The weekend arrived with the sun shining brightly.
After several chilly days, the temperature finally rose again, and the people in the villa started decorating early in the morning.
Cheng Meng glanced at someone inflating balloons. “Don’t put them there, they’re an eyesore. Move them somewhere else.”
The person hesitated, looking at Cheng Shuoning, unsure whether to continue.
“It’s my birthday today.” Cheng Shuoning took a sip of milk. “Ignore him, keep going.”
Cheng Meng sneered, deliberately scraping his knife and fork against his plate to create an unpleasant noise, full of disdain. “Yes, yes, it’s your birthday, you’re the most important today. But what can I do? I didn’t prepare a gift for you, dear brother.”
He loved to emphasize the word “brother” when mocking Cheng Shuoning.
“I don’t need one,” Cheng Shuoning replied calmly. “And stop calling me brother.”
“Even if you don’t need it, a gift is still necessary. Let me think… what should I give you…” Cheng Meng seemed to recall something amusing. “Ah, I know what to give you. It’s going to be a grand gift, just don’t be too surprised when you receive it, dear brother.”
With that, he stabbed his knife into the plate, splitting it in two. He gave Cheng Shuoning a particularly malicious smile.
‘I hope you can handle the surprise when you get the gift, don’t faint from shock.’
Cheng Shuoning had no interest in the so-called gift. After finishing his meal, he returned to his room.
Once he left, Cheng Meng felt bored, tossed his fork aside, and as he got up to leave, he deliberately kicked over a nearby vase of flowers in frustration.
Mrs. Chen, who was cleaning, shook her head and sighed deeply, going over to set the flowers upright again.
They were brothers by blood, yet they had been at odds since childhood. Who knew when it would end?
*
The birthday party was a small affair, only inviting classmates and acquaintances.
Father Cheng and Mother Cheng were too busy to attend, so they had sent gifts ahead of time.
By two in the afternoon, the villa was fully decorated, and the party officially began.
Classmates arrived one after another, and upon seeing the luxurious and grand villa, they were all astonished.
There was no shortage of wealthy students at school, but they hadn’t realized the Cheng family was this affluent.
“Cheng Shuoning never mentioned it. I thought his family was just well-off. Could his family be the famous Cheng family in our city?”
“I never noticed before, but it seems so now. So many valuable paintings, wow, just one painting is worth more than my family’s entire assets. I’m envious.”
“Being rich is great. If I were this wealthy, I wouldn’t be as low-key as Cheng Shuoning. I’d walk around school like a king.”
“…”
After touring the villa and discussing it, the way they looked at Cheng Shuoning changed.
Some were eager to seize the opportunity to get closer to Cheng Shuoning, approaching him with gifts. “Happy birthday, Cheng Shuoning!”
The young man in a black suit was looking at his phone. Hearing the words, he looked up and smiled, his cool and distant demeanor softening into something warm and gentle, shedding any previous unapproachable air.
He put away his phone and accepted the gift with both hands, his voice gentle. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” The person scratched their head, suddenly feeling shy. “I hope you like the gift.”
“Happy birthday, happy birthday, Ning Ning, happy birthday.” A strange voice came from outside. Cheng Shuoning, having placed the gift down, looked over to see Li Shengfei walking in with a cage.
Inside the cage was a yellow-green parrot with a few hard-to-spot red feathers, its eyes darting around, bobbing its head, occasionally making a “hoo hoo” sound, indescribably cute.
Li Shengfei placed the cage on the table, looked at Cheng Shuoning, and smiled warmly. “Happy birthday, Ning Ning.”
The parrot echoed, “Happy birthday, Ning Ning, happy birthday.”
The crowd was drawn to the parrot’s mimicry.
“So cute, does it mimic anyone who speaks?” Zhang Xiuli curiously stared at the parrot. “Say, ‘I’m an idiot.'”
The parrot didn’t hesitate. “You’re an idiot.”
