"Oatmeal?" Lina muttered to herself as she sat in the backseat of the car.

The driver today was not Derek, her chauffeur but someone else.

He glanced backward at the pretty lady who was treated so well by his Young Master and then at the buff man sitting next to him.

Benji shot him a glance with his brows raised and then pointed his chin towards the road.

'Watch where you are driving!' The meaning behind that action was clear to the driver and this made him focus his attention on the road.

"He likes oatmeal!? What about me?" Lina's murmurs once again reached the men's ears.

They shook their heads at the woman who kept repeating the same words over and over again like a broken record.

'Looks like Master did something to cause the Young Madam to be upset.' Reuben's driver deduced and then sighed at the man who was at home right now.

Today, he had arrived right on time to pick his Master, Reuben Ming to drive him to the office as he usually would.

However, he was informed that his Master was ill and had decided to stay back at home.

At first, the driver was stunned to hear that his workaholic boss had so generously decided to take better care of his health and stayed back to relax and recover.

However, when he was tasked with driving the future madam to her workplace, he willingly agreed.

The driver had already accepted Lina as his future madam and hence had no problem in addressing her in that way.

Hence he was excited to drive his Madam around while his Master took the day off for himself.

But this was not the truth as Reuben had already made plans of going to work today which happened to change drastically soon after.

____

An hour earlier,

After a silent breakfast with Lina eating her now tasteless omelet and sipping her bland smoothie.

She continued stealing glimpses of the man who was enjoying his oatmeal that was prepared by Benji.

'How could he eat that milky goop as though that is something delicious?' She wondered and looked away to hide her bewildered face.

Reuben was oblivious to her bafflement and after he was done with his breakfast, he declared that he needed a hot shower.

"That is a good idea but don't stay in for too long and remember to dry your hair properly!" Lina chided him as that was the reason for him to catch a cold in the first place.

Reuben blushed before nodding his head, happy with the concern that he had been showered with.

'It has been so long since someone cared for me when I was sick.' He thought and then smiled at her.

His smile made Lina feel giddy with the butterflies once again fluttering in her stomach.

'But I just ate my breakfast!' She yelled at her belly which seemed to be malfunctioning today.

She was confused since she did not realize that this time the butterflies were for the smile she was shown rather than the hungry stomach earlier.

'Mother used to take care of me when I was sick as a child but now she stays with Dad in the countryside.' He sighed when he thought back to the times he fell sick before this.

He too was human and like everyone else, he too felt weak and lethargic when he was sick.

But there was no one to take care of him that he trusted enough to keep at his side during such days.

Now, looking at the petite woman who was fussing about something as simple as his wet hair made him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

"Don't worry, Kitten." He whispered and raised his hand to pat her on the head.

Lina giggled when she felt his hand on her head and smiled widely at her boyfriend's sweet gesture.

"I need to leave for work in an hour so there is no way that I will waste too much time in the shower." He explained his schedule as he continued patting her head.

When Lina heard his plans for the day, she glared at him furiously before moving away from his hand.

Feeling the emptiness in the spot that he had been patting, Reuben frowned and tilted his head in confusion.

"You are going to the office? In this state?" She questioned him incredulously.

'He was delirious last night and now he still has a fever yet he wants to go to work?' She narrowed her eyes at him and gazed at him suspiciously.

"What could be more important than your health, Ruby? Even if you have a big meeting or a deal to finalize, you can schedule it on another day." She suggested with a disappointed shake of her head.

Reuben did have an important meeting today at noon.

The meeting which would officially begin the cooperation between the Ming Enterprises and Zheng Groups had been scheduled today.

This was something that he had given his approval for back when he was alright.

'Maybe I should do as she says. It isn't that big of a deal anyway.' He surmised when he noticed the annoyed expression on her face.

But then thinking of his father who was most eagerly looking forward to witnessing the collaboration between the two companies, he hesitated once again.

'He really is a workaholic! Should I sweeten the pot so that he willingly stays at home to recover properly?' She wondered and the answer her mind gave her was a positive one.

Looking him straight in the eyes, Lina held his slightly warm hands in hers.

Reuben's thoughts about his company, his father, and the collaboration all turned to dust when he saw her drawing circles on his palm.

"Ruby… If you don't get better quickly then how am I supposed to make out with you?" She mumbled and then coyly nibbled on her lower lip.

Reuben felt his temperature rising once again when he saw those pouty lips being bitten.

He felt his throat getting dry and gulped audibly which made him redden further.

'Why is she doing this to me!?' He cried out and looked away from her lips.

His need to press her down right here on the kitchen island and kiss her was overwhelmingly high.

Yet there was no way that he could fulfill his desires as that might transfer his germs onto his precious Kitten and was something he would never wish to do.

What he had so conveniently failed to remember was that he had already given her a generous portion of his germs last night.

When he was trying his best to wake Lina up by giving her mouth to mouth resuscitation, he had forgotten that he was sick and all he wanted to do was to wake her up.

Thus successfully passing on his germs to his beloved Kitten.

It was only a matter of time before those germs would work their magic on Lina's system.

Lina smirked evilly when she saw him evade her eye contact and this made her actions bolder than before.

Seeing that his attention was elsewhere, she made use of this opportunity and leaned closer to his ear.

"Get well soon so that I get to kiss you or else…" She whispered in a breathy tone and then moved away.

As she sat back on her seat, she saw Reuben's suspicious gaze on her but before she could concentrate on his gaze, his red ears made her let out a soft chuckle.

'So cute!' She remarked and raised her brows in question to his gaze.

"Or else what, Kitten?" Reuben inquired with an ominous feeling rising in his heart.

The smirk that appeared on her face before it vanished made his suspicions to deepen as he awaited her response.

"Oh, then I'll just have to find someone else to kiss~" She replied with a mischievous smile and then stuck her tongue out at him.

Reuben growled when he heard her casually mentioning placing those soft lips of hers on someone who wasn't him.

"You wouldn't!" He exclaimed and there was a mixture of anger and surprise in his voice.

Lina did not wish to infuriate the sick man any further so she shook her head while chuckling.

"Of course I wouldn't… For now!" She reassured him which made him sigh in relief at first and then scowl at the end of the sentence.

'She is being too bold now, isn't she?' He narrowed his eyes at the woman who kept teasing him.

"So you better rest up and recover completely!" She declared and patted his shoulder.

Reuben could not believe that he was being treated like a child by his girlfriend yet there was a subtle smile forming on his lips that he was trying hard to fight.

"I need to get dressed for work!" Lina grimaced when she saw that she would be late if she did not start right now.

Following which, she ran to the room that she had slept in last night.

Watching her scurrying away, Reuben chuckled while another person scoffed.

'Oh, I forgot that he was still here.' He turned and nodded at the man who had been forgotten all along.

Benji, the poor soul who had been treated as the non-existent third wheel scoffed at Reuben once again before moving his and Lina's empty dishes to the sink.

Lina soon returned with a laundry bag in her hand and shot Reuben an awkward smile.

��I'm borrowing the bag, all my clothes from last night are inside this." She mentioned and then hid the bag from their sight.

Reuben frowned when he realized something and rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"What will you wear to work today?" He inquired about this serious matter.

Lina and Benji shared a look and then she decided to reveal a certain piece of information.

"I have my own room in Benji's apartment because we usually have sleepovers. It has everything I need so I can just pick an outfit from those." She disclosed and waited to see his reaction.

'Is he mad at me for having clothes in another man's house like the possessive CEOs in the novels? Will we have our first fight now?' She wondered with her mind running wild.