Did He... Run Off Because I Cried? (Two-in-One)

"Jiang Yubai, you bastard!"

Lin Jianxia's eyes instantly turned red.

Yesterday, she'd been bullied by the bookstore owner, and the tiny amount of wages she'd been given wasn't even enough to cover the rent;

then after going home and barely sleeping all night, she'd finally managed to pull herself together and make a meal, only for Jiang Yubai to walk in and devour every last bit of it.

He hadn't left either of them a single bite!

And he'd even praised it for being delicious!!

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She glared at Jiang Yubai as tears pattered down her face.

Jiang Yubai had never seen anything like this before. He flailed in panic, trying to comfort her. "Hey, hey, hey, don't cry."

"I know I was wrong. I should've left some for you..."

It would've been better if he hadn't tried to comfort her. The moment he did, Lin Jianxia bit her lower lip tightly, and her tears fell even harder.

Jiang Yubai opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.

It was obvious that something was seriously wrong with her, yet he still couldn't control his mouth and had eaten all the lunch the two sisters had made.

But he'd already eaten it all, so he couldn't exactly...

After thinking for a moment, he stood up and tossed out, "I'm heading out. I'll be right back," before turning toward the door.

Lin Jianxia was stunned by Jiang Yubai's sudden action. She even forgot to cry as she watched him leave quickly without looking back, his footsteps gradually fading down the hallway.

He... hadn't run off because she cried, had he?

What about the rent... Was he still going to collect the rent?

She wanted to get up and make another lunch for herself and her sister, but her mind was a mess, and her body felt as heavy as lead.

The exhaustion from barely sleeping all night, mixed with the emptiness after her emotions had just collapsed, washed over her all at once, leaving her without even the strength to lift a finger.

...She should rest for a bit.

Just a little.

Drowsily thinking that, she rested her head on her folded arms and slowly closed her eyes.

In the haze, Lin Jianxia was awakened by an enticing fragrance.

She opened her eyes in confusion. As her vision slowly came into focus, she saw that a steaming clay pot had somehow appeared on the small dining table in front of her.

The lid was slightly ajar, and the rich aroma of chicken soup drifted out in wisps.

Jiang Yubai stood beside the table, taking items out of a takeout bag one by one: salt-and-pepper chicken wings, sweet-and-sour ribs, and a large bowl of milky white fish head tofu soup.

The sight was so surreal to the just-awakened Lin Jianxia that she briefly wondered whether she was still dreaming.

"You're awake?" Jiang Yubai noticed the movement and shrugged. "Here. I ate one of your meals, so I bought you some stuff as compensation."

"Oh, right. I got some groceries too. Take a look and see where you want to put them."

Lin Jianxia froze, then followed his gaze downward. Three large bags of ingredients were neatly stacked beside the table leg.

Tomatoes, potatoes, green vegetables, lean pork belly wrapped in plastic wrap, a box of fresh mushrooms, even a bag of vacuum-packed frozen shrimp and two packets of hotpot soup base.

There was already so much visible from the tops of the bags alone. One could only imagine how much those three bulging bags contained. It was probably enough to feed the sisters for half a month.

"These... were all bought by you?" Lin Jianxia asked hesitantly.

"If I didn't buy them..." Jiang Yubai turned and rolled his eyes at her. "Did they grow out of the ground and line up to walk to your doorstep on their own?"

Hearing that, Lin Jianxia unconsciously bit her lower lip.

She looked at the lavish, still-steaming dishes on the table, then glanced at the three very real bags of ingredients by the table leg. For some reason, she seemed a little at a loss.

After arranging the dishes, Jiang Yubai looked around and asked curiously, "By the way, where's your sister? Call her out to eat with us."

Lin Jianxia looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked toward the tightly shut door inside.

In the room, Lin Tingwan sat quietly at her desk. Hearing the door open, her vacant eyes gradually focused.

Her gaze lingered carefully on Lin Jianxia's face for a moment before she lowered her head and wrote something in her spiral notebook.

Very soon, she turned the notebook around toward Lin Jianxia.

"Is Sister okay?"

There was a rare hint of concern between the words.

Lin Jianxia's heart warmed, but she also felt a touch of bitterness.

She walked over to her sister, rubbed her hair, and did her best to make her voice sound lighter.

"It's nothing serious. Jiang Yubai... brought us lunch. Come out and eat with Sister, okay?"

Upon hearing the name "Jiang Yubai," Lin Tingwan tilted her head and wrote again:

"Didn't Sister say we shouldn't go out?"

That was before.

Lin Jianxia sighed silently to herself.

