LOVE ME UNCLE, PLEASE

Chapter 5

Jianci

I took a deep sigh as the plane I was on from Toronto, Canada, landed on the runway. I finally decided to return to my country after staying in Canada for three years.

My first year of staying abroad wasn't easy. I didn't have enough money to support my stay in Canada, especially my studies. I took all kinds of jobs as long as I earned money in a clean way.

Sometimes I thought of just going back home. At the White family's house, Aunt Yna and Grandpa Felix treated me like a princess. I didn't have to work myself to the bone just to earn a few dollars. But when I thought of Uncle Lux's insulting and condescending looks if I came home defeated and without having proven anything, I felt discouraged. So even though I went through a lot of hardships in Canada, I endured it until I luckily finished my Fine Arts course.

Whenever I had free time, I would paint on the side of our university. I love painting since I was a kid. Maybe I inherited my interest in painting from my mom who is a famous painter before ahe died. Someone discovered my talent for painting. She advice me to join a competition. Luckily, my painting won. I won a large prize so used it to finish my studies. That was the beginning for my paintings to become famous and known, not only in Canada but also in many other countries, including my own.

When I heard that all passengers were allowed to go out from the airplane, I quickly stood up and joined the other passengers in getting off the plane.

After claiming my suitcase, I walked towards the waiting area.

"Jianci! I'm here!" I heard that loud voice of my best friend Anna. I looked around and searched for her among the people waiting for the people they were going to pick-up.

"Anna!" I smiled widely when I finally found her. I hurriedly approached her and we hugged each other. "I miss you, best friend."

Anna's smile suddenly disappeared from her lips and she frowned. She also pushed me away from her. "Liar. If you missed me, why didn't you even come home for a vacation?"

Smiling, I held her cheeks with my palms. "I was only gone for three years. Besides, we always talk and video call on our cell phones."

"Fine. I forgive you. But you should have a souvenir for me. If not, I really won't forgive you." She pretended to be angry at me.

"Don't worry because you'll surely like my souvenirs for you."

The sweet smile returned to my friend's lips. "Let's go home so I can see what your souvenir is for me. And so we can also chat. I'm sure we have a lot to talk about."

"You're right. Let's go to my new apartment," I said to her with a smile. Before I flew back to the country, I asked her to look for an apartment where I could live. I didn't know if I could go back and show myself at the White family's house. Aunt Yna and Grandpa must be angry at me because I suddenly left their house without saying goodbye to them. I completely cut my connections to all of them. For sure, Uncle Lux doesn't want to see me anymore. And maybe he was glad that I left his house so I won't pester him anymore.

Anna helped me pull my suitcase out of the airport. We were near to her car taht was parked at the airport's parking lot when I accidentally looked to my left side. My eyes suddenly widened and my heart beat faster when I saw the familiar face of a man. The man I had been trying to forget for three years, my Uncle Lux. Maybe he came from a business trip and just got back to the country.

Maybe Uncle Lux felt someone was looking at him so he looked around. But before he could see me, I quickly pulled Anna to her car and hop in. She was surprised to see that my face was pale.

"What's wrong, Jianci? Are you okay? Are you sick?" Anna worriedly felt my forehead with her palm. "You're not sick. But why do you look like that? You look like you saw a ghost."

"I will tell you later. Start your car and let's get out of here first. Hurry," I said to her. Anna's car windows weren't tinted. So from the outside, we could be seen inside if someone looked at us. I don't know why she preferred not to have her car windows tinted.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we were finally far away from the airport parking lot where Uncle Lux's car was also parked.

"Can you tell me now what happened to you earlier?" Anna immediately asked me while she was driving.

"Uhm," I was a little hesitant whether to tell her the truth or just make an excuse that my stomach hurt. But in the end, I thought of telling her the truth. She's my best friend. And what happened on the night of my eighteenth birthday was no secret to her. "I saw Uncle Lux. His assistant picked him up and his car was parked near your car. I was worried that he might see me so I quickly asked you to get us out of there."

"Don't tell me that you still like him even if he harshly rejected you three years ago?" Anna suddenly frowned. "If it weren't for what he did, you wouldn't have left. You wouldn't have suffered abroad. We wouldn't have been separated."

"It's not his fault, Anna. I was the one who tried to seduce him but I failed. But don't worry. Because even until now I still like him, but I already accepted that I have no hope of him liking me back. When we meet, I will treat him like my real uncle, just like he wants to happen."

"Really?" Anna was happy to hear that. She knew how much I was hurt because of my one-sided love for Uncle Lux. "It's good that you've come to your senses, Jianci. I will help you forget him completely. I have many friends and acquaintances who are all handsome and rich. Maybe one of them will make your heart flutter again."

"Okay. I will wait for it," I just agreed to what she said. But deep inside, I knew that my heart would never beat for another man.

Anna slept in my apartment for one week. And as she said, we talked about so many things. She has a lot of stories to tell. It was as if she never ran out of stories to tell me. She even told me about the breakup of Uncle Lux and his fiancee. I just listened to her and didn't give any comments about the breakup of the two.

After resting for a week, I looked for a job. Luckily, I was accepted as the assistant of the CEO of J&L Technology. This is a company that has only been in the industry for three years but has already made a name for itself.

After signing a three-year contract, I was immediately sent to my boss's office so he could meet me. In my extreme happiness because I was accepted for the job, I didn't even have the time to do the background of the name of the CEO of the company. It's a good thing the woman who interviewed me earlier didn't ask me that. But she reminded me to be careful with the words I would say in front of our bods because he is said to be too strict and scary.

I knocked three times on the door of my boss's office and then I fixed the clothes I was wearing. Our boss doesn't like it when his employees' clothes aren't neat. I was suddenly reminded of Uncle Lux. He's exactly like that.

"Come in," I heard my boss's voice. I paused for a moment because his voice seemed familiar to me. But I just shrugged my shoulders and opened the door. Maybe I just heard it wrong.

My boss was bowing his head and writing something so I couldn't see his face right away. But it wasn't just his voice that was familiar to me but also the figure of his body. And when he raised his face, my whole body suddenly became paralyzed as if I had seen a ghost in front of me.