The Rise of the White Lotus

"Hey, you have a visitor!" Mia Chen raised her head to the woman in uniform standing outside her cell. 

"Oh, the beauty has a visitor! Was it from the media, eh?" As Mia Chen got up and dragged her feet towards the police, her cellmate ridiculed. 

"Haha! Maybe ask them to come here and we might get famous too!" One chimed in and snorted. 

"Sure. Though I don't think you'd be famous unless you strip for the million of people to see." Glancing at the woman chuckling, Mia Chen sneered. 

"This b*tch!" An ugly expression replaced the bright expression on the convict. Grinding her teeth, she balled her hand into a fist, but before she could assault Mia Chen, the police outside shouted. 

"Stop this now! You behave!" The police growled. 

"Huh, loser." Mia Chen sneered as the policewoman guided her out of her cell after placing cuffs on both her wrists. 

"Tch," As they watched Mia Chen go out, the women who shared the same cell clenched their teeth. 

They had been verbally harassing her the moment Mia Chen came in. Some recognized her as an actress that starred in a few movies, hence they took this to spite her. However, no one could physically bully Mia Chen because the first time they did, Mia Chen retaliated by breaking a nose of one of their jail mate. 

Who would have thought that Mia Chen was skilled? Still, that didn't stop them from hating her to the core. It just so happened that Mia Chen turned a blind eye on their disgusting attitude. 

"Always acting high and mighty! I'll teach that b*tch a lesson one of these days! She's not going out anytime soon, anyway." The woman spat before a devious smirk formed on the corner of her lips. 

****

When Mia Chen reached the visitor's area, a light scoff escaped her lips as she laid her eyes on Ethan Lu. She dragged her feet to the long chair, sitting opposite him as she rested her arms on top of the table. 

"What?" Without further ado, Mia Chen tossed the uninterested question. 

"Your jail time didn't change you, I see..." Seeing that her attitude grew worse, Ethan Lu nodded his head as he scrutinized her distressed visage. 

The ever gentle and delicate demeanor when she was outside this premise had faded to nothing. All Ethan Lu could see was a tactless woman that was serving her time behind bars. 

"Ahh?!" Tilting her head to the side, Mia Chen peered at him with disdain. "What did you expect? I'd turn into a nun after you throw me in a bunch of indecent idiots? Are you stupid?" Mia Chen chuckled as she mocked him for saying such nonsense. 

Ethan Lu let her indulged insulting him right in his face. After a minute of hearing her crazy waves of laughter, his eyes grew colder as he opened his mouth. 

"Your brother..." Shortly after he dropped these two words, Mia Chen's laughter came into a full halt. 

Turning her seemingly surprised eyes opposite her, the bottom of her lips trembled. She was trying to say something, but words wouldn't come out. 

"Was he in danger?" Without further ado, Ethan Lu asked while sizing up her shocked front. "I looked through your track records. Although our investigation didn't uncover your life's details, we had gained one or two new knowledge." In a matter-of-fact tone, Ethan Lu explained as she processed his words. 

"Mia Chen, you can stay here until you served your time which was three years, but are you sure that within those three years nothing will happen to your brother?" Ethan Lu asked. 

"You... what do you think you're doing? Was putting me behind bars not enough for you? Don't drag my brother in this!" Mia Chen clenched her teeth and slammed her fist on the table as she aggressively leaned forward, completely misunderstanding his words. 

To her, Ethan Lu was not done punishing her. He actually looked through her personal records that gave him the information that she has a brother. 

"Don't misunderstand my words." Unfazed by the aggressive response, Ethan Lu bore zero emotions. "I wouldn't bother with you again if not for the fact that the person behind you all had a horrible pattern."

Mia Chen knitted her brows as his statement puzzled her. 'Pattern?' 

"Last night, I send someone behind bars again but he claimed that it was all his doings." A heavy sigh escaped Ethan Lu as he recalled the events of last night. "Sure, I can believe that and not care — just like what I did to you."

"Then just don't give a f*ck! Or are you afraid that one of his attempts might be successful and bring you down?" Enraged for some reason, Mia Chen growled. Her voice echoed across the visitor's area. 

Mia Chen was infuriated as she saw Ethan Lu as a hypocrite. To her perspective, Ethan Lu just wanted to save himself some trouble. 

He didn't care about her or that person he was talking about. What he truly cared about was only himself and Lexi!

"Don't talk as if you care. Stop being a hypocrite — you disgust me." Mia Chen spat as her eye glinted with hatred. 

"That's right. I don't care about you, but I do care about the innocent people who were being dragged because they were being valued by you... and you hating me and Lexi." Ethan Lu didn't sugarcoat his words as his gaze never left the woman's. 

"Given that it is also partially my fault as the person behind you's target was me. Mia Chen, let's not be hypocrites — you'll betray your accomplice in a heartbeat when you got cornered. But, you shut your mouth before you can start talking... was it because your brother will be in danger if you speak?" Slowly, Ethan Lu leaned forward as his eyes darkened. 

"Scram." Several seconds later, Mia Chen faintly scoffed. 

"Haven't you realized that whether or not you speak, you'll never be sure about your brother's safety?" Unfazed by her hateful response, Ethan Lu stared at her straight in the eye. "The only person who can help your brother is me. So, make your choice... wisely."