The Rise of the White Lotus

"Master…" Morris Liu's assistant paused as he placed a box of first aid kit and medicine ointments for the wound on his boss's lips.

"... We should treat your wound." He sternly resumed as he straightened his posture.

"Paul, this is just a slight wound. No big deal." Morris Liu waved his hands off before he took his cigarette case and lit it up afterward. 

The woody redolent fragrance gradually wafted to Paul Yuan's nostrils then across the four corners of Morris Liu's office.

Paul Yuan shifted his gaze towards the ashtray full of cigarette butts before he strode towards the stand on the side. Grabbing an empty and brand new ashtray, Paul Yuan went back in front of his boss's desk as he carefully put down the new ashtray.

He then bowed his head then picked up the other ashtray full of cigarette butts. Before wordlessly leaving the office.

He worked for Morris Liu since he took over the Liu Empire. He witnessed how his boss picked this bad habit of his when he was under pressure. At first, it was occasional. However, as time goes by, Morris Liu would smoke once or twice a day.

Until months ago… Morris Liu's bad habit intensified and he turned into a complete heavy smoker. Of course, Paul Yuan knew everything regarding his boss's affairs as he was his trusted assistant -- also the reason behind his boss's sleepless nights and why he could finish a whole pack of cigarettes in a day or two.

But what could he do? It was the only thing that could calm his boss. Hence, the only help he could do was silently replace his ashtray and throw the used one as if they were disposable.

When his assistant, Paul Yuan left, Morris Liu spun his chair to see the beautiful city lights. Alas, he didn't appreciate the view and tilted his head back and rested it on his chair instead.

Taking a long drag then slowly exhaled it, Morris Liu closed his eyes. The moment he shut his eyes, Ethan Lu's irked countenance from earlier vividly flashed across his mind.

'Who do you think you are?!' His friend's angry shouts rang again and again on his mind as if it was getting louder every time.

"That guy… he's still as innocent as ever." Morris Liu murmured before taking another long drag.

Just then, he felt his phone vibrated from the inside of his pocket suit. Normally, he wouldn't check who it was but for some reason, he did… which he regretted afterward.

On the screen, Elliot Gong's message with an attached clip in it was what welcomed him. It wasn't hard for him to discern who was the person on the video as he knew her for as long as he could remember.

His thumb hesitated to open the clip but in the end, he found himself watching the video. 

In it, Lexi was singing a song he was unfamiliar with yet, she owned it as if it was hers to begin with. Unconsciously, he was drawn to her singing and to every word she spilled. 

Only the sound of the woman's singing could be heard around the enormous office as Morris Liu remained silent. When the video ended, he sent a red pocket with a generous amount of money to its sender before mildly tossing his phone on his desk.

Taking another long drag, Morris Liu leaned his back against the executive chair and tilted his head back. Staring at the ceiling, Morris Liu slowly closed his eyes once again.

He didn't know how and when he fell asleep because he had been having a tough time sleeping; most of the time, he doesn't get any.

In his sleep, Morris Liu was brought back to the time when he met Lexi after several years. It was when she arrived in the country.

It was a particularly tiring afternoon as he had been working nonstop; day and night for months. That day was the only time he finally had a break, yet, as usual, the place where he rest was his office.

When he arrived at his 'abode', Morris Liu didn't head on the private room inside the office but directly perched on the long sofa at the center of the spacious office.

Loosening his tie, he could finally breathe. When he leaned his head back, Morris Liu rested his stressed eyes by shutting them. After a while, he felt a soft, gentle hands cover his already closed eyes.

The person who was mischievously keeping her silence anticipated him to take a guess. Alas, he didn't speak for quite some time yet, his aura gradually turned even colder.

"Get out," The first words he uttered were enough to scare someone away but not the dense woman. She was unaffected and remained covering his eyes which made him knit his brows.

In recent years, there's only one woman who dared to come and go in his office and every time, he would scoot her away -- and that woman would always abide without a second warning.

