I Don't Want To Be Hated By Everyone. - Chapter 7

“Did Cheng Shuoning bring you here?” Cheng Meng scoffed, glancing around the area before his gaze landed on the two people sitting inside.

One was a well-known person at school—Cheng Shuoning’s desk mate, whom he remembered vividly because of his handsome face. The other wore a hat that covered his face, head bowed, so nothing could be seen.

Han Tian did not answer, treating it as a given, and shouted toward the back kitchen, “Boss, two bowls of beef noodles.”

The boss replied loudly, “No more beef noodles. Pick something else.”

“You run a shop and you are already out of things?” Cheng Meng, already in a foul mood, did not want to stay any longer. He turned to leave. “Forget it, let us change to somewhere else.”

“It is normal; they have fewer customers, so they do not prepare many ingredients. The other dishes are good too. Really, since we are already here, just try it.” Han Tian coaxed him, patted Cheng Meng’s head, and held him back to order two bowls of tomato noodles, sitting down together.

Cheng Shuoning had heard that gentle, coaxing tone countless times. He had never imagined that in such a situation, he would see Han Tian sitting and eating with Cheng Meng, whom he usually detested. Their movements were intimate, inseparable, like brothers, or even more like a couple.

Cheng Shuoning pulled his hat lower to completely cover his face, pressing his lips together.

The beef noodles arrived quickly, their aroma filling the air. Looking at the large chunks of beef in the bowl, Cheng Shuoning felt a dull pain in his empty stomach, but he had no appetite. He wanted to get up and leave, but felt it would be a waste of the noodles. While he was hesitating, a pair of opened disposable chopsticks appeared before him.

The hand holding the chopsticks was slender and attractive, the veins on the back of the hand clearly visible. It was a hand so beautiful that it would immediately capture one’s gaze the moment it appeared.

Cheng Shuoning blinked and reached out with both hands to take them. “Thank you.”

Xu Wangzhi did not look back. “Beef. Thanks.”

Cheng Shuoning smiled. “It was meant for you anyway. You do not need to thank me.”

Xu Wangzhi said nothing more.

The meal was consumed in abnormal silence, while the next table chatted enthusiastically. They did not deliberately lower their voices, so Cheng Shuoning could easily hear everything they said. They talked about school and even brought up Li Shengfei; it seemed Cheng Meng and Li Shengfei were also on good terms.

It appeared that he did not just fail to understand Han Tian; he did not really understand Li Shengfei either. Since he had already pondered this while being discharged from the hospital, he did not feel much about it now.

Cheng Shuoning took a bite of the noodles; they were soft, tender, and tasted excellent. Suddenly, he heard Cheng Meng bring him up.

He referred to him as an “idiot” in a tone filled with contempt and disdain, and Han Tian did not react at all, as if he were long used to this way of addressing him. Cheng Shuoning’s gaze landed on the refrigerator opposite him, seriously considering whether he should get some water from it and pour it over them to ask if they found this game amusing.

If you hate someone, hate them. If you like them, like them. Why act as if you loathe them in your heart while pretending to like them on the surface?

Breathing became difficult, and a sense of malice permeated his entire body. For the first time, Cheng Shuoning realized clearly that people’s kindness to one another could be perfectly faked. Fearing that if he stayed any longer he would truly do something crazy, he set down his chopsticks, pulled his hat down completely, lowered his head, and walked out.

The bell on the door chimed softly. The boss looked up and called out, “Thank you for coming, see you next time.”

The youth did not respond and left without looking back. Cheng Meng looked at the door and scoffed continuously, “The person who just left looked like Cheng Shuoning.”

This casual comment left Han Tian breaking out in a cold sweat. “Stop talking nonsense and scaring me.”

“Why would I scare you?” Cheng Meng opened his eyes wide in surprise. “So what if it is him? You were loud enough when discussing him with me earlier; you did not hide anything.”

Cheng Shuoning did not leave; he stood not far from the noodle shop kicking pebbles. He was waiting for Xu Wangzhi to come out to return the hat. After a few seconds, the youth walked out of the shop. As if he had guessed that Cheng Shuoning had not left, his expression did not change when he saw him.

“Here.” Cheng Shuoning took off the hat, handed it to Xu Wangzhi, and raised the corners of his mouth. “Thank you for today.”

He did not ask Xu Wangzhi how he knew he did not want to be seen by those two people. Xu Wangzhi put the hat back on his head and looked at Cheng Shuoning, his deep, emotionless eyes reflecting his slightly messy hair.

