Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 75

In the new semester, Tang Mian and Fu Jiacao became desk mates.

Considering their habits and personal preferences, they weren’t the best match to share a desk.

Tang Mian was taller than Fu Jiacao and liked sitting at the back of the classroom for a wider view, while Fu Jiacao, being somewhat nearsighted, preferred sitting closer to the front to see the blackboard better.

However, in a new environment, both naturally leaned towards sitting with familiar people. At the beginning of the semester, seating was random, with a major reshuffle planned after mid-term exams. Eventually, they settled on seats in the middle row.

Tang Mian still found it a bit uncomfortable.

He wasn’t used to absentmindedly calling out for Fu Shizhao, only to realize his deskmate had changed. Nor was he accustomed to forgetting to refill his cup after drinking, always finding it empty. And he wasn’t used to encountering difficult problems without being able to turn to his nearby classmate for help.

It was the same when they were separated into different classes in the past, but by then, Uncle Fu Yu’s health was already very poor, and they were no longer kept in the dark. The doctor said he only had a few months left to live, and Uncle Fu Yu refused treatment, saying he didn’t want to suffer too much. They were powerless against this. During that time, both he and Fu Shizhao were very depressed, and compared to that, being separated into different classes wasn’t much of a discomfort.

Everything was fine in this life, without any twists and turns. Being separated into different classes was still a significant change for him now, and Tang Mian couldn’t help but feel a bit overdramatic.

He was always someone who preferred to stay in his comfort zone, not liking it when life’s trajectory changed too much. The experiences of the previous life had already worn him out, and this life, he didn’t want to live so tiredly anymore. Fu Jiacao seemed to be not very used to it either.

Despite their discomfort, they managed to adapt gradually. Tang Mian felt he was much better off compared to Fu Jiacao, who had been forcibly separated from his lover, while Tang Mian simply wasn’t used to suddenly changing his desk mate after more than a decade.

Keeping a distance from Fu Shizhao was also a good thing, so he wouldn’t always see shadows of the past life in Fu Shizhao of this life, which would only unsettle his heart.

After being separated into different classes and choosing art as his major, Tang Mian would have to juggle both art exams and regular subjects starting from the second semester of the first year.

During breaks, Mu Zichen would always drag Fu Jiacao to the rooftop. Fu Jiacao would often talk privately with Mu Zichen on the stairs leading to the rooftop.

Meanwhile, Tang Mian and Fu Shizhao would lean against the corridor railing, chatting aimlessly.

Cheng Ruan would occasionally join them, but more often, she’d be playing with other girls. She was very popular among the girls in the class.

Sometimes, Tang Mian would also ask Fu Shizhao some maths questions.

Outside the classroom, there was an unused desk, typically used for storing communal items in its drawers, and its surface was diligently cleaned by the assigned student every day.

Fu Shizhao would use this desk to explain problems to Tang Mian.

Fu Shizhao was an excellent teacher, and sometimes, other classmates would gather around to listen too.

Tang Mian noticed that one of the girls seemed to have a crush on Fu Shizhao.

Every time Fu Shizhao came during break time and Tang Mian asked him a maths question, that girl would casually approach and listen attentively for quite some time, occasionally interjecting to ask about things she didn’t understand.

Fu Shizhao was always gentle and polite to his classmates, so when the girl asked him questions, he patiently answered them.

Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao had caught them several times when they returned from their private conversations.

Maybe because the girl was shy, Mu Zichen, who usually liked to joke around, didn’t tease them but simply joined them to listen.

For some reason, Tang Mian didn’t feel like joking around either, and even felt annoyed by the girl’s presence. This wasn’t a good sign.

The Fu Shizhao from the previous life had been enough trouble for him. He couldn’t let his emotions from the past life affect his interactions with the Fu Shizhao of this life.

But gradually, Tang Mian chose not to ask Fu Shizhao questions during break time anymore.

The girl’s interruptions were affecting his time. Initially, he could ask Fu Shizhao 2-3 maths problems during one break, but because of the girl, he could only ask 1-2.

Sometimes, the girl would even bring her own prepared questions to ask Fu Shizhao, pushing Tang Mian aside. It really irritated Tang Mian.

