The Rise of the White Lotus Chapter 173 – Familiar scene

Meanwhile…

“Lyrick, that was my last meeting for the day, right?” Asking Lyrick Jiang that stood in front of his desk after he placed three documents on his desk, Ethan Lu asked.

“Yes, Young Master. Your schedule is free for the next two days.” As composed as ever, Lyrick Jiang responded and reminded his boss.

“Alright!” Upon confirming that he had no appointments today onwards, Ethan Lu instantly hopped out of the executive chair. He hastily grabbed his keys and coat as he prepared to leave his office with the thought of finally, he could see Lexi after ten days of not seeing her.

When Ethan Lu was on the door while Lyrick Jiang was following behind him, he ordered. “Make sure no one would know where I am.” With that said note, Ethan Lu started taking hurried strides again as if his life depended on it.

‘Hehe, what should I get for her?’ Ethan Lu thought inwardly as he hummed while walking his way away from his assistant.

Lyrick Jiang courtly bowed his head after receiving his boss’s order. He watched Ethan Lu’s back and was somewhat in awe. How could this man who was nearly skipping on his steps while humming be the same person when that ordered to cripple his cousin?

Since he already knew what to do, Lyrick Jiang immediately executed the order by giving a heads up to Ethan Lu’s men to look after him from the shadow and not a single soul would disturb him.

Indeed, the reason why until now, Dennis Lu and Edward Lu had zero clues regarding the woman Ethan Lu was seeing was because of these orders.

****

“Cuuut!” Arnold Shen shouted over the microphone with a satisfied smile. He added, “Passed! Hehe.”

“Thank you,” Lexi smiled back at Arnold Shen before thanking one of the staff that handed her a bottle of water.

“You look…” Narrowing his eyes, Elliot Gong could not exactly point it out but there was definitely something changed with Lexi. He already noticed it when they started filming again two days back yet, up until now, he could still not discern what was it.

Arching her brows, Lexi tilted her head to the side as she waited for Elliot to finish what he was about to say, but to no avail, he just kept scrutinizing her as he pondered the exact words he wanted to utter.

Chuckling, Lexi shook her head, “I look beautiful, I know.”

“Uh, no, not that. There’s something changed…” Elliot Gong then took a step forward as he leaned a little to whisper his words, “… are you and Ethan officially together?”

“Hah, no— not yet.”

“Yet?” Shocked about her ender, Elliot Gong gaped his eyes open as if he could not believe what he had just heard. So, does that mean she liked him? Or rather, she wanted to be with him.

Lexi only shook her head as she let out a faint scoff that sounded like a short chuckled before drinking a mouthful of water. ‘Fortunately, Churu wasn’t here.’ She thought inwardly as Eli was free from getting molested.

Recalling last night’s event, Churu demanded a “day off” because she believed she “deserved it”. Her sudden request, of course, surprised Lexi as she never thought that Churu also wanted to have a day off.

However, aside from flying around and giving half sensible half nonsense advice, Lexi could not fathom the word “been working hard” just like her claims. Nonetheless, Lexi agreed after having had enough listening to the dumpling’s nonstop rants.

Suddenly, Rika approached them and seeing that Elliot Gong stood closer to Lexi, she raised her chin with an investigative gaze. Her right brow was arched as if she was an overprotective sister.

“Hey hey, keep your distance, young man.” When Rika reached them, her gaze never left Elliot Gong and stood in the middle of them that made him take several steps back. “She’s not available. Don’t destroy my ship.” Her last remarks made both Lexi and Elliot Gong’s brows twitched.

“I’m not sinking anyone’s ship.” Elliot Gong heavily sighed before leaving these two best friends alone.

Turning her head to Lexi, Rika brightly smiled before she bearhugged her. “Bestie~ you’re doing great~!” Sounding proud because Lexi hadn’t had NG’s and oddly enough, Elliot was the cause of their NG’s. Still, it was only a few mistakes. Therefore, Arnold Shen didn’t mind because the results were still satisfying.

Patting Rika’s back, Lexi smiled. Ever since that day when they both went shopping, their friendship grew quite stronger as they would talk in DM’s whenever they were free.

To Lexi, she was grateful to meet such people in this lifetime— though late, it was still worth it.

“You too, you’re doing great.” Chuckling, Lexi responded.

Maybe, Lexi could not ask for more. She has a loving family, real friends, and a man that respects her and endlessly supports her. Despite not being in an official relationship with him, Lexi was seeing Ethan Lu as her prospective husband. After all, if her feelings grew deeper and like what she said, “think about him 24/7” she would marry him.

Lexi and Rika chatted for a while as they went to Rika’s tent. They spent their time there whenever they were changes in the scene or the setup. Even if Rika had to work a scene, Lexi would still stay inside the tent whenever she wanted to rest while most of the time, she would watch them act; that had been her routine since three days ago.

****

Soon, it was night time and Arnold Shen called it a day. Since the last scene they filmed was about Lexi’s, Rika, and Elliot’s character— the three decided to eat out after they had finished the scene.

After bidding goodnight to Arnold Shen and all other staff who was fixing the set, the three of them headed to where Elliot’s van was located.

“I can’t believe the three of us are eating together.” Still, in disbelief about how these things turned out, Rika cast Lexi a disapproving gaze. She invited her to dinner but Lexi also invited Elliot Gong. Of course, he was shameless enough to agree hence, here they are— walking towards a dim place where Elliot Gong’s van was parked.

“It’s alright, me and Eli need to interact more so we can polish our acting and give a natural vibe.” Ignoring Rika’s usual unreserved comments, Lexi nonchalantly responded. Since the three of them were quite tired, none spoke a single word until they were near Elliot Gong’s van.

“There it is.” Spotting his black car that was nearly camouflaging with the obscure surrounding. Elliot Gong then pressed a button on his key for it to light. However, when he did, they saw another black car that was parked behind Elliot Gong’s van.

As they reach Elliot Gong’s van, the driver’s seat of the car that was parked from behind the vehicle suddenly opened. Since the three of them were tired and couldn’t care less anymore, they didn’t notice a certain someone approaching them.

As Rika went in first, Lexi waited for her to settle her seat before she hitches a ride. However, just when she was about to enter the van, a hand suddenly slipped and held her hand.

Stopping in her tracks, Lexi felt that this scene seemed too familiar to her. This warmth, this faint yet alluring smell…

“Why do you I always catch you entering another man’s car, every time?” Smirking, Ethan Lu’s heart softened because finally, he could able to hold her hand again, even for a short time.

Lexi slowly turned to face the man on her side and seeing him after a week and odd days, part of her heart was relieved. Did she miss him? She didn’t know. But, one thing’s for sure, she was glad to see him, face to face.

“Ethan…”

Meanwhile, while the two were having the time of their life staring at each other, Rika’s heart skipped a beat. Her gaze altered from Lexi to Ethan then Ethan to Lexi. Although Lexi already told her about them dating, she still could not believe it. Or rather, her heart wasn’t ready for this silent dog food that was served right in front of her.

On the other hand, Elliot Gong heavily sighed the moment he saw Ethan Lu. Maybe because he already had the shock of his life back when his friend appeared out of nowhere and did what he was doing right now.

“Did he know I parked here? Hey! Are you stalking me?” Murmuring his first sentence, Elliot Gong shouted the rest from the driver’s seat as he felt that Ethan Lu was keeping a good eye on him.