Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 69

The next morning when Fu Shizhao woke up, he found Tang Mian had taken the initiative to hug him, still with closed eyes and breathing evenly, his long eyelashes drooping down, lips tightly closed.

It was still early, just a little past seven. There hadn’t been a single star visible all night yesterday, and as expected, it was raining today.

The rain was light, the gauze window was left open, and the rain falling on it made a slightly muffled sound. There was nothing placed beside the window, so it didn’t matter if some rain came in, so Fu Shizhao didn’t bother to close it.

There was only one day a week he didn’t have to get up early, so he was too lazy to get out of bed. He continued to let Tang Mian hold him, staring at his sleeping face absentmindedly.
Sixteen-year-old Tang Mian… His features were gradually maturing, the most vivid image in his memory.
Thinking carefully, his personality wasn’t much different from his previous life. He was just a bit more willful, which made him more likable, and a bit less melancholic after experiencing ups and downs. He was still that spirited young man.

After making sure Tang Mian was really sound asleep, Fu Shizhao lightly planted a fleeting kiss on his cheek. Unlike the two kisses last night, this one was even closer to his lips.

But he still didn’t dare to go too far, after all, liking someone meant restraining oneself. He had been reminding himself of this for many years.

He didn’t drink much last night, and Tang Mian had fed him a small bowl of hangover soup, so Fu Shizhao woke up this morning feeling perfectly fine. On the contrary, he had dreamless sleep and felt incredibly comfortable all over.

Fu Shizhao gently withdrew his arm, picked up the phone beside him, and glanced at it. Mu Zichen probably hadn’t woken up yet, otherwise, it wouldn’t be this quiet, and he wouldn’t have received any messages.

Fu Shizhao opened the conversation window with a contact labeled “Fu Chuming” and quickly read through the messages he had sent, replying briefly with a few sentences and an emoji.

Over the years, he had kept in touch with his younger uncle. Although they didn’t openly meet frequently, ever since the incident in ninth grade, he had had an open conversation with his uncle, who naturally stood by his side.

His uncle’s health wasn’t very good, but whether it was due to the butterfly effect of his influence, he seemed to be doing much better than in the previous life.

In his previous life, he was brought back to the Fu family in the second year of high school after his uncle’s death. This time, the first half of his first year of high school had already passed, and although his uncle still drank Chinese medicine every day, there weren’t any major issues.

The messages from Fu Chuming congratulated him on his achievements in the sports meet and basketball game, saying that both he and his uncle and aunt were proud of him, and that was about it.

He had met his aunt a few times, he knew she was a gentle woman.

Fu Chuming was also in the same high school as them, but he was two years older and was now in his final year, preparing for the college entrance examination. His name was always on the school’s honor roll, consistently ranking in the top three of his grade.

Fu Shizhao didn’t drag Tang Mian along to bother him, only bumping into him in the cafeteria and having a meal together.

The time in senior year was tight, and eating felt like being on a battlefield. Tang Mian left a deep impression on him, especially since he had once seen Tang Mian fearlessly catch several bees barehanded when they were kids.

Fu Chuming also had a deep impression of Tang Mian, remembering how much he loved strawberries and how caring he was. He remembered how Fu Shizhao would only call Tang Mian “gege.”

In his previous life, Fu Chuming was melancholic due to his uncle’s death, but this time, there had been a significant change, although he couldn’t be considered entirely innocent.

His uncle could be said to be the most capable among their generation, but unfortunately, his health was poor, and he had always remained aloof from family affairs, not participating in the competition for family inheritance.

But the son he raised was no less capable than him.

Fu Shizhao enjoyed being around capable and intelligent people.

Once he and Fu Chuming were in college, he could really “take action.” By then, he would need to involve Mu Zichen, just like they did in his previous life. With the support of Great-Grandma’s shares and influence, it would be much easier than his previous life.

Finally, he wouldn’t have to resort to strategies that hurt both sides.

This time, he had Tang Mian by his side.

Just then, Tang Mian suddenly stirred on him, shifting his legs to a more comfortable position, as if about to wake up.

Fu Shizhao placed his phone back beside the pillow and turned his gaze back to Tang Mian’s face, interested in witnessing his waking process. To his surprise, Tang Mian only adjusted to a more comfortable position and drifted back to sleep.

After all, he had been sleepless until dawn last night, so he probably wouldn’t wake up before noon today. Even if he briefly woke up, he would likely go back to sleep.

Fu Shizhao waited for a while, but he only heard the even rhythm of breathing. Helpless, he tightened his hold on Tang Mian a bit more, closed his eyes, listened to the sound of rain outside the window, and accompanied him back into the realm of dreams.

********

After the drunken incident, Tang Mian happily discarded the light pink kitty-patterned underwear and carefully checked his wardrobe to ensure no remaining “fish got away” before fully relaxing.

Since that day, Fu Shizhao hadn’t touched alcohol again.

Tang Mian tentatively asked- Fu Shizhao probably didn’t remember what happened that night. Tang Mian breathed a sigh of relief and only explained the origin of the small dog balloon, brushing over the rest.

Mu Zichen was truly drunk. He didn’t come to Sunday evening self-study, took Monday off as well, and only showed up on Tuesday morning.