Zhang Xiuli: “?”
As laughter erupted around her, her face turned red, realizing she had been played by the little parrot. “You’re the idiot!”
Parrot: “You’re an idiot, you’re an idiot, you’re an idiot.”
Zhang Xiuli stomped her foot in frustration.
Cheng Shuoning was also amused, reaching into the cage to gently poke the parrot.
The parrot turned its head to look at Cheng Shuoning, flapped its wings twice, and chirped happily, “Ning Ning, Ning Ning, Ning Ning.”
It perfectly mimicked the gentle and indulgent tone Li Shengfei used when calling Cheng Shuoning, making Cheng Shuoning chuckle. “So cute.”
The parrot bobbed its head. “So cute, so cute…”
Zhang Xiuli, undeterred, leaned in again. “Say, ‘Zhang Xiuli is really beautiful.'”
This time, the parrot didn’t play tricks. “Zhang Xiuli is really beautiful.”
This prompted others to eagerly try their luck, surrounding the parrot and playing with it.
Cheng Shuoning moved to the side and had just sat down when Li Shengfei joined him, reaching out to ruffle his hair, sighing. “In the blink of an eye, Ning Ning is an adult now. Time flies.”
Cheng Shuoning dodged his hand, smiling without a word.
Li Shengfei paused, noticing the significant change in Cheng Shuoning, but didn’t dwell on it. He picked up a nearby glass of juice, took a sip, and asked, “Why isn’t Han Tian here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Speaking of which, what did Han Tian do to make our Ning Ning upset?” Li Shengfei deliberately leaned closer to Cheng Shuoning, studying his expression.
Cheng Shuoning moved away and said, “He didn’t upset me.”
“Ning Ning has grown up, not sharing his thoughts with me anymore.” Li Shengfei sighed sadly. “Have I been abandoned? Or am I being disliked?”
Cheng Shuoning looked up at him. “Everyone has things they don’t want to share. I do, and so do you, right?”
Faced with those deep, seemingly all-knowing eyes, Li Shengfei felt a bit guilty.
He let out a dry laugh, took another sip of juice, and didn’t press further. “True.”
Footsteps sounded at the door, and Han Tian, dressed in a white suit, walked in gracefully. Upon seeing Cheng Shuoning, he slowly approached, placing a gift in front of him. “The traffic was a bit heavy, so I’m late. Sorry. I hope you like the gift.”
“Thank you.” Cheng Shuoning placed the gift aside.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” Han Tian said gently. “It’s something you’ve always wanted.”
Without hesitation, Cheng Shuoning opened the gift in front of him.
It was a pair of game controllers.
Cheng Shuoning had been wanting to buy this model to play games with them, but now, seeing the controllers, he felt no excitement.
“These are expensive. Didn’t you say the last one was bought two months ago? Where did you get this from?” Li Shengfei asked with a half-smile.
Han Tian beamed. “I had someone get it for me. If Ning Ning likes it, no matter how difficult, I’ll get it.”
Cheng Shuoning closed the lid without expression, unmoved by his pretty words.
Suddenly, there was a commotion by the parrot. “It flew out, catch it quickly.”
“Who let it out? What if it escapes?”
“Catch it, don’t let it fly away.”
Someone had opened the parrot’s cage, and it took the chance to fly out, causing chaos as everyone scrambled to catch it.
After flying around for a while, the parrot suddenly changed direction and headed toward Cheng Shuoning.
Han Tian, thinking it was a wild bird attacking, saw it as a good opportunity. He shouted “Watch out” and pulled Cheng Shuoning close, holding him tightly. “Don’t worry, Ning Ning, I won’t let it harm you.”
He pulled so hard that the gift box in Cheng Shuoning’s hand fell to the ground, and the game controllers rolled out, only to be crushed under Han Tian’s retreating foot.
With a crunching sound, the controllers were completely destroyed, beyond repair.
