Suspicion, I Want to Watch from the Side

After finishing that grim conversation about life and death, Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t stay; he told Serena to rest well—he still had official business to handle.

Serena didn’t think much of it. She assumed Ninth Royal Uncle knew she’d gone to the Ninth Prince’s estate and had made time to check on her; once he confirmed she was fine, of course he’d leave. Little did she know...

After leaving Feng Manor, Ninth Royal Uncle doubled back and returned to the secret room at Sutton Manor!

Without any warning, Ninth Royal Uncle told Storm Cloud Bu and Vincent Su that he agreed to meet Bella Qin, and ordered them to make the arrangements.

It’s almost ironic: Bella Qin has seen Lance Quinn’s real face—which is Ninth Royal Uncle’s face—but she’s never met Ninth Royal Uncle, only heard his name. So to this day, she has no idea what connection there is between Ninth Royal Uncle and Lance Quinn.

For ordinary people, let alone meeting someone like Ninth Royal Uncle—even seeing a high official once in a lifetime is already remarkable. Bella Qin has always been kept inside the inner courtyards, rarely goes out, and even when she does, she’s surrounded by attendants. She’s never had the chance to meet Ninth Royal Uncle.

“Lance, you agreed? That’s wonderful!” Storm Cloud Bu instantly shook off his earlier gloom and jumped up in excitement.

Even the pain in Storm Cloud Bu’s battered insides seemed to vanish; he circled around Ninth Royal Uncle, beaming: “Lance, tomorrow... can you come see Bella tomorrow afternoon? I’ll tell her in advance—she’s usually lucid then. If she knows you’re coming, she’ll be so happy.”

Storm Cloud Bu was so excited he could barely speak coherently, babbling nonstop about how happy Bella would be... how overjoyed she’d feel...

Ninth Royal Uncle had no patience for Storm Cloud Bu’s rambling. He turned to Vincent Su and instructed him to come up with a reason to explain Lance Quinn’s ‘return from the dead’ to Bella Qin. Of course, the most important thing was to tell Bella that this secret must never be revealed to outsiders.

“Don’t worry, Bella won’t have any chance to talk to outsiders. If it’s about you, she’ll definitely keep the secret.” Deceiving someone as innocent as Bella is easy—the real problem is...

“What about Serena?” Vincent Su asked anxiously, looking at Ninth Royal Uncle.

If Bella Qin suddenly regained her will to live, someone as sharp as Serena would definitely notice.

“Leave it to Storm Cloud Bu. If he messes up, I’ll exile him to Northlyn for life.” As soon as Ninth Royal Uncle finished, Storm Cloud Bu shivered, met his cold gaze, and shrank back, hurriedly promising, “Don’t worry, I’ll go see Serena first thing tomorrow morning and... I’ll tell her I want to find someone to impersonate Lance Quinn, just to comfort Bella.”

Ninth Royal Uncle gave Storm Cloud Bu a long, searching look but said nothing.

With Ninth Royal Uncle’s approval, Storm Cloud Bu went straight to Bella Qin’s room after he left, and whether Bella was awake or not, he whispered in her ear that Lance wasn’t dead and would come see her...

Storm Cloud Bu was a man of action. Early the next morning, he went to Feng Manor to find Serena and discuss ways to help Bella out of her grief.

When Storm Cloud Bu suggested finding someone to impersonate Lance Quinn, Serena’s eyes sharpened. “Find someone to pretend to be Lance? Are you sure you can find someone identical? Miss Qin surely wouldn’t mistake her own fiancé.”

“Don’t worry about that. Lance always wore a mask, and he rarely saw Bella—most of the time they hardly spoke. As long as Bella catches a glimpse from afar, a similar build and silhouette will do.” Storm Cloud Bu was so caught up in his excitement that he didn’t notice Serena’s expression changing, and he laid out his plan in full.

The plan itself wasn’t the problem—the problem was Storm Cloud Bu. Serena kept staring at him, realizing he seemed like a different person, his whole aura radiating happiness.

It had only been a day, and Bella Qin was still unconscious—so what could have made Storm Cloud Bu so happy?

Most importantly... if she wasn’t mistaken, Storm Cloud Bu seemed to be injured?

Heaven’s First Consortium’s master is one of the top martial experts in the jianghu—who could possibly injure Storm Cloud Bu?

“Serena, why are you staring at me?” Once his excitement faded, Storm Cloud Bu sensed something was off. He quickly tried to suppress his joy and asked cautiously.

If he messed up the task Ninth Royal Uncle had given him, his own bad luck would be minor—but if Bella suffered because of it, that would be truly tragic.

Serena withdrew her gaze and said meaningfully, “It’s nothing. I just thought you seemed really happy today.”

“Bella’s saved—of course I’m happy.” Storm Cloud Bu replied quickly, silently warning himself not to get carried away and ruin things.

“This is just a rough plan. Whether it can actually save Miss Qin depends on how it works out.” Serena didn’t believe Storm Cloud Bu’s confidence. There was no result yet—what was there to be so happy about?

Storm Cloud Bu shook his head repeatedly. “Serena, you don’t understand Bella. As long as she hears that Lance Quinn is alive and coming to see her, she’ll instantly brighten up.”

As he spoke, Storm Cloud Bu’s tone grew a little sour, and he seemed deflated: “Bella’s eyes and heart are only for Lance. Anything about him—even the tiniest thing—can make her happy for half a day.”

“Is that so? If it’s so easy, why didn’t you use this trick to persuade Miss Qin at Heaven’s First Consortium?” Finding someone to impersonate Lance Quinn shouldn’t be hard for Storm Cloud Bu.

“I always hoped... Bella would accept that Lance was dead, and move on from the shadow of his death. I never imagined she’d hold on so tightly.” Storm Cloud Bu looked desolate, tinged with sadness and resignation.

“Serena, it’s a terrible feeling, pushing the woman you love into another man’s arms. I wish Bella could accept me, but for her, no matter what I do—it’s useless. Because... I’m not Lance Quinn.” Storm Cloud Bu’s eyes glistened with tears, silently revealing his pain and sorrow.

He truly loves Bella—so much that he’s almost lost himself.

“But it’s okay. As long as Bella’s well, I’ll be fine.” Storm Cloud Bu blinked and smiled again. “You know me—I only care that Bella is happy and safe. Nothing else matters.”

“If Bella doesn’t love you, it’s her loss.” For some reason, as Storm Cloud Bu spoke, Serena suddenly thought of William Wang Jinling.

Love wounds people. If she could, Serena would rather never understand love—then she’d never hurt others, nor be hurt herself. But in this world, there’s no such ‘if’...

Storm Cloud Bu’s banter didn’t dispel Serena’s doubts, nor did it prompt her to investigate further. It just made her pay more attention to Bella Qin’s condition.

“When you arrange for the fake Lance Quinn to meet Bella, I want to be there. If anything happens, I can step in and help.” After all, Bella Qin is Lance Quinn’s fiancée—it’s only right for Serena to look after her for his sake.

Of course, she was also curious who Storm Cloud Bu would choose to impersonate Lance Quinn—and just how much that person would resemble him...

“W-what?” Storm Cloud Bu froze on the spot, unable to answer for a long while...