The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

When Mrs. Xie descended the stairs wearing her favorite asymmetrical fishtail dress, with her hair casually styled and an air of elegance mixed with leisure, it was a stark contrast to the birthday scene in Li Heng’s dream.

Even though he had known the date of his birthday in the dream, he was still caught off guard when Mrs. Xie mentioned his birthday was in two days and asked about his preference for the style of the party. He was momentarily stunned.

He had never celebrated his birthday properly. When he was in the orphanage, which struggled financially before the later kind-hearted benefactors arrived, the director could only buy a large twenty-inch cake each month, divide it among the children with birthdays that month, and hand out two packs of candies to each child.

By the time he turned fifteen and entered high school, the orphanage’s finances had improved slightly. The teachers, aware of his situation, applied for poverty aid for him. Although still struggling, he managed to afford a small cake for his birthday, squeezing out a bit of money after saving up.

He remembered standing outside a cake shop near his school for about ten minutes, carefully examining every model in the display case and choosing the one with the best cost-performance ratio according to the labels. But in the end, he turned and went into a nearby bookstore to buy a set of practice papers for his weaker subjects.

He thought that if he could get into a good university, he might be able to get a student loan and find better-paying jobs during the holidays, eventually making up for the missed cakes.

However, he didn’t get into university and never had a proper birthday celebration.

The lavish party in the dream, full of guests and extravagance, wasn’t for him. The opulent cake, adorned with jewels, only had Xie Duzhi’s name on it. Xie Duzhi, wearing a small golden crown and sitting at the piano, graciously thanked everyone for attending his birthday party, looking like a prince straight out of a fairy tale, clearly the main character.

He was only mentioned as a “side note” during Mr. Xie’s speech.

So when Mrs. Xie talked about the party, he could only picture himself awkwardly standing on the outskirts of the crowd, feeling out of place.

Moreover, he couldn’t play the piano.

“Do you want to go with me to choose the cake?” Mrs. Xie asked naturally, scooping herself a small bowl of porridge and placing a pigeon leg into his bowl. “We can order a nine-tier or an eighteen-tier cake.”

The nine tiers symbolize everlasting love, while eighteen tiers represent turning eighteen.

Both have good meanings.

Li Heng hesitated, quietly asking if they could skip the party altogether. After all, a nine-tier or eighteen-tier cake would be too large.

“But you’re turning eighteen, and it should be something grand, right?” Mrs. Xie said with a hint of sadness in her tone.

“For Shenzhi and Sizhi’s eighteenth birthday parties, your father and I sent out hundreds of invitations and had thirty tables. The hotel needed a month to prepare the venue.”

“It was more than that,” Sizhi recalled. “You and Dad only invited business partners, and later, we had another gathering with relatives.”

So, technically, Shenzhi and Sizhi had two birthday parties each—one formal and one private.

“We want our little darling to have the same,” Mrs. Xie concluded, looking at her second son with a raised eyebrow. “Isn’t that right, Mom?”

Mrs. Xie had initially thought this way. She even wanted to make up for her absence over the years by making her youngest son’s birthday party more grandiose, trying to make up for everything he had missed out on.

But she gently shook her head at her second son before turning to Li Heng.

“If you don’t want it, we won’t have it.” she said. The party wasn’t for her own compensation but to make her youngest son happy.

She carefully asked him, “How about we just celebrate as a family?”

Li Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If she tried to persuade him, he would likely relent.

He quickly bit his lip and hesitantly said, “… Then can we also order a smaller cake?”

With just him and his family, even adding the butler, driver, and kitchen staff, there would be fewer than twenty people.

“Nine tiers are already quite small,” Mrs. Xie insisted on this point. “We still need to cut some to send to Aunt Zhen and others.”

Even if it’s a big occasion like a birthday, sharing the joy with more people is always better.

“We can order a smaller nine-tier cake separately,” Xie Duzhi suggested.

Mrs. Xie considered this and agreed. They would make a smaller nine-tier cake for the family and have another one ordered for the staff.

This way, the big cake wouldn’t go to waste, and it would be more formal. She was inspired by Xie Duzhi’s suggestion to arrange for small cakes and gifts for each employee in the company.

As for the partners, she would discuss that later.

Mrs. Xie quickly finalized several plans in her mind. Even if they didn’t hold a party, she wanted others to know that her youngest son, her precious little darling, was celebrating his birthday.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t receive in-person birthday wishes; she just wanted to share this joy and let more people know, respecting her son’s wishes while doing so.

“Indeed, Duzhi is reliable.” She smiled and thanked him. “You get an extra piece of the birthday cake.”

Xie Sizhi felt a bit envious. “Wait a minute. Shouldn’t the birthday star decide who gets the cake?”

Li Heng had no objections.

Xie Duzhi’s suggestion was excellent. He couldn’t have considered it so thoroughly himself.

Mrs. Xie’s indulgence was because she liked and loved him.

However, in the face of such nearly indulgent affection, Li Heng felt a pang of guilt and unease, feeling that while his needs were met, her desires were being overlooked.

Xie Duzhi had considered everyone’s feelings well, achieving a perfect balance. No matter how grateful he was, a small piece of cake was not too much to ask for.

Although he didn’t speak, his expression and eyes had already given the answer.

Xie Sizhi, feeling upset and a bit confused about why his younger brother was so close to others, especially since he was the actual brother, sulked and glared at Xie Duzhi multiple times before heading upstairs to paint.

He decided to beat Xie Duzhi in the most heartfelt birthday gift to re-establish his image as a good brother.

“I’ll go prepare upstairs first,” Xie Duzhi nodded to them, excusing himself from the table. “The driver will arrive at 8:30.”

Only two people remained at the table.

Li Heng was actually full, but he stayed to keep Mrs. Xie company and didn’t want her to eat breakfast alone.

Mrs. Xie, noticing this, urged him gently, “Uncle Fu has already prepared a place on the third floor, next to your room. You might want to check if there’s anything else needed.”

“Has Uncle Fu had breakfast?” If not, he would invite him down.

“He’s already eaten,” Mrs. Xie reassured him. “He had a run and came back just as the stuff arrived, so he went up to set up.”

“Mom will call you later.” She waved him off, hinting at Mr. Xie on the sofa to discuss the gifts.

With the size of the Xie family, there was no need to go to the mall; a phone call would have the latest seasonal styles and sizes delivered promptly.

Besides buying clothes, Mrs. Xie had her own motives. While shopping, she could casually bring up various topics to bridge the gap between mother and son.

Moreover, the compliments like “Your child is so handsome,” “A natural model,” and “Looks just like you” would be pleasant.

When Li Heng entered his room, he found Xie Duzhi already at the computer.

He hadn’t knocked and felt awkward.

“I’ll take the cat now; otherwise, it might disturb your meeting.”

He quickly explained, picking up the sprawled Siamese cat and leaving—though he was unsure what was so secretive in his room.

Maybe it was the overly serious atmosphere in the room.

Unbeknownst to him, the meeting had already started early. His appearance with the cat briefly appeared on the background before becoming a small tuft of fur, which soon vanished as the door closed.

The management team noticed that the suddenly arriving big boss seemed much softer. He had gone from a stern face that could intimidate the project manager through the camera to a gentler presence.

“Family matters,” Xie Duzhi calmly said, his eyes briefly flashing with warmth. “Continue.”