The parrot landed on Cheng Shuoning’s shoulder, rubbing its head against his face. “Ning Ning, Ning Ning, happy birthday.”
“Why are you so excited?” Li Shengfei asked, puzzled. “The parrot just wants to play with Ning Ning. Why did you pull him up? Now the gift you just gave him is gone.”
He seemed to find some amusement in the situation.
Han Tian’s face turned dark as he stared at the broken pieces on the ground, silent for a long time. Eventually, he took a deep breath. “It’s fine, the quality was poor anyway. If it’s broken, it’s broken. Sorry, Ning Ning, I’ll replace the gift tomorrow.”
Then he glared at Li Shengfei, gritting his teeth. “Is this bird yours?”
Li Shengfei replied, “It’s a gift for Ning Ning.”
Seeing him continue to smile, Han Tian felt a surge of frustration, unable to vent it, and downed a glass of juice before grabbing a second one.
Cheng Shuoning petted the parrot on his shoulder, intending to return it to its cage, but it suddenly flew to Han Tian and started chirping, “Han Tian is a big idiot, Han Tian is a big idiot.”
Then it perched on Han Tian’s hand, pecking at the cup he was holding, as if it had taken a dislike to him.
Not expecting the bird to fly to him, Han Tian didn’t have time to secure the cup, watching helplessly as it tilted slightly, spilling juice onto his white suit, staining it.
Han Tian’s mouth twitched: “…”
He wished he could pluck the parrot’s feathers and make soup out of it. Remembering what the parrot said, he glared at Li Shengfei, suspecting he had taught it.
“Hey, don’t misunderstand. I never taught it to say that.” Li Shengfei raised his hands, innocently denying responsibility. “It learned on its own, nothing to do with me.”
With the expensive gift ruined by the bird and his clothes stained because of it, Han Tian suppressed his anger, forced a smile, and asked Cheng Shuoning, “Ning Ning, can I go upstairs to change?”
Since he often stayed here, they all kept clothes there.
Cheng Shuoning nodded.
“Come here.” Li Shengfei beckoned to the parrot.
The parrot flew to his hand, continuing to say, “Han Tian is a big idiot, Han Tian is a big idiot.”
As Han Tian headed upstairs, he stumbled at the words, nearly turning back to strangle the bird.
Li Shengfei put the parrot back in its cage, but as he was about to close the door, it flew out again, heading straight for the second floor, seemingly looking for Han Tian.
“Do you like Han Tian that much?” Li Shengfei stood up, ready to go upstairs.
“I’ll catch it.” Cheng Shuoning took the cage from Li Shengfei and headed to the second floor.
The hallway was quiet, and he immediately spotted the parrot perched at the entrance of the changing room, walking toward it.
The parrot noticed him but didn’t panic, instead flying up to peck at the door.
The sound was so faint it was almost inaudible.
Cheng Shuoning picked up the parrot and put it back in the cage, just about to leave when he heard voices from inside the room.
“Only Cheng Shuoning dares to treat you like this. If it were me, I’d never let you walk out of school in the rain alone. He’s too much. Did you catch a cold that day? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“No.”
“He’s like that, so why pretend with him? Wouldn’t it be better to be straightforward? You keep telling me how annoying he is, but as soon as I’m gone, it’s all Ning Ning, Ning Ning. Are you planning to keep him as a backup? Quite the plan, Han Tian.”
The room fell silent after Cheng Meng’s teasing words. Cheng Shuoning lowered his gaze, playing with the parrot in the cage, watching it tilt its head at him, looking silly, and couldn’t help but smile.
Inside the room, Han Tian, having changed, neither confirmed nor denied, simply wrapped his arms around Cheng Meng’s waist, pressing his forehead to his, speaking in an intimate tone:
“You know I’m just putting on a show for him, so don’t say such pointless things. As long as you know I like you, that’s enough. And why keep bringing him up? It’s such a buzzkill. Just thinking about his cold, superior attitude makes me sick. You’re the best, my dear.”