Noticing his grandson's silence, Aloysius Ming furrowed his brows and wondered what was wrong.
"Did you fall asleep on me, boy?" He questioned in anger and would have smacked Reuben with his cane if he did not get any answer.
'He woke me up and fell asleep all by himself?' The elderly grumbled but paused when he heard a sound coming from the other side.
Reuben sighed deeply and then looked out at the stars shining brightly in the midnight sky.
"I am not talking about the past, Grandpa. I am talking about the present. Well technically still past because it already happened. But you get what I mean." He let out an awkward chuckle after he was done.
"If you are done with your absurd rambling about the concept of time then please do elaborate on what exactly happened!" Grandpa Ming yelled out by the time he reached the end of his sentence.
Reuben moved the phone away from his ears and winced when he heard the loud roar from the old man.
'No need to ask if he is in good health. That loud voice and vigor say it all!' He lightly chuckled and wondered what his grandfather was doing when he heard shuffling noises coming from the other side of the phone.
Grandpa Ming rolled his eyes when he heard the chuckle and got off his bed. Walking to the couch, he took his seat there and waited for Reuben's explanation.
"So this started when I saw her at the airport…." Reuben began to retell the incident of his chanced encounter with the woman he never wanted to meet ever again.
'Oh ho! She's a feisty one, just like her grandmother.' Aloysius chuckled when he heard about how she had offended Reuben during the flight.
"And that is what happened." Reuben panted after he was done relaying the entire journey of their encounter up to their present situation.
"So you like her after you realized that she is the same person as the child who stole your first kiss?" Aloysius frowned as he asked this vital question.
Reuben's eyes widened when he heard the hints of disappointment and disapproval in his elder's voice.
"No! Quite the opposite actually!" He was quick to deny the accusations that were placed on his head.
Grandpa Ming did not reply and just waited in silence for Reuben to explain himself.
"I wanted to break my friendship with her after I realized that Lina and Lina Yang were the same people." He hurried to his defense.
Then he retold how he felt a weird burning sensation in his heart when he saw how close Lina seemed to be with his archrival, Louis Huo.
'That feeling is called jealousy!' Grandpa Ming's interest in this matter was finally piqued.
He sat upright and listened to his words with bright and sparkling eyes.
"So that is how we ended up kissing and now I want to court her." Reuben went back inside the room because it was getting too cold for him outside.
Grandpa Ming was ecstatic when he heard everything that had happened but then he stopped his over-enthusiastic heart.
"Do you like her?" He asked doubtfully without showing any signs of his earlier excitement.
Reuben paused and then nodded his head, realizing that he was talking on the phone he gave a hum in response.
"Why? How?" Aloysius interrogated, unsatisfied with his answer.
"I don't know why or how. I just do." Reuben shrugged carelessly and this deepened the frown on his grandfather's face.
"Then how can you be sure that you even like her? And if you are trying to start a relationship because of that incident in the past then stop right this instant!" He commanded in a stern voice which made Reuben flinch.
"Because it would never work between you two. Let me remind you that you are clinging to a past that she doesn't even remember." He mocked his grandson in hopes of getting this point through to his brain.
Reuben gritted his teeth when he was reminded of this notion.
'When she told me that I was her first kiss I froze because I knew that she was not talking about our 'actual' first kiss that happened years ago.' He took in a deep breath to calm his chaotic mind.
This was also why he had purposefully specified that the kiss they shared was not his first.
'I hoped to see her troubled or jealous that she wasn't my first kiss but what I got was a calm and composed Kitten!' He pouted while thinking of the hope of seeing her angry face that was washed away by disappointment.
If only he could read minds then he would have known in-depth about the fury that raged in Lina's heart when she heard his revelation.
He narrated this incident as well to his grandfather and sighed.
"I don't think she likes me in that way, Grandpa." He muttered and his shoulders drooped lower with each passing second.
"You don't like her in that way either!" Aloysius bellowed while rubbing his throbbing temples.
