Bad luck is a misused word. Because oftentimes, it's not that we have a stroke of bad luck but rather that our good luck has run out. And we also forget that when luck runs out that's when the fate starts playing its game. After all, fate always manages to find its way.
Xiu was the person who believed in bad luck and she also believed that bad luck could destroy a person. Darren, however, wasn't like her. In his opinion, everything happens for a reason; Good or bad alike. Because we can run from destiny for as long as fate doesn't have the desire to pull us back on track.
As for Xiu and Darren... They both didn't know but the fate had already started its game. All that left was for them to understand this game.
Right now...
The understanding nature of Darren had already taken Xiu off guard. Since he really didn't ask for any remuneration. It was surprising, to say the least. But the fact was that Darren believed in her words. No one would cause the accident on purpose and the sincerity in her eyes were enough for him.
It was indeed the cat's fault and no one could ask the cat for money now, could they?
"So, I can really leave?" Xiu asked cautiously looking at his expressions.
"Yes." Darren gave a monosyllable reply in a monotonous tone.
However, just as Xiu was about to alight in her car, she turned to look at his face and couldn't help asking, "Are you normally this understanding?"
Darren looked back into her eyes and contemplated her words. Was he really this understanding? Not really. Yes, he wasn't unreasonable like Dylan but still...
"What if I say no?" Xiu wiggled her nose as she shook her head.
"Nah! She is not ready to believe it." Xiu mumbled mostly to herself.
"Who?" He asked doubtfully as he looked around but found no one in sight.
"Aiyo, the stupid angel on my right shoulder," Xiu replied in a daze and bit her tongue as soon as she realized how stupid she must have sounded.
Darren, on the other hand, had some other opinions. He chuckled and asked, "So, didn't that devil on your left shoulder gave you the idea to just run after the accident?"
Xiu clicked her tongue in disappointment as she said, "She did. But then that stupid angel reminded me that there are cameras around us. We won't be able to run far." She sighed heavily at the end and found it really strange that she was talking so comfortably with Darren. Why was she disclosing her own thoughts? With this ease?
Forgetting all about her facade of cold persona, she was actually comfortable being her real self before him. And it wasn't the first time she said something to him, she normally wouldn't say to anyone. He always managed to make her act the way she was. Without even trying.
A peal of laughter made Xiu again lift her eyes to stare at him. With his head thrown back, Darren was laughing heartily. Once again, her reply was really out of his imagination. But he didn't find it childish at all. The reasoning was quite acceptable.
"That angel is smart," he spoke in between his laughter while wiping the tears that escaped through the side of his eyes due to laughing so much. His gray eyes looked glossier and somehow, that made Xiu smile as well along with him. "That reminder of security cameras was timely."
"It sure was," Xiu grumbled before recalling something. "Hey, by the way, are you really alright?"
Darren was surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor and replied uncertainly, "Yeah. What can possibly be wrong?"
"I don't know. When I checked up on you earlier, your whole body was shaking, it was cold and you're sweating profusely and your eyes looked dazed. You didn't even hear my voice. It seemed like... You're living through a painful memory or something. Weird observation, right?" Hearing Xiu elaborate like this, Darren's hands had clenched into tight fists as his nails dug into his skin.
His face looked solemn at the reminder. But he found it even more surprising that her observation was correct. "You're thinking too much. I hit my head at the dashboard. Probably, because of that, I was out of sort for a moment."
Xiu observed his expression intently before shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "If you say so."
Darren's phone again rang and he went to find it in the car. Xiu also boarded her car and tried her best to park it at its rightful parking space without any mishap. Fortunately, she succeeded in doing so.
She couldn't hear Darren's conversation but she could see that he didn't look happy at all with whatever the other person on the phone was saying. As her eyes fell on the box of cupcakes that Nora handed her before she left, she fell into deep thought.
Chocolate cupcakes had a very sacred place in her baking repertoire. And the ones with chocolate buttercream frosting with chunks of chocolate in it were even more sacred. She had never shared these with anyone aside from Nora's family. But now that Darren had let her off the hook so easily, she was having second thoughts.
She had to express her gratitude. 3 million wasn't a joke but he still didn't ask for it from her.
With this thought in mind, Xiu took the box of cupcakes and went to Darren's side. She waved her hand before his eyes to get his attention while he was still on the phone call. And when he looked at her, she smiled at him and stuffed the cupcakes in his hands. "Thank you." She mouthed before flashing her grin to him and turning on her heels to leave.
Darren was left staring at her back as she went to the electronic glass door in the parking lot and punched in her code before entering the building. 'She lives in the same building? Interesting.' He mused to himself before sighing and speaking to the person on the call, "If you're done, I'm hanging up. Stop calling me already." He disconnected the call without giving any chance to the other person to talk.
Then he opened the box that Xiu stuffed in his hands and opened its lid. His brows hooked up slightly as he saw the neatly arranged four cupcakes inside.