Lin Bei was just about to open the fridge for some yogurt when she noticed a sticky note on the door, written in Su Chen’s handwriting: “March 28th—pick up dry cleaning.” Below it was a small line: “Reminder: No overtime on your birthday.”

March 28th.

Lin Bei pulled out her phone and glanced at the date—today was March 25th. In three days it would be Su Chen’s birthday.

She walked into the living room holding the sticky note. “Su Chen, your birthday is coming up?”

Su Chen was reading a financial report and didn’t even look up. “It’s not.”

“Why not?”

“Too much trouble.”

“What’s so troublesome about celebrating your birthday? Just buy a cake, blow out the candles, make a wish, and that’s it.”

“That’s how you celebrate,” Su Chen said, flipping a page. “My way is to go to work as usual, leave at the usual time, and sleep like normal.”

Lin Bei sat down across from him, propping her chin in her hand and watching him.

“Su Chen, you’re really boring.”

“Mm.”

“How did you used to celebrate your birthday?”

“Just had a meal with my family.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“No friends? No party? No gifts?”

Finally, Su Chen looked up at her. “You ask too many questions.”

Lin Bei didn’t press further, but her mind was already buzzing with plans. Su Chen had been so good to her—giving her a cheap apartment, lending her money to buy a phone, bringing her bubble tea every day, helping her shoot videos, and forgiving her over and over again when she messed up. She had to repay him.

But she didn’t have any money.

She couldn’t afford expensive gifts or fancy restaurants; even buying a cake made her hesitate. Good cakes cost two or three hundred yuan—enough to cover her bubble tea for a whole month.

“The basic skill of a frugal lifestyle blogger,” she muttered to herself, “is to do the best thing with the least amount of money.”

She grabbed her phone and started searching for “how to celebrate a birthday on a budget.”

The search results were disappointing. Either it was “homemade cake”—but she didn’t have an oven. Or “DIY gifts”—but she wasn’t very handy. Or “a day trip to free attractions”—but Su Chen hated going out.

After thinking it over, she decided to ask Wang Tangtang for help.

“Tangtang, Su Chen’s birthday is coming up, and I want to give him a gift, but I don’t have any money. What should I do?”

Wang Tangtang replied instantly: “Just give yourself to him!”

“Get lost.”

“I’m serious. Wrap yourself up like a gift, tie a bow around it, and lie down on his bed—hee hee hee.”

“Wang Tangtang!”

“Okay, okay, I’m being serious now.” Wang Tangtang sent a thoughtful emoji. “What does he like?”

Lin Bei thought for a moment. “Cleanliness.”

“…Anything else?”

“Tea. He only drinks tea, no other beverages.”

“Then give him a box of good tea.”

“But good tea costs several thousand yuan—I can’t afford it.”

“Then give him a tea set?”

“A tea set also costs over a thousand yuan.”

Wang Tangtang fell silent. “Your spending level as a landlord is in a completely different league from his.”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried.”

“So have you ever thought about giving him something that doesn’t cost any money?”

“What could possibly be free?”

“Your heartfelt gesture,” Wang Tangtang typed, followed by a long string of exclamation marks. “Something you make with your own hands is a hundred times more valuable than anything you buy!”

Lin Bei thought about it and realized there was some truth to that. But what could she actually make?

Cooking? She did that every day—no surprises there.

Cleaning? She’d love to, but Su Chen said she never cleaned properly.

Knitting a scarf? No way. Painting? No way. Writing poetry? Even less likely.

She slumped on the sofa, worrying so much her hair felt like it was falling out.

Su Chen came out of his study and saw her looking like that. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“About how to save money.”

“You’re already saving enough,” Su Chen said as he went into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. “If you keep saving like this, you’ll end up becoming an immortal.”

Lin Bei stared at his back and suddenly had an idea.

She couldn’t make an expensive gift, but she could do one thing to help Su Chen save money.

Even though Su Chen wasn’t short on cash, she could still show him, in her own way, that she cared.

The next day, after Su Chen left for work, Lin Bei slipped into his room.

She rarely went into Su Chen’s room because he’d explicitly said, “No entering.” But today was a special occasion—she was making an exception for his birthday present.

Su Chen’s room was even cleaner than she’d imagined. The bed sheets were perfectly smooth, without a single wrinkle; the pens on his desk were arranged by color; and the clothes in his closet were sorted by season and color.

End of Chapter 23: Su Chen’s Birthday