Tenant's Secret Love

Chapter 115: A chance encounter

I gathered myself together, went downstairs and met Jack. Jack handed me the car keys and said, "It's already been filled up with gas, you can take it."

I took the car keys from Jack and laughed, "I won't be rude then, I'll treat you to dinner some time."

"You have to say what kind of dinner first, don't be like before, saying you're treating me to dinner, but then buying two kebabs on the street and sending me away!"

I patted Jack on the shoulder and laughed, "If you think two skewers are not enough, I'll buy you four next time."

"What a jerk!"

"I'm just kidding. I've been busy helping a friend run a bar lately. When it reopens, I'll invite you over."

"That's more like it! It's getting late, I need to go home and cook dinner, so I'll be going now."

Before I left, I asked him again, "Have you and Ava gotten married yet?"

"Yes, last month."

"Jack, you're really something, getting married to Ava without telling me and not even inviting me to the wedding!"

"I was going to invite you, but Harlan said it wasn't necessary. He said you were afraid to go back to Suzhou."

Jack's words reminded me of myself a month ago. At that time, I was immersed in my love with Daphne and was repulsed by the unpleasant memories of Suzhou. However, if Jack had invited me, I would have overcome my aversion and come to the wedding. After all, this was Jack's first marriage and it was a very significant event!

...

After Jack left, I drove the Alto he left behind to the bar.

The bar was already open for business, but apart from the staff it was still deserted. This emptiness made me realize how much work there was to do to transform the bar.

I chose a relatively remote corner to sit down, took my laptop out of my handbag and prepared to write a temporary closure announcement. I planned to renovate and upgrade the bar within three days.

It was Saturday, so people started to arrive at the bar one after the other. After a while, CC and Robben also arrived, and I finally had a chance to go out and get something to eat.

Walking down the street, where all the street lamps were already lit, I felt a bit at a loss. I felt like a failure, excluded from this big city, and I have never felt so inferior before.

I ordered a bowl of fried noodles and a bowl of congee from a street food stall as my dinner. I ate without any appetite. From time to time, the luxury cars driving by on the street made a "crunching" sound as they crushed the unthawed snow, which seemed to be rubbing against my heart like a noise. In the pain, I couldn't help but wonder, why does the world have to artificially divide people into different classes?

Don't all people have the same body and soul? Who dares to say that one is more noble than the other? Who deserves to be more noble than the other?

...

After finishing this simple dinner, I went back to the bar, only to find Brittany's red CTS parked in front of the entrance. I was surprised to see Brittany and Natalie sitting in a corner. They weren't talking, just drinking and listening to CC sing on stage.

Natalie noticed me first and waved at me, saying, "Lucas, come sit over here."

I nodded and came over to the two of them, subconsciously wanting to sit next to Brittany, but after a moment of hesitation, I sat down next to Natalie and asked, 'Why are you here?"

Natalie said, 'I asked Brittany to come with me to check up on you and see how your career and life are going."

"Thank you, thank you for caring about me so much."

Brittany also added in an unhappy tone, "What, are you not welcoming me to your bar?"

"Welcome, you are a customer here..." I consciously positioned Brittany as a customer.

Brittany nodded, as if she agreed with my customer status, and took a sip of the drink in front of her.

Natalie, however, seemed to deliberately say to me and Brittany, "You guys chat first, I'm going to the bathroom," and left her seat.

Brittany and I sat facing each other. To avoid the awkwardness, I racked my brain for a topic of conversation, but there was no topic of conversation between us to entertain us, so we repeated the silence in unease.

Finally, Brittany spoke first. She looked around the bar and asked me, "Have your friends paid off their debts?"

"Well, they have, thank you," I said politely.

Brittany ignored my gratitude and pursued, "And who lent you the other 500,000?"

"A friend too," I replied perfunctorily.

"Which friend?"

I replied discontentedly, "A friend is a friend, do I have to tell you by name?"

Facing my discontent, Brittany did not change her emotions. She remained calm and said, "It was your ex-girlfriend, right."

Hearing the word "ex-girlfriend" suddenly, I subconsciously thought that Brittany was talking about herself. I looked at her straight on, thinking that she was confused about the logic, and it took a moment for me to realize that she was talking about Renee.

Until now, she had only thought that I had broken up with Renee when I left Suzhou, but she didn't know that Mi Cai and I had never started.

Since Brittany had already guessed, I didn't hide it and nodded, saying, "Yes, she took care of the remaining 500,000."

After Brittany got her answer, she stopped talking and then listened to CC sing on stage in a trance.

At this time, Natalie also returned. She sat down next to me again, looked at me, then at Brittany, and said, "You two just keep sitting here like idiots, not saying a word?"

"We're done talking, you didn't hear," I replied.

"Oh...a bit boring! Lucas, why don't you go up there and sing a song, I haven't heard you sing in a long time," Natalie nudged me and said.

"I don't feel like singing today."

Brittany said to me in a cold and indifferent tone, "Are you being a diva?"

Natalie echoed, "Lucas, it's true that women have those days when they don't feel like doing anything, but do men have those days too? That's really new!"

I had no mood to joke with Natalie, so I played the silent treatment and didn't mention going up to sing.

Brittany gave me a look and said discontentedly,

After she spoke to CC for a while, CC handed her the microphone and then went to help her adjust the equipment for singing.

And I finally took the opportunity to light a cigarette after Brittany left, because now she didn't like me smoking in front of her.

Brittany asked for a version of "A Thousand Words" by Faye Wong. As soon as she opened her mouth, the audience burst into applause. I even heard someone say, "This bar is awesome, with beautiful women gathering here to sing. They even said they want to come here more often in the future.

I was helpless about this. Both Brittany and Renee were there to have fun. If they were really resident singers at this bar, I wouldn't have to worry so much about packaging the bar, because the beauty effect is the easiest to spread and the most sensational.

Brittany had not finished singing when there was suddenly another commotion in the crowd. I looked towards the entrance of the bar and saw that it was Renee.

She had told me at lunchtime that she would come depending on her mood, and it seemed that she was in a good mood today, or maybe it was because it was the weekend. Anyway, she came and had a chance encounter with Brittany, who was singing!