As Lina was being dragged to the elevator, she sighed and followed after the guy who would not let go of her hand.

"Steph, I can walk on my own and it was kinda rude to leave that way, without even saying goodbye." She sulked in a soft voice as they entered the elevator.

'I did not get to say goodbye to Ruby!' She pouted that she did not get to clear the misunderstanding that they had during their car ride here.

She was so focused on Reuben that she had forgotten about the other guy who was also there.

Because she was busy conversing with the Little Devil, she had barely noticed the huge number of inquisitive glances that were coming her way.

She was already used to people watching her every move and there was no malice in the gazes that were focused on her so she decided to ignore them.

Inside the elevator, Lina turned to face the boy who was also sulking.

'I don't want Noona to get close to Noah bro! He's mean to me all the time and he'll spoil Noona's habits if he gets close to her!' Steph decided to put a stop to their interactions just like what he had done today.

'Look at that other guy! He was so firm in saying that Noona was his friend and nothing more! I like him better!' He nodded his head in appreciation.

If he had known the thoughts that were swirling around in Reuben's head then he certainly would have joined Noah in hopes of pushing the Emperor further away from his Noona.

Just before the doors could close, Benji pushed his way inside and stood between Lina and Steph.

"Hey, big bear! Can't you see that we are trying to have a conversation here!?" Steph lashed out at the heavy built man who literally blocked his path.

Lina chuckled when she heard how Steph had addressed Benji.

"Are you feeling better?" Benji turned to face her and asked with concerned eyes.

Noticing that he had just been ignored for the very first time in his years of working for Obsidia, Steph gritted his teeth in fury.

However, before he could say anything else his floor had arrived and Lina had pushed him out of the elevator.

"You were in a hurry to get to work so work hard, okay?" She patted his head and then smiled at him as the doors closed.

Steph stood outside the elevator, staring blankly at the now-closed doors and watched as the tiny screen displayed the 22nd floor where the elevator stopped once again.

'Did I just dig a grave for myself by using 'being late for work' as an excuse?' He stomped his feet and strode towards his workspace while glaring at anyone who appeared in his sights.

'I'll just have to meet her during lunch break!' He planned and slammed his door shut after entering his room.

Unfortunately, Steph would not get the chance to meet his Noona for lunch because she would be held busy in some other place at that given point in time.

___

As the elevator door closed, Lina turned around and sneered at Benji.

"Can you not mention your concerns about my health in front of others!?" She scowled and harrumphed when she saw him raising his hand in surrender.

"I see that you are feeling better now." He gave her an off-handed remark to which he was answered with a glare.

The moment the doors opened on the 22nd floor, Lina and Benji put up their straight poker faces and elegantly strode out of the elevator.

Sadly, they had just taken a few steps when their path was blocked by a certain annoying someone.

"Well well well… So now I know why you were so abruptly hired." Maxene Kang smirked and stood with her hands crossed over her chest.

Lina rolled her eyes at first but then paused to wonder why this lady had gone back to the same question as the last time they had a confrontation.

Seeing her puzzled face, Benji sighed and then bent closer to her ear and whispered what this lady might be talking about.

"Your uncle gave the media permission to write articles about your real identity as Lina Yang and there was also a picture attached." He informed her in a short and precise manner which she had very much appreciated.

"Oh, I see… So they know that I'm…" Lina nodded her head in an absentminded way but soon froze.

Her eyes widened and then she turned to face her assistant who rolled his eyes and then nodded at her once again.

She took a moment to digest this information and finally when her brain processed it, she instantly turned around the room only to find everyone staring at her.

'Uncle Pat! What have you done!?' She gritted her teeth yet smiled and waved at the people whose eyes were watching her every move.

Maxene Kang had been waiting for a reply but her face darkened with each passing second that this pair was ignoring her.

"You got your job because you are related to the VP here." She declared in a mocking tone which made Lina shake her head.

