I Don't Want To Be Hated By Everyone. - Chapter 8

“I like it.” Xu Wangzhi paused, took out the yogurt again, opened it, and took a sip.

Cheng Shuoning asked, “Is it good?”

A light strawberry flavor melted on his tongue; it was not overly sweet, just right. Xu Wangzhi looked at the youth asking so earnestly and nodded. “It is very good.”

“That is good,” Cheng Shuoning smiled with curved eyes.

“Classmates, classmates! The results for the exam a few days ago are out. Guess who took first place?” Li Xiaosa, wearing his school uniform with the sleeves tied around his neck, clapped his hands and walked into the classroom, pretending to be mysterious.

“Do we even have to guess? It must be Xu Wangzhi.”

“Who else could it be besides him? He leaves the second-place student behind by dozens of points every single time.”

“Is this even a question? You could guess it with your toes. Also, Li Xiaosa, what is with that look?”

“You guessed right!” Li Xiaosa snapped his fingers, and his uniform jacket swayed on his back. “It is Xu Wangzhi. I heard the teacher tallying his total score when I arrived. Guess what it is this time? That is right! Over 730 points again.”

He looked at Xu Wangzhi and asked with a smile, “Study god, how did you grow that brain of yours? Can you teach us mere mortals?”

There was a moment of silence. Everyone habitually turned their heads to see if Xu Wangzhi was still working on test papers, only to see him sitting there calmly, drinking a bottle of strawberry yogurt in pink packaging. That pink color looked so out of place on him that it appeared incredibly bizarre.

Li Xiaosa peered at the yogurt. “Study god, is this yogurt another gift from someone who has a crush on you? How come you accepted it today?”

Many girls in the class had given Xu Wangzhi gifts and snacks, all of which had been placed on the podium without exception, only to be reclaimed later. Li Xiaosa’s question drew everyone’s attention to Xu Wangzhi.

Xu Wangzhi ignored them and took another sip of yogurt. Cheng Shuoning, sitting to the side, felt nervous. Explaining seemed unnecessary, but failing to do so would lead to misunderstandings. Just as he was agonizing over it, a knock sounded at the classroom door.

A youth with sharp, irritable features poked his head in. His eyes immediately locked onto Cheng Shuoning. He shook the snacks in his hands, and the smile on his face washed away any trace of his former impatience. “Ningning, I bought you snacks. Come and get them.”

Han Tian had brought snacks many times; each time Cheng Shuoning accepted them and shared them with his classmates, so the class was already familiar with Han Tian. However, they noticed that this time, Cheng Shuoning did not get up to take them, as if he had not heard Han Tian at all.

The smile on Han Tian’s face, waiting at the door, faded. He stared at the youth sitting at his desk for a moment and, fearing he truly had not heard him, moved to the window to call out again.

“I do not want them. Take them back and eat them yourself,” Cheng Shuoning opened the window and said without much emotion.

There was no joy in his tone, no smile as before; he showed obvious coldness and distance. Han Tian, who had come specifically to coax him, felt his enthusiasm extinguished. He squeezed out a gentle smile. “Why, Ningning? You always eat them. Why not this time?”

“There is no why.” Cheng Shuoning reached to close the window.

Han Tian blocked it with quick reflexes. Perhaps he was truly sad, or perhaps he just wanted to make Cheng Shuoning feel guilty. He looked aggrieved and pained, his voice hoarse. “Ningning, why have you been like this lately? I really do not know where I upset you. Can you just tell me?”

Cheng Shuoning did not look at him, but asked one question: “Is there anything you are hiding from me?”

Han Tian froze. His expression turned unnatural for a split second, and he instinctively pulled back his hand from the window. He carefully observed the cold-faced Cheng Shuoning, unable to guess what he was thinking. Could he really know something? If he did, he would not be acting like this; he would have made a scene by now. This must just be him wanting to be coaxed.

With this thought, Han Tian suppressed his impatience, reached out to pat his head, and smiled. “No, how could I have secrets from you? Did someone badmouth me? Was it Zhou Xundu?”

“Ningning, do not believe Zhou Xundu’s nonsense. People like him are the ones who hide things and keep secrets, never me.”

“Really.”

That earnest tone made the last shred of Cheng Shuoning’s expectations disappear. He turned his head to offer Han Tian a faint smile. “I understand.”

Han Tian had barely begun to rejoice at seeing a smile when Cheng Shuoning slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains, clearly not wanting to see him again.

Damn it, he is playing with me.

Han Tian’s face turned livid and his eyes grew dark. He nearly threw the snacks at the window. He suppressed his anger, kicked the white wall hard, leaving a clear footprint, before storming off with the snacks.

After the evening self-study session, Cheng Shuoning called the family driver to pick him up. Because the two houses were close, Cheng Shuoning usually rode with Han Tian, but this time he did not wait for him and walked straight out of the school gates.

The driver was waiting by the car, opened the door, and asked curiously, “Little Young Master, why are you not going home with Young Master Han today?”

Cheng Shuoning smiled. “We will not be going together anymore.”

Just as he put his backpack in the car and prepared to get in, Cheng Meng pushed his way over, told him to “move aside,” and sat in the car first. Cheng Shuoning changed his mind about sitting in the back and took the front passenger seat instead.

The moment the car door closed, Han Tian appeared. Recognizing the car, he walked up and tapped on the window, wanting to hitch a ride. Cheng Shuoning ignored him and told the driver, “Let us go. Head straight home.”

“Are we not letting Young Master Han come with us?” the driver asked.

“No need to wait,” Cheng Shuoning said coldly. “He has his own car; he can go back himself. Let us leave.”

