In today’s episode, a simple evening plan turns into a funny discovery — and three super useful expressions appear naturally in the conversation:

不见得 (not necessarily)
不如 (why not / might as well)
难怪 (no wonder)

A short, easy-to-follow story plus clear examples to help you understand and start using these phrases right away.

Hello，大家好，我是Janine。Hello, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Janine.Hello everyone, I’m Janine.

昨天我朋友告诉我，他想晚上去跑步。Zuótiān wǒ péngyou gàosu wǒ, tā xiǎng wǎnshàng qù pǎobù.Yesterday my friend told me he wanted to go for a run at night.

我看了看窗外，天黑得很快，我就说：Wǒ kàn le kàn chuāngwài, tiān hēi de hěn kuài, wǒ jiù shuō:I looked outside — it was getting dark quickly, so I said:

“这么黑，去跑步不见得安全。”“Zhème hēi, qù pǎobù bújiànde ānquán.”“It’s so dark — going for a run is not necessarily safe.”

朋友想了想，然后说：Péngyou xiǎng le xiǎng, ránhòu shuō:My friend thought for a moment and said:

“那不如我们去便利店买点儿东西吧？”“Nà bùrú wǒmen qù biànlìdiàn mǎi diǎnr dōngxi ba?”“Then why don’t we go to the convenience store instead?”

我点点头，觉得这个主意不错。Wǒ diǎndiǎn tóu, juéde zhège zhǔyì búcuò.I nodded — it sounded like a good idea.

结果到便利店时，他一看到柜台上的蛋糕，眼睛突然亮了。Jiéguǒ dào biànlìdiàn shí, tā yí kàndào guìtái shàng de dàngāo, yǎnjīng tūrán liàng le.When we arrived, he saw the cakes on the counter, and his eyes lit up.

我笑着说：Wǒ xiàozhe shuō:I laughed and said:

“难怪你说不想跑步！”“Nánguài nǐ shuō bù xiǎng pǎobù!”“No wonder you didn’t want to run!”

原来他真正想的是吃蛋糕。Yuánlái tā zhēnzhèng xiǎng de shì chī dàngāo.Turns out what he really wanted… was cake.