Sister, can I be a maid too?

He suddenly hesitated to respond.

"And another thing, son," Qin Huiyi's voice drifted over, "could it really be such a coincidence that the tenant who delayed paying rent is the female classmate you were going to 'stand up for'?"

Holy crap, Mom's a detective!

Jiang Yubai froze for a moment, then suddenly raised his voice and shouted in a pretentious manner:

"Hello, hello?"

As he spoke, he moved his phone further away:

"Hello? Hello—Mom? My signal is suddenly bad, I can't hear you! I'll hang up now!"

After saying that, he decisively pressed the hang-up button and then breathed a long sigh of relief.

Turning around, Jiang Yubai handed the phone to Zhang Shufang, who was standing next to him, and then solemnly told a lie:

"Teacher Zhang, my mom told me not to be so impulsive in the future, and that she would scold me when I got home."

Zhang Shufang took the phone, didn't say anything, just gave a few simple instructions:

"Your mom is right. In the future, remember to talk to the teacher directly about these kinds of things, and don't handle them privately."

"understand."

Jiang Yubai paused, then tentatively asked, "By the way, Teacher Zhang, what about Dong Chengze...?"

Mentioning this, Zhang Shufang pinched the side of her nose with a slight headache:

"At noon, the education bureau's inspection team happened to be visiting downstairs, and I accompanied them."

ha?

Jiang Yu was stunned for a moment: "So those leaders... all heard it?"

“Otherwise what?” Zhang Shufang glanced at him. “As a typical example of academic misconduct, Dong Chengze will definitely be dealt with severely by the school. If you really lay a hand on him, you’ll at least get a warning and punishment.”

Jiang Yubai immediately understood: "Thank you, Teacher Zhang."

I see......

No wonder the homeroom teacher rushed into the classroom in a hurry not long after he overturned the table—it turns out the school leader was listening downstairs.

Such a "student conduct incident" in front of leaders will definitely not be lightly punished in the end.

I reckon if it weren't for my teacher intervening, I would have gotten myself into some kind of trouble.

As for Dong Chengze... I wish him all the best.

“It’s not entirely your fault, but you handled it too impulsively.” Zhang Shufang waved her hand. “Go back and take a nap. If anyone asks, just say you don’t know.”

"Okay~"

By the time Jiang Yubai returned to the classroom, the lunch break was almost over.

The classroom was quiet. Most students were making the most of their rare lunch break, while a few were still focused on doing practice problems.

Jiang Yubai naturally had no interest in becoming the top scholar, and he would take a half-hour nap every day without fail at noon.

But with what happened today, it's definitely too late to catch up on sleep now.

Looking at the clock on the classroom wall, he rested his chin on his hand listlessly, his gaze unconsciously drifting to his deskmate next to him.

Lin Tingwan was quietly resting on the table, half of her delicate, fair profile turned toward him. Her eyelashes trembled gently with her even breathing, and her soft hair was loose in her arms, shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.

For some reason, Jiang Yubai felt a slight stirring in his heart.

It was gentle and soft, like a feather brushing past.

But when he tried to catch that oddity, it vanished without a trace.

Jiang Yu shook his head, continuing to admire his deskmate's exquisite profile.

But as I watched, I inexplicably heard my mother's teasing voice, full of laughter, ringing in my ears, each word clear and distinct.

To be honest, he firmly believed that it was all just a coincidence.

In fact, it was indeed a coincidence.

The reason they were willing to let the two sisters postpone their rent payments was because they were classmates, and their family wasn't short of money.

He chose to live in Jinxiu New Village purely because Lin Jianxia's cooking skills were just too good—he really had no other choice.

As for today's matter, it's even simpler—anyone would be unable to tolerate such rumors, Lin Tingwan just happened to become the subject of discussion, and he would have stood up for any other deskmate.

However, these three things just happened to overlap for various reasons, and they just happened to involve the same... two people.

Isn't this normal?

Of course, Jiang Yubai admitted that in other people's eyes, this bunch of coincidences would definitely lead to speculation.

But it doesn't matter, as long as he understands it himself.

