"Achoo!"

Mathew Kim looked up from the files that he was sorting out and glimpsed at the man sitting on the opposite side of the large mahogany desk.

'He's been sneezing since the moment he arrived to work today… Also during the entire meeting, all I could hear was the Director of the Finance Department giving his report and my benevolent Emperor's sneezes.' He thought back to what had happened this morning and shook his head.

Right on cue, another sneeze was heard in the silent room.

"Achoo!"

This time Mathew decided to act as the loyal and caring eunuch that he had been dubbed as by the Emperor's subjects.

"Boss, did you catch a cold somehow?" He inquired and peered at the other man's face.

Reuben looked up from the file that he had been reading and eyed his assistant.

"I feel fine." He replied with his usual short answers without much explanation.

Mathew was already used to his brief and precise answers and hence he did not mind them.

However the very next second, another sneeze echoed in the room.

Mathew swiftly unlocked his phone and dialed a number after which he whispered a few details and then hung up.

Reuben rolled his eyes when he watched his assistant's actions.

"You don't have to call the doctor, I said that I am fine!" He complained but all he got in return was a nod.

'He is just patronizing me right now!' Reuben scowled at Asst Kim and then chose to ignore his presence.

Renee Ming had given Mathew the authority to go against his boss's orders if it was in regards to his health.

The continuous sneezes had alarmed Mathew and therefore he reckoned that this was the perfect chance to try the special privileges that he had received from Madam Ming.

Within minutes, a doctor appeared at the office door.

He had taken such a short amount of time to respond and reach Reuben's office was all thanks to the small yet efficient medical department that Ming Enterprise boasted about.

At any given time, if there was ever a medical emergency in the building then this group of doctors and nurses were ready to handle the situation without any problems.

The doctor wasted no time and checked Reuben's pulse and then his temperature.

"Mr. Ming, you seem to have caught a cold. Nothing to worry about, I am prescribing these pills for you so please make sure to take them on time." He instructed as he packed his stethoscope in the little briefcase he had carried here.

He then wrote a few things on a blank piece of paper and handed the prescription to Assistant Kim.

The doctor was aware of this man's busy schedule and had thought that winding this up quickly would be the best option for everyone.

However, just before he left he pondered over whether he should say something or not and came to the conclusion that he should not conceal this matter.

"Mr. Ming I would suggest that you try to stay away from water, rigorous exercises and keep yourself warm at all times. The winter is coming and such small colds might lead to something bigger and more troublesome." He advised in a calm voice and then followed Asst Kim out of the office.

Since Mathew's back was facing the room as he left with the doctor he had failed to witness the blush that had crept up on the Emperor's face.

Thinking of the events of last night, his cheeks flushed as a result of all the blood that was flowing towards it.

____

When he had just stepped out of the tub, the first thing he did was not to dry himself up but to check whether he had received a reply for the barrage of texts he had sent.

This time he wasn't left stranded, in fact, he was met with an equal if not a larger number of texts from his Kitten.

*I forgot to send the 'I reached home safely' text. Gomen ne~ :P*

*I'm not ghosting you, Boyfriend San! Oh, you most certainly would know if I was ghosting you and let's just hope that it never happens.*

'Fiesty little kitten.' Reuben shook his head but the smile on his face proved how delighted he was with being called 'Boyfriend San'.

*That was sweet of you and yes, I had taken a much-needed nap.*

*Wayne… Haha…. I can beat him up myself if I want to!*

This text, Reuben did not doubt it as he had firsthand experience with her strength as he recalled the kick that she had bestowed on him when he had been drugged.

*I'm glad that I am the first girl you are texting. But that's quiet SUS! (What about that girl who was your first kiss?)*

Reuben was both confused and amused by this text.

'SUS? What is that?' He wondered while rubbing his chin.

'She is still hung up about my first kiss? Silly Kitten, you were my first kiss.' He shook his head and chuckled.

*Aww… I'm here now so you won't get lonely any longer~*

He rolled his eyes because he knew that she was making fun of his text.

