Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 36

Fu Shizhao absentmindedly placed the sliced small beef steak into his mouth.

The man was named Fu An, his biological father’s younger brother, his own uncle, and he had a good relationship with his biological father.

It was said that his name was chosen by their grandmother, not too complicated, just a single character “An,” which meant peace. This was because he was a premature baby and had not been very healthy since childhood.

In the previous life, he had been brought back to the Fu family because his uncle had passed away. The people of the Fu family found records about him in his uncle’s belongings, which revealed his existence.

Fu Shizhao actually had a good impression of this uncle.

After all, he had discovered his own existence a long time ago and had secretly kept an eye on himself. Yet, he didn’t acknowledge him or bring him back to the dark and damp Fu family.

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At least he had genuinely cared for him.

Beside Fu An was his son, named Fu Chuming, who was two years older than Fu Shizhao and also had health issues, being rather frail. In the previous life, when Fu Shizhao returned to the Fu family, he had dealings with him. He was a gloomy person but had provided him with quite a bit of help, including his later acquisition of power within the Fu family, which owed a part of its success to Fu Chuming.

However, Fu Shizhao’s relationship with him was not close; he was a very solitary individual.

So… Fu Shizhao wasn’t as anxious as his foster father, as there wasn’t much at stake in being seen by his uncle.

Fu Yu didn’t know about the twists and turns within the Fu family. He only knew that the Fu family wasn’t a good place and that no one could be trusted, hence his panic.

… Even if that person was Fu Shizhao’s biological uncle.

The current situation of the Fu family was all thanks to Old Master Fu.

Old Master Fu was a philanderer who had started fooling around even before he married Fu Shizhao’s grandmother.

Fu Shizhao’s grandmother had long passed away, having only had two children in her lifetime: one was Fu Shizhao’s biological father, and the other was the uncle he had just met.

Old Master Fu even had several illegitimate children born before Fu Shizhao’s father.

After Grandma Fu passed away, all these illegitimate children were boldly brought back to the Fu family.

Old Master Fu watched as these illegitimate children engaged in fierce competition among themselves. Since they all shared his blood, it didn’t matter to him who would eventually inherit the Fu family; he only needed the most capable heir.

However, none of them probably expected that the one who would eventually obtain the thing they all dreamed of would be Fu Shizhao, who had been abandoned since childhood.

In their previous life, it was still Old Master Fu who insisted on bringing Fu Shizhao back. It seemed like he was being good to Fu Shizhao, but in reality, it was just that he had grown old and felt guilty about some past actions, so he pretended to make himself feel better.

He didn’t treat Fu Shizhao exceptionally well either. The false reputation of being the young master of the Fu family made Fu Shizhao a target of criticism.

In their previous life, Tang Mian always thought that Fu Shizhao was living well in the Fu family, but it was all just an illusion.

Fu Shizhao didn’t want to tell Tang Mian about these things because it would only trouble him, and there was no benefit in doing so. It might even drag him into the mess.

But… the conversation he overheard in the bathroom just planted a seed in Fu Shizhao’s heart.

The seed could either germinate or wither away, depending on his decision.

He didn’t have much time.

He had to make a quick decision.

Should he return to the Fu family now?

Fu An said, “The day after tomorrow is Grandma’s birthday. I’ve prepared a piece of jade. How about having Xiaoming personally give it to Grandma?” (it is his great-grandmother)

Fu Chuming seemed a bit apprehensive. “Grandma is so fierce; I’m scared…”

Fu An sighed softly.

The grandma in question was Old master Fu’s mother.

It was said that she was a very cunning woman in her youth. She only had one son, but she managed to get him, who was actually not very capable, to become the head of the Fu family.

Even though she was quite old now, she still held a significant share of the Fu family’s assets.

Old Master Fu was also very filial to Grandma Fu. He would do almost anything she said, and he often sought her opinion on major matters. This was one of the reasons why Old Master Fu was so determined to find the most capable heir.

He was afraid that after his mother’s passing, her shares in the family would become coveted by many, leading the Fu family into further chaos, a situation he would have trouble controlling.

In his previous life, Fu Shizhao had worked hard to secure the majority of those shares after Grandma’s death.

Now, at just three years old, while Old Master Fu was around fifty, Grandma was in her seventies and still physically robust. Fu Shizhao didn’t want to return to the Fu family; but he wanted to stay by Grandma’s side.

Instead of growing up and competing with the wolves and tigers for the shares, why not secure the “inheritance rights” from a young age?

Fu Shizhao didn’t have a particularly negative impression of Grandma. He knew that she wasn’t as intimidating as she appeared and had a softer side, longing for family happiness.

However, this generation of the Fu family was filled with wolves and tigers, and their motives for bringing their grandchildren closer to Grandma were far from pure. Grandma was getting older, and her mind wasn’t as sharp. She didn’t get close to them on a daily basis and lived alone in her own residence.

Old Master Fu and Grandma had also entered into a prestigious marriage.

Great Grandma had known about her son’s philandering tendencies and had informed Grandma Fu about it before their marriage. She had even promised that Grandma Fu(old master fu’s wife) could have her own private life after their marriage. Such arrangements weren’t uncommon in wealthy families.

Unfortunately, Grandma Fu was a proper lady with principles, which ultimately led to the tragedy that followed.

Fu Shizhao was fairly confident that he could stay by Great-Grandma’s side. After all, he had no background or ulterior motives, and Grandma already felt guilty about his biological father’s actions and his uncle’s past behavior. Her heart carried a burden for her son’s death, and she would likely be more lenient toward her own grandson.

Once he could secure that position, it would be a much smoother path. He wouldn’t be constantly surveilled as he was in the previous life, and he wouldn’t have to distance himself from the young master out of fear of causing trouble. He could grow up alongside the young master for a long, long time. After all, in the Fu family… no one dared to provoke Grandma.