The relationship between myself and the twin sisters should be a purely platonic one, like that of landlord and tenant, employer and cook, master and maid.

Speaking of the last one... doesn't it sound a little off...?

Just as Jiang Yubai was resting his head on his hand, lost in thought, Lin Tingwan, who was lying on the table, trembled slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were still a little blurry from waking up from her afternoon nap, but her gaze met Jiang Yubai's.

She paused for a moment, then blinked, the drowsiness in her eyes gradually fading away.

Jiang Yubai stood frozen in place, head in hand, completely dumbfounded.

Damn, the lunch break bell hasn't rung yet, how come you woke up so quickly?

How is he supposed to explain this?

So now the question is—

What should I do if I sneak a peek at my pretty classmate during lunch break, but they wake up early and I get caught red-handed?

I need help urgently.

Chapter 30 The Great Landlord Jiang is About to Arrive at His Faithful New Home

“Uh… Lin…”

Just as Jiang Yubai stood frozen in place, unsure of what to say, Lin Tingwan finally made a move.

The girl straightened up, pulled out the textbook for the first class of the afternoon from the mountain of books, and began to read it.

Jiang Yubai: "......."

No, they're completely ignoring him.

It's understandable, though, since Lin Jianxia mentioned that her younger sister was very resistant to going to school and could stay in her room all day by herself at home.

This quiet girl, upon arriving at school, was immediately harassed by herself, then her classmates spread rumors about her, and finally, her deskmate flipped her desk, almost starting a fight...

Now, she just woke up and found her troublesome classmate staring at her intently.

Like a thug...

Jiang Yubai asked himself honestly, if he were Lin Tingwan, he would have probably already lost all the goodwill he had.

Moreover, looking back now, the attention she paid to me at home was less like affection and more like curiosity towards a guest.

...Wouldn't that be even more disastrous?

Jiang Yubai sighed inwardly, but didn't try to salvage his image. He simply took out a textbook from under the table and casually flipped through it.

.....

.....

In the following days, Jiang Yubai did not see Dong Chengze in class again.

The last time I saw him was during a break between classes one afternoon.

Dong Chengze walked into the classroom alone, packed his schoolbag without saying a word, and left the school that afternoon.

At first, there were some whispers in the class, but during the class meeting, the homeroom teacher solemnly walked to the podium and announced the final decision:

"Regarding Dong Chengze's situation, after discussion at the school affairs meeting and in consideration of his and his parents' wishes, the transfer procedures have now been completed."

"The school has always adhered to the principle of teaching and nurturing students first, and we hope that all students will take this as a lesson and focus their energy on their studies and personal growth."

"The campus is a place for everyone to learn and grow. Every student should learn to respect others and be responsible for themselves."

"I don't want to see this happen a second time."

After he finished speaking, the classroom fell silent.

Jiang Yubai glanced at Lin Tingwan, who was still reading with her eyes down. Outside the window, the sycamore leaves rustled, as if that chaotic interlude had gradually drifted away with the summer breeze.

Oh right, after the first day, he originally thought that his older sister, Lin Jianxia, ​​would take over the classes in place of her younger sister.

After all... the first impression I made wasn't very good.

But when he handed her the notebook with the cookies on it the next day, the girl didn't even lift her eyelids.

Jiang Yubai's heart sank, and he immediately realized something was wrong.

Just as he expected, it was Lin Tingwan sitting there.

Not just the next day, but for the entire following week, it was always this perpetually silent younger sister who appeared in the classroom.

She always sat quietly, reading with her eyes down, occasionally glancing out the window but never interacting with anyone.

Her delicate face seemed veiled in a thin mist, like a beautiful but lifeless doll.

To be honest, Jiang Yubai felt that if he were in that situation, he probably would also hate going to school.

For the entire week, Lin Tingwan did not have the slightest communication with anyone—she did nothing but flip through books.

If he had to spend a day like that, he probably wouldn't have been able to take it anymore.

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.

As soon as the school bell rang and Jiang Yubai pushed his bicycle out of the school gate, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket—it was his landlord, Li Xia, calling.

"Hello, Young Master Jiang?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was polite and tentative.