Sister, can I be a maid too?

Lin Jianxia: "........."

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore," Jiang Yubai couldn't help but laugh and waved his hand. "Actually, I already knew."

He did want to act out a scene where an innocent young man is deceived by a bad woman and realizes he's being manipulated, but unfortunately, he couldn't pull it off emotionally.

Why not just be honest like this guy?

Seeing Lin Jianxia completely stunned, Jiang Yu blinked, a hint of guilt creeping into his voice:

"Uh...it's true, I'm not lying to you."

To be honest, I knew all along but didn't expose them. Instead, I kept teasing them. Thinking about it, I do seem a bit dishonest.

His gaze had just begun to wander when he noticed the girl beside him suddenly biting her lower lip, her eyes visibly reddening.

Jiang Yu was stunned for a moment, while Lin Jianxia's tears were already rolling down her cheeks, one drop after another, hitting the back of her clenched hand.

"Hey, hey—" Jiang Yubai panicked immediately, "Don't cry, it's my fault, I was wrong!"

He quickly sat down, frantically trying to reach out to comfort her, but he didn't dare to actually touch her.

"Sister, please don't cry, okay? I really shouldn't have teased you like that..."

At this moment, Lin Jianxia could no longer hear his voice.

She was trying to comfort herself, thinking that maybe it was just... the job she was promised was gone, and she could just find another one.

Even if they really can't afford the rent and have to move out, there's still time until next month, so they can always find a place to stay.

But another voice inside her grew louder and louder, making it almost impossible for her to breathe—

No, it's not just that.

She was afraid to return to that cold, silent world again.

He doesn't say a word all day, goes to and from school alone, and is as quiet as a shadow in the classroom.

There was no draft notebook that had been slowly moved over, nor were there any snacks placed on it.

There wasn't anyone... who would pick up their water glass and pour it into their mouth.

Perhaps it wasn't love, but simply a girl who had been immersed in silence for too long finally encountering a ray of light.

Just now, she almost thought she was going to lose even this ray of light.

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

On the other side, Jiang Yubai was completely out of options.

He truly hadn't expected Lin Jianxia's reaction to be so strong.

Come to think of it, what I did... was indeed a bit inhuman.

Even though he knew perfectly well that the person in front of him was Lin Jianxia, ​​he still bullied her and couldn't get her to talk back, so he kept asking her what she liked and disliked, almost revealing her ideal type.

They must be devastated to hear such terrible news today.

This is terrible! I haven't even moved into the house yet and I've already offended the maid. What if she poisons me while cooking...?

As Jiang Yubai's mind was racing with these random thoughts, the girl beside him had stopped sobbing at some point.

She sniffed softly, her voice thick with nasal congestion, and called out in a low voice:

"Jiang Yubai".

"To!"

Jiang Yubai was practically standing at attention.

"When...did you find out I wasn't Wanwan?" Lin Jianxia asked softly.

Jiang Yubai opened his mouth, but ultimately chose a version that was slightly more acceptable to her:

"It wasn't that long, it's just that your behavior this morning was really off."

"Thinking back to how you wouldn't let me talk to your sister when we were at your house... that's when I vaguely guessed it."

Lin Jianxia looked at him for a while, then narrowed her eyes: "Really?"

"real."

Jiang Yu rolled his eyes sincerely.

Lin Jianxia seemed to have thought of something, and a dangerous glint appeared in her voice: "...So, all those questions you asked this morning were asked on purpose?"

"I'm sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me, I'm magnanimous." Jiang Yubai slid to his knees in a second.

He was joking; he didn't want to suddenly black out while eating and become a wandering, wronged soul poisoned and sent away by a maid.

Lin Jianxia stared at him for a while before speaking softly, "You said... does the promise to have me cook still stand?"

“Of course it counts,” Jiang Yubai nodded immediately. “I’ve already contacted the landlord. With the repainting and furniture replacement, we should be able to move in this weekend.”

Just kidding, we finally caught a cook, if we don't count her, who will cook for him?

