Tenant’s Secret Love

Chapter 68: I want to leave with a smile

In the car, Harlan sat in the passenger seat, and I sat in the back. The three of us only exchanged a few words along the way. After another period of silence, Natalie finally said to me, “Lucas, Harlan told me about your resignation. He has a bit of a misunderstanding about you. There shouldn't have been any deal between you and Renee. The reason you told her about the power conspiracy at the top of Jumei is because you couldn't get past your own conscience. Am I right?”

I was silent for a long time. I didn't expect Natalie, an outsider, to give me an understanding explanation at this moment when I was about to leave. She was right. I also wanted to save my job prospects while fulfilling Mark's wishes, but I really couldn't get past my own conscience, and I had been struggling with this for several days.

Seeing that I was silent, Natalie said softly to me again, “Harlan shouldn't have spoken to you that way, but I also hope that you can understand him. You two brothers should not fall out over this, because neither of you is wrong, you just have different positions...”

This time Natalie didn't finish her sentence, and I said, “Of course I understand Harlan, I just hope he doesn't see me as someone who forgets about friendship for money. Maybe I did something wrong in this matter, but I really don't regret it. Subconsciously, I should have done this, whether the object is Renee or someone else.”

Natalie sighed and said, “Alas! I don't know what to say, except that it's a pity to lose this job... By the way, Harlan has already received the appointment notice from above, and he is now the deputy manager of the planning department of Bao Li. Jack has become the team leader of the planning copywriting team, so you don't have to worry about Harlan.”

This news made me happy and sad. I was happy for Harlan, but sad for myself. However, I didn't let myself wallow in my sadness, and quickly asked Harlan, “What about Mark? Did Mark make it to the top of the company?”

Harlan shook his head and said, “No, he doesn't stand a chance of becoming a core member of the company's senior management.”

I could hear the dissatisfaction and disappointment in Harlan's tone. I had ruined Mark's hard-won opportunity, and I knew full well that after losing this opportunity, at his age, there would basically be no more opportunities for him to become a core member of the company's senior management.

The three of us fell silent again, and in the end, Natalie was the first to speak. She asked me again, ”Lucas, did you tell Renee this in person?”

I shook my head and said, “No, I just wrote her an anonymous letter.”

“You're really stupid. At least you should let Renee know, so that she owes you a big favor. With her position in the mall, the favor she returns to you will definitely not be small,” Natalie said with a shake of her head and a sigh.

I just smiled and said, “Do I have to be like the kind of person Harlan was talking about?”

This time, Harlan unexpectedly took the initiative to pick up where I left off. He said in a low voice, “I really hope you are this kind of person, and I don't want you to return to Xuzhou like this, looking so dispirited. Do you f*****g know how sad I feel? ... I'm f*****g not happy that you ruined Mark's chances, but I don't want you to leave like this even more. It's hard to bear, understand?”

Harlan's words made my eyes burn. At that moment, I realized that no matter how much we fought and how little we understood each other, deep down, we were brothers, true brothers who had struggled together in this city for a long time.

At that moment, I didn't know how to express myself, so I just tilted my head back, not wanting the tears that were spinning in my eyes to fall. Natalie, who was driving, had already taken out a tissue to wipe away the tears on her cheeks.

And when I looked back at the city, I realized that I had not been able to leave the pain in the city as I had imagined, and that all I had taken away was the gray resentment and unwillingness.

Harlan sighed heavily, took out another box from his bag and threw it at me, saying, “This is a lung-clearing capsule that a friend sent from abroad. I used it and the effect was quite good. You take it back and try it. Smoke less in the future. Call me when you

I just nodded, and then put the lung-clearing capsules into my bag. Finally, in silence, we finally reached the train station, which also meant that the time to part had come.

I took the luggage from Harlan and Natalie's hands, waved goodbye to the two of them, and said, “I'm leaving, come visit us in Xuzhou when you have time.”

Natalie nodded and said to me, ‘Well, we'll definitely miss you, have a safe trip.”

I smiled and asked Harlan, who had been silent, ’What, aren't you going to wish your buddy a safe trip?”

Harlan suddenly hugged me, his voice choking, and patted my back heavily, saying, “Say hello to your father for me...and...don't mess around with your life, hurry up and settle down, don't make Natalie and I worry...okay?”

At this moment, I was deeply touched. I gritted my teeth and swallowed back the tears. I also remembered when we graduated, how we vowed with such pride to take root in this city. And after a few years, Harlan really took root here after struggling, and married the person he loved. But I have been struggling painfully for more than two years, and in the end, I can only leave with a body...

I looked up, took a deep breath, and finally smiled and said to Harlan, “Don't worry, buddy, things will get better. Maybe it won't be long before you and Natalie receive my wedding invitation.”

“Work hard, and on the day of your wedding, Natalie and I will definitely give you a big present,” Harlan said, hugging me again.

Natalie also came over to me, pushed Harlan away, and hugged me, choking as she said, “Hang in there, Lucas, we'll find time to visit you in Xuzhou! And, when you get a girlfriend, you must show her to us first, we'll help you keep an eye on her.”

I was moved, but pushed Natalie away, forced a smile, and said, ”...you two don't play the sentimentality card together, I'm a 7-foot man and I can't hold back anymore! Don't make me cry, I really don't want to cry, I want to leave with a smile.”

Natalie wiped away her tears and gave me a little pat, saying, “Okay, let you go with a smile. After a while, when we have some time off, we'll go to Xuzhou to see you.”

“Please, this is the third time you've said you're coming to see me! ...But if you do come, I'll definitely welcome you with open arms.”

Natalie nodded, straightened my clothes that had become disheveled in the hug, and said, “Give us a call when you get home.”

“I know, if you keep nagging like this, I'm going to start calling you Mom...” After a pause, I added, “You two also live a good life, and continue to be the perfect couple that makes me so envious...Okay, it's about time, I'm leaving, you should go back too.”

Harlan put Natalie in his arms, and the two waved to me. I looked back at the city one last time, strapped my guitar on my back, picked up my bags, and walked towards the station without looking back. But I felt the guitar strapped on my back getting heavier and heavier!

A quarter of an hour after saying goodbye to Harlan and Natalie, I boarded the train to Xuzhou. Looking out the window at the increasingly unfamiliar scenery, I finally felt that I had really left, but what kind of life awaited me?

I hope that my Stubborn Father will find me a stable job in their state-owned enterprise, that my mother will ask someone to set me up with a pretty girl, and that all I have to do is work hard at the job my father arranges for me and fall in love with the pretty girl my mother sets me up with... Life will start afresh, and the old past will blow away with the wind.