Little maid, what are you planning to offer in exchange?

The bell had just rung and Jiang Yubai had just stuffed his workbook into his bag when he felt a gaze fixed on him.

He turned his head and saw that Lin Jianxia had already packed her things and was staring at him intently.

This silent urging made Jiang Yubai's lips twitch.

He quickly packed his things, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and said helplessly:

"Okay, okay, let's go."

At the end of the school term, crowds of students poured out of the school gate.

Jiang Yubai and Lin Jianxia walked side by side in the crowd, moving forward with the flow of people.

Many of Lin Jianxia's classmates knew her, but many were seeing her walking side by side with a boy for the first time.

More and more eyes were cast at us along the way, a mixture of curiosity and scrutiny.

Lin Jianxia was already used to this kind of attention, and her face remained expressionless as she quietly walked beside Jiang Yubai.

Jiang Yubai felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, and subconsciously wanted to create some distance, but then felt that doing so would only make him seem more deliberate.

But... I couldn't help feeling a little smug inside.

It's like you're with an adorable girl, and the whole world is looking on with envy.

Only after turning into a sparsely populated old street, where no more figures in school uniforms could be seen on either side, did Jiang Yubai turn his head and speak:

"Alright, you can talk now, right? What are your plans?"

Lin Jianxia glanced at him, but remained silent, her lips pursed.

Jiang Yubai sighed helplessly:

"There's really no one here. Nobody knows if you're Lin Jianxia or Lin Tingwan."

To be honest, in his opinion, the fact that "Lin Tingwan can talk" is far less impactful than the fact that "Lin Tingwan walks home with a boy after school".

Ke Lin Jianxia remained silent, her lips pressed into a thin line, seemingly not intending to speak until they returned to the residential area.

Jiang Yu clicked her tongue and stopped asking questions. She simply hummed a tuneless melody and let the evening breeze pass between them.

As the autumnal equinox approaches, the temperature still retains the warmth of summer, but the plane trees along the roadside have already begun to shed their leaves.

As the evening sun slanted down, it bathed the entire street in a gentle and tranquil golden light.

As they walked, Jiang Yubai glanced sideways at the girl beside him. Her high ponytail rose and fell with her movements, tracing beautiful curves.

He suddenly felt... this wasn't so bad either.

Just then, Lin Jianxia suddenly looked up warily, meeting his gaze.

Caught red-handed peeking, Jiang Yubai calmly reached out and gently patted her shoulder:

A leaf fell on your clothes.

Lin Jianxia was taken aback and looked down—but the entire path was already covered with fallen leaves, and it was impossible to tell which leaf it was.

When she looked up again, Jiang Yubai was already walking ahead, humming a song, as if nothing had happened.

Walking leisurely like this, it took less than ten minutes to reach the entrance of Jinxiu New Village.

Although it wasn't sunset yet, the vendors around had already set up their stalls, and the aroma of fried pancakes mixed with the cumin scent of barbecue wafted into the air.

As soon as he turned the corner, Jiang Yubai couldn't move.

He gazed at the brightly lit food stalls stretching to the horizon and murmured:

"This is simply heaven..."

Lin Jianxia, ​​standing to the side, noticed his expression and a hint of smugness flashed in her eyes.

—Hmph, you idiot who's never tasted anything good before~

Just as she was secretly feeling smug, she saw Jiang Yubai dart out and excitedly stop in front of a barbecue stall.

Lin Jianxia's face stiffened, and her little face slowly turned bitter.

...Oh right, other people can just buy whatever they want to eat, unlike me, who had to go upstairs clutching my stomach in misery.

Feeling utterly exhausted, she took a step forward and stood beside Jiang Yubai.

And this one had already begun the Khan's large-scale mobilization of troops:

"Auntie, three skewers of chicken wings, three skewers of shiitake mushrooms, and... um, let me see."

Lin Jianxia had only intended to wait for him, but upon hearing the number, she immediately felt somewhat embarrassed and spoke in a low voice:

"Wanwan and I don't want to..."

"Working lunch, working lunch," Jiang Yubai ignored her and continued, "Three skewers of lamb, three skewers of enoki mushrooms, chives..."

He glanced at Lin Jianxia beside him and changed his words:

"I'll have one skewer of chives, please."

"Okay~"

The stall owner auntie deftly took the skewers, flipping them as she asked:

"Would you like some chili peppers?"

Jiang Yubai turned his head to look at Lin Jianxia beside him.

She hesitated for a moment, then gently shook her head.

