What Do You Mean, You're Craving My Cooking?!

Lin Jianxia stared at the tightly shut door next door for a while, bit her lower lip, and finally looked away.

She took out her key, turned around, and entered her own apartment.

Out of habit, Lin Jianxia switched on the living room light. The moment she turned around, she froze slightly.

Lin Tingwan, who would normally be in her room at this hour, was actually sitting at the dining table, staring at her without blinking.

"Wanwan?" Lin Jianxia's heart tightened as she hurried over. "What's wrong?"

Lin Tingwan shook her head, wrote something in her spiral notebook, and showed it to her sister:

"Rent?"

So she was worried about that...

Lin Jianxia let out a sigh of relief and patted her little sister's head, her tone casual.

"It's fine. Jiang Yubai took me to get my wages back. You should've seen the landlady's face—she was absolutely furious."

Hearing that, Lin Tingwan blinked and wrote something else in her notebook.

This time, her strokes were noticeably slower, so serious that Lin Jianxia grew curious.

A moment later, she raised the notebook. Written neatly on it were the words:

"Jiang Yubai is a good person."

Lin Jianxia: "..."

Looking at this good-person assessment for the third time, she could not help feeling a little annoyed.

Jiang Yubai had indeed helped them a great deal, but—

He was practically about to trick your sister into becoming his maid, and you're still handing him a good-person card!

Still...

"Wanwan," Lin Jianxia frowned, "tell your sister the truth. Did Jiang Yubai really never talk to you?"

Lin Tingwan shook her head and gave exactly the same answer as before.

That! Bastard!

They had never even talked, so how exactly had he managed to fool her Wanwan into being like this?!

Grumbling inwardly, Lin Jianxia set the little cake she was carrying on the table and instructed her, "Here, Wanwan. Have some cake to tide you over first. I'm going to take a shower, and once I'm out, I'll heat up the food and we can eat."

Lin Tingwan nodded obediently, picked up the little cake, and returned to her room.

Only after watching her sister close the door did Lin Jianxia turn and walk into the bathroom.

She had chosen this place precisely because, though it was small, it came with its own separate kitchen and bathroom.

After all, both sisters liked things clean. If they had to share with others, they would inevitably end up with cooking fumes or unfamiliar smells on them, which they simply could not accept.

Warm water streamed down, washing away the stickiness and exhaustion that had built up beneath the midsummer sun.

Lin Jianxia narrowed her eyes in comfort, letting the warmth envelop her body.

Sure enough... taking a shower was still the most comfortable thing...

In the tiny bathroom, water pattered softly alongside her quiet singing.

"The summer wind blew warm and gently, clearly telling me that you love me~"

"I saw that even your cool smile had its shy moments~"

As she hummed, she scooped up a handful of warm water and watched it slip through her fingers.

For no reason at all, that irritating smiling face drifted into her mind again.

"..."

She had clearly already refused him... yet after that bastard said those things, she had somehow nodded as if possessed.

Even now, thinking back on it left her feeling dazed.

She... had actually agreed to be his maid...

Jiang Yubai had sounded so sincere, saying things like, "It's just helping tidy up the room and cook," and, "I absolutely don't mean anything else."

It had sounded perfectly proper at the time, but now that she thought about it...

Wasn't that exactly the kind of thing scumbags said to trick young girls?!

She had read this kind of thing countless times in novels. How had she still fallen for this guy's tricks?!

What did he mean, he was craving my cooking? What he was really craving was probably—

Lin Jianxia lightly bit her lower lip, refusing to let that thought fully surface.

Yet the vague, restless feeling in her heart quietly spread with the warmth of the water, tinting even the tips of her ears red.

Why did the water seem hotter today...

She reached out and lowered the temperature, but her thoughts drifted elsewhere beyond her control.

Still, Jiang Yubai was right about one thing.

The "workplace" was only a few steps away from home. It could not have been more convenient.

And her sister would no longer have to wait at home hungry for her to come back and cook, while she herself would not have to worry about something happening to Wanwan while she was alone...

The pay was good, the work was easy, it would not interfere with school, and it even included three meals a day. No matter how she looked at it, the job was practically perfect.

...Aside from the possibility that a certain boss might teasingly harass her out of spite.

No, no. She could not think about this anymore.

Lin Jianxia hurriedly turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, and carefully dried every drop of water from her body.

Amid the rising steam, the mirror gradually cleared, reflecting a slim, graceful waist, soft and lovely curves rolling like spring hills, and a pair of straight, slender legs.

Looking at herself in the mirror, the girl gently pressed her lips together.

...She was... still fairly pretty, right?

No wonder that guy...

The tips of her ears silently grew hot. She quickly raised a hand and patted her cheeks, then put on her clean clothes piece by piece before finally opening the door and leaving the bathroom.

The food Jiang Yubai had sent over at noon had been rather abundant. Although the two of them had eaten quite a bit earlier, nearly half of it remained.

Perfect. Once it was reheated, it would make a ready-made dinner.

After dinner, Lin Jianxia was about to get up and clear the dishes when she suddenly felt someone gently tug at the corner of her clothes.

"What is it?"

She looked up in confusion, only to meet the little notebook Lin Tingwan was holding out to her.

"Big Sister, I'm going to school on Monday, right?"

The instant she read those words, Lin Jianxia's body stiffened.

Only then did she realize that she seemed to have overlooked an extremely important issue.

She had originally promised to let her sister go to school next week because she had planned to pay the rent this weekend and then completely cut ties with Jiang Yubai.

But... things had not gone at all as she had expected.

Not only had she failed to warn Jiang Yubai with confidence, "Don't harass my sister at school," she had instead been dragged along by him in disgrace to get her wages back.

And that bastard was even going to become her mas—ptui, boss!

If Wanwan went to school now, wouldn't there definitely be a huge problem?

Jiang Yubai... would one hundred percent pass Wanwan little notes again!

And with her sister's inexplicable attitude toward him, wouldn't everything be exposed sooner or later?!

At that thought, Lin Jianxia's vision went dark.

Perhaps sensing that her sister's expression was off, Lin Tingwan tilted her head, a trace of confusion flashing through her eyes.

She pulled back the notebook and added another line beneath it:

"Can't I go?"

Seeing the expectant look in her sister's eyes, Lin Jianxia opened her mouth, but in the end, she could not bring herself to refuse.

"Well... go on Tuesday instead." She forced out a smile. "Big Sister still has something to take care of on Monday. Wanwan can go to school on Tuesday, okay?"

Only after hearing that did Lin Tingwan contentedly put away her notebook.

Lin Jianxia smiled and ruffled her hair before turning to clear the dishes.

The moment her back was turned, her little face crumpled.

Rather than getting caught red-handed, it would be better to confess on her own initiative.

And since Wanwan was going to school on Tuesday, that meant the matter of her using her sister's identity...

Probably, maybe, most likely...

Had to be confessed to Jiang Yubai on Monday...

She was doomed.