Su Chen said he’d be back in the afternoon, and Lin Bei had been restless all morning.

“Am I catching Su Chen’s cleanliness virus?” she texted Wang Tangtang.

“You’re not catching it—you just want him to think you’re neat and tidy,” Wang Tangtang shot back immediately.

“I’m not!”

“You are. You just want Su Chen to come home and find the place spick-and-span, so he’ll think you’re a virtuous wife.”

“Wang Tangtang, you’re a programmer—why aren’t you writing code and instead spending all day analyzing my love life?”

“Code can wait until tomorrow, but your gossip can’t.”

Lin Bei didn’t reply; she tossed the dishcloth into the sink. After a moment’s thought, she picked it up again, washed it clean, folded it neatly, and put it where Su Chen always left it.

She must be sick.

At 2 p.m., Su Chen sent a message: “I’ll be there at 3.”

Lin Bei: “Should I pick you up?”

Su Chen: “No need—taking a taxi is quick.”

Lin Bei: “Then I’ll wait for you at home.”

Su Chen: “Okay.”

Lin Bei put down her phone and started preparing dinner. Su Chen said he wanted tomato and egg noodles, but Lin Bei figured he hadn’t eaten well during his three-day business trip, so she decided to make several more dishes.

She opened the fridge and pulled out beef, pork ribs, sea bass, and green vegetables. There was still half of the braised pork Aunt Li had given her yesterday—just heat it up and it’s ready to eat.

Four main dishes and one soup, plus a bowl of tomato and egg noodles—that’s plenty.

At 3:10, the doorbell rang.

Lin Bei dashed out of the kitchen, ran to the door, took two deep breaths, and opened it.

Su Chen was standing at the door, his hair a bit longer than when he left, with faint dark circles under his eyes.

“You’re back,” Lin Bei said.

“Mm.” Su Chen changed his shoes and handed her a paper bag. “Butterfly palmiers.”

Lin Bei opened the bag and found two boxes of butterfly palmiers from the Shanghai International Hotel, beautifully packaged.

“You really bought these?”

“You said you wanted two boxes.”

“I just said that off the top of my head.”

“I remembered.”

Su Chen finished changing his shoes, grabbed his suitcase, and headed toward the room. As he passed the kitchen, he paused.

“You’re cooking?”

“Mm. Four dishes and one soup, plus your favorite tomato and egg noodles.”

Su Chen glanced at her and a slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: “So diligent today?”

“When am I ever not diligent?”

“You ate instant noodles for lunch yesterday.”

“How did you know?”

“I saw it in the trash. You didn’t even put the noodle container in the garbage bag—you just tossed it right in the bin.”

Lin Bei opened her mouth to protest, but realized the evidence was irrefutable.

“That was…that was an accident! I forgot.”

“You forget every day.”

Su Chen shook his head and dragged his suitcase into the room.

By the time dinner was ready, Su Chen had already showered and changed into loungewear, sitting at the dining table.

Lin Bei brought out each dish one by one: braised pork ribs, stir-fried beef, steamed sea bass, garlic-flavored broccoli, with Aunt Li’s braised pork in the middle and a big bowl of tomato and egg noodles on the side.

“You made all this?” Su Chen looked at the满满 table of food.

“You were away on a business trip for three days—surely you didn’t eat well.”

“I ate pretty well.”

“You said Japanese food isn’t tasty.”

Su Chen didn’t argue; he picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of braised pork.

“Did Aunt Li make this?” he asked.

“How do you know?”

“The taste is different. You like to add sugar when you cook, but Aunt Li doesn’t.”

Lin Bei was taken aback. She’d never admitted to adding sugar, yet Su Chen could tell.

“You even noticed that?”

“I’ve been eating your meals for a month—of course I’ve gotten better at it.”

Su Chen took another bite of ribs—this time made by Lin Bei.

“These ribs are good.”

Lin Bei widened her eyes. “You say ‘good’? Not just ‘okay’?”

“Today’s an exception.”

Lin Bei smiled, her eyes crinkling with delight.

“Tomato and egg noodles—your favorite.”

“When did I ever say this was my favorite?”

“You eat two bowls every time—what else could it be?”

Su Chen didn’t argue; he lowered his head and kept eating.

Lin Bei sat across from him, propping her chin in her hand as she watched him eat. “Su Chen,” she said.

End of Chapter 27: The Landlord Is Back!