His Highness Learns How to Love

Ding Luan spoke with great difficulty. Mr. Bai was leisurely sipping his tea, but upon hearing this, the mouthful of tea in his mouth almost sprayed out. Usually as calm as Haoran, he was suddenly thrown into awkwardness. Mr. Bai asked in a fluster:
“Your Highness... *cough, cough*... are you speaking the truth?”
Mr. Bai thought he had misheard and wanted to ask again to be sure. The Prince looked at him half-lidded and said solemnly:
“Do I look like I am joking?”
Oh! This would surely be classified under 'strange but true' in this Baili Kingdom! The women who admired Prince An were countless. Every day, he received dozens of letters; if piled up, they would probably be as large as two great mountains. Many were even willing to follow him all the way to the border, wishing only to serve and care for him to be satisfied. Yet he paid them no heed, coldly rejecting them all. Many, despite knowing this, still threw themselves into the fire like moths. Yet today, right now, he actually said he had fallen for a woman? This was truly too unexpected!
“Hahaha. I was worried Your Highness wouldn't be able to find a wife. It seems this humble one was worrying too much.” Mr. Bai laughed heartily, looking extremely delighted. “I wonder which lady is fortunate enough to catch Your Highness's eye?”
Ding Luan replied:
“She is Shi Yi.”
“Miss Shi? Isn't she the lady who followed you into the manor a few days ago?”
“Yes...”
Mr. Bai placed his hand on his forehead in deep thought. *I wonder what kind of sacred being she is, to actually make Your Highness develop feelings in just a few short days? Truly admirable!*
“In my humble opinion, women are indeed all different. Each has her own personality. I wonder what kind of person this young lady is?”
Ding Luan recalled the moments spent with her, thought for a moment, and replied:
“She... She is a person of unusual temperament. At times, she appears very cute and lively. At other times, she is stubborn and obstinate, always doing absurd things. Sometimes she is very cold and ruthless, even showing disdain for me. Facing me, she always opposes me to the end. She is a very stubborn girl. However, I really like her fearless attitude... upright, proud, elegant, and free...”
As he spoke, he unconsciously smiled. He had the look of an infatuated man, yet he still exuded a handsome charm.
“Free-spirited, elegant, and unrestrained... She is indeed a very interesting lady!”
Before he could finish, Ding Luan asked again:
“What should I do now?”
“To win a woman's heart, Your Highness must first practice smiling.”
He didn't understand, raising his eyebrows in question:
“Practice smiling? Why?”
Mr. Bai explained:
“Of course, only when you smile can you move someone's heart. Your Highness was born with such a handsome and radiant face, which has already made countless women admire you. However, that icy expression of yours makes people feel distant, only able to look from afar. If Your Highness becomes gentle, attentive, and thoughtful, I believe no woman will be able to escape this charm. This humble one believes that as long as you smile, it will instantly make her heart flutter, and her mind will be filled with nothing but your shadow!”
“Am I... not good like this?”
“Not good, of course it's not good. It is really not ideal for you to always keep this single icy expression. A free-spirited person like Miss Shi will definitely prefer someone gentle.”
Hearing the final verdict from the gentleman, Prince An found it somewhat hard to believe. A grand handsome man of radiant bearing, whose cold face was his trademark—practicing what, smiling? And changing his personality? You can't just change it like that! This was a tough case! Hearing countless criticisms of his facial expression from the gentleman, on ordinary days his face would have turned very unsightly. But today, with a studious spirit, experiencing romantic feelings for the first time, Ding Luan nodded in approval, listening to every word:
“What you say is indeed correct! So... how should I smile?”
Truly admirable, he didn't even know how to smile, yet he wanted to court a girl. Was smiling really that difficult? He knew everything, but when a person falls in love, their IQ drops to zero. He asked a question that anyone could answer:
“Your Highness only needs to smile in a way that makes you feel comfortable. If it is difficult, you can practice in front of a mirror. Just now, when speaking of Miss Shi, Your Highness smiled very brightly. Just do it like that.”
Prince An asked blankly:
“I smiled? Why didn't I even know it myself?”
Then he asked further:
“After learning to smile, what should I do next?”
“What else? Of course, you must be gentle, care for her more, and yield to her. You must use this sincere heart to move her. Most importantly, you must take the initiative and seize the opportunity.”
“Seize the opportunity? How do I do that?”
Mr. Bai, with the air of an experienced, romantic, and handsome man, understood this aspect very well. He explained in detail:
“Let me give you an example. When you see her carrying heavy things, run over to help her. When she is hungry, you must bring delicious food to her. In short, you must appear whenever she needs you.”
Ding Luan hesitated for a moment:
“But... I am still a bit shy.”
The gentleman clicked his tongue:
“If you are shy, doing it many times will make you get used to it.”
Looking at Ding Luan, the gentleman seemed to remember something. He walked quickly to his bookshelf, reached for the second shelf, scanned through each book, and selected two satisfactory ones. Bai Haoran said nothing, placing the two books into Prince An's hands:
“This humble one doesn't have much experience either. Why don't Your Highness find out for yourself...”