Sister, can I be a maid too?

The repetitive actions can take hours – unpacking, flipping through pages, sorting, and shelving, over and over again.

Occasionally, when I look up from between the pages of the book, all I can see are mountains of parchment and the increasingly dark sky outside the window.

But... Lin Jianxia actually quite likes this job.

Their mother died early, and their father disliked the two sisters as a burden, so he broke off contact with them early and started a new family.

The meager monthly child support, after deducting the sisters' tuition fees and the bare minimum for food, clothing, and other necessities, leaves almost nothing.

In addition... she also has to occasionally set aside some money to send to her grandmother in the countryside, so she has to make up the shortfall by doing odd jobs.

Although she was already an adult, most of the shops around her would still shake their heads and refuse her entry when they saw her wearing the school uniform of Lin San Middle School.

After all, few shops would risk hiring a high school student by employing a child laborer.

So it wasn't until almost the end of summer vacation that she finally found this little bookstore.

Although the pay is a bit low, at least it covers the monthly rent and I can save some money to buy my sister some good food.

Very good.

Lin Jianxia squatted beside the pile of books, mechanically tearing apart the kraft paper. Sweat slid down her forehead, spreading a dark color on the edge of the cardboard box.

One book, two books...

After unpacking the entire package, the books are categorized and checked according to their titles, then placed one by one on the bookshelf in the warehouse, and the corresponding boxes are checked off on the purchase order.

She would occasionally raise her arm to rub her cheek, then quickly put it down again and open the next package.

The only sounds in the warehouse were the rustling of pages turning and her own soft breathing.

The light outside the window gradually dimmed, and the small mountain of oil paper packages finally disappeared.

Lin Jianxia breathed a long sigh of relief after placing the last book on the bookshelf, and subconsciously glanced at the wall clock by the warehouse door.

The clock hand was pointing to exactly 6:20, about half an hour before the time the boss lady said she would get off work.

She didn't leave immediately because the landlady would most likely make her clean for a while longer, and wouldn't let her go until 7:30.

Lin Jianxia took out a tissue and carefully wiped her face and hands clean before turning her gaze to the bookshelf next to her.

Because of its proximity to schools, the bookstore mainly stockes novels popular with students, such as romance and fantasy light novels, while classic works only occupy a small portion of the shelves.

She wasn't very interested in fantasy novels, but instead carefully searched the romance novel section and cautiously pulled one out.

After placing the parchment paper under her, Lin Jianxia knelt on the paper, leaning against the wall, before gently opening the novel, her eyes lighting up.

The plot in the book was actually quite childish, nothing more than a cliché story like "the domineering CEO falls in love with me," but she read it with great interest.

Finish your work quickly, and then read a book for a little while before leaving get off work...

This was one of the few times Lin Jianxia had time to herself.

As Lin Jianxia's gaze swept across the words on the pages, her eyes gradually drifted away, lost in thought.

For some reason, a story I usually find easy to immerse myself in just couldn't be read today. The playboy's words kept echoing in my mind:

"By the way, what does your sister usually like to do? She seems quite interesting."

Even though a day had passed, she still couldn't help but feel a surge of shame and annoyance whenever she thought of the draft notebook that had been pushed towards her.

What?!

What a pervert! Who gets interested after just one meeting, and even calls it 'interesting'? It's just lust at first sight!

But after the initial embarrassment and anger subsided, a strange feeling welled up from the bottom of her heart again.

It's gentle, soft, yet impossible to shake off.

—Speaking of which, Jiang Yubai's appearance really does resemble that of someone described in a novel...

—Pah! Pah! He's just a small-time landlord!

Lin Jianxia shook her head vigorously, trying to banish those chaotic thoughts from her mind and refocus her gaze on the pages of the book.

This time, however, the words in the book seemed even harder to read.

Chapter 10 Lin Jianxia

It's exactly 7 o'clock.

Lin Jianxia walked out of the warehouse.

The proprietress at the front desk was eating her takeout when she saw her come out and casually asked, "Is everything ready?"

“Yes, they’ve all been unpacked and sorted,” Lin Jianxia nodded and said softly, “The purchase order has also been checked, and the quantities match.”

"Okay, you can go home now." The landlady waved her hand.

Forcing herself to look away from the steaming braised chicken, Lin Jianxia nodded politely.

"Goodbye, Aunt Zhao."

As I pushed open the bookstore door, it was already dark, with only the last faint glimmer of sunset hanging on the horizon.

The air was filled with the aroma of food and charcoal fire, and Lin Jianxia subconsciously clutched her rumbling stomach.

She took a deep breath, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, and headed home.

Linjiang No. 3 Middle School is only a ten-minute walk from Jinxiu New Village, and Lin Jianxia quickly arrived at the building.

