The Rise of the White Lotus

Stopping by to the first convenience store she passed by, Lexi heedlessly went out from her car and entered the place as if she had nothing to worry about. However, Lexi was slightly puzzled because the moment she entered the place, aside from the sudden silence dawning on the establishment, everyone inside stopped whatever they were doing and just stared at her— their jaw's effectively dropped.

Blinking while scanning the place, a light tug on the hem of the formal dress suit she wore on her showcase snapped her and made her look down. There, an adorable 5-year-old child was looking up at her with his eyes twinkling.

"Chang'e, you look like Chang'e." The child muttered in awe.

Just when the child addressed her as Chang'e, her most iconic role that made her popular overnight and toppled all her scandals— Lexi snapped from her stupor and raised her gaze to the child's mother who was also staring at her in astonishment.

Meekly offering a smile, Lexi returned her gaze to the young one that never looked away from her. She smiled lovingly as her gaze softened with every passing second. Leaning down, resting her palm on her knee while her other hand raised to the child's head, Lexi gently patted the boy's head.

"Child, how are you? Have you been a good boy?" Using Chang'e tone and the way the character spoke, Lexi asked the child with a gentle smile.

"Hmm! Mommy says I am a good boy!" Beaming a much brighter smile, the child's cheeks adorably flushed as he believed that the person in front of him was the real Chang'e— the real lunar deity.

"That's good… Chang'e is glad to hear that." 

Just as Lexi muttered those words, the people inside the convenience store snapped from their trance and dropped whatever they were doing. They glided to her direction and surrounded Lexi in awe. Even the cashier left her post and joined the crowd because all of the time she had been there— no celebrity just casually dropped by in the store.

"Are you really Miss Lexi Yang?!"

"Woah, this is amazing… Miss Lexi Yang just casually dropping by in the convenience store… so pretty…"

"Miss Yang! Miss Yang! Can we take a selfie?"

"Kyaaah~! She's more beautiful in person! OMG~!" One after another, Lexi heard questions and requests from these people. Still, she was fortunate that the place wasn't that crowded as she could accommodate all of them.

"Alright, everyone… please calm down…" Gesturing the people surrounding her to calm down a little, Lexi then granted them to take photos with her and a few autographs. She tried to interact with them for a bit before bidding her farewell seeing that new people started to come by.

In the end, she was unsuccessful in purchasing the pregnancy test she wanted to buy and bought nothing. Due to her long hiatus in the entertainment industry and her encounter with Edward Lu earlier, Lexi forgot that she was still a celebrity despite her inactivity.

After all, her last project became an iconic role and the movie itself was a blockbuster film that gave almost every cast member even greater fame. Hence, even if the film was out of the theater, it was loved by the audience and they would not forget the story just like that.

"*sigh* what am I doing…" Pulling to the side of the road, Lexi heavily sighed as she felt she was about to lose her mind. Granted that she wanted to know if she was pregnant or not after the event, Lexi decided to move to that confirmation now. Alas, it seemed that she needed her strong back up to do that.

Reaching out to her handbag sitting pretty on the front passenger seat, Lexi dragged it to her and placed it on her lap. Searching for her phone, Lexi immediately picked it up and tossed the bag back to where she got it from.

She let out another deep exhale and dialed her mother's phone which was instantly answered after three rings. "Hello, dear~" Soothing and gentle, Lillian Yang's voice instantly gave a warm atmosphere with just her voice on the line.

"Mom…" Upon hearing her mother, Lexi's vulnerability level rose as her locked up emotions she tried to hold in slowly seeped into her voice.

"What's wrong, dear? Did you have a fight with Ethan?" Worried, Lillian Yang inquired as she could feel the sadness on her daughter's voice. 

In retrospect, Lillian Yang hasn't heard or seen her daughter sad ever since Ethan Lu became her lover. Sure, they might argue at times and she might rant at her about how annoying Ethan Lu could be at times, Lexi had never had a bit of sadness on her since being with him. Therefore, Lillian Yang was worried that something had happened between the two.

"No… nothing like that." Lightly shaking her head even though her mother couldn't see her actions, Lexi still did. "Mom, can I ask for a favor?" 

"What is it, dear?" 

"Can you ask Dr. Xu to come by?" Biting her lower lip, Lexi slowly requested that made Lillian Yang even more worried about her need of a medical specialist. "I think…" Hesitating to say what she was about to say, paused for a moment.

"What is it dear? Is there's something wrong? Does Ethan have a fever? Did you catch a cold?" Trying to guess what might have happened, Lillian Yang let out a series of panicking questions as she gestured one of the maids to call their family doctor.

"No, Mom. I think I am pregnant— I want to confirm if I am or not." Gritting her teeth as she mustered her courage to tell this concern to her mother, Lexi said in one go.

A sudden silence evidently dawned on the other end of the line as Lillian Yang's words halted on her throat in that instant. As soon as her mother processed the concern, her eyes lit up as a flashing mood beamed and spread across the whole yang mansion.

"Alright, dear!" In a tone that was full of hundred percent determination and excitement, Lillian Yang firmly responded.