Cheng Meng, who was looking at his phone in the back, looked up and scoffed, “Were you two not inseparable before? Why are you not together today? Little brother, you change your mind quite quickly.”

“If you want to go with him, you can,” Cheng Shuoning buckled his seatbelt and said with a faint smile. “Get out of the car and take his instead. I have no objections.”

Cheng Meng gripped his phone tightly, his voice icy. “Not to mention I do not want to go; even if I did, do I need your permission? Who do you think you are?”

Cheng Shuoning said, “Han Tian does not like you. I was just thinking that if you really wanted to go home with him, I could have told him to avoid you being scolded or tossed out of the car halfway.”

Cheng Meng fell silent, his face as ugly as if he wanted to eat someone. The atmosphere in the car was incredibly eerie. The driver, who had not seen them mocking each other like this in a long time, did not dare to breathe until they had left, at which point he rolled down the window to offer a quick “sorry” to Han Tian.

Han Tian was still frozen in the motion of approaching the car door. Watching the vehicle speed away, his smile was replaced by rage. His face twisted into a grotesque expression as he threw his backpack on the ground and let out a low, furious roar: “Damn it, what the hell? I am done with this!”

What was this? He just dumped him? Was this not done on purpose to irritate him?

Footsteps sounded behind him. Han Tian turned with a vicious gaze, but upon seeing Xu Wangzhi, he recognized him and held back his temper. Xu Wangzhi glanced at him sideways with a mocking smile before stepping over the backpack and walking away.

That smile nearly made Han Tian want to choke someone on the spot. He was afraid that Xu Wangzhi had heard what he said earlier and would report it to Cheng Shuoning. Then he realized: Even if he did, so what? I could just talk my way out of it. But then, Cheng Shuoning did not seem to believe him anymore.

He grabbed his hair in frustration, wondering what had gone wrong. Ever since the incident at the cinema, Cheng Shuoning had seemed like a different person—more difficult to please and more annoying than before.

In truth, he did not actually hate Cheng Shuoning that much. Cheng Shuoning was well-behaved, incredibly cute when he smiled, liked him, and was good to him. It was just that after knowing him for so long, he had grown a bit bored. Coupled with the fact that he did not really love him, when Cheng Meng began to cling to him, he accepted it.

He enjoyed the feeling of Cheng Meng being good to him; the contrast made everything Cheng Shuoning said or did feel annoying, even hateful. People change, do they not? It was only natural for him to be this way.

The lights were on in the villa. Chen Sao had not left work yet and was unusually busy in the kitchen. Cheng Shuoning quickened his pace; upon reaching the living room, he saw a beautiful woman sitting on the sofa. She looked to be in her thirties, well-maintained, with not a single wrinkle on her face. She carried herself with grace and elegance. The moment she saw Cheng Shuoning, she waved with a smile. “Ningning is back. Come sit here.”

“Mom, you haven’t been home for such a long time.” Cheng Shuoning immediately sat beside her, his tone filled with a hint of spoiled affection from not seeing her for so long.

“The company has been insanely busy; only today could I find the time to come back,” Mother Cheng patted his head. “I haven’t seen Ningning in so long. You are still as cute as before.”

Cheng Meng walked in slowly at this moment, sat opposite Cheng Shuoning, and remained silent. Mother Cheng glanced at him but said nothing, merely placing the gifts they had brought on the table. “These are the gifts your father and I bought while on our business trip abroad last week. This one is for Cheng Meng, and this one is for Ningning.”

The difference in her tone was obvious. Cheng Meng looked disdainful, not even glancing at the gifts, and stood up to leave. Mother Cheng could not take it anymore and called him back. “Cheng Meng.”

Knowing they were about to have a talk, Cheng Shuoning picked up his gift. “Mom, I am going back to my room to sleep.”

Mother Cheng nodded. “Go ahead.”

Back in his room, Cheng Shuoning opened the gift. Inside was a watch; it was beautiful, with the letters CSN engraved on the face—the initials of his name. Cheng Shuoning carefully put the gift away before starting his homework.

Downstairs, it was unusually quiet. Mother Cheng took a sip of coffee and looked at Cheng Meng. “Take your gift.”

“Who wants that piece of junk?” Cheng Meng sneered with utter disdain. “Anyway, the gifts given to Cheng Shuoning are always better than mine. If that is the case, why give me one at all? What? Are you afraid that I will develop psychological issues and target Cheng Shuoning because I did not get a gift?”

Seeing her own child acting so hostile toward her, Mother Cheng felt helpless. She watched him for a long time before saying, “Do not always use your own way of thinking to judge others. Cheng Meng, it has been so long, why are you still like this?”

“Mother and Father’s care for you is not fake. Why do you not understand? Cheng Meng? Forget it, you will understand when you grow up.”

“Not fake?” Cheng Meng said sarcastically. “It would be fine if I were a child and you coaxed me, but I am not. If you really cared about me, you should have sent Cheng Shuoning away a long time ago.”

Hearing him say such absurd things, Mother Cheng’s face changed. She said coldly, “What nonsense are you spouting now? The gift is yours; take it or leave it.”

She was tired; she did not want to argue with him after finally coming home. She went upstairs immediately.

The living room fell silent. Cheng Meng ground his teeth for a moment before opening the gift. It was a watch, a limited-edition model from that brand—not something one could easily buy even with money.

If they give me a limited-edition watch, the one given to Cheng Shuoning must be even better than mine.

Thinking of this, Cheng Meng overturned the gift box, stepped on the watch after it fell to the floor, and kicked it away fiercely before returning upstairs with a gloomy face.

Everything should have been his. Cheng Shuoning’s appearance had split what should have belonged to him alone in two.

Why? Why?!