Sister, can I become a maid too?

Chapter 26 Is Lin Tingwan coming?

Why did you choose to attend school in place of your younger sister?

"You've been refusing to talk about it all along," Jiang Yubai almost instinctively replied, "Why are you suddenly willing to talk? Have you changed your mind?"

Lin Jianxia was so choked by these words that she felt a lump in her throat and got up to leave:

"Fine, don't listen then!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Jiang Yubai quickly grabbed the guy's sleeve and pressed him back onto the stone bench. "I want to hear it, I want to hear it."

Lin Jianxia glared at him, while Jiang Yubai returned an innocent look.

She pursed her lips, then finally spoke, "Why do you think... I should come to school in place of my sister?"

Why?

Jiang Yu thought for a moment and gave the most logical guess:

"Because... we only need to pay one tuition fee, and two people can take turns attending classes?"

After all, this guy can't even afford the rent, so it doesn't seem realistic for him to also cover the tuition and fees for two people.

Lin Jianxia seemed to have expected him to guess this, and a hint of helplessness appeared on her face.

"Leaving aside the issue of compliance..." she sighed softly, "If that's really the case, what about the college entrance exam? Does that mean my sister and I will have to take turns attending university?"

"So..." Jiang Yubai cast a questioning look at him.

Lin Jianxia did not answer directly, but instead posed a seemingly unrelated question:

Do you know anything about Wanwan's situation?

"Lin Tingwan?" Jiang Yubai's mind flashed back to that bright-eyed girl, and he hesitated, "I wouldn't say I know her well, we haven't had much contact."

But then he realized what he meant and complained:

"Wait a minute, since you're both at school, how could I possibly know anything about her?"

"It's not entirely me, otherwise why would I pretend to be Wanwan?" Lin Jianxia pouted. "Just tell me what you know."

Jiang Yubai thought for a moment and recalled:

"The homeroom teacher mentioned it back in the first year of high school, saying that Lin Tingwan has congenital aphasia, can't speak, and seems to have hearing problems as well."

Lin Jianxia gazed at the setting sun gradually sinking in the distance and softly hummed in agreement.

"Wanwan does have aphasia, but it wasn't congenital."

She looked away, her voice soft: "She has no physical problems, it's just... she doesn't want to speak because of psychological reasons."

"Unwilling to speak?" Jiang Yubai was taken aback. "Isn't it that you can't?"

"I just don't want to. And what you said about 'not having good hearing' isn't actually true."

Lin Jianxia shook her head:

"Wanwan's hearing is actually perfectly normal. As for 'hearing problems,' that's just a pretext."

"That way, if someone talks to her and she doesn't respond, everyone will just assume that she didn't hear them."

"As time went on, not many people took the initiative to talk to her."

Jiang Yubai frowned: "Why would you say that?"

Lin Jianxia glanced at him, her voice softening:

"For Wanwan, interacting with classmates... is a burden, or even something she really hates."

"She actually resists going to school itself. She can only relax a little when she's in her own little room."

Jiang Yubai understood somewhat: "So... that's why you came to school in her place?"

but....

He couldn't help but think of the words "Hello, Jiang Yubai!" that were handed to him, and those clear, bright eyes that held a hint of curiosity.

Why do I feel like.....

What I saw seemed quite different from what Lin Jianxia described.

"You've noticed it too, haven't you?" Lin Jianxia's soft voice came from beside him, "Wanwan treats you differently."

For some reason, Jiang Yubai suddenly had the illusion that he had been caught red-handed.

He shook off the inexplicable feeling of guilt and nodded, saying, "It does seem a little bit."

Upon hearing this guy actually admit it, Lin Jianxia's brows immediately furrowed:

"So! When exactly did you lie to my sister?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't make false accusations," Jiang Yubai quickly clarified, "What do you mean by 'deceive'? I didn't say a single word to her in high school, okay?"

Lin Jianxia stared at him for a while, her tone gradually becoming puzzled:

"You really don't know?"

"Maybe it's because I'm too..."

