Chapter 17: He..... Couldn't Have Been Driven Away by My Crying, Right?

Even with the twin sisters standing shoulder-to-shoulder right in front of him, Jiang Yubai still felt a little dazed. He looked left, then right, his gaze darting back and forth between the two nearly identical, exquisite little faces.

It was truly unbelievable.

The two girls were dressed in matching light-colored loungewear. Their facial features—brows, eyes, noses, and lips—seemed molded from the exact same cast. Yet, upon closer inspection, their auras were entirely different. One had a bright, clear gaze, her eyes harboring a touch of stubbornness and guardedness. The other's gaze was tranquil, like a mist-covered lake, making her seem somewhat detached from the outside world.

"Are you done staring?" Lin Jianxia asked expressionlessly, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

"Not yet," Jiang Yubai replied with brazen confidence. He truly hadn't looked enough.

The sisters were already top-tier beauties to begin with. Looking at just one was a feast for the eyes, but standing side-by-side, they were like twin lotus flowers blooming on a single stalk, enhancing each other's charm. This compounded beauty was enough to make a person's heart race.

Of course, he was purely appreciating their beauty—he harbored no ulterior motives whatsoever.

Lin Jianxia had clearly underestimated the thickness of this guy's skin, momentarily choking on his blunt answer. She glared at the scoundrel in annoyance, deciding to ignore him entirely. Scooping up the groceries at her feet, she spun around and marched toward the kitchen.

She cursed inwardly, "Shameless!"

Jiang Yubai watched Lin Jianxia's huffing, retreating figure with a twinge of regret. Just as he withdrew his gaze, a somewhat familiar spiral notebook was held out in front of him.

It read, "Hello, Jiang Yubai!"

He looked up and met another pair of clear eyes. The girl holding the notebook had a pure gaze tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible curiosity. Her dark pupils sparkled like black pebbles submerged in a babbling brook.

For some inexplicable reason, Jiang Yubai's heart suddenly hitched, as if it had skipped a beat.

"Hello, hello..." Consciously looking away, he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a sudden heat rushing to his cheeks. But right after, he internally scolded himself for being so useless. He steadied his nerves and prepared to speak. "Uh, Lin..."

"Jiang! Yu! Bai!"

STOMP, STOMP, STOMP. Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Jianxia stormed out of the kitchen, glaring at him furiously.

"Don't you dare harass my sister!"

"What do you mean, 'harass'..." Jiang Yubai's mouth twitched. He instinctively looked over at Lin Tingwan, only to find that the girl had lowered her eyes at some point and was now taking small, dainty bites of her rice.

...Huh?

"Lin Tingwan?" Jiang Yubai called out tentatively, a hint of confusion in his voice.

But Lin Tingwan continued to eat quietly, offering no response to his call. Instead, Lin Jianxia furrowed her brows and stood protectively in front of her sister, her face full of vigilance.

Blinking, Jiang Yubai suddenly reached an epiphany. He thought, "So she's been strictly forbidden by her sister from talking to me, huh?"

Then just now...

A playful urge welled up inside Jiang Yubai. Feigning dissatisfaction, he said, "Hey now, Lin Jianxia. Your sister and I are desk-mates, and we always have great chats at school. You're telling me we can't even exchange a couple of words now?"

Hearing this, Lin Tingwan, who had been silently eating with her head down, paused her movements. She slowly raised her eyes and looked at her older sister.

Lin Jianxia stiffened. She tried to maintain her composure, but her gaze involuntarily darted around, and she began to stammer, "I-I did not... I was just afraid... afraid that you'd run your mouth and scare Wanwan."

Seeing her guilty conscience on full display, Jiang Yubai kept a straight face, though his stomach was practically cramping from holding back his laughter. It took a massive amount of effort not to break character. He put on a disgruntled expression. "Fine, then I'll just wait until we're back at school and you're not around to chat with her. Happy now?"

"T-That's more like it."

Lin Jianxia gave a reluctant nod, secretly heaving a sigh of relief. Not daring to say anything else, she quickly pulled out a chair, sat down, and buried her head in her long-overdue lunch.

The younger sister, Lin Tingwan, continued to take small, delicate bites. The older sister, Lin Jianxia, started off showing a bit of restraint, but she gradually tossed her image to the wind. Perhaps she was truly starving; her chopsticks flew as she stuffed her cheeks full, looking as though she intended to swallow all her pent-up frustrations along with her food.

