!"

You could tell he'd been holding these words in for a long time; his voice was trembling.

The proprietress didn't dare say anything more and could only nod: "I definitely didn't take it. I know what happened. I said that on purpose."

Jiang Yubai glanced at Lin Jianxia, ​​who seemed slightly relaxed, and his tone softened as well:

"Okay, Mr. Zhao, if you're more sincere, the rent isn't out of the question."

The proprietress immediately understood and turned around to count out six more hundred-yuan bills from the cash register and handed them to Lin Jianxia:

"Come here, Xiaolin, this is the salary I owe you yesterday. Please keep it safe."

Lin Jianxia looked at the money in her hand, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

The proprietress opened her mouth, then cast a hopeful glance at Jiang Yubai.

"Why are you looking at me? Look at her," Jiang Yubai shrugged, arms crossed. "If she doesn't accept, the rent is seven thousand. If she does accept, then we can still talk about it."

The proprietress steeled herself and pulled out five more banknotes, stuffing them into Lin Jianxia's arms, her tone even carrying a hint of pleading:

"Consider this a reward for your hard work. You come here after school every day and spend several hours organizing books. It's really too little for me to give you only six hundred yuan. Aunt Zhao is wrong."

"Xiao Lin, just talk to your friend properly... and let me go this time."

Chapter 20 You're not trying to renege on my rent, are you?

Seemingly unfamiliar with such a scene, Lin Jianxia subconsciously cast a pleading look at Jiang Yubai.

Jiang Yubai simply replied with four words: "It's up to you."

Without urging or interfering, we calmly waited for her to make a decision.

For some reason, Lin Jianxia suddenly felt at peace.

She nodded, lowered her eyes, and whispered to the landlady, "Thank you... for giving me this job before."

After saying that, she let out a long sigh of relief, feeling that all the frustration and grievances in her heart had finally dissipated.

Jiang Yubai glanced at her with some surprise, then turned to the proprietress:

"Since she's said so... then the rent doesn't need to be seven thousand, let's just set it at six thousand."

"Six thousand is really..."

The proprietress opened her mouth, still wanting to struggle, but after glancing at the silent Lin Jianxia beside her and then at Jiang Yubai's expression of having nothing to discuss, she finally gave up.

Her shoulders slumped, and she shook her head with a wry smile:

"...Okay, six thousand it is."

-----------------

On the way home, Lin Jianxia walked with her head down, while Jiang Yubai stood beside her, humming a song in a good mood.

"sorry."

Lin Jianxia suddenly spoke up like that.

Jiang Yubai snapped out of his daze, his gaze falling on the girl beside him, and he couldn't help but ask curiously:

Why are you apologizing?

Under Jiang Yubai's questioning gaze, Lin Jianxia slightly averted her eyes: "Well, there are just a lot of things..."

Aunt Zhao, whom I thought was quite friendly, suddenly turned on me on payday and found excuses to deduct my hard-earned money.

Jiang Yubai, whom she subconsciously regarded as a playboy, not only agreed to postpone the rent payment time and time again, but also came over today to get back every penny of the wages that had been withheld from her.

This made her realize that Jiang Yubai was actually...

"Although I didn't quite understand what you were muttering, I've decided to accept your apology."

Jiang Yubai shrugged and said in a serious tone, "It would be even better if you could repay me with your body."

Lin Jianxia froze for two seconds, her face flushed red, and she angrily clenched her fist and punched his shoulder:

"Jiang Yubai!!"

What the hell! Isn't he still a complete playboy?! Bastard!!

After glaring at him for a while, Lin Jianxia finally gave up on this shameless guy, pursed her lips, and asked again:

"Um...why did you help us?"

"Why should I help you?" Jiang Yubai glanced at her, thought for a moment, and suddenly drew out his voice.

"Because your sister and I are deskmates, and super-good friends too, so it's only right that I help out as her older sister, right?"

—What's so great about it? This 'little sister' you're talking about has never paid any attention to you at school!

—And you're 'helping out as your older sister' too... Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?!

Lin Jianxia thought to herself, but her ears turned a little redder.

Seeing her pouty and awkward expression, Jiang Yubai, who was walking beside her, naturally knew what she was struggling with.

However... he didn't actually care much about Lin Jianxia's attitude towards him.

In essence, Jiang Yubai was neither a benevolent person who stood up for justice, nor did he intend to do anything in return, nor did he expect his excessively beautiful classmate to treat him differently because of this.

As for why I helped these two sisters... I guess it's because I thought it was interesting.

Besides, he's a friend and classmate I've been feeding for quite some time, so why not lend a hand?

Just then, Lin Jianxia, ​​who was standing to the side, seemed to have something else on her mind. She turned her face away and muttered something under her breath:

".......Thanks."

Jiang Yubai looked at her as if she were an alien:

"No, can you please speak plainly? You keep saying sorry and thank you, it's making me afraid to even respond."

What?! Ah!

Lin Jianxia angrily shouted in her heart, gritted her teeth, and quickened her pace, wanting to shake off that annoying guy behind her as soon as possible.

Jiang Yubai's lips curled up slightly as he leisurely followed behind her.

But before she had taken more than a few steps, Lin Jianxia suddenly slowed down again.

When the two were side by side again, she hesitated before speaking:

"Um, I heard it all outside. Raising the rent like this... won't there be any problems?"

"What problem could there be?" Jiang Yubai looked at her strangely. "You're not still worried about him, are you?"

Lin Jianxia choked with anger: "No! I was worried about you... your landlord, okay!"

How can this person not distinguish between good and bad words?

“It’s okay,” Jiang Yubai shrugged. “Believe it or not, even if I mention seven thousand a month, she will still renew the lease.”

He glanced back and said, "After all, that place is really nice. If she doesn't rent it... there are plenty of other people who will."

"I see..." Lin Jianxia nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

But then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she burst out laughing:

"Jiang Yubai, you actually repeated all those things she said about me verbatim?"

Jiang Yubai was blunt: "If she can make up that set of lies herself, then she shouldn't blame others for using them on her exactly. It's all her own doing."

Lin Jianxia was amused and giggled. After laughing enough, she pursed her lips and softened her voice:

"Actually... I'm quite grateful to Aunt Zhao. I was really desperate during the summer vacation, I couldn't find a job anywhere, and she took me in."