Jiang Yu was about to speak when he met Lin Jianxia's increasingly dangerous gaze, and silently swallowed his words back.

He shrugged, his tone becoming more sincere:

"I really don't know. Why don't you just ask your sister? I'm curious too."

Lin Jianxia ignored these words, turned her head back, and continued talking about the previous topic:

"Because of Wanwan's condition, I simply can't feel comfortable letting her go to school alone."

"If she gets bullied at school or is unhappy about something... she won't tell me."

"In addition, she was very resistant to going to school, so I simply took a leave of absence from Linwu Middle School to attend classes in her place, which also made it easier to take care of her."

Jiang Yubai raised an eyebrow: "So... you used to attend Linwu Middle School?"

"Yes, but I'll be here soon," Lin Jianxia said, raising her head with a hint of pride in her voice.

"But my student status is still valid, so I can still be with Wanwan after the college entrance exam."

Jiang Yubai responded with an "oh," without asking any questions like "What about your parents?", and simply said:

"So... you've been working and taking care of Lin Tingwan all this time, right up until now?"

"Otherwise what?" Lin Jianxia rolled her eyes at him. "I'm super awesome, okay?"

Jiang Yubai's lips twitched:

"Who exactly had their wages docked without a word, then came to open the door the next day with swollen eyes, didn't even get angry when all the food was eaten, and just cried?"

Lin Jianxia's smug expression froze.

Seeing her like this, Jiang Yubai sighed:

"I'm really curious... how did you survive before I met you?"

Ever since he met her in that corridor, he always felt that she looked miserable.

For Lin Jianxia, ​​life always seemed to be taut, as if it were about to snap at any moment.

Even so, she managed to raise her younger sister, stumbling and struggling, all the way to adulthood.

"What do you mean by 'how did you survive'?!"

Lin Jianxia immediately retorted, as if her tail had been stepped on.

"I used to have a stable job, okay? I was always able to pay my rent!"

"I have subsidies for students from impoverished families, living expenses, and wages from odd jobs, so things have always been pretty good."

She kicked away a small pebble at her feet with a hint of frustration, her voice lowered, carrying a barely perceptible grievance:

"If the shop where I used to work hadn't suddenly moved away, and it just so happened that... I actually had enough money."

It turned out to be the case.

Jiang Yubai silently uttered an "oh" in his mind.

Although after I met her, I always felt that I was unilaterally "helping" her, delaying the rent again and again, and never stopping feeding her.

But actually...

In places he couldn't see, long before she became his deskmate.

This girl, who always seemed precarious, appeared to be living her life very hard in her own way.

Never mind, I won't do it again...

Yeah, we should stop bullying her.

Jiang Yubai made that decision.

Perhaps recalling some unpleasant memories, Lin Jianxia shook her head vigorously, her tone relaxing again:

"We'll get through this eventually. Anyway, Wanwan and I... we've overcome each obstacle one by one."

She stood up and dusted off her school uniform: "That's all for now, I'm going back."

"You absolutely can't tell anyone what I said today, especially about me and Wanwan."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Jiang Yubai quickly spoke up:

"Hey, wait a minute—"

Lin Jianxia turned her head, her eyes filled with questions.

"I'm just a little curious," Jiang Yubai said hesitantly, looking at her, "why did you suddenly choose today to tell me all this?"

Logically speaking, from her perspective, shouldn't such things be kept secret for as long as possible?

His eyes lit up: "Could it be that you finally believe I'm a good person?"

"Fine my foot!" Lin Jianxia seemed to suddenly remember something, her expression instantly turning into one of gritted teeth. "I forgot to mention..."

Honestly, I have no idea what kind of mind-altering drug Jiang Yubai gave his sister...

She took a deep breath, her tone carrying a blatant threat:

"You have to come to school tomorrow night. If you dare to bully her... you're finished."

Good people... Pshaw!

After saying that, Lin Jianxia snorted and turned to leave angrily.

Jiang Yubai was left standing there blinking, not quite understanding what was happening.

Wait, what did she just say?

Tomorrow... Lin Tingwan is coming to school?