Jiang Yubai sat across from them, resting his chin in his hands as he watched the duo with great interest. He waited until Lin Tingwan had quietly lowered her eyes and Lin Jianxia had mostly finished eating before he finally spoke up.

"So... what exactly is the situation?"

Lin Jianxia, who was taking small sips of chicken soup, stiffened slightly at his words. Perhaps she had let her guard down during her banter with Jiang Yubai, or maybe the soup was just too comforting and warm. Only now did it suddenly dawn on her—their relationship wasn't just a simple matter of being classmates.

The person sitting across from her was the landlord of this house, while she was merely a tenant who was behind on rent and had failed to keep her promise.

Lin Jianxia set down her chopsticks and straightened her back.

"Thank you for this meal..." She pursed her lips, her voice turning a bit hoarse. "And... for buying groceries for us."

Jiang Yubai didn't say a word. He simply raised an eyebrow and continued to listen, knowing that the main event was yet to come.

Lin Jianxia kept her head bowed, her fingers twisting together unconsciously. It was clear that whatever she was about to say was difficult for her to voice. After a moment of silence, she croaked out, "Um... I only have eight hundred yuan on me right now. As for the rest... could you... give us a few more days' grace?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the tips of the girl's ears turned red with shame. Even with the three bags of groceries Jiang Yubai had bought, which saved her from spending her remaining food budget, eight hundred yuan was the absolute most she could muster.

Hearing this, Jiang Yubai couldn't help but speak up, despite having somewhat braced himself for it. "A few more days' grace?"

Sitting beside her, Lin Tingwan looked at Jiang Yubai, then at her sister, a flicker of worry surfacing in her eyes.

"Yes." Lin Jianxia took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "This time... I will definitely get the money together this time."

Jiang Yubai let out an amused huff. "I say, Lin, I believe you said the exact same thing last week, didn't you?"

After a long stretch of silence, Lin Jianxia finally spoke in a soft whisper, "I understand... My sister and I will move out today..."

"Hold on, stop," Jiang Yubai interrupted her helplessly. "What's the rush? I never said I disagreed, did I?"

Lin Jianxia stared blankly at him for a few seconds, a faint light returning to her eyes. "You... you agree?"

"I didn't say I agreed, either," Jiang Yubai replied with a shrug.

Lin Jianxia fell speechless. Even in her current predicament, an overwhelming urge to beat this guy up still managed to bubble up in her chest.

"Then what exactly do you want?" she practically gritted her teeth as she asked.

Jiang Yubai leaned back in his chair and said helplessly, "I might be the landlord in name, but I'm really just collecting rent for my mom. If you delay it this month, and then delay it again next month, it's going to be really hard for me to explain the discrepancies in the accounts.

"Even though we're classmates, I can't just keep breaking the rules for you again and again. You can understand that, right?"

Lin Jianxia's face flushed red, then paled. She knew very well that as the landlord, Jiang Yubai agreeing to a rent extension previously was already out of consideration for their classmate bond. For her to ask again now was truly pushing her luck.

But right after, she heard his tone shift.

"So... you at least have to let me understand the situation, don't you? That way, if my mom asks, I'll have an explanation ready."

Lin Jianxia blinked, sounding hesitant. "What... what do you want to understand?"

"Simple." Jiang Yubai snapped his fingers. "First, didn't you say you'd have the full amount last week? How come you only have eight hundred left this week? Surely... you didn't lose it?"

Lin Jianxia involuntarily glanced at her sister beside her. Biting her lower lip, she finally opened her mouth to explain. "Towards the end of summer vacation, I found a job as a clerk at Sisyphus Bookstore. My task was to help organize books after school every day. We agreed on a salary of twelve hundred yuan a month..."

Her voice gradually lowered as she quietly recounted the entire ordeal.

"...So when it was time to settle the payment yesterday, I only received six hundred in the end. Adding what cash I had left on hand, I only have eight hundred in total."

By the end of her explanation, a suppressed anger involuntarily surfaced in her tone, mixed with a trace of helpless grievance. She paused, trying to make her voice sound firmer. "I'll go look for other odd jobs... I will definitely make up the rest before the end of the month."

Having said her piece, Lin Jianxia unconsciously bit her lower lip and looked at Jiang Yubai nervously. She knew in her heart that whether she and her sister could stay or had to leave was entirely dependent on a single whim of the boy sitting across from her.

However, after hearing her out, Jiang Yubai didn't state his position immediately. Instead, he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Wait a second," he said, an expression of keen interest suddenly floating onto his face. "What did you say the name of the bookstore you worked at was again?"