I Don't Want To Be Hated By Everyone. - Chapter 14

On the weekend, the sun shone brilliantly.

After a few days of cold weather, the temperature finally rebounded. Early in the morning, the staff in the villa began decorating for the occasion.

Cheng Meng glanced at a person setting up balloons, his expression displeased. “Do not put them there. They are in the way. Change the location.”

The worker froze, looking at Cheng Shuoning in confusion, unsure whether to continue.

“Today is my birthday,” Cheng Shuoning said, taking a sip of milk. “Ignore him. Continue.”

Cheng Meng let out a scoff, deliberately scraping his knife and fork against his plate to produce a piercing noise. His voice was filled with disdain. “I get it. Today is your birthday, so you are the most noble person here. But what can I do? I did not prepare a gift for you. My dear brother, do not mind.”

Whenever he mocked Cheng Shuoning, he liked to emphasize the word “brother.”

“I do not need one,” Cheng Shuoning replied calmly. “And do not call me your brother.”

“Even though you do not need one, a gift is still necessary. Let me think carefully about what I should give you.” Cheng Meng seemed to recall something amusing. “Ah, I know what to give you. This is absolutely a grand gift. Brother, do not be too surprised when you receive it.”

After saying this, he stabbed his knife hard into the plate. The perfectly intact plate instantly cracked into two halves, and he smiled exceptionally maliciously at Cheng Shuoning.

{I hope you can hold it together when you receive the gift. Do not pass out from surprise.}

That malicious inner voice caused Cheng Shuoning to pause his chopsticks. He harbored absolutely no interest in the gift mentioned by Cheng Meng. After finishing his meal, he returned straight to his room.

The moment he left, Cheng Meng felt the situation lose its flavor. He threw down his fork and stood up to leave, deliberately kicking over a nearby floral arrangement out of spite as he walked out the door.

Aunt Chen, who was cleaning up, shook her head, let out a long sigh, and went over to set the flowers upright again.

They were biological brothers, yet they had targeted each other from childhood to adulthood. She did not know when this animosity would ever end.

The birthday party was a small-scale affair, with only classmates and acquaintances invited to attend.

Cheng Shuoning’s parents were too busy to rush over, so they had arranged for gifts to be delivered early on.

By two in the afternoon, the villa was fully decorated, and the party officially commenced.

The classmates from his class arrived one after another, thoroughly astonished by the luxury and elegance displayed everywhere inside the villa.

The school did not lack wealthy individuals, but they had not anticipated that the Cheng family was this rich.

“Cheng Shuoning never mentioned it before. I thought his family was just ordinary well-off. Could his family be the famous Cheng family of our city?”

“I did not feel it before, but looking at it now, it must be. There are so many expensive paintings. A single painting is worth more than my family’s entire fortune. I am so envious.”

“It is great to be rich. If I were this rich, I would definitely not be as low-profile as Cheng Shuoning. I would walk sideways through the school.”

” ”

After touring the villa, the classmates discussed it among themselves, and the way they looked at Cheng Shuoning shifted completely.

Some people were already eager to take this opportunity to draw closer to Cheng Shuoning, walking up to him with a gift in hand. “Cheng Shuoning, happy birthday!”

The youth in the black suit was looking at his phone. Hearing this, he lifted his eyes and smiled. His cold, slightly aloof countenance became soft and obedient because of this smile, completely erasing his previous unapproachable appearance.

He put away his phone, accepted the gift with both hands, and spoke in a gentle tone: “Thank you.”

“No need for thanks,” the other party muttered, rubbing his head in embarrassment. “I hope you like the gift I gave you.”

“Happy birthday, happy birthday, Ningning, happy birthday.” A strange voice echoed from outside the door. Cheng Shuoning, who was putting away the gifts, could not help but look over, only to see Li Shengfei walking in while carrying a cage.

Inside the cage was a yellow-green parrot with a few patches of red feathers that were not easily noticed. It was constantly rolling its eyes, tilting its head back and forth, and making huffing sounds from time to time, looking indescribably cute.

Li Shengfei placed the cage on the table, looked at Cheng Shuoning, and said with curved eyes, “Happy birthday, Ningning.”

The parrot followed up by repeating, “Happy birthday, Ningning, happy birthday.”

The surrounding people were all drawn over by the parrot’s mimicry.

“How cute. Does it mimic anyone who speaks?” Zhang Xiuli stared curiously at the parrot. “Say ‘I am an idiot’ for me.”

The parrot did not hesitate: “You are an idiot.”

Zhang Xiuli: “?”

Accompanied by the loud laughter of the people around her, her face turned red as she realized she had been tricked by this little parrot. “You are the idiot!”

