Sister, can I be a maid too?

Jiang Yubai remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

That's right, unlike him, who has never held a girl's hand in eight lifetimes, Li Yang has experience in this area...

It is indeed a little bit rich.

“Hey Jiang, it seems like the jokes aren’t the point,” Li Yang said, stroking his chin. “How do you and your friend usually get along?”

Jiang Yubai hesitated for a moment, then began to describe it briefly.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal Lin Jianxia's situation; he simply mentioned a few of his own thoughts.

Even so, the more Li Yang listened, the more something seemed amiss. Finally, with a hint of hesitation, he looked at Jiang Yubai:

"Brother Jiang, are you sure the person you're talking about is a girl?"

"As I listen to this... it feels like your relationship is quite similar to ours?"

Jiang Yubai frowned: "Is there a difference?"

“The difference is huge,” Li Yang sighed. “Girls are very perceptive.”

"Brother Jiang, if you treat her the way we do, so straightforwardly..."

He hesitated, wanting to speak but ultimately choosing a slightly more conservative approach:

"...It's probably not going to work."

Before Jiang Yubai could speak, Li Yang continued:

"If they were really just friends, that would be fine, but judging from your description, Brother Jiang, she might get upset over just a few words from you..."

He nodded and made his judgment:

"This girl is probably interested in you."

"impossible."

Jiang Yubai immediately denied it.

Just kidding, how much of him would believe you if you said Lin Tingwan had feelings for him?

Lin Jianxia... she probably only sees him as an employer.

"Fine, fine, if you say it's impossible, then it's impossible," Li Yang shrugged, not arguing. "Anyway, that's all I have to say. Only you, Brother Jiang, know the specifics."

"That's why I advised you a long time ago, Brother Jiang. Everyone needs to have a few female friends, otherwise you won't know how to get along with them later."

Jiang Yubai was too lazy to pay him any attention.

But after stammering for a while, Li Yang paused and then asked curiously:

"By the way, Brother Jiang, who exactly is this person who managed to win you over?"

Jiang Yubai snapped out of her daze and gave him a disgruntled look:

"What do you mean by 'take them down'? They're just friends."

"Okay, okay, friend," Li Yang replied, but his eyes gleamed with gossip. "So who is it? Is it Zhao Yun?"

"No, from another school."

Jiang Yubai remained expressionless.

"Damn, Brother Jiang, you're still having private relationships? Do you have any photos? Let me see what your wife looks like!"

Ignoring the noisy Li Yang beside him, Jiang Yubai walked on, his thoughts gradually drifting away.

He seemed to... understand where the problem lay.

Chapter 68 Today is a great victory for Lin Tingwan

—Is it really my fault?

Jiang Yubai kept thinking about this until school ended.

If the opponent were Li Yang, he could be absolutely certain that he had no problems whatsoever.

Just kidding, my good brother not only helped you out when you were in trouble, but even generously gave you an extra 500 yuan for food.

At school, I won't mind if you call me Brother Jiang, but what should you call me in private?

Li Yang is probably really going to bow and say earnestly, "If you don't mind, I'm willing to become your godfather."

Asking him to help serve tea and water or run errands is no problem at all, let alone just making a couple of casual jokes.

But... what if Li Yang were replaced by Lin Jianxia?

After hearing what Li Yang just said, it seems like everything is different now.

If you do the math, the time he's known Lin Jianxia is actually less than a month.

And I... it seems I do tease people from time to time.

I didn't realize it at first, but now that I think about it, I feel like I was just like a primary school boy!

He keeps pulling the braids of the girl in front of him, thinking it's funny...

Judging from the fact that she dared to glare at him from their very first meeting, Lin Jianxia was clearly a strong-willed person at heart.

So this guy probably harbored a lot of resentment all along, but he endured it because of his status as the landlord and his sister's illness.

As for agreeing to give him a massage that time, it was probably a choice I had to make because of the scholarship.

But yesterday.....

He kept talking about his little maid, saying he wanted her to give him a massage, and even condescendingly said he wanted to give her a raise.

That's when he finally couldn't hold back anymore and exploded in his own rage...

No wonder people don't like the term "maid." She's acting like a complete landlord, and she's pushing her luck.

No wonder, no wonder...

After figuring out why Lin Jianxia was angry, Jiang Yubai pursed his lips, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest.

He originally thought... they should be quite familiar with each other already.

After all, if you really look back, you've at least helped someone when they were in their most difficult time.

The two usually chat and laugh together, and occasionally bicker and tease each other.

Although he didn't say it aloud, Jiang Yubai was actually secretly a little smug.

This cute and quiet girl is actually a maid who cooks for herself at home...

Even by the strictest standards, he probably, likely, should, indeed...

I have a slight liking for that person.

Yes, how can an eighteen-year-old high school student not have fantasies?

After all, that's how it's written in novels, okay!

But now it seems... it was just his imagination...

In her eyes, he was probably just an annoying guy who used his landlord status to bother her with frivolous words from time to time.

I have to patiently do his laundry and cook for him, tutor him in his studies, and even reward him for memorizing vocabulary words.

He wasn't some hero who fell from the sky to save a princess.

Lin Jianxia can live a good life even without him.

Jiang Yubai... is probably just a passerby, much like Landlord Li.

Damn it.

Thinking about it that way, it does seem a bit discouraging...

It feels just as unbearable as that story of "my childhood friend who I always thought was a tsundere actually really hates me"...

"Brother Jiang?"

A questioning voice interrupted Jiang Yubai's thoughts.

He snapped out of his daze and instinctively turned his head.

Li Yang was standing next to the desk, looking at him with a strange expression:

"Brother Jiang, aren't you leaving after school?"

Jiang Yubai then looked around—the classroom was almost empty.

The boarding students rushed to the cafeteria early, and the day students also left early, leaving only a few students still in their seats, with a few fluorescent lights still on overhead.

As for the seats next to it... naturally, they were also empty.

"Ah, it's nothing."

Jiang Yubai shook his head, put the last test paper into his schoolbag, and zipped it up.

Li Yang hesitated, wanting to speak but ultimately couldn't help but speak:

"Are you really alright, Brother Jiang? Your expression was so strange just now, it was like..."

"Like what?" Jiang Yubai looked at him strangely.

Li Yang hesitated for two seconds, then said:

"...like someone who has just broken up with their boyfriend."

As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped back a step, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and looked at him warily.

"Brother Jiang, I was just saying it offhand! Please don't kill me to silence me!"

“…Divine Metal,” Jiang Yu rolled her eyes dramatically, “I’m thinking of a topic.”

He slung his backpack over his shoulder, ignored Li Yang, waved casually as a farewell, and turned to leave the classroom.

Outside the door, the sun was already setting, and its golden-red rays slanted into the corridor, somewhat dazzling.

Jiang Yubai subconsciously narrowed his eyes, lowered his head, and quickened his pace as he walked out of the school gate.

As he turned into the familiar alleyway leading home, his gaze involuntarily drifted in a certain direction.

"......"