Reuben was finally annoyed with the constant rejection of his words and he decided to let his grandfather know about it.
"Why do you keep disparaging my feelings for Lina? How many times do I have to tell you that I like her!?" He questioned in anger and was answered with a chuckle.
"So you think you like her? Then answer a few of my questions truthfully." Aloysius scoffed at him and nodded when he received an affirmative answer.
'I need to know what exactly is in his heart or else that Old man Yang will haunt me if something happened to his granddaughter.' Aloysius sneered and then cleared his throat.
"How do you feel now that you know that Lina was the one who took your first kiss?" He inquired and was met with a brief pause.
Reuben pondered on how to properly answer this question.
"I hated it…. but now I see that I was wrong in how I handled that situation." He sighed while shaking his head.
"I wouldn't blame her if she wants to punish me when she remembers how I treated her that day." He grimaced while thinking of the blood he had noticed before he ran away.
"However, I am glad that she was my first and I hope she does remember me as well!" He wished with all his heart.
'That way she will also know about the connection between us that goes years back.' He smiled and decided to speak to Wayne about matters concerning this incident once again.
'I also want her to take all my other firsts.' His cheeks heated up when this lewd thought popped up in his mind.
Not aware of the perverse thoughts in his mind, Grandpa Ming could only nod when he heard the words of regret coming from Reuben's mouth.
"Okay, on to the next one then. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the name 'Lina Yang'?" He continued with his questions.
"Kitten… My kitten." Reuben answered without a moment's pause.
His confident and quick answer impressed the old man yet he did not let it show.
He was already aware of the nicknames they had for each other so he understood what Reuben meant.
"Dog food is meant for dogs, not for humans!" He scowled and jumped to the next one.
"Close your eyes and imagine this Yang girl. Now tell me what is the first thing you see?" Aloysius was trying to keep a straight face as he asked this.
'How will my uptight and cold grandson answer this question?' He wondered and smirked while thinking of the numerous possible answers.
Reuben did as he was told and imagined Lina standing right before him.
"Her beautiful eyes, her smile and those pouty lips." He whispered and blushed while recalling her supple and luscious lips.
"Heh!? Not her tits and her butt?" Aloysius blurted out what he had expected to hear.
"Grandpa!" Reuben widened his eyes when he heard his shameless words.
"What? She has a flat chest and no butt?" The old man clicked his tongue and sneered at his grandson's taste in women.
"I refuse to answer this intrusive question!" Reuben growled and resolutely shot him down.
"Killjoy!" Grandpa Ming mocked him and moved on when he got no reply from his extremely uptight grandson.
However, this thought had landed in Reuben's brain and was taking shape which would soon manifest itself when he met the woman who was still on his mind.
"Now close your eyes and imagine Yang girl with another man." The elderly's words pricked his ears and he frowned.
"Think of all the things that you want to do to her… and now imagine another man doing them to her." Aloysius smirked when he heard the sharp intake of breath from the phone.
Reuben's mood which was floating happily at the beginning of his sentence had now plummeted after hearing the last part of it.
'My kitten in someone else's arms? Holding hands? Touching? Kissing?' He abruptly put an end to the thought that should have appeared next.
Shaking his head he rejected to even imagine such a scenario ever happening.
"Grandpa, I will not allow such a situation to arise! I have decided to date her and I will make sure that we will get together!" He declared in absolute confidence.
'I will make Kitten want me and only me!' He clenched his jaws and vowed in his mind.
"Calm down, Romeo! It was just an imaginary situation. Don't go berserk thinking about it." Grandpa Ming chuckled because he was now even more sure about the theory that he had come up with.
"Final question. Imagine that you are now together with Yang girl, what do you see in your future?" He rubbed his chin and waited for his reply to the most important question of them all.
'He needs to give me a satisfactory answer… Or else!' Aloysius narrowed his eyes as he silently sat on the couch.
Reuben on the other hand had his eyes closed and was imagining his 'future' with his Kitten.