Chapter 13: Heh Heh, Everything Is Under Control

"I'm back."

Lin Jianxia gently pushed the bedroom door open. The light inside was dim. Lin Tingwan sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly into the distance. Hearing the noise, she turned her head, her eyes catching a faint glimmer in the gloom.

"Are you hungry, Wanwan?" Lin Jianxia asked softly.

Lin Tingwan shook her head. She picked up the spiral notebook by her pillow, scribbled a few words, and held it up for Jianxia to see: "I had some snacks."

Normally, Lin Jianxia would prepare Tingwan's breakfast and lunch early in the morning before leaving for school, leaving dinner to be cooked fresh when she returned. During the time in between, if Tingwan got hungry, she would tide herself over with some small treats.

Lin Jianxia walked over to the cabinet and looked at the tin biscuit box. "Are there enough snacks left in the snack bin?"

Calling it a snack bin was generous. In reality, it only held some loose small buns and individually wrapped soda crackers—the cheapest and most practical items from the supermarket. Seeing only a few stray crackers left at the bottom of the tin, Lin Jianxia pursed her lips and set her bulging backpack on the bed. "Look, I brought you something delicious today."

Lin Tingwan nodded quietly, looking quite indifferent. Then, she watched as Jianxia pulled out her haul from her bag. Two plump, glossy braised chicken drumsticks. A soft bun thickly coated in golden meat floss. Two cartons of strawberry milk. Several packets of seaweed crisps printed with cartoon designs. A small bag of dried cranberries. And finally, three beautifully wrapped milk chocolate truffles. A corner of the small iron-framed bed was instantly blanketed by these snacks. In the dim room, the spread looked exceptionally lavish, almost somewhat... unreal.

Lin Tingwan picked up a chocolate truffle and examined it closely against the faint light. Looking somewhat puzzled, she grabbed her spiral notebook, wrote down a few words, and handed it to Lin Jianxia: "Did you buy all this?"

Upon seeing this line, Lin Jianxia's smug expression froze, and her tone inexplicably turned fierce. "Eat it. It was all given by some jerk. Just eat as much as you want, Wanwan—it won't make him go broke!"

In truth, this wasn't even everything. There had originally been two more buns, but she had already eaten them on the way home. That guy with the last name Jiang seemed to have an endless supply of small snacks in his bag. Every time he passed over his scratchpad, he included a treat with it. And he kept interrogating her about her situation, too! BAH!

Sensing Jianxia's strange mood, Lin Tingwan tilted her head and stared at her for a moment. Finally, she nodded and divided the snacks on the bed into two halves.

"I already ate at school. You're the one who needs to eat more..."

Lin Jianxia sighed. She picked out just two packets of seaweed crisps from the pile and waved them in front of her. "Here, these two packets are enough for me."

Lin Tingwan thought for a moment, then took one of the two bags of chicken drumsticks and placed it on the edge of the bed. She reached over and wrote something in her spiral notebook.

"I really don't need it. Just eat it yourself, Wanwan—"

Her words of refusal caught in her throat the moment she saw the writing on the notebook.

"Your boobs aren't as big as mine." Lin Tingwan held up the spiral notebook, her expression completely serious.

That was true. It was probably the only physical difference between the twins. Although it was visually indistinguishable once they were dressed, they, as sisters, naturally knew the truth. Even knowing that Tingwan didn't mean anything else by it, Lin Jianxia's tone unconsciously carried a hint of gritted teeth. "Fine! I'll eat it!"

She sat down beside Tingwan, puffed her cheeks in annoyance, tore open the chicken drumstick wrapper, and took a massive bite. "I'll bite you to death, Jiang Yubai!" she thought.

Beside her, Lin Tingwan opened the bag of dried cranberries and started eating them in small bites. After taking two more bites of her chicken, Lin Jianxia rested her head on Tingwan's shoulder. She thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Wanwan, when you were going to school before... did you have any impression of this Jiang Yubai guy?"

Lin Tingwan's movements paused slightly. She didn't rush to write anything. Instead, she gently flipped back a few pages in the spiral notebook and held it out in front of Jianxia.

"Jiang Yubai is a good person."

It was the exact same sentence Lin Tingwan had written down when they were talking last Sunday. The moment she read this line, Lin Jianxia immediately went on high alert. She knew Tingwan better than anyone. Due to psychological reasons, apart from those she was exceptionally close to, everyone else was practically just blank, line-drawn portraits to her. Those who were slightly better off, like her teachers, were merely perceived as NPCs at best. Yet, for Jiang Yubai specifically, Tingwan had already given this evaluation twice.

She wondered if Wanwan, being so innocent, had been deceived by that playboy.

The more Lin Jianxia thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She couldn't help but sit up straight, asking in a serious tone, "Wanwan, did he ever approach you and talk to you before?" Judging by Jiang Yubai's behavior, the two of them didn't seem to have interacted much, but what if they had? Considering how enthusiastically that guy treated her, he might have acted the same way toward Tingwan...

"No."

Lin Jianxia froze. No... That meant Jiang Yubai had actually never taken the initiative to talk to Lin Tingwan. Then why... She wanted to press the issue further, but Lin Tingwan had already set down the spiral notebook and quietly resumed eating her dried cranberries.

"Never mind. As long as he hasn't tricked Wanwan, it's fine," she thought. Feeling slightly more at ease, Lin Jianxia tossed her wrapper into the trash can and spoke in a cheerful tone. "By the way, Wanwan, what do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you."

With payday approaching on Friday, Lin Jianxia hadn't been overly frugal; she had already stocked the fridge with ingredients for the following week.

Lin Tingwan shook her head, indicating that anything was fine. She thought for a moment, looked down, and jotted a few lines in her little notebook before holding it up for Jianxia to see: "Do I need to go to school tomorrow?"

Lin Jianxia was momentarily stunned, then her expression abruptly changed. "No, Wanwan, you can't go!"

Lin Tingwan gently tilted her head, a flash of confusion passing through her amber eyes.

Realizing that her reaction had been too intense, Lin Jianxia quickly softened her tone and hesitated. "It's definitely a good thing that you want to go to school, Wanwan... but, but the class just changed seats this week. I'm worried you won't be used to it if you go." In reality, the main reason was that new deskmate. If Tingwan went, what if Jiang Yubai handed her a cake the moment they met? If it were anyone else, she wouldn't be this worried, but for some unknown reason, Jiang Yubai seemed to possess some sort of magic that gave Tingwan such a good impression of him! He was obviously just a pervert...

"Um... Wanwan, let's wait until next week," Lin Jianxia finally said. "I'll tell you more about school over the weekend."

Lin Tingwan blinked, eventually giving a small nod.

Seeing her nod in agreement, Lin Jianxia's tone instantly brightened. "Alright, I'm going to go cook then!" She made up her mind: as soon as she finished paying the rent, she would draw a clear line with that guy once and for all. It would conveniently save her from having him bother Tingwan as well.

She would get paid this Friday, sort out the rent on Saturday, and properly warn Wanwan over the weekend to be extra vigilant against Jiang Yubai. Most importantly—she absolutely must not accept any little notes he passed over! Once everything was settled, she would let Tingwan return to school next week. That should be much safer. She would take off after grabbing enough snacks, letting that playboy taste what it felt like to be played. Heh heh, everything was under her control!