I Don't Want To Be Hated By Everyone. - Chapter 6

The youth had little expression on his face, his eyes cold and sharp. He did not look like he was joking. Cheng Shuoning remembered that this was indeed his personality; he disliked physical contact and avoided conversation. Just as he was about to apologize, he heard the youth’s inner voice.

It is fine. It does not hurt anymore. It will disappear. Are you worried about me? Thank you, I am very happy.

Cheng Shuoning was stunned. Someone who appeared so unapproachable and cold actually had such a busy inner world. He could not help but chuckle softly. Looking at Xu Wangzhi, who had returned to his test paper, he whispered, “Sorry to bother you.”

His gentle voice was like a warm breeze in spring. Though brief, the lingering feeling was enough to melt anyone’s heart. Xu Wangzhi’s pen pressed hard onto the paper, tearing it, and his fingers turned white from gripping the pen too tightly. He looked at Cheng Shuoning, bit his lip slightly, and said something completely insincere: “Stay away from me.”

Cheng Shuoning pulled back slightly, then suddenly heard a thought: Too far.

He paused and tried to move closer.

Closer, a little bit closer.

Faced with the youth’s strange, contradictory behavior, Cheng Shuoning could not help but laugh. Xu Wangzhi was distracted by the laughter. He looked at the mark on his paper for a long time before he continued writing.

Soon after, when the preparatory bell rang, most of the students entered the classroom. Seeing Cheng Shuoning had returned, they greeted him one after another. Cheng Shuoning sat by the window, so when someone knocked on it, he heard it immediately. He turned his head and saw Han Tian in his school uniform standing outside, waving at him and gesturing for him to open the window.

As soon as Cheng Shuoning opened it, Han Tian placed his backpack and school uniform on the desk. “Your bag and uniform. Have you had breakfast?”

“Thank you. I have.”

“What are you thanking me for? Seriously, why do you keep saying thank you lately?” Han Tian reached out to pat Cheng Shuoning’s head. “I will come to find you at noon so we can go to the cafeteria together.”

“No need.” Cheng Shuoning put his backpack away. Sensing Han Tian’s move, he dodged and refused him quite bluntly. “I want to eat alone at noon.”

No one saw that as he said this, the youth sitting beside him tore through the test paper with his pen again. He turned his head to look at Cheng Shuoning’s beautiful profile, retracted his gaze after a few seconds, lowered his eyes to hide all the frantic, surging emotions, and pressed his lips together.

Han Tian withdrew his hand and frowned. “But I really want to eat with you, Ningning.”

“Next time.” Cheng Shuoning said. He had intended to close the window, but accidentally heard what Han Tian was thinking:

You won’t eat with me because you had a meal with Zhou Xundu? What an ungrateful brat. I took care of you at the hospital for so many days, wasting my time. Fine, do not eat; see if I care. Who wants to eat with you anyway? Since you will not, I can just eat with Cheng Meng.

Those thoughts made Cheng Shuoning slam the window shut immediately. He ignored Han Tian, who watched him longingly for a long time. When the final bell rang, Han Tian left reluctantly.

Students were allowed to bring phones to school, but they were not permitted to keep them on during class. Just as Cheng Shuoning was about to turn his off, he received a message.

Li Shengfei: “You were hospitalized a few days ago? Why did you not tell me?”

A week ago, Li Shengfei had taken leave to participate in a math competition out of town. Among the three, Cheng Shuoning had known Li Shengfei the longest, and they were the closest. However, Li Shengfei had been busy with his studies lately, and they could not meet daily as they used to.

Cheng Shuoning: “Did you win the competition?”

Li Shengfei: “I won. First place! Ningning, will you not praise me?”

Cheng Shuoning sent a thumbs-up sticker. “I am about to start class. Congratulations.”

He turned off his phone and noticed someone staring at him. He looked up. As he met Xu Wangzhi’s emotionless eyes, he heard a thought: You were chatting quite happily. Before Cheng Shuoning could figure out the meaning, Xu Wangzhi looked away. Although he felt there was a strong hint of jealousy, Cheng Shuoning dismissed the idea; it was impossible for Xu Wangzhi to be jealous for no reason.

Morning reading was English. He opened his textbook and found several key points marked in Han Tian’s handwriting. He took out his other textbooks and found they were marked as well. Some characters were crooked, and then effort was made to straighten them out later; it was clear that Han Tian had grown irritable while helping him mark the key points. Cheng Shuoning felt conflicted and put the textbooks back into his bag.

After reading the vocabulary a few times, it was time for free recitation. As Cheng Shuoning closed his eyes, the girl sitting behind him suddenly asked, “Can I recite here?” He thought she was asking him, but when he turned around, he saw her staring at Xu Wangzhi and realized she was asking the youth beside him.

The youth sat upright, as if he had not noticed the girl was asking him at all. Zhang Xiuli smiled at Cheng Shuoning, then tentatively poked Xu Wangzhi’s shoulder. “Can I recite my lesson here? Xu Wangzhi? Let us recite together; it is better than doing it alone.”

Xu Wangzhi’s expression remained cold. He did not turn his head or speak, effectively rejecting her. Zhang Xiuli felt disappointed, sighed, and continued reciting with her desk mate.