The parrot became even more energetic: “You are an idiot, you are an idiot, you are an idiot.”

Zhang Xiuli stamped her feet in frustration.

Cheng Shuoning was also amused by this display. He reached his hand into the cage and gently poked the parrot.

The parrot turned its head to stare at Cheng Shuoning, flapped its wings a couple of times, and chirped cheerfully, “Ningning, Ningning, Ningning.”

It perfectly replicated the tender, doting tone Li Shengfei used when calling Cheng Shuoning, causing Cheng Shuoning to break into a smile. “How adorable.”

The parrot bobbed its head, mimicking Cheng Shuoning’s tone: “How adorable, how adorable”

Zhang Xiuli refused to give up, leaning in close once more. “Say ‘Zhang Xiuli is very beautiful.'”

The parrot did not play any tricks this time: “Zhang Xiuli is very beautiful.”

This prompted the others to eagerly gather around, encircling the parrot to play with it.

The moment Cheng Shuoning sat down to one side, Li Shengfei sat down right beside him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. He remarked with emotion, “In the blink of an eye, Ningning is an adult. Time flies so fast.”

Cheng Shuoning bypassed his hand, offering a smile without saying anything.

Li Shengfei paused, noticing that Cheng Shuoning had changed significantly, but he did not think deeply about it. He picked up a glass of juice from the side, took a sip, and asked, “Why did that fellow Han Tian not show up?”

“I do not know,” Cheng Shuoning replied in a flat voice.

“Speaking of which, how exactly did Han Tian make our Ningning angry?” Li Shengfei deliberately leaned close to Cheng Shuoning, scrutinizing his expression.

Cheng Shuoning moved away from him and said, “He did not provoke me.”

“Ningning has grown up, and he no longer shares his private thoughts with me.” Li Shengfei let out a somewhat sorrowful sigh. “Have I been abandoned? Or am I being disliked?”

Cheng Shuoning lifted his eyes to look at him. “Everyone has things they do not wish to share with others. I have them, and you have them too, do you not?”

Meeting those dark eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything, Li Shengfei felt a prick of guilt.

He let out a dry laugh and took another sip of juice. This time, he desisted from probing further, not daring to ask anything else: “True indeed.”

The sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance. Han Tian, dressed in a white suit, walked in elegantly. Upon seeing Cheng Shuoning, he slowly approached him, placed the gift in his hands before him, and said, “The road was a bit congested, so I arrived late. I am sorry. I hope you like the gift.”

“Thank you.” Cheng Shuoning placed the gift to one side. His completely uninterested demeanor caused Han Tian to pause.

“Are you not going to open it to take a look?” He suppressed his displeasure with effort, speaking in a warm tone, “It is something you have always wanted, Ningning.”

Cheng Shuoning did not hesitate either, opening the gift right in front of him.

It was a pair of game controllers.

Previously, Cheng Shuoning had always wanted to buy this specific model of game controllers to play games with them, but seeing them now, his heart remained entirely untroubled by any waves of emotion.

“This item is quite expensive. Was it not said that the final pair was already purchased two months ago? Where did you manage to buy this?” Li Shengfei, who was beside them, asked with a half-smile upon seeing the gift.

Han Tian was full of smiles: “I found someone to purchase it for me. As long as it is something Ningning likes, no matter how difficult it is, I will buy it.”

Cheng Shuoning closed the lid expressionlessly, offering no reaction whatsoever to his pleasant words.

Over by the parrot’s side, someone suddenly cried out, “It flew out! This is bad, hurry up and catch it!”

“Who let it out? What if it escapes?”

“Catch it! Do not let it fly away!”

Someone had inadvertently opened the parrot’s cage, and the parrot seized the opportunity to fly out. Everyone scrambled in confusion to catch it, causing the scene to become chaotic.

After circling the area for a long time, the parrot suddenly altered its direction, heading straight toward Cheng Shuoning’s side.

Han Tian assumed this creature had flown in from outside to attack someone. Thinking it was a prime opportunity, he shouted a warning, “Be careful!” He pulled Cheng Shuoning to his side to shield him tightly. “Do not worry, Ningning. I will not let it harm you.”

He pulled with too much force, causing the gift box in Cheng Shuoning’s hand to drop to the floor. The game controllers rolled out from inside, happening to be stepped on heavily by the retreating Han Tian.

With a few sharp snaps, the controllers were completely crushed, rendered utterly beyond repair.

The parrot landed squarely on Cheng Shuoning’s shoulder, rubbing its head against his cheek. “Ningning, Ningning, happy birthday.”

