Lin Bei had assumed that after her birthday, things between her and Su Chen would be different.

But the next morning, Su Chen got up at seven as usual, went for his run as usual, made breakfast as usual, and placed a cup of low-sugar, no-ice, oat-milk latte on the coffee table as usual.

When Lin Bei came out of her room, she saw the cup of milk tea and froze for a moment.

“Didn’t you sleep well last night?” Su Chen didn’t even look up; he kept scrolling through his phone.

“I slept fine.”

“Then why are you staring at the milk tea?”

“Nothing.” Lin Bei picked up the milk tea and took a sip.

She wanted to ask about yesterday—about that gesture of brushing her hair back, about what it meant, about whether his “You talk too much” was just an excuse to avoid the issue.

But she didn’t ask. Because she was afraid that if she did, everything would just go back to square one.

Su Chen put down his phone and glanced at her. “Do you have anything planned today?”

“No. Just lying flat.”

“Then come with me somewhere.”

Lin Bei was taken aback. “Where are we going?”

“The supermarket. To buy an electric rice cooker.”

“…You’re still fixated on that rice cooker?”

“A kitchen can’t do without an electric rice cooker.”

“But don’t you usually not use one?”

“Don’t you?”

Lin Bei opened her mouth, then realized Su Chen was actually buying it for her. After all, she’d made a cake using an electric rice cooker—even though it had turned out badly, Su Chen thought she must need one.

“I can steam rice in a pot,” she said.

“That’s a hassle.”

“I’m not afraid of hassle.”

“I am. Every time you steam rice in a pot, the kitchen looks like it’s been through a battle.”

Lin Bei wanted to argue, but remembering how messy she’d made the kitchen, she kept quiet.

In the supermarket, Su Chen pushed the shopping cart while Lin Bei followed beside him.

The appliance section was on the second floor, so they took the escalator up. Lin Bei stood one step ahead of Su Chen and turned to look at him.

“Su Chen.”

“Mm?”

“Were you happy yesterday?”

Su Chen thought for a moment. “So-so.”

“‘So-so’ again? Is your whole life just ‘so-so’ or ‘not good’?”

“There’s also ‘hard to say.’”

“When is it ‘hard to say’?”

Su Chen gave her a glance but didn’t answer.

Lin Bei felt like she’d been played.

The rice cooker section displayed dozens of models, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand yuan. Su Chen headed straight for the most expensive display case, but Lin Bei grabbed his arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Buying a rice cooker.”

“That one’s five thousand eight.”

“Mm.”

“Can’t you just get one that costs a few hundred?”

“Things that cheap have fewer functions, and the rice doesn’t taste as good.”

“You don’t even cook rice with a rice cooker!”

“You do.”

Lin Bei took a deep breath. “Su Chen, I know you’ve got money, but if you keep doing this, you’ll spoil me.”

Su Chen looked at her. “Spoil you how?”

“You always buy the best—the most expensive milk tea, imported ingredients, even a five-thousand-eight rice cooker. What if I move out someday, used to having nice things, and then can’t afford a good apartment?”

Su Chen tapped the shopping cart with his finger.

“Why do you want to move out anyway?”

“Surely I can’t live at your place forever, can I?”

“Why not?”

Lin Bei was stunned.

Su Chen pushed the cart forward, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the weather: “The lease doesn’t specify a term. You can stay as long as you want.”

Lin Bei stood there, watching his back.

Does this person even know what he’s saying?

In the end, they bought a three-thousand-eight rice cooker. Lin Bei insisted on not getting the five-thousand-eight one, Su Chen insisted on not settling for the few-hundred-yuan model, and the two haggled over it for ten minutes before finally agreeing on the three-thousand-eight.

At the checkout, Su Chen reached for his credit card, but Lin Bei stopped him.

“This time I’ll pay.”

“Do you even have the money?”

“I do. Tang Tang’s part-time job payment just came in.”

“That’s your money.”

“The rice cooker was my fault, so of course I’ll cover the cost.”

Su Chen gave her a look but didn’t argue; he put the credit card away.

Lin Bei swiped the three-thousand-eight, her heart bleeding, but she put on a nonchalant expression.

As they left the supermarket, Su Chen suddenly asked, “What should we eat tonight?”

“What do you want to eat?”

End of Chapter 25: Unspoken Understanding