The Rise of the White Lotus

"Who is that?" As they headed back to the entrance of the establishment, Ethan Lu asked to his chuckling wife. 

"Laurel." Lexi cast him a nonchalant side glance, witnessing the instant frown on the corner of his lips. 

"Was she causing you trouble?" He asked. 

"Don't worry about it." A brief chuckle slipped from her lips, which made his frown even uglier. "Love, I just gave her a piece of advice. Also, I finally meet the real her — reminds me of the old me." Lexi shrugged as she clung to his arm. 

"What do you mean?" As he asked this question, both stopped in their tracks as Lexi turned to face him. 

Hooking her arms over his shoulder, Lexi sighed as she studied her husband's dashing facial features. "You know, love? I just realized that you're really handsome. No wonder you attract women like her." Shaking her head, Lexi pouted. 

"Love, I'm happy for the compliment but, you know this handsome is yours, right?" Upon hearing her remark, Ethan Lu's mood gradually brightened as he poked the tip of her nose by his. 

"What? Should I prove that right here right now?" Seeing that she was still pouting, Ethan Lu run the apex of his nose to her cheeks, with his lips leaving soft pecks down to her neck. 

"Sto — Ethan!" Lexi chuckled, tilting her head to the side upon the ticklish sensation. 

"Hehe," Ethan Lu wrapped his arm around her slender waist, stilling her not to fall because of his teasing. "Just tell me if you're having doubts about my loyalty, so I can always prove you wrong every time." Finding the focus of her eyes, Ethan Lu smiled brightly. Well, he doesn't mind proving how much he loved her whether he needed to offer his entire body and services. 

"No," Lexi shook her head mildly. "No need for that because I trust you, always." she affirmed, making him smile even more. 

Lexi trusted her husband more and more. She would be lying if she say she wasn't afraid that Ethan Lu would be tempted. 

However, she believed that if his husband's love for her and for the twins was strong enough, even if temptation surrounded him, he would never succumb to it. 

After all, the words she said to Laurel Wang were also a reminder to Lexi. She never needed to beg for someone for love, nor plead that he stayed faithful. 

If he wants her in his life forever, he would avoid doing the things that might cause to lose her and break their family — same with Lexi. However, that doesn't mean she would exert less effort in their marriage. 

Surely, all the trials they had gone through made their mind mature without them noticing it. Regardless, as long as they try to understand and choose each other every day, that's what's important. 

"You know you arouse me at some level when you're like that." After a while, Ethan Lu leaned forward as he pressed his lips against her. 

He didn't care if anyone would see them being too intimate. Ethan Lu just wanted to appreciate the beauty standing lovingly before him. 

*****

"What's taking them so long?" Bored, Churu played with the car's window, rolling it up and down alternately. 

"Stop that." Casting her a side glance, Nico Zhuang's blank voice echoed inside the car. "How did you know that master was there?" He asked. 

Earlier, when Churu eavesdropped on the private lounge, Nico Zhuang did the same. However, he could vaguely hear anything and everything came to him as indistinct noises. 

Yet, Churu knew when someone was about to open the door. The reason they straightened their posture and pretended to knock on the door. 

"I can smell him." Without a second hesitation, Churu responded honestly. "I can smell people's soul so it's not that surprising." added Churu with a shrug and a smug grin. 

Nico Zhuang tapped his finger over the steering wheel upon hearing her ridiculous reply. He wanted to believe her, but it wasn't convincing enough. Hence, since Nico Zhuang had nothing good to say, his mouth remained shut. 

"Really... hey, do you know what kind of relationship Dylan Lu and Louis Lu has?" Suddenly, Churu shook her head as she pondered on the current matter.

When she noticed that all stories she concluded were all speculations, Churu asked Nico Zhuang for clarity. 

"Huh?"

"I said, do you have any idea what kind of relationship does Lulu and Dylan has?" Rolling her eyes, Churu still repeated her inquiry in a higher note. 

Nico Zhuang knitted his brows as he slowly turned his head to the front passenger seat where she was sitting. His gaze studied her dissatisfied countenance and contemplated for a second. 

"Is it good? Bad? Ugly? Or worse? What was it?" As he pondered, Churu threw the followup into question. 

"I'm not sure but what I heard was the three of them were close as kids." After deciding whether he should tell the things he knew to Churu or not, knowing that Ethan Lu seemed to trust her wholeheartedly, he trusted her too, a little. 

"It's not surprising that they grew apart because they were born in an unordinary family." Nico Zhuang shrugged as he found it understandable for the three to grow apart. 

Despite their differences, the same bloodline run through them. Therefore, it wasn't surprising if the three of them wanted to be the king. 

"So they were close? Do you know other reasons of their breakups aside from that?" Churu asked, not letting him have a recess. 

"I don't know. I'm still a trainee back then, so no idea." Nico Zhuang shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Also, you can ask Master, maybe he'll tell you." he suggested yet, he sounded doubtful that Ethan Lu would want to talk about it.

"Oh..." Nodding her head in understanding, Churu delved to her own thoughts once again. 

After a minute, she returned her gaze at him. "Can you call Ethan and tell him you'd drop me by somewhere tonight?" 

"Uh... okay?" Baffled at her sudden questions, Nico Zhuang nodded his head, bearing the crease on his brow. 

"Thanks!" Churu cheered as Morris Liu flashed across his head. In Churu's mind, Morris Liu probably knew more about it because obviously, Nico Zhuang wasn't raised for gossip.