Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 77

In the end, it was Fu Shizhao who bought a whole box of takoyaki for Tang Mian in the snack street to calm him down.

The takoyaki was flavored with teriyaki sauce and topped with plenty of shredded meat.

Freshly baked and piping hot, the taste was quite good, although a bit dry. Fu Shizhao thoughtfully bought him a cup of strawberry milk pudding. With a mouthful of takoyaki and a sip of milk tea, Tang Mian completely forgot about Fu Shizhao sneaking the last takoyaki from him. Fu Shizhao noticed everything, with a clear smile in his eyes, and continued to look for new delicious stalls. He knew exactly how to please Tang Mian.

In the end, Fu Shizhao bought a strawberry mousse, strawberry ice cream, and a string of strawberry candied haws.

It happened to be the season for strawberries in China, and strawberries and related products were everywhere. Tang Mian’s strawberry consumption soared.

But one shouldn’t eat too much, as strawberries are cooling in nature and excessive consumption isn’t good for the stomach.

So, they shared the string of strawberry candied haws—Tang Mian ate three, and Fu Shizhao ate two.

Tang Mian insisted on eating the strawberry ice cream, but after a bite, he didn’t feel like having more. It was too cold, making his teeth ache, and Fu Shizhao finished it for him.

Patting his filled stomach, Tang Mian carried the art supplies he bought and walked back with Fu Shizhao.

Near the school was a lake with a not-too-short bridge over it, adorned with beautiful neon lights.

The art supplies store was on one end of the bridge, the school on the other. On one end of the bridge stretched a snack street, while the other end was much quieter, as it was near the school, and being too lively there would disturb the students.

Just as they were about to cross the bridge, several “meowing” sounds suddenly rang out.

Tang Mian followed the sound and found several countryside cats, each with a different coat pattern, hiding in the grass by the bridge, curiously watching the comings and goings, looking quite young.

The gestation period for cats is about two months, so these cats were probably born after winter, meaning their mother had survived the cold winter to give birth to them.

Tang Mian’s eyes softened slightly, and suddenly he couldn’t move forward. He always liked cats, and being an art student, he especially loved things with strong vitality…

Fu Shizhao observed Tang Mian’s reactions and chuckled, saying, “I’ll go buy some goat milk. You stay here and watch over them, be careful not to get scratched.”

With that, he turned and ran off.

Tang Mian squatted down and obediently raised his arms a bit.

Among these few kittens,

One tortoiseshell was very timid, always hiding deep inside. One calico was more cautious, not as scared but still hesitant to approach Tang Mian. One tabby was quite outgoing, as it noticed Tang Mian squatting down, it swaggered over, wagging its tail.

Cats are clean animals, and these kittens were all very clean, with no dirt on them. They were all well-fed, presumably living in this snack street without going hungry.

But he wondered if their mother was still around…

After confirming that the tabby had a good temperament, Tang Mian tentatively reached out and stroked its little head. The tabby gently rubbed against his palm, making Tang Mian’s eyes curve into crescents.

He already had a kitten at home, so Tang Mian didn’t plan on keeping another one for now. Even if he were to keep one, it would have to wait until after high school graduation. For college, he planned to rent a house off-campus where he could have pets.

Currently in high school, he didn’t have much energy or time to spend with pets.

Suddenly, a figure stopped beside Tang Mian.

Thinking it was Fu Shizhao, Tang Mian smiled and looked up, saying, “You’re back already?”

There was a hint of coquetry and playfulness in his voice.

As Tang Mian looked closer, he slightly froze, blinked, then tried to hide his unease in his eyes. He explained, “Sorry, I thought it was my friend coming back.”

During Tang Mian’s explanation, the tabby cat stepped on Tang Mian’s hand again.

“It’s okay, I just happened to pass by,” the person said. He smelled faintly of alcohol and barbecue, probably having skewers nearby.

It was Wei Haifan.