Since Tang Mian stopped asking Fu Shizhao questions during break time and instead chatted with him by the railing, the girl couldn’t find an opportunity to talk to Fu Shizhao. She could only wait for Fu Shizhao to come over to Tang Mian and then invite her own friends to join them nearby, occasionally sneaking glances in their direction.

Her intentions were so obvious.

Tang Mian pretended not to notice. After all, it wasn’t like Fu Shizhao had a crush on her anyway.

Back in junior high, there were people who had written love letters to Fu Shizhao before, so this wasn’t the first time he’d encountered this kind of situation.

However, it was the first time someone had “used” Tang Mian to get close to Fu Shizhao, and Tang Mian didn’t like being used, so he felt somewhat annoyed.

Fu Shizhao naturally noticed the girl and also saw some of Tang Mian’s subtle actions, which put him in a very good mood.

He couldn’t refuse the girl’s questions, mainly because she and Tang Mian were classmates, and he didn’t want to embarrass Tang Mian. After all, it was just a matter of explaining a bit more.

At first, the girl just stood quietly on the side, listening to him explain problems to Tang Mian. Occasionally, if she didn’t understand something, she would ask a question, but it didn’t really disturb them.

Later, the girl became bolder and brought out her own prepared questions, taking up the time he spent explaining things to Tang Mian. He was starting to feel a bit unhappy about it.

Fortunately, before he could react, on the second day, third day, fourth day… and so on, Tang Mian didn’t ask him any questions during break time, but instead waited until evening to self-study or when they were leaving school to ask him.

He was very happy about that.

Regardless of Tang Mian’s reasons.

However, Fu Shizhao gradually noticed that Tang Mian was striking up conversations again with that “friend” – the friend from his previous life, the one with whom he had a falling out. That person’s name was Wei Haifan.

Like Ye Yun, he only barely met the cutoff score for admission to a prestigious high school through family connections. But he was different from Ye Yun.

Ye Yun continued studying science in high school and had been working hard throughout the last semester, climbing several ranks in the class. When the final exam results came out, he screenshot his position and sent it to Tang Mian, eagerly seeking praise. Tang Mian replied with his usual two-word response: “Very good.”

Perhaps due to some similarities between Ye Yun and Fu Shizhao in certain aspects, Tang Mian liked this kind of puppy-like personality and didn’t find it annoying.

Of course—not that he liked him in any romantic sense. Tang Mian treated Ye Yun like a child.

On the other hand, Wei Haifan continued to slack off, even though he had been placed in a prestigious high school. He had no interest in studying and consistently ranked last in the class.

However, he had an outgoing personality and many friends. He seemed to value friendships a lot, and in the previous life, Tang Mian had found him easy to get along with because of his personality.

If it were just that, Fu Shizhao wouldn’t be petty enough to feel jealous of Tang Mian’s friends. But behind his back, Wei Haifan made many lewd comments about Tang Mian.

He said Tang Mian was pretty, deaf in one ear, and looked like a cute little rabbit when he took off his hearing aid. He also said Tang Mian was very dependent on people, easy to deceive, had very slender and long legs, and must be great in bed…

Fu Shizhao really felt like he had gone easy on him in the previous life.

Fortunately, Wei Haifan was currently in a relationship, and his interactions with Tang Mian were limited to occasional conversations. It wasn’t as intense as it had been in the previous life.

Or perhaps… Wei Haifan hadn’t stopped dating since high school. It was the same in the previous life. The only difference was that he was different from Mu Zichen in the previous life.

In his previous life, Mu Zichen simply liked pretty people and never crossed any boundaries during high school. His relationships were purely innocent, limited to holding hands, hugs, and kisses at most. If it didn’t work out, they would amicably break up without causing any trouble.

Relationships based solely on looks were indeed easy to break. The quickest breakup he had witnessed was when two people realized their personalities didn’t match within a single day and immediately split up. That’s why Mu Zichen had so many relationship experiences.

Wei Haifan, on the other hand, had already slept with someone in high school and even took a girl to get an abortion. He found it troublesome and heartlessly broke up with the girl after giving her some hush money.

