The Rise of the White Lotus

"Master?" When Ethan Lu came out from the visitor's area, Lyrick Jiang rushed to him bearing an intrigued mien. 

"Did Nico find anything?" Alas, Ethan Lu didn't cater to his assistant's silent inquiry as he glanced at him. 

Clearing his throat, Lyrick Jiang recomposed himself. "No updates from his end." Lyrick Jiang responded as he shook his head slightly. 

"I see..." Nodding in understanding, Ethan Lu then began taking strides outside the precinct. 

Earlier, Mia Chen didn't give him a definite response. Still, that was good as she didn't refuse either. Therefore, Ethan Lu would have to give her time to consider helping him. 

Also, deep down, Ethan Lu seemed he wasn't ready to hear who it was. For some reason, his gut feeling was telling him it was a certain person in his mind.

Ethan Lu's suspects in mind had a place in his heart. Regardless of how little space they had in his heart, the fact that he valued them somehow would surely impact him at a personal level. 

Hence, Mia Chen's time to decide would also work on his side. 

When Ethan Lu reached the parking space, Churu was leaning on the car. Seeing his approaching figure with Lyrick Jiang following from behind him, Churu straightened her posture and held her hands behind her.

"Did you find out anything?" As soon as Ethan Lu stopped a few steps from her, Churu inquired. "Who is it?" Showing interest regarding it, Churu leaned a little as if it would make it things clearer to her. 

"No, but she will speak soon." Ethan Lu answered as he shook his head sideways. "Also, did you sneak out last night?" Diverting their conversation, Ethan Lu cast her a dull look. 

"Uhm..." Upon hearing his question, Churu coughed. "I was bored and went out." Churu pretended to be nonchalant, but too late, Ethan Lu had seen through her. 

Despite that, he chose not to nitpick. After all, he had his plate full at the moment. Therefore, he could only remind Churu. "Just take it easy, okay?" 

"Yes, yes~!" Churu was relieved that she wasn't scolded. Truly, Ethan Lu was a kind human. Little did she know, Ethan Lu didn't fuss about it because he was busy thinking of other important stuff. 

Ethan Lu slightly gaped his mouth open but then closed them again. Shortly after, Ethan Lu only sighed as he gestured her to go inside the car. 

With that, Churu clapped her hands and opened the door before hitching inside the back passenger seat. Ethan Lu also headed in and Lyrick Jiang as the driver. 

"Ethan, can I ask a question?" As they traveled back to the Lu Corporation, Churu turned her head to see his stern side profile. 

"Hmm?" Ethan Lu furrowed his brows as he slowly cast her a glance. 

"Did you notice something?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. 

"Notice what?" Intrigued, Ethan Lu turned all his focus on Churu. 

"Red is not here. Nico is not here. You deployed half of your shadow guards — you only have a few people around you! Not to mention, that person on the driver's seat is useless in a physical fight." Churu stated in a matter-of-fact tone, causing Lyrick Jiang's ear to flap. 

Lyrick Jiang somehow felt insulted by the way she delivered her words. Well, it was not that it was false, but still...

"So? Your point?" Blinking slowly, Ethan Lu got the gist of what she was pointing out. But to make sure that they were on the same page, he asked for her to elaborate. 

"My point is duh? Obviously, this is just probably a diversion — a practice run too."

"Practice run?"

"Yes, don't you think that no one is watching you? I mean, one problem after another, don't you think someone is watching you and observing how you solve each problem?" Sighing heavily, Churu tapped her chin by her forefinger as she pondered more on the words she should say. 

For a moment, silence filled the air, bouncing along with the cool inbound breeze of the car. Lyrick Jiang and Ethan Lu both processed her words, and soon realization struck them. 

"See? If I am the person behind this, I'll strike — watch out!" Just as Churu resumed, a speeding motorcycle bike passed by them. 

The said vehicle was driving too close with their car before it made a right turn, causing their car to screech as Lyrick Jiang stepped on the brake to avoid hitting the motorcycle. 

As soon as the abrupt brake happened, Ethan Lu and Churu were nearly tossed to the front passenger seat.

"Urgh..." A grunt slipped out from Ethan Lu's lips as he pushed his body away from the back of the front seat. 

On the other hand, Lyrick Jiang's chest heaved up and down heavily. His grip on the steering wheel unconsciously trembled by the close call. Understandable, Lyrick Jiang nearly killed a person. 

Although it was most likely that they wouldn't lose their life if an accident occurred, the fact that he might have killed a person rattled Lyrick Jiang's mind. If not for Churu's shout, he would see the speeding motorcycle a little late. 

Meanwhile, Churu altered her gaze from Ethan Lu and then peeked at Lyrick Jiang via the rear mirror. Seeing that they were fine, Churu immediately hitched outside. 

She was about to mention the possibility of the perpetrator's next move but, who would have thought that it would happen that soon? 

Churu looked around the area. Her eyes were sharp as they glinted. Fortunately, this road wasn't that busy as there were only a few cars passing by them. 

If Lyrick Jiang didn't choose a different route earlier, Churu reckoned that it would have caused a serious accident. After all, their ride was now on the other lane as Lyrick Jiang turned right as he stepped on the brake. 

Therefore, it was still fortunate that there was no car following from behind or else it would collide to them. 

"These people..." Churu muttered through her gritted teeth.