Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 67
“I won’t go back, I won’t go back, don’t cry.” Tang Mian quickly reached out and wiped away his tears with his fingertips. The tears on his fingers became more and more, as if a dam had burst. Tang Mian suddenly panicked.
Fu Shizhao used to be quite fragile when he was young, he would cry at the drop of a hat. He really had a mean streak to come up with such a method to make him drink the hangover soup. Tang Mian deeply regretted it and quickly took out a tissue from the table to wipe away his tears.
“Gege, do you not like me anymore?” Fu Shizhao sniffed and looked at Tang Mian with red eyes.
His light brown eyes were moist, flowing with light, as if they could see through people’s hearts. Tang Mian instinctively denied it: “No, why would you think that? How could I not like you?”
When Fu Shizhao was young, he cared a lot about whether Tang Mian liked him or not. He was afraid of doing something that would make him dislike him. He would always secretly ask him before going to sleep if he still liked him today, and only when he received a positive answer would he close his eyes and sleep.
Tang Mian was already relatively dull in terms of emotions and coupled with Fu Shizhao’s childish actions tonight, he automatically associated Fu Shizhao with the image of a three-year-old child, without thinking too much about it.
“Then, gege, kiss me.” Fu Shizhao, taking advantage of Tang Mian wiping his tears, held his wrist and brought his face closer, pointing to his own cheek that Tang Mian had wiped clean. Tang Mian was slightly stunned. Kiss…kiss…
He still remembered that on the first day of his rebirth, he made Fu Shizhao cry and said he would never kiss him again. At that time, Fu Shizhao thought that kissing meant not liking him, and he cried for a long time, his little face all wrinkled.
After they grew up, Tang Mian never kissed him again, and Fu Shizhao never asked for it again. After all, such intimate gestures were only normal and reasonable between children, lovers, and older relatives. Their country also did not have the custom of cheek kisses.
He and Fu Shizhao…although they had a good relationship, like brothers, they were not blood-related after all. To be precise, they should be childhood friends.
By a twist of fate, Tang Mian suddenly remembered the post that Fu Shizhao showed him about their childhood friendship when he got injured while blocking the ball on the basketball court. In the post, someone mentioned their childhood friend relationship and it was described as…quite ambiguous. Tang Mian suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
Seeing Tang Mian hesitating to refuse, Fu Shizhao’s tears fell again, looking pitiful like an abandoned dog. The hand that Tang Mian was holding the tissue with also got stained with cool tears, which made him snap back to reality and quickly wipe away his tears.
Meanwhile, Tang Mian’s heart wavered slightly.
Continuing to let him cry wasn’t a good idea either. What if he wakes up tomorrow not only feeling hungover but also with swollen eyes? It’s Sunday tomorrow, and although there were no classes during the day, there’s still evening self-study. It wouldn’t be good if his eyes were swollen, seen by so many classmates.
There was no one else here besides them. Drunk Fu Shizhao was just a three-year-old child. Drunk people wouldn’t remember what happened that night when they woke up the next day.
Tang Mian gradually convinced himself and pulled out a few clean tissues to wipe away his tears, comforting him, “Don’t cry, dear, here’s a kiss.”
Fu Shizhao blinked and indeed stopped crying. His eyelashes were still moist.
Tang Mian wiped away the tears from his eyelashes again and gathered the courage to gently kiss his cheek. In a place Tang Mian couldn’t see, Fu Shizhao’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and a hint of victorious satisfaction flashed in his eyes. He wasn’t drunk.
How could he let himself get drunk? It wouldn’t be good if he said something foolish after drinking, especially since he wasn’t ready to be completely honest with Tang Mian yet. Even in his past life, he rarely got himself drunk.
The few times he did, he made sure to lock himself in his room and remove his phone’s SIM card beforehand.
The next day, he found out that he had made many calls to Tang Mian, but because he had removed his SIM card, none of them went through. Losing control under the influence of alcohol was terrifying.
Whether in his past life or this one, he wouldn’t easily allow himself to get drunk. Tonight, although it seemed like he had been drinking a lot with Mu Zichen, he had secretly switched the drinks.
Tang Mian was focused on cooking hotpot and listening to their conversation, so he didn’t notice his little actions. Most of Fu Jiacao’s attention was on Mu Zichen, and he didn’t notice him either. Mu Zichen was truly drunk and didn’t notice anything.
The purpose of doing this was self-evident
It had been a long time since he had used tears as a weapon. After all, he was grown up and cared about his reputation. But now, there were only him and Tang Mian here.
