In the upscale restaurant, I meticulously cut the steak.

The romantic atmosphere of the candlelit dinner reflected on me, dining alone, exuding generosity, after all, finishing one meal means getting another to go.

Unfortunately, the young couple at the next table didn't think so. They whispered to each other, their voices as loud as the beginning of a New Concept English II movie.

"When we came in, that beauty next to us was waiting there. Now, after over an hour, she finally got her food."

"She looks quite pitiful, waiting for so long only to be stood up in the end. Baby, look at how good I am, I always wait for you."

Seeing them continue gossiping, I glanced at the time, turned my head, and clarified:

"Not just over an hour, to be precise, I waited for two hours and nine minutes."

I raised my chin slightly, gesturing towards another table four or five meters away.

"Why not speak louder so the table over there can join the discussion too?"

Their thick skin couldn't withstand even this kind of basic attack. They mumbled "sorry" with their heads down, quickly finished eating, and left.

Finally, the world was quiet again, and I leisurely enjoyed my birthday feast, with my phone screen constantly lighting up.

After eating, I checked the missed calls and WeChat messages. Lin Pang apologized on WeChat:

【Ling Ling, I'm sorry, something urgent came up at work, so I can't have dinner with you today.

【Happy birthday! I sent you a red envelope! I couldn't give you the birthday gift in person, so I had it delivered.】

I was lucky not to see the message during the meal; it would have been quite off-putting.

Opening the red envelope, I received 99.9 yuan, flowing into my WeChat balance of tens of thousands, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

Unwrapping the gift delivered by the courier, it was an eternal red rose, looking of mediocre quality, a bit wilted.

The best quality in the whole box was the price tag card, stating "Price: 999 yuan."

Scanning the Taobao app, I quickly identified the same item. As expected, it was priced at 39.9 yuan, with an additional 3 yuan off using Taobao coins.

My rational side said:【Crafty and stingy man, trying to save on gifts, always avoiding me during holidays, and when he has to give a gift, it's always some junk.】

But my love-struck brain argued:【Ah, he's so thrifty yet still sent me a red envelope and a gift. He must really love me.】

Opening the Notes app, I deducted 10 points from Lin Pang's scorecard.

After the deduction, he had 70 points left, and I could still deeply love him.

With the loop of love logic closed, I held the eternal rose in my left hand and earnestly opened the red envelope again with my right hand, gazing affectionately at the 99.9 representing our love, and started spouting nonsense:

【Seeing this rose, I think of The Little Prince. It's because The Little Prince spent time with the rose that made it so precious.

【The rose you gave me was just an ordinary one among many, but because of our feelings, it became unique and special.

【So happy! I received the red envelope too, focus on your work~】

Lin Pang quickly replied:

【Ling Ling, you understand me so well. I knew you would like this gift. Although I can't celebrate your birthday with you this year, we have many more to come.

【Have you finished eating? Just like before, when you pay the bill, don't forget to ask for a receipt with my company's name on it.】

To be honest, if you keep being so stingy, it's hard for us to have a future.

Lin Pang always lived in my stereotypical image of a finance guy, where invoices always outnumber cash.

Every time I paid, he would claim the receipt for reimbursement at his company, as if he was earning money with me.

Repeating to myself "still 70 points left, still 70 points left," I gritted my teeth and replied:

【I won't forget, I'll give it to you next time we meet. After all, every penny you save is preparing for our future.】

Swallowing my pride, they say when you love someone, you have to learn to accept their flaws, even if he has a lot of them.

Sigh, I'm just an ordinary woman trapped in love, wealthy, and naturally beautiful.

As I wallowed in self-pity, my phone received a message from my plastic sister flower, Li Yao, full of schadenfreude.

【You ditched our gathering to celebrate your big sale, saying you were celebrating your birthday with your boyfriend today. But why do I see him having dinner with another woman? Funny enough, she looks a bit like you.】

In that moment, I was furious, you scoundrel! You've gone too far this time!