The girl came from an ordinary family, and her parents were honest and conservative people. She didn’t dare to make a big fuss about the situation, so she let it go.

Tang Mian was unaware of this incident, as it was something Fu Shizhao had secretly investigated in the previous life.

Fu Shizhao still remembered the name of that girl. She was Wei Haifan’s current girlfriend, and their relationship was going well. However, he didn’t know how far they had progressed at the moment.

Fu Shizhao considered warning the girl, so he got a new phone number and sent her a text message to be cautious about Wei Haifan. However, she promptly blocked him.

Fu Shizhao didn’t bother to continue with any futile efforts.

People in love tend to be blind to advice, and no matter how well-intentioned the advice, it often falls on deaf ears. Worse, it might even cause trouble for oneself. They were originally strangers with no connection, so Fu Shizhao’s decision to simply observe was already the most he could do. Not everything one wishes to change can be changed. He didn’t have the energy to sympathize with others. He could only watch silently as things unfolded.

As an art student who needed to balance cultural subjects and art exams, Tang Mian spent his Saturday mornings attending classes and then went to the studio to paint in the afternoons.

Even though it wasn’t time for intense training yet, Tang Mian wanted to get a head start to make things easier later on.

After all, having lived a life already, he didn’t have the same carefree attitude as kids his age. When Tang Mian focused, he could paint in the studio until nightfall, only occasionally taking breaks to stretch and clean his brushes.

Drawing was much easier than shouldering the burden of a dilapidated family business as in the previous life, especially when it was something he loved.

For this reason, after playing basketball on Saturdays, Fu Shizhao didn’t go home but stayed at school to do homework, keeping Tang Mian company. Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao would also join them, though most of the time, they just used it as an excuse to have a rendezvous.

Since they weren’t yet adults and hadn’t graduated from high school, they had to be accountable to their families even on weekends. It wasn’t that their parents were strict; they were just concerned about their safety. Going out was allowed, but Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao’s budding romance wasn’t something their parents knew about, so their dates had to be kept secret.

Being in a prestigious high school, it wasn’t uncommon for students to stay at school on weekends to study. Somehow, word got out, and the girl from Tang Mian’s class who used to ask Fu Shizhao questions started spending weekends at school for self-study too.

One of the girl’s friends was also an art student, and she would come to the studio with her friend, taking the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Fu Shizhao, who was quietly doing his homework.

While Tang Mian appeared to be painting, he was actually listening intently to the conversation on their side.

“Sorry, I’m working on a problem, and it’s messing with my thoughts,” Fu Shizhao said.

“Oh… I’m sorry, I’ll leave you to it,” the girl replied, somewhat dejectedly, before quietly leaving.

“Um… hold on, I’m timing myself writing this paper, I’ll talk in a bit,” Fu Shizhao said. “Oh… then I won’t disturb you for now,” the girl replied.

Tang Mian was feeling quite good.

Later, Fu Shizhao moved his desk and chair next to Tang Mian, closer to the wall, so they were pressed together, and the girl didn’t come over to him much after that.

However, Tang Mian wasn’t paying much attention while painting, and he accidentally got paint on Fu Shizhao’s pants. Fu Shizhao didn’t mind though; he just smiled and said it looked pretty.

In a good mood, Tang Mian drew a little dog doodle on Fu Shizhao’s pant leg. The paint was easy to wash off—just soak and scrub, and it would disappear.

But Fu Shizhao didn’t wash it off; he carefully kept it.

Finally, as the day wore on, Tang Mian decided to stay in the studio to paint in the evening. Fu Shizhao got up on his own initiative to go to the cafeteria to buy dinner for both of them. Shortly after Fu Shizhao left, the girl hurriedly followed him. At the corner of the studio, she stopped Fu Shizhao.

Fu Shizhao listened calmly as the girl confessed her feelings to him—in from one ear and out from the other, as the saying goes. Seeing the girl’s flushed face and nervously pursed lips, Fu Shizhao finally spoke, his voice calm.

“Sorry, I already have someone I like.”

Tang Mian, who was secretly following them: “Oh!!”

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I will try to upload all the chapters this month.