Sister, can I be a maid too?

"Ms. Zhang just called me. First, she praised us for our improved grades, and then—"

"Get to the point!"

I heard the sound of teeth grinding coming from the other side.

First Prize.

Suddenly there was silence on the other end.

Jiang Yu waved her phone brightly: "Say something! Didn't you tell me to get to the point? Why aren't you responding?"

Lin Jianxia stared blankly, mouth agape, and cautiously began to speak:

"What... first prize?"

"What other first prizes are there?" Jiang Yubai asked with a smile. "The Senior Year Progress Scholarship, we both got the first prize."

"Class Two didn't hold on to their form again this final exam, so we've taken first place."

Only now did Lin Jianxia seem to finally realize what was happening, her eyes suddenly lighting up:

"First prize! Then... when will the prize money be paid out?"

Jiang Yubai knew this guy would ask this question, so he repeated what Zhang Shufang had told him:

"Wait until school starts. When the first and second year students are all back at school, there will be an opening ceremony. The bonuses and certificates will be given out then. You just need to go up on stage to receive them."

Lin Jianxia on the other side of the screen couldn't help but smile, and the smile gradually turned into a silly grin:

"Hehe~ Eighty pounds of pork ribs!"

Jiang Yubai chuckled: "I'm telling you, Lin Jianxia, ​​all you think about is food, isn't that right?"

Lin Jianxia's smug expression froze instantly, and she glared at him with annoyance:

"Hey, who's the one who's always thinking about food? Who brought ingredients to order food on the first day of the Lunar New Year because they were craving something?"

"...That's called paying New Year's visits, okay? You're making it sound like we're going out to eat." Jiang Yubai said matter-of-factly. "By the way, are you and Wanwan coming back on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year?"

"So you'll cook for me when I get back," Lin Jianxia said languidly, "and you even called me a foodie..."

She pursed her lips, but still replied:

"Yeah, if we come back on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, school will start on the seventh, right?"

Lin San Middle School is known for having many holidays; even during the National Day holiday, they have a full five-day break.

But with the college entrance exam looming, these unfortunate senior high school students still have to return to the classroom half a month earlier than their younger schoolmates.

Jiang Yubai's focus, however, wasn't on that. He hesitated for a moment, then asked:

"School starts on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year... What about your transfer to another school? Have you finalized the details?"

On the other end of the screen, Lin Jianxia looked quite relaxed, even having the leisure to roll her eyes at him:

"Idiot, it's too late for you to ask now. It's already been taken care of. Wanwan and I will go to school together on the seventh day of the new year."

Jiang Yubai finally relaxed and couldn't help but complain:

"Hey, what do you mean it's too late for me to ask now? I was asking at the end of the semester, okay? Didn't you say you could handle it yourself?"

"Otherwise what? Do you expect me to do all this for you?"

"It's not that it's impossible," Jiang Yubai said casually. "After all, you've already called me brother, why are we being so formal?"

"Pah! Who yelled?! I didn't yell!"

As expected, the little hedgehog opposite them bristled.

—So you think you can just take screenshots and I can't record audio?

However, Jiang Yubai didn't speak directly at this moment. Instead, he let out a "heh," which made Lin Jianxia on the other side feel a little uncomfortable.

She asked warily, "Hey, what's with that expression?"

"Nothing, nothing," Jiang Yubai smiled. "By the way, where's your sister? I haven't seen her."

Lin Jianxia looked him over suspiciously a few more times, then pouted.

"Wanwan's gone to bed..."

"Sleep? At this hour?" Jiang Yubai asked, somewhat puzzled.

It's almost dinnertime, you know...

“Yes,” Lin Jianxia sighed on the other end of the screen, “I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t sleep well. After you left, I went to catch up on sleep every night and slept until now without waking up.”

Jiang Yubai's expression stiffened for a moment, then he coughed lightly:

"Uh... maybe she's tired from playing yesterday. It's good for her to sleep a little longer."

Lin Jianxia, ​​sitting opposite, responded with an "Oh".

Suddenly, both sides fell silent. No one spoke, but no one hung up either.

A silence stretched across the screen for about ten seconds before Jiang Yubai finally couldn't help but speak:

"Anything else?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jianxia wrinkled her little nose and grumbled:

"Hey, shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Jiang Yubai readily nodded:

"Okay, I'm all set then, bye."

On the other end.

Lin Jianxia stared blankly at the words "Call Ended" on the screen, and suddenly felt annoyed.

What?!

When I asked you "Is there anything else?"... I meant for you to find a topic to chat about a little longer, you idiot!

It's your own fault for actually dying!

She gritted her teeth and angrily stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

If you don't want to chat, then don't. I'll go find Wanwan.

With a soft hum, Lin Jianxia turned and walked towards the bedroom.

.......

.......

Over the next few days, Jiang Yubai experienced that familiar feeling again.

I'm starving if I don't eat.

But eating your own mom's cooking... well, you won't starve, but that's about it.

Especially since she had previously enjoyed a lavish meal at Lin Jianxia's house, eating her own mother's cooking again was... hard to swallow.

But Lin Jianxia seemed to know his situation, and she sent him delicious food for every meal without fail.

Even Lin Tingwan would suddenly send a picture of something delicious while they were chatting, and you could see Lin Jianxia's smug little face in the corner.

There's no need to guess who the culprit is.

So on the afternoon of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Yubai quickly said goodbye to his parents, packed his luggage, and returned to Jinxiu New Village.

Although most of the food stalls in the area near the entrance were still closed, the few that were already open were like a godsend for him.

After all, Lin Jianxia and her sister will be back on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, so eating for two days should be no problem at all.

After lying in bed all night, Jiang Yubai finally mustered up his energy and started cleaning.

The house had been empty for over a week. Although it wasn't exactly dirty, many places were covered in dust.

With the new year comes a new look, and he wasn't going to cut corners; he was going to do a thorough cleaning.

Jiang Yubai pulled out a mask and put it on. He picked up a broom, looked at the excessively quiet room in front of him, and suddenly let out a long sigh.

If only one of the maids were here.

......

......

"Grandma, Wanwan and I are going to school now."

Lin Jianxia knelt down in front of the old woman and gently took her hand.

"Just stay home and take good care of yourself. Don't keep going to the fields. Call me anytime if anything happens."

"Keep this money," she said, carefully stuffing the red envelope into her grandmother's arms. "Buy whatever you want to eat, don't be stingy."

The old man waved his hand:

"What money do I need? I get paid every month, more than I can spend. It's you students who need money to go to school."

"Ouch!"

Lin Jianxia shook her grandmother's arm.

"Why would we need to spend any money? The school provides food, the rent for accommodation is cheap, and we even have a scholarship of two thousand yuan this semester!"

The old man, unable to refuse, accepted the red envelope, and suddenly a happy smile appeared on his face:

"Wan, Xia, the classmate who took care of you is Xiao Jiang, right? I thought she was a girl at first."

Lin Jianxia's movements froze instantly.

She had thought that her grandmother hadn't mentioned it before, but it turns out that this matter was waiting for her here.

"It's...it's Jiang Yubai..."

Lin Jianxia's tone softened slightly.

"He...he's a really nice person...and he pays me a pretty good salary..."

"Ah, I knew it." Grandma nodded with satisfaction. "I could tell when this child came to wish us a Happy New Year. He's sensible, polite, and speaks with integrity."

She glanced at her two granddaughters and smiled:

"I can tell that I have a good relationship with you all."