The Rise of the White Lotus

"So, what's the problem with Abigail?" Stroking Lexi's hair who was resting her head on his bare chest, Ethan Lu inquired. 

"Some sex scandal of one of her artists bombarded the news but she is out of the country." Summarizing the situation in the simplest way possible, Lexi sighed heavily. 

Now that her focus was back to the current situation and both of them have exited the lala land they had previously been indulged in, Lexi was quite worried. The one person who could understand how messy and stressful the situation was the most was her. After all, Lexi had faced many scandals and even sex scandals. Whether they were true or false, the moment an artists name was tainted— it would always be hard to salvage the situation if there is no evidence laid out on the table. 

"Need help? You can always use the title of Mrs. Lu, you know." Arching his brows, Ethan Lu offered a solution though that suggestion had sounded more as humoring her instead. Well, he knew his wife very well and using her title would always be her last resort. 

"Haha, very funny mister Lu." Giving him a sarcastic laugh, Lexi rolled her eyes which made Ethan Lu chuckle as if he had already expected her response. "No, Love. You know that I love you right? But, using your name every time a problem occurs is the least that I want to do for you." Despite knowing that Ethan Lu already knew her mindset, Lexi still repeated these words to remind him that she married him because of love and not because of the benefits she could gain.

"I'm just kidding. No need to fret." Rubbing her bare back and leaving a peck on top of her head, Ethan Lu chuckled. "Let's see..." Turning his head as he looked for something, there, Ethan Lu found Lexi's phone which she had tossed aside earlier. 

As he sprawled his arms to reach for the phone, Lexi's brows knitted. "What are you doing?"

"Entertainment." Grabbing her phone, Ethan Lu smiled with his brows raised— giving her a knowing look. "My darling, my love, sometimes, watching porn is good quality time." Grinning, Ethan Lu easily unlocked Lexi's phone and went to browse onto her inactive Weibo account. 

"Porn?" Arching her brows, Lexi glared at him. For some reason, Lexi didn't want her husband to see other women's bare body. Hence, the deadly glare that was being cast onto him. 

Lexi then took a peek at her phone. To her surprise, there was already a video on the screen that only needed to be played before it starts rolling. 

"No!" Snatching her phone away from him, Lexi took her hand that was holding her mobile behind. "Porn is off limits." Arching her brows, Lexi said with a poker face. 

"I'm not allowed to see? But, I'm intrigued." Pouting, Ethan Lu seemingly wanting to tease Lexi more as she rarely showed her jealous side. Surely, Lexi's jealousy only shows in the most unexpected situations. 

After all, Lexi wasn't that kind of woman who gets jealous even if he has business with businesswomen. She wasn't that possessive and her trust in him could reach the heavens. Hence, seeing her like this was a breath of fresh air. 

"Sure, Mr. Lu. You can watch as many indecent films as you like that is if you don't want me to be in your life anymore." Slowly, Lexi sat beside him, using the sheet to cover her body. She magnanimously offered her phone as if she was willing to give it back to him— that was until she uttered her last remarks. 

"Woah, woah! Chill!" Raising both his hands in defeat, Ethan Lu's eyes widened in disbelief. It was his first time hearing Lexi threaten him using their marriage. Hence, he was quite shocked to hear that as he didn't expect that Lexi would be that much against it. 

"Don't 'woah' me, Mister. As if I'd let my husband watch someone else's naked body." Rolling her eyes, Lexi retrieved her phone back as she subconsciously looked at the black screen with a play sign in the middle. 

"Aww~" Ethan Lu placed his palm on his chest where his heart was located and made a touched sound. "My wife is so lovely when jealous— get jealous more often, eh?" Raising his brows in an up and down motion, Ethan Lu grinned before crawling to Lexi's lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

"But, you should watch it though. It's the scandal you are talking about." After a momentary silence, Ethan Lu rolled so that the back of his head was now resting on her lap while the rest of his body adjusted to the proximity of the bed. 

"Huh?" Lexi's brows furrowed upon hearing his matter of fact statement. 

"That. Don't tell me you'll only watch it when I'm not around? Scandals can be nasty— who will cleanse your eyes if I'm not around?" Plucking his lips that aimed at the phone, Ethan Lu winked before the corner of his lips curled into a large grin as if he had the embodiment of the immaculate of purity manifested into him. 

"Oh..." Nodding her head in understanding, Lexi ignored his later statements as she played the video. 

The video was set to a room which Lexi assumed. It's angle was placed somewhere near the bedside table that had made a blindspot to the man's face and the naked woman. However, part of the five minute video while the woman was moving in a constant up and down motion, there was a time that the woman slightly leaned down— capturing the side profile of the woman's face. 

