Tenant's Secret Love

Chapter 23: Pay your debts

Before it came to Harlan and my own promotion prospects, I weighed up the situation carefully in my mind. In fact, I was fine, but it was mainly Harlan. If he could really be promoted to deputy manager of the planning department, his treatment and status in the company would both take a qualitative leap, and his future would be bright.

"Lucas, if you can't handle this, I'll let Harlan take care of it, and he shouldn't take any more wedding leave!" Mark looked at me with a forced expression and said.

"No, manager! If I can't handle him, no one can. He doesn't know that flat model well."

He then softened his tone and said to me, "In fact, the contract for entering the premises will be signed soon. According to my guess, the incident of CUCCI borrowing a mannequin is just a final test of our company's sincerity in cooperating. Even if there is no such incident, it is estimated that other unexpected events will be created... Whether GUCCI will eventually set up a counter in our department store not only concerns the interests of the company, but also the interests of our planning department, including yourself, so... no matter what you think of, you must help the company get through this last hurdle."

After weighing up the situation for a long time, I finally nodded and said, "I'll do my best."

"You can't just do your best, you have to make it happen. You have to promise me that," Mark said, straightening his glasses. His tone left no room for negotiation.

This matter must be handled regardless of whether it succeeds or not. Now I can only hope that Violetta will be available. After weighing up the situation again, I nodded and said, "I will make it happen."

He let out a long breath of relief and said, "That's great!"

I thought to myself, "You're fine, but I have to shamelessly beg a woman I'd rather not, you know that?"

As I was about to leave, he called out to me again, "Lucas, don't call that print model yet. Isn't she filming in Hengdian? Go to Hengdian tomorrow and tell her in person. She won't be able to refuse then!"

"The manager is considerate and wise!" I said with a forced smile, but no matter how I looked at it, I felt that he was like an old shameless fox. He was doing this desperate thing, but did he ever think about how others would feel if they couldn't make the schedule and it was hard for them to refuse?

...

That evening after work, I was sitting on the bus home, feeling restless. The source of my restlessness was that I had to go to Hengdian to see Violetta tomorrow, and I had to move out of the house I had lived in for two years that night. My restlessness turned into frustration. It seemed that I could never decide on my own life. Often, other people's words would shatter my love, my work, and my life to pieces. Examples were Brittany, the female representative from GUCCI, and Renee.

Back in that old house, I subconsciously looked into Renee's room. Her door was still closed, so she probably hadn't come home yet.

Whether she came home or not was none of my business. Right now, I just needed to keep my promise and move out of this house for good.

I went back to my room and started packing again. I had already packed most of my things yesterday, so I just needed to pack some of the things on the bed.

After I finished packing, I turned on the computer and searched for a furnished apartment on the local housing website. I found a few that met the requirements, but all of them required six months' rent and a three-month security deposit. After doing the math, I realized I would need at least 10,000 yuan in rent. I was at a loss. I only had a few thousand yuan left, and my salary from last month would not be paid until the day after tomorrow. Even if I got paid, I couldn't use it all to pay rent. I had to save some for living expenses.

I had no choice but to lower my requirements and start looking for a house that I could share with others and pay a relatively low rent. Time passed quietly, and when I came to, it was already night and the city was full of lights.

I wiped my face to relieve the tiredness from staring at the computer for a long time. I had to take a break and continue looking for a place to live. I couldn't really be homeless on the streets, I was already down and out enough!

I looked out the window in a daze, and once again my soul felt lonely in the midst of all the lights. At that moment, I really longed to have a house of my own in this city where I had lived for more than two years, to have a woman waiting for me to come home every day, to say goodbye to being homeless, to say goodbye to the loneliness at night, to say goodbye to the bitterness of living...

After a while, I heard the sound of the door opening outside. I knew it was Renee coming back, but at that moment I could face her with a clear conscience, because I had finally not broken my promise to her. I would be moving out of here soon.

Renee stood in front of my room with her handbag and the slippers she had just put on. She looked at the packed luggage and asked me, "Have you found a new place?"

"Don't worry, I'll move out tonight, whether I find a place or not," I answered, subconsciously thinking that Renee would like this answer.

"Oh," Renee responded, but she didn't leave.

After a moment, as if she had remembered something, she asked me, "Did you buy the insecticide powder to sprinkle in the bathroom today?"

Compared to moving, buying insecticide powder was really trivial, so I really ignored it.

I said to Renee apologetically, "I'm sorry, I forgot. You go buy some yourself. If you don't want to go, you can buy it online, it's very convenient."

Renee's expression turned unhappy. "This is something you promised me. Why are you so irresponsible?"

I've had a frustrating day. I haven't found a place to live yet, so how can I be in a good mood? My tone also became heavy: "Can responsibility be used for food? You mention it to me every day, isn't it annoying?"

Renee didn't expect my reaction to be so fierce. She froze for a moment, then nodded with a stern face and said to me, "Fine, pay me back the money you owe me. I don't need to be responsible for you."

I was speechless for a long time, and once again fell into the misery of having no money. It was only after a long time that I said in a low voice, "You said that as long as I moved out, I didn't have to hurry to pay back the money I borrowed from you."

"Who cares about you? It's only natural to pay your debts," Renee said to me with a cold face.

"How can you say that? We have lived under the same roof for several days, is it necessary to push me to the end of the road like this?" I said with my head buried, not knowing what I felt in my heart.

Renee smiled disdainfully and said, "I'm not pushing you to the brink. You've been working for a few years now, so why don't you have any savings? You should understand that the one pushing you to the brink is yourself."

Renee's words ruthlessly opened up the deepest scar in my heart, and in an instant, a sense of inferiority and shame made me feel utterly ashamed.

In my confusion, I saw the guitar that I had placed in the corner. Brittany had specially ordered it from a music shop for my birthday and given it to me as a birthday present. It was made from very high-quality materials and was worth far more than 10,000 yuan.

Looking at the guitar, I once again felt the sorrow of how things had changed.

I got up, took the guitar to Renee, handed it to her and said, "This guitar is your debt repayment. You can definitely sell it to someone who knows their stuff for more than 10,000 yuan."

Without waiting for Renee to say whether she would accept the guitar as repayment, I already dragged my luggage, not daring to even look at this house one more time, and walked out of the house with my head down.

...