Wei Haifan was a boarding student, so it was normal for him to be around the school area on weekends. Tang Mian had talked to him in class before, knew him, but they weren’t very close.

Wei Haifan often slept in class or simply skipped, and whenever he had time, he would hang out with friends off-campus or go on dates. This time, Tang Mian was fully focused on his studies, so their interactions were limited.

He couldn’t remember how they became closer in the previous life; it seemed like it was because of a seat adjustment, Wei Haifan ended up sitting right behind him, always striking up conversations. Eventually, they became friends through frequent interactions.

After the fight between Wei Haifan and Fu Shizhao, Wei Haifan transferred to another school directly, so in the end, Tang Mian only spent about half a year with him.

In this situation now, Tang Mian didn’t know what to say.

Feeling the softness in his palm, Tang Mian shifted his gaze back to the kittens, rubbing the little head of the tabby to ease the awkwardness. Wei Haifan didn’t leave but continued to lower his head slightly, watching the person beside him. The young man’s hands were beautiful, with slender joints, and under the pale moonlight, faint veins were visible.

He remembered his name was Tang Mian.

Studying art, he was the top student in the class.

He seemed very well-behaved, wearing a hearing aid in his right ear. When others spoke, he listened attentively, no matter what they were saying.

When people spoke to him in class, they would also pay extra attention, speaking more slowly and switching to standard Mandarin.

But since the beginning of this semester, he had been sticking to his current partner like glue, going to her class after class, hardly spending any time in his own class, and rarely speaking to Tang Mian.

After all, he was a true top student, living in a different world from Tang Mian. He wasn’t interested.

Now, up close… he was as beautiful as a fragile glass beauty, and his voice was very pleasant.

The moment he glanced up and mistook him for someone else seemed to have some kind of magical effect, stirring something in the depths of his heart.

He had been in relationships since junior high, with both boys and girls, some pursuing him, some he pursued, and he had never felt like this before.

Today was Saturday, and instead of having a date, he came out to drink because his current partner refused to go all the way with him, always talking about pure love, which annoyed him.

Since he liked them, having sexual urges was normal, he would use protection, there was nothing to worry about.

But if it were Tang Mian… he should be more patient, even if they didn’t go all the way, just teasing him would be quite enjoyable.

He wondered how much he could hear if he took off the hearing aid in his right ear and whispered some dirty words next to his right ear, and what his reaction would be.

Wei Haifan wasn’t drunk, but his mind was affected by alcohol, wandering aimlessly. His eyes darkened slightly, and he also squatted down, taking the initiative to speak, “How about I go to the barbecue stall and get some raw meat to feed them?”

He wasn’t particularly interested in stray cats, but if these cats could help him in any way, he didn’t mind being nice to them. Tang Mian paused for a moment, then nodded, “Sure.”

“Wait here.”

Wei Haifan got up immediately and headed towards the nearest barbecue stall. The stall was surrounded by a group of people singing and drinking, looking like they were from the streets. Seeing Wei Haifan turn back, they teasingly spoke to him, not far enough for Tang Mian not to hear a thing.

“Ah Fan, familiar faces.”

“Why didn’t you bring him over to drink with us?”

“Classmates.”

“Oh, Ah Fan’s classmate, must be good students.”

“Do we even need to say it? Just look at how he’s dressed in his school uniform, you can tell he’s not one of us.”

“Hey, Ah Fan, where are you going?”

“To get food for the cats.”

“How come you suddenly have a heart now? Before, when you saw stray cats, you…”

“Shut your mouth and drink more.”

Shortly after, Wei Haifan returned with a bowl of raw meat.

Tang Mian seemed to have a numb leg from squatting and stood up.

The tabby cat meowed by his legs, and the calico approached bravely. However, Tang Mian was lost in thought, looking in one direction.

Following his gaze, Wei Haifan glanced but didn’t see anything particularly interesting. He strode over to Tang Mian and handed him the bowl of meat.

Tang Mian hesitated for a second before accepting it and placed it beside the kittens.