Lin Jianxia gave an "oh" and slowly swung her legs:

"Since you admit you're wrong, then as compensation... I want to establish three rules."

“No problem,” Jiang Yubai readily agreed.

"First, the agreed-upon salary must be paid on time, without delays or arbitrary deductions."

"Secondly, I'm only responsible for cooking and daily housework. I don't do anything else... I just leave work on time."

Jiang Yubai nodded readily, but after waiting for a while without hearing the third point, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at her:

"And the third one?"

“I haven’t thought about the third one yet,” Lin Jianxia pouted. “I’ll tell you later.”

".....OK."

Lin Jianxia remained silent, and Jiang Yubai did not speak either.

A subtle silence spread between the two, with only the twilight light slanting into the pavilion, turning the air a warm amber hue.

As the sun gradually set, the clouds on the horizon turned a gentle orange-red.

The silence lasted for a long time, so long that Jiang Yubai almost thought the conversation was over, when Lin Jianxia suddenly spoke softly:

"Hey, Jiang Yubai."

Her voice was soft, yet it clearly pierced the twilight.

"Do you want to know... why I'm attending school in place of my sister?"

Chapter 26 Lin Tingwan is coming? (Seeking monthly votes and to continue reading~)

Why did you choose to attend school in place of your younger sister?

“You’ve always refused to talk about it,” Jiang Yubai replied almost instinctively, “Why are you suddenly willing to talk? Have you changed your mind?”

Lin Jianxia was so choked by these words that she felt a lump in her throat and got up to leave:

"Fine, don't listen then!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Jiang Yubai quickly grabbed the guy's sleeve and pressed him back onto the stone bench, "I want to hear it, I want to hear it."

Lin Jianxia glared at him, while Jiang Yubai returned an innocent look.

She pursed her lips, but still managed to ask, "Why do you think... I should come to school in place of my sister?"

why?

Jiang Yu thought for a moment and gave the most logical guess:

"Because... you only need to pay one tuition fee, and two people can take turns attending classes?"

After all, this guy can't even afford the rent, so it doesn't seem realistic for him to also cover the tuition and fees for two people.

Lin Jianxia seemed to have expected him to guess this, and a hint of helplessness appeared on her face.

"Leaving aside the issue of compliance..." she sighed softly, "If that's really the case, what about the college entrance exam? Does that mean my sister and I have to take turns going to university?"

“So…” Jiang Yubai cast a questioning look at him.

Lin Jianxia did not answer directly, but instead posed a seemingly unrelated question:

Do you know anything about Wanwan's situation?

"Lin Tingwan?" Jiang Yubai's mind flashed back to that bright-eyed girl, and he hesitated, "I wouldn't say I know her well, we haven't had much contact."

But then he realized what he meant and complained:

"Wait a minute, since you're both in school, how could I possibly know anything about her?"

"It's not entirely me, otherwise why would I pretend to be Wanwan?" Lin Jianxia pouted. "Just tell me what you know."

Jiang Yubai thought for a moment and recalled:

"The homeroom teacher mentioned it back in the first year of high school, saying that Lin Tingwan has congenital aphasia, can't speak, and seems to have hearing problems as well."

Lin Jianxia gazed at the setting sun gradually sinking in the distance and softly hummed in agreement.

“Wanwan does have aphasia, but it wasn’t congenital.”

She looked away and said softly, "She has no physical problems, it's just... she doesn't want to speak because of psychological reasons."

"Unwilling to speak?" Jiang Yubai was taken aback. "Not unable to?"

“I just don’t want to. And what you said about ‘not having good hearing’ isn’t actually true.”

Lin Jianxia shook her head:

"Wanwan's hearing is actually perfectly normal. As for 'hearing problems,' that's just a pretext."

"If someone talks to her and she doesn't respond, everyone will just assume that she didn't hear them."

"After a while, no one took the initiative to talk to her anymore."

Jiang Yubai frowned: "Why do you say that?"

Lin Jianxia glanced at him, her voice softening:

"For Wanwan, interacting with classmates... is a burden, or even something she really hates."