Reuben smiled when he saw the curious glint pass through Lina's eyes and leaned closer to her.

The young woman was waiting to get an answer from him but instead, she received a kiss from him.

Unlike the other kisses, this was pure and fleeting as it lasted for less than a second.

A single peck and his presence was gone from her lips.

"You, Kitten." He answered the question she had posed to him earlier.

Lina blanked out for a second after which she let out a burst of roaring laughter, surprising the man who was seated next to her.

'Did she lose her mind?' Reuben wondered with his brows furrowing as he watched the woman laughing without restraint.

Lina felt his confused glares but could not stop her laughter which also caused her to shed some tears in the process.

"Will you stop laughing already?" He muttered in an aggrieved tone as he had figured out that she was most probably laughing at him.

This prompted the young lady to stop her merry laughter as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"I just ate, Ruby! So can you not make me laugh!" She huffed as she clutched her belly which had been filled to the brim thanks to this man who kept serving her more food each time she finished the items on her plate.

This statement only made the Heir of the Ming family pout as now he was sure that she was laughing at his expense.

"What was so funny?" He grumbled in a low voice as he fixed his gaze at her.

"You, Kitten." She repeated his words while trying to imitate how he had said the words and also the smoldering look on his face.

The man in answer, tilted his head as he waited for further explanation as to why she had found that so funny to the point where she shed tears while laughing.

"Where did you learn such cheesy lines, Ruby?" She cupped his cheeks while questioning him.

Reuben put on a sulking face after he heard her words and did not answer her.

"That was such a pick-up line… A horrible one at that." She whispered the latter half of that sentence but he had heard her loud and clear.

He was being mocked which meant that it was now his turn to retaliate against her.

"So you do not believe me?" He inquired in an amused tone.

Over the past few days of staying in close contact with him, Lina had realized what some of his expressions meant.

Looking at the smirk he had on his face right now, she had a bad premonition.

'He always looks mischievous when he is about to tease me...' She realized that she would be in trouble soon.

Her instincts had not wronged her as this was exactly what Reuben had planned.

"Should I prove it to you that my earlier statement was true?" He smirked while uttering those words.

Her cheeks were turning red as she leaned away after noticing his movements.

Reuben did not let her escape as he continued to lean into her.

"You still have to return that favor~" He whispered in her ear while blowing air into it.

This action made Lina shiver as her ears were one of her sensitive zones.

"N-not here!" She refused with a trembling voice.

'We are in a public place! What the hell is he thinking to do here!?' Lina fretted that he might do something that they shouldn't in this place as a waiter might enter at any moment.

Thankfully, Reuben moved away from her after hearing her words which brought a wave of relief to her heart.

He sat up straight and adjusted his coat and tie as he looked in her direction.

"Okay then, we shall do it some other place. Where no one will disturb us." His next words made her eyes open wide in shock.

He had twisted her words and used them against her which made her glare at him who was shooting playful glances at her.

Reuben had noticed her peeking at the door while he was close to her which brought another bright idea and he did not hesitate to implement it.

'Teasing her is very easy!' He snickered when he saw the scowling look on her face.

"Heh! I will be going into cultivation soon so good luck with that!" Lina scoffed at him and crossed her arms across her chest.

Out of nowhere, the jovial and fun atmosphere in the room died down and Reuben frowned when he was reminded that she would be gone for an uncertain amount of time.

The young woman realized that she was the cause of this gloomy air that now surrounded them and she tried to remedy the situation before it got worse.

"I'll be back before you know it." She whispered and moved closer to him.

Reuben did not move away and let her hug his waist as she rested her head on his chest.

The tea was long forgotten and had gone cold as the two remained in the same position, in each other's arms.

"I swear that I will finish my work faster and not laze around too much." She promised as she looked up at him but her hands did not move away from his body.

"Hmm." Reuben nodded and sealed her promise with a kiss.

Lina blushed as she rested her head back on his chest and came to a stringent decision.

'I will finish my work as soon as possible and not waste too much time, treating it like a mini-vacation like I usually do.' She thought of how her next few days should be focused on designing and nothing else.

Even if she was going to rush her work, she would in no way compromise the quality or standard of her designs.

The next few minutes were silent until Reuben recalled something that he wanted to know more about.

Pulling his phone out, he unlocked the screen right in front of her and did not bother to hide the passcode from her.

'Hmm…' She memorized his code as she deemed it useful for the future.

He smiled when he saw the curious Kitten in his arms gazing at the screen intently.

"What was this all about, Kitten?" He interrogated while pointing his chin at the pair of texts on his screen.

Lina knew the texts on the screen very well as she had been the one to send them to him.

Back when she and Benji were sitting in the waiting lounge after their brief interaction with Talia Zheng, she had sent them to him.

{I arrived early but since I do not have an appointment to meet Mr. Emperor, I am here in the waiting lounge with Benji.

Meet me downstairs with Mathew but… only after you get a call from the front desk asking for permission to send someone upstairs.}

The first text was confusing but the second which soon followed had cleared a large portion of his doubts.

{Brother Reuben will help me teach a lesson to his dear Sister Talia, won't he~?}

This second text had made him roll his eyes at his Kitten who was also as cunning as a fox.