Tang Mian mercilessly mocked him for his poor alcohol tolerance and compared him to Fu Shizhao, who woke up the next day as if nothing had happened.

Mu Zichen, unusually, didn’t retort much. He just sneakily passed something under the table to Fu Jiacao.

Fu Shizhao keenly noticed the subtle atmosphere between Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao, but Tang Mian, being oblivious, didn’t pick up on anything, so Fu Shizhao didn’t say much either.

Tang Mian was still waiting for Mu Zichen to turn into a womanizer like in his previous life. He didn’t expect that towards the end of the first semester of their freshman year, he would receive earth-shattering news.

Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao were together.

At that time, there was a lot of buzz about class allocations, with many people debating whether to choose arts or sciences, or whether to pursue arts or sports.

Tang Mian had already told his family that he intended to choose “arts – fine arts,” and his family respected his decision, including Fu Shizhao, who felt a bit disappointed.

In truth, Tang Mian was also reluctant to lose Fu Shizhao, who was like a top-notch caregiver and deskmate. He brought delicious breakfast from his home side in the morning, took notes together in class, brought snacks during breaks, explained problems to him first when he didn’t understand, and even brewed tea and coffee for him when he felt tired…

But you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

In the evening they filled out their subject preferences, and Tang Mian learned about Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao being together. Tang Mian felt like he was petrified for a long time.

His first reaction was: it’s over, their four-person group was about to break up.

The second reaction was: how could Mu Zichen be so shameless as to eat the grass by his nest? Did he have no morals or bottom line?

The third reaction was: he sneakily whispered into Fu Shizhao’s ear with a complicated expression on his face.

The time after the last class in the evening was relatively long, ten minutes, and then there was a five-minute break. The teacher didn’t require anything of them during this time. They could go to the playground to run or relax, or they could take a nap to replenish their energy. When the official bell rang, they were expected to study quietly.

When the bell rang, Tang Mian dragged Fu Shizhao to the playground.

There weren’t too many people on the playground, some were chatting in groups of three or four, and some were jogging.

Soon, Tang Mian noticed that Fu Shizhao seemed unsurprised by the whole situation as if he had anticipated it long ago.

“You knew about this already?” Tang Mian questioned.

Fu Shizhao chuckled lightly, “I knew about it along with you.”

“Why aren’t you surprised then?” Tang Mian frowned.

Fu Shizhao explained patiently, “I noticed it. Things have been off between them since the sports meet especially after the drunken incident. Or perhaps, there were signs even earlier.”

Tang Mian lowered his head in thought for a moment.

A student running past almost bumped into him, but Fu Shizhao quickly pulled him closer.

After about a minute of contemplation, Tang Mian admitted honestly, “I didn’t see it at all.”

Fu Shizhao looked helpless, “Maybe you’re a bit slow in this aspect.” In his mind, Fu Shizhao deleted the word “maybe.” He was indeed quite slow.

Tang Mian didn’t argue. After a few more seconds of silence, he asked the question that had been weighing on his mind, “What if they break up?” He only dared to ask Fu Shizhao this question.

Fu Shizhao’s eyes twinkled with amusement, thinking to himself that nobody thought about breaking up right after getting together.

But he understood that Tang Mian asked because of the influence from his previous life. Patiently, he explained, “Maybe they’ll go a long way. Jiacao seems like a devoted person, and Zichen has always been very caring towards Jiacao since elementary school. If they chose to be together, it must have been a well-considered decision.”

Fu Shizhao’s words seemed to have an effect. Tang Mian lowered his head again, deep in thought.

It seemed to make sense.

As Mu Zichen grew older, his flirtatious remarks became more frequent, and he occasionally indulged in risqué jokes with them.

Tang Mian had always perceived Mu Zichen as a womanizer, but now, nearing the end of their freshman year, Mu Zichen wasn’t following the script from his previous life.

It was his preconceived notion.

They had known each other since elementary school, almost ten years now. Mu Zichen treated Fu Jiacao with care, and since the first day of school in first grade when Fu Jiacao called him “gege,” he had embraced that role perfectly, even better than he treated Fu Shizhao.

He knew deep down that he often “teased” Fu Shizhao, but Mu Zichen didn’t. Mu Zichen had always treated Fu Jiacao like a younger brother.

But Tang Mian still couldn’t quite understand.

For ten years, Mu Zichen had always treated Fu Jiacao like a younger brother, and Fu Jiacao initially called Mu Zichen “gege.” It was only after they entered junior high that he stopped using that term.

Their dynamic seemed similar to his and Fu Shizhao’s. Why were these two still together?

Tang Mian couldn’t wrap his head around it, so he turned to Fu Shizhao, hoping to find some answers from him.

Fu Shizhao pursed his lips, stopped in his tracks, and lowered his gaze, looking at Tang Mian illuminated by the moonlight. He probably knew why Tang Mian couldn’t see the ambiguity between Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao.

— He automatically compared their dynamic to his own with Tang Mian. But their dynamic wasn’t “right” to begin with.

“They don’t have a blood relationship, so why can’t they be together?” Fu Shizhao said lightly, though his palms were sweating slightly. He was asking about Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao, but also asking about himself and Tang Mian.