Fortunate to Have You This Lifetime

“I went out to dine with classmates,” Purple Summers said, puzzled. “I’ve told mom over the phone.”

Alexander Summers took her hand and made her sit beside him. “Did you meet anyone?”

Purple was peeling a tangerine, shaking her head. “No.”

“Really? No one at all?” Alexander’s gaze was intense as he looked at her face.

His serious expression seemed as though he was inquiring about something very important, which made Purple feel perplexed. She carefully reflected on the day – going to school, getting out of school, then dining out… Indeed, she hadn’t met anyone.

“No…” Purple couldn’t figure out the reason. “At dinner, it was just the four of us.”

Alexander studied Purple carefully, and after a moment, suddenly smiled tenderly, caressing her head. “I was just asking casually.”

Purple had indeed encountered Gavin Graves, but now she couldn’t remember ever meeting anyone. It wasn’t that she was lying; it was because she had completely disregarded Gavin, utterly forgetting about the encounter.

Alexander had come to understand this, which is why his smile appeared.

Seeing his smile, Purple couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, thereafter frowning and chiding, “And here I thought something was wrong.”

“I was just worried about someone whisking you away,” Alexander took the tangerine from her and started peeling it for her, feeding her slice by slice. “The outside world is dangerous, and you, a naïve and cute little lamb, are too easily targeted…”

No matter how shrewd and capable Purple was, in Alexander’s eyes, his woman was always a delicate lamb, a pure angel, a goddess untainted by the mundane world – even when Purple yelled and hit him, he found her adorable.

But just thinking about other men coveting his carefully nurtured treasure, Alexander felt an imbalance in his heart.

It was as if he had carefully raised a patch of cabbage, yet before he had tasted even a bite, it had already attracted many wolves, lurking hungrily just outside the garden fence.

He wasn’t worried about Gavin stealing her away.

People from big clans seemed like they could do whatever they wished, but in truth, the higher the position, the more considerations they had.

Gavin wouldn’t create a huge fuss over a woman.

Yet, even if Gavin didn’t take any action, just standing outside the vegetable patch and watching was unbearable for Alexander.

He looked again at the young girl in front of him, eating the tangerine joyfully, her cheeks round and puffed up like an innocent child not yet stripped of her naiveté.

Alexander couldn’t help but sigh, “Little cabbage, why are you so endearing…”

Alexander felt despondent, while Purple thought he was acting like a neurotic.

…

During dinner, Atra Blanc said with a smile in her eyes, “In a few days, it’ll be Purple’s birthday. How would you like to celebrate, Purple?”

Both Purple and Alexander were taken aback at the table.

Neither of them ever paid much attention to birthdays; only Atra Blanc always kept everyone’s birthdays close to her heart.

Alexander raised an eyebrow, nonchalantly saying, “Turning seventeen is neither coming of age nor a full year’s birthday. What’s there to celebrate? Let’s just postpone it, next month is Easter anyway. We can celebrate both at once then.”

Atra Blanc’s enthusiasm was doused, and she suddenly looked displeased. “How can you say that? Every birthday is very important, very meaningful…”

Remembering her son’s cold-heartedness, Atra Blanc quieted down and turned to Purple with a smile, “Don’t listen to your brother’s nonsense, Purple. On your birthday, would you like a cake, or longevity noodles? Do you want to invite classmates over for a gathering?”

But Purple was lost in thought.

Atra asked her again, and Purple came back to her senses, saying, “There’s no need for it to be so grand, Mom. Just help me cook a bowl of longevity noodles.”

Purple fiddled with the grains of rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, her ears turning slightly red…

She couldn’t remember Purple’s birthday, but she remembered her own, which coincidentally was next month, the day before Easter.