Lina almost laughed when she saw the expression on Reuben's face.

'He looks like a puppy who was refused to be petted by its owner!' She looked away to stop the chuckle which was about to leak out.

Reuben stared at her face but could not understand what was so funny about all this.

'We kiss and she still calls us friends? Does this mean that she would kiss her other friends too?' He narrowed his eyes at her.

But before he could speak anything, Wallace Luo came to their table to greet them.

"Nana, come let me introduce you to some important people." Saying so, he stretched his hand out to her.

'Ugh… Not again! I've met too many people already!' She groaned yet accepted his hand.

Ace was about to turn away when he caught sight of Reuben at the table and paused midway.

He had seen this young man talking to Lina at the entrance but was unaware of what had happened after that.

Feeling Ace's gaze, Reuben looked up and waited for the elder to speak.

"Reuben, come along with us." He ordered in a tone that did not give him any room for rejecting it.

'Uncle Ace sure is scary.' Lina looked at Reuben's stiffened face before he nodded at Ace.

He silently got up and glanced at the twins who shrugged their shoulders indicating that they did not know what their uncle was up to.

Rolling his eyes at them, Reuben turned around and quickened his steps to keep up with the two who had walked away without waiting for him.

'I need to speak to Kitten alone, we still have to talk about certain important things.' He decided while following after the uncle-niece pair who was cheerfully talking about something.

Lina had by now calmed her mind after her little outburst earlier.

'So what if Ruby has kissed other women before? It's not like we are dating that I need to be jealous about it!' She rolled her eyes to prove that she was over it.

She absentmindedly nodded at what her uncle said as they walked along.

She then thought of how she had called him 'friend' as a reminder to herself that they were just that.

'Friends, that's what we are.' She declared and nodded her head.

'In fact, now that I know that a simple kiss can be so amazing I don't mind doing it again!' She blushed when she recalled the giddy sensation she felt in her stomach when they kissed until she was breathless.

'I've read so much about romance and it would be a shame if I don't put my knowledge to proper use!' She smirked and was glad that she had regained her senses.

Her eyes discreetly scanned her surroundings to look for someone who was worth starting a flaming hot romance with.

This bizarre idea was thanks to all the dopamine that was released in her brain after her first kiss.

Or else how could she forget that with romance there was always a chance of ending up heartbroken.

Reuben had been watching how she had been staring at men while walking and he gritted his teeth.

'It hasn't even been a proper hour since we kissed and she's looking at other men when I am right here!' He glared at her back but could not voice out his thoughts because of the scary man guarding by her side.

As she was still locating prospective male specimens, Uncle Ace's feet came to a halt which made her stop as well.

'Isn't that the woman whose picture I saw in Ruby's room?' Lina tilted her head and stared at the beautiful older woman who stood before her.

Reuben saw that they had stopped before his family and he moved faster to reach them before his mother messed everything up once again.

Renee Ming looked at Lina from top to bottom and they smiled sheepishly.

"Hello, Miss Yang. You must remember me from when we last spoke on the phone." She gave Lina an unnatural smile after she was done with her words.

'She is Ruby's mom!' Lina's eyes widened and immediately narrowed when she recalled the mean words that this lady had used for her.

Felix and Renee understood the meaning behind her actions but Ace was confused by what was happening here.

"Do you know each other?" He questioned his niece and then alternated his sights between the two women.

'Of course, I know her! She called me a gold digger when I already have a diamond mine of my own!' Lina raged in her mind but did not let it show on her face.

She answered Ace with a simple nod before looking at the Ming couple.

"Benji's new apartment is in Reuben's building so we spoke once." She gave him a vague answer to satisfy his curiosity.

Reuben arrived just as she had finished her sentence. He took a huge sigh of relief when no one uttered anything about the night at the hotel.

Felix was surprised when he saw that she did not complain about his wife's actions to Ace.

