Stubborn Refusal to Admit the Truth

"No way!" Leonard Li shot to his feet, face tense, interrupting Lily Evans without a second thought.

Lily Evans looked at Leonard Li's flustered expression. At the mention of Bella Bell getting married, Leonard Li had none of his usual carefree, rakish charm; instead, he was as nervous as a lovesick teenager.

"Why not?" Lily Evans pretended not to understand and looked at Leonard Li with a puzzled expression.

Leonard Li realized his outburst and stammered, "Well, marriage is a big deal—it can't be taken lightly. Lily, I know you have good taste, but Bella Bell should see for herself and choose someone she truly likes."

Lily Evans stroked her chin, deliberately teasing Leonard Li: "You make a good point, Young Lord. But you might not know this—I've chosen a man for her whose family and character are top-notch, and he's a famously handsome gentleman. Any girl would fall for him at first sight!"

"Bella Bell could never like anyone else!" Leonard Li was so anxious his mind was in knots, completely missing Lily Evans's teasing.

Lily Evans played along: "Then who does Bella Bell like?"

Leonard Li blurted out, "The person Bella Bell likes is..."

"Master!" Bella Bell suddenly appeared outside the screen, carrying a tray. She stared in shock at the three people inside. Startled, she lost her grip and the tray fell.

Lola reacted swiftly, catching the tray before it hit the ground and placing it on the table. She then turned to Bella Bell and said, "Bella Bell, your martial arts have gotten rusty."

Bella Bell's face instantly turned bright red.

It wasn't that her martial arts had declined—it was just that, as she reached the door, she overheard Lily Evans trying to get information out of Leonard Li, so she panicked and rushed in, dropping the tray in her hand.

Normally, with Bella Bell's skills, she'd never make such a rookie mistake.

"Oh my, Chef Bella Bell is here!" Lily Evans grinned at her. "What a treat—our head chef is cooking for us personally!"

Bella Bell lowered her head and whispered, "Master, Young Lord is... he's a close friend, so... so..."

"So you cooked for him yourself, right?" Lily Evans blinked mischievously.

"Mm..." Bella Bell buried her head even lower, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Exactly! Bella Bell cooked for me because we're close! Lily, look—I risked getting my legs broken just to eat at the Eight Treasures Bistro. How could Bella Bell not cook for me herself? Am I right?" Leonard Li quickly jumped in to explain.

Lily Evans looked at the two, both blushing like boiled shrimp, and thought to herself, "Talk about guilty as charged!"

Except for Lola, who was totally oblivious, anyone with eyes could see there was something going on between Leonard Li and Bella Bell.

Even though the two stubbornly denied it, Lily Evans knew exactly what was up.

Leonard Li was an old friend. He might seem carefree, but he was actually reliable and not a schemer.

The trouble was, though, the Prince of Huainan kept a strict watch and wouldn't allow Leonard Li to have any dealings with the Prince of Qin's household.

Now that Leonard Li had his eye on the Princess Consort of Qin's personal disciple, if the Prince of Huainan found out, he'd probably break Leonard Li's legs and keep him locked up in the Huainan residence for the rest of his life.

Leonard Li and Bella Bell both knew this perfectly well—which was exactly why they kept denying everything and could only sneak around, meeting up under the pretense of sharing a meal at the bistro.