The Rise of the White Lotus

"Where's Churu?" When they reached the lobby, Lexi saw Lyrick Jiang waiting. Granting that they were already leaving, Lexi assumed that Jarred Guo and Nico Zhuang fetched their rides but, how about Churu?

"With Nico… yeah, she's with him." For a millisecond, Ethan Lu's mind paused before it processed faster than usual. A smile then followed it, which made Lexi arch her brows. However, she didn't dwell on it and shrugged her shoulders.

"Rick, everything ready?" Signaling Lyrick Jiang, Ethan Lu raised his thumbs up, gesturing to him if they were ready to go. Lyrick Jiang nodded his head before he jogged towards them.

"Wait!" As Lexi took a step forward, it reminded her that she wasn't bringing her handbag nor did she have a change of outfit. She was still wearing the sports attire that Aubrey Ning lent her. "My stuff — I forgot." Lexi turned to Ethan Lu while carrying a sorry look.

Ethan Lu glanced at her from head to toe before he nodded in understanding. "Alright, let me accom—" however, just as he could offer his helping hand, Lexi smiled and shook her head sideways.

"It's fine. I won't take long." 

"Oh, okay…" Ethan Lu nodded his head before Lexi took hurried steps back to the girl's locker room. When his eyes could no longer see Lexi's shadow, Ethan Lu spoke as Lyrick Jiang stood behind him. 

"How was Churu?"

"Just now, Nico reported that Churu was with him." Lyrick Jiang responded sternly.

"Really…" Heaving a sigh of relief, Ethan Lu joggled his head. Earlier, Churu requested to stay with Seraphina and Louis Lu after he left. He didn't want to let her but, Seraphina also insisted with a teary-eyed.

It was not like Ethan Lu was moved by it but, if Churu was confident that she would be unharmed; he trusted her. After all, she wasn't an ordinary human… no; she was not a human at all. She was a fallen angel, that became a demon, then a dumpling, and now took up a human form. 

Therefore, with that thing in mind, Ethan Lu let her play. Who would have thought that Churu wouldn't stay with that group longer than he expected?

"Master…" Glancing at Ethan Lu's back. Lyrick Jiang creased his brows in worry. "About Sir Louis, what are your orders?" Lyrick Jiang was Ethan Lu's assistant, therefore, even if they prohibited him from entering the private lounge, his boss informed him about important details. Thus, the uneasiness.

"That…" Upon recalling Louis Lu's words, Ethan Lu's chest heaved slowly and heavily. He knew Louis Lu and when he said something, he would do it — regardless of how crazy and impossible it might be.

Therefore, Ethan Lu knew that Louis Lu truly wanted Dylan Lu dead. The reason? He doesn't know, but knowing Louis Lu, it was certainly personal. After all, Louis Lu would never resort to violence if it was just about a sabotaged deal or anything of the sort.

If anything of that happened, Louis Lu would only say it was his own fault for letting the enemies sabotage his plan. So, someone like Louis Lu, why would he resort to this?

Ethan Lu pondered for a second as he stared at nothing in particular. If he placed himself in Louis Lu's shoes, he asked himself: "what were the things that would compel him to the edge?" 

Definitely, the answer was not the Lu Corporation. Ethan Lu didn't need that long to realize what, or rather, who were the people that others shouldn't touch — his family. That's right. Ethan Lu could only be that evil with no regards to the law or to anyone, even to God if someone harmed his loved ones.

"Rick, can you find out if anything happened to Vic?" Blinking his eyes, Ethan Lu knitted his brows as he slowly turned to face Lyrick Jiang. "Or anyone related to her." he added.

"Yes, master." Lyrick Jiang bowed his head and immediately jotted down the new order he received.

Ethan Lu then strode to the set of sofas where he perched to wait for his dear wife. As he waited for his wife, his mind wandered from the past. The time when they were still young, innocent, and pure.

****

At the private lounge…

"What a cute girl…" Seraphina sighed as she frowned.

"Jeez… how can you be so lax around just anyone knowing your situation?" Dismay, Riggs glared daggers at his boss who was sulking on the one-seater couch, hugging her knees. "Also, you, how can you take someone here without permission? Are you ready for the consequences?" Riggs then turned to the inexpressive front of Louis Lu.

The more Riggs looked at him, the more it infuriated he gets. Damn… it was all Seraphina's fault for goofing around too much that these people don't take her seriously. Just thinking about it, he wanted to snap someone's head to blow off some steam.

"Yo, just call Venus and f*ck off." Although Wren understood his point, Riggs was being too loud to the point that it was stressful. "What done is done, also, can't you see she's happy?" Glancing at the unusual peacefulness in Seraphina's eyes, Wren shook his head.

"Anyway, you are clear that we don't do that anymore, right? Why give false information to your cousin?" Wren continued as he tossed his gaze to the silent Louis Lu. His brows arched as he waited for Louis Lu to respond. After all, that wasn't the actual reason why Wren Tanaka agreed to meet this man.

"It's not false, someone is already waiting for my go signal to have my second cousin's head." Slowly, Louis Lu blankly looked at Wren Tanaka before he shifted it to Seraphina. "Did you already know?" he asked — his question directly to Seraphina.

"Tsk tsk tsk, softie." Instead of answering his query, Seraphina clicked her tongue and shook her head sideways. If she was correct, the reason Louis Lu informed Ethan Lu about his plan was so Ethan Lu could sabotage it and save Him, and Dylan Lu.

It was Louis Lu's way of asking for help… a desperate cry for help before turning into a vicious monster.