Inside Lina's room, Benji and Leon sat on the couch while Lina anxiously paced around.

"How many times have I told you to keep your sassy mouth under control!?" She berated him for his little outburst.

Benji looked up at her with a wounded expression and pursed his lips as if he was wronged unjustly.

"So you want me to stand and watch while she throws dirty water on my boss?" He argued in his defense.

'This guy!' Lina sighed in defeat and took a seat on the couch.

'I shouldn't have yelled at him.' She looked back at him and was about to speak when someone else beat her to it.

"How did you know about Wendy being the culprit when this is your first day at work?" Leon asked with curiosity brimming in his eyes.

'This guy is ever ready with a question. If Leon was a character in some novel then he would definitely be the nosy aunt!' Lina rolled her eyes at him.

"He was the one who found out the real identity of the culprits. So he will obviously know about her." She shrugged and let him know.

"Oh… So you called Benji that day?" Leon nodded his head in understanding.

"Are you a hacker? That is so cool!" His eyes sparkled as he praised Benji's skills.

"Does Anthony pay you just to gossip around or are you of any use in this office?" Lina taunted him.

"Hey! You are mean today! I'm gonna leave now!" Leon got up from his seat and harrumphed before leaving the room.

'Argh!' She felt like punching someone.

"Come here." Benji called her close and made her sit beside him.

"Cramps?" He asked in a soft voice when Lina sat next to him.

She just nodded as she placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

While Benji let her rest for a while, he pulled out his laptop and started working on some files.

Lina's work at the office was basically non-existent now that the auction was over.

They just had to start dealing with the Obsidia flagship stores to increase their sales by using the hype from the auction.

While Lina was taking a nap on Benji's shoulder, the outside world was buzzing with the news of LY's successful auction.

The young socialites had posted the images of their presence at the auction on their social media accounts and this caused waves of people to pay attention to it.

Many of them had even taken secret pictures of the eligible bachelors and posted them online.

Multitudes of comments poured in after the pictures were posted.

"Master Wayne can rock any style!"

"The Emperor looks regal in black!"

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why is the Emperor dancing with some woman?"

"Who is she? Never seen her before! Will she be Mrs. Ming in the future?"

"Talia Zheng attended the auction as well? Shocker!"

Many such comments poured in.

Benji was scanning the social media sites right now and deleting any pictures of Lina that he could find.

She did not like her pictures to be exposed in front of thousands of people and would rather choose to be an unknown face in the crowd.

__

In Ming Enterprise,

"Do you think she'll like it?" Reuben questioned his assistant with a nervous look on his face.

"Boss, Lina will like it no matter what. She's not some superficial bimbo like a few of them in our office." Mathew went off on a different tangent but stopped when he felt Reuben's sharp gaze on him.

'He's talking as if he has known Lina his entire life.' He sneered at him.

"Did you attach the card that I gave?" Reuben asked for the third time today.

And the answer he received was the same.

"Yes, boss. The parcel and the card will be delivered safely." Mathew reassured him.

"Hmm… Get me the latest files of this quarter." Reuben then ordered him to leave the room.

'I hope she doesn't find my gift odd.' He glanced at the file and got to work.

A few hours passed and Mathew Kim re-entered his boss' room.

"Boss, Madam is here for you." He informed and then opened the door for Madam Ming.

Renee walked in and found her son perusing the files without even bothering to greet her.

'I see, his silent treatment has begun.' She sat opposite him and tapped on the table in an erratic rhythm.

"Stop it." Reuben finally looked up when her disturbance was starting to piss him off.

"What can I do for you, mother?" He asked with a business smile on his face.

"How long do you plan on ignoring me?" Renee glared at him.

"Until you realize your wrongdoings." He gave a straightforward answer.

"I know that I was wrong to believe everything Talia said without trying to find out more about the truth. But I think you are making this into a big deal for someone you just met." She shook her head to express her dissatisfaction.

'I wonder what her reaction will be if she knows that the woman she called a gold digger is actually her idol LY.' Reuben looked at his mom with pitiful eyes but decided to hide this secret as a punishment.

"She's not just someone I met, mom. I've met Lina a few other times before." He explained it to her.

"In fact, you've met her as well." He dropped a bomb on Renee and watched as her eyes widened.

"Where? Which family does she belong to?" Renee blasted him with multiple questions.

"At the auction, you even yelled at me for fighting with her after our dance." He recalled how pissed he was back then but now it seemed like a minor quarrel among friends.

He noticed the silence in his room and looked at his mom who froze with her mouth wide open.

'That pretty lady was the one he was with?' She started laughing when she realized something.

"Reuben, I approve!" She gave him a big thumbs up.

"What exactly do you approve of?" He retorted in confusion.

'I have a bad feeling about this!' He was hesitant to hear her answer because of the crazy look she was giving him.

"I approve of having babies with her!" Renee was jumping with excitement.

"Even though she was wearing a mask, I could tell that she's a beauty. Her movements were elegant and that dress looked like it was one of a kind." She began pointing out the observations she made at that time.

Reuben choked on air when he heard her absurd ramblings.

"She's not too short for you and the two of you looked great together." She squealed when she remembered how suave her son was while he led her in the dance.

"You know what the best part about her is?" She asked and then answered her own question.

"She has got wide hips! She is perfect for carrying your children!" She repeated her words from earlier just to get this idea deeply rooted in his head.

'I don't mind if she's not from a big family as long as she's a nice person. And I know that she is nice because Reuben would never stand up for her if she wasn't.' She nodded, happy with the outcome of today's trip to his office.

"Mother, we are just friends! No one is having babies here. So get that thought out of your head!" He chided her ruthlessly.

Renee quickly admitted defeat but decided to investigate the mysterious Lina with Felix's help.

Then thinking of something else, she scoffed out loud.

"I think I know why Talia made up that story to fool us. She was afraid that I would like Lina more than I like her and might make her my daughter-in-law instead." She sighed and punched the table.

"Calm down! Again! No one is becoming your daughter-in-law!" He yelled once again.

'That's what you say. Just wait till I know more about her, I will make sure I see my grandbabies before next year ends!' Renee made a solemn vow. One that she was bent on fulfilling.

"Now that you know Talia lied to you, what are you planning to do about it?" He questioned in hopes of some help from his mother regarding this issue.

'I can handle this matter as long as she doesn't interfere.' He was willing to make this compromise as well.

"She's my friend's daughter. There is no way that I can allow you to harm Talia." She firmly shook her head.

'Why was I expecting a different answer from her?' Reuben was dismayed with this result.

"But… I can't stop you if I don't know what you are planning to do, that way no one can blame me. Right, Reuben?" She mischievously wiggled her brows at him.

His mood soared higher when he heard Renee's words.

"Absolutely." He agreed and the mother-son duo smirked together.

"But that still does not explain why you are here?" He went back to his poker face.

"It's lunchtime and we wanted to have lunch together before we leave tomorrow morning." She pointed to her watch and urged him to come along.

They had come for the auction and now that they had attended it, they wanted to return to accompany Grandpa Ming back at their countryside villa.

"Also, don't tell your dad about our talk. I don't think that he was happy to see you dancing with Lina that night." She whispered as they walked into the elevator.

She had noticed his frown when she and Mathew were squealing to see Reuben on the dance floor with a woman.

According to Felix, only the best would suit his son and the best choice for a daughter-in-law among all the families was none other than Talia Zheng.

"Again, mom. I am not marrying either one of them." He repeated for the umpteenth time today.

"Yes, yes. I understand." She rolled her eyes and they entered the parking lot.