It was too noisy; with everyone reciting, Cheng Shuoning found it hard to focus. He looked around to find someone he was close with to recite together, but suddenly realized that while everyone in the class would talk to him, he was not close with anyone. His daily routine was just listening in class and leaving with Han Tian after school; he had never had time to get to know his classmates.

Cheng Shuoning felt lost. Just as he was about to give up, a voice sounded in his ear: “Cannot memorize it?”

He subconsciously replied, “It is a bit difficult to do it alone.”

A slender hand reached over, took the book from Cheng Shuoning’s desk, and accidentally touched his hand. The cold sensation made Cheng Shuoning’s heart skip a beat. His gaze followed that beautiful hand until it landed on its owner—it was Xu Wangzhi.

The youth opened the book and said expressionlessly, “Recite.”

Cheng Shuoning’s eyes widened slightly, and he looked at him in surprise. Was he offering to help him recite? Zhang Xiuli behind him was also stunned; she stopped her own reciting to watch them curiously, even lowering her voice to ask Cheng Shuoning, “Wait, since when are you two so close?” They used to be like the North and South Poles, entirely independent of each other; they were the most distant desk mates in the class.

Cheng Shuoning shook his head; even he had not expected Xu Wangzhi to help him.

“Not reciting?” Xu Wangzhi moved to close the book.

Cheng Shuoning immediately said, “Reciting.”

He began to recite, but soon realized that reciting in front of Xu Wangzhi was even harder than doing it alone, because he was inexplicably nervous, and his heart was beating strangely fast. By the time he finished the last word, the morning reading period was over. Cheng Shuoning felt a bit embarrassed. “Sorry, I recited too slowly.”

Xu Wangzhi closed the book and returned it, showing no intention to chat further. Cheng Shuoning packed his textbooks, picked up his water bottle, and stood up to get a drink. He heard Xu Wangzhi say, “It was fine.”

He paused, realizing Xu Wangzhi meant his recitation was okay. His bright eyes curved. “Thank you.”

The gratitude sounded too soft, like a kitten letting out a gentle meow. Xu Wangzhi watched his retreating figure as he left with the bottle, a trace of imperceptible amusement flashing in his deep, dark eyes.

At noon, before Cheng Shuoning left the classroom, he saw Han Tian waiting at the door. He stood up and left through the back door, sending Han Tian a message: “Do not wait for me, go eat by yourself.”

Han Tian: “Ningning, how can you be so cruel to leave me to eat alone? I want to eat with you.”

The image of the notes in his textbook flashed through Cheng Shuoning’s mind. He bit his lip and ultimately turned back. Han Tian was still waiting at the door. Just as Cheng Shuoning opened his mouth to call him, he saw Han Tian turn around and reach out to pinch the face of the person in front of him, his tone filled with uncontrollable joy. “He left. Perfect, now the two of us can eat together. If he does not want to, fine; I did not want to eat with him anyway.”

Cheng Shuoning was not curious about who that person was; he left immediately.

The school cafeteria was crowded, and there were usually no seats left by the time one finished queuing. Knowing he would have to wait, Cheng Shuoning left the campus and walked for over ten minutes into a secluded alley. Most shops in the alley had closed down, but at the end, there was a noodle shop that had been open for over a decade. Because of its remote location and distance from the school, very few people knew about it. Cheng Shuoning had discovered it by accident with Han Tian.

The sign “Open for Business” hung on the aging door. As he pushed it open, the bell made a crisp sound. The owner, already in his fifties or sixties with graying hair, heard someone arrive and called out, “See what you want to eat; order over here.”

Cheng Shuoning noticed there was another customer besides himself—someone from his school in uniform and a baseball cap, back turned toward him, paying for the meal. He looked familiar. He walked over to order and was surprised to see it was Xu Wangzhi.

The owner asked, “What to eat?”

Cheng Shuoning regained his focus. “A bowl of beef noodles.”

“That was the last of the beef noodles. He just ordered it.” The owner pointed at Xu Wangzhi and grinned. “Why do you not discuss it?”

“Then, change it to…”

Xu Wangzhi, who was already sitting at the table, did not even look up. “Change mine to chicken soup noodles.”

“Fine.” The owner replied readily and said to Cheng Shuoning, “Then this bowl of beef noodles is yours. Ten yuan.”

Cheng Shuoning, having no time to refuse, paid the money and whispered something to the owner. The owner nodded, gave a thumbs-up, and headed into the kitchen.

The noodle shop grew quiet, save for the sound of the fan. Cheng Shuoning sat behind Xu Wangzhi; they were back-to-back, unable to see each other. Not long after, the bell rang, and someone else walked in.

Cheng Shuoning stood up slightly, intending to go to the front counter to get a bottle of milk, when his shoulder was suddenly pressed down. A shadow fell over him, and a cap landed on his head. Because it was pulled down too low, it blocked his entire vision.

Cheng Shuoning looked up, confused. Just as he wondered why Xu Wangzhi had put his cap on him, a cold, clear voice sounded in his ear: “Do not turn around.”

He paused and obediently sat there without turning. Two familiar figures soon appeared in his line of sight, and at that moment, Cheng Shuoning knew who the person standing in front of Han Tian at the classroom door earlier had been.

Cheng Meng looked at the menu and said with disdain, “Why come here? It does not look like it tastes very good. Let us go somewhere else.”

Han Tian pinched his ear, his tone doting. “I have had it before; it is quite good. Try it.”