I Don't Want To Be Hated By Everyone. - Chapter 18

He made no attempt to conceal his malice. His face was a contorted mask of disdain and aversion, and with his eyes wide and unblinking, he looked like a vengeful spirit altogether unlike a normal person.

“Do you think you are highly innocent and aggrieved? The one who should feel aggrieved is me,” Cheng Meng continued contemptuously. “If you didn’t exist, everything you currently possess would be mine. Look how much of a nuisance your presence is.”

“From childhood to adulthood, I have prayed every single second for something to happen to you. But what a pity, so many years have passed and you are still alive and well. Your life is truly resilient.”

He wanted to shatter Cheng Shuoning’s inner defense, but the other party merely stared back at him in silence, his gaze resembling that of someone looking at a complete stranger. Instead, it was Cheng Meng who became hysterical, cutting the figure of a pathetic clown.

Cheng Meng paused, shifting his strategy to deliberately poke at Cheng Shuoning’s painful spot. “It is no wonder they dislike you when you act like this. After all, they had such massive reactions, yet you remain so cold and detached, making them look like an absolute joke.”

Was he cold and detached? Han Tian had said that too.

Cheng Shuoning turned his head, looking at his reflection in the glass window.

When his face carried no expression, it did indeed appear cold and aloof, but when a person is disliked, must they absolutely roar with fury to vent their resentment? If he did, these people would simply alter their rhetoric and call him a madman.

“Tell you what, let me give you an idea.” Cheng Shuoning’s silence did not hinder Cheng Meng at all; rather, it made him even more arrogant. He said unhurriedly, “Go abroad and never return. Perhaps then our relationship can improve a bit, what do you think?”

Cheng Shuoning tossed the question flatly back to him: “Why don’t you go abroad?”

“This is my home, why should I leave?” Cheng Meng put on an innocent face.

This expression was altogether too familiar; Cheng Shuoning had seen it numerous times.

A deeply engraved memory from childhood flashed back when their parents were not at home and he was hungry. Cheng Meng forbade the live-in maid from cooking for him and even hid all the food.

He had no choice but to drag a chair over, stand in front of the refrigerator, and open it to search for anything edible. He finally managed to reach a bottle of yogurt, only for Cheng Meng to snatch it away.

Cheng Shuoning would grab one, and Cheng Meng would snatch it, until eventually, Cheng Shuoning fell off the chair and injured himself. Only then did Cheng Meng retreat to a distance, watching him endure the pain with bloodshot eyes, mocking him as a useless piece of trash who had no right to eat.

When their parents returned, he used precisely this kind of innocent expression to say, “Did little brother fall down? I didn’t know. Little brother is truly too careless, is he alright?”

The face from his childhood gradually merged with the face before him. An idea struck Cheng Shuoning, and he tilted his head slightly, staring at Cheng Meng: “Do you like them?”

The seemingly abrupt question caused Cheng Meng to freeze, and then his expression shifted drastically.

Cheng Shuoning added: “Li Shengfei, Han Tian, or perhaps Zhou Xundu?”

“Shut up.” The secret buried in the depths of his heart was close to being exposed, causing Cheng Meng to fly into a furious rage. “Say one more word and I will tear your mouth apart.”

“What is going on here?” Never expecting to stumble upon the two of them quarreling the moment she returned, Cheng Mother looked at the shattered glass on the floor, and then turned her gaze toward Cheng Meng. “What happened? Why do both of you look so displeased? Has the party concluded already? I thought I could make it in time.”

Cheng Shuoning’s face filled with surprise, completely dropping his verbal sparring with Cheng Meng. “Mom? Weren’t you highly busy? Why are you back?”

“No matter how busy I am, I cannot miss Ningning’s birthday.” Cheng Mother stroked Cheng Shuoning’s head, her gaze affectionate. “It is not midnight yet. Ningning, happy birthday.”

Standing to the side, Cheng Meng watched this heartwarming scene with cold eyes, scoffing mockingly, “Do you assume I am causing trouble again? I am sorry, but it truly wasn’t me this time. It was your precious son, Cheng Shuoning. He fought with Han Tian first, then fought with Li Shengfei, and now he insists on fighting with me.”

