Chapter 124 - Noises Outside

Lina locked the door and paced around the room in her anger.

'What was that all about? Why would I take money from Reuben?' She stomped her feet and puffed up her cheeks.

She looked like an angry toddler whose request for candy was refused by her mom.

She fell on Benji's new bed and screamed into the pillow to reduce her frustration.

'You know what? That's not a bad idea! I should have demanded him to pay me for being his fake girlfriend!' She looked up from the pillow and her eyes brightened.

'Not only did he make use of my name to keep that Talia away, he even used me as a shield in front of his mom!' She pumped her fists in the air.

She did not know what exactly happened that caused Reuben's mom to behave in such an aggressive and mean way towards her but now she certainly did not like the lady.

'I even compared her to my mom! My mommy would not treat people she just met in such a harsh manner!' Lina harrumphed.

'I understand that most moms hate it when their darling boys find a girl for the first time. They feel that their baby bird is going to be snatched away by the new witch in his life.' She tried to understand her point of view.

'After all, never have I ever read a mother-in-law in the novels who liked their son's girlfriends on the very first meeting.' She nodded her head.

'They learn to like her or try to kill her but the male lead saves her as always.' She recollected those romantic scenes that followed after the big rescue. 

Shaking her head, she removed those lewd thoughts away from her head and got back to the main problem here.

'But why me? I'm not even his girlfriend! So why was I treated like some evil gold-digger who is after his money?' She pouted and moped around.

'Who exactly is Reuben that both he and his mom are so obsessed with their status and family name?' She tried to speculate about his identity because even the Queen bee Talia Zheng went to such great lengths to sleep with him.

However, her detective thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone.

Hearing the overly familiar ringtone, she fished her phone out of her pocket and looked at the name of the person who had called her this late in the night.

"Big brother?" Her eyes widened with excitement when she saw that it was her brother Wind who finally thought of his little sister after so long.

However, she curbed her enthusiasm and cleared her throat.

"Hello? Who is this?" She asked in a lazy voice then she made a slight 'hmph' sound and pursed her lips.

"Is my Nana still upset with me?" A deep yet enchanting voice was heard through the speaker of the phone.

Lina rolled her eyes and did not respond to his question.

"Big brother was wrong, Nana! I know that I was supposed to meet you soon but something came up with the company and I had to deal with it. Please try to understand." He coaxed her and it was working.

She could never be angry with someone when she knew that they had other things to do.

"But you could have at least called to let me know!" She muttered in a childish voice.

"My bad! But let me see my Nana's face. Switch to video call." He instructed and Lina hurriedly switched to the video call option.

As usual, the screen was dark on his side and only her face could be seen on the screen.

'He's still so cautious!' She rolled her eyes. 

It's been months that she had last seen him in person and he never showed his face to her whenever they spoke on the phone.

Something about keeping his identity a secret. 

Lina never understood why, but she knew not to ask any questions.

They were speaking about her Obsidia branch in country E and how he was managing it seamlessly when something diverted their attention.

*Crash*

Lina's head turned towards the door when she heard the loud crash coming from outside the room.

'What are they doing outside?' Her brows furrowed when she heard the noises outside.

"What was that? And where exactly are you?" Wind's voice was low and menacing.

"Calm down, bro. I'm at Benji's new place, he just moved here so we are having a welcome sleepover." She explained why she was not in Yang Manor so late in the night.

"Hmm. But stay away from him. I don't like it when you stick to him." He sternly chastised her.

Lina only nodded because this was the usual warning that she heard from him whenever they spoke.

"So Bro, how's Tri-" Before she could finish her words, there was another loud crash from outside.

"Lina, what the hell is going on outside!?" Wind's voice raised and only a pair of golden eyes glowed on the dark screen.

He always called her 'Lina' when he was mad and at such times he wouldn't listen to any of her excuses.

'Benji! Why are you trying to get big brother to lose his patience!?' She gritted her teeth but still smiled to show Wind that everything was alright.

"I want to see what's going on. Show it to me!" He demanded.

"Yes, brother." She hurriedly nodded and walked to the door.

'Please let everything go normally!' She prayed as she peeped through the slightly opened door.

What she saw outside made her eyes widen and her mouth open in a big 'O'.

The furniture was overturned, vases broken and pillows were torn. Things scattered or broken could be seen everywhere.

"Ugh!" She turned to the source of the sound and found two grown-ass men rolling on the floor.

Reuben was pinned to the floor with Benji straddling him.

She would have thought that they were doing something perverted if she hadn't taken a closer look at them.

Benji's hand was on Reuben's throat and Reuben was trying to shake him off but was struggling due to the vast difference in their sizes.

They froze in the same position and slowly turned in her direction when they heard the door open.

They instantly separated from each other and got to their feet.

Reuben stepped forward when he saw that Lina had finally come out but stopped when he saw her furiously glaring at them.

She then turned to Benji and signaled to her phone with her eyes.

"What happened, Lina? Turn the phone around, let me see what's happening." Wind's clear voice resonated in the silent room.

"Yes, Brother Wind!" She called out his name a little louder to let Benji know who it was.

Wind had been observing all her expressions and saw how she signaled someone else in the room.

When Benji heard that it was Wind, he panicked and he hastily looked around.

The room was an entire mess due to their little scuffle and his clothes were a mess as well.

'Speaking of a scuffle! The biggest problem here is this man!' He glared at Reuben and dragged him behind the kitchen counter.

Reuben tried to struggle out of his hold but stopped when he saw Benji place a finger on his lips and indicated him to stay silent.

"I'm still waiting, Lina!" Everyone heard a man's pissed off voice.

"Yes, yes!" Lina sighed when she saw them hide and turned her phone around.

Wind observed the messed up state of the house and frowned. 

"Did a hurricane hit Benji's place?" He sneered at her.

"It still needs a few touch-ups. That's all. It will look great once I help him out." Lina turned the phone back to show her face and smiled innocently.

"Where's that giant? I need to speak to him." Wind ordered in an aloof voice.

Benji, who was sitting on the floor with Reuben next to him, flinched and his eyes shook when he heard this.

'Who is this person that can even make this guy be scared?' Reuben watched as Benji adjusted his clothes and walked towards Lina.

"Greetings, Young Master." Benji's voice was completely mechanical and subservient.

'Lina called the man her brother and Benji is now calling him master. Who exactly are you, Lina?' He was beginning to get more curious about her real identity.

Reuben peeped through the corner and watched how Benji bent low to greet him.

He couldn't get a good look at the person on Lina's screen because it was completely dark but for a split second, he felt a pair of eyes look his way.

For whatever reason that he could not explain, Reuben hid back in the same place to avoid getting caught.

'Huh? Why did I just do that? I'm Reuben Ming so how can I just hide like that in such a cowardly way?' Because he was lost in his thoughts, he missed what the others were speaking about.