"Can you stop that!?" Benji scowled and rubbed the space between his eyebrows.

The woman laying on the couch was hugging a fluffy throw pillow and was humming an off-tune song.

"What?" Lina turned towards the man who was sitting on the single-seater adjacent to her.

There was a laptop placed on the pillow which was resting on his lap and an annoyed expression resting on his face.

Lina tilted her head and frowned because she had not said a single word since they had arrived inside her office.

Ever since her identity was revealed, she couldn't act a fool like how she would previously and had to maintain a certain image as the Yang family's daughter.

Also, the people in the office had started to treat her differently causing an unspoken distance to form between them.

Her days at the office after the initial rush for the grand auction was now filled with just making her presence known and then lazing around inside her office room.

Another reason for her leisure days was the workload that she had divided among different people.

This branch was handled by Wade, the European branch was under Wind's care and the main branch in America was being looked after by her trusted men.

Hence, her days were now filled with such free time that she had no idea what to do with it.

Benji scoffed at his lazy boss and then shook his head in dismay.

'Here I am, paying attention to all three of her branches and look at her! Rolling around like a little pig, humming tunes that will make the original singers cry tears of blood because she sucks balls!' He derided her inwardly and shot her a disgusted look.

Lina was quick to observe the nasty glare she had received and a giggle erupted from her mouth.

"Still angry that I snitched about your little date to Kirk, huh?" She quizzed while mischievously wiggling her brows.

Being reminded of the embarrassing incident when his elder brother, Kirk Douglas had thought that crashing the so-called 'date' would be a good idea, Benji narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips.

"It was never a date! Miss Julia and that idiot Leon decided to pity me and so they started dragging me along for lunch when you were in the hospital." He clarified and shook his head once again.

Lina rolled her eyes but decided not to pursue this topic any further lest she made him feel awkward about it.

Yet, Benji was not one to be considerate of her feelings as he shut the laptop and gazed at her with inquisitive eyes.

"What's the deal with you and that Ming guy? Why did you not return to the office after your lunch and why the heck were you giggling like an idiot earlier?" He interrogated her as his right hand reached up to his face and rubbed his chin.

Lina sat up straight and then folded her legs, one over the other to get comfortable before she could answer his queries.

"That Ming guy will be referred to as 'Lina Yang's personal property' now and forevermore!" She proclaimed as a proud and jubilant smile graced her face.

Benji scoffed, not in the least bit surprised by this turn of events.

'Just friends, my big fluffy ass!' He sneered while remembering how Reuben had repeatedly assured him that he had zero romantic feelings towards Lina.

"That guy turned back on his word so quickly, does he have no shame!?" He murmured incoherently, disgruntled that he would have hell to pay when his Master Wind gets to know about this update in his baby sister's love life.

Lina tilted her head as she had not grasped what he had just said but by looking at his frowning face, she was sure that it could not have been anything good.

However, she shrugged her shoulders and then answered his next questions.

She narrated how Reuben had proposed to take them out for lunch and then went on to explain everything that had happened after that.

Benji paid attention to what she had narrated following which he made a mental note to find out more information about this woman named Jeanette Liang, who had dared to cause his boss both physical and emotional pain.

"Should I leak any embarrassing picture of Master Wayne as a form of revenge?" He inquired after giving it a moment's thought.

Lina noticed his serious expression and she was sure that this guy would find a picture to humiliate Wayne online if she did not stop him.

"Let him be. He is currently confused about who are the people that truly care for him and who want to use him." She rejected his offer and waved her hand dismissively.

'But when he does realize the truth… I'll be sure to make him suffer and beg for mercy!' She smirked while imagining such a scene to take place in the near future.

Benji nodded and while Lina wasn't paying attention, he took a secret sigh of relief.

'There are few who can compete with me and give me a tough time when it comes to hacking. One such man is Wayne Luo!' He was both proud and vigilant of the other man.

His thoughts on how to improve his skills came to a halt when he heard Lina's whisper.

"About why I'm giggling…" Lina's soft giggle once again enveloped the room.

Benji gave her a disgusted look when he saw that she continued giggling rather than filling him in on the details and successfully quenching his thirst that could also be called his immense curiosity.

