Chapter 2: If You Can't Pay the Rent, Just Be My Maid to Pay Off the Debt

The girl called Wanwan looked at Jiang Yubai and tilted her head slightly. Instead of retreating to her room as told, she pulled the door wider and stepped out. She seemed to have just woken up. Dressed only in a pale pink loungewear set and completely barefoot, she walked over and stopped beside Lin Jianxia.

Now that they were closer, Jiang Yubai marveled at the realization that the two girls in front of him were the spitting image of each other. Both had clean, makeup-free faces with fair, translucent skin and delicate, straight noses. Their lips were a light shade of pink, like early spring cherry blossoms. The only way to tell them apart was, perhaps, by their eyes at this very moment. One glared at him, brimming with defensive vigilance, while the other's gaze was crystal clear, carrying a hint of mild curiosity.

"Twins?" Jiang Yubai couldn't help but ask. "Is this your sister?"

Perhaps Jiang Yubai's gaze was too direct, for Lin Jianxia took a step to her left, shielding her sister behind her. Taking a deep breath, she ignored his question and said, "We... we'll move out as soon as possible."

"Move out?" Jiang Yubai was taken aback. "Where to?"

"That's none of your business," Lin Jianxia said, her face devoid of emotion.

Jiang Yubai's mouth twitched. "Lin, as your landlord, let me give you a friendly reminder. This place is already one of the cheapest neighborhoods in Lincheng.

"Even if you manage to find somewhere cheaper, the moving deposit and agency fees will still cost you a pretty penny.

"You can't even scrape together this month's rent right now... Are you planning to sleep under a bridge?"

With every word Jiang Yubai spoke, Lin Jianxia's shoulders slumped a little further. She bit her lower lip as a deep sense of powerlessness washed over her. No matter how much she loathed the guy standing in front of her, she had to admit—Jiang Yubai was right. She could neither afford the rent right now nor the cost of moving. Her part-time wages were supposed to be paid in just a few days...

She ground her teeth. It was bad enough that this Jiang Yubai was always inappropriately involved with other girls in their class, but to think he had actually set his sights on her. He must be a pro at taking advantage of people's vulnerabilities.

She thought, "Scumbag! Animal!"

While Lin Jianxia's mind was in a tangled mess, Jiang Yubai stroked his chin, feeling a bit puzzled himself. Although Lincheng Third Middle School wasn't some prestigious elite academy, it was still a private high school with excellent teaching quality, and naturally, its tuition fees were equally steep. Because of this, the students who managed to get in usually didn't come from poor backgrounds. So how did Lin Tingwan end up in a situation where she couldn't even pay rent? Did her family fall on hard times?

As he pondered this, he subconsciously raised his eyes and met a pair of clear, amber-like eyes. The girl called Wanwan was staring unblinkingly at him, her gaze so pure that it made his heart inexplicably skip a beat.

It wasn't until the girl suddenly reached out that Jiang Yubai noticed she was holding a small spiral notebook and a pen. Seeing that she had his attention, the girl lowered her head and scribbled a few words, SCRATCH SCRATCH. A moment later, she held the notebook up for him to see.

"Hello, Jiang Yubai!"

The handwriting was neat and elegant, ending with an exclamation mark that gave off a seriously adorable vibe.

He thought, "What the hell?"

Although Jiang Yubai's head was full of question marks, he instinctively replied, "Hello, hello... nice to meet you..."

Hearing his response, the girl's eyes lit up slightly. She lowered her head to write again and soon held up the notebook once more.

"Are you bullying Jianxia?"

"How am I bullying..." Jiang Yubai didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he suddenly froze, his eyes widening slightly. Wait. Not speaking... Being called Wanwan...

"You're the real Lin Tingwan?!" Jiang Yubai blurted out.

Jianxia... He blanked for a moment, then turned his head to the other side. "You... your name is Lin Jianxia?"

"Wanwan, don't talk to him." The other girl suddenly spoke up. She stepped forward to block her sister, staring intently at Jiang Yubai with her guard entirely up.

"You two..." Jiang Yubai looked back and forth between them. "You're twins?"

Lin Jianxia completely ignored his question. Suppressing her anger, she demanded, "Jiang Yubai, what exactly do you want?"

"What do I want?" Jiang Yubai rolled his eyes. "Didn't I already tell you? I'm here to collect rent."

To Lin Jianxia's ears, those words undoubtedly sounded like a final ultimatum. She fell silent for a few seconds. When she spoke again, her voice trembled slightly, yet she forced herself to ask, "Could you... give us a few more days' grace?"

"Sure," Jiang Yubai nodded indifferently.

"...Huh?" Lin Jianxia looked dumbfounded, apparently not expecting him to actually agree. In that fleeting second, countless novel and manga tropes flashed through her mind. N-no, that wasn't right, was it? Shouldn't he know she couldn't pay, use the rent as an excuse to take her into his harem, and make her do this and that every day? How could he—

"However," Jiang Yubai added his second half of the sentence, "in exchange, I have a small condition... That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Lin Jianxia's face turned stark white. Just as she expected... She knew it wouldn't be that simple...

She barely managed to compose herself before whispering to the girl beside her, "Wanwan, go back to your room first."

Lin Tingwan tilted her head, looking somewhat reluctant. But meeting her sister's serious gaze, she finally gave an obedient nod and returned to her room with her little notebook.

Seeing the door close, Lin Jianxia relaxed just a fraction. She bit her lower lip, fixing her eyes back on Jiang Yubai. "Spit it out. What's your condition? It... it cannot involve my sister!"

