The Rise of the White Lotus

Lexi and Grandpa Lu chatted for a long time. This time, Lexi's initial animosity towards him slightly reduced. She realized that Edward Lu may have his own unconventional way of doing things; he was still doing it solely for the goodness of his grandson. Everything, including for Ethan Lu to unravel his mask to all of the Lu family members so he could protect himself.

Although there were still cons about it, alas, no matter what Ethan Lu would do, be it to run away or face it, there were still negative effects on it. Therefore, Edward Lu placed all his faith in his grandson and chose the less destruction action of his family. It was all up to Ethan Lu if he could persevere and stay at the top of their family.

"Grandpa, is the Lu family…" Pausing for a bit, Lexi cleared her throat as she still had one last question inside her head. "Was your family a former crime family?"

"Mhmm…" Rubbing his chin as if Edward Lu was pondering about the precision of his answer, he looked up to meet her inquiring eyes. "Actually, we are not but..." His response, of course, brought her brows to arch.

"My great grandfather was a former mob underboss, but perhaps he was tired of all the nonsense bloodbath and chose to be in the business sector—a decent business. Still, since he was associated with the people in the underworld and defied the family, he had to commit his life to it, there are a lot of enemies coming at him. The reason why our family system was implemented: to avoid rats sneaking into his own family." Without the slightest hesitation, Edward Lu explained further into the details to his future granddaughter-in-law. Well, throughout his chats with her, he was actually reluctant for her to go as it had been a while since he had chatted with someone with this kind of air around them.

"Of course, we wouldn't be able to hold on/ stick around / or even persist without some fellas from the underworld whom my great grandfather trusted. So, to keep the business as clean as possible, we were under the protection of  one of the strongest families in the underworld." Adding to his explanation, Edward Lu never forgot to give credit to the family that partially helped them to stand strong in the dangerous side of the business industry.

"I see…" Nodding in understanding, Lexi lightly tapped her fingers on the armrest again as she had another question in mind. "Is the Lu family still under their protection?"

"Uh, no." Letting out a faint chuckle, Edward Lu subtly smiled. "The reason why that crime family supported our family and did all the dirty work in the past is that the Don of the family wanted a peaceful life. It's not a secret to every headmaster of our Lu family that my great grandfather and Don Ran had an agreement: that is, my grandfather needed to be so powerful and influential so that the Don could be at peace and live with his own family into seclusion, away from the chaotic life in the underworld. If not, he would..., on another thought, I don't want to sound violent with the details as it is not healthy to you, my precious granddaughter." 

Lexi only nodded in understanding as she got the gist of the agreement and the history of the establishment of the Lu family. The said Don didn't see the potential in him or anything of the sort. Actually, if she looked at it the other way, the Don just used Ethan Lu's ancestor so that he could also live in peace if ever Edward Lu's great grandfather would succeed and also return the favor of protecting the said Don and his family with less blood being shed.

Not just that, bringing the Lu's to the top and them being so powerful that the family would be indebted to him would also deliver great benefits. Wealth, protection and peaceful life… that was nothing compared to giving the Lu family a stronger foothold in another crazy life in the business industry.

"Nonetheless, although that is the case, my great grandfather was an ambitious man so, living  a high profile life with lots of money was what he wanted—not a super peaceful life as he needed some thrill in his life." Guessing her train of thoughts, Edward Lu shrugged as he explained why his great grandfather let the other party reap more benefits in the deal.

"Thank you, Grandpa." Subtly offering him a smile, Lexi slightly bowed her head because he didn't let her remain in the dark and gave her more knowledge about the family she just entered and Ethan Lu's painful past.

She was moved and then again, Lexi realized that she wanted to know more of her better half. No matter how fast their relationship escalated to this extent, Lexi just realized that she wanted to know more of him with every step of the way they would take in the upcoming days. Furthermore, she was slapped by the harsh reality which gave her a clearer view of the pressure Ethan Lu had on his back that she could only see vaguely in the past.

Just then, Ethan Lu abruptly intruded to where Lexi and Edward Lu had been chatting with a frustrated expression across his face. "Grandpa, did you know that you've  taken her as your hostage for three hours now?" 

"Hostage?! Hah! This brat! Ask my precious granddaughter if I am taking her by force. She likes me!" Harrumphing in fury, Edward Lu displayed his dismay to his grandson's sudden interruption as he was still enjoying being able to accompany Lexi to answer every question she had.

"Aiya, aiya," Shaking his head sideways, the atmosphere he and Lexi built through these fleeting three hours broke by the gloomy aura that Ethan Lu had emitted the moment he came in. Slowly dragging his cane, Edward Lu strode towards the entrance where Ethan Lu was standing.

A few steps away from his grandson, Edward Lu estimated where his cane could reach him, and when he was certain, he swiftly swung it to Ethan Lu's side with a vexed countenance displayed on his front.

"You brat! How dare you make my granddaughter wait so long, ha!?"