Fortunate to Have You This Lifetime

As soon as Purple saw him, she knew it was Alexander Summers who had come to pick her up.

His timing was impeccable, as he arrived just as she got off the train.

Purple took off her backpack, held her bag in her arms, and got into the car with her head lowered.

Before she could even settle into her seat, Alexander had already pulled her into his embrace.

“I haven’t taken off my coat yet, you’re going to make me overheat!” Purple twisted her body in protest.

Acknowledging her reasonable point, Alexander let her go, and after she had removed her heavy coat, scarf, and hat, he embraced her once more.

This time, Purple only made a slight movement and stopped resisting.

It seems she knew that struggling was futile.

Alexander asked her, “Did you have fun on your trip?”

Purple lazily replied, “It was alright, I wouldn’t say it was particularly fun.”

Alexander studied her expression carefully and asked tentatively, “Nothing bad happened, right?”

Purple looked up at him suspiciously, “What could possibly happen during club activities?”

Alexander chuckled, “As long as everything’s fine.”

Not willing to let it go, Purple leaned against him and asked, “What kind of trouble did you think I’d get into?”

“What did I think?” Alexander’s deep eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his lips curled up. “I thought you might have eloped with some boy from your club.”

With an insinuating pinch of Purple’s knee, he said, “If you dare to run, I’ll break your legs and lock you up.”

Purple shuddered.

She had indeed entertained the thought of running away before.

Who wouldn’t be tempted to run away from someone as twisted as Alexander! “Why can’t your logic be more normal?” Purple said irritably, “Kidnapping underage girls is a crime! If something like that really happened, you should inform the parents and hand the boy who coerced me over to the police for reeducation, not break my legs!”

Purple’s serious demeanor made Alexander laugh, and he picked up her delicate legs, holding her in his lap, and pinched her thighs. “With your short little legs, I doubt you’d get very far if you tried to run.”

“You have long legs, so you’re an African ostrich then. It’s so impressive with the longest legs,” Purple retorted.

Alexander pinched her face, “If I’m an ostrich, then what kind of bird are you? A short-legged penguin?”

Purple was at a loss for words, unable to outtalk Alexander.

At the same time, she felt inexplicably relieved, as their banter seemed to chase away her melancholy from her time in Cascadia.

Purple thought to herself: So it wasn’t him…

The one who saved her wasn’t Alexander, but Howard Ninth. Somehow, it felt right to her that way. Otherwise… she didn’t know how she would face Alexander. The weight of being indebted to a lifesaver always felt embarrassing and awkward.

So, it really wasn’t him.

Of course, it wasn’t him.

Giving Alexander’s dominating personality, if he had been the one to save her, she could only imagine the arrogance with which he would have demanded repayment for his kindness.

Unknowingly, Purple felt relieved…

No matter who saved her, she had to live her life well and reclaim her past glory. She also had to take one step at a time through the unfinished journey of her life.

The car inched through the congested traffic, coming to a stop due to a severe bottleneck.

In the stop-and-go traffic, Purple had already become drowsy. Leaning against Alexander’s chest, her head bobbed like a pecking chick.

Alexander teased her, “You won’t admit you’re a pig, but every time we’re together, you get sleepy. Why do you love sleeping around me so much?”

He deliberately phrased it in a way that could be easily misconstrued.

If it were any other time, Purple would have gotten angry, but she was too tired to care about Alexander’s teasing. She weakly pinched his waist in a silent protest.

Alexander laughed and gently patted her head, whispering softly, “Stop overthinking things, and just enjoy living life with me…”

His voice was deep, but Purple was too sleepy to hear it clearly.