Sister, can I become a maid too?

Chapter 44 was your own request, so it doesn't count as me bullying your sister, right?

"As for topics, as long as Wanwan is interested, it's fine."

"The main thing is... as her older sister, I don't really know what she likes..."

Lin Jianxia clasped her hands together and cautiously began to speak:

"Also, if Wanwan really makes any requests, please try your best to fulfill them, okay?"

"If you need to buy anything, just deduct it from my salary."

Jiang Yubai stopped and looked helplessly at the girl beside him:

"I mean, you're eating plain porridge and steamed buns every day at school, but you're quite generous with money when it comes to your sister."

"It's different," Lin Jianxia muttered, "This is for treatment..."

Jiang Yubai didn't say much, but simply tilted his head, gesturing for her to open the door.

Lin Jianxia gave a soft "hmm" and knocked on the door.

After waiting patiently for a few seconds, she slowly pushed open the door and tentatively called out softly inside:

"Wanwan...?"

In the room, Lin Tingwan no longer sat at the desk, but sat quietly on the edge of the bed, holding the familiar panda doll in her arms, her gaze still fixed on the unknown distance outside the window.

The girl's gaze seemed unfocused, as if she were simply lost in her own world.

Hearing the sound by the door, Lin Tingwan seemed to be gently awakened from a distant dream, and it took her a few moments to slowly turn her head.

A fleeting hint of worry crossed Lin Jianxia's eyes, but a light smile spread across her face, and her voice was soft and relaxed:

"Hey Wanwan, Jiang Yubai said he's free today, so he's coming over to visit you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yubai glanced at her with a somewhat subtle expression.

What do you mean by "wanting to play with you"...?

It feels like kindergarten kids visiting each other's homes.

But when Lin Tingwan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, heard this, her gaze shifted between her sister and Jiang Yubai, and her eyes seemed to brighten a little.

She hugged the panda plush toy, quietly moved to the side, and looked up at the two of them.

—Does this mean... that I should sit there?

Jiang Yubai was hesitating when his cuff was gently tugged.

Lin Jianxia pulled him forward and pressed him down into the empty seat next to Lin Tingwan.

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

After settling him in with his sister, Lin Jianxia sat down on the other side of Jiang Yubai and secretly gave him a wink.

On the left is Lin Tingwan, quietly holding a doll with her eyes downcast; on the right is Lin Jianxia, ​​looking both expectant and nervous.

With the twins flanking him on either side, Jiang Yubai felt quite uncomfortable.

...Never mind, we're already here.

He composed himself, turned his head to look at Lin Tingwan beside him, who was so quiet she seemed not to exist, and tentatively started a conversation:

"Um... Lin Tingwan, aren't you reading a novel today?"

Why is this the first thing I see?!

Lin Jianxia's face fell, but she couldn't help but turn her gaze to see how her younger sister would react.

Lin Tingwan simply hugged the panda plush toy, her head slightly lowered, her gaze fixed on her knees, as if she hadn't heard anything.

Jiang Yubai blinked, then called out again:

"Lin Tingwan?"

no response.

Jiang Yubai turned his head and gave Lin Jianxia a questioning look.

Lin Jianxia frowned slightly as she looked at her younger sister's reaction.

She was all too familiar with Lin Tingwan's appearance—or rather, this was simply her sister's most ordinary look all along.

But... how could this be?

Just last night, Wanwan said she didn't dislike it, and it hasn't been that long...

Could it be that I guessed wrong?

She was just like before, briefly curious about something, but now that the novelty wore off, she retreated back into her own world.

Lin Jianxia's eyes dimmed, and just as she was about to say something, she suddenly paused as if she had thought of something.

"that....."

She swallowed back what she was about to say and instead adopted a lighter tone:

"By the way, is there anything you'd like to eat for lunch? I'll make it now. How about Mapo Tofu?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Tingwan, who had been quietly looking down, suddenly turned her head slightly and nodded very gently.

"Okay~"

Lin Jianxia stood up, seemingly saying casually:

"Jiang Yubai, I'm going to make lunch over there. You stay here and talk to Wanwan for a while, and don't you dare bully her."

Before she could even react, she turned and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Jiang Yubai stared at the guy's fluid movements, momentarily stunned.

Huh? You just left like that?

You really left me and your sister alone in the room?

No, last time you were at least keeping an eye on things in the kitchen. This time you've run off to my house. What if I bully your sister?

Weren't you treating me like a thief before? Isn't this attitude change a bit too fast...?

Besides, Lin Tingwan is completely ignoring me now. It's not like she'll change her mind just because you left...

Jiang Yubai's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

He stared blankly at the spiral notebook that had been handed to him without his knowledge, a huge question mark slowly appearing above his head.

Seeing that Jiang Yubai didn't intend to take it, Lin Tingwan tilted her head and handed the spiral notebook to him again.

"......"

He instinctively took the notebook, and saw a line of large, brightly written words:

"My sister is hiding."

What do you mean your sister hid? Your sister just went to cook, not...

Oh no.

Jiang Yubai then realized that Lin Tingwan was answering his first question.

Aren't you going to read a novel today?

—My sister hid the novel.

You all heard it, didn't you?

If we exclude the possibility that the response was delayed and that's why they're only answering now, then there's probably only one other reason for their previous lack of response.

"So, why didn't you answer when your sister was here?" Jiang Yubai turned her head. "Did you not want her to hear?"

Lin Tingwan silently took back the notebook from his hand, lowered her head and gently wrote a line:

"My sister will worry."

Worry?

Jiang Yubai didn't quite understand for a moment.

Is it because Lin Jianxia feels uneasy about communicating with him too much?

He didn't delve into it further, since as long as Lin Tingwan was still willing to respond, that was enough.

Jiang Yubai turned his head to look at her and changed the subject: "By the way... what were you looking at just now?"

"Watching the clouds."

Watching the clouds? What's so interesting about clouds?

If I were ten years old and writing an essay, I would say that this cloud looks like a soft cotton candy, and that cloud looks like an upside-down Ultraman.

But I'm almost nineteen now, so I can't respond to that...

So he changed the subject: "So... is this what you usually do at home? Just look at the clouds and stuff?"

"Um."

Jiang Yubai was truly at a loss. Lin Tingwan was simply a conversation killer; a single "hmm" was enough to kill the conversation. How was he supposed to continue the conversation?

If Jiang Yubai hadn't known her situation, he might have thought she particularly disliked him and would have just given a perfunctory response.

Just as he was racking his brains to come up with the next topic, Lin Tingwan suddenly wrote something in her notebook and handed it to him.

Ok?

Jiang Yubai was somewhat flattered as he took the notebook and looked at it closely.

"Can I hug you?"

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

He seemed to understand why Lin Tingwan thought her sister would be worried.

If it were him, he would be worried too!

Just as Jiang Yubai was about to refuse, Lin Jianxia's words to him suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Also, if Wanwan really makes any requests, please try your best to fulfill them, okay...?"

"..."

Okay, I didn't bully your sister, you asked for it yourself.

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I hereby solemnly declare that a panda is a panda, not a pig!