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

Morning, in the kitchen of Heartbeat Cottage.

There were already quite a few people seated at the dining table, and one or two others were busy at the kitchen counter.

The five male guests, some sitting and some standing, occasionally glanced at the corner of the staircase.

Are you about to witness a kitchen carnage?

[Why aren't the first and fourth female leads coming downstairs yet? We're just waiting for you!]

[I think I heard footsteps... They're coming!]

With Bai Nianchu's appearance, the invisible tension in the air seemed to find a foothold, and the atmosphere became subtly turbulent.

"Nianchu, Siyao, good morning." Su Yi'an greeted them first.

Su Yi'an wore a linen shirt today, with a pair of thin-rimmed gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, making her look even more gentle and refined.

"morning."

"Good morning."

Ye Siyao glanced at the table and saw that Jiang Meng and Liu Zhiwei were sitting in the same row. Without thinking much, she sat down as well.

Just as Bai Nianchu was about to sit down, Xu Muyang across from her suddenly stood up and pulled out the chair next to her. "Nianchu, come sit here! I saved some congee with preserved egg and lean pork for you. It cooled down a little, so it's not so hot anymore."

Bai Nianchu paused slightly.

According to normal human thinking—if someone kindly saves breakfast and takes a seat, and one doesn't particularly object to that person, they will generally sit down.

Xu Muyang is a social butterfly; he can easily become familiar with anyone and naturally knows how to seize the initiative.

Seeing Bai Nianchu walk straight towards him and sit down next to him, Xu Muyang couldn't help but laugh, revealing his tiger teeth.

If emotions could be visualized, he would have already sprouted a puppy tail and been wagging wildly like a propeller.

[Golden Retriever gets an extra point!]

[Haha, the third male lead is as direct and aggressive as ever.]

[I didn't expect him to be able to cook porridge? Wasn't he only good at cooking white food?]

[Did you miss that, honey? Last night, the fifth male guest went out on a date with a female guest, while the third male guest was bored at home, so he stayed in the kitchen all by himself, following a tutorial on how to cook porridge from a little green book.]

[Yes, the puppy can score big!]

"I'm making soft-boiled egg white noodle soup," Su Yi'an said gently. "It will be ready soon, and I'll share it with everyone later."

Because the water in the pot was about to boil, Su Yi'an could not sit down for the time being.

However, he placed a glass of warm water in front of Bai Nianchu, and another glass on the empty table next to her.

This is his usual tactic: using a water glass to occupy the position next to Bai Nianchu, which can be considered a subtle way of marking his territory.

This action is not obvious and is easily overlooked if one is not observant enough.

But the other men were watching.

Lin Zhao frowned, disapproving of Su Yi'an's feigned naturalness, which concealed a bellyful of scheming.

But he disdained to compete in front of others, and had no reason or need to compete.

Although he didn't know what Bai Nianchu was thinking or why she was deliberately distancing herself from him, Lin Zhao knew in his heart that he and Bai Nianchu were actually from the same circle.

These people from the lower classes are not worthy of her at all.

As for the problem between him and Bai Nianchu, he will find an opportunity to resolve it.

Each of the men had their own ulterior motives.

But they overlooked one person – the new male guest, Chen Yuze.

They had never spent time with him, so naturally they didn't know his personality.

Chen Yuze, who had just finished making breakfast, came over with two plates of egg and vegetable wraps. He placed one in front of Bai Nianchu and the other next to her, in the spot where Su Yi'an had reserved with her water glass.

Then, he simply sat down.

He stretched out his long arm and placed the extra glass of milk on the left side—the empty space at the very edge of the dining table.

"puff!"

Upon seeing this scene, Jiang Meng, who had just taken a sip of water, almost spat it out.

All eyes were on Chen Yuze, and everyone's expressions were different.

Su Yi'an's smile froze instantly, her gentle eyes suddenly darkened, and a surge of anger was suppressed in her eyes.

[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!]

[This was so amazing! I was completely mesmerized.]

[If it were me, seeing a water glass on the table would instinctively mean the seat is taken, so there's no need to sit there. But the fifth guy's move was a clear message: you can have yours, I'll take mine! I have to say, the fifth guy is really brave.]

[This is the first time I've seen a murderous urge in the male lead's eyes.]

[So spicy!]

The air around us seemed to freeze for a moment.

Chen Yuze, however, remained calm as he propped his chin up and looked at Bai Nianchu.

"Let's try an egg crepe."

He acted as if he couldn't see the congee with preserved egg and lean pork placed in front of Bai Nianchu. The upward curve of his lips was a little unrestrained, a little arrogant, and a little wicked.

[Holy crap, did you see that smile on the fifth guy's face just now? He did it on purpose!]

[Like a wicked cougar.]

[Haha, that's so evil.]

"..."

Looking at the congee with preserved egg and lean pork and the egg pancake in front of him, Bai Nianchu, who was usually not one to show his emotions, was speechless.

Faced with Chen Yuze's provocative behavior, Su Yi'an retreated to advance, placing the soft-boiled egg white soup noodles she had prepared in the center of the table. She then brought out several small bowls and distributed the soup noodles evenly to everyone, including placing a bowl in front of Chen Yuze.

Even passing dogs would stop and bark "Generous!"

"Nianchu has a small appetite, so just choose what you want to eat," Su Yi'an said. "You can also try a little bit of everything. If you can't finish it, don't force yourself."

"Then have some of my porridge to warm your stomach first." Xu Muyang tried hard to make his presence known, his voice trailing off like a hook, "I cooked it for a really, really long time~"

Chen Yuze let out a soft hum, a mocking smile flashing across his eyes.

It's just a bowl of congee with preserved egg; it can take a long time to cook.

He also said, "I cooked it for a very, very long time."

He got goosebumps just listening to that.

This must be what people online call a male "green tea" (a manipulative woman).

Bai Nianchu... could she possibly like this one?

Chen Yuze turned his head and stared at Bai Nianchu, just like he had done when they were alone last night.

After a long pause, he said frankly, "If you can't eat it, give it to me."

"I'll eat."

These two startling words shocked everyone except Bai Nianchu, causing them to gasp in astonishment.

Jiang Meng, who went from being a guest on a dating reality show to a mere spectator, completely abandoned any attempt to control her facial expressions, her mouth agape as if she could fit an egg in it.

Even Lin Zhao, who rarely showed his emotions and always had a cold face, was clearly stunned, his pupils dilating in shock.

For a moment, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and no one spoke.

The live stream room went wild:

【Aaaaaaah, male fifth guy, how come you're eating and taking things away?!】

If we actually eat it... then it's like an indirect kiss, right?

[Other male guests: Eat what I made first / Don't force yourself if you can't finish it. Male guest number five: Give me what you can't finish, I'll eat it.]

[Male Lead 1 & Male Lead 3: I'm really out of ideas.]

[This is hilarious... They probably didn't expect Chen Yuze to say something like that.]

[No normal person would think of that, right? Who would eat a girl's leftovers after only knowing her for a couple of days?]

[Actually, Chen Yuze started eating yesterday, didn't you guys forget? He finished off the skewers Bai Nianchu didn't finish last night; he really has a huge appetite.]

[I suspect the fifth guy was thinking: "Eating what my wife leaves behind is considered leftovers? It's an extra meal."]

[Hahahaha, what the heck?! Extra treat!]

This is so entertaining, bro!