The Rise of the White Lotus

"Alright, got it." With that said note, Lyrick Jiang ended the call before he knocked on the window of the back passenger seat. Slowly, the window rolled down and revealed Ethan Lu's side profile. "Master, the person is now in the authorities hands." 

"Good." Nodding his head in understanding, Ethan Lu glanced at Lyrick Jiang before he creased his brows. "What is it?" he asked. Lyrick Jiang glanced at Lexi first as he pursed his lips, hesitating whether or not he should tell it.

"It's fine." Guessing his assistant's concern, Ethan Lu nodded his head in approval.

"Red asked for immunity if ever the man spoke. He requests for our legal team to protect the man — also, Nico's help to deploy his team for a mission." As Lyrick Jiang got his master's approval, he relayed Jarred Guo's request, which was rare for him.

Knowing Jarred Guo, he rarely asked for such requests or even planned a mission. Regardless, Lyrick Jiang took this matter seriously because the ever lazy Jarred Guo had made a move; it only meant that he perceived it with high regard.

"I see…" Same as Lyrick Jiang, Ethan Lu had the exact conclusion. However, he needed to talk to Jarred Guo first to know his findings about the situation. "How about the thing I asked earlier?" Despite Lexi's presence, Ethan Lu asked about his request earlier about Victoria Tang.

"About that… there was no update yet." 

"Okay…" With that said note, Ethan Lu nodded his head again before he rolled the window up.

"Did something happen?" When the window closed, Lexi knitted her brows as she stared at her husband. 

"I'm not sure but if Jarred is exerting more effort than he usually does, this means what we expected was just the tip of the iceberg." Ethan Lu sighed in distress as he massaged his temples.

Thinking of Louis Lu's words earlier that day, plus Dylan Lu and Dennis Lu, Ethan felt his head throb. Not to mention, Lincoln Lu who was the shadiest of them all was only waiting for the perfect timing to execute whatever plan he has. 

Just thinking about it, Ethan Lu was in so much stress. He had always felt that the Lu Family was barely clinging together, but now; it felt like it was falling apart. 

Ethan Lu would be lying if he said he didn't care. No matter how he despised the family he grew up in, or the environment it offered because of their family's enormous wealth. Ethan Lu still cared for them, regardless of how little his concern was.

At the very least, he didn't want everyone to end up as a murderer. There had been too much blood that their family shed from the very beginning of their clan. Therefore, Ethan Lu had a desire to stop the curse.

"All is well," for a moment, Ethan Lu had forgotten that Lexi was sitting beside him. The thoughts in his mind flooded his head that he could not think straight and clear. However, feeling her soft palms sliding in his, and then her soothing voice assailing his ears, his muddled mind magically cleared.

Turning to the smiling Lexi, a helpless sigh escaped his mouth. He then assisted her hand closer to him, leaving a peck on the back of her hand. "What would I do without you?" He whispered, resuming to kiss the back of her hand.

"I'll always be your support. Let's call it a day — it has been a lengthy one." Lexi slightly squeezed his hand. Because of their busy schedule, Lexi rarely sees him be in such a state of pressure and distress. After all, whenever they arrived at the Yang Manor, they had the habit of leaving their work issues outside their doorsteps.

It was not like Lexi and Ethan Lu didn't talk about them whenever they are alone. Still, the experience of seeing it in actual and when they talked about it has a vast difference. 

"Mhmm…" Ethan Lu hummed a tune as he closed his eyes and rested his propped his chin on the back of her hand. "I want to go home." He weakly whispered, which made Lexi nod her head before guiding his head to rest on her shoulder.

Although Ethan Lu cancelled his schedule for the day, he felt extra exhausted. Fortunately, his energy booster was with him hence, he could rest for a while. Until now, he was thankful to have a wife as reliable as Lexi. 

"Thank you," under his breath, Ethan Lu whispered and Lexi responded with a simple hum. They were getting tired from all these schemes that were popping up one after another. However, they might get tired from all this crap. Still, that wouldn't stop them from facing all these problems head-on. They just hoped that these people would let them be.

****

[Jin Medical Hospital]

"Knock knock…" Churu muttered, her voice was much louder than her knock. Without further ado, she slowly slid the door open and took a peek inside. 

When she saw Morris Liu reclining on the bed while he unhurriedly retracted his eyes away from the window nearby, as he turned to look at the girl sneaking in. 

"Hey hey~" Curling her lips up, Churu raised her brows as she approached his unmoving front. "How are you?" Her voice was meek, rather it was gentler than her tone earlier this morning. 

"Where's Ethan?" Blinking once, Morris Liu asked flatly. 

"Err… home?" Churu scratched the back of her head as she awkwardly chuckled. 

Actually, Ethan Lu forbade her from visiting Morris Liu for a while as he had a lot of things going on. Therefore, Churu snuck out when Lexi and Ethan Lu had gone to tend to the twins after arriving at their home. 

"He doesn't know you're here?" Morris Liu asked, seeing through her uncertain response. 

"No…? I told him that I'll go here." Lying through her teeth, Churu shook her head as she pressed her thin lips together. 

However, Morris Liu frowned. He might not know this lady in front of him, but he certainly knew Ethan Lu. 

"You told him and he refused. Why did you sneak out? What do you want?" His voice was chilly, as if he could produce a blizzard in an instant yet, Churu just jerked her chin forward. 

"Because I want to sleep here! I'm sleeping with you, duh?" She declared, rolling her eyes as if her intention was obvious.