Tenant's Secret Love

Chapter 55: The struggle of humanity (2)

The car in front of us moved slowly, but Renee was oblivious to it. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and the car behind us honked impatiently.

Finally, I gently patted Renee on the shoulder and asked, "What's wrong?"

Renee looked up, wiped her tears away with her hand, but didn't look at me. She said, 'It's nothing,' and put the car in gear, starting it up and driving forward with the flow of traffic. The song 'Love's Proverb' finally ended, and the car gradually fell silent.

I didn't want Renee to know that I worked at Baoli, so I asked her to drop me off at a bus stop. Before I left, I asked her, "Hey, can you help me move tonight? It would be convenient if you use your car."

"If I don't work overtime today, I can," Renee didn't refuse.

I smiled and said, "Okay, I'll call you after work."

Renee nodded, closed the window and started the car. In an instant, she disappeared into the vast traffic, but I stood there for a long time, thinking about the way she had just been crying on the steering wheel because of a song.

I didn't want to explore what "Love's Proverb" had reminded her of, but I sympathized with her after all. This sympathy once again deepened my sense of guilt.

...

When I arrived at the office, I didn't have time to catch my breath before Harlan called a "brainstorming" session with the members of our planning and copywriting team.

During the meeting, the group evolved from expressing their own opinions to engaging in verbal sparring, setting off a storm in the minds of everyone. However, I remained crooked, sitting in the corner absent-mindedly without saying a word. This silence continued

Harlan took out a cigarette and waved it under my nose. I returned to reality when I smelled the tobacco, and asked Harlan blankly, "The storm is over?"

"I just want to know where this storm has blown you away to." Harlan's tone was a little displeased. He was always meticulous at work.

I didn't say anything, took the cigarette out of Harlan's fingers, lit it, took a deep drag, but Harlan pulled it back, stubbed it out and threw it in the trash can.

I frowned and said, "Why the hell are you fighting with me? I'm restless!"

Harlan paused for a moment, then realized what was bothering me. He dragged a chair over and sat down next to me. Before he could say anything, his expression already gave a perfect performance of the kind of well-intentioned but harsh advice that was about to follow.

"Are you still hung up on the whole thing with Jumei and Renee?"

"That's what's annoying... From yesterday until now, I feel like a criminal who has committed a crime and refuses to confess. Do you understand this feeling? It's like a lump in my throat!" I let each word weigh heavily, releasing the pent-up emotions in my heart.

Harlan sighed and said to me in a softer tone, "Lucas, in fact, I already made the stakes of this matter very clear to you yesterday. No matter how guilty you feel, it is still an internal matter of Jumei, and we must stay out of it."

I was silent again. There was no point in me talking to Harlan about this. He simply could not see things from my perspective. But he was also not wrong. Although Harlan and I had been friends for nearly ten years, we were not the same type of person, and our lives were very different. At this point, I understood why Harlan and I had graduated from the same university but had been living very different lives since graduation.

After a long time, I said to Harlan, "I'll sit here for a while. I'll figure this out on my own."

Harlan nodded and added, "I still don't know your thoughts on this promotional plan, so let's talk about it later."

"Okay," I said.

Harlan took another cigarette out of his pack and handed it to me, saying, "Go smoke in the smoking room. Be careful of the impact at the company."

I took the cigarette from Harlan's hand and looked at him numbly...

Harlan patted my shoulder and turned away. My fingers spun the cigarette rapidly, but I felt even more numb.

...

At noon, Harlan and I had lunch in the company cafeteria. We sat down in a relatively quiet corner and didn't talk directly about the promotional plan we were preparing.

Harlan said to me, "Natalie is free this evening. Ask her to cook a few dishes and come to my place. Let's have a few drinks."

"Forget it for tonight. I'm moving tonight."

"You haven't finished moving yet?" Harlan asked, a little surprised.

"No, I just found a suitable house, and I've been busy for a while!"

Harlan nodded and said after a short silence, "Lucas, not that I'm saying this to you, but you're at an age where you should get married and have a family. If you can settle down, then hurry up and do it."

I asked Harlan very seriously, "You said that we've graduated for so many years now, and our classmates and friends have all settled down, or are desperately trying to settle down, so why do I feel like I'm living in a state of illusion?"

Harlan answered almost without thinking, "It's because you've been living too selfishly all these years, but your selfishness happens to be accompanied by a strong sense of idealism. Lucas, you have to understand that even if the castle you build on the beach out of sand is exquisite, the first time a wave hits it, it will collapse. This is where your pain and instability come from!"

Harlan's words left me confused. I knew that the waves he was talking about were the heavy reality, and that my pain came from my unwillingness to accept reality. That's why I would fantasize about that sky city and the long-haired woman waiting in the city.

Harlan said to me again, "You really shouldn't think about the Jumei high-level power struggle anymore. People always live in reality. Having a conscience is important, but this matter has gone beyond the scope of a simple conscience. If you weigh this matter with your conscience or humanity and finally tell Renee, then reality will immediately slap you in the face. Lucas, learn to respect reality and never put yourself in danger!"

"Why are you bringing this up again?" I said to Harlan with some dissatisfaction.

After a short silence, Harlan sighed softly and said, "Because I know you, I'm worried..."

I didn't say anything. Although Harlan and I are not the same type of person, we have been brothers for nearly ten years. He really knows me better than many people. If I don't use my humanity and conscience to weigh this matter, then how can I be so tortured?

Harlan continued to me in silence: "If Mark takes advantage of Jumei's internal strife to give us Baoli Department Store's revenue from two first-tier brands this time, with such a big achievement, he will almost certainly be promoted to the position of vice president of the company. You and I, as his trusted subordinates, will also be able to truly establish ourselves in this company. This is especially true for you, Lucas. This will be a sublimation for you, and your life will change qualitatively as a result."

He lit a cigarette, took a long drag, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and exhaled all the smoke in his mouth as if to let off steam. For the first time, he felt his convictions, which he had held fast for decades, wavering. Perhaps he really should respect reality. He was already of age to start a family and establish a career. Now that he had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel, if he put it out with his own hands, his future life would once again be struggling in the dark with no light at all.

"Tell me your thoughts on this sales promotion plan,"

Harlan's words temporarily pulled me out of my quagmire of struggle, and I finally nodded my head, ready to talk to Harlan about my thoughts on this promotional plan.