That intense gaze was impossible to ignore. Cheng Shuoning subconsciously reached up to touch his hair, met Xu Wangzhi’s eyes, and heard a thought: Your hair is messy.

At the same time, he managed to see his own curly bangs reflected in the other’s eyes, making him look a bit silly. He quickly tidied up and walked forward.

Only the sound of their footsteps echoed in the alley. The air was stiflingly hot. After walking for a few minutes, Cheng Shuoning began to sweat, and his breathing grew rapid. He stole a glance at Xu Wangzhi, who seemed not to feel the heat at all, his breathing steady and his expression unchanged.

Cheng Shuoning slowed his pace. Thinking of the noodle shop incident, he asked softly, “How did you know about that noodle shop?”

It was high noon, and the sunlight poured down from above, illuminating the alley and causing the temperature to rise rapidly. Cheng Shuoning’s cheeks were flushed red from the heat, so he instinctively ducked into the shadows, waving a hand beside his cheek to try and dissipate some of the warmth.

Xu Wangzhi stopped walking and stood not far from Cheng Shuoning, watching him.

The youth’s face was flushed red from the heat, his breathing was visibly irregular, and sweat slid down his chin to his slender, fair neck, then to his collarbone, before disappearing into his clothes. He seemed to notice Xu Wangzhi’s gaze, turned his head, and smiled.

That delicate, beautiful face became soft and well-behaved because of that smile, making one want to step forward and touch him to verify his reality. His heart felt as if the chains of reason had broken, accelerating wildly. Every cell in his body urged him to get closer and establish a relationship with the person before him that went beyond “classmate.”

Xu Wangzhi retracted his gaze, walked over, and placed the hat on Cheng Shuoning’s head again. “The sun is too bright; keep it on.”

His voice was a bit hoarse, his eyes terrifyingly deep and dark, hidden behind complex emotions that were impossible to fathom. Cheng Shuoning instinctively looked away when he met his eyes, straightened his hat, and felt he was acting a bit strange. He hesitated and said, “If you give me the hat, you…”

Before he could finish, Xu Wangzhi had already started walking forward. Cheng Shuoning chased after him while thanking him. He was not as tall as Xu Wangzhi, so no matter how fast he walked, he was easily left behind. He could only watch as Xu Wangzhi walked out of the alley and disappeared from view.

Cheng Shuoning took a deep breath and sped up. The moment he exited the alley, he saw the youth with his back to him and paused. He had thought Xu Wangzhi had left, but he had actually been waiting for him. Joy spilled into his heart like sugar from a broken jar; even Cheng Shuoning did not realize how excessively happy he was.

Hearing the movement and confirming that someone had caught up, Xu Wangzhi continued walking forward. This time, his pace was much slower, making it easy for Cheng Shuoning to keep up.

The two walked side by side. Xu Wangzhi suddenly said, “I have been eating at that noodle shop since I was a child.”

Realizing he was answering the question he had asked earlier, Cheng Shuoning smiled. “Did you live in this neighborhood before?”

“Yes.”

“That is great.” Cheng Shuoning stretched his arms, looked up at the cloudless sky, and asked slowly, “Xu Wangzhi, why would you hate someone and yet like someone else?”

He truly could not understand Han Tian. He might have been able to see through him before, but ever since he could hear Han Tian’s inner thoughts, he was even more baffled.

“I would not hate someone I like.” Xu Wangzhi paused his pace and turned to look at Cheng Shuoning.

Cheng Shuoning could not help but laugh. “Yes, that is true. It is just that I was confused.”

Han Tian did not like him; he hated him from the very beginning. That was why he pretended to like him—just to deceive him. Perhaps there had been a little bit of feeling a long time ago, but it had long since worn away.

They did not speak for the rest of the walk, yet there was a silent tacit understanding between them as they returned to school, one walking behind the other with a distance of no more than a meter.

Cheng Shuoning did not return to the classroom; he turned to the school canteen to buy two bottles of yogurt. As he was paying, a hand reached out to offer money before him: “Together with mine.”

The familiar voice made Cheng Shuoning look up in surprise, meeting a smiling face. “Ningning, what a coincidence.”

The youth in sportswear had a baby face and a sunny, cheerful smile. He picked up Cheng Shuoning’s face and kept rubbing it until his cheeks were flushed red before letting go. He gave a mischievous, successful smirk. “We haven’t seen each other in a week; did you miss me?”

“When did you get back to school?” Cheng Shuoning asked, helplessly handing over the money. “Let us pay separately.”

