The Rise of the White Lotus

In the midst of his flashback, Morris Liu didn't realize that he almost consumed the whole bottle of wine which made him a little dizzy. His vision began to blur and his mind started spinning.

Closing his eyes several times, when he opened them once again, a white, small figure was sitting at the small table while looking at him. Narrowing his eyes, Morris Liu's blurred vision slightly got clearer and Churu was looking at him with an irked expression plastered across her face.

"You're here…" The corners of his lips slightly curled upward seeing that the small dumpling that he wanted to have a chat with had appeared.

"Uh-huh, I've been here since the beginning of the earth, alright?!" Letting her sarcasm out, Churu looked at him with contempt as he finally saw him. 

In her perspective, Churu has another theory in her mind why he saw her last time. Therefore, she stayed a little longer until he almost consumed the whole bottle of wine in silence.

Hearing her sarcasm, Morris Liu let out a faint chuckle which slightly surprised Churu as she never saw him smile nor did she ever heard him laugh. Thus, she was slightly shocked to see his face brightened up a little.

"Oi, why are you laughing?" 

"I don't know," Subtly smirking, Morris Liu responded as he was again talking with an apparition his mind created or what he believed all this time.

"Crazy! Morris crazy jerk!" Sticking her tongue out, Churu would not miss this opportunity to diss him as she was irked at him right now. Flying in front of him, she placed both her hands on her waist as she aggressively stated.

"Also, what are you thinking when I said pursue what you initially want? What I said back then doesn't mean you, winning her back, gets?" 

Morris Liu didn't respond immediately as he tried to touch her with his index finger. Alas, before he could do so, Churu flew back and dodged him. "Oi, keep your hands off me! Want me to bite off your finger huh?!"

Hearing another adorable threat from her, Morris Liu chuckled as he raised his hand as if conceding his defeat. "I am not trying to do that and please don't… I don't want my finger off."

"Oh? You don't? Then, why am I not convinced, eh?!" Raising her nonexistent brows, Churu probed. "Also, what game are you playing with Ethan Lu?"

"Hmm? You know him?" Slightly raising his brows, Morris Liu unhurriedly blinked his eyes as he didn't put any much thought at her words— thinking that she knew because he originally created her in his subconscious mind.

"Err, because I know you? Did you know I'm the baby Jesus?" Lying while looking away from him, Churu hated telling an untruth as she was bad at it. Fortunately, she was talking to a drunk man and not Lexi. Thus, she could not care less knowing he'd buy her lie.

"Huh," Letting out another faint chuckle, Morris Liu's gaze locked on her guilty front. He was entirely amused at how vivid the ghost dumpling because she could hold up a conversation with him.

"I am not that shameless to compete with him but… if he can't handle me then, they can't handle the Lu family." With a subtle smile, Morris Liu tried his luck as he attempted to poke the little dumpling once again.

****

"Woah… you can cook?" Looking at the simple presentation but mouth-watering scent of the food she prepared for him, Ethan Lu fell in love with her thousand times all over again.

"Duh? Do you think my mom doesn't teach me with her inkling to cook?" Rolling her eyes, Lexi automatically placed a dish on his plate without both of them noticing.

"Uh right. That would be odd if Mom is good at cooking while her daughter is not." Mumbling his opinions, Ethan Lu nodded before he planned to serve her. However, when his eyes landed on his plate, it was already full and Lexi was already serving herself. 

Raising his disbelief eyes, Ethan Lu blinked. He blinked more than once until he lost count because in his eyes right now, Lexi was akin to a wife serving her husband! Her HUSBAND— which is him! That silly thought made Ethan Lu smile like a fool as he covered his lips with his palm.

Furrowing her brows at the blushing grown man, Lexi's under-eye twitched. "What are you doing?"

"Baby~" Still blushing, Ethan Lu slightly shook his head like a flushed little girl in front of his crush. "Why are you acting like a wife?"

"Tss, wife? From what I think, I am more like your mother— now, eat." Rolling her eyes while shaking her head, Lexi restrained her laughter as she could not believe that this man was acting like this. Never in her wildest imagination that Ethan Lu, this playboy had this side of him which was unexpectedly adorable despite its silliness.

"Yes, mama!" Grinning from ear to ear, Ethan Lu affirmed as he started gobbling up the food she prepared for him. Even though it wasn't as good as Mother Yang's cooking, in his sense of taste, it was still the best dish in the world that could defeat even the top chefs across the globe. 

Throughout their short meal, Ethan Lu complimented every dish she cooked— even the simple omelet was worshiped by him. On the other hand, Lexi's ego grew bigger as she watched him enjoy her cooking that even a third-grader could prepare. 

Still, she thought that her mother must have been too moved while watching him enjoy her cooking because Ethan Lu was too expressive— unlike Lexi and Frederick Yang.

After Lexi ate the last piece of the dish on her plate, she raised her gaze because Ethan Lu was intently watching her. Since he was like an eating machine earlier, he finished eating up while Lexi only consumed half on her plate.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Arching her brows, for some reason, Lexi's instinct tells her that something was amiss yet, he was holding back to tell her. 

"Nothing, I'm just glad." Meekly smiling, Ethan Lu slightly shook his head. After watching her for quite some time now, Ethan Lu would be lying if he said that he wasn't hesitating to tell her about Morris Liu's predicament. However, just the thought that she should have known because she had all the right to know the truth, Ethan Lu needed to tell her despite his fears of losing her.

"Uhmm…" Clearing throat as he mustered his courage and energy, Ethan Lu lowered his head. "My last meeting… the person that I met was brother Mo."

Slowly, Ethan Lu raised his gaze to see her expression. He expected to see a shock or at least a change of her expression, alas, Lexi only looked at him blankly as she listened to him.

"I see…" Cupping her cheek with one hand, Lexi examined every change of his expression as she asked. 

"Hmm? You won't ask what we discussed?" Knitting his brows, Ethan Lu was slightly surprised that Lexi showed no interest despite telling her about Morris Liu— her ex-lover!

"It's a business meeting— why would I?" Raising her brows and responding in a matter of factly tone, Lexi shrugged as she had no reason to ask. Moreover, she could not understand why must he tell her about it. After all, whatever happened between Morris Liu and her, Lexi understood that Ethan Lu had been friends with him since childhood. Therefore, why would she dare ask him not to hang out with his friends? She wasn't that petty.

"No, love. It's not just a business meeting but about you and why--" Distress, Ethan Lu was prepared to come clean and put his trust in their relationship. Yet, Lexi seemed she didn't care which relieved and bothered him at the same time. But, before he could finish his sentence, Lexi suddenly stood from her seat.

Staring at the woman across him, he locked his gaze on her as she made her way around the dining table and stopped behind him. Wrapping her arms around his neck as she lowered her head on his side, she whispered. 

"Ethan, what happened between me and him— that's all in the past. If he wanted to explain something to me, he should be the one to tell me not you…" In her mind, she finally realized what had been bugging him since earlier. 

She already felt it, but she could not pinpoint what she had been sensing. But now, upon hearing a bit of information from him, Lexi understood what it was— fear and insecurity.

"Also, are you trying to sabotage us? Our relationship?"