Cheng Mother understood Cheng Shuoning well enough to know he would not quarrel without rhyme or reason. She pulled him down to sit on the sofa. “Ningning, tell Mom, what happened? Why did you argue with Han Tian and the others? Did Han Tian and his friends do something? Also, why were you and Cheng Meng arguing?”

Cheng Shuoning could say nothing.

If he told Cheng Mother that Cheng Meng deliberately snatched away everything around him because of hatred, and even intended to kill him, would she believe it? The answer was an absolute no.

Thinking of this, he shook his head and remained silent.

Seeing this, Cheng Meng let out a bored yawn, turned around, and walked upstairs.

Cheng Mother glanced at him several times before ultimately rising to follow him. Before leaving, she instructed Cheng Shuoning, “Ningning, it is very late, go back to your room and sleep.”

The youth sat on the sofa motionlessly, watching their figures disappear from sight.

He could clearly perceive that Cheng Mother’s entire attention was focused on Cheng Meng, dividing only a tiny fraction for him.

Thinking of this, Cheng Shuoning lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the disappointment in his eyes.

Although he usually treated Cheng Mother with mockery, Cheng Meng still came when summoned to the study.

He pushed the door open, saying with a cold face, “If you came to speak on behalf of Cheng Shuoning”

Before he could finish, Cheng Mother interrupted him, her tone carrying concern: “What happened today?”

Cheng Meng cast a couple of extra glances at her, offering a half-smile. “Will you believe what I say? If I say Cheng Shuoning deliberately caused trouble and accused me of seducing Han Tian and Li Shengfei, will you believe it? You certainly won’t.”

Such an absurd statement naturally caused Cheng Mother’s first instinct to be disbelief. She knit her brows and said, “Ningning is not the type of person to say such things.”

“If you don’t believe it, why bother asking?” Cheng Meng waved his hand, turning around to leave with an indifferent demeanor.

“Cheng Meng, if you aren’t lying, I will clarify things with Ningning and tell him to stop causing a scene,” Cheng Mother called out to him, speaking softly.

Pausing in his tracks, a successful graduation of a smile curled the corners of Cheng Meng’s lips. “I am only afraid that when you go to speak with him, he will tell you that I am the one twisting the facts.”

“I won’t allow this matter to continue endlessly,” Cheng Mother said. “Rest assured.”

Cheng Meng clapped his hands in mock surprise, his expression thoroughly exaggerated. “This is truly unbelievable. Have you finally found your conscience and started caring about your eldest son now?”

These sarcastic words close to stripped away the elegance and composure Cheng Mother had maintained for decades. Suppressing her anger, she said, “Whether you believe it or not, Mom has never ignored you. You have misunderstood all this time.”

Cheng Meng merely assumed she was lying, opening the door and departing directly.

Cheng Mother felt a headache coming on, and thinking that everything originated from Cheng Shuoning, her head throbbed even more.

Cheng Shuoning kept the parrot in his own room.

It occasionally spoke a few words, but most of the time it quietly accompanied Cheng Shuoning without being rowdy at all.

Yet the following day during breakfast, Cheng Meng threw a massive tantrum: “The bird Cheng Shuoning keeps is very noisy, it is disrupting my sleep. Either kill it, or Cheng Shuoning moves out.”

The blatant targeting caused Cheng Shuoning to lift his eyes and stare at him, only to receive a brilliant, smug smile full of defiance.

{I want to see whether you roll out this time, or if you throw that bird away.}

Cheng Mother paused her chopsticks, looking at Cheng Shuoning with a slight frown. “A bird?”

“The parrot Li Shengfei gave me. It is very quiet and not noisy,” Cheng Shuoning explained. “It only spoke three sentences last night, and it was very soft. It is impossible for it to have disrupted him.”

“It is a small bird after all, Ningning. Give it to someone else to raise. Keeping it at home is too rowdy,” Cheng Mother said after a moment of thought, coaxing him softly. She felt it was no major issue, and that Cheng Shuoning should just take a step back.

