Standing Right Next To You

The more Reuben heard her speaking about this method she used, the more his frown deepened.

"And that is why I won't be here for the next few days." Lina sighed as she completed the piece that she had come over to say.

'Eh?' She wondered what was wrong when all she heard was silence after she was done.

Reuben was taking this time to think of an appropriate way to let her know about what was going on in his mind.

'How should I tell her that her method is dumb?' He pondered and mulled over how he could tell her what he thought about this news that he heard from her.

Lina tilted her head as she waited for him to react to her in any way possible as now all he was doing was staring at her with a blank face.

"So, you spend a few days in a hotel to think of new designs?" He polled and received a nod.

"That is correct." She accepted his answer almost immediately.

Reuben gulped as he moved ahead with the doubts in his mind in an attempt to get his point across to her.

"You stay indoors… Without any human contact until you are enlightened with what your next jewelry designs would be?" He once again quizzed her and this time obtained a hesitant nod in reply.

"Yes?" She paused for a few seconds as she tried to analyze what he was trying to do.

"All you do is laze around in the hotel room in hopes of being struck by a sudden manifestation of what your next pieces would be?" This time his sarcastic tone was clear as he interrogated her.

Lina's eyes darkened at the man who was questioning her work process as she scooted away from him.

Creating an appropriate distance between them, she sat with her legs crossed one over the other and folded her arms over her chest.

The confrontational pose that she had taken at this moment made Reuben realize that he had just stepped on a landmine.

"Kitten, I-" He began his attempt to get things right but it was already too late.

"You think that my legendary closed-door cultivation is nothing but my attempt to fool around instead of working?" She interrogated him with her eyes narrowed.

The dangerous glint in her eyes made him gulp as he nodded at first but soon shook his head to indicate that he did not think in that way.

"Your… Cultivation method…" He muttered as he tried hard to not roll his eyes at the absurd name that she had given to her weird work process.

Lina raised her brows as she waited in silence to watch how he could shoot himself in the foot any further.

"Is simply unhealthy and unrealistic." His whispers were so soft that Lina would not have been able to hear him if she hadn't been focusing her narrowed eyes on him.

Reuben was just worried that the time she spent in this seclusion period only contained sleep, eat, roll around in the bed and eat more.

There was so mention of when and how she would be out of bed and move about like a normal human being.

This was what had troubled him and he was worried that she would put her health at risk for the sake of the designs which may or may not come to her during this time.

If Lina were to hear his thoughts then she would have sneered at him for the lack of faith he had in her genius brain which could work wonders when under pressure.

Lina was one of those people who would be alright if not thrive better under conditions that could make most people crack and give up.

All she needed was that moment of motivation to strike her and she would be golden.

This closed-door cultivation period was to find that motivation and seriousness which was all she needed to get into the mindset of creating beautiful and exceptional designs that had brought her fame and money as LY.

Now as she was hearing her boyfriend call her method 'unrealistic and unhealthy' she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

"Ruby will not understand and it is better if you stop trying to understand the mind of a genius." She scoffed at him while patting his shoulder.

The soft-touch on his shoulder accompanied with the ridiculing words from her mouth made him smirk at her.

"Isn't Kitten being too bold today? To actually think that you would hint that I cannot comprehend your mind." He let out a chuckle whose seductive nature made her shudder slightly.

The fierce look in his eyes as he leaned closer to her and the grin which made him appear to be evil made her gulp as she leaned away from him.

However, she had forgotten that she was now at the edge of the bed and another inch she leaned away would cause her to topple to the ground below.

The man who had noticed this which she had failed to was swift to swoop in and pull her into his arms to avoid any mishap from taking place.

Just when Lina realized that she had made the wrong move, she felt his strong embrace as he pulled her away to safety.

'He saved me from falling straight onto my head!' She exclaimed and was grateful that he had done so.

Lina's body laid flat on the bed with Reuben's sturdy body hovering over hers as he looked into her eyes.

The distance that she had tried to create earlier had vanished once again as they were close to each other's faces just like when they had kissed a few minutes ago.

"So what was that you were saying?" He urged her to speak up when she was looking into her savior's eyes with awe and appreciation overflowing from them.

His cynical words did not coincide with the protective gesture that he had just shown.

This made her smile as she put away her anger at being doubted and mocked for the way that she worked.

"I have my own way of working and you have yours, Ruby." She whispered while caressing his cheek.

This made the anger in his heart for being mocked by her fade just a little but it was not enough to be forgotten about.

"You like to overwork yourself every day, working for extra hours to make sure that everything was alright with your company." She explained about the things that she had learned about him in the short time that they had spent together.

The Emperor's work ethics and love for his job and company was not something that was hidden from the public hence Lina was also aware of this behavior of his.

Reuben's smile which had glimpsed when he heard her explanation was proof that he was pleased with her words.

"I on the other hand like to do things when I am required to do and not keep things ready at all times." She ended her defense and then stayed still while under him.

In reply to her words, all Reuben could say was a single statement.

"That is because you do not have a company to run, my little Kitten." He kissed her forehead as he whispered to her, making her bite her lip in return.