Chapter 256 Looking Like a Hooligan
“What are you talking about?” Courtney was slightly anxious.
“Stop asking the obvious.” Alexander scowled. “Mikayla and I never planned to get engaged. We are merely together because Grandpa has been keeping an eye on us. Besides, I said that during lunch because I was worried that he would make things difficult for you.”
Courtney let out a sigh of relief and she picked up the carrot from the basin to continue peeling it. “That’s none of my business; it’s between you two.”
Upon witnessing her cold and distant attitude, Alexander’s gaze turned dark. “I have now explained the misunderstanding from before, so I don’t think it’s necessary for us to act like strangers.”
Agitated, Courtney tossed the vegetables in her hands when she heard that. “Do you think I’d allow a stranger to stay the night in my home for no good reason?” She turned around to ask him and her reaction was slightly intense, likely due to the excessive psychological pressure she had been experiencing lately. Hence, she lost her temper when he questioned her.
Alexander was stunned into silence for a moment.
“I’m sorry.” Courtney frowned and she turned around to pick up the carrot. “You should go back to the living room and have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Alexander stared at her back as he asked persistently, “Why are you so forgiving toward Jordan but not me?”
Courtney tightened her grip around the carrot while answering vaguely, “Jordan is just a child. Are you comparing yourself to your own son?”
Alexander was rendered speechless by her response. Since Courtney ignored him, he insisted on staying in the kitchen to wash the vegetables.
After he hung around shamelessly in the kitchen for the longest time, Courtney finally lost her patience. “You don’t have to wash every stalk of the enoki mushroom. Can you please go out if you haven’t a clue what to do?”
After dinner, Courtney urged the two children to shower in her bathroom, whereas the other two men were assigned to the bathroom outside.
After bathing the two little ones and carrying them to her room, she saw Alexander standing tall at the entrance of her room when she returned.
“I don’t have any clothes with me.”
Courtney pressed her palm to her forehead when she heard that. Apart from him, I don’t think that I would ever meet another person who would make such a righteous claim when they don’t even have their own clothes. “Borrow a set of clothes from Oliver.”
“I do not wear clothes that have been worn by others,” Alexander announced calmly and naturally.
At that moment, Oliver’s voice rang out from behind him as well. “I do not have the habit of lending my clothes to other people too.”
“Well then; what should I do?”
Courtney stared at Alexander and she commented, “You can’t be planning on buying a set of clothes now, can you? What time is it? There is a supermarket downstairs but they only sell T-shirts that go for 30. Do you wear those?”
“Let’s have a look,” Alexander answered simply. “It’s ten o’clock now and I believe the supermarket is still open.”
“Oh—it seems like you know what time a supermarket closes.” Courtney shot him a surprised look as she teased, “I assumed that the mighty Mr. Alexander Duncan wouldn’t be aware of such trivial matters.”
Alexander stared at her. “Sunhill is a shareholder of the supermarket downstairs.”
Courtney was at a loss for words when she heard that. She couldn’t come up with a response, so she only glared at him. “Come on; let’s visit the supermarket where your company is a shareholder.”
The supermarket within the residential area was a national chain store; it was relatively huge, occupying three floors. Courtney would usually buy vegetables from this supermarket too. They had a separate area on the third floor for the clothing section. Clothes sold here were at reduced prices with year-round discounts, with most of the tags missing.
“Well, this is it.” Courtney pointed at the men’s clothing section. There was a clearance sale of 30 on clothes with yellow tags. “Pick one. They are all the same price.”
Alexander stood rooted to the spot. “You should pick one for me. I am not particular about clothes.”
“Are you sure? Will you wear anything I pick for you?” Courtney gave him a meaningful sideways glance.
Alexander hummed and nodded without even looking at the pile of clothes.
Courtney cocked an eyebrow and she made her way swiftly toward the packed and narrow clothing section. She selected five to six colorful shirts and T-shirts without even looking at them closely. Then, she returned to brandish them triumphantly in front of Alexander. “Why don’t you try these on?”
Alexander glanced at the pile of shirts which had exceptionally vibrant colors. He nodded despite the shop assistant’s astonished gaze. “Sure. Where is the fitting room?”
“Here.” The shop assistant snapped back to her senses and she led him to the fitting room. She stared in a trance when Courtney shoved the pile of clothes at Alexander for him to try on.
“Miss, are you vacationing at Southern Bay? Why are you buying such garish shirts?”
“No, we aren’t. He likes this type of clothes.”
“Really?” The shop assistant looked shocked. “Only hooligans wear clothes like this. They usually look tacky while wearing thick gold chains around their necks—such poor taste! Your boyfriend doesn’t look like that at all!”
“He truly likes them. Why don’t you ask him later if you don’t believe me?” Courtney held back a giggle but she was ready with her camera phone. She couldn’t wait to see Alexander making a fool of himself in those colorful shirts.
Just as they were chatting, the fitting room door opened with a creak and Alexander stepped out.
Courtney started snapping away frantically with her phone and she commented, “This time, I have to send these photos to Cameron and Gale. They will—” Nevertheless, before she could complete her sentence, Courtney swallowed silently when she saw the man on her phone screen.
What was the shop assistant’s comment earlier? She mentioned that everybody looks like a hooligan wearing those shirts, right? What a load of nonsense! With Alexander standing at over six feet, the colorful shirt clings loosely onto his body. The unbuttoned shirt exposes his collarbones and the centerline of his chest muscles. Besides, his tanned chest is partly hidden, whereas his long legs look especially long and strong like pillars. This looks more like a modeling photoshoot; what happened to being a hooligan?
“Whoa—you look so good! Young man, you sure are looking very elegant in that shirt; you look just like a model that stepped out from a fashion magazine! I am sure the shirts will start flying off the racks if our supermarket’s boss placed some pictures of you right here.”
Excuse me Miss, but that’s not what you said earlier. Courtney put her phone away while giving Alexander a once-over. But I can’t deny that what she said is true.
“What do you think?” Alexander took a couple steps toward Courtney. He raised his arms while asking, “How is the fit?”
Courtney grunted and nodded reluctantly. It isn’t just fitted. In fact, it looks like a tailored shirt. If he were to go out on the streets now, he’d be like a butterfly and girls would most probably chase after him, asking for his phone number.
“Should I try on the rest of the shirts?” he asked.
“There’s no need for that.” Courtney stopped him. She glanced at the shop assistant and murmured while sounding especially generous, “Miss, please pack the rest of those. We’ll take them all.”
After buying the shirts, Courtney picked two pairs of casual, loose-fitting long pants for Alexander. This time, she did not make fun of him; instead, she selected two pairs of cream-colored pants which were suitable both as pajamas and for going out.
After paying the bill and walking out of the supermarket, they noticed a stage at the entrance; it turned out they were having a promotional activity there.
Alexander glanced at the platform while commenting, “Jordan and Tina like those chocolates.”
Initially, Courtney wasn’t paying attention but she realized what he was referring to when she looked up.
‘A couples game. The person with the highest score is eligible for a free box’. The rules of the game were printed across the blue roll-up banner. Courtney was staring at the words ‘free box’, whereas Alexander was staring at the word ‘couples’.
