Wang Lucas

The party went on after Hunter's speech with everyone congratulating the latter for the feat he had achieved and all of his contributions to the alliance. 

Among those people congratulating him was Seth Huang, Lucas's biological father. Hunter responded to him with his signature poker face, only smiling when it was absolutely necessary.

"Congratulations, Mr. Ming! I'm sure your father would've been so proud of you."

Hunter smiled and nodded at the praise from the middle-aged man when his wife, Delilah Huang, also congratulated Hunter and stepped forward to give him a hug, to which Hunter had to decline.

"Apologies, madam. I appreciate the sentiment, however, my mysophobia won't allow anyone's touch."

The lady stared at him, confused and bewildered.

Hunter had to clear his throat and excused himself before making his way to Stellar and Rex, rolled his eyes.

"You, do you know what mysophobia is?"

Lucas asked as he looked at Hunter, his eyes confused, yet answered the man. "A medical term for germaphobia, which happens to be a pathological fear of contamination or germs."

Hunter scoffed, "Then how come your mother doesn't know any of it?"

Lucas looked past Hunter's shoulder to see his father asking his mother what had happened, saw his mother mouthing "I don't know" and repeating the word "mysophobia."

The young man sighed and looked at Hunter again.

His eyes burned through Hunter's soul, quietly judging the taller man if he was serious about having mysophobia.

"Do you even have it?" Lucas drew out his own hand and reached for the man's face. Hunter watched his every move as he stared at those muddy brown eyes with a soft gaze.

"No. I just don't want her touching me."

Lucas frowned and pulled his hand back before placing it in one of his pockets. A dismayed expression suddenly formed on Hunter's face, prompting Rex to roll his eyes.

Hunter hummed, his eyes landing on Rex, who was looking at him with a glare. He visibly flinched away from the two as he cleared his throat and fixed his expression.

"Then, why would you say something like that?" Rex asked.

Hunter shrugged, a pout appearing on his face. "Nothing. It just came to mind and I thought that she might have known about it. Guess not."

Lucas and Rex sighed at how childish his reason was and went back to looking around the whole venue for something to talk about when they noticed Ezekiel approaching them.

"Mr. Lin," Ezekiel greeted with a bow.

Rex mirrored the gesture and waited for Ezekiel to continue. "The sly fox informed me that the Princess has ordered him to keep an eye on Lucas."

Rex's eyes widened in surprise, before carefully shifting his gaze towards a certain 'Sly Fox,' who wore a faint smile on his face before turning toward Lilian.

"Did he say why?"

Ezekiel looked at Lucas's direction before looking back at Rex. "Not in here."

Rex nodded in understanding and glanced at Lucas, gesturing him towards the direction of Stellar.

"Go to Stellar and stay with her for a moment," he then instructed Lucas.

Lucas stared at Rex in confusion for a moment before nodding and taking a mental note to ask about it afterwards.

The young man walked gracefully, passing through curious guests and sponsors, until he reached Stellar, who welcomed him warmly.

"Hey there, baby cousin. What are you doing here?"

Lucas stared at her. 'Right, this was part of the plan.'

He recalled the plan they all had talked about and agreed to when Rex asked him to go to the conference room for a talk.

"Apply your condition to us as well. Use us, Lucas." 

Stellar's words still echoed in her mind—sincere and clearly on board with the plan that she and Rex had devised.

"What? But why? What benefits would this give to you people?"

Stellar smiled, leaning forward with her arms propped under her chin, supporting her face as she looked at Lucas's eyes with wonder.

"Why not? As far as I am concerned, we have the same enemy." 

Her words made Lucas look at her with confusion, still bewildered by the sudden shift.

"Enemy? What do you mean?" Stellar clicked her tongue as she stood up and walked towards the mirrored windows. "Your father. A sworn enemy of my family and theirs."

Stellar then pointed at the three silent figures who had kept their mouths shut throughout the whole ordeal.

"How? How did my father become your sworn enemy? What did he do?" 

A faint smile appeared on Stellar's lips as she leaned her back against the window and looked at Lucas with a challenging expression.

"Use us and you'll find out."

Lucas accepted the offer, not because he needed the extra help but because he wanted to know what his father had done to their families for him to become a target of their hatred.

'My father? The one who raised me and taught me to be honest about everything? That father?'

Lucas shook his head as he looked at Stellar again, a wide smile plastered on his face.

"Oh nothing, I just got bored talking to Hunter and Rex, so I came to you instead."

Stellar chuckled, finding how cute Lucas was and ruffled his hair sweetly.

"Lolz, well, since you are here, I would like you to meet Wilian, one of my oldest friends in the industry and my very own bodyguard. And the one beside him is—"

"Josiah Lee! from the TV show 'Industrial Beauty!' Wow, I'm a huge fan of your works."

Stellar smiled as the timid Josiah Lee nodded at Lucas and offered him a shy smile. Lucas only smiled back and refrained from asking for a picture or an autograph since the actor was known to be timid and shy even to his fans.

"Thank you. Please continue supporting my work," Josiah said softly.

Lucas enthusiastically nodded, keeping a respectful distance from Josiah, which the man appreciated. He took a mental note to ask Stellar to give Lucas something the next time they would meet.

"So, who might you be?"

Lucas looked at the taller man beside Josiah, his eyes locking at Lucas's eye level. Genuinity spread throughout his aura, making Lucas smile at the small gesture.

"He is Lucas Wang, one of my favorite cousins."

Stellar made sure that she said the name loud enough for everyone around them to hear.

The chatter around them suddenly went quiet upon hearing the name as the people looked at Lucas's small figure, who was smiling brightly at Wilian, wondering if he was the same Lucas they had seen in the tabloids.

"I guess it's game time then."