The Rise of the White Lotus

After giving his speech and making a toast, another round of applause resounded across every corner of the hall. Congratulatory remarks and endless handshakes welcomed Ethan Lu after descending down from the stage.

"Master Lu, congratulations!"

"Thank you, Senator Wang." Exchanging a handshake to the said politician in his mid 50's, this time, Ethan Lu didn't head to the table where his grandfather accommodated all of the important figures of the Lu family as he accommodated this person that he managed to get on his side.

"Master Lu, anyway, this is my daughter, Laurel Wang. She had been a fan of you back in your modeling career and even now in your business ventures." Introducing an elegant lady beside him, her champagne dress that suited her fair skin, showing a bit of her skin and collarbone, her curves showing by the fit of her dress, stepped forward and made a courteous light bow.

"Dad, you are embarrassing me." Sheepishly complaining to Senator Wang, Laurel Wang murmured as her cheeks lightly flushed. She then shifted her focus to Ethan Lu who was still smiling to the two of them as if he didn't mind.

"Congratulations, Master Lu." Delicate and fragile, Laurel Wang politely congratulated with a loving smile. One could tell her interest in the man before her as a glint flashed across her beautiful black eyes.

"Thank you, Miss Wang. I am honored for Senator Wang's and your attendance tonight. I hope you enjoy the rest of the night." Ignoring the hint he received from this father and daughter duo, Ethan Lu remained distant as he bluntly showed his disinterest in any intimacy or physical contact to the woman.

If this was before, he would surely accommodate the woman and perhaps even add her to his collection of ex's. However, right now, all of his interest and love were all completely invested in the woman who he had been waiting for this whole time to come. After all, his grandfather seemed to give him an ultimatum that if Lexi didn't attend tonight, he would fight him to death for a marriage.

Although he knew that marrying someone else could be pushed back, still, knowing Edward Lu, he would certainly pressure him to get married. God knows what scheme his grandfather could cook just for him to get a child of his own.

Just then, a cute lolita approached them and immediately pounced on Ethan Lu— surprising Senator Wang and his daughter Laurel Wang, even Ethan Lu was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion of his private space.

"Brother Tan~! Congratulations!" Bubbly and cheerful, the girl who's 160 centimeters in height, wearing a pink cocktail dress, her hair was short and curly, a pointy nose, downturned brows that made her appear so innocent, while her eyes were bigger than her everything else, tightened her hug around him.

"Eve!" Upon hearing the familiar voice and looked down, Ethan Lu called out in surprise as if he didn't expect her attendance. "What are you doing? Let go. Senator Wang is here." While gently shaking his head side to side, Ethan Lu heavily sighed as he glanced at the father-daughter duo who was altering their gaze to him and then to Evelyn Lu.

"Oh, sorry sorry~! Don't be mad. Hehe." Letting go of his firm waist, Evelyn scratched the back of her head as she slightly bowed her head towards the two in front of them as she apologized for her sudden interruption.

"Senator Wang, Miss Wang, please excuse me for a bit." Excusing himself, Ethan Lu dragged his shorty cousin to the side.

"Ouch! Brother Tan, why are you bullying me the moment you see me?" Violently pulling her arm from his not so tight grip, Evelyn Lu shot daggers at him and ground her teeth in annoyance.

"Why are you here? Where's your mother and why did she let you go back here?" Keeping his voice low, Ethan Lu glanced at his surroundings and smiled while uttering his vexed query not to raise any more attention.

"What? Don't tell me Mom is here?" In an instant, Evelyn Lu's complexion turned pale as her tiny mind processed his words to a completely different meaning. Upon seeing her reaction while giving the obvious answer, Ethan Lu felt like he was having a headache.

"She didn't know?" Distressed, Ethan Lu briefly massaged his temples as it only made sense if his cousin's mother didn't know about this. "Did you pay your respects to Grandpa?" Letting out another heavy sigh, Ethan Lu was certain that his stupid cousin's presence must have already reached Edward Lu and the rest of the family members.

"Not yet. I just arrived and saw an opportunity since Grandpa and his companions already took their leave." Pouting, Evelyn Lu grumbled as she was displeased that her brother slash cousin was rather mad for her presence instead of being moved that she came to show her support.

"I just came here to show my support to you, you know." Using her ultimate move, Evelyn Lu's eyes turned into puppy eyes as she sounded as if she was wronged for doing a pure, good intention.

"Eve… I appreciate that you want to show me your sincerity but, you shouldn't be here." Shaking his head sideways once again, another deep sigh escaped his mouth. "Go pay your respects to Grandpa— he must have known by now that you are here." 

"But…"

"Go," Waving his hands off, Ethan Lu felt distressed as he could not believe that he has a cousin as stupid as this girl. How could she sneak from their home which was, by the way, a thousand miles away from their country and go back to the Lu's den? 

"Okay…" Hanging her head down, Evelyn Lu frowned as she didn't know that her grandfather would immediately know her presence. Still, that wasn't what made her unhappy as she glanced at Ethan Lu just when she took a stride. "Brother Tan, why is Elliot Gong not here? Aren't you friends with him?"

"What?" Shocked to the core to the sudden question of his cousin, Ethan Lu's eyes widened as he raised his gaze to examine his cute cousin. 

Was her reason for coming back because she expected to meet his celebrity friend Elliot Gong? Surely, upon realizing that someone such as Evelyn Lu, that reasoning made it much more clear in order to give her all the courage in the world to show up in the Lu territory again.

'What is the size of this girl's brain?' Mortified to the stagnant growth of his cousin's brain, Ethan Lu was mortified to the extent of being rendered speechless. Unbeknownst to him, her next delusional remark would make him want to strangle her to death!