Fortunate to Have You This Lifetime

Alexander Summers had already informed Dylan Summers, the boss, about taking their mother and sister out for the New Year.

Dylan had no objections but emphasized that they must rush back by February because the Summers Family’s New Year banquet was set in February. If the family were short of people, it would inevitably invite gossip.

Deciding on this date was also a careful consideration.

Usually, great clans tended to hold banquets in January. Dylan set the date in early February to avoid clashing with other families’ banquets. After all, the Summers Family was no longer as prominent as before. It would be quite embarrassing if the guests declined their invitation to attend other parties.

Nathaniel Summers, who was far away in Scenton, also rushed back for the New Year. However, oddly, he came back alone.

Nathaniel said that Laura’s condition had been admitted to the hospital for treatment. Interrupting the treatment stage would affect the outcome, so it was inconvenient for her to come back for the New Year.

Dylan couldn’t have been more relieved.

It would be very embarrassing for him if people discovered at the spring banquet that his daughter had a mental illness.

“The hospital’s headquarters are in Germany. I plan to send Laura abroad after the New Year,” Nathaniel found Dylan in the study and discussed his intentions with him.

“The environment there is good, and the medical technology is first-rate. Laura can stay there for treatment. Once she’s better, she can study locally. When she graduates from university, she can return home, which will also help us avoid the current controversy.”

Though Laura’s expulsion for cheating was handled discreetly, some knowledgeable students at Grey kept discussing it occasionally.

Dylan was overjoyed and said excitedly, “Nathaniel! Thank you so much! I really don’t know how to thankyou! I’m, of course, reassured with you taking care of Laura. It’s her good fortune to have an uncle like you!”

Nathaniel smiled faintly, “We have only a few youngsters in the family. It’s only right to look after them. With this settled, if anyone asks in the future, the boss only needs to say that Laura has gone to Germany to study.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I should say,” Dylan agreed repeatedly.

As the two talked in the study, there was a knock on the door. It was the Summers Family’s newly hired housekeeper.

“Mr. Nathaniel is here, too,” the housekeeper greeted Nathaniel as he entered.

The new housekeeper was a middle-aged man around Dylan’s age, tall and thin, with a friendly smile that easily made him approachable.

Nathaniel nodded at him with a slight smile then turned to Dylan, “I don’t have anything else, boss. You go ahead and talk with the housekeeper.”

After leaving the study, he did not leave immediately but paused slightly at the door.

“… The residence has been cleaned, and the repair work needed in the garden is also completed. I suggest planting some magnolia trees in the garden for the New Year. Magnolias are symbols of wealth and have good symbolic meaning, not to mention they are beautiful to behold. The current trees in the garden are too inauspicious, and I fear that the guests might think something if they see them on the day of the spring banquet.”

Dylan asked, “What trees are inauspicious?”

The housekeeper replied, “There’s an old saying, ‘No mulberry trees in the front, no willows in the back, do not plant ghost-clapping trees in the yard. Pagoda trees are ghosts among trees, and cypress trees grow in graves.’ These five kinds of trees are called the Five Yin Trees, and discerning families absolutely do not plant them, let alone gather all five.”

“Really?!” Dylan was taken aback, “Does our family have these trees? Who planted them?”

“… It seems to be the fourth young master; perhaps he was being playful,” the housekeeper kindly reminded, “Rural legends say that if you discover a place with these five types of trees planted in a specific arrangement, you must stay far away because it’s very likely they’re nurturing something unclean!”