“Why pay separately? Let us go together.” Li Shengfei feigned unhappiness. “Ningning, you are just not treating me as a friend.”

Before he could finish, Cheng Shuoning had already paid and started walking out with the yogurt. “I will wait for you outside.”

Li Shengfei had bought quite a lot of things, and seeing him run so fast, he was a bit angry. He flexed his muscles, implicitly telling Cheng Shuoning, “I will get you back for this later.”

Cheng Shuoning thought he was being childish and did not take it to heart as he sat on a chair nearby and opened a bottle of yogurt to drink. After Li Shengfei finished paying, he walked over with a straight face. Seeing the other bottle of yogurt on the table, he snorted, “Is that other bottle for Han Tian? Come to think of it, why have I not seen Han Tian with you? Did he let you come buy things alone? Well, well, that Han Tian.”

“It is not for him.” Cheng Shuoning went back to the shop, bought another bottle of yogurt, handed it to Li Shengfei, and asked with a smile, “How was the competition?”

“Harder than usual.” Li Shengfei took the yogurt, and a smile finally appeared on his face. He suddenly remembered something and handed a gift he had prepared in his pocket to Cheng Shuoning. “Here, a souvenir I bought over there.”

It was a small brown bear keychain, grinning, with star-shaped eyes; it looked extremely cute.

Li Shengfei said, “It looked just like you, so I bought it. They say it is a lucky bear; carrying it brings good luck.”

Cheng Shuoning took it, thanked him, and put the keychain in his pocket.

Li Shengfei could sense that Cheng Shuoning was not very interested in chatting, so he stood up and shoved the snacks into Cheng Shuoning’s arms. “Take these snacks back to the classroom; I have a game scheduled with them.”

Usually, he would have asked Cheng Shuoning to watch the game, but this time, he did not. After gaining the ability to hear inner thoughts, Cheng Shuoning felt more than once that his former self had not been sharp enough.

He did need to keep some distance from the people around him; after all, distance really did create beauty. If things were too intimate, someone would inevitably grow tired of it first.

Cheng Shuoning offered the things back to him. “You take them to share with your classmates; I will not eat them.”

“They were bought for you in the first place; you are not allowed to refuse.” Li Shengfei flicked his head gently with his finger as a punishment for the refusal, then turned and scurried away.

Cheng Shuoning rubbed his head and had no choice but to carry the snacks away.

Watching Cheng Shuoning leave, Li Shengfei, not far away, dialed Han Tian’s number and questioned him: “Why are you not with Ningning?”

“You ran into him after you got back? I do not know what has gotten into him lately; he has become all strange and is ignoring me.” Han Tian complained, feeling annoyed.

“Then why do you not coax him?” Li Shengfei frowned.

“I am not like you, Master Li; you are the master of coaxing people.” Han Tian mocked him. “I have said all kinds of nice things to him, but he still maintains that cold attitude. You guys were not there at the hospital, and I was the one taking care of him with all my heart. After he was discharged, he started distancing himself from me—can you believe that? I am not his servant for him to treat me like this.”

“Stop talking nonsense; where are you now?”

Xu Wangzhi was not in the classroom. Cheng Shuoning placed the yogurt in his hand on his desk and fell asleep at his own desk. Until, muddled, he heard movement beside him. He opened his eyes and looked blankly at the person beside him.

Xu Wangzhi paused and looked down at the person sitting in the chair, head slightly tilted, looking at him.

That fair, clean face was filled with the laziness and confusion of just waking up. His long eyelashes blinked gently, like a rabbit lost in the forest that did not know the situation and thus dared not run around.

Cheng Shuoning gradually sobered up. His gaze fell on the yogurt in Xu Wangzhi’s hand. He paused and asked, “Are you not going to drink it?”

Xu Wangzhi said coldly, “I do not know who gave it to me.”

Cheng Shuoning yawned, the corners of his eyes slightly red. Thinking of how Xu Wangzhi never seemed to accept things given by others, he said vaguely, “I bought it for you. Thank you for your help earlier.”

He had originally intended to leave it on the podium for the owner to claim, but upon hearing this, Xu Wangzhi’s hand holding the yogurt tightened slightly. He looked at Cheng Shuoning: “You bought this?”

Cheng Shuoning nodded.

Xu Wangzhi sat back in his seat. He did not drink it, but instead carefully placed the yogurt inside his desk. Cheng Shuoning wanted to say something, but hesitated for a long time before asking: “Do you not like strawberry flavor?”