Standing Right Next To You - Chapter 402

Reuben furrowed his brows as he laid in the tub of warm water with bubbles of soap covering his naked body.

‘Sneaking into what?’ He wondered in bewilderment as he could not understand the source of his Grandpa’s anger.

The first thing the Old man did after the call was connected was to yell at him.

No explanation was made, only a loud roar of accusations came his way.

It was no wonder that he narrowed his eyes as he tried to make sense of this sudden and uncalled-for conversation that he was having with the old Patriarch of the Ming Family.

“Grandpa, can you please calm down and tell me what’s wrong?” He retorted in a restrained tone, not willing to speak to him while he was agitated for no fault of his own.

‘What’s wrong, he asks!’ Aloysius sneered after hearing his grandson’s innocent words.

“Where are you right now?” He interrogated without paying attention to Reuben’s earlier utterances.

The CEO of the Ming Enterprises glanced down at his naked body in the hot tub and then out the window which displayed the beautiful night lights of their city.

“Soaking in the relaxing warm water.” He answered truthfully without concealing where he was right now.

However, to his grandfather, this seemed as though he had avoided his question and given him a vague answer.

‘I asked where he is and not what he was doing.’ Grandpa scoffed at the young man who was trying to play tricks with him.

Reuben was unaware that his words were being misunderstood by his grandpa as he shut his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his tensed nerves relaxing in the water.

“Are you in a hotel right now?” Aloysius’ inquiry made his eyelids fly wide open.

No one other than Trigger was aware of his itinerary at this moment so the doubt that rose in his mind was where had his Grandpa received this information from.

‘Trigger would never open his mouth.’ He was sure of this as the man was loyal to him and answered only to him.

He guarded the Ming family with his team but his Master was only Reuben and no one else.

Therefore, Reuben was certain that his head of security had no part to play in this.

“How did you know?” He retorted with a question of his own.

‘So he did not even try to deny it!?’ Aloysius widened his eyes at this discovery.

He was just testing his grandson to see whether the news he obtained from his old friend was true or false but it seemed like the news was real.

His grandson had sneaked into someone else’s suite at the hotel and he wasn’t even ashamed to accept this fact before the old man.

Why was Grandpa Ming so confident that Reuben had sneaked into another person’s room?

This was because the old couple had even made sure to inform him about the suite number in which he had entered.

With this information, Aloysius was sure that he was in another room as the one which Reuben had first stayed at was gifted to him by this grandpa of his.

On one of his birthdays during his early twenties, it was Aloysius who had given that hotel room to him as a birthday gift.

He could stay there whenever he wished and did not have to bother about the price as that room belonged to him.

Therefore, Grandpa was wondering why he would need to sneak into other people’s rooms like a thief.

Having left with no other options, he retold the entire incident to his grandson but did not forget to sneer and scoff as he narrated his story.

At the end of which, all he heard was a burst of loud and cheerful laughter coming from the phone which further infuriated the old man.

“You have the guts to laugh! Now tell me why were you entering that room?” He interrogated, going back to his first question.

Reuben rolled his eyes then smirked while thinking of what his answer should be.

“So I cannot spend some quality time with my girlfriend?” He muttered in a ridiculing tone as his smile widened.

The reason for his smile was the silence coming from the other side of the phone.

His Grandpa had gone silent after hearing the reason for this ‘sneaking’ incident that his friend had tattled to him.

‘So he was with Yang girl!’ He was elated at this delighted turn of events.

It was as though his anger from earlier had vanished and the need to know more about this matter had taken over his mind.

“Where is she right now?”

“No, better question! Why are the two of you in a hotel room?”

“Don’t you have a big penthouse apartment where you can spend time together?”

“No, No! Bigger question! Did I disturb your ‘alone’ time!?”

The old man’s eager voice shot out one question after another.

However, his last question was the only one that brought out a reaction from the young man who let out an embarrassed cough at this intruding question.

Reuben shook his head at the Patriarch who tended to pry into matters related to his love life a little too much.

On the other side of the phone, Aloysius had a wide grin when he heard this choking cough.

He was not bothered about Reuben’s safety but was more excited that his assumption might be true.

“So you finally graduated from being a virgin!!” He exclaimed and felt his heart leap with joy that his 28-year-old grandson had finally done the deed.

“Congratulations! Did you use the condoms I sent the last time?”

“Do you need more? I can send more if you want!” He began going off on a different tangent this time.

Reuben rubbed his forehead as he got out of the tub and began wiping his body dry with one hand while the other continued to hold the phone to his ear.

“Grandpa, slow down!” He groaned in exasperation when he was not given a chance to speak due to his constant ramblings.

Before Grandpa Ming could start once again, Reuben decided to clarify the doubts in his old man’s mind.

“She is in the other room right now.”

“She had some private work that needed her to stay at the hotel and I am accompanying her.”

“Yes, you DID disturb us!”

“And finally, no, we haven’t taken that step yet.”

Reuben was quick in answering each one of his queries without leaving anything out.

‘She is in the shower after we got each other off but that is not something that Grandpa needs to know.’ He concealed a few parts of the truth while narrating the rest.

Grandpa’s enthusiasm that they had finally advanced in their relationship sank when he heard the clarification made by the young man.

“Useless boy!” He scorned the man who was too slow in his ways.

Reuben did not bother to argue with the old man and nodded his head, accepting the taunts aimed at him.

“Continue being this slow and you can only watch as Yang girl is snatched away by some brave young lad who is not afraid to express his true feelings for her.” Grandpa Ming sneered as he tried to teach him the truths of life.

These mocking words pricked Reuben’s ears as he frowned, not liking the mention of his Kitten being taken away by any other man.

“That will never happen, Grandpa. I am waiting for us to be ready and everything will be done in its own time.” He spoke words of wisdom while appeasing both his and his Grandpa’s heart.

However, Aloysius was not in the mood to listen to his philosophical words.

“The perfect moment doesn’t exist, you fool!” He glowered at his grandson who sometimes said the most ridiculous words.

“YOU make the moment perfect and special. If you keep waiting then you will remain waiting forever.” He lectured him on the right thing to do.

The old man then sighed as he shook his head, fearing what might happen to his grandson if he continued thinking this way and remained a virgin all his life as he waited for the perfect moment to appear.

“Talking to you will only give me a headache.” He scoffed and decided that it was best to end their call.

There was a frown on Reuben’s face as he stared at the screen which displayed that the call was disconnected even without saying proper goodbyes.

The words that his Grandpa had said were echoing in his ears as he pondered over the meaning hidden in those words.

‘She will be snatched away…’

‘You will keep waiting forever… ‘

‘You make the moment perfect…’

His conversation with the old man replayed in his mind as he stood frozen in the same place.