Before the Accident (1)

Jing Ari speedily entered their shabby apartment, whisking off the droplets of rain in her hair and clothes.

As she took off her shoes, she quickly strode towards the sofa and pulled the towel hung on it.

She was busy drying herself when she heard her father's voice from their kitchen.

"Ari, is that you?" she didn't answer instead she went to the kitchen. Her parents were busy preparing for their dinner. But she ignored them as she picked the cup on the tray, putting hot water in it.

"Ari."Lin Fu called out, Ari's father. His daughter remained silent. So he looked at his wife.

"Can't you just give this to me as an early gift for my birthday."Chunhua tried to speak for her husband but their daughter didn't budge.

Ari stopped for a moment, she knew that her parents were trying to bring out about the thing they argued with last night.

"I told you, I don't have the plan to meet that old man."

Ari remained stern, her parents looked at her as if she was the cruelest being in this world.

"He's still your grandfather." she scoffed and nodded, agreeing to her mother mockingly.

She looked down at her clothes, it was still wet caused by the heavy rain outside and there were also brownish dots stained by the mud she stepped on a while ago.

"I am but who will believe that? A lady wearing a worn-out bag, leaving in an F-class apartment, and who cannot even provide shade for herself. Now tell me, how can I be a granddaughter of an old man who owned a high-gross company?"

"Your grandfather will help you. He might even give you a position in his company-" she closed her hand and gripped it tightly.

"I see, he's acknowledging me now because I already finished my study."

"Ari, you will come tomorrow with us." her father ordered but she turned her back.

It was still clear in her mind when her grandfather threw a bunch of money in front of her mother and was treated as a gold digger.

That time her father was sick and they badly need money for the operation so her mother approached the old man. That moment, she promised herself that she would never look at the old man again.

Meanwhile, Lin Fu and Chunhua looked at each other as they worried about their daughter.

Just like a typical love story, Lin Fu came from a rich family while Chunhua was not. At first, Chunhua hid her pregnancy but years later, Lin Fu found out about Ari. He gave up his position and wealth as he struggled to build a family with Chunhua and their daughter.

*******

The aroma of coffee filled Ari as she entered the kitchen. Her parents smiled at her but she only sat before the table.

"Are you going somewhere, Ari?"Chunhua carefully asked as she handed out a cup of coffee to her daughter.

"Biyu offered me a part-time job in her coffee shop. And I decided to grab it while looking for work."Ari replied, she kept herself uninterestedly in her parents' eyes but she smiled awkwardly when her parents nodded their head enthusiastically.

"That's a good plan. You know every fresh graduate experience that first before landing a permanent work." her father commented.

Sometimes, Ari felt bad towards her father because he was only handling a small store now unlike before that he was a president of a large company.

"What if I cannot still find work, would you like me to be your business partner?" she asked her father humorously.

"Why not? But you need to invest first." she laughed when her father took it seriously.

"I wonder how many part-time jobs should I take for me to invest in your store?" she added which lightened up their morning.

"I'm going now," Ari said as she picked her bag on the sofa and walked towards the door.

"Ari." she turned and stared at her mother.

"We will meet your grandfather at the Ever Village." her brows creased.

"Ever Village?"

"Your grandfather offered a house for us."

"Mom!" her mother approached her, handing out a piece of paper.

"Give this to the security guard-"

"I will not come." her mother smiled at her so she just took the paper and dropped in her bag. Her mother suddenly hugged her.

"I know you love us so much that you can put aside your pride, right. You need to come before six o'clock, we will have dinner with your grandfather." her father was standing a meter away, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

********

Ari glanced at the clock, it was already six o'clock. But there were still a lot of customers in the coffee shop. She thought that her parents were probably in the Ever Village now.

She shook her head as she continued to wipe off the spilled chocolate on the table. But she stopped and thought about her parents again. And after some consideration, she cleaned the table quickly and walked towards the counter.

"Biyu, I'm sorry but I need to leave early."Biyu stood up, looking up at her friend.

"Why? Did something happen?"Ari shook her head.

"Ari, you're keeping secrets from me again."

"I'll tell to you tomorrow."Biyu nodded hesitantly.

"Fine, fine. Take care."

After that, Ari hastily pulled off the apron as she walked towards the locker room but someone called her.

"Excuse me, can you transfer my coffee into a disposable cup."

"Please ask somebody."Ari answered without looking at the person. But the person held her arm.

"Aren't you an employee here?"

"I am," she answered, looking up at the person and she found that it was a man.

"And you tried to ignore-"

"I'm sorry Sir but my shift is done. And I have important business to attend so please excuse me." she pulled her hand as she walked away.

"How irresponsible." she heard the man but she ignored it.

Ari picked her things inside the locker room. And she didn't even bother to bid goodbye to her friend as she ran out of the coffee shop.

She quickly grabbed the handle when the taxi stopped in front of her but someone was also clutching it. So she looked at the person and she let out a sigh.

Ari thought that once in a while, there's someone who would ruin your day.