The local botanical garden was both a strange and familiar place to Baiye.

Normally, he has no interest in those colorful and varied flowers and plants.

To be honest, he couldn't appreciate the beauty of these plants at all; they all looked pretty much the same!

If it weren't for the opportunity to visit his mother and sister in his hometown, which they insisted on taking him to visit the local botanical garden, he probably would never have willingly stepped into such a place in his life.

Moreover, if you go at the wrong time of year, you won't see a single flower, so there's really nothing to see!

However, after Byakuya finished visiting the botanical garden, he didn't leave empty-handed.

At least he thought the coffee sold there tasted pretty good and was invigorating; also, the air was exceptionally fresh, making it a pleasant place to breathe.

To be honest, Bai Ye never expected that the girl named Luo Qingyan would be so obsessed with flowers!

But thinking about it carefully, it seems understandable, since most girls like beautiful things.

At this moment, Luo Qingyan, standing to the side, was looking at the various flowers around her with great excitement.

Actually, although she does like flowers and plants, she didn't specifically ask Bai Ye out today just to see flowers.

The main reason is that I want to spend some time alone with him.

In Luo Qingyan's eyes, Bai Ye was like a warm little sun in her life. As long as she could stay quietly by his side, she could feel endless happiness and satisfaction.

Three years have passed since they met online.

During this time, she fell deeply in love with Bai Ye.

Whenever she recalls every pleasant conversation she had with him in the past, a wave of joy washes over her, making her feel intoxicated and unable to extricate herself.

However, those simple words could hardly fully express the overwhelming love she felt deep inside.

So she resolutely embarked on a journey to pursue love, eventually arriving at Bai Ye's place and luckily becoming his junior.

What's even more ecstatic is that, through her charm and hard work, she successfully earned an affectionate title that is exclusively for her and reserved for Bai Ye—"senior."

For a boy obsessed with the world of anime, such a cute and anime-style nickname is undoubtedly a nuclear-level bombshell.

But now, something weighed heavily on her heart, causing her great distress. It turned out that despite her painstaking efforts, Bai Ye still treated her like a younger sister.

This made her feel incredibly frustrated and lost, as if all her efforts had been thrown into a bottomless black hole, with no response whatsoever.

However, she wasn't the kind of girl who gave up easily. Since a direct attack was thwarted, she would resort to a roundabout tactic.

From then on, she racked her brains and tried every possible way to stay close to Bai Ye.

She secretly made up her mind: Hmph ╭(╯^╰)╮, there can only be one girl like me by my senior's side!

Even though Bai Ye's heart was like ice that had never melted for thousands of years, she firmly believed that one day it would be melted by her own passion.

Because she firmly believed that this feeling, which Bai Ye regarded as a simple brother-sister relationship, would eventually undergo a qualitative change.

She never doubted this point in the slightest.

Just then, sunlight fell on Luo Qingyan's smiling face. She happily raised her phone high, winked playfully at Bai Ye, and said coquettishly, "(＾－＾)V"

"Hey senior, come quick~ Let's take a pretty picture together, okay?"

Bai Ye was initially hesitant, unsure whether he should speak out the words he had kept hidden in his heart for so long.

However, when his gaze fell upon Luo Qingyan's radiant smile, as warm as the spring sun, all the words that were about to come out were instantly swallowed back down.

Forget it, let's wait and look for a better opportunity later!

Just now, Bai Ye had intended to tell Luo Qingyan that he already had a girlfriend, but when he saw her radiant smile at this moment, he couldn't bear to make her feel sad.

So, Bai Ye, with a rather complicated expression, made a "V" sign towards the camera in Luo Qingyan's hand.

Luo Qingyan stared at the photo on her phone screen, her brows furrowing slightly, a hint of displeasure on her face.

"Senior, could you please smile a little more naturally? Your facial expression is far too stiff!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ye also looked helpless.

It might be relatively easy for him to smile genuinely and naturally, but when he forces a smile, it always feels particularly fake.

Holding her phone, Luo Qingyan solemnly emphasized again, "Senior, let's take another picture. This time, you must be very careful!"

Bai Ye could only nod obediently, then smiled again.

Compared to the previous one, this one is indeed a slight improvement.

It must be said that a fake smile can sometimes be quite effective; it can help you navigate a variety of complex social relationships.

Imagine, who would willingly face a cold, indifferent, and silent block of ice?

In life, we inevitably encounter strangers or relatives we haven't seen in a long time and with whom we have become estranged.

In situations like these, a fake smile becomes a very practical social skill.

It can prevent the situation from falling into an awkward silence, and at the same time, it can prevent others from having a bad impression of you.

This is especially true for the White Night.

Bai Ye often pondered to himself that if he were to rank his fake smile, he would surely have reached a rather high level.

After all these years, he had long been accustomed to showing a fake smile and was full of confidence in it. However, unexpectedly, when he faced the five girls he was quite familiar with, everything quietly changed.

These five girls seemed to possess some kind of special magic; any one of them could easily stir ripples on Bai Ye's heart.

So Bai Ye didn't continue to fake a smile in front of them; that would only be self-deception!