As an old residential area built in the early years, the street in front of the building has long been bustling with activity, with various food stalls and night market stalls set up along the street, and the air is filled with an enticing aroma of cooking.

Her pace slowed down, her stomach growled louder, and her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the barbecue stall next to her.

Reason urged her to hurry upstairs, but the emptiness in her stomach made it impossible for her to take a step.

"Young lady, what would you like to eat?" The woman at the barbecue stall greeted her warmly as she stopped. "We have everything here."

Lin Jianxia hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Auntie, how much are the chicken wings?"

"Five yuan a skewer. Our chicken wings are roasted using a secret recipe, absolutely delicious."

She quickly calculated in her mind and said, "Then... give me a skewer of chicken wings and a skewer of mushrooms, neither of them spicy, thank you, Auntie."

"Okay, almost done!" the woman replied briskly.

She deftly picked out a skewer of chicken wings and a skewer of mushrooms from the food container, brushed them with a thin layer of oil, and placed them on the blazing charcoal grill.

The chicken skin quickly glistened with oil, releasing a fragrant aroma mingled with the scent of cumin. The mushrooms were roasted until their edges curled slightly, oozing clear juices.

Lin Jianxia stood by the stall waiting, her eyes following the two skewers of food back and forth.

In the warm yellow halo, the oil droplets occasionally splashed up tiny sparks, like fleeting stars.

"Here you go, girl, take this!"

The older woman handed over a paper bag of grilled skewers, still piping hot. Lin Jianxia carefully took them, paid, and quietly thanked her.

She didn't rush to open it, but turned around and quickly walked into the residential area.

Lin Jianxia stopped under the dim light at the entrance of the building and took out the skewer of grilled chicken wings from the bag first.

The chicken wings are glossy and golden brown, and the aroma of cumin and oil fills the air, glistening enticingly in the light.

She stared at it for a few seconds, her Adam's apple bobbing slightly, but she still carefully put it back into the paper bag and folded the opening neatly.

Then, she took out the skewer of grilled mushrooms and, in the dim light of the hallway, quickly finished them.

After finishing her meal, Lin Jianxia put the empty bamboo skewers back into the bag and went upstairs.

The key was inserted into the lock, making a slight "click" sound.

She pushed open the door, only to be met with a silent darkness.

Without any surprise on her face, Lin Jianxia entered the room, turned on the main light, and placed her schoolbag on the table.

After doing all this, she walked into the inner room, stopped in front of the tightly closed door, and gently knocked.

After waiting silently for a few seconds, she pushed the door open and went in.

In the dim light, Lin Tingwan sat on the edge of the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, her beautiful eyes staring blankly out the window, motionless.

"Wanwan," Lin Jianxia called softly, "I brought you something delicious."

Upon hearing this, Lin Tingwan seemed to snap out of her daze.

She turned to look at Lin Jianxia, ​​and a faint light finally appeared in her previously empty eyes.

Lin Tingwan blinked, slowly stood up, and her gaze fell on the skewer of chicken wings in her sister's hand.

She didn't take it immediately, but instead picked up the spiral notebook from beside the bed and neatly wrote down a line:

"What about your sister's?"

"I've already eaten. Look, the skewer is still here." Lin Jianxia waved the empty bamboo skewer in the paper bag with a normal expression. "Wanwan won't be upset that I ate it first, will she?"

Lin Tingwan shook her head, then took the chicken wing and began to nibble at it in small bites.

"Are you starving? I'll go cook." Lin Jianxia turned to leave, casually asking, "Wanwan, do you have any snacks left?"

Lin Tingwan obediently followed behind her, taking small bites of the chicken wing, without responding.

"Oh, right..." Lin Jianxia didn't mind and took out an opened strawberry gummy from her school pants pocket. "Here, I tried one for you, it's pretty good."

Seeing that her younger sister had accepted it, she nodded in satisfaction and went into the kitchen.

The rice in the rice cooker was cooked and kept warm. Lin Jianxia lifted the lid to take a look, and after confirming that the rice was cooked through, she turned around and opened the refrigerator.

The refrigerator is empty.

The top layer was stuffed with a few wilted greens, two or three sections of carrot, and a small handful of bean sprouts.

Besides two eggs, there was only half a bag of noodles left on the bottom layer.

A small box of tofu lay alone in the compartment by the side door of the refrigerator, its edges already slightly yellowed.

There weren't many dishes left, and they were all vegetarian.

...Time to go buy groceries.

Thinking this, Lin Jianxia took out some wilted greens and half a carrot from the refrigerator, and then took out the box of tofu with slightly yellowed edges.

She quickly washed and chopped the vegetables, and soon a small pile of shredded carrots and broken green leafy vegetables appeared on the cutting board. She cut the tofu into small pieces and rinsed them with water.