She had already made up her mind. If this guy dared to make any outrageous demands, she would kick him out right this second. If it was just some minor, reasonable request, she wouldn't mind playing along and pretending to comply for her sister's sake...

"How exactly am I a womanizer?"

...Huh?

Lin Jianxia blinked, failing to process the question for a moment.

"My condition is, I need you to tell me exactly how I'm a womanizer," Jiang Yubai repeated in annoyance. "If you can't tell me, I'm going to sue you for slander."

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Jianxia finally spoke in a small voice, "I heard... well, my sister heard that everyone says your family is rich, and that you're simultaneously involved with Zhao Yun, Li Qiuyue, and the others..."

Jiang Yubai's mouth twitched. Great. It seemed it was that group spreading rumors again.

After finishing her sentence, Lin Jianxia stared at Jiang Yubai warily. After waiting for quite a while and seeing that he wasn't going to make trouble for her, she probed tentatively, "So that condition you just mentioned... was really just that?"

Seeing her highly guarded and defensive expression, Jiang Yubai couldn't help but find it amusing. "What else? What kind of demands did you think I was going to make?"

"...Then what are you here for today?"

"Didn't I already tell you? My family owns this building. I came to collect the rent," Jiang Yubai said, giving her a baffling look. He wondered why Lin Tingwan's sister seemed a bit slow; she couldn't even understand the same sentence after he had repeated it multiple times.

Lin Jianxia hesitated, caught in a loop of wanting to speak but stopping, and experiencing a moment of Zhi Yan—stopping only to want to speak again. Finally, she managed to choke out, "You... didn't you set this whole thing up on purpose to take advantage of the situation and blackmail me?"

Jiang Yubai was so exasperated he actually laughed. "Do you really think I purposefully came all the way here to threaten you during the one month you can't pay rent?"

He thought, "Wow, incredible. So we're really playing out the trope where the rich playboy sets a trap for the pitiful school beauty. If things keep following this script, a personal bodyguard named Lin Yi is going to jump out any second now and beat the crap out of me."

Although he didn't have much interest in playing the villain...

Jiang Yubai stroked his chin, his gaze falling on the girl in front of him. Her eyes were clear and beautiful, her lips a pale pink, and her small face was so exquisite that it made people want to steal a few extra glances. Her originally fair ears were now flushed a translucent pink. Her earlobes were especially red, looking like two ripe cherries playing hide-and-seek amid her fine, soft hair.

He suddenly thought of Lin Tingwan, who had never spoken a word and always kept a straight face toward everyone. Even with such an entirely unlikable personality, she was still chased after and put on a pedestal by a crowd of people at school. The main reason, of course, was that absurdly pretty face. If there really were busybodies in high school who imitated novels by making some sort of "School Beauty Ranking"... Then the face before him would undoubtedly take the number one spot without any suspense.

Lin Jianxia, on the other hand, had no time to wonder what Jiang Yubai was thinking about. Biting her lower lip, she just wished she could dig a hole and hide in it. How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Of all times, during the month when her finances were the tightest, the usually accommodating landlord suddenly refused to yield an inch. And the person who came down to inspect the place just so happened to be her classmate...

Especially since she had heard from her classmates that this guy was practically a lecherous demon; none of the pretty girls in class could escape his clutches. Combining these two facts, didn't it perfectly set up the exact storyline where a rich young master would resort to any means necessary to get what he wanted?!

While Lin Jianxia was still letting her imagination run wild, Jiang Yubai across from her suddenly remembered something. "Wait a minute, have we met before?"

"..."

Seemingly not expecting him to suddenly bring this up, Lin Jianxia's expression instantly stiffened. "N-no, I don't think we have."

He wondered, "What's with this guilty conscience?"

"Then how did you know who I was the moment we met?" Jiang Yubai narrowed his eyes. "Also, I never mentioned my name, did I?"

Even if he and Lin Tingwan were classmates, there was no reason for Lin Jianxia, who had never met him before, to recognize him at first glance.

Lin Jianxia opened her mouth, but then suddenly lowered her head. She pressed her lips tightly together, refusing to say another word.

Seeing that she planned to stay silent to the bitter end, Jiang Yubai shrugged indifferently. "Not gonna say? That's fine too. Just pay the rent today, and we're good."

"You—!" The girl in front of him snapped her head up. "Didn't we agree there was only one condition?!"

"I changed my mind." Jiang Yubai took a sip of tea and frowned.

He thought, "Damn, this tea tastes awful."

He waited a few seconds but heard no response. When he looked up again, he saw Lin Jianxia still glaring at him through gritted teeth, looking like a cat that had its tail stepped on but didn't dare unsheathe its claws.

"What's so secretive about this..." Jiang Yubai was somewhat speechless. "Forget it, then—"

The words were on the tip of his tongue when an amusing idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

He thought, "You're the one who ruined my good reputation first..."

He paused and deliberately dragged out his words, "Then... if you don't want to say it, that's fine too. I'll change my condition."

Seeing that he actually wasn't going to get to the bottom of it, Lin Jianxia visibly let out a sigh of relief. "Tell me."

But Jiang Yubai across from her unhurriedly looked her up and down, his tone as leisurely as if they were discussing the weather.

"I've been planning to rent a place recently, and I happen to be short of someone who can help tidy things up.

"Since you can't pay the rent right now...

"Then how about this, you can be my maid for a while and pay off your debt with manual labor," he said, his eyes curving into a slight smile.