*Ruby is such a hardworking man! You deserve a bubble bath with extra bubbles!!*

This earned a hearty chuckle as he nodded his head in complete agreement.

*Don't overwork yourself, Emperor. ;)*

If there was something similar between them, it was the radiant smile that they both had while reading the other person's texts.

Relationships are not all about grand gestures and declarations of your love for each other.

Even a simple and small gesture like texting back could brighten up someone's day.

This was exactly what they had done to each other. Lina had a bad day but Reuben's texts had brought a smile to her face while Reuben had a tiresome day and Lina's texts had given him a sense of relief.

Reuben's brows rose when he saw the text that she had sent after that.

*Get used to receiving multiple texts, Ruby! Cause I don't have the patience to wait for 30 minutes before sending the next one.*

'So she caught onto my strategies, huh?' He chuckled and picked up a towel.

He had been standing naked in the cold bathroom all along, without bothering to wipe his dripping wet body.

Now that his heart was calmed after reading her texts, he slowly wiped and robed himself with a bathrobe.

His eyes then went to the images she had sent after all the texts.

'So these are her favorites?' He brought the phone closer and made a mental note of every dish placed on the table.

Reuben was now viewing the images that Lina had clicked and sent before her dinner.

'Should I learn how to cook these for her?' He wondered and decided to breathe some fresh night air by moving to the balcony.

While he was thinking of going back to the Ming ancestral house to ask the chef there to teach him how to cook these dishes, his phone vibrated indicating that he had received a new text.

Not bothering about the cold wind blowing on his face as he took his seat at the chair on his balcony, he hurried to see who it was.

*Good night, my Ruby. Rest well~*

Not too big and not too small, Lina's wishes made him smile and then frown immediately after.

"If she is awake now… Does that mean I get to talk to her?" He muttered and then decided to try his luck.

Just as his finger was about to tap the call button, he changed his mind and pressed the video call button.

'Why not see my Kitten before she sleeps?' He smirked and tousled his wet hair to give it an unkempt yet sexy look.

While he waited for her to answer his call request, an evil idea popped into his mind.

He did not waste time in putting that thought into action as he loosened the knot holding the only piece of clothing covering his body at the moment.

While the bottom half of his body was still pretty covered up and decent, the same could not be said about the upper half.

His veiny throat with his Adam's apple popping, his deep collarbone and teasing glimpses of his bare chest could be seen in the little box which showed his image on the video call screen.

Pleased with the view that she would be greeted with when she answers the call, he smirked and turned his attention to the screen.

However, luck was not on his side as the moment the video call request was accepted from Lina's phone, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Beautiful" He murmured subconsciously as he stared without blinking at the woman who was now visible on his screen.

Before Reuben could go any deeper into his recollection of last night's incident, his faithful assistant had interrupted him by entering his office.

"Boss, the representative from Zheng Group who is responsible for our latest collaboration is here to discuss further details." Mathew disclosed the reason for disturbing his boss.

Reuben quickly placed aside his precious memory of last night and nodded his head, permitting to let the other person be allowed inside.

Henri Zheng, Talia's father and the Chairman of the Zheng Group was trying his best to keep his company afloat and to improve its financial situation.

He had hoped that Reuben would take over the company after he and Talia were married but the sudden appearance of Lina Yang into this equation had sent him into a panic.

To secure the future of Zheng Group, he did not waste time and decided to propose new projects which would ensure that the Ming Enterprise would continue backing his company up.

Though he was not pleased with Reuben using Talia as an excuse to weaken the support that the Ming family had been giving the Zheng family, he remained silent as he knew that the Mings were his only saving grace.

Nevertheless, he knew that the best means to not let his ancestral legacy, the Zheng Group, to crumble was by getting 'Emperor' Reuben to take control over the company and bring life back into it.

This could only be possible if Reuben would wed either one of his daughters and become his son-in-law.

Hence, Henri Zheng had now concocted a new plan to get on Reuben's good books which would indefinitely result in getting him closer to the Zheng family.

Thus, providing Talia with an opportunity to get closer to him.