This indicated she completely disregarded whether Cheng Meng’s words were true, desiring only to dispose of the parrot. Cheng Shuoning stared at Cheng Mother, and it took a long while before he asked flatly, “Why?”

“If you kept something that couldn’t speak, it would be fine, but parrots mimic human speech and are very noisy,” Cheng Mother let out a sigh. “Be obedient, Ningning. Alternatively, you can return it to Li Shengfei.”

Cheng Shuoning did not speak.

Cheng Mother assumed he had failed to pay attention to her words, turning her head to call his name: “Ningning? Did you hear what I said?”

{Can’t you take a step back and stop being so obstinate? Watching you guys argue every day gives me a massive headache. Of all things to keep, you keep a parrot, truly looking for trouble.}

“If next time Cheng Meng claims he finds me noisy, Mom, will you make me move out too?” Cheng Shuoning set down his chopsticks, asking in a soft voice.

Cheng Mother shook her head, expressing surprise: “Of course not, Ningning. How can you compare yourself to a bird? Right now, the presence of this bird is indeed affecting”

“You clearly know he is deliberately targeting me, yet you still hope I will take a step back.” Cheng Shuoning gazed at her, the depths of his eyes entirely devoid of emotion. “Based on what? Or do you believe I owe Cheng Meng something?”

Having reached his objective with the conversation, Cheng Meng picked up his backpack and departed gracefully.

The living room fell into a silence so profound that a dropped needle could be heard. Cheng Mother’s expression grew increasingly unsightly, her gaze carrying a trace of disapproval: “How could you think that way?”

“Because I can feel it.” Cheng Shuoning lowered his head, his fingers gripping his clothes so tightly that his knuckles turned stark white, yet he did not release his grip. “I can clearly feel your subconscious favoritism. Have you not realized it yourself? The moment Cheng Meng speaks, your first instinct is never to consider if he is lying, but rather to assume it is my fault.”

It wasn’t just once or twice. Previously, he had assumed he was merely being oversensitive and experiencing an illusion, but turning it over carefully now, it was all true.

The mother he had always respected and loved cared more about Cheng Meng, and her heart tilted toward Cheng Meng’s side, both during his childhood and now.

An intense wave of sourness surged from his throat to the tip of his nose, and Cheng Shuoning’s eyes turned slightly warm. The heart that had been tightly wound and heavy because of Han Tian and Li Shengfei could no longer bear this additional weight, hovering on the brink of shattering completely.

No one would put themselves in his shoes to consider his feelings, including his own mother.

Cheng Mother stared at him blankly for a long while, as if caught in some recollection. Only after a good long while did she let out a sigh, offering no denial, but rather speaking with earnest gravity: “Ningning, in truth, there are times when I genuinely regret giving birth to you.”

No words could carry a more devastating impact than this sentence, yet the person speaking did not seem to find anything amiss, continuing: “Your appearance caused Cheng Meng to change completely, Ningning. I have no way to ignore Cheng Meng. I owe him, so I must treat him a bit better. Regarding today’s matter, Mom isn’t being partial; keeping this bird at home is indeed not good.”

Cheng Shuoning sat there, entirely stationary like a piece of frozen wood.

Only after a good long while did he offer a slight smile: “Then, did I commit any wrong?”

Cheng Mother’s gaze was gentle: “No, but Ningning, you are the focal point of the mistakes. So I hope you can show some forbearance and yield to Cheng Meng. Perhaps he will gradually learn to accept you. Also, stop constantly arguing with him. His emotions are easily triggered, what if”

Cheng Shuoning could no longer endure it, coldly interrupting her absurd and ridiculous words: “You know his thoughts are mistaken, yet instead of correcting him, you allow him to act willfully, spoiling him into the state he is in today. Yet you claim I am the focal point of the mistakes and demand that I yield. Mom, what do you take me for? A tool you can use to displace your own mistakes and make yourself feel lighter?”

Perhaps because she had never seen Cheng Shuoning address her with such a cold attitude, Cheng Mother froze momentarily. Snapping out of it, she furrowed her brows tightly, her eyes filled entirely with disappointment toward Cheng Shuoning: “What are you saying? What kind of attitude is this toward me right now?”