She'd originally planned it all out quite well. Once she paid the money, she would draw a clean line between them. From then on, they would go their separate ways and avoid having anything to do with each other.

But who could have expected...

Her gaze seemed to pass through the door and see the steaming dishes on the table outside, as well as the several large bags of generously portioned ingredients.

Suppressing the complicated emotions in her heart, Lin Jianxia merely bent down and gently instructed her sister.

"Wanwan, we're just going out to eat. Just eat your food. You don't need to talk to him. If anything comes up, Sister will talk to him, okay?"

After all, she had been using her sister's name every day. If Jiang Yubai started talking with Wanwan and her sister said something like, "Tingwan doesn't know," everything would be exposed.

Lin Tingwan nodded, seeming to understand only vaguely.

Seeing her sister agree, Lin Jianxia let out a small sigh of relief before leading her out the door.

Even when the twin sisters stood side by side before him, Jiang Yubai still felt slightly dazed.

He looked left, then right, his gaze traveling back and forth between their two nearly identical, delicate faces.

It was truly incredible.

They wore matching light-colored loungewear. Their brows, eyes, noses, and lips seemed molded from the same cast, yet on closer inspection, their temperaments were entirely different.

One had bright eyes with a touch of stubbornness and guardedness in them; the other's gaze was calm, like a lake veiled in mist, somewhat distant from everything around her.

"Have you looked enough?"

Lin Jianxia felt uncomfortable beneath his gaze and asked expressionlessly.

"Not yet."

Jiang Yubai answered without the slightest shame, completely justified.

He really hadn't seen enough.

The sisters were both stunning beauties to begin with. Each was a feast for the eyes alone, but standing side by side now, they were like twin lotus flowers blooming from the same stem, complementing one another. The combined beauty of it made his heart beat a little faster.

Of course, he was simply appreciating beauty. He definitely had no other intentions.

Lin Jianxia had clearly underestimated how thick-skinned he was. His blunt answer left her speechless for a moment.

She shot the shameless brat an annoyed glare, then simply ignored him, picked up the ingredients by her feet, and headed for the kitchen.

Pah, shameless!

Jiang Yubai watched Lin Jianxia's sulky retreating figure with a hint of regret. Just as he withdrew his gaze, a familiar-looking spiral notebook was held out before him.

"Hello, Jiang Yubai!"

He looked up and met another pair of clear eyes.

The girl holding the notebook had a clean gaze with a barely noticeable trace of curiosity. Her eyes sparkled like black pebbles submerged in a stream.

For some reason, Jiang Yubai's heart suddenly stalled, as though it had missed a beat.

"Hello, hello..."

He instinctively looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling as if his face was a little hot.

But immediately afterward, he silently cursed himself for being so pathetic. Steadying himself, he prepared to speak. "Um, Lin..."

"Jiang! Yu! Bai!"

Before he could finish, Lin Jianxia rushed out of the kitchen in quick strides, glaring at him furiously.

"You are not allowed to harass my sister!"

"What do you mean, harass..."

Jiang Yubai's mouth twitched. He instinctively looked toward Lin Tingwan, only to discover that the girl had lowered her eyes at some point and was quietly taking small bites of rice.

...Huh?

"Lin Tingwan?"

With some confusion, Jiang Yubai called out tentatively.

But Lin Tingwan continued eating quietly, giving no response whatsoever to his call.

Instead, Lin Jianxia frowned and stood protectively in front of her sister, her face full of vigilance.

Blinking, Jiang Yubai immediately understood.

Oh... So her sister had explicitly forbidden her from speaking to him?

Then just now...

A mischievous thought rose in Jiang Yubai's heart, and he deliberately said in dissatisfaction, "Hey, Lin Jianxia, your sister and I are desk mates. We have plenty of fun chats at school. Now we can't even say a few words?"

Hearing that, Lin Tingwan, who had been silently eating with her head lowered, paused. She slightly raised her eyes and looked at her sister.

Meanwhile, Lin Jianxia's body stiffened.

She forced herself to remain calm, but her gaze darted away involuntarily, and her voice began to stammer. "I-I didn't... I'm just afraid you... afraid you'll say something thoughtless and scare Wanwan."

Seeing how guilty she looked, Jiang Yubai kept a straight face, though inside his stomach was aching from how hard he wanted to laugh. It took all his effort not to break character.

He put on a displeased expression. "Fine. Then I'll talk to her back at school when you aren't around. That works, right?"

"Th-That's more like it."

Lin Jianxia nodded reluctantly, secretly letting out a breath of relief.

She didn't dare say anything more. She hurriedly pulled out a chair, sat down, and lowered her head to begin eating this belated lunch.

