The Rise of the White Lotus

When she turned her head to see the figure that came from the kitchen with a glass of water on his hand, Lexi scanned him from head to toe causing her brows to arch. There, a man that seemed taller than Ethan Lu by a few centimeters, his pair of brown, thin almond eyes behind his gold fine metal eyeglass was lazy. He scrutinized he just like what she was doing. He was wearing a creased free formal suit and his hair was brush on the side making him depict a young decent politician.

They stayed staring at one another for over a minute before Lexi finally spoke. "You are?"

The man didn't respond immediately as he slightly tilted his head on the side as if he could not understand why he was being questioned by her. When he slowly opened his mouth, the man closed it again and smiled instead.

"Ethan's friend?" Seeing that he stopped his words even before he could answer, Lexi pried further. If this was her own home, she had already asked him to leave. However, since it was Ethan Lu's home and she didn't know all his friends, she remained polite despite questioning the man before her.

"No," Without a second hesitation, the man denied with his deep, calm voice which made Lexi furrowed her brows. Her vigilance heightened yet her front was calm like a still lake. 

The man stared at her for a while and receiving no response from her, his brows mildly knitted as if her reaction was far from what he expected.

"Are you mad?" Out of nowhere, the man asked out of curiosity yet she didn't have a change of expression as if she heard nothing. Lexi then turned her back against him and strode towards one of the sofas in the living area and perched on the long couch.

Well, since the man wouldn't answer her questions, then, she wouldn't be kind to treat him polite or rude. Besides, this was Ethan Lu's home and she wouldn't just kick him out without the house owner's permission. After all, there was a lot of possibility with his relation with Ethan Lu because he managed to get in the villa without a sign of forceful entry.

As Lexi sat on the living area and wondered where Ethan Lu went to late at night, the man wordlessly sat across her and gently placed down the glass of water on the small table in the middle of the set of sofas. Unhurriedly leaning his back against the couch, his natural noble demeanor was displayed with every little move he made.

He stared at her as if studying her and trying to read her. However, Lexi didn't show any discomfort as she raised her gaze and peered at him— having a battle of stare. None of them looked away as if their minds had this same mentality that if one looked away, he or she will lose; which both didn't want inwardly due to their competitiveness.

Ten minutes had passed and both were still staring at each other without a word that was actually a little weird. Alas, both Lexi and the man seemed they couldn't care less as none of them gave a slight clue of what they were thinking at the moment. 

After a minute, the corner of her lips curled into a slight smirk which made the man subtly smirk as well. Their first change of expression revealed as if they had finally caught each other's inner thought which was an entire bluff.

Just then, both of them heard the house entrance opened yet, neither of them turned to see the person who entered the house. When Ethan Lu set his foot inside the living area and sensed the foreboding atmosphere before seeing the two people having a staring competition, his eyes dilated.

"Lou?" His first words snapped both of them and at the same time, Lexi and Louis turned their attention on Ethan Lu who was sweating and seemed he ran several miles. Ethan Lu then shifted his gaze on Lexi's bare yet pretty face that made his heart melt in an instant. 

"Love," He strode towards them and stood behind her. He didn't dare get too close with her as he was sticky and his clothes were soaked with sweat. 

Looking at the man across them, Ethan Lu smiled. "Lou, this is Lexi Yang, my future wife. Love, that is my cousin Louis Lu." 

"Lou, I didn't know you're back." Lexi and Louis Lu slightly bowed their heads as Ethan Lu introduced them to each other.

Louis Lu meekly smiled at Ethan Lu before saying, "I had a project here and will be staying in the country for a while."

"Oh, that's great! Wait, let me freshen up. Love, will you accompany my cousin for a minute?" Sweetly asking for a favor to his beloved, Lexi looked up at him before nodding with a reassuring smile. Ethan Lu then sprinted upstairs as he didn't waste a second.

When he left, the living area was enveloped by another stifling silence as Lexi and Louis Lu didn't have a word to say to each other. It was as if knowing the fact that Ethan Lu had a lover that he took home and Louis Lu was his cousin didn't trigger an interest to them.

Surely, both Louis Lu and Lexi had some kind of similarities on how to treat people and remained silent as they wait for the bright Ethan Lu who was innocent and not at the same time. It didn't take long when Ethan Lu came back wearing a casual t-shirt and pajama pants. His hair was still wet as he had a small towel over his head.

He wasn't surprised that he was welcomed with a quiet Lexi and Louis Lu as he was well versed by their personality. Hence, he didn't actually expect that they'd normally get along just like normal people do. 

"Hi love love~" Ethan Lu sweetly greeted as he sat beside Lexi and placed his left arm on the head railing of the sofa. He winked at her and smiled revealing his even white teeth. Surely, his workout earlier enormously helped him stabilize his mind and set his plans for her later. He then turned his head to see Louis Lu across him bearing a friendly smile.

"Bro, did you eat? We can order some food— my fridge is empty." Upon glancing at the glass of water on the table, Ethan Lu heavily sighed as he had no snacks to offer. Well, he didn't expect he would have a visitor at this hour and bringing Lexi in his place was unintentional after all.

"No need to bother, thank you." Politely, Louis Lu responded as a slight reassuring smile formed on his lips. Lexi observed him and she didn't have any intention of concealing it which Louis Lu noticed as well.

For some reason, she was bothered by the man's presence as he was neither cold nor warm— her instinct tells her that he was more than what he portrayed to be which alarmed her. After all, these types of people were unpredictable and one wouldn't know their true nature and who they really are if they didn't want to reveal it.

"Ethan, I came here to ask you if I can stay at your place for a while— I don't want to stay in a hotel, it's expensive." Without further ado, Louis Lu directly asked his cousin stating his honest reasoning.