Waking up from her daze, Mandy yelled.
"If she is the heiress? What am I?"
She looked at her father, only to find that he and Lina had started eating once again.
She felt like they were treating her like a fool and got up from her seat and ran to the Exterior block.
Seeing her daughter fleeing, Lucille shook her head and gave one last glance at Patrick and Lina then followed her.
Lina saw Mandy's tears and felt bad for her. But remembering the taunts and indignation that her uncle had to face because of them, she hardened her heart.
"Did you see her face? Haha.. How did I perform just now?" Patrick looked at Lina with a 'praise me!' look on his face.
Lina just gave him a thumbs up and smiled.
"Did you see how she was trying to cling onto me? Her acting was impeccable. I really thought that I was her father for a second there." Patrick said with his hand on his chest.
"I don't think that she was acting, Uncle Pat." Lina said as she thought of Mandy and Lucille's behaviour.
"What do you mean, kiddo? Are you telling me that she really believes that I'm her father?" Patrick asked, confused at what Lina said.
"Looks like it. Either she really believes that you are her father or she is very good at hiding her real emotions and putting on a pitiful act." Lina said while rubbing her chin.
"How could Lucille be that cruel to her own daughter? She led Mandy to believe that she is a Yang just so that she can enter the Yang manor? But Why?" Patrick questioned, trying to understand what they were planning.
"That I do not know. But I will need a few days to confirm whether Mandy knows the truth and is pretending to be innocent or if she really is innocent and being used as a pawn in her mother's game. But we need to be wary of both of them" Lina concluded her deductions.
"As for the reason why Lucille so desperately wants to enter Yang manor, that will need some investigation. There's no need to hurry. We have a lot of time." Lina said in a lazy tone.
Patrick, who heard this, hurriedly sat up.
"Baby, don't do this to me! Your Uncle Ace is already angry at the scandal that I caused. If this drags on, he'll disown me!!" Patrick said with tears in his eyes.
Patting his head to console him, Lina chuckled thinking of how scared her Uncle Pat was of Uncle Ace.
"There, there. I'll help you convince him."
"I heard he moved out when Lucille and Mandy caused the scandal."
Patrick nodded like a bobblehead on a car's dash.
"Yeah! How could he leave me alone in this house with those two?" Patrick said with a pout.
"So you want him to stay here and get more angry?"
Listening to what Lina said, he put his head down and shook his head.
"Everything will be fine. If he still stays angry, I'll just call mommy and ask her to handle him!" Lina played the mommy card.
Lina's suggestion caused Patrick to perk up.
"Yes, yes. He is most scared of that mad woman."
"You know that I'm going to tell her that you called her a mad woman again, right?" Lina teased.
"So what? I'm not scared of her!" Patrick declared but wasn't very convincing.
"Oh really? So you won't mind me calling her right now to tell on you?" Lina shook the phone in her hand which displayed the contact 'Mommy Dearest'.
Patrick snatched the phone away and held it away from Lina.
"Sorry, my great goddess. I admit that I am scared. Who wouldn't be?" He mumbled the last part.
"My dad!" Lina said with a proud tone.
"Which is why I respect him so much." Patrick easily agreed.
"Ok, it's getting late now. Go get some rest. I heard that you'll be going to the office to meet Wade tomorrow? Will that be fine?" Patrick asked worriedly.
"No one recognises me here. I'll be fine." Lina reassured.
They spoke for a few more minutes before each head to their own bedrooms to get some much needed rest.
After getting back to her room, she started preparing for bed.
She double cleansed, then walked to her dresser to continue the next steps of her nighttime skincare routine.
"Toner, essence, serum and finally my beloved watermelon moisturiser." Patting her face to let it soak up all the goodness from her skincare essentials, Lina walked to her mini fridge.
"I asked Mrs. Ping to buy a gel pack for my sleeping eye mask. I hope she remembered to put in the fridge to chill." Opening the fridge, she found the cold pack and put it into her eye mask.
Picking up a bottle of mint flavored water, she got on her bed and chugged half the bottle of water.
"And the last step." Saying so, she picked up the lip balm and applied a thick layer on her lips.
"Yum! Smells like blueberries." Sniffing the tub, she closed it and placed it back on the bedside table.