Lina was least bothered about the nasty stare he was directing towards her as her thoughts had already drifted to the cause of her cheerful giggles.

____

Last night after she had just gotten out of her night-time shower, she had picked up her phone and noticed that Reuben had not yet hit her back.

So she came to the decision of sending him a goodnight text before she could hit the bed.

The very next moment after she had sent him the text, she received an invite for a video call from his number.

In her panic, she had almost tossed her phone aside but had somehow managed to steady herself and stop her hasty actions in the nick of time.

She hurried to look at her face in the mirror and was glad that she had taken off her makeup and mascara properly before she had gotten into the shower.

'If not I would be looking like a wailing ghost with the mascara running down my face!' She sighed in relief and then answered the call after sitting in a place where there was ample lighting.

Just as she had answered the call, she heard his soft murmur and her cheeks heated up.

"Beautiful" His voice was low yet not inaudible.

'Can he not attack me like that!?' She complained while blushing and turning her eyes away from the screen.

When she managed to compose herself and turn back to view the screen, she felt her eyes widen in surprise and her mouth run dry.

The visual before her was mesmerizing and spectacular to say the least.

'His face has always been his plus point but now… My my!' Lina applauded in her heart, almost sounding like how a bald old lecher with a huge beer belly would.

Reuben's face held a mild smirk as he gazed back at her in an absentminded manner.

Lina did not want to waste this godsend blessing and did not hesitate or shy away from catching glimpses of his bare chest.

'He definitely knows that he's showing skin then it must be because he wants me to see it so who am I to reject his goodwill?' She defended her perverted mind and continued to stare at him without any reservations.

While she was enjoying the heavenly sight of his muscular chest, Reuben Ming, the cold-hearted Emperor known for shunning any woman who came close to him wasn't doing any better.

His eyes first landed on her flushed and supple cheeks then on her soft pink lips that were slightly parted which made him gulp his saliva after feeling his throat dry up.

As his eyes traveled lower, his eyes darkened when he noticed what she was wearing.

Lina had gotten out of the shower a few minutes before she had sent that text and therefore she was still dressed in her bathrobe.

Two people, one in a white robe and the other in a black robe sat in silence gazing at each other.

The black bathrobe accentuated her fair skin and as his eyes roamed lower, his jaw clenched tighter.

'How can she be so careless? What if it was someone else? What if it was another man? Would she let him see her in such a delectable state?' Reuben's brows furrowed while he thought of such an incident occurring.

Lina noticed his line of sight and hurried to pull the robes closer, shielding the top of her well-endowed breasts which had been peeking out until now.

"Ruby!" She pouted while calling out his name in an anxious tone.

Reuben instantly coughed and looked away, embarrassed that she had caught him staring at her breasts.

He felt the urgent need to hide his red face but much more than that was his need to get rid of the troublesome thoughts in his head.

"Kitten…" He muttered and then stared back at her with serious eyes.

Lina's back straightened when she heard his stern voice and waited for him to speak further.

"Would you answer the call dressed like that if it was someone else other than me?" He questioned, in fear of what her answer might be and also what his reaction to that might be.

Even though he hated the fact that he was so insecure about their relationship which had begun due to his incessant efforts, he did not want to continue feeling like it would slip away in the blink of an eye.

Lina's eyes glowed menacingly when she heard his doubting words.

'What kind of a girl does he think I am!?' She glowered in her mind but soon the seething anger faded away.

'Why does he look like an insecure wife waiting for her husband to coax her?' She bemused while gauging his expressions.

She coughed to cover up the chortle that she had accidentally let out and then looked him back in the eyes.

"Before I answer your question, tell me this… Would you do the same?" She retorted and was greeted with a flustered and astonished face.

"Of course not! Only Kitten gets to see this side of me!" He exclaimed hastily to not let her misunderstand.

Lina was at her limit now and could no longer keep her calm after seeing his cute reactions, causing her to let out a hearty chuckle.

"It's the same with me, Ruby! I would never allow anyone else to see this… I rushed to answer the call in only my bathrobe BECAUSE IT WAS YOU!" She confessed in a loud voice to make sure that he wouldn't get such a silly doubt ever again.