He didn’t mind losing face in front of Tang Mian. The fleeting cheek kiss left Fu Shizhao very satisfied. After the kiss, he successfully pacified Tang Mian and finally managed to feed him the small bowl of sobering soup.
However, after finishing the drink, Fu Shizhao took advantage of the situation and pointed to his cheek again, asking for another kiss as a reward.
Tang Mian: “…….”
Three-year-old Fu Shizhao wouldn’t have pushed it that far. Yet, Tang Mian quickly kissed his cheek, granting him that reward. After all, once something was done, and the barrier in the heart was broken through, it didn’t matter much anymore. He just hoped that Fu Shizhao would behave until bedtime and not shed tears again.
Fu Shizhao, in a good mood, reached out to touch the small dog balloon tied to the chair and softly hummed the theme song of the animated series “Meow Woof Family,” which he often sang to Tang Mian when they were kids.
It had been a long time since Fu Shizhao sang that song. Hearing the melody, Tang Mian felt it was very familiar, but for a moment, he couldn’t recall the name and origin of the song. It was only after listening to a few lines that he finally remembered.
When they were young, Fu Shizhao often sang that song to cheer him up. The difference was that Fu Shizhao’s voice back then was soft and cute, very adorable. Now his voice was clear and pleasant, giving a different feeling altogether.
Really… he thought he had turned into a child again.
Tang Mian’s eyes curved slightly. Unable to resist, he got up and patted his head, then picked up the cup belonging to Fu Shizhao from the table and went to the automatic water dispenser, pouring him warm water.
Fu Shizhao’s smiling gaze remained glued to him as he continued humming the childish melody.
He knew how to soften Tang Mian’s heart, how to cheer him up. This was his privilege in this new life.
Soon, Tang Mian brought over a glass of water for him to rinse his mouth. He didn’t dare let Fu Shizhao brush his teeth; he was afraid some accident might happen, like if Fu Shizhao suddenly didn’t want to continue brushing halfway through with his mouth full of foam.
It was getting cold, so there was no need for a bath that night. After the last basketball game that morning, Fu Shizhao took a shower and changed into clean clothes, not sweating anymore in the evening, so there was no need for a bath.
But he had to change into pajamas, or else the smell of alcohol and hotpot would stick to the bed, which would be uncomfortable.
After rinsing his mouth, Tang Mian brought him the pajamas and said, “Change your clothes.”
“Okay.” Fu Shizhao blinked, took the pajamas, and obediently took off his outerwear.
He was finally cooperating, Tang Mian let out a relieved sigh. First, he took off his coat, then his shirt and pants. In no time, Fu Shizhao stood before him completely naked.
Tang Mian took the clothes from him and urged, “Quickly put on your pajamas. It’s chilly, be careful not to catch a cold.”
“Okay,” Fu Shizhao said, but then, with a serious expression, he proceeded to put on the pajamas inside out right in front of Tang Mian.
Tang Mian:
Quickly hanging up the clothes on a nearby hanger, Tang Mian walked back to Fu Shizhao and helped him put on the pajamas. When Fu Shizhao used to button up the wrong buttons or wear his clothes inside out as a child, it was always Tang Mian who noticed first and helped him correct it.
Though Tang Mian’s brows were slightly furrowed, he felt deeply moved inside. Nostalgia and revisiting old memories always stirred up emotions uncontrollably.
So much time had passed… that little guy had grown up smoothly under his care. Quite decently, too. Although they sometimes bickered, most of the time, Fu Shizhao listened to him. Their relationship was still intact, unlike in the previous life, where they gradually drifted apart. This time around, almost everything and everyone was moving in the direction he had hoped for.
As Tang Mian finished buttoning up the last button on Fu Shizhao’s pajamas, he instinctively looked up, intending to tell him to lie down in bed while he changed into his pajamas and turned off the lights to sleep. However, he saw Fu Shizhao suddenly lean down and swiftly plant a kiss on his cheek.
“I like Gege too,” he said as if responding to the two kisses from before. Fu Shizhao used to do this often when he was younger.
As if struck by lightning, Tang Mian’s heart started racing, his body tensed slightly, and his ears felt hot.
“Um… you go lie down in bed first. I’ll… I’ll take a shower and come back to turn off the lights and sleep,” Tang Mian hurriedly left these words and headed straight for the bathroom, slamming the door shut with a bang.
Fu Shizhao straightened up, touching his lips and savoring the sensation from earlier. He leisurely walked to the bed, picked up Tang Mian’s forgotten pajamas, and his eyes twinkled with amusement.
Always so silly.
This time, he really would be left with nothing if he continued to be fooled like this.
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Sorry for the delayed chapter, I caught a cold. ???