Tenant's Secret Love

Chapter 173: Are you that stupid?

I called Renee's phone in trepidation, and then fell into despair in an instant, because what did it mean when a voice prompt came from the other end that the phone was turned off?

Renee must have gone to bed. An indescribable feeling of despair filled my heart, and I felt like I was being torn apart and left out in the cold, rainless night.

My fingers trembled as I pulled a cigarette out of my pocket. My frozen hands pressed the lighter several times before a gentle flame finally sprang up.

I was agitated, so I threw the cigarette on the ground with my hand, and then I smiled helplessly, wondering why the more I missed her, the further she got away from me...

On a cold rainy night, I huddled in the corner, but I was still cut by the cold, wet wind. I shivered, so I wanted to smoke again, but I realized that there were no cigarettes left in the pack.

I bent down and picked up the cigarette that had fallen to the ground, blew off the dust on it, and after several attempts, I finally smelled the comforting tobacco smell again.

I was a little lost in thought, just numbly inhaling the smoke, but I didn't want to leave, at least not before I had made a promise to Renee. I said, "I'll keep waiting until she's willing to come out," but I didn't think that she might have turned off her phone before receiving that WeChat message.

Time passed, and I crossed my arms in front of my body, pacing to keep warm. Suzhou hadn't seen such cold weather in a long time, I remembered.

The door to the security office opened, and a middle-aged security guard walked out. He asked me, "Young man, you've been standing outside for a long time. Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yes, sir!"

The guard kindly said, "Come in and wait. The room is heated."

I laughed and said, "It's okay, brother...if I go inside, I won't be able to see her if she comes out!"

"Hurry up and come in. The damp cold of the south is not like the north. This low temperature of minus five degrees Celsius is going to kill someone."

"Brother, thank you very much, but really it's okay, I'm young and can handle it."

The doorman is a really nice guy. He walked over to me and took my hand, saying, "Don't worry, there's a security camera in the house, so you'll be able to see her when she comes out!"

The piercing cold made me hesitate for a moment, but this hesitation was fleeting, and I firmly shook my head and said, 'Brother, you just get me a cup of hot water, and I'll wait for her outside."

The doorman finally let go of my hand and asked with some confusion, 'Are you waiting for your girlfriend?"

I didn't make up a story to this warm and polite doorman, but told him the truth: "Not a girlfriend... You don't know, but in fact I'm not reliable in her eyes. I've never done anything serious for her, so I want to be serious for once today. It's cold, so I'll be cold, as long as I can see her as soon as she appears, my heart will be warm. The surveillance video in the room is easy to miss!"

My words did not convince the doorman, who advised me earnestly, "Young man, the girls who live in this neighborhood were either born into wealthy families or are corporate executives. They all have high standards, and waiting around like this won't necessarily get you anywhere... Just the other day, there was a young man who was even more persistent than you, and made this entrance look like a garden, with balloons floating everywhere. In the end, he didn't get anything good, but instead, he got a scolding and ended up walking away in disgrace!"

Listening to the doorman's logical and well-reasoned description, I could almost see the scene. It's true, I thought. Nowadays, men will go to great lengths to woo women who are attractive and have a material foundation, but they may not necessarily find dignity in them.

I subconsciously glanced around the community and, after a while, smiled and said, "Brother, she's different from those women. She probably hasn't seen my message yet, or she would have come out... You tell me to wait a little longer!"

The doorman finally stopped persuading me and sighed, saying, "Alas, you really are stubborn! Never mind, I won't persuade you anymore. I'll go get you a cup of hot tea."

"Thank you, sir."

As I watched the doorman's departing back, I couldn't help but ask myself why I was being so stubborn at this moment. Did my father's words really wake me up? Or was it just a sudden sense of self-awareness that made me suddenly adhere to my principles?

For a long time I couldn't give myself an answer. Maybe I was just overcomplicating things. It was actually very simple: I just missed her, and I wanted to see her no matter what.

...

The security guard gave me a cup of hot water and lit a cigarette for me. So I looked around again in the cold rainy night, feeling increasingly lonely. If she could appear in front of me at this moment, I would definitely be the happiest person in the world, because I had experienced the transformation between hell and heaven and understood even more the hard-won happiness.

The cup, which was once hot, has now the same temperature as my hand. The temperature seems to have dropped a little more as the night goes on, and I shiver again.

The doorman sighs and says to me, "Young man, I really don't want to see you standing here, but without the owner's consent, I can't make an exception and let you in..."

"You don't have to be difficult, even if you let me in, I don't know which building she lives in!"

The security guard took off his security cap, scratched his head, and suddenly patted me on the shoulder and said to me in an agitated tone, "Young man, look, is that the girl..."

I couldn't see clearly in the dim light, and I could only see a figure in pajamas approaching from this direction. She seemed to be running...

Time passed second by second, and I finally saw her clearly. I answered without thinking, "It's her...it's her..."

In ecstasy, I waved my hand at Renee, "Run... Renee, run faster..."

Renee finally came to me. She was panting, but I was like in a dream... Then I smiled at her.

"You're still happy?" Renee's tone was very light, but there was a little bit of blame.

"You're so beautiful and pleasing to the eye, why can't you smile."

Renee just looked at me, her eyes gradually filling with tears. She was a little choked up: "...it's so cold outside, are you stupid? What if you catch a cold?"

I didn't say anything, I just wanted to hug her, but my hands were a little numb from the cold.

The doorman said to Renee and me, "This girl came out in her pajamas, she can't catch a cold outside, let's go inside and talk..."

I walked stiffly towards the house, but looked at Renee with some confusion, because she looked so rushed, dressed in her cotton pajamas. What was she doing before that?

...

In the lobby, the doorman helped Renee and I make some hot tea. Renee took my hand and passed on the warmth in her hand to me, and asked reproachfully, "Have you been here since you started texting?"

"I've only been waiting a little while,"

The doorman interrupted, saying, "You've been standing here for almost an hour, and you're still denying it! He refused to go inside and wait!"

Renee squeezed my hand: "I'm sorry...for making you wait so long. I turned my phone off before, but then I couldn't sleep, so I turned it back on... But don't be so silly! If I hadn't been unable to sleep and fallen asleep... Do you really want to wait until tomorrow?"