"No spice," Jiang Yubai replied, turning back. "Please hurry up, Auntie."

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Yubai carried the packaged barbecue and went upstairs with light steps.

He had just taken out his keys and entered the house when he turned around and saw that Lin Jianxia was not going to his house, but was following him in.

Jiang Yu blinked, then suddenly slapped his forehead:

"I haven't given you the barbecue yet."

"...It's not about having a barbecue! I'm here to talk to you about the study group!" Lin Jianxia said angrily.

Oh right, the barbecue smelled so good he forgot about it.

Jiang Yubai gave an "oh" and casually said:

"So what are your thoughts? Getting into the top five seems a bit difficult, doesn't it?"

"Um...it would be best to get first place..." Lin Jianxia looked away awkwardly, her voice lowering slightly, "First place gets a scholarship of two thousand..."

Wow, so that's what it was for.

Jiang Yubai suddenly realized.

But then, he couldn't help but complain:

"Fifth place for the Improvement Award is still something I can dream of, but first place... isn't that a bit too far off?"

"That's two thousand yuan! There's always a way..." Lin Jianxia argued, "Unlike you, Young Master Jiang, who has to pay for tuition and living expenses..."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, turned her face away, and abruptly changed the subject:

"On the contrary, you can never have too much money."

"Speaking of which... if you're so short on money, why did you choose a private school in the first place?" Jiang Yubai sighed. "Public schools would probably be much easier."

Private schools have better facilities and more resources, but in return, they have higher tuition and fees, as well as more expensive cafeterias.

Given the situation of these two sisters, attending a public school together seems to be the best option, rather than the current situation where one is in No. 3 Middle School and the other is on leave, requiring them to be switched from time to time.

Upon hearing this, Lin Jianxia suddenly fell silent, her lips turning white.

Jiang Yubai waved his hand upon seeing this:

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. I was just asking casually."

As if finally making up her mind, Lin Jianxia lowered her eyes and her voice became softer:

"It's really nothing..."

"Before... Dad said he could afford to send one of us to a better private school, so Wanwan, whose condition wasn't as serious back then, went to Lin San Middle School, while I went to Lin Wu Middle School."

"But now..."

She shook her head, seemingly unwilling to say more.

"I also considered transferring Wanwan to No. 5 Middle School, but on the one hand, there is indeed a gap in teaching resources, and on the other hand... she is already used to No. 3 Middle School, and a sudden change of environment may have a greater impact on her."

"So this is how it ended up. I dropped out of school at Linwu Middle School and rented a place here with her so I could take care of her and save on tuition fees back home."

Lin Jianxia shook her head, her tone becoming light and cheerful again:

"That's just how it is, we're doing fine now."

At this point, she unconsciously glanced at Jiang Yubai and mumbled something:

"Thank you so much too..."

"But it would be even better if I could get that two thousand dollars!" she added.

Jiang Yubai wanted to say something more, but seeing her like this, he swallowed back the words of comfort he was about to say.

He sighed, his tone helpless:

"Alright, alright, I understand your determination, but..."

"I'll tutor you in math and physics. If you really shine, you might even make it into the top five. But isn't it a bit too unrealistic to expect you to be number one?"

Lin Jianxia gritted her teeth upon hearing this, and said indignantly:

"Hey, why are you only letting me unleash my full power? Aren't your two attacks even worse than mine?"

"What?" Jiang Yubai raised an eyebrow. "You're not planning to tutor me yourself, are you?"

—Just kidding, even your English and Chinese teachers have given up, what can you, little hedgehog, possibly do?

Lin Jianxia straightened her chest and looked up at him:

"Is that not allowed?"

Jiang Yubai looked her up and down, then looked her up and down again.

He took another careful look.

Only when Lin Jianxia became somewhat uncomfortable under his gaze did he clear his throat and force his gaze back onto her face:

"Whether it works or not is another matter, what you mean is—"

"After school, I have to chat with your sister first, then have dinner, then do homework, and then you have to make me study with you?"

Lin Jianxia blinked, and then slowly realized what was happening.

My own arrangement...

It seems, possibly, as if, probably...

Is the burden too heavy?

Before she could even rack her brains for an explanation, she saw Jiang Yubai leisurely recline on the back of the sofa, speaking casually:

"Actually, it's not impossible. I can just work a little harder."

Lin Jianxia's eyes had just lit up when she saw him smirk: "However... my time is very precious."

Jiang Yubai asked slowly and deliberately:

"Little maid, what are you going to offer in exchange?"