Romance Variety Show: The aloof and beautiful fourth female lead is always coveted.

In order to avoid the other male guests using the kitchen at the same time, Su Yi'an got up very early and started preparing lunch boxes at the kitchen counter at around 5 a.m.

He was very lucky last night—he beat Ling Yan in the guessing game and successfully won the zoo date card.

There are relatively few restaurants in the zoo, so it's essential to bring light snacks like sandwiches and rice balls. In addition to food to fill his stomach, Su Yi'an also prepared fruit and drinks. The fruit was freshly cut and boxed, and the drinks were freshly squeezed watermelon juice and honey lemonade, which he put in the freezer.

Even the water cups he uses are straw cups he bought online in a flash sale. The duckbill straw design makes them less likely to get lipstick stains than regular open-mouthed cups.

After preparing delicious food and drinks, Su Yi'an returned to her room to change clothes and get her hair done.

Today he wore a white shirt under a denim hooded vest, paired with matching wide-leg pants and white sneakers. He looked like a gentle senior from college, perfectly embodying a clean and refreshing style.

As the date approached, Su Yi'an packed the lunchbox and drinks into an insulated tote bag, and neatly put the folding umbrella, tissues, wet wipes, small fan, mosquito repellent spray, Polaroid camera, and other essentials into her backpack.

With everything ready, Su Yi'an arrived at the zoo more than half an hour early and waited in the shade at the entrance.

His feelings for Bai Nianchu were actually somewhat complicated.

Saying it's love at first sight is too superficial, but the initial amazement is indeed as deep as a brand.

At first, his attraction was based solely on her appearance, but gradually, he couldn't help but observe and approach her, developing a strong desire to explore her. He wanted to know what kind of story lay behind her aloof demeanor, to climb high mountains, pluck this unattainable flower, and take it home to keep hidden away.

Su Yi'an is like a scholar constantly exploring a puzzle. With each new detail she discovers, she wants to piece together the whole picture even more, and she is the puzzle itself.

I don't know when it started, but curiosity has become a pretext for developing obsessions.

Five minutes... ten minutes... twenty minutes...

The long wait did not annoy Su Yi'an.

Instead, it made his heart flutter and soar into the sky.

He was looking forward to Bai Nianchu, and only to Bai Nianchu.

This feeling of tension, so intense it made my heart race, suddenly transformed into a pool of sticky, sweet spring water as I watched that slender, captivating figure gradually approaching.

Su Yi'an's gaze softened instantly.

Tender affection flowed over his eyelashes and seeped into his eyes. In the end, his entire eyes were filled only with the person walking towards him.

Bai Nianchu looks beautiful today too.

She wore a long, tie-dyed dress in a light blue color, with a layer of white gauze at the hem that gently reached her ankles. A sheer white cardigan was draped over her shoulders, further accentuating her already aloof and noble temperament.

As she walked over, Su Yi'an seemed to see a snow mountain goddess descended to earth.

If you look at it for too short a time, you'll feel reluctant to leave; if you look at it for too long, you'll feel greedy.

Su Yi'an's gaze finally left Bai Nianchu when she walked up to him.

But he couldn't hold his gaze for even a few seconds before turning it back.

"Good morning, Nianchu."

All the beautifully worded opening remarks he had prepared vanished from Su Yi'an's mind in an instant, leaving only a dry greeting and—

You look beautiful today.

If Su Yi'an's subordinates saw him with such amorous eyes, they'd probably be horrified.

Where had they ever seen General Manager Su being so affectionate with someone else?

"Thanks."

Bai Nianchu's gaze swept over people with indifference, barely touching them, like a feather skimming across the water.

Su Yi'an felt a shiver run through his body, a subtle electric current coursing through his spine with the sight of that gaze. He had to pinch his palms hard with his fingertips to barely suppress the almost uncontrollable trembling.

After calming her turbulent emotions, Su Yi'an raised the corners of her lips and smiled gently, opening her palm to Bai Nianchu—it was the small gift box he had prepared for this date.

"Would you like to open the gift I gave you?"

Bai Nianchu lowered her eyes and accepted it.

The small gift box has a flip-top design that's easy to open, and inside is a bohemian-style pendant necklace. The necklace features a rose gold cord-like chain with a teardrop-shaped pink crystal pendant, making it a particularly beautiful and presentable gift.

Bai Nianchu's main job is a jewelry designer, so she could naturally tell at a glance what brand and price range the necklace was.

Someone took a screenshot with their phone and scanned it using the image recognition function, and immediately the chat erupted like dumplings in a boiling pot:

【Holy crap...isn't this Boucheron's necklace?】

[Other people on dating reality shows give gifts worth hundreds of dollars, are you crazy, male lead? Giving such expensive gifts!]

[If it's a gift for the fourth daughter, I think it's perfectly reasonable. After all, our precious daughter should wear something expensive.]

[But this is too expensive. I checked the official website, and this necklace costs nearly 1.5 yuan. There are so many other things you could do with that money.]

[Buying such an expensive date gift for a female guest, who might not even choose you in the end, would be a complete waste of money.]

[I laughed. Seriously, can some people please not be so possessive of other people's money? If the guy wants to buy something, he can buy it; it's not like he's spending your money.]

[A necklace costing over ten thousand isn't expensive, is it? The male lead's salary must be pretty good; he's a general manager. If we're talking about an annual salary of a million, his monthly salary must be at least eighty or ninety thousand, if not over a hundred thousand. I'm even underestimating it; it's just a necklace, he can give it to you if he wants.]

Whether a gift is inexpensive or expensive, as long as it comes from the heart and conveys emotional value, its worth is equal.

Su Yi'an was still a little uneasy.

With a tight schedule for the date, he carefully selected this necklace from the official website and then asked a friend or relative to bring it to him from the physical store.

Friends and family members went to great lengths to act as delivery drivers, and even jokingly asked Su Yi'an if he could follow behind him and the female guest as their photographer to capture their romantic moments on their date.

Su Yi'an would never agree to that.

After all, the production crew already had a cameraman acting as a third wheel.

"Do you like it?" Su Yi'an asked softly.

Her warm, shimmering eyes were fixed on Bai Nianchu.

This wasn't the most beautiful gift Bai Nianchu had ever received, nor was it the most expensive.

But no one dislikes receiving gifts.

"Um."

Bai Nianchu's dark eyes seemed to be filled with scattered light, her gaze softened slightly, and her coldness faded somewhat.

It was very difficult to notice, but Su Yi'an, who had been keeping a close eye on her, noticed it.

He finally felt relieved and smiled broadly, his eyes crinkling: "I'm glad you like it."

Looking at the bare skin on Bai Nianchu's neck, Su Yi'an's heart suddenly stirred.

"Nianchu, may I help you put on this necklace?"

Bai Nianchu glanced at him, then slowly turned to the side, exposing her neck to him.

This means that you agree.