"No, no peeking." Lifting the phone a little higher while covering Ethan Lu's eyes who was attempting to take a peek of the video scandal— Lexi lowly muttered as she continued to watch the video until the end. 

"Well?" After hearing the moaning of the video stops, Ethan Lu tilted his head to the side as he wanted to know what was Lexi's thoughts. 

"Uhmm..." Clearing her throat, Lexi rewound the video and paused it to the part where the woman's face was displayed. "She does look like one of Abigail's artists." Although Lexi wasn't participating in the agency's affairs aside from funding it— Abigail Fan still sent her files of each artist and trainee's profile.

Lexi only skimmed through it whenever she was free but not entirely reading their strengths and weaknesses. After all, she trusted Abigail Fan's eyes on her chosen artists. Therefore, Lexi doesn't worry that much. 

"But, do you think it's her?" 

"No," Just as she heard Ethan Lu's question, Lexi immediately replied before she shook her head sideways. "I mean, I don't know, it's really hard to tell, love. My past alleged video scandals also looked like me but, obviously, you and I know it's not me— you're my first." Massaging her temples, Lexi explained without glancing at her husband. She then tapped on her phone and read some absurd article. 

Since the artist was now the number one topic in all social media platforms— making fun of their artist, slandering her, and bashing her, it was not hard to see the articles about it. Yet, what caught Lexi's attention was that one article with a title of prostitution that was taking place behind the scenes in their agency. 

Clicking it, Lexi read the absurd and ridiculous article that it was, in her personal opinion, was a direct attack towards Abigail Fan's agency and not to the involved artist that was the subject of the current issue. The blog post had reached ten of thousands of shares which struck Lexi as to why Abigail Fan was in a state of panic. 

"I see..." Murmuring, Lexi nodded her head as if she fully understood the whole situation. 

"Hmm?" Humming a tune, Ethan Lu was half intrigued on what she was thinking while his other focus was entirely on how mesmerizing Lexi was when contemplating. 

"It's not her." Putting down her phone, Lexi strongly affirmed as if she was convinced that her artist was indeed innocent. 

"You have an answer that soon?" 

"Dear love, whoever released that video has its aim towards Abigail's agency and not the artist. What a newbie move." Dragging the whole sheet to cover herself, Lexi left Ethan Lu lying naked with only his boxer shorts intact. She picked up her clothes and began dressing herself while Ethan Lu seemed as if he has all the time in the world to lay around in bed while he watched her dressing up. 

"People are threatened that AL's entertainment is producing great artists so they are trying to take it down by tainting it." In a matter of fact tone, Lexi uttered as she zipped up her skirt before turning to Ethan Lu with her hands on her waist. 

"I won't let them do what they want." With a disdainful scoff at the low blow their rival companies, that Lexi assumed who were behind all this, she aggressively wore her blouse. 

"Love...?" 

"What?"

"Nothing, I just hope what you said is that simple." Slowly, Ethan Lu sat up as a heavy sigh escaped his mouth. "You know, I promised that I won't get involved in your business unless you asked me to. However, if the person behind all of this, if their real target is you— not the agency or the artist— don't get mad of what I'll do, okay?" Raising his gaze, Ethan Lu lifted his hands as if asking Lexi to sit beside him. 

"Who would target me using the agency? It's not that anyone knew I am one of Abi's co-owners." Reaching her hands to his, Lexi slowly sat beside him before she kissed him on the lips. "They can always stir trouble in Beauty DR if they want trouble." She added as Lexi's involvement in AL's entertainment had been a secret. 

Well, it's not that she purposely wanted to keep it a secret but, for some reason, Lexi wanted to keep it lowkey. Therefore, she asked Abigail Fan not to mention that the money Abigail Fan used to start this business was entirely hers. 

"Just saying, my love. Dylan has been quiet— it's worrying me." Resting his forehead on her shoulders, Ethan Lu murmured. He hoped and wished that the problem was as simple as a normal rival company's scheme. 

After all, it was easier to deal with if it's only like that. But, if one of Ethan Lu's enemies was involved, then, that would be an entirely different case. 

"Don't think too much for now, okay?" Sighing, Lexi slid her hands to his before slightly resting the side of her head to his shoulder. "Also, didn't I tell you, I'll make your cousin and your family members would want to bother anyone else instead of me!" 

Hearing her last remarks, Ethan Lu chuckled. For some reason, he felt a little relieved albeit not completely. Indeed, someone like Dylan Lu would be shocked to see the wrath and intelligence Lexi has. 

"Now, if you may, please dress up because we both have jobs to do. We only have an hour." Sensing that she made him feel relieved even just a tiny bit, Lexi shrugged her worry to the side. 

Though it may not look like it, what Ethan said just now has added to her cautionary note. She didn't fully take it in but, just in case, Lexi knew she needed to be wary if that was the case.