Since She Was a Maid, Naturally She Had to Wear a Maid Outfit

Saturday morning.

Jiang Yubai got up unusually early, packed up everything he needed to bring one item at a time, and ended up with two large suitcases.

There was not really that much stuff—just clothes and daily necessities. But once all the odds and ends were added together, they somehow filled two whole suitcases.

After making sure all the appliances in the house were turned off, Jiang Yubai carried his two suitcases downstairs and got into the car he had called in advance.

He gave the detached villa behind him one last glance, then decisively turned away.

"Driver, let's go."

He had absolutely no attachment to this place.

After all, even his own mother could not stand this scenic—read: godforsaken—location and had gone traveling with her friends. Naturally, he would run the moment he could.

By the time Jiang Yubai dragged his two huge suitcases through the gates of Splendid New Village with some difficulty, he immediately spotted Lin Jianxia waiting by the entrance to the building.

"Wait, why are you here?" he asked curiously. "Don't tell me you came down specifically to wait for me?"

Lin Jianxia met his gaze, then quickly looked away and curled her lips.

"What else? Were you planning to carry those two suitcases up to the fifth floor by yourself? We don't have an elevator here."

Jiang Yubai blinked, suddenly let go of his suitcase, and leaned in on her right. Lin Jianxia swiftly turned her head to the left.

He moved over to her left side, and Lin Jianxia immediately turned to the right again.

After going back and forth several times, Lin Jianxia finally exploded. Her ears were bright red as she glared at him.

"Jiang Yubai! Are you moving or not?!"

Her blushing obviously was not because Lin Jianxia had any strange feelings for him. Nor was she the type to get so shy after helping him carry something that she could not even meet his eyes.

Then... there was only one answer left.

At that thought, Jiang Yubai stroked his chin and spoke with amused understanding.

"Come on, Lin Jianxia. I only took a look at your novel. Was that really necessary?"

At those words, Lin Jianxia's ears turned even redder.

She took a deep breath, strode forward, snatched one of his suitcases away, and headed into the building without looking back.

"Hey, wait—" Jiang Yubai hurried after her. "That one's pretty heavy. Slow down!"

By the time Jiang Yubai dragged his own suitcase up to the fifth-floor landing, he turned back to find Lin Jianxia still hauling the other case upward, struggling as she moved it step by step.

He quickly went back down, took the suitcase from her, and carried it all the way up in one go.

Lin Jianxia leaned against the wall and panted lightly, fine sweat beading on her forehead. She clearly did not even have the strength to speak.

The suitcase really was not light. Even he found it somewhat heavy, let alone someone as small as Lin Jianxia.

"You could've waited until I came up first," Jiang Yubai said helplessly. "Why force yourself?"

Lin Jianxia took a few more deep breaths before raising her head to glare at him. "I came over out of the goodness of my heart to help you move your luggage, and not only are you not thanking me, you're even calling me that?"

"...My mistake."

Jiang Yubai raised his hands in surrender. Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he took a red envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Here. This is for you."

Lin Jianxia looked at the red envelope and immediately became wary. "Why are you giving me a red envelope?"

"A starting-work bonus. Didn't I say your pay started today?" Jiang Yubai shrugged. "Do you want it? If not, I'm taking it back."

Hearing that, Lin Jianxia hesitated for a moment before reaching out to accept the red envelope.

"...Thank you."

"Whaaat?" Jiang Yubai cupped a hand around his ear, his tone unbearably smug. "I caaan't heaar youuu."

Lin Jianxia narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"THAAANK YOOOU!!!"

Jiang Yubai: "..."

He felt like he might have gone deaf.

"What happened? What's going on?!"

Hurried footsteps came from upstairs. Landlady Li had just come down the stairs when she looked up and saw Jiang Yubai covering his ears with a complicated expression, along with Lin Jianxia standing stiffly off to the side.

She gave an "Oh," then turned around and went back upstairs.

Lin Jianxia did not even dare think about how much meaning was hidden in that "oh." Dragging both suitcases, she hurried toward the room without looking back, her ears burning red.

Jiang Yubai rubbed at his ears and followed after her with an amused smile.

Stopping in front of the door, Lin Jianxia turned around expressionlessly.

"The key."

Jiang Yubai dug a key out of his wallet and handed it to her.

After opening the door, Lin Jianxia carried the suitcase into the room. Her eyes swept around the interior, and she could not help letting out a soft "Wow."

She had come to take a look before the place was repainted. It had been spacious then, but it was undeniably an old house. Compared to how it looked now, it was practically a different home.

"Looks good, right?" Jiang Yubai shrugged. "The walls were repainted, and most of the furniture was replaced too."

He set down the suitcase and motioned for Lin Jianxia to follow him.

"Come on, look over here."

As he spoke, he pushed open the kitchen door, and a hint of pride finally entered his voice.

"I specifically gave instructions for the kitchen. Look—a new range hood, a full set of kitchenware, and this big refrigerator. They're all for you."

Lin Jianxia looked at the brand-new kitchen in surprise. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and lightly touched the smooth countertop.

A full set of new knives of every size hung on the wall. The cabinets were stocked with pots, bowls, ladles, rice, oil, salt, and all kinds of seasonings, all still bearing their labels.

Honestly, as someone who genuinely loved cooking, it was difficult for Lin Jianxia not to be tempted.

As for the kitchen in her own place... calling it a kitchen would be generous. It was more like a small compartment with a gas stove, without even a range hood.

"Is anything missing? I can have Landlady Li get it for you," Jiang Yubai asked.

Lin Jianxia came back to herself. "No, nothing's missing... It's very nice."

Rather than nothing being missing, there was actually too much. She did not even know what some of the knives were for.

"It's very nice, huh? All right." Jiang Yubai nodded, picked up a broom from outside the door, and placed it in her hands. "Here. Time for the little maid to start working."

"..."

Lin Jianxia lowered her head and looked at the broom in her hand. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke in a faint voice.

"A maid is a maid. Why did you have to add 'little'?"

Jiang Yubai picked up a mop for himself, weighed it in his hand, and shrugged.

"Don't you think adding 'little' makes it cute? Like, 'you pig' is an insult, but 'you little pig' sounds kind of cute."

He suddenly grinned. "For example... little Jianxia?"

"If you call me that again, I'll shove this broom into your mouth!" Lin Jianxia instantly bristled.

"All right, all right—" Jiang Yubai readily gave in. "Then, Lady Maid, let's get to work."

Although the place had been repainted, Landlady Li had already hired someone to give it a basic cleaning, so it was not especially dirty.

Lin Jianxia swept while Jiang Yubai mopped. Working together, they thoroughly cleaned the house in no time.

After tossing the mop into the bathroom, Jiang Yubai checked the time and clapped his hands.

"Okay, we've still got some time before lunch. Let's go shopping—buy some clothes, stock up on groceries, that kind of thing."

"Buy clothes?" Lin Jianxia blinked from beside him. "What clothes?"

"What else would we buy?"

Jiang Yubai paused and gave her a strange look.

"Since you're a maid... naturally you have to wear a maid outfit."