Her younger sister, Lin Tingwan, continued taking small bites, while Lin Jianxia was initially a little more restrained. But as she ate, she gradually stopped caring about appearances.

Perhaps she truly was starving. Her chopsticks moved quickly, her cheeks stuffed full, as though she intended to swallow down the frustration in her heart along with the food.

Jiang Yubai sat across from them, propping his cheek on one hand as he watched the two with great interest.

Only after Lin Tingwan had quietly lowered her eyes again and Lin Jianxia had nearly finished eating did he finally speak.

"So... what exactly is going on?"

Lin Jianxia was sipping chicken soup in small mouthfuls. At his words, her body stiffened slightly.

Perhaps she had relaxed too much while bantering and bickering with Jiang Yubai earlier, or perhaps the warmth of the chicken soup was simply too comforting. Only now did she suddenly realize—

Their relationship was not simply that of classmates.

The person sitting across from her was the landlord of this apartment, while she was merely a tenant who owed rent and had failed to fulfill her promise.

Lin Jianxia put down her chopsticks and straightened her back.

"Thank you for this meal..." Lin Jianxia pressed her lips together, her voice a little hoarse. "And... for the groceries you bought us."

Jiang Yubai said nothing. He merely raised his brows and continued listening.

He knew the important part was still to come.

Lin Jianxia lowered her head, her fingers twisting together unconsciously. It was clear that what she was about to say was difficult for her to voice.

After a moment of silence, she finally spoke in a raspy voice. "Um... I only have eight hundred yuan on me right now. For the rest... could you... give me a few more days?"

The moment she finished speaking, the tips of her ears reddened slightly with shame.

Even with the three bags of groceries Jiang Yubai had bought, after setting aside money for food, she could only come up with eight hundred yuan at most.

Hearing that, even though Jiang Yubai had been somewhat prepared, he couldn't help asking, "A few more days?"

Beside them, Lin Tingwan looked at Jiang Yubai, then at her sister, concern appearing in her eyes.

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

Jiang Yubai said with a laugh, "Lin, didn't you say the same thing last week?"

After a long silence, Lin Jianxia finally spoke softly. "I understand... My sister and I will move out today..."

"Stop, stop, stop." Jiang Yubai cut her off helplessly. "Why are you in such a rush? I never said I wouldn't agree."

Lin Jianxia froze for several seconds, a faint light appearing in her eyes. "You... agreed?"

"I never said I agreed either." Jiang Yubai shrugged.

Lin Jianxia: "..."

Even in such a difficult situation, she couldn't stop the urge to beat this guy up from rising in her heart.

"Then what exactly do you want?" Lin Jianxia practically gritted out the question.

Jiang Yubai leaned back against his chair and spoke helplessly.

"Even though I'm technically the landlord, I'm only collecting rent for my mom. If you delay it once this month and again next month, it'll be hard to explain on the books."

"We may be classmates, but I can't keep making exceptions for you again and again. You understand that, right?"

Lin Jianxia's face first reddened, then turned pale.

She knew that as the landlord, Jiang Yubai agreeing to postpone the payment previously had already been a favor because they were classmates. Asking again now really was shameless of her.

But then she heard his tone shift.

"So... shouldn't you at least let me understand what's going on first? If my mom asks, I'll have something to tell her."

Lin Jianxia blinked, her voice hesitant. "What... do you want to know?"

"Simple." Jiang Yubai snapped his fingers. "First, didn't you say last week that you could pay it all? Why do you only have eight hundred yuan left this week? Don't tell me... you lost it?"

Lin Jianxia first glanced involuntarily at her sister beside her. Biting her lower lip, she finally spoke.

"Near the end of summer vacation, I found a job as a clerk at Sisyphus Bookstore. The work was to help organize books every day after school, and the pay we agreed on was twelve hundred yuan a month..."

Her voice gradually lowered as she quietly explained what had happened.

"...So when I got paid yesterday, I only received six hundred in the end. Added to the cash I had left, I only have eight hundred total."

As she spoke, a suppressed anger unconsciously surfaced in Lin Jianxia's voice, mixed with a helpless sense of grievance.

She paused, then tried to make her tone sound more resolute. "I'll look for some other odd jobs... I'll definitely make up the rest before the end of the month."

After saying that, Lin Jianxia unconsciously bit her lower lip and looked nervously at Jiang Yubai across from her.

She knew clearly—whether she and her sister could stay or leave now depended entirely on his decision.

Yet after listening, Jiang Yubai did not state his position immediately. He merely rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Wait." A look of interest suddenly appeared on his face. "The name of that bookstore where you worked... what was it again?"