A Moment

Chapter 1

She answered without hesitation. Swaying unsteadily, she staggered forward, her voice already thick with drunkenness. The sea breeze howled around them. He grabbed her Aliced, and together they stumbled deeper into the sea.

Seeing this, the young man hurried over. With great difficulty, he managed to pull the two drunkards back and help them return to the hotel. Hazel, who was still sober, watched his struggle from the side, took a deep breath, and said softly—

It was not until he was twenty-two that Daniel finally found his first love.

He met Alice at a birthday party for one of the senior employees at the company. The first time he saw her, she was wearing a simple white dress, sitting among everyone else and painstakingly shaping a cake. When she noticed him walking in, she looked up. Despite the flour smeared all over her face, a radiant smile naturally blossomed across her features.

Alice was petite. She was not exceptionally beautiful, but her eyes were extraordinarily bright. There always seemed to be a fierce vitality within her—lively, energetic, and full of enthusiasm. She could never sit still for long. She talked incessantly about all sorts of random things and struck up conversations with everyone. She was as active as a child. The way she expressed herself was innocent, sometimes even a little impulsive, yet she never made anyone feel annoyed. There was a kind of pure simplicity about her that left people with no choice but to willingly cherish her.

Toward the end of the party, everyone decided to go sing karaoke. Inside the karaoke room, she sat beside him, excitedly snatching the microphone. Her voice was not particularly good, but it was clear and sweet. The expression on her face as she sang—with that foolish, wholehearted passion—was amusingly adorable.

After singing three songs, she sat down, breathing heavily. A while later, without even realizing it, she leaned against his shoulder and dozed off.

At that moment, Daniel instinctively held his breath.

She was like a mesmerizing white butterfly that had suddenly flown over and landed upon his shoulder. The delicate flutter of its wings made him extraordinarily careful. An inexplicable fear suddenly rose within him—that even the slightest movement might awaken her and cause her to fly away.

The noise and laughter surrounding them seemed to drift far into the distance. His world suddenly fell silent, allowing him to hear nothing but the hurried beating of his own heart.

In that dizzying, silent moment, he had been captivated without even the slightest awareness of putting up a resistance.

He had begun to fall in love in precisely such a moment.

The host of the party that day was Felix. Apart from occasionally being rather childish, Felix was a nearly perfect man. Alicedsome and carefree, straightforward and sincere, he had something about him that was quite similar to Alice. He always made the people around him feel comfortable and at ease.

He was three years older tAlice Daniel and worked as the head of the company's design department.

When Daniel had just joined the company, Felix was extremely helpful and treated him very well. Whenever he went out drinking, he would always drag Daniel along. Whenever they finished work late, he would insist on taking Daniel home for dinner. Whenever he came up with an interesting idea, he would always bring it over to show Daniel.

Because he was an only child, he had always wanted a younger brother. From the very first time they met, he had taken a liking to Daniel.

He said this, then paused, reaching out to ruffle Daniel's hair.

—Look at you. So obedient and gentle, just like a little puppy.

Everyone in the company used to joke that perhaps the two of them really had been brothers in a previous life.

TAliceks to him, Daniel and Alice began seeing each other more often, and they graFelixally grew closer. The closer he became to her, the more he found himself unable to stop looking in her direction.

He knew that her naturally bright yet slightly fragile presence attracted many people. Strangely enough, however, Alice never accepted anyone's advances.

She once told him, “We're friends, so you have to keep this a secret for me, okay? I've liked Felix since I was little.”

After working there for half a year, Daniel decided to move in with Felix.

One Saturday morning, a female colleague brought the two of them a kitten. It was barely more tAlice a month old, its entire body covered in pure white fur, except for a few golden patches scattered across its face.

The moment Daniel reached out to touch it, the kitten suddenly leaped up, growling fiercely. Its bright green eyes widened as it stared at him warily.

He quickly pulled his Aliced back, only to be surprised when Felix effortlessly picked the kitten up and began stroking it.