Chapter 8: Deskmate, You Wouldn't Want...

As soon as the thought emerged, Jiang Yubai's first reaction was that it was impossible. He wondered, "No way, right? What would be the point of pretending to be her own sister to come to school?" He instinctively wanted to deny the guess, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Whether it held up logically or not, theoretically speaking, since they were identical twins, it would indeed be very difficult for anyone but a very close and familiar person to tell them apart. Furthermore, considering the younger sister's physical condition, pretending to be the older sister was almost impossible; her aphasia made her completely unable to speak. But conversely, if the older sister wanted to disguise herself as the younger one, wouldn't she just need to keep her mouth shut tight?

Moreover, it also explained why Lin Jianxia was able to call out his name the moment they met yesterday. After all, she was the one who had been in the same class with him for over two years. It would have been weird if she couldn't name him. However, a guess was still just a guess. To figure out the truth, he had to find a way to verify it.

He wondered, "How should I verify this?" After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yubai decided to test the waters again.

He grabbed the scratchpad, picked up a gel pen, and, SCRATCH-SCRATCH, wrote down a few lines.

"I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking just now, and my attitude yesterday wasn't good either. Please apologize to your sister for me."

He thought, "Yes, this is a strategic apology." Comforting himself with this rationalization, he gently pushed the notebook between their desks. But 'Lin Tingwan' remained motionless, staring at her textbook as if she hadn't noticed the open scratchpad at all.

He thought, "She's genuinely angry." Jiang Yubai observed his deskmate out of the corner of his eye and suddenly realized something very serious. If the person in front of him really was Lin Jianxia, didn't he just ask her to her face if she had persecution paranoia?

GASP. Jiang Yubai's heart skipped a beat.

After some thought, he took a pack of Dr. Bear gummies he had bought that morning out of his bag, placed it gently on the scratchpad, and nudged it over. This time, the girl beside him finally reacted. She glanced at the brightly packaged gummies, pursed her lips, and reached out to pick up the scratchpad pinned underneath first. After reading the words, 'Lin Tingwan' shot a glance at Jiang Yubai beside her. Jiang Yubai returned an awkward yet polite smile.

Whatever she was thinking, the tight corners of the girl's mouth relaxed slightly. She finally picked up the strawberry-flavored gummy, then took her pen and, SCRATCH-SCRATCH, wrote down a few words on the pad before sliding it back. Jiang Yubai breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He thought, "Thank goodness, as long as it works." His biggest fear was that this 'Lin Tingwan' would completely activate block mode—ignoring his notes and giving him the cold shoulder. If she did that, he truly would be out of options. Since she replied, there was still room for conversation.

Jiang Yubai took back the scratchpad and looked down.

"Um, it's fine. I won't tell my sister what you just said."

He thought, "Ha, of course you won't tell your 'sister'... after all, Lin Jianxia already knows." While mocking her internally, Jiang Yubai carefully compared the handwriting on the pad—it was almost identical to the writing in that little notebook from yesterday. He wondered, "Can twins really have such similar handwriting? Could I have guessed wrong?" Suddenly, he felt a bit uncertain.

Just as he was muttering in his heart, a faint RUSTLE of foil being torn came from beside him. Jiang Yubai paused and instinctively turned to look. He saw 'Lin Tingwan' frozen in place, holding the strawberry gummy, just about to pop it into her mouth. Seeing him look over, SWISH, the girl shoved the candy into her mouth, her ears turning visibly red.

Jiang Yubai turned his head back expressionlessly, pretending he hadn't seen anything. He was genuinely afraid that if he looked for another second, he would burst out laughing. He really began to doubt his previous judgment. He thought, "It's hard to imagine that this creature beside me, who blushes just from eating a gummy, could actually be the hedgehog-like Lin Jianxia from yesterday..."

After some thought, Jiang Yubai suddenly came up with a plan. He picked up his pen and wrote:

"By the way, why is your sister so hostile toward me? She said she heard it all from you, that I'm stringing along Zhao Yun and Li Qiuyue at the same time, two-timing them... Where did you hear such rumors?"

Looking at the words on the paper, Jiang Yubai narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. When Lin Jianxia said that yesterday, he knew she was definitely lying. Setting aside her silly attempt to play him for a fool by immediately changing her tune after slipping up, there was no trace in Lin Tingwan's attitude yesterday that she thought he was a scumbag. Moreover, given how fiercely Lin Jianxia protected her younger sister, how could she easily throw her sister's name under the bus?

That left only one possibility—the rumor was most likely something Lin Jianxia had heard herself. When questioned, she couldn't keep her lie straight and used her sister as a shield in a moment of desperation. If his new deskmate was truly Lin Tingwan, she would only look confused upon seeing these words. But if it was Lin Jianxia in disguise...

Thinking of this, Jiang Yubai picked up the scratchpad and gently pushed it across the desk. At the same time, he kept a close eye on his new deskmate's reaction out of the corner of his eye. He saw her body stiffen imperceptibly when she read the contents. After a moment of hesitation, she lowered her head, wrote something, and handed the pad back.

Jiang Yubai formed a conclusion in his mind. He took the scratchpad, flipped it open, and was instantly amused.

"Um... Those were rumors I heard from elsewhere. I've already explained to my sister that they aren't true."

He thought, "Hahaha! Oh, Lin Jianxia, do you know what it means to make things worse by trying to cover them up?" Looking at her slightly guilty reaction, coupled with this explanation that was clearly meant to gloss over the matter, Jiang Yubai was now almost certain. Nine times out of ten, this silent 'new deskmate' was the older sister from yesterday, Lin Jianxia.

He thought, "No wonder. I knew it. Lin Tingwan's attitude toward me was perfectly normal yesterday. Why would she treat me like an enemy when we met again today? It turns out it was the same person all along! Fine, fine, fine. It wasn't enough to treat me like a playboy yesterday, so you're pretending to be your younger sister today, huh? Now you've fallen right into my hands."

This also explained the apology at the beginning—Lin Jianxia probably didn't mean it sincerely, especially since he had just played a trick on her before she left yesterday. She was just afraid that he might get angry and demand rent from the sisters again. Since that was the case...

A mischievous idea quietly sprouted in Jiang Yubai's mind. He thought, "My dear deskmate, you wouldn't want you and your sister to be kicked out just because you offended your landlord, right?" He tried hard to suppress the rising corners of his mouth and wrote a few strokes on the scratchpad.

"By the way, what does your sister like to do normally? I feel like she's quite interesting."