Sister, can I be a maid too?

With a muffled thud, Jiang Yubai slammed the four large bags he was carrying onto the stairwell entrance, leaning on his knees and panting heavily, lamenting why this dilapidated apartment complex didn't have an elevator.

Light footsteps sounded behind him. Lin Jianxia, ​​also carrying three bags of groceries, came upstairs. Seeing his appearance, she immediately raised her eyebrows and said with disdain:

"Jiang Yubai, are you even capable? I even helped you carry a few bags."

?

No, do you know that asking questions like that can easily lead to trouble?

Jiang Yubai, panting, gritted his teeth and said:

"Hey lady, what you're carrying are just vegetables and clothes, but all that meat, rice, oil... it's all with me!"

"I don't care, it's your turn to perform anyway~"

Lin Jianxia's eyes and brows were filled with the smug satisfaction of having avenged a great enemy.

"Fine, fine," Jiang Yubai picked up the bag again and said irritably, "Then Chef Lin, shouldn't you cook something? I'm starving."

"Hmph, let's go."

After delivering the groceries home, Lin Jianxia busied herself in the kitchen for over an hour before Jiang Yubai finally got to enjoy a sumptuous lunch.

Perhaps he was really hungry, or perhaps Lin Jianxia's cooking skills were just too good, he ate three bowls of rice and devoured all the dishes.

After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Yubai let out a long sigh of relief.

All the hardship of carrying groceries up five flights of stairs is worth it in the face of such a delicious meal!

After clearing away the dishes, Lin Jianxia casually picked up the insulated food container she had prepared beforehand:

"Then I'll head back now and come back for dinner."

Jiang Yubai, who was lying on the sofa like a corpse, turned his head upon hearing this and hesitated before saying:

"Speaking of which... why don't you have your sister come and eat with you? It's just a short walk, and it'll save you the trouble of bringing your own food."

“That’s impossible…” Lin Jianxia shook her head and sighed, “Wanwan is even reluctant to leave her own room, how could she possibly come to eat here with you?”

She shook the insulated food container in her hand, her tone becoming more relaxed:

"I'll just take it to her; that's quite convenient."

Since she had said so, Jiang Yubai had no objections and nodded.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and take a nice nap, he suddenly noticed that Lin Jianxia, ​​who had walked to the door, had turned back.

“Here,” she handed over the keys, “I almost forgot, here you go.”

Jiang Yubai glanced at it, but didn't take it. He just asked curiously, "Why are you giving it back to me? It was originally meant for you."

Lin Jianxia was taken aback: "What do you mean... for me?"

"Come on, you're the official maid here, okay?" Jiang Yubai squinted, her tone lazy. "I can't expect you to open the door for me every time you come, can I?"

"Besides, tomorrow is Sunday. I'm definitely going to sleep in until I naturally wake up. How are you going to come in and make breakfast without a key?"

Lin Jianxia opened her mouth, but surprisingly did not refute the title 'maid'.

She looked down at the key in her hand, and after a long while, she softly said "Oh".

......

Close the door gently, and just a few steps away you'll be at your own front door.

Lin Jianxia took out her keys to open the door, and was about to shout "I'm back!" when she paused for a moment as her gaze swept across the living room.

Lin Tingwan, who usually stays alone in her room at this time, is now sitting upright in a chair at the dining table with her hands on her knees, as if she has been waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing her return, those deep, dark eyes first glanced at the insulated food container in her hand, then slowly raised themselves to quietly look at her sister.

Then, she tilted her head slightly.

Chapter 40 Lin Tingwan's Turning Point (Please continue reading)

"........."

Meeting her younger sister's innocent gaze, Lin Jianxia felt a strange, inexplicable pang of guilt.

She shook off this inexplicable feeling, walked up to Lin Tingwan, and asked softly:

"Wanwan? Why are you out here?"

Lin Tingwan reached for the spiral notebook on the table, quickly wrote a line, and handed it to her sister.

"Waiting for my sister."

"Wait for me..." Lin Jianxia glanced at the small room next door. "Are you hungry? I brought you some food."

She opened the insulated food container and proudly introduced it:

"The food today is great! There's braised pork, Mapo tofu, and stir-fried pork with green peppers, which you like, Wanwan."

