Tenant's Secret Love

Chapter 125: The Unpopular Me

Reminded by CC, I looked back and sure enough, I saw Renee and a friend who was walking very close to her, a male friend to be precise, and a very handsome one at that.

This man was dressed in an English-style hipster outfit, with a straight figure and handsome face. The most unforgettable thing about him was his deep eyes, as if he was looking at everyone with deep affection.

Renee pulled the man close to us and introduced him to us with a smile, saying, "This is my good friend Abner, whose Chinese name is Weiran."

Just as CC and Robben were about to greet him, he looked at me and Robben and asked, 'Which one of you is Lucas?"

Everyone looked at each other at this unexpected move, and I politely got up and said to him, 'I'm Lucas."

"Be polite to Renee in the future, or I won't be polite to you!"

I froze for a moment, feeling that something was amiss. I was about to lose my temper when Renee quickly pulled Abner back and said, "That was a long time ago..."

Renee's words made me realize that she really was very close to this man, and she even told him about the time I bullied her. I felt suddenly uncomfortable for no reason, and I looked at Abner coldly and said, "Little Turtle (a nickname for returnees from studying abroad), you need to be polite when you talk to me, too. I have a bad temper."

Abner glared at me and said, "What, do you want to duel with me?"

"Damn, you really smell foreign. Aren't you tired of crossing the ocean to bring back the old stuff from the American West? Just say you want to fight, come on, I'll accompany you," I replied expressionlessly.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. CC quickly pulled me back and advised, "Lucas, don't be so street smart, people come from afar as guests!"

"I don't think he considers himself a guest, and I've never seen a guest behave like that!"

As soon as I finished speaking, Renee said to me in a very stern tone, "I have already explained to you and Abner, can you please act like a gentleman?"

After being scolded by Renee and CC, I felt even more upset, but I couldn't really go and punch that Abner. I just felt a bit superfluous, and finally said, 'I know, I've never been popular, I'll go, so as not to ruin the atmosphere of your party.' After saying this, I picked up my jacket and walked outside.

...

CC followed me out of the dining room and pulled me, saying, "Lucas, don't you think it's inappropriate to just walk away like that? Can't you act like a man?"

I ignored CC's grip and kept walking, then said to CC with restraint, "If I didn't have any manhood, I would have already beaten him up!"

"But what about how Renee will see you if you just walk away?"

"She's always thought I had no manhood, so it's not a big deal."

"Why do you always lose your cool at the most critical moments?"

I stopped and said to CC, "What do you mean by losing your cool? You're getting far off the mark!"

CC looked at me seriously and said, "Tell me, with an honest heart, do you like Renee?"

I was silent.

"You're giving me your tacit consent, aren't you? I can see that Abner seems to like Renee too. You're acting so rashly and walking out in anger. Compared to him, don't you lack a bit of poise? It's obvious!"

"What are you analyzing? Who told you I like her... Fine, go back, I have to go to the bar, there are some details of the renovation to be communicated."

CC still wouldn't let me go, however, and persistently asked, "Are you sure you don't like her?"

I replied 'impatiently,' 'No.' Then I broke free from CC and walked towards the curb.

But suddenly I heard CC exclaim, "You're just being a pushover. But it's not your fault. After all, Abner is a master's degree graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, from a better family, and I hear he's the future successor of a family business! It's normal that you don't have confidence..."

Before CC could finish his sentence, I had already gotten into the taxi, opened the window and shouted at CC, "None of my business," before urging the driver to drive away. The driver cooperated by stepping on the accelerator, and in an instant, CC blended in with the street lamps and finally shrunk to a dot in my line of sight.

...

That night, instead of going to a bar, I went to the riverside and lay down on the withered lawn, smoking a cigarette to relieve my frustration.

Looking up at the stars and the moon, I finally understood why I had never dared to tell Renee how I felt, preferring to remain friends.

Today, Abner's appearance made me understand even more thoroughly that a woman like her is destined to be the most beautiful moon in the sky, while I am just an ordinary star. I can't even fulfill my wish to give her a gas-powered sports car, but Abner is different. As CC said, he has a high degree and a prominent family background, and Renee also cares about him. They are truly a good match.

I have already experienced the tragedy that Robert and Brittany gave me once, and do I have to experience it again with Renee?

I'm not stupid, and I don't want to repeat the pain of the past. I'm just an ordinary star, and my other half is also destined to be an ordinary star, so that I won't be burned by the dazzling light.

I closed my eyes, and my world fell into darkness, but suddenly I saw the crystal clear city. She was surrounded by stars in the sky and became more and more dazzling, but I was shrinking in her light, and then I watched helplessly as she disappeared from my sight again with the woman with long hair falling over her shoulders...

I didn't want to open my eyes again, because when I faced the real world again, I was doomed to be lost.

Enduring the cold wind, I don't know how long I laid there until a familiar voice sounded in my ear, and she called my name.

I opened my eyes, and the faint fragrance of the woman I had engraved in my memory drifted into my nostrils first. It turned out that Brittany was standing next to me.

"You...why are you here?"

Brittany smiled and said, "Like you, when I'm unhappy, I like to come here and sit."

After hearing Brittany's explanation, this chance encounter no longer seemed so accidental. Because she also used this place as a refuge, we would meet here someday, maybe today, maybe tomorrow...

Brittany's appearance made the sense of loss in my heart grow even stronger. Unable to control myself, I took a cigarette out of my pack, lit it, took a deep drag, and then asked her, "Why are you unhappy?"

"You came first, so according to the principle of first come, first served, let's talk about you first."

I was silent for a long time before I said to Brittany, "I'm unhappy because life has beaten me up..."

Brittany smiled and said, "That's a bit of a perfunctory answer. Everyone is unhappy because life has beaten them up. I want to hear something more specific."

After a long period of silence, I finally gathered the courage to ask Brittany, "After graduating from college, do you look down on me? I'm just a man struggling at the margins of society!"

Brittany seemed surprised that I would ask her this question, and she just looked at me...and I became even more apprehensive, because the answer she gave me next would likely be the real reason we broke up.