“Why are you acting so excited?” Li Shengfei watched from the side in bewilderment. “The parrot came over to play with Ningning. Why did you yank him away? Now look what happened, the gift is gone right after you gave it to him.”

He even displayed a trace of schadenfreude.

Han Tian’s face turned ashen. He stared at the shattered pieces on the floor for a long time without speaking. Only after a good while did he take a deep breath: “It is fine. The quality of this thing was too poor. If it is broken, then it is broken. I am sorry, Ningning. I will make up for the gift tomorrow.”

He then glared at Li Shengfei, speaking through gritted teeth: “Is this bird yours?”

Li Shengfei replied, “It is my gift to Ningning.”

Seeing that he was smiling continuously, Han Tian felt a breath of fury trapped in his chest that could neither rise nor subside, leaving him uncomfortable. He picked up a glass of juice from the table, swallowed it in one gulp, and reached for a second glass.

Cheng Shuoning stroked the parrot on his shoulder, intending to place it back into the cage. However, it suddenly flew onto Han Tian’s body and began to squawk loudly: “Han Tian is a big idiot! Han Tian is a big idiot!”

It then perched on Han Tian’s hand, using its beak to poke at the glass Han Tian was holding, acting as though it found Han Tian entirely unpleasing to the eye.

Never expecting this bird to fly toward him, Han Tian failed to grip the glass tightly in time. He watched helplessly as the glass tilted slightly, and the juice inside splashed onto his white suit, bleeding out into a dark stain.

Han Tian’s lips twitched in silence.

He wished nothing more than to pluck all the feathers off the parrot on the spot and stew it into soup. Recalling the words spoken by the parrot, he glared furiously at Li Shengfei, believing that Li Shengfei had taught it to say those things.

“Hey, do not misunderstand. I certainly did not teach it to say such things.” Li Shengfei raised his hands, shifting the blame innocently. “It learned that by itself. It has nothing to do with me. Do not look at me, and do not glare at me either. I am telling the absolute truth.”

The expensive gift he gave was shattered because of the bird, and the clothes he wore were soiled because of the bird. Han Tian forced out a strained smile with effort, saying to Cheng Shuoning, “Ningning, can I go upstairs to change my clothes?”

Because they frequently came over to stay in the past, they both kept spare clothes here.

Cheng Shuoning nodded, looked at the game controllers on the floor, and knelt down to clear them away.

“Come here,” Li Shengfei surged to gesture to the parrot.

The parrot flew onto his hand, continuing to squawk: “Han Tian is a big idiot! Han Tian is a big idiot!”

Han Tian, who was already walking upstairs, heard this and stumbled on his feet, nearly turning around to rush down and strangle this dead bird to death.

Li Shengfei placed the parrot back into the cage. Just as he was about to close the door, the parrot flew out once more, heading straight for the second floor, looking as though it wanted to seek out Han Tian.

“Does it like Han Tian that much?” Li Shengfei stood up, preparing to head upstairs.

“I will go catch it,” Cheng Shuoning said. Since he had nothing else to do and happened to quite like this bird, he took the cage from Li Shengfei’s hand and walked up to the second floor.

The corridor was quiet. He immediately spotted the parrot perched at the entrance of the changing room, walking toward it.

The parrot discovered his presence but did not panic, instead flying up to peck lightly at the door.

The sound produced was very small, rendering it virtually inaudible.

Cheng Shuoning caught the parrot and secured it inside the cage. Just as he was preparing to leave, he heard voices speaking inside the room.

“Only Cheng Shuoning would dare to treat you like this. If it were me, I would absolutely never let you leave the school gates alone in the pouring rain. He is truly too much. You did not catch a cold after returning that day, did you? Why did you not tell me before?”

“No.”

“He is already acting like this, so what is the point of you maintaining this pretense with him? Would it not be better to lay it open? You tell me every day how annoying he is, yet the moment you leave me, it is always ‘Ningning, Ningning.’ Could it be that you want to keep him as a backup option? That is quite a calculation, Young Master Han.”

The room fell completely silent following Cheng Meng’s teasing remark. Cheng Shuoning lowered his eyes to amuse the parrot inside the cage. Seeing it tilt its head to stare back at him foolishly, the corners of his lips curved upward into a gentle, soft smile.

Inside the room, the fully dressed Han Tian neither admitted nor denied the accusation. He merely wrapped his arms around Cheng Meng’s waist, pressing his forehead against the other’s, his tone ambiguous:

“Since you know my behavior toward him is just a performance, do not speak of these useless matters. It is enough that you know I like you. Besides, why do you constantly bring him up? It is such a mood killer. Right now, whenever I think of his cold face and his high-and-mighty attitude toward me, I find it thoroughly disgusting. You are still the best, babe.”