The Rise of the White Lotus

The next morning…

Lexi woke up next to Ethan Lu. The instant she saw his beautiful side profile, her gaze softened. However, no matter how she was relieved to see him early in the morning, her heart felt heavy. 

"Mhmm…" Turning to his side, his hand came to life and instantly wrapped around her, pulling her closer to his warm embrace.

"...morning." He softly greeted with his eyes still closed. His hand stroked her back as if comforting her. 

"Mhmm, goodmorning." Trying to throw the heavy emotion on the back of her mind, Lexi snuggled in his chest like a clingy kitten. Lexi's unexpected response made Ethan Lu creased his brows as his lids slowly opened; the hands that was rubbing on her back came into a pause. 

"How are you feeling?" 

"Sleepy—" Just when Lexi subtly smile, memories from last night came rushing inside her head that made her abruptly stop. 

In her memory, she woke up last night feeling her dry throat and went to the kitchen to salivate her throat. And then, when she came back… everything seemed vague and the last thing she knew was that she was crying her heart out, a light hand patting her back which she assumed was Ethan Lu before she fell asleep. 

"What…" Confused, Lexi could only mutter one word as her head throbbed the more she thought about the reason why she was crying last night. 

Suddenly, her world seemed to stop as another piece of information went inside her head. "Brother Mo," Lexi lightly pushed Ethan Lu away as her eyes gaped open, her hand balled into a fist on his chest and trembled. 

Ethan Lu emotionlessly stared at her shocked expression as she raised her gaze to meet his. 

"He is in the hospital."

"What? What happened to him?" Still confused on how she knew that Morris Liu's life was in critical condition— Lexi didn't dwell on it because what's important was the fact that Morris Liu was dying. 

"He was shot." Blankly giving her the information he received last night, Ethan Lu didn't let her go and only stared at her bewildered front. 

"What? How— why?!" Trying to process the shocking words as immediately as she could, Lexi locked eyes with his unreadable pair of eyes. Since it was the news she didn't expect early in the morning, Lexi was quite dumbfounded by the news. Hence, she was rather reckless with her response without considering what would he feel. 

"He's fine now… isn't that what's important?" Call him petty for having ridiculous thoughts that almost made him stay awake through the night. However, the possibility that the reason why Lexi bawled her eyes out until she fell asleep last night was because of another man. Moreover, her last murmurs while she was asleep 'don't go…' kept ringing in his head. 

Ethan Lu condemned himself many times last night. After all, Morris Liu was his friend that was akin to a brother— no matter what disagreement they had— Morris Liu would forever be his ally. However, right now, his growing jealousy towards the man was slowly uniting and getting stronger. 

He knew that she would still be concerned for him, he understood that she would get worried— they had history together even before their tragic ending happened. Still, he was only a human. He could not help but feel displeased as his lover was crying because of another man. Why must she shed a tear for him again?

Ethan Lu's mind was muddled with thoughts that he chose not to speak. 

"He's alright…?" Scrutinizing his front, Lexi's heart felt a little relieved. Regardless, she wanted to ascertain the truth to ease her worried heart.

Well, although the shock she had made her undoubtedly worried— Lexi was certain it wasn't the reason why she was crying a river last night. Still, she would think about what happened last night and why does she feel empty? As if she was missing something really important.

"Mhmm… Miraculously, the surgery was a success." Slightly nodding his head, Ethan Lu didn't have much change in his stoic face, not letting the thoughts inside his mind go out.

"I see… I'm relieved." Heaving a sigh of relief, the tension on her face softened as she squeezed herself back into him. Her last remarks and action made Ethan Lu stiffen for a second as he expected her to ask him to go to the hospital.

Alas, she didn't. Instead, her face relaxed and cuddled with him as if he was her safe haven. That very instant, his clenched jaw loosened up and the thousands of words inside his mind was immediately replaced with peace.

'Silly me…' Scoffing inside his head, Ethan Lu felt ashamed for having such enviousness. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep that made him a little grumpy and made his imagination run wild early in the morning.

"Sorry, " As Ethan Lu returned her warmth, he murmured— sounding sorry for being petty. 

"Hmm?"

"For a moment, I was jealous of him— sorry." Burying his face on her neck, he got a whiff of the sweet scent of her silky hair.

"Huh?" Frowning, Lexi didn't retract her head away from him. "Why were you jealous?"

"You're crying last night, because of another man." This time, Ethan Lu drew away from her neck and slightly leaned back to meet her confused eyes. 

"Love, I don't like to see you cry— I never intend to make you cry so, I can't let others make you shed a tear— I can't forgive them." Unlike his blank expression earlier, Ethan Lu's expression this time was filled with fear.

"Okay?" Slightly raising his brows, Ethan Lu patiently waited for her agreement. 

"Alright, sorry to make you jealous but he's not the reason why I was crying last night— I actually don't know the reason but I'm certain it wasn't him." Subtly smiling, Lexi understood where he was coming from. However, no matter how unbelievable her explanation was— she would not even believe it if they exchanged places but, what should she say? After all, that was the truth.

"I see…" Moving closer again, back to her embrace, Ethan Lu didn't press on the matter anymore. Just like Lexi, her reasoning was not enough to convince him. Alas, his overflowing love for her was enough to convince himself. 

To him, it didn't matter whether she was telling the truth or lying just to make him feel better. What's important to him was Lexi. Ethan Lu would believe anything she'd say and treat them as nothing but truths. If she was telling a fact then that's a relief to him but if not, then he'll pretend that it was the truth.

He knew he was a lost cause, that even if she would lie even after getting caught, Ethan Lu was willing to turn a blind eye— that's how powerless he was to her.

"Let's drop by in the hospital later?" Diverting their subject, Ethan Lu lowly invited her to visit his number one love rival. Well, if Lexi wanted to visit him, then, why would he take that away from her? After all, before they became lovers, Morris Liu had been a good friend to her and to him.

"Let's do that— I'm sure Mom and Dad would be there as well." Nodding her head, Lexi closed her eyes as hugging him made her heavy heart a little lighter. 

She appreciated him for not pressing about the matter and acted mature while trusting her unbelievable words. Indeed, she was lucky to have someone as understanding and lovable like Ethan Lu— she could not ask for a better partner.

"I love you." Before going to sleep, Lexi placed the last lock of security on his slightly unstable heart with those three simple words.

"I love you more." Gently smiling, his tense shoulders relaxed even more as both of them cuddled for half an hour before preparing for the day.

To Ethan Lu, she doesn't revolve around his world anymore as she became his world. All the lingering worries he had completely vanished away as he placed all his faith and trust in her and their relationship. Whether it was Morris Liu or the Lu family, he wouldn't let anyone take his heart, his lover, his future wife, and his world from him.

He didn't even feel guilty for being lovey-dovey with her while his beloved friend was in the hospital— recovering. Call him selfish and a traitor, but Ethan Lu had turned selfish to have enjoyed this leisure memory with her.