"Now I'll have soft, kissable lips tomorrow morning. If only I had someone to kiss!!"
Thinking about her single dog life she shook her head and switched off the lights.
Putting on her eye mask,
"Good night, Lina. Let's dream of something nice!" She encouraged herself and drifted off to her dreamland.
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On the other side of the city, in a brightly lit office, only the sounds of pages being flipped was heard.
Putting down the last of his files, Reuben Ming closed his eyes and massaged his throbbing temples.
It was already past midnight and he was still working.
"Being a President sure is hard. My back is killing me!" Standing up from his seat, Reuben stretched his back.
Packing up his belongings, he walked out of his office, to find the entire floor vacant. It was way past the working hours and he had also sent Assistant Kim back home to accompany his wife.
"Anyway that useless Kim would not be of any help, looking at how he was bouncing around full of energy to be able to meet his wife after a month."
He shook his head remembering how Assistant Kim ran out of his cabin, when he was given the permission to leave early.
"Better get back home, I need another soothing bath. My Jacuzzi is waiting for me!" Thinking of the lavender scents that he would add in his bath, Reuben increased his pace to his car.
The sleeping driver was jolted awake when the backseat door was pulled open.
Starting the car, he silently rode to the Ming Residence.
On reaching his home, he dismissed the driver after giving him instructions for tomorrow.
Walking in he noticed that there was a figure sleeping on the couch. Shaking his head he walked towards that figure.
He looked down and saw his mother sleeping on the couch.
'She must have fallen asleep waiting for me.' He gave a sweet smile and moved forward to wake her up.
Feeling someone getting close to her, Renee Ming swung her arms at the intruder. Sitting up, with her hands in a defensive stance, she was ready to punch anyone who comes close.
"Ouch..! Mother!! How many times do I have to tell you not to punch me in your sleep?" Reuben said from the floor, rubbing his jaw that was hit.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to disturb my sleep?" Questioned Renee on a reflex.
Having finally woken up from her deep sleep, she looked at her son sitting on the floor and laughed aloud.
"Did I punch you again? Oh my poor baby." She reached out her hand to help Reuben up.
Swatting her hand away, Reuben got up and glared at his mother.
"When will you stop doing this? After you dislocate my jaw?" He glared at her then sat down opposite his mother.
"Hey! You were the one who signed me up for those self defense classes!" She retorted.
"To help you defend yourself. Not to punch my face in! What will you do if you cause some serious damage to my face? Who will I marry?" He asked.
"Marry? And you? Don't joke with me, you 28 year old virgin!" She taunted.
"I'm ashamed to call you my son. Your father had already gotten me pregnant when he was 26? What did you do? Nothing!" She scolded her son.
"Okay okay don't start with the same old lecture again. Did you get the gifts I bought for you?" Reuben tried to divert his mother's attention and it worked successfully.
"Yeah! I loved the chocolates. I even brought a few things for your uncle's family…" Renee kept talking about the gifts but Reuben's mind was on what happened in the board meeting this morning.
Seeing her son lost in his thoughts, she asked.
"Did something happen in the office today?" She knew about the recent troubles her brother-in-law was creating for Reuben in the office.
"No matter what you decide to do, your dad and I will stand with you. So don't worry about us." She reassured him.
He was thankful that they were on his side but he still felt guilty about it.
"Looks like your spy works very hard to keep you informed." Reuben thought of that little rat called Mathew Kim in his office.
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*Somewhere in the suburbs*
Mathew Kim sneezed then looked at his wife sleeping beside him.
'Which asshole is thinking about me now and disturbing my wife's sleep? I'll skin them alive if I ever get to know that person. Hmph!'
Then went back to sleep, spooning his wife with his hands rubbing her round tummy.
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"I have my ways. It's already very late. Go get some rest so that you can be refreshed tomorrow to earn more money. I heard some rumors that Obsidia is going to release new pieces. Mommy has to get her hands on them. So I'll be counting on you to work hard." She said in a serious tone.
Getting up, he shook his head and walked to his room.
'I only see her this serious when she wants to buy something. Byebye, my hard earned money.' He waved his money, bye.
Then thinking about his lavender bath, he felt better.