Claudius quickly considers and discards a few options. He could carry on in tones of gossip, lean in and tell the story of their flirtation in the kitchen, or of Luo Binghe's romance with Shen Qingqiu, hinting at his personal hand in it. He could roll his eyes and complain, while trying to strike a sympathetic tone for whoever has to work for a king who works for an emperor like that. He could say they've only met a few times, which is true, and that he's not at all interesting, which is less true. He could even pretend to be friends with Luo Binghe, which he discards quickest of all. "Luo Binghe's charm," he says, "is that he's a fascinating wreck of a man. Just an absolute ruin of flaws, of self-denial and excess, of self-hatred and pride, of all the vices and vulnerabilities a man can have, from the sympathetic to the monstrous. He's unrepentant and petty yet pitiful, and his feelings are so easy to hurt. We can't stand to be anywhere near each other. But he is very beautiful, I'll grant that, and very pleasant to kiss." Fine, so he did mention the flirtation.