Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 40

Tang Mian had indeed given Fu Shizhao a little “lesson” after he had called Mu Zichen “big brother” due to the script, and he successfully convinced Fu Shizhao to only call him “big brother” from then on. However, Tang Mian never expected that Fu Shizhao would apply the lessons from that night to today.

Under normal circumstances, Tang Mian would be delighted, considering his “educational efforts on his little brother” plan highly successful. But now, with so many pairs of eyes on him, he felt a bit uneasy.

The old lady couldn’t help but laugh and explained to Fu An and Fu Chuming, “Zhao Zhao gets along best with his big brother, so he doesn’t want to call anyone else ‘big brother.’ Besides, the age difference isn’t that big, so calling each other by their names is more friendly.”

Tang Mian breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, it made sense. In his own family, many cousins and relatives who were close in age often called each other by their first names or nicknames.

Fu An, seeing the old lady’s favor towards Fu Shizhao, didn’t mind whether he called his son “big brother” or not. The stone that had been hanging in his heart finally fell.

For Fu Shizhao to receive the old lady’s favor and be allowed to stay with her was the best outcome possible.

Among the younger generation of the Fu family, many had tried to get close to the old lady, but without exception, they had all been rebuffed. The old lady had never favored anyone.

“Xiaoyun, are the strawberries ready?” the old lady asked, shifting her gaze to the maid standing nearby.

Xiaoyun nodded quickly, saying, “I’ll go get them.”

Soon, a large plate of ripe, fresh strawberries was placed in front of everyone. The strawberries glistened with dewdrops from being rinsed with cold water, their leaves and stems cleanly removed. They were so tempting that even adults couldn’t help but pop one into their mouths.

Tang Mian’s eyes lit up at the sight, but he didn’t immediately reach for one. After all, he was a guest in someone else’s home, and basic courtesy was necessary. He didn’t want to leave any unfavourable impressions on the old lady.

Seeing Tang Mian’s hesitation, the old lady smiled and said, “Feel free to take some. Treat it like your own home.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Mian extended his small hand and picked up a strawberry, taking a bite. His eyes squinted in happiness.

Fu Shizhao observed all of his reactions. His young master was pretty easily satisfied—a single strawberry was enough for him.

In his previous life, before he was found by the Fu family, he would sometimes annoy Tang Mian for fun. For example, once after a performance, his mischievous side took over and he asked Tang Mian to dress-up in women’s clothing just for him to see..

Every time he managed to get on Tang Mian’s nerves, Fu Shizhao would buy some strawberries or strawberry-related items and send them over, to calm him down.

The way they both found comfort in such things was truly unique, as if it were encoded in their DNA and an inherent part of their nature.

Just like strawberries were to Tang Mian.

Just like Tang Mian was to him.

The old lady then turned to the maid and said, “Have someone get more strawberries, clean them, and send them home with Mian Mian in return for the flowers.”

The meaning of the last two words could only be understood by them.

The flower still dangled from the old lady’s ear, untouched.

Tang Mian had strawberry juice smeared on corners of his mouth as he smiled brightly at her, looking incredibly cute.

Tonight, he would call his mother and the maid to cut some flowers and bring them to the old lady tomorrow.

Fu An also realized, a bit belatedly, that the old lady not only doted on Fu Shizhao but also showed no less affection toward this child named Tang Mian.

Was it because of the “love for one’s home extends to everything within it”? Well, it didn’t seem quite like that. Such a level of care and affection would go beyond that phrase.

Fu Chuming, who stood beside his father, stared longingly at the strawberries but didn’t dare to take one. He was very afraid of his great-grandmother.

Even though his great-grandmother had never scolded him and hadn’t really spoken to him much, he had an inexplicable fear of her.

Perhaps it was the natural apprehension children felt towards elders and authoritative figures. Plus, his father always made him do things to please and get closer to the old lady, which made him even more resistant to interacting with her.

Tang Mian had long noticed Fu Chuming’s longing eyes towards the strawberries as he hesitated to pick one.

From their brief interaction earlier, Tang Mian guessed that Fu Chuming was probably an introverted and shy child. He seemed to have a weaker constitution, much like his father, who frequently coughed. Despite being a year or two older than Tang Mian and Fu Shizhao, he appeared physically smaller and frailer.

He was indeed a delicate child.

Seeing him hesitating to approach and eat the strawberries, Tang Mian felt a bit anxious. So, he decided to pick up a strawberry and put it in Fu Chuming’s mouth.

It was his way of making up for the fact that Fu Chu Ming couldn’t manage to call him “brother” earlier.

Tang Mian couldn’t help but feel a bit smug about it.

With a strawberry in his mouth, Fu Chu Ming looked at Tang Mian in a dazed manner, then he raised his little hand, took a bite of the strawberry, and found it sweet.

Fu Chu Ming also ate slowly, and by the time he finished one strawberry, Tang Mian had already eaten three.