But now, the person who was covering his eyes had no sign of compliance. He didn't want to touch her hand or her, hence, he didn't remove it himself. Just as his lips parted again, Morris Liu's words were stuck on his throat as a very familiar perfume wafted his nostrils.

It was the scent he would never forget as there were only a few of them that were manufactured and he bought every last bit of them because she told him she liked it very much.

Slowly, his hand raised and felt the warmth of the hands covering his eyes. Just one touch, he felt a sense of familiarity.

'Lexi…' Morris Liu remained touching her hands for a moment before he unhurriedly moved them. 

The instant he opened his eyes, her beautiful pouting expression was what welcomed him. Lexi, had her head slightly leaned down as she met his eyes, "Is that how you treat your fiancé?"

Morris Liu slowly blinked as he fixed his eyes on her. His assistant didn't inform him that Lexi was coming back. But that was not important, why did she come back much earlier? Shouldn't she suppose to stay abroad for another six months?

Seeing that his expression didn't have a slight change, Lexi faintly humped before she straightened her back. 

His gaze followed her figure as she walked around and sat beside him. She was looking at him with eyes filled with longing yet, there was a fake frowned on her lips.

"I'm back and my fiance is looking at me weirdly… just say it, you missed me." She lightly poked his shoulder.

'You're back but… why? You shouldn't be back yet. Why?' Morris Liu's mind was preoccupied with questions yet, on the surface, there wasn't a change in his expression.

"Say it, say it, I missed you." Lexi continued to mildly poke his shoulder, trying to squeeze the words she wanted to hear but to no avail, Morris Liu strongly uttered something else that made her flinch a little.

"Why are you here?"

"Hmm? My fiance is a meanie! Not returning my calls and rarely replies to me with short messages, meanie! So, as my revenge, I didn't meet you yesterday." Ignoring the unpleasant response, Lexi frowned as she complained and flaunted her 'counterattack'.

The next second, he aggressively held on both her shoulders and repeated through his gritted teeth, "Why are you here!?"

His sudden aggression evidently shook Lexi as she didn't expect him to be like this. He wasn't like this even when he was mad at something. He never vented his anger to her in the past.

"Brother Mo… you're hurting me." Feeling the pain as his grip on her shoulder tightened, Lexi winced which snapped Morris Liu back to reality and let go of her.

Lexi massaged her shoulder yet, her heart ached more than her shoulders. 

Neither of them talked for a while. Surely, Morris Liu's sudden belligerence not only shocked Lexi but him as well.

'What… am I doing?' 

"Did you missed me?" Breaking her silence, Lexi inquired while looking down -- rephrasing her words since earlier into a question but to no avail, she got no response. She added,

"Just say yes… even if it's a lie."

"Go back… leave the country." Morris Liu could not see her expression as she was looking down but at least, he could also not see her hurt expression while he uttered the words that he knew would hurt her.

To his surprise, when Lexi raised her head, she was pouting as if she didn't hear him. "Meanie, can't you lie and say you missed me if you want me to go away?"

His gaze traveled across her pretty face and knowing her, he knew she would remain adamant and repeat her words like a broken record. Hence, he responded without any emotion. "I do."

"Then, that's all that matters! Alright, I'm going to shop and enjoy my free days. Also, don't forget, you'll date me tonight. I already found a place because I know you're busy." Upon hearing his 'lies', Lexi smiled brightly and informed him about their date. She then stood from her seat then grabbed her purse before she left the office without a word or looking back.

When she left, Morris Liu kept staring at the shut entrance of his office, "I'm sorry…" he whispered as his expression gradually changed and his fist tightened while he placed his arms on each of his legs.

****

Morris Liu opened his eyes, feeling the heat in between his fingers. Seeing that the cigarette was almost finished, he grinded it on the ashtray before lighting a new one.

"Huh... I really f*cked up big time…" Morris Liu lowly mocked himself as he already knew that there's no amount of sorry could compensate for the pain he had caused her.