Sister, can I become a maid too?

Chapter 19 He was using all my words!

The moment the word "son" was uttered, the smug look on the proprietress's face froze instantly.

Jiang Yubai held up his phone, his tone helpless: "Yes, Mom, didn't you tell me to come and collect the rent?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot while I was out having fun," the voice on the other end of the phone immediately relaxed. "Well, you handle it then, I'll hang up now."

The landlady couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward, urgently speaking into her phone, "Mr. Qin! We clearly agreed on a monthly rent of five thousand!"

"The previous ones don't count," the voice said lazily. "You can discuss it with my son."

The landlady's face turned pale instantly, and her voice rose: "You're all ganging up on me! The rent isn't going to increase like this! How can I dare to renew the lease?!"

"If you're not going to rent, move out now," the voice on the phone said impatiently. "If you don't want to rent, plenty of others will. You can talk to my son about it. Bye."

Beep, beep, beep—

The busy signal rang out crisply and decisively.

Jiang Yubai shrugged and put the phone back on the counter.

You know what, being a villain is actually kind of fun.

The proprietress across from me turned pale and then flushed, finally managing to force a smile:

"Landlord Jiang... seven thousand in rent is indeed too high. My small business really can't afford it. Could you perhaps..."

Upon seeing this, Jiang Yubai raised an eyebrow and inwardly exclaimed "Whoa!"

Even after he made his stance clear, Boss Zhao still didn't want to break things off completely and was still thinking about discussing it further. It seems this shop is really quite profitable.

And Jiang Yubai's thinking was correct.

Although this is considered the oldest part of the old town, and rents have never gone up, it is still a prime location because it is next to several schools.

Seeing that the proprietress had thrown the question back at him, Jiang Yubai sighed and immediately began to complain:

"Boss Zhao, it's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you. As you've seen, it's been a tough time for us landlords lately."

"Bank interest rates keep rising, and the expenses for shop maintenance are also high. We need money here and there... We really can't keep up with the cash flow."

—What nonsense are you spouting? You're just sitting around collecting rent and now you're complaining?

The landlady cursed inwardly, but still had to force a smile: "We know, we know, landlords have it tough too, we understand."

"But... I discussed five thousand with President Qin before, and he agreed. Raising the rent by two thousand all at once, isn't that a bit too much..."

Jiang Yu waved his hand, looking like he couldn't be bothered to explain to her:

"This is our shop. You've been using it for two years. These bookshelves and cabinets are all new additions, right? The paint on the walls has been scratched in several places."

"I'm not arguing with you about these things, and I'm still willing to continue renting to you, it's just a small rent increase, and you still want to be picky?"

He paused, as if recalling something, and then added:

"Besides, does the contract specify a clear amount? No, so I can raise it however much I want."

"If it really doesn't work out, you should pay your rent from last month right away, and then don't come back. My shop can't accommodate someone as big as you."

Hearing this argument, which was clearly just a way to cause trouble, the proprietress felt a lump in her throat and almost couldn't catch her breath.

But amidst her annoyance, she vaguely felt that the tone of voice sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Without time to think it through, the proprietress took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, saying:

"Landlord Jiang, we have no grudge against each other, why are you targeting me like this... what are you after?"

She really couldn't understand how she had gotten herself into trouble with this unreasonable big shot.

Who collects rent like this? Aren't they afraid of alienating their tenants and driving them away?!

"What's the point?"

Jiang Yu chuckled, but didn't answer directly.

He turned his head and caught a glimpse of a furtive little head peeking out from outside the door.

The moment their eyes met, the head darted back in a flash.

"Stop hiding," Jiang Yubai said with amusement, "Come in quickly."

A few seconds later, a figure peeked out from the doorway and hesitantly walked inside.

Following Jiang Yubai's gaze, the proprietress finally saw the figure in front of her and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, Kobayashi..." She forced a very unnatural smile, her voice dry and strained, "Haven't seen you all day, are you... are you alright?"

The awkwardness and reluctance in his tone were almost overflowing.

She now completely understood why the words she had just heard felt so familiar...

These are all her lyrics!

Lin Jianxia lowered her head and moved to Jiang Yubai's side, pursing her lips, unsure of what to say.

Even a day later, when they met again, she could still clearly recall the boss's domineering manner the night before, as well as the lingering sense of grievance in her heart.

"Hey," Jiang Yubai said irritably, "what's with this 'I'm sorry, I'm just a pushover' act?"

Despite her chaotic thoughts, Lin Jianxia couldn't help but raise her head and glare at him upon hearing these words.

What does it mean to be a doormat?

Seeing this, how could Boss Zhao not understand why he was being targeted at every turn today?

She quickly said, "It was my fault, it was my fault."

Jiang Yubai shifted her gaze, raising an eyebrow: "Where did you go wrong?"

The proprietress: "..."

She took a deep breath and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace:

"I shouldn't have deliberately made excuses to deduct her salary just because Kobayashi is young and shy."

Lin Jianxia abruptly raised her head, biting her lower lip stubbornly, and said, "The crease in the page was there when it was delivered, and I didn't secretly take the book!"

You could tell he'd been holding these words in for a long time; his voice was trembling.

The proprietress didn't dare say anything more and could only nod: "I definitely didn't take it. I know what happened. I said that on purpose."

Jiang Yubai glanced at Lin Jianxia, ​​who seemed slightly relaxed, and his tone softened as well:

"Okay, Mr. Zhao, if you're more sincere, the rent isn't entirely unnecessarily negotiable."

The proprietress immediately understood and turned around to count out six more hundred-yuan bills from the cash register and handed them to Lin Jianxia:

"Come here, Xiaolin, this is the salary I owe you yesterday. Please keep it."

Lin Jianxia looked at the money in her hand, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

The proprietress opened her mouth, then cast a hopeful glance at Jiang Yubai.

"Why are you looking at me? Look at her," Jiang Yubai said, shrugging with his arms crossed. "If she doesn't accept, the rent is seven thousand. If she does accept, then we can talk about it again."

The proprietress steeled herself, pulled out five more banknotes, and stuffed them into Lin Jianxia's arms, her tone even carrying a hint of pleading:

"Consider this a reward for your hard work. You come here after school every day and spend several hours organizing books. It's really too little for me to give you only six hundred yuan. Aunt Zhao is wrong."

"Xiaolin, please talk to your friend and... let me go this time."