Breakfast was finished quickly. After putting down the utensils, William looked at Bella and asked, “Did you come looking for me for something?”
Coming over this early surely meant she had some business with him.
William couldn’t quite believe Bella had come just to mooch off a meal.
“Come have dinner with me tonight, one thousand dollars,” Bella said, “We had agreed upon this earlier.”
“Of course, no problem.” How could William reject such an easy job?
Bella didn’t expect William to agree so easily and continued, “But this time you have to help me deal with some people. It cannot be like the last time where you straightforwardly disclosed everything to my dad.”
“No problem, taking people’s money to help them solve problems,” William said as he cleaned up the utensils, “But what do you mean by ‘deal with’? You aren’t thinking of buying someone’s life with a thousand dollars, are you? Human life seems too cheap then.”
Bella frowned, “Who is talking about buying someone’s life? It’s just a date arranged by my parents. You just need to make sure he finds me difficult to deal with, so he won’t dare to ask me out again.”
“Doing this will make your parents angry.” William had already put away the utensils and was walking towards the kitchen, talking as he walked, “Isn’t dating a good thing? Doing this would make me feel like a saboteur, it will have bad consequences.”
“What kind of nonsense dating? I don’t want to get married! What I fear the most are these arranged dates,” Bella followed behind William, saying, “Will you help me? Don’t just sit there silently when the time comes.”
“Why did you think of me for such a task? Can’t you find someone else?” At this moment, William especially missed his apprentice; at least if she were here, he wouldn’t have to wash dishes.
Bella replied, “I just thought, being someone my grandfather approves of, you should be somewhat competent. Most importantly, you are not interested in me.” Bella felt somewhat frustrated as she said this.
Even though she didn’t want to get married and disliked being hassled, being heartlessly rejected twice while seeking a marriage partner was indeed a blow to her self-esteem.
Helping her as a shield in this couldn’t be trusted to just anyone; if the other party took the act seriously, she would be in real trouble.
“Who said I’m not interested in you?” William said while washing the dishes, glancing at Bella, “You are quite attractive and have a good figure. I would consider a brief affair.”
“Tch!You are too young. Still dreaming of a one-night stand?” Bella spat at him and said, “Drop that idea. Let me ask again, will you help me?”
“Yes!” William said, “But it will cost more!”
“2000 dollars!”
“Deal!” William was already feeling bored; with a meal to enjoy, money to earn, and the chance to engage in something as interesting as embarrassing someone, why would he refuse?
Bella blinked and asked again, “Do you know how to paint?”
“Painting?” William couldn’t help but recall that art exhibition. It couldn’t be this coincidental!
“Yes! The person my parents arranged for me to date is the son of the renowned oil painting master, York Brimstone,” Bella said. “If you are really good at painting, it would be great if you could outdo him in his area of expertise. But it’s okay if you can’t paint, we won’t compete with him in painting… we will compete in a drinking contest!”
What left the deepest impression on Bella about William was his alcohol tolerance.
If William was willing to help her, they would directly challenge her date to a drinking contest. Considering male ego, the young man would probably not be able to refuse the challenge.
If he dared to drink, he would certainly be done for!
William’s alcohol tolerance was indeed abnormally high.
“As for painting, I know a bit about it,” William admitted. He usually spent more time writing a few words rather than painting.
“A bit of knowledge will do; let’s just challenge him to a drinking contest!” Bella had this plan in her mind for a while, asking William about his painting skill was just a slim hope.
York Brimstone was a contemporary master of oil painting. Even if his son was somewhat lacking, he would surely have some skill level.
William only knew “a bit about it”; he was no match for him.
If they couldn’t win through painting, then a drinking contest it was, simple, crude, and unreasonable.
Once they got the guy drunk, he would naturally lose interest in the arranged date.
During the banquet, no matter how good one’s painting skills were, what would it matter if one was drunk?
William didn’t bother to explain further; they would just have a drinking contest. He wasn’t particularly interested in competing in painting skills anyway.
Although he didn’t paint much regularly, he had lived for many years and had painted thousands, if not tens of thousands, of paintings. Coupled with William’s talent, not to mention the son of the master painter, even Da Vinci would have to concede defeat before William.
“You’re not planning to take me to York Brimstone’s exhibition, are you?” William asked, “Dinner should be in the evening, right? You came to find me so early.” ．
Bella said, “Don’t you need to change your clothes? Let me buy you a new suit as a token of my gratitude.”
“There’s no need! I think the clothes I am wearing are quite fine.” William felt that the outfit he had picked randomly after coming out of the cave was pretty decent.
He didn’t even need to wash his clothes; whenever he wished, he could use his willpower to remove dust and stains instantly, keeping the clothes clean at all times.
“Go buy a new set, your current attire is a bit too ordinary,” Bella said. “You are accompanying me to dinner after all; we should at least aim for a presence that exudes some kind of quality or personality.”
“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘quality’,” William replied as he finished washing the dishes and placed them in the cupboard. He never believed that fancy clothes could change anything, considering that even when he dressed like a beggar, he was the one who managed to beg the most every day.
Bella had asked for William’s help precisely because she wanted him to look impressive. However, upon closer inspection, she realized that this man, even while washing dishes, naturally exuded a kind of “quality.”
It was outrageous!
What normal man could reject Bella’s proposition to become her husband?
At the age of twenty-six, Bella had it all: a great physique, beautiful features, and a successful career. As for her aura, she felt that she was in no way inferior to any of the current popular celebrities.
Yet, William still turned her down!
“Alright, if you don’t want to buy it, then don’t,” Bella said after some thought. Given William’s legendary capacity for alcohol, what he wore didn’t really matter. As long as she introduced him as her friend, it could be considered performance art, even if William was dressed like a beggar.
William had started to feel that something was off with the spiritual energy in New York City, likely connected to his small Aura Field. This meant that the Cozy Book Haven was sure to attract a lot of attention from other Soulmancers.
As he was contemplating a visit to Cozy Book Haven, Alice walked into the yard, holding a lot of vegetables.
Having cleaned up the kitchen, William stepped outside, only to hear Alice exclaim, “Master, I bought some more vegetables; would you like to make something for lunch?”
Bella followed William out of the kitchen. When she and Alice locked eyes, the atmosphere became tense instantly.
