Standing Right Next To You - Chapter 446

“Oh stop being so dramatic!” Lina scowled upon reaching the end of her limited patience.

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It had been a few minutes since she and the others with her had entered her office.

Derek left soon after placing the boxes on Lina’s table while Benji and Steph remained with her inside.

The diligent assistant even began to set the table for their lunch when the other person had entered the room.

Lina had welcomed Leon with a sadistic grin when she saw the look of utter defeat written over his face.

His hands clutched the boxes his sister had packed for him as he walked inside.

As Lina and Steph had occupied one side of the comfy couch and as Benji had chosen the single-seater, Leon could only opt for the other single-seater couch in this room.

Once they were all seated, Lina did not hurry to open her boxes even when she was hungry and wished to devour whatever it was that Mrs. Ping had packed for her.

Instead, she remained unmoved with her eyes fixed on the other assistant.

Stephen had heard about his Noona’s hunger earlier so he glared viciously at the man who was hindering her from eating right now.

Leon choked when he caught sight of this hostility and when he glanced at Benji for help, all he received was an unaffected shrug which revealed what his response was.

‘Stupid Benji!’ He cursed his friend before turning his gaze towards Lina.

However, like assistant, like boss as she too shrugged, unwilling to withdraw the condition she had put forward.

If he wanted to have her lunch then he would first have to at least taste the one he had brought from home.

Steph was shooting him furious glares, Benji was no help, and Lina too had turned her heart cold towards him.

Thus pitiful Leon could only succumb to his fate and stretch his hands out towards the bento he had brought from home today.

Lina watched patiently as his shivering fingers secured the box, trying his best to pull the lid off.

‘Just a little more,’ she encouraged him, her eager expressions wordlessly urging him to complete that simple task before him.

The three watched as Leon shut his eyes, saying a silent prayer for his stomach which would be ruined no matter what it was that his sister had prepared for him.

‘Mom, did you take pity on this son of yours and pack something edible for me among the hordes of non-human substances that your daughter creates every day?’ He cried out in his heart, hoping for his mother’s instincts to come to his rescue today as well.

Leon could not even call his sister’s handiwork ‘food’ and instead used the word ‘substances’ as it was the best alternative that he could find for the items she prepared each day.

While he was now busy praying to the deity of food to bless the box he had brought and strengthen his stomach to bear the hardships coming his way, Lina had reached the end of her patience.

“Oh, stop being so dramatic!” She yelled at the man whose eyes were still shut and the box in his hands was also the same.

Hearing her angry voice, Leon’s shoulders jerked in surprise and due to that action, the box’s lid had come loose.

His fingers had been clutching the lid too tight until now so thanks to the jerking motion of his shoulders, the lid came off easily.

Stephen and Benji were also eager to see what exactly was in his box for him to behave in this way.

Therefore, everyone, Leon included, glanced down to take a look at what had been packed in his box.

“Sandwiches!?” He clamored, both excitement and relief evident in his tone.

Lina rolled her eyes when she saw the tears of gladness that were brimming his eyes.

‘There is no way that she can mess up simple sandwiches!’ He rejoiced that for once his sister had not caused him to suffer because of her homemade meals.

He then placed the box on the table and admired the fact that it contained triangular sandwiches with their edges neatly trimmed.

‘Just how I like it.’ He remarked and was touched that his sister had taken his preference into account.

Lina had been willing to share her lunch with him but looking at his ecstatic expressions, she decided to let him be for now as he appeared excited to taste those sandwiches instead.

Happy that his sister’s hard work would not go to waste, Lina shifted her attention elsewhere.

Now that they had solved the mystery of what was inside Leon’s lunch box, it was time to take a look at hers.

Mrs. Ping had packed lunch for both Lina and Benji which implied that there was more than enough for everyone to eat.

The old lady had seen Benji that evening when he had come to help her pack her luggage before leaving for the ‘Closed-door’ cultivation period.

Therefore, in her mind, a young man with just a muscular body needed a large quantity of well-balanced food to sustain himself each day.

Thus when she heard from Derek that Lina had returned and had gone to the office with Benji, she decided to pack lunch for both of them.

Thanks to her thoughtful gesture, Lina’s decision to invite Steph would not require any last moment preparations.

The three of them would be able to eat their fill from these boxes while Leon could enjoy his sister’s sandwiches.

Coming to this conclusion, the young lady of the Yang family leaned forward and began opening the boxes Derek had delivered.

Benji had already restocked the mini-fridge in her office so they already had their refreshing fruit juices and chilled water ready for them and all that was needed was for her to open the boxes.

Stephen was excited to eat with his Noona and Benji was eager to taste Mrs. Ping’s and Chef Greene’s cooking as he had heard high praises from Lina about their style of cooking.

Lina did not make them wait for long and opened her set of the three-tiers bento after passing Benji his set.

The first tier held mouth-watering, slightly steaming dumplings filled with juicy and spicy meat and the second had a generous serving of stir-fried rice with lots of veggies and meat hidden in it.

In the final tier, Lina gulped at the sight of the tiny cups of mango pudding with jelly cubes in them.

“Ah! I used to take a similar lunch to school when I was little!” She squealed, bringing everyone’s attention to her.

Steph chuckled at her overjoyed expressions as she gushed while looking at the tiny cups of mango pudding while Benji hurried to open his, wondering if he would find a similar sight.

Luckily, his box was similar to hers except for the last tier which was filled with mango, peach, and coconut pudding instead.

“She doesn’t know what you like so she must have gone with the safest option,” Lina explained why he had a variety of puddings when compared to hers which was only mango-based.

Nodding his head, Benji did not have any qualms as this way he could decide which one he liked best.

Now that their lunches had been revealed, the tall assistant brought out plates to serve them.

“You can eat out of your box.” He waved his hand at Leon who only brought sandwiches.

‘I won’t get mad at you today.’ Leon surprisingly did not mind his derisive statement, after all, he was in a good mood right now.

Lina giggled when his face was glowing and that magnanimous expression he had only made her laugh louder.

“Noona, eat.” Stephen interrupted as he was worried that she was holding her hunger in because of that foolish assistant.

Leon had no clue that he had just been cursed by the Little Devil of Obsidia as he had already pounced on his lunch.

Lina smiled at her adorable and considerate puppy before nodding in acceptance.

‘I wonder what Ruby is doing right now?’ She thought while munching on the dumplings on her plate.

The room was silent as they began to focus on their meal and thus no one knew what was on her mind at this moment.

The Ruby that she was thinking about was right now stuck in a dilemma, unable to decide how to move forward with the issue at hand.