Tenant's Secret Love

Chapter 98: Landlord and tenant

Renee helped me make the bed with a calm expression, which made me even more surprised because I couldn't find the slightest hint that she was going to do something bad. How could she, the CEO of Jumei, help me make the bed? Besides, she had never been so nice to me before, at least in this house, we were always fighting with each other.

With my attention fixed on her, Renee flattened the quilt and then said with a sigh of relief, "It's done!"

I took a step forward, looked down at her and asked, "Tell me...have you been doing anything bad to me?"

"What?" Renee asked, puzzled.

"Pranks like putting glue on the sheets, in short, bad behavior that makes me uncomfortable!" I said.

Renee looked at me and said with a half smile, "What do you mean putting glue on the sheets, something so childish, I'm not capable of doing it, of course you are definitely capable of doing it, that's why you would say that."

I didn't feel like arguing with Renee in the middle of the night, so I said with some relief, "It's best if there isn't."

"Then I'm going to go to bed."

"Wait, the congee will be ready soon, let's eat together and chat, it's been a while," I suggested.

"I'll make your bed and you'll buy me some congee, that sounds good!" Renee said with a smile.

"Of course, do you think I have nothing better to do than argue with you every day!"

"I didn't say you were competing with me. You've been behaving well today, so I'm returning the favor."

I nodded in agreement, saying, "That's a good way to put it. I'm not the kind of person who likes to hold a grudge."

"Neither am I,"

I said, my mind leaping ahead, "so let's go have some congee."

...

It was almost midnight. Renee and I sat on either side of the table, each with a bowl of congee made with red dates and lotus seeds in front of us.

I asked Renee, holding the sugar bowl, "Do you want some sugar?"

Renee handed me her bowl and said, 'A little."

I spooned a little for her and a little for myself, and we both continued to eat in silence, a harmony and peace that was rare between us.

Halfway through the meal, I finally said to Renee, who had been concentrating on her congee, 'Do you know why I'm back in Suzhou this time?"

Renee didn't seem to care much, saying, "I know, CC told me."

"Oh," I responded in a flat tone.

Renee put down the spoon in her hand, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and asked, "Don't you have a girlfriend who is going to get engaged? What about her now that you're here?"

When Renee mentioned Daphne, my mood instantly dropped. Our encounter and time together seemed like a short, beautiful firework display that eventually died out in the worldly chaos.

After a while, I finally said to Renee, "Just break up, what else can you do?"

"Is that woman who made you come to Suzhou really that important? She made you give up so much!"

"Of course I don't want to give up so much, but if I don't come, what about her?"

"Have you thought about your girlfriend? How sad she must be."

I smiled in my disappointment and said, "Of course I have thought about it, and I know how sad she is. But without me, she can still live with another man, get married... But if I don't go back to Suzhou, I'm afraid Violetta won't be able to go on living. So..."

Renee didn't let me finish, she nodded and said, 'I understand."

"Hm,' I responded, lowering my head and continuing to eat the congee in my bowl. Renee did the same, so we were both silent again, and in the silence we finished the congee in our bowls.

...

After we finished eating, Renee and I stood side by side at the sink washing the used bowls. I asked Renee again, "Why did you just lock me out of the door? Do you think that I went back to Suzhou because I didn't go back for you, but for another woman?"

Renee paused before answering, "You already explained it clearly to me just now. I think that this choice is perhaps the real Lucas, and I can understand you."

I looked at Renee, feeling an inexplicable mix of emotions. Although she could understand me, she was not Daphne after all. If Daphne was willing to give me the same understanding and trust, perhaps we would not have broken up.

But how could I expect everyone to think the same way? Renee might be able to understand me, but if she were to put herself in Daphne's shoes, she might not be able to understand anymore. And that is just how unpredictable human nature can be.

Soon we had finished washing the dishes we had used, and Renee seemed really sleepy. After putting the dishes away in the cupboard, she yawned and said to me, "I'm going to bed first. Goodnight."

"Wait," I called out to her as she turned to leave.

"What is it?"

After a long pause, I finally said to her, "When I go back to Suzhou this time, I'll be living in this house. Shouldn't you give me a key?"

Renee's expression suddenly changed, but I subconsciously thought she was going to refuse, so I quickly said, "Don't go back on your word. Besides, you're such a principled person, and I remember clearly that you promised me that I could stay when I came back."

"You don't need to keep emphasizing the promises I've made to you. You can stay, but we need to clarify one fact first."

"Tell me, and I'll definitely cooperate with you to figure it out."

Renee nodded and said, "Who is the tenant and who is the landlord between the two of us?"

"Er..." I couldn't answer for a long time. Of course I knew I was just a tenant, but I didn't want to give up the landlord status I had fought for so hard so easily.

Renee asked impatiently, "What, is it a difficult question?"

In Renee's oppressive tone, I once again experienced the sadness of having to bow one's head under the roof. I gritted my teeth and said to Renee, "I'm the tenant."

"And what about me?"

"...I told you I'm the tenant, don't you know what you are?"

Renee said slowly, "Of course I know, but I want you to say it."

"You're starting again. Didn't we just get along well? Why do we have to argue over the false title of landlord and tenant?"

"If it's a false title, why did you switch the concepts in the first place and force the title of tenant on me?"

I suddenly realized that Renee's logic skills were really strong. No matter how eloquent I was, she could always find a loophole in my words to counterattack, and I often didn't know how to respond to her counterattacks.

Renee still looked at me very seriously, and I finally said, "I'm tired of you...you're the landlord, okay!"

Renee smiled, turned her head triumphantly, and without speaking to me, walked towards her room, suddenly singing the song "The New Tenant" by Faye Wong that I had once sung in front of her.

Although Renee sang this song with the intention of mocking me, it was also the first time I had heard her sing. It turned out that her singing voice was also so gentle and pleasant. What surprised me even more was that it turned out that she, who seemed indifferent, also had such a funny side...

But she miscalculated. I think she sang this song to get back at me for being so smug when I first met her, but I don't feel like she's getting back at me. Instead, I feel like she's showing me another side of her that I've never seen before. It's a win-win situation.

So my mood finally got away from the loss and depression that had been plaguing me for a long time.