The Rise of the White Lotus

The breakfast ended with Lexi having a happy heart as she missed eating pizza with sugar on it which reminded her of one fateful night in the past.

[Three years ago] 

Back in her days abroad, as there was no one to take care of her meals, she habitually relied on fast food and foods like pizza and coffee to stay alive in her university days. The reason why Lexi gained weight back then was that she was eating unhealthy food and wasn't particularly watching her weight, making her look a little chubby and thick unlike her figure now.

One night, as Lexi attended a party that she had a blast at, that had made her eighty percent wasted, Lexi was about to go back to her studio type apartment. However, for some reason, her bored stomach uncontrollably growled which forced her to search for a restaurant to satiate the monster she pet in her stomach.

Fortunately, the city she lived in had a very lively nightlife. Therefore, it wasn't hard to find a food bar open at night and she decided to go to the pizza house near her standpoint. Little did she know, she'd meet a man who would change her perspective on pizza for life.

Lexi made her order by pointing at the menu as the words seemed to float under the influence of alcohol, she sat on one empty table. As she waited for her order and the monster in her stomach kept growling as if it was impatient and was mad at her for making it drink the bitterness of alcohol, she clumsily shushed it.

"Aish! This ungrateful monster! You shut up and wait, okay?" Lexi didn't mind if someone was looking at her as the pizza bar was rather empty… or so she thought because when she unconsciously turned her head to the side, she saw one man eating his pizza alone. Alas, her focus was on the pizza and not the man's face.

Blinking several times to get a clearer view of what the man was doing, Lexi gasped in dismay as the man had a saucer plate that had a white substance in it as the man dipped his rolled pizza every time before he could take a bite. She watched him do it numerous times and indeed, she wasn't mistaken. The man was putting 'salt' on his pizza!

"Unbelievable!" Lexi could not watch him anymore as she winced every time the man dipped his pizza on the white substance, she loudly commented which caught the attention of the man that was wearing a formal business suit. 

Placing her palm on the table, Lexi assisted her heavy body up and stomped her feet towards the man who was looking at her aggravate front with an inquiring eye. "Why are you putting salt on your pizza? Are you trying to contract a disease?"

"It's sugar, not salt." Weirdly enough, the man, to be precise, Louis Lu responded with a cold tone. He didn't know her and she didn't know him as well. Thus, Louis Lu remained civil and explained this simple misunderstanding.

"Sugar?!" Gasping, Lexi's chubby face scrunched up in dismay as she looked at the man with disdainful eyes. "What blasphemy is this?! How can you eat pizza after dipping it into sugar? Are you trying to have diabetes?" Lexi placed her palm on her chest as her tone was laced with concern about the man. 

"..." Louis Lu just stared at this busybody who could not mind her own business and was staring at him with an odd expression. To him, why does she seem as if she pitied him, as if he was a homeless guy with no home or food to eat? Just what was she thinking to have such a sorry countenance plastered across her face?

"Huh, how unfortunate." Accidentally, Lexi used her mother tongue as she sighed in distress. She had met a lot of odd people and witnessed people have different taste buds. However, this was quite new to her as her favorite at that time was this delicacy.

"It's not unfortunate. I had a good day and treated myself with my favorite snack." Responding with the same language, Louis Lu frowned as he was now displeased that this fatty was looking down upon his taste in food. Well, it was not like it was the first time that someone told him he had an odd sense of taste. Alas, this was a good day for him and she just called his situation an unfortunate event.

"Ah? How did you know I speak Chinese?" Unaware of her slip of the tongue, Lexi ignored his sentiments as she was rather insensitive and well, drunk. Therefore, understanding his spoken language, she shamelessly took the seat opposite him as if her interest was piqued.

"Are you drunk?" Scrutinizing her flushed front, Louis Lu emotionlessly looked at her with zero interest. He was more or less dissatisfied that the busybody was now sitting opposite him without being invited.

"Do I look drunk? It's a good day for me as well so it's normal." Cupping her chubby cheeks, Lexi brightly smiled at the man. Just then, she heard her order being served and waved her hand towards the crew to serve it at the table where she sat with Louis Lu.

Soon, her orders were served on the same table as Louis Lu with a beer as her beverage which made him frown even more. 

"Since you seemed to come from the same country as I do, let's celebrate this good day!" As shameless as she may sound, Lexi didn't wait for his approval as she started gobbling on the variety of food she ordered while Louis Lu didn't take a bite afterward as he lost all of his appetites.

"Why are you not eating? Did the sugar already stuff you?"

"I don't eat with strangers." Louis Lu sternly explained as he really doesn't eat with strangers. Moreover, he has a bad impression of her. Thus, there was no way he would dine with her.