Moira Huo watched as her son chased away the younger daughter of the Zheng family and then walked in their direction.

"Broke another heart, did we?" She chuckled when she saw the annoyed look on her son's face.

Louis did not answer his mother and silently sat down.

'I don't have time for this romance nonsense.' He scoffed and picked up an appetizer to fill his empty stomach.

"Son, how exactly do you know Lina?" Ralph Huo asked and pointed at the figures dancing on the dance floor.

Louis glanced at his junior sister who was looking into Reuben's eyes as they were immersed in deep conversation and then turned back to face his parents.

"Remember how grandpa sent me abroad to watch out for someone?" He gave a half-smile when he saw the look of astonishment flash on their faces.

"Lina Yang is that person." He smiled proudly and then turned to look at Lina and Reuben once again.

Ralph Huo was smiling brightly when he heard what his son had said but when he saw how close Reuben was to Lina, his smile faded as his brows furrowed deeply.

'If dad sent Louis abroad to look out for her then he must have some special plans for the children.' He nodded his head with absolute faith in what the elder of the Huo family had planned for them.

When Louis was about to join college, his grandpa had asked to go abroad to study in a different college rather than the top university in their city.

When asked for the reason for this sudden change, he would always answer in the same manner.

'He has to keep a watch over someone there.' Grandpa Huo's vague words still echoed in his mind.

No matter how many times they tried to ask who it was, they never received a proper answer.

But now they knew that the important person was Lina Yang all along.

Louis shook his head when he was reminded of his quirky grandfather.

'He sent me abroad but never even told me who I should keep an eye out for.' He rolled his eyes.

The only information he was given was the university where he would find that person and a vague description of them.

'The one whose presence will demand your attention. That is the person you need to find.' Grandpa Huo reminded him as he dropped him off at the said university.

What he did not know was that he would not meet this unknown person until he was in his final year.

'I spent two years trying to find her and only met her when I was a year away from graduation.' Louis shook his head at his grandpa's over-enthusiastic behavior.

"So what do you think about her?" Moira asked in an elated manner when she saw the subtle smile that appeared on her son's face.

Louis could guess what was on his mother's mind and he glanced at his father for help who shrugged without caring for his son's pleas.

"Don't even think about it, mom. Junior Yang and I have no interest in each other." He rejected her in an outright manner to avoid any miscommunication between them.

Both Moira and Ralph frowned when they heard his resolute words but did not argue with him any further.

'I'll try to speak to him later. Lina seems like a good match for him.' The mother did not give up hopes and planned to convince him later on.

'Dad must have had something in mind to have sent Louis abroad to meet Lina. Let's just discuss this when he gets back to the country.' The father had completely different ideas.

"Forget about that, do you know what my junior calls that Reuben guy?" Louis snickered as he thought of the absurd nickname that she had given him.

"What?" Moira asked but did not get any answer because Louis was laughing heartily.

His parents raised their brows and waited for him to complete laughing so that he might tell them the reason why he was so happy.

A good few seconds later, Louis had controlled himself and taking a quick glance at the couple still dancing, he revealed what nickname was given to the Demon Emperor of the Ming Enterprise.

"Ruby" Louis uttered and then went back to giggling like a schoolgirl.

Moira and Ralph were confused as to why their son was calling out some random woman's name.

Louis sighed when he saw that they did not get what he meant and decided to explain it to them once again.

"Reuben Ming now goes by the name of 'Ruby' whenever he is around my junior sister." He spelled it out for them and chuckled when he saw their shocked faces.

"My junior is so brave, isn't she?" He beamed at them when they nodded their heads in agreement.

'What a wimp! Being called such a feminine name but does nothing just to keep his woman happy.' Louis scoffed as he watched the couple now walking back to the table with Lina's cousins.

Louis had been silently observing their body language and he was sure that something big must have happened within the short span that they had disappeared in.

This was why he had called Lina as 'Reuben's woman'.

He knew Reuben's personality because even though they were rivals, they still knew each other pretty well.

Looking at how carefree and open he was with Lina was proof that she was a special existence in his life.

'But still Ruby? He could have fought for a better name than that!' He chortled once again when he was reminded of that stupid name she had given Reuben.

Louis was now laughing and mocking Reuben but little did he know that he would end up with the exact same fate in the future.

_______

A few minutes prior,

Lina held Reuben's hand and moved under his lead.

'Deep breaths, Nana! Calm yourself and feel the music.' She instructed herself to not be mindful of the lack of distance between them and to just enjoy herself.

"Kitten… " Reuben's voice made her flinch for a second before she looked up at his face.

Reuben frowned when he saw how jumpy she was just now.

"We need to talk." He declared while looking into her hazel and golden eyes.

'That's what people say when they want to break up!' Lina panicked when she saw the serious look in his eyes but then realized the biggest flaw in her assumption.

'To break up, we need to be dating in the first place!' She scoffed at her overactive imagination and then paid attention to what he had to say.

Reuben kept his feet moving as he patiently waited for her to return from whatever she was thinking about.

"We need to talk about that kiss, Kitten." He spoke in a soft voice to not let anyone hear them even though they were the only ones dancing there.

"And the one after that." He continued and blushed a little while thinking of the subconscious vow he had made to her.

'I stand by my actions? Now and forevermore? What was that... some dialog from a romantic movie?' He cursed his past self for saying such cringe-worthy lines.

However, at that time Lina was basking in the aftereffects of the kiss that she had not bothered to think too much about what he had said.

But now she had to face up to the actions that they had taken in the heat of the moment.

"What about the kiss, Ruby?" She muttered and timidly glanced at him.

'He said that it wasn't a mistake! Is he going back on his words now?' She pouted her lips and furrowed her brows.

Once again, her brain went in a different direction than what was needed.

Noticing the change in her expressions, Reuben realized that her mind must be running wild right now and decided to immediately put an end to it.

"Kitten, what did you honestly think of our kiss?" He questioned her and watched her jaw drop as her cheeks reddened.

'Who asks such a direct question!?' She raged in her mind but did not let it show.

"It was my first time so I have nothing to compare it with. Unlike you..." Her words got softer as she neared the end of her sentence.

Finishing her sentence, she froze for a split second before she stared at Reuben with her eyes wide open.

No matter how much she tried to convince herself that it did not bother her, she was now aware of what she truly felt deep inside her heart.

'Why do I hate the fact that I am not Ruby's first kiss?' She stared into his eyes in search of answers to her surprising question.

Reuben almost laughed out loud when he heard her grumbling words.

'Is she jealous of the girl I had my first kiss with? Why is Kitten so precious today?' He bit his lips to choke his laughter and pulled her closer.

Then clearing his throat, he decided to come clean to her about what he felt.

"I won't say that my first kiss doesn't matter to me. Because it does." He proclaimed in a deep voice and paused to see her reaction.