Sister, can I be a maid too?

"Stop joking around and hurry up, buying New Year's goods takes a lot of time!"

Lin Jianxia laughed in exasperation.

"Okay, okay..."

As Jiang Yubai followed Lin Jianxia out the door, he turned around and closed the door behind him. Then, he turned back and met her close face.

Lin Jianxia was leaning slightly forward, her bright eyes looking over with curiosity.

Jiang Yubai froze, instinctively hiding the hand holding the box behind his back:

"No... what are you looking at?"

"Why are you hiding?" Lin Jianxia rolled her eyes dramatically. "I saw everything, okay?"

Her gaze fell on his hand, which he had quietly slipped behind his back, and she blinked.

What are you hiding in your hand?

"...love letters from girls."

"You've been home all week, so where did this girl come from? Is it Wanwan?"

"Sigh, you've figured it out. To be honest, this is Wanwan—hey, hey, a gentleman uses words, not fists. What are you trying to steal?"

Lin Jianxia reached out twice but couldn't reach it, and said confidently:

"Let me see it. Since it was Wanwan who sent it, why can't I, as the older sister, see it?"

Jiang Yubai was truly terrified of this guy. Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, he had no choice but to hand the box forward.

"Here, this is for you."

Chapter 158 was just an expression of gratitude... Don't overthink it!

The box was placed in front of Lin Jianxia for a few seconds, but the girl still looked like she hadn't reacted yet.

"Give it to...me?"

She blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.

Lifting her small face to confirm that Jiang Yubai wasn't joking, Lin Jianxia hesitated before reaching out and taking the small box.

Seeing that she was holding the box, looking at it from left to right but not touching it, Jiang Yubai finally couldn't hold back any longer:

"Hey, hurry up and open it! Weren't you just eager to see it? Why are you dawdling now that it's in your hands?"

"Okay, okay, don't rush me!"

The little hedgehog glared at him fiercely before reaching out and carefully unpacking the box.

She looked down and saw a set of off-white cashmere hat and scarf lying quietly in the box. The fabric was soft and the color was clean and warm.

"...For me?"

Lin Jianxia stared wide-eyed at him in disbelief.

"Mmm... Ah..."

Jiang Yu scratched his chin, feeling somewhat uncertain himself.

After all, Lin Jianxia had knitted scarves for him and Lin Tingwan before, but he hadn't done it himself, so he had been thinking of returning the favor for a while.

He had been preparing this hat and headscarf for several days, originally planning to send it out at a more natural time, but who knew that Lin Jianxia had such sharp eyes and caught him on the spot.

Now look what's happened, we didn't even have time to come up with a decent reason...

After all, he had hardly ever given gifts to anyone properly, let alone to a girl, so it was quite awkward.

Thinking this to herself, she saw Lin Jianxia reach out her hand, her fingertips almost touching the scarf, then suddenly stop, raising her small face warily:

"Hey, Jiang Yubai... This wasn't something you were planning to give to some girl, but I ran into you, so you suddenly said you were going to give it to me?"

Jiang Yubai: "?"

To be honest, he was so angry he laughed.

That's why Lin Jianxia is so adept at it; after hearing these words, his previous slight embarrassment instantly vanished.

He stretched out his hand impatiently:

"You don't want it, right? Then give it back to me."

"no!"

Lin Jianxia suddenly jumped two steps away, clutching the box and shouting.

"You gave them all to me!"

"I actually intended to give this to another girl, but you saw it, so I had no choice but to say it was for you."

Jiang Yubai solemnly repeated her "reasoning" from earlier.

"I still can't bear to part with it, please return it quickly."

Lin Jianxia finally realized what was going on, and the expression on her face gradually brightened, even showing a hint of barely concealed smugness.

"No, no, I don't want to pay it back!"

—This is... a return gift for the scarf I received before, right?

She blinked, her gaze falling on the hat on the other side of the box, and asked curiously:

"Why are there hats too?"

Since the gift had already been given, Jiang Yubai didn't feel too pretentious.

He pointed to the hand-knitted scarf around his neck and explained:

“You knitted this scarf for me before, so I thought I’d give you one too.”

"But I definitely can't knit it. If you really want to learn from scratch, by the time you graduate from university... I can probably knit half of it for you."

"So, after searching for a long time, I finally chose one that suited my aesthetic. It just so happened that the hat wasn't sold separately, so I bought it along with the hat."

He didn't know why, but when a simple "we delivered them together" could have explained it all, he ended up reciting such a long string of words as if he were doing something wrong.

Jiang Yu had just finished speaking and raised his head to see Lin Jianxia's reaction when he was knocked back half a step by a soft impact.

A delicate lavender scent instantly fills the air, carrying the clean aroma of shampoo and sunshine.

Lin Jianxia threw herself into his arms.

But after only two or three seconds, the girl in his arms suddenly let go like a startled animal, took a small step back, turned her face away, and coughed lightly:

"Th-thank you... I... I really like it..."

His voice grew softer and softer until the last few words were almost inaudible, like a soft hum.

Jiang Yubai blinked and hesitated before saying:

"Uh... I'm glad you like it..."

He was still a little taken aback.

Although hugs from Lin Tingwan have become a daily routine, Lin Jianxia's initiative to offer a hug... seems to be a first.

Even though they are twins, their hugs seem completely different.

Lin Tingwan's hugs always carried a soft, affectionate touch, like a clingy person who couldn't bear to part.

Lin Jianxia's embrace contained a reckless courage, but she quickly withdrew after actually touching him.

It really does resemble a little hedgehog that acted impulsively and then curled up its claws in fear afterwards.

Jiang Yubai was still thinking about these random things, and when Lin Jianxia saw that he didn't speak, she quickly added:

"It's just... I was just expressing my gratitude... Please... don't overthink it!"

Before Jiang Yubai could respond, the girl coughed softly, reached out and took the scarf out of the box, carefully holding it in her palm and examining it closely.

The slight, inexplicable embarrassment I felt was quickly replaced by amazement.

The scarf is made of fine cashmere, with a soft touch and a clean, gentle off-white base color. The edges are embroidered with simple knitted patterns.

On one corner of the scarf, a small hedgehog is embroidered with light gray thread.

The moment Lin Jianxia saw the hedgehog, she looked over with suspicion:

"Hey, Jiang Yubai, what's the meaning of embroidering a hedgehog on this?"

She vaguely heard him mutter something about a little hedgehog, and she felt it was some strange description he was using to subtly criticize her.

Jiang Yubai finally came to his senses. Upon hearing this, he remained expressionless and spoke in a serious tone:

"It's not interesting. Don't you think hedgehogs are cute?"

Lin Jianxia blinked and looked at the little hedgehog—the little guy was curled up, and it really did have a cute and adorable look.

"It is cute, indeed..." she muttered.

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yubai nodded and patiently guided him:

"Yes, yes, the little hedgehog is very cute, and you are quite cute too. I think we are a good match."

—Well, it's definitely not because a puffy-up hedgehog and its bristling fur go well together.

"Don't say such strange things!"

Lin Jianxia tried to glare at him, but her flushed cheeks and watery eyes made it seem harmless.

W-what?!

Why would you suddenly say something like that!

At least... at least give us some kind of preparation!

Lin Jianxia suddenly felt a little uneasy again.

Could it be because of that hug I just gave him... that...?

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

Jiang Yubai felt that Lin Jianxia's reaction was a bit strange.

The guy just stared intently at the scarf in his hand, his face flushing red and then turning pale, as if his eyes were about to spin around and make him dizzy.