However, he didn’t have any backing behind him. As long as he acted like he was spoiled and harmless, he wouldn’t pose a threat to them. In fact, they would try to please him in return.

Just as Fu Shizhao was lost in thought, Tang Mian suddenly placed something on his ear.

Fu Shizhao raised his little head in surprise and looked into Tang Mian’s smiling eyes. He instinctively reached for the object and took it off his ear. It was an artificial flower, the kind used for restaurant decoration.

It was quite pretty.

“Put it on, it looks good,” Tang Mian said with a mischievous smile. He took the flower back from Fu Shizhao’s hand and placed it back on his ear.

This time, Fu Shizhao didn’t take the flower off. He gazed at Tang Mian with his eyes twinkling. The only downside to this decision was that he wouldn’t be able to continue living with the young master. Although they would still attend the same kindergarten during the day, they wouldn’t be able to wash up and sleep together at night. Fu Shizhao felt that was quite a loss.

But when he weighed the pros and cons, he realized that it was worth enduring some inconvenience for the promise of a long and happy future.

Soon, Fu An returned to the restaurant with Fu Chuming. His gaze swept across the restaurant, and it landed on Fu Shizhao’s table. He cleared his throat and coughed a few times, unable to restrain himself.

He recognized the tall man at the table, Fu Yu, who was his brother’s comrade-in-arms. Due to a coincidence of last names, they had become close friends.

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However, he had never interacted with Fu Yu before, as his own health had always been poor, and he rarely left the capital. But what caught his attention was not Fu Yu, but the young boy beside him, who resembled his brother when he was younger. A thought exploded in his mind.

However, he didn’t approach them or ask any questions. Instead, he discreetly took a photo and then went straight to the front desk to inquire about the people at that table.

Mr. Tang… the Tang family… Although he hadn’t heard of them, they probably had no connection to the Fu family.

Fu An suspected that Fu Yu might be currently working for the Tang family.

After quietly noting down the information about Tang Minghuai, Fu An left.

If that child was indeed his brother’s son… and his brother had made the decision to keep him hidden, he would support his brother’s decision and not disrupt the child’s peaceful and ordinary life.

Since that day, Fu Yu had been feeling uneasy. Tang Minghuai had shown concern and had asked some questions, but when he realized that Fu Yu was reluctant to answer, he didn’t press further.

After all, everyone had their secrets.

He could only hope it wasn’t anything major.

But trouble still found its way to them.

On Monday, Tang Minghuai received an anxious phone call from his son. “Dad, Zhao Zhao is missing!” Tang Mian’s voice was filled with unprecedented urgency.

Tang Minghuai’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly informed Fu Yu about the situation. He asked Fu Yu to accompany him to the kindergarten to find out what had happened.

Fu Yu mumbled, “It must be them…”

“Who?” Tang Minghuai had an intuition that this was related to the incident at the restaurant a few days ago. Fu Yu pursed his lips but didn’t answer directly. Instead, he swiftly pulled out his keys from his pocket. “Sir, let’s go to the kindergarten first.”

Though Tang Minghuai had his doubts, he nodded and followed Fu Yu.

When they arrived at the kindergarten, Tang Mian had red eyes and was surrounded by a group of classmates trying to comfort him. However, it seemed to have little effect.

Upon seeing his father, Tang Mian rushed over.

“Zhao Zhao went to the bathroom and disappeared. The security guard said someone who claimed to be from his family took him away. Did bad people kidnap him?” Tang Mian actually had a clear suspicion that it was the Fu family’s people, but he had to continue pretending he knew nothing.

Fu Yu’s face grew even more grim upon hearing this.

Tang Minghuai comforted his youngest son while looking at Fu Yu, hesitating to speak. He finally asked, “Should we call the police?”

“I want to check somewhere first,” Fu Yu said with a dry voice.

“Where?” Tang Minghuai asked.

“Old Matriarch Fu’s birthday banquet at Wangyue Pavilion.”

—

Meanwhile, inside Wangyue Pavilion…

Fu An stared at Fu Shizhao, who had been brought by a illegitimate heir, with an unpleasant expression. He approached Grandma Fu as if making a religious offering.

Fu Shizhao looked extremely uncomfortable, blinking his big eyes with a bewildered expression. It was clear he had been brought here under false pretenses.

Fu An felt regret and anger deep inside.

It was easy to deduce the man’s intentions—he had “found” Fu Shizhao and established a connection with him in advance, making it easy to obtain custody. With Fu Shizhao’s status, it was sure to please Grandma.

However, at this moment, Fu Shizhao seemed frightened and suddenly burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably with big tears streaming down his face. The illegitimate heir who had brought Fu Shizhao panicked.

He had received a message confirming Fu Shizhao’s whereabouts, so he had immediately brought him to Grandma’s birthday banquet, intending to pull off this “borrowed plumes” act.

The child had been well-behaved, nodding obediently to everything he said during the journey, very cooperative and obedient. So why was he suddenly crying now?

Crying at the birthday banquet was highly inauspicious.

The man quickly grabbed Fu Shizhao’s arm, displaying impatience in his rough and hasty actions.

Grandma Fu observed all this and furrowed her brows slightly. Before she could say anything, the tearful little bundle that resembled a frightened rabbit broke free from the man’s grasp and rushed straight into her arms, like a startled bunny.

It had been a long time since Grandma Fu had interacted with a young child, and her body couldn’t help but stiffen.

That night, Tang Mian learned of Fu Shizhao and Fu Yu’s impending departure from the Tang family. Tang Mian was in a daze, and tears flowed down his face before his brain could even process the news.

Fu Shizhao was going to leave again, and it was happening so early.

Would they still have any interactions?

——

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