The Rise of the White Lotus

Hours later, Lexi and Ethan Lu headed to the hot spring area. Since the place had some quite distant from the resort and hotel they checked in— they rode the hotel shuttle service for an hour drive.

As they were being delivered to the place where Lexi wanted to go, Ethan Lu felt restless as he constantly glanced at her from time to time.

"What is it?" Sensing his sneaky glances, Lexi arched her brows without turning her head to her side. She already changed into a white floral maxi dress and a new set of bikinis underneath, thus, she could not understand why he kept looking at her.

"Hmmmm…" Instead of spilling his words, Ethan Lu hummed as he rubbed his chin as if he was pondering something important.

"I told you if you don't want to come, don't." Rolling her eyes, Lexi slightly shook her head.

[Short flashback]

Earlier, when she invited Ethan Lu, he neither accepted nor rejected it. Instead, he replied: "You and me? Love, are you sure?!" 

His response slightly confusedly her. Based on the attendant that told her about the hot spring, it doesn't there seemed to be a problem. However, Ethan Lu's reaction seemed they were about to face a great hurdle.

"Why? Is it dangerous? Did someone died in there?" Lexi's first thought was that there must be something in the said area that was hidden to the public.

"Uh, no. It's totally safe there…" Waving his hands sideways, Ethan Lu answered.

'...but I'm certain it would be dangerous for me.' He murmured inside his head.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Lexi smiled. "Then, there's nothing to worry about."

"W-wait, baby, love, can we not—"

"You don't want to?" Furrowing her fleek brows, she tilted her head to the side. To her eyes, Ethan Lu seemed conflicted with the idea. Hence, she proposed, "Then… we, I mean, if you don't want to, I'll just go myself."

She almost blurted out if he was uncomfortable with it, then they shouldn't go. However, for her own selfish reasons, Lexi didn't want to halt her desire to check out the place just because he didn't want to. 

"I'll go!" Seeing how determined she was, Ethan Lu uttered in an instant— shrugging what was bugging him. It was not that he didn't like the idea, however, she had been seducing him since earlier and he had been restraining himself from losing his mind. Thus, if she teased him there, god forbid him from doing anything crazy.

"Are you sure?" Arching her right brow, Lexi thrust her chin a little forward as she wasn't convinced about his unsteady front. Nonetheless, they still head together.

[Present time]

"How can I miss the chance." Murmuring, Ethan Lu smugly grinned. Although he was conflicted about the idea as the place was to dies for, however, he had already warned her. Thus, his hands were cleaned.

Lexi only cast him a quick side glance as she could not comprehend Ethan Lu's unusual behavior. Despite that, she didn't give much thought about it as he was always like this— weird.

Soon, the hotel's shuttle slowly came into a full stop indicating that they arrived at their destination. Lexi creased her brows seeing that they stopped in front of a long stairway of stones going up. Turning her head to Ethan Lu, Lexi frowned.

"Is this why you're reluctant? We'd sweat before reaching the place?" 

"Hehe, nope. The person up there is weird." Forcing a smile, Ethan Lu shook his head sideways. He then asked as he raised his hand pointing at the stone stairs, "Are we still going or not?" 

Heavily puffing out, Lexi mildly shrugged her shoulders. "Thank God, my flats are comfortable."

"Alright," Raising his brows, Ethan Lu grinned as he followed her. 

For some reason, Lexi felt that Ethan Lu didn't appear not to like the idea unlike his behavior earlier… rather, she felt that there was something odd going on in his mind. However, knowing Ethan Lu, he wouldn't harm her anyway. Moreover, she trusted him. Hence, she brushed off her thoughts the moment they came in mind.

As they walked up the stairs with discretion— Lexi's lead while Ethan Lu watched her back, she almost slipped as her footwear was slightly slippery on the stones. Thanks to his reflexes and Lexi's petite figure, Ethan Lu caught her by his arms.

Worried, he asked: "Careful," 

"Uh, thanks." Surprised, Lexi heedlessly nodded her head. Apparently, what happened was too fast out of the blue, hence, she barely held on the stone railings.

Ethan Lu delicately helped her get her balance before he muttered, "I mean, be reckless and you might fall for me— no worries, I'll catch you."

"This is not the time for your cheesy lines." Letting out a faint scoff, Lexi mildly shook her head as her racing heart due to her mini heart attack reduced a little. 

"Hehe, that wasn't meant to be a joke, alright?" Grinning, Ethan Lu responded before they resumed going to their destination. 

The atmosphere between them became light as they bantered about that one cheesy line Ethan Lu threw at her. Regardless, it made Lexi's heart stabilized from her unexpected slip.

Soon, their unforeseen 'hiking' ended as they reached the top. There, looking at a small and simple establishment, Lexi's brows creased. To her, unlike the grand resort with stunning amenities, this spot was its complete opposite. She didn't see anything special about it aside from the long, tiring stairway to get there.

Lexi expected that after that tiring experience, she would be welcomed by another astounding place— not a simple and old fashioned abode. Nevertheless, Lexi didn't mind at all as she really wanted to try the hot spring.

"No wonder the guests don't bother," Lexi muttered. After all, everyone she saw back in the resort were evidently elite among elites and they wouldn't exhaust themselves just to have a spring in a simple inn. Well, in retrospect, Lexi would not even bat an eye as well as there were hot spring places that were much better than the place before her eyes.

"Uh, yeah… I'm still surprised you were entice to go here." Nodding in agreement, Ethan Lu stared at the front small establishment before a smile formed on the side of his lips.

"Let's go? You won't back out after all that trouble, right?" With that said note, Lexi nodded with a 'whatever' expression plastered across her face.

As they entered the place, they were welcomed by a few staff that, as usual, Ethan Lu knew very well.

"Young Master Lu, it's nice seeing you again!" A man in his late 40's greeted Ethan Lu after a bow.

"Nice seeing you, boss!" Slightly bowing in return, Ethan Lu gestured a salute with a large grin.

'He can really win the award of Mr. Congeniality.' She thought inwardly as everyone that Ethan Lu meets, he had a very close relationship with them. Understandable as he had a very likeable personality.

"Girlfriend?" With a knowing grin, the man leaned closer to Ethan Lu as he whispered while glancing at Lexi who was meekly smiling at them.

"Soon," Winking, Ethan Lu muttered with a large grin. "Anyway, Boss Chard, this is my beloved Lexi Yang— Love, this is Mr. Richard Si; the owner of this place… the whole place." Raising his brows, Ethan Lu referred to the whole resort and hotel including this hot spring spot.

Upon hearing the simple man's name, Lexi's eyes unnoticeably dilated before she put up a business smile. Slightly bowing her head, Lexi greeted, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Si."

"Nice to meet you too, Miss Yang. Hmm, so I suppose you're here for a steamy hot spring?" Grinning from ear to ear, Richard Si assumed.

For some reason, Lexi had a sudden premonition based on his expression. Still, she shrugged it off, "Yes,"

"Okay! Let me guide the both of you," More enthusiastic than the two, Richard Si heartily offered as he guided the two to the changing area and informed them the rules of the hot spring.