"We've gone over this once already and you were warned by Director Bai for trying to spread false rumors about my job. Do you enjoy getting warned that much?" Lina retorted and shrugged as though she did not care.

When all she wanted to do was run to her office and hide from everyone's leering eyes.

Maxene clenched her jaw when she was reminded of the last time she clashed with Lina and how her assistant had made a fool out of her.

"Tsk! The office was peaceful the past week that you did not appear before my eyes. Why don't you just twist your ankle once again and stay back at home? This time maybe forever?" Maxene smirked, satisfied with the taunt that she had sent Lina's way.

'Twisted my ankle? Heh?' Lina's face showed the bewilderment that she was feeling at that moment.

However, before she could say anything else, a familiar face that she had not seen for the past week appeared before her eyes.

"Did you forget how you twisted your ankle because the heel was too high and passed out due to the pain?" Leon Jiu interrupted her and signaled with his eyes to agree with what he had said.

Though confused at what was happening, Lina nodded to show that his words were true.

When Wade Luo had instructed Leon to make up an excuse for her sudden unconscious state and the fact that she had to be carried out by her assistant, Leon thought for a whole five minutes before he came up with this solution.

'Her heels were too high and she twisted her ankles.' Was the result of his five-minute-long effort.

Lina narrowed her eyes when she realized what was happening and then gave this false rumor spreader a nasty look.

'Just you wait till I can get you alone.' She smiled at him which just made the hair on his hand stand.

Once again, Maxene was ignored and this time she did not want to demean herself by standing in the presence of these fools so she turned around and strode away.

'I might get fired if I stay any longer to argue with this woman. I would just be messing with my own plans then!' She curbed the irritation in her heart for her future plans here in Obsidia as she entered her room.

The people still remaining there stared at the woman striding arrogantly and then just shook their heads.

Lina then scanned the room but the moment she made eye contact with the employees, they all averted their sights.

'This is why I wanted to keep my identity a secret! I don't want this alienated feeling when I am working!' She pursed her lips and then after giving a serious glance to her assistant and the other man, she walked to her room.

Leon took a step forward to follow after her but halted in his steps when he felt the strong hand on his shoulder.

"She's probably in a bad mood now. Let her be alone for a while." Benji suggested and then walked towards his seat.

While Lina was in the hospital, Wade had assigned a desk for Benji which was right next to Leon's.

Thus they became deskmates and Benji had his ears talked off every single day by the man who just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Leon stared at the closed door and sighed.

'I had guessed that Lina was from some influential family but I could never have thought that she was from the Yang family.' He pondered as he took his seat next to Benji.

___

Inside her office room, Lina tossed her shoes to the side and then plopped on the comfy couch.

Picking up her phone, she first logged onto her social media account to see what exactly it was about her that the entire city was talking about.

For the entire week, she had not touched her phone because it had been confiscated by Uncle Pat.

Hence now, she was bombarded with every notification from the gossip tabloids that she had followed online.

'Mandy Rong - The Unknown Heiress'

Lina frowned when she read the title and clicked on it to read what they had written about it.

She even watched the video of Patrick's press release and her eyes widened in shock.

"Is this what Lucille was talking about when we met at the terrace garden?' She surmised because this could perfectly explain her hostile behavior at that time.

The next articles were all about how Mandy deserved to be given a proper debutante ceremony to introduce her to high society.

'I feel like I will be targeted because of this ball!' She rubbed her throbbing temples as she read further.

The final few articles were all about 'LINA YANG - THE REAL HEIRESS'.

'What have you done, Uncle Pat?' She repeated her earlier question after reading the accurate information about her that was published in those articles.

The articles comparing her to Mandy were the most bothersome to her as they would just become the means of further animosity between them.

'Not that we can be friends any longer. Not after what they did to Uncle Pat and Ace.' She then convinced herself to remove any soft corner that she might have for them.

She remembered her brother Wind's words.

'It is alright to retaliate when you are attacked.'

So she steeled herself for the cold war that might ensue in the near future.