'Knowing Ace, he would have waged a war against anyone who insulted his family so why did she not say anything about the remarks that Renee had made?' He wondered because she had acted in a way that he had not expected.

Renee's impression about Lina became even better when she noticed how she did not bear a grudge against her, at least not openly.

"You look just like your mother did when she was your age." She remarked and both Felix and Ace nodded in agreement.

Lina really did a lot like her mother, Diane when she was the same age.

"Thank you." Lina's short reply was evidence of the fact that she was not interested in maintaining a conversation with her.

Ace was once again perplexed because his niece was sweet to everyone and he had never seen her behave in this manner with anyone new.

'Did something happen that I am unaware of?' He glanced at her suspiciously before looking back at Reuben with questioning eyes.

Reuben once again stiffened when he saw Ace glaring at him.

But his eyes quickly moved away from Reuben.

'What the hell?' Ace frowned and his brows scrunched together when he saw Patrick being cornered by a couple of women.

"Excuse me, I need to save my man." He declared before walking towards the huge man who was trying to keep the young women away from him.

"Wow, Uncle Pat sure gets hit on too often!" Lina chuckled as she watched the scene of Uncle Ace rescuing Uncle Pat by using business talks as an excuse.

"They should just announce their relationship to the public." Renee mumbled as she stared at the two men walking away from those young ladies.

"I feel the same way!" Lina excitedly turned around and agreed with this statement.

But when she realized who had made that statement, all her excitement faded and she coughed to cover it up.

"You want some water, Kitten?" Reuben's anxious question finally brought their attention to him.

Renee and Felix raised their brows and dropped their jaws when they heard the term of endearment that their rigid and boring son just used for the woman before them.

"I'm alright, Ruby." Lina muttered softly before smiling at him.

Watching the youngsters smile at each other, Renee felt like this was a sign sent from heaven.

'If Lina is the woman from his past and also the woman who saved him… Isn't this fate?' She squeezed her husband's hand to control the excited squeal that had erupted from her mouth.

'But I still need to do something before that!' She shook her head and then cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Miss Yang, I was wrong to have called you such names back then. I was led to believe that you were threatening my son with certain incriminating evidence and that made the tiger mom in me to awaken." Renee spoke in one breath and apologized for her past wrongdoings.

Lina was shocked to see how Reuben's mom had owned up to her mistakes without feeling like she was lowering herself.

'Always forgive someone who asks for forgiveness with their whole heart.' She remembered her mother's wise words and nodded at Renee.

"It was a weird confusion caused by the circumstances, Mrs. Ming. I am also to be blamed for that." She accepted the apology without being haughty about it.

"In fact, I blame Ruby for everything that happened!" Lina turned to her side and glared at the man standing next to her.

Reuben was flabbergasted when he saw his parents nod in approval.

"Yes. All this wouldn't have happened if you weren't such a sad old virgin!" Renee berated him, not bothered that there was someone else there.

'I've heard those words before!' Lina chuckled heartily when she heard how Renee had mocked her own son.

"You seem to be enjoying this a little too much, Kitten?" Reuben's voice deepened and he raised his brow while looking at her face.

Lina scoffed and turned away when she saw the odd look in his eyes.

'How far have these two come along?' Renee was curious because at the beginning of the evening, her son was about to break all ties with her and now he was openly flirting with her.

Not wanting to cockblock her son, she forcefully dragged her husband away while the other two were in their own little world.

Felix frowned when he was being yanked away from there and he constantly turned back to look at his son standing with that other woman.

"What was that for? We should have brought Reuben along as well. Miss Yang must be busy tonight." He complained but shut up when he saw his wife looking at him with a sneer.

"You think I don't know what you are planning?" She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.

Felix felt his schemes were uncovered and he coughed to hide his embarrassment.

"But even you know that Talia is the best person for our son. Not some woman who popped up out of nowhere!" He shook his head to show that he wasn't happy with Renee's actions.