The Rise of the White Lotus

Upon seeing his classic stunned expression, Lexi bit her lower lip that was curled into a huge smile before she immediately stood from her seat and left him rooted on the chair while giggling. Well, she needed to give the man some space to process what they had talked about— especially the last part.

To her, that's her way to say that she considered him as her lover. Well, they had this level of intimacy and she wouldn't get close to others not unless she cared for them. Therefore, initiating something like a kiss— only one man had experienced this side of her which she dedicated her heart to and knew her depths.

When Lexi left, Ethan Lu remained mind-boggled for as long as he could remember. The time that she initiated a kiss on his cheeks already snapped his rationale and made him craved for more. But now, she leveled up and left a peck on his LIPS— not on his cheeks or jaw or elsewhere but on his LIPS! Moreover, her 'erotic' confession! Well, at least for him it was erotic.

Thus, how could he keep his sane intact with all of these?

Slowly turning his head to where she headed, Ethan Lu blinked numerous times. Did she leave knowing what she had done? She purposely did it not for his sake but to her, didn't she? Still, how could she teased him like that and stopped just as she started— she should have continued, he wouldn't mind!

"Cunning…" He murmured in disbelief for leaving him hanging. 

After a second, Ethan Lu inhaled and exhaled heavily as he garnered his energy and then he shouted, "Lexi Yang!" through his gritted teeth as he had the urge to follow her and ask for more. However, he held in his chair as if he was holding on to his life because he didn't want to do something immoral.

Hearing her full name being called, Lexi chuckled and mildly shook her head while on her way upstairs— to his room. She had already imagined Ethan Lu restraining himself to follow her and shower her with what he called overwhelming emotions. 

"He must stay there for a while." She mumbled in between her chuckles as she entered the mix of gray, black and white-colored room. This was the first time she saw his surprisingly tidy room. 

Scanning the somewhat spacious room that had few furniture that complemented the color of the room, Lexi briefly raised her brows before she intruded. Actually, aside from his kitchen and living area, Lexi hasn't toured around in his place. Therefore, she headed to the door that looked like a wood closet alas, when she opened it, what welcomed her was an aristocratic bathroom.

"hmm?" Arching her brows, Lexi slowly closed it again before she headed to the sliding door near it that she had mistaken as a bathroom entrance. Upon opening it, Lexi rolled her eyes as Ethan Lu's personality was definitely weird— making a closet-looking door for his bathroom and a frosted sliding door for his walking-in closet. Nevertheless, it didn't make him less attractive.

Entering the huge walk-in closet that was filled with branded, men's luxury clothing, accessories and a variety of footwear— flashy and classy, she muttered. "This man is surely extravagant."

Normally, Lexi wouldn't just roam around in someone else's house. But, after seeing his almost empty fridge, she wanted to check if he was doing fine just by himself by checking his house. For some reason, she felt like a worried mother for her son's well-being that made her somehow understood her Lillian Yang.

"At the very least, he doesn't neglect his hygiene."

Lexi looked through this room, she wasn't surprised to see all these costly items because Ethan Lu was indeed a real big spender and he admitted it. She headed to the casual clothes section that separated from the formal ones. She then grabbed the first thing she touched— a gray shirt and a black pajama pants.

After she achieved her agenda, Lexi without looking back exited the ala men's boutique closet. Just as she went back to the bedroom, Lexi nearly jolted when she heard Ethan Lu's voice inside.

"What are you doing?" Furrowing his brows, Ethan Lu was already sitting on the edge of his king-sized bed that had a gray blanket and a black headboard. 

"Gosh…" Mildly patting her exposed cleavage, Lexi glared at him as if her gentleness earlier was just a figment of one's imagination. "Borrowing clothes to change."

She expected that he wouldn't recover immediately after hearing all her words and her kiss but she thought wrong as Ethan Lu seemed he was back to normal. "I'll stay for the night."

"Oh… eh?!?!" Nodding in understanding, Ethan Lu's calmness broke the next millisecond upon processing the last part. 

For a moment, he didn't believe that he heard her right. "Love, did you say what I heard you declared?"

'So, he's faking it.' She thought inwardly seeing his usual reaction.

"Uh-huh..." Slowly nodding, Lexi raised her right brow as she looked at him with a 'yes you did' expression. 

Ethan Lu gasped in disbelief and he didn't try to conceal his shock as he looked back at her. In his unstable mind, he just wanted to pretend that he was normal so he could spend time with her before he would drive her home. Alas, she actually planned to stay for the night that never in his mind he expected.

"Whatever, Ethan. Be used to it because your girlfriend is like this." Slightly shaking her head, Lexi rolled her eyes as she headed to the closet-looking door leading to the bathroom. She didn't pay attention to him again as she entered the bathroom to freshen herself up. 

Staring at the bathroom door like a fool, Ethan Lu's eyes widened upon hearing the shower. 

"She's serious…" He whispered before he jolted from his position and sprinted outside his own room as if he was in danger… and then came back and went straight away to his walk-in closet.

He grabbed a few training clothes and running shoes before he went out of the clothing area then to his room to the living area as fast as he could. It wasn't that he disliked that she would be staying for the night but, it was too sudden his heart panicked! 

"I must take a run for a while, " He mumbled while nodding, convincing himself that it would help his senses stabilize. When he fully convinced himself, he changed into a casual shirt, training shorts and running shoes inside the guest room.

*****

When Lexi was done showering and had a change of clothes: from the seductive dress to a large shirt and long pajama pants—that needed to be folded on its hem because of its length— Lexi exited from the bathroom while drying her hair with a towel.

For some reason, although she expected that the house would be quiet having the two of them, however, it sounded unusually quiet which made her brows creased. 

"Ethan?" Calling him out, Lexi went out of the room and looked down just to see an uninhabited living room from the mezzanine. 

"Where did he gone off?" She murmured before she went downstairs to check where did he runoff. Lexi wasn't like this but for some reason, she felt bothered. 

Just as Lexi arrived at the living area, a figure was caught on the side of her eyes before she turned to see who it was.