Lin Tingwan glanced at the still-steaming insulated box, but didn't touch the chopsticks. Instead, she raised her head, her gaze passing over the still-open door and landing on the security door diagonally opposite.

After looking at it for a few seconds, she looked away and wrote another line on the paper.

"Has your sister eaten yet?"

"Yes, I've already eaten."

Lin Jianxia nodded, but when she saw the next line of her sister's writing, she was slightly taken aback.

"Did you eat with Jiang Yubai?"

Her gaze lingered on that line of text for a moment longer before she hesitated and said:

"Uh...yes, because my sister was cooking for him, so I ate some too."

Lin Tingwan nodded, but didn't write anything more. She just quietly ate her meal in small bites.

Lin Jianxia, ​​who was standing to the side, closed the door. The more she thought about it, the stranger her sister's reaction seemed, so she couldn't help but tentatively ask:

"Wanwan... are you upset that I didn't have lunch with you? How about I wait for you to eat together next time?"

Hearing this, Lin Tingwan didn't stop what she was doing; she just shook her head slightly to indicate that it was alright.

Lin Jianxia became increasingly confused as she watched her sister's actions.

My younger sister isn't arrogant or temperamental; if she says it's okay, then it's okay.

Then...why did Lin Tingwan suddenly ask such a question?

As the older sister who has been with her for so many years, Lin Jianxia is probably the person who understands her younger sister the most in the world.

As her psychological problems worsened, even to her older sister, Wanwan would only answer one question at a time, spending the rest of the time quietly immersed in her own world, and even she couldn't guess what her younger sister was thinking.

She doesn't even know when it was the last time she proactively asked a question like this.

After all, besides herself, the only person Lin Tingwan was willing to talk to even slightly was...

Lin Jianxia suddenly paused, and subconsciously looked at the spiral notebook spread out on the table.

Jiang Yubai?

Since Lin Tingwan didn't ask this question because of him, then the main point of her question seems to be only one thing.

Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel a sense of disbelief.

Surely not... We've only been deskmates for a week.

After Lin Tingwan swallowed the last bite of her meal, Lin Jianxia asked softly, "Wanwan, what do you think of Jiang Yubai...?"

Lin Tingwan glanced at her older sister and reached for her notebook.

"Well... besides the fact that he's a good person," Lin Jianxia quickly added.

She really didn't want to see a fourth "friend zone" card.

Lin Tingwan paused while scrolling through the chat history, then flipped back, picked up a pen, and started writing on the latest page.

"It feels very comfortable."

?

Lin Jianxia stared at those three words, a question mark slowly emerging in her mind.

What does "very comfortable" mean? Is Jiang Yubai a very comfortable person? Is this used to describe a person?

Wait!

Lin Jianxia suddenly became alert: "Wanwan, what did Jiang Yubai say to you in the room yesterday?"

This scoundrel... is he going to take advantage of this to abduct innocent young girls?

She knew perfectly well that although her younger sister was perfectly intelligent, and even had better grades than her, she was incredibly naive in her interactions with others.

If Jiang Yubai really had any wicked thoughts, wouldn't Wanwan be...?

He said his sister asked him to come and chat with me.

Looking at the words in front of her, Lin Jianxia blinked and silently apologized to Jiang Yubai in her heart.

I'm sorry I misunderstood you... I'll make you an extra dish tomorrow as compensation.

The thought flashed through her mind, and Lin Jianxia continued to ask with a clear conscience, "So... what did he talk to you about?"

Jiang Yubai asked me whose novel it was.

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

She covered her face with her hands, suddenly regretting asking the question.

Lin Jianxia spoke in a muffled voice, "I'm saying, Wanwan... why are you suddenly reading this kind of book...?"

"Found it in the bookshelf."

Upon seeing these words, Lin Jianxia lowered her head helplessly and slammed her forehead against the table with a thud.

what.....

These books were originally stored in a small box. After being fired from the bookstore, she would occasionally take them out to reread them, but after reading them, she found it too troublesome and simply stuffed them back into the back of the bookshelf...

Who would have thought that Wanwan would suddenly become interested in this kind of book!

Fine, I'll watch, but Jiang Yubai found out.