Seeing him finish, Tang Mian picked up another strawberry and offered it to Fu Chuming.

Fu Chuming gently bit into it, lowered his head slightly, and softly said, “Thank you.”

Fu Shizhao observed all of this, and he couldn’t help but smile.

Inside, Fu Shizhao knew that Tang Mian had a good heart and was very capable of taking care of children and people around him. However, he wouldn’t miss any opportunity to act cute in front of Tang Mian. Suddenly, he spoke up, saying, “I want big brother to feed me too.”

Tang Mian sighed internally but complied. He picked up another strawberry and offered it to Fu Shizhao.

Fu Shizhao happily bit into the strawberry, feeling like it was the most delicious one he had ever eaten. If he had a tail, it would probably be wagging furiously right now.

The old lady observed the interaction between the three children and couldn’t help but smile. In the past, when the younger generation brought two or three children to her, she often found it noisy or uninteresting. Today, however, was different. Watching these three kids eat strawberries all evening didn’t bore her at all.

But she knew that they shouldn’t overindulge in strawberries. It could affect their digestion. She counted the strawberries Tang Mian had eaten and stopped him from reaching for another one, using a tissue to wipe his little hand.

Tang Mian blinked at her.

“You’ve had enough strawberries for today. Eating more wouldn’t be good for your health,” the old lady explained.

Tang Mian nodded obediently, taking the tissue and gently wiping his hand. He didn’t reach for another strawberry.

Fu An was beginning to understand why the old lady liked this child so much. Tang Mian was cute, polite, well-behaved, and good at taking care of people. Nobody could dislike such a child. He found himself quite fond of Tang Mian as well.

After using tissues to clean up the strawberry juice on their hands and faces, and seeing that Fu An seemed to want to talk to the old lady, Fu Yu suggested taking the three children to wash their hands. He thought it would be a good idea to explore the house before dinner while they still had time.

The maid, who knew the layout of the house much better than Fu Yu, joined them instead of staying behind.

Fu Chuming, who initially didn’t want to leave his father’s side, suddenly had his hand held by Tang Mian. He hesitated for a moment but then followed along with the group.

Fu An was somewhat surprised by this, but he was mostly relieved. His son was quite introverted, and if spending time with these people could make him more outgoing, that was a good thing.

With Tang Mian leading them while holding one of their hands each, they left the room. Tang Mian had taken on the role of a big brother, and when you thought about it, he really was a big brother now.

—

After washing up, the three kids followed Fu Yu and the maid into the courtyard of the residence.

The house was situated against a hillside, with a winding river running through it. A traditional-style pavilion stood by the river, and both sides of the riverbank were covered in fresh green grass, with no flowers planted. On the side closer to the mountain, there were quite a few bamboo plants.

The maid engaged in casual conversation with Fu Yu.

“Old Madam used to be stung by bees, so she’s afraid of attracting them by planting flowers.”

“But she does like flowers. She has fresh flowers delivered from a florist every week.”

These were not secrets, and most people in the Beijing social circle who wanted to establish a good relationship with the Fu family knew about it.

She shared this information with them in the hope that they could better please the old lady. Living alone for a long time had made her quite lonely, so having some liveliness in the house was a good thing.

 Fu Shizhao, after listening, glanced at Tang Mian and casually said, “Big brother is also afraid of bees, he even got teased by a bee until he cried.”

Tang Mian immediately covered his mouth with his hand, not allowing him to continue.

Fu Shizhao: “Mmm…”

The maid, upon seeing this, giggled and noticed the hearing aid in Tang Mian’s right ear, saying, “Mian Mian does seem to have a special connection with the old lady.”

The group eventually stopped by a small vegetable garden.

“This is the old madam’s vegetable garden, but most of the time, we take care of it, especially in recent spring when the cauliflower blossoms attract many bees. So, the old lady doesn’t come here often,” the maid explained.

Some of the flowers had extended beyond the vegetable garden’s boundaries, and Tang Mian, with his sharp eyes, noticed two bees collecting nectar just a short distance from them.

Tang Mian’s brain hadn’t fully processed the situation when he had already swiftly moved behind Fu Shizhao.

On the other hand, Fu Chuming, seeing this, quickly analyzed the current information:

Tang Mian had fed him strawberries,

Tang Mian was nice to him, so he wanted to be nice to Tang Mian,

Tang Mian was scared of bees, bees were bad, and he wanted to make the bad things disappear in front of Tang Mian.

Just as Tang Mian took cover behind Fu Shizhao, Fu Chuming took a bold step forward. With a swift and precise movement, he grabbed the bee closest to them and flung it to the other side of the vegetable garden.

He repeated this action.

Fu Shizhao: “…”

Tang Mian: “!!!”

What happened to the delicate little boy???

—

I’ve been really busy these days with assignments sighh..and the festival season is here in our country so everyone is busy preparing for it, including me!

I hope ya’ll enjoy the chapter!