Theodore replied, crossing his legs and settling into his leather armchair. A subtle smile played at the corners of his eyes, making him look like a sly fox who had sheathed its sharp claws and transformed into a meek house pet.

Sure enough, when a noble young man pursued a lady, even his usual reserve and aloofness would disappear. In the past, Theodore wouldn't have bothered with ordering diamonds and arranging cars to send flowers.

Horace felt like an old father watching his young son grow up. Finally, the sharp-tongued Theodore had learned to be humble when pursuing a woman. It was truly touching and worthy of praise.

“Diamonds are indeed a girl's best friend," Horace commented curtly, not quite sure what to say.

“Exactly. No woman can resist something so sparkly," Theodore agreed, in a rare moment of discussing wooing techniques with his subordinate.

It was the first time Horace had seen Theodore pursue a woman in such a blatant and expensive way, but he seemed confident nonetheless. Horace wondered who had encouraged him.

As he peeked at his boss's computer screen, he was taken aback.

The website Theodore was browsing was a novel website. He was reading a book called Things You Do for True Love.

It was a story about a successful, domineering man who went to great lengths to pursue the love of his life. And the heroine was a married woman. Horace's girlfriend had complained about it before, saying it was unrealistic and overly romantic. Despite this, Horace had read a few pages out of curiosity.

As Theodore rewarded the author with a generous tip of fifty thousand, Horace couldn't help but notice the colorful ribbons and gratitude words that instantly dropped across the screen.

It was then that he realized where his boss had learned his clichéd approach to wooing a lady.

Puzzled, Horace wondered why his boss had chosen to learn his techniques from a novel whose hero was a home wrecker. Was he seeking excitement beyond the norm?

Theodore lifted his head and caught the strange expression on Horace's face.

Without giving it much thought, he asked Horace to prepare for the next step as per his instructions.

Horace hesitated, wanting to speak up against Theodore's questionable actions.

After all, novels were different from reality.

Besides, even if Theodore truly wanted to learn from a novel, he should choose a normal love story. After all, there were things one shouldn't do, even in the name of love.

But then, what if a woman actually enjoyed this? Horace pondered silently.

Ariana was completely overwhelmed by the expensive gift she had received. Despite trying to maintain her composure, she couldn't help feeling lost.

Holding the stunning bouquet of diamonds, she was surrounded by curious onlookers, all trying to pry out the identity of the gift giver.