Actually, Wei Haifan could have just put it on the ground directly without going through him, but it didn’t require much effort, and Tang Mian couldn’t be bothered to refuse.

The two kittens immediately started devouring the food.

Meanwhile, the timid tortoiseshell kitten, which had been hiding, started meowing incessantly but still didn’t dare to come closer. Wei Haifan observed and said, “I’ll go get another bowl.”

As soon as Wei Haifan finished speaking, Tang Mian’s eyes suddenly lit up as if he had captured the entire starry night sky. However, his gaze wasn’t on Wei Haifan but behind him. At the same time, hurried footsteps approached from behind.

Split.

“Why are you just coming back now?” It was the same cute tone he used when mistaking Wei Haifan earlier, but this time, his tone was more intense.

“There was no goat milk nearby, had to go a bit further.” Fu Shizhao gasped for breath, clearly having run too fast. His gaze seemed to linger on Wei Haifan, but he didn’t show his emotions. He initially thought Wei Haifan was involved with someone else and didn’t need to be too wary for now, but he didn’t expect…

Wei Haifan watched as Tang Mian passed by him, taking the goat milk and the shallow paper bowl from the hurried newcomer.

With Fu Shizhao’s help, Tang Mian poured the goat milk into the small paper bowl and placed it near the timid tortoiseshell kitten hiding in the bushes, then stepped back a few steps.

The tortoiseshell kitten hesitated before cautiously approaching. Its little nose sniffed the milk, then it started lapping it up eagerly.

After completing all this, Tang Mian’s gaze returned to Wei Haifan standing beside him.

He seemed to have said something just now… He saw Fu Shizhao running back, his attention focused entirely on Fu Shizhao and didn’t catch what was said.

After hesitating for a moment, Tang Mian decided to just pretend like nothing had happened…

To avoid awkwardness, Tang Mian explained to Fu Shizhao, “This is a classmate of mine.”

Then he introduced Wei Haifan, “This is my brother.”

Wei Haifan was still very familiar with Fu Shizhao, after all, he saw him every day during break times coming to find Tang Mian. At first, he thought they were in a romantic relationship, but it didn’t seem so.

He didn’t expect them to be brothers.

Even if they were in a relationship, it didn’t matter. He had snatched other people’s partners before. He was rich, had many tricks up his sleeve, knew how to please people, and most people wouldn’t refuse his advances.

Besides… snatching someone else’s partner was more interesting than listening to those boring classes.

But those were things from junior high. He studied in his hometown during junior high, and he had become more restrained after high school, paying more attention to his image. After all, it was a prestigious high school, and having a good reputation was important for sustainable development.

Wei Haifan’s gaze fell on Tang Mian, who was watching the kittens eat, and he silently analyzed.

Someone as clean-cut as Tang Mian… should prefer someone more straightforward and pure.

He seemed to really like cats. When he went back, he would buy a cat to keep as a pet, and then he would have a legitimate reason to invite Tang Mian to his house.

Someone who seemed gentle and fragile like Tang Mian should respond better to a more dominant personality. He needed to show himself as assertive and proactive in front of Tang Mian.

Tang Mian probably wouldn’t like people who are like stray cats or stray dogs on the roadside.

He also doesn’t like trouble.

Just then, Fu Shizhao suddenly clutched his stomach, his brows furrowed, and he grabbed Tang Mian’s arm.

“Ge… My stomach hurts…” Fu Shizhao groaned.

Tang Mian immediately panicked.

“Is it because of the ice cream? Should I call a car for you to go to the hospital?” Tang Mian suggested, concerned.

“Let’s sit over there first, I’ll massage your stomach.”

Wei Haifan watched helplessly as the two gradually moved out of his sight. Tang Mian politely nodded at him as they left.

Sitting on the bench by the river, Tang Mian supported Fu Shizhao’s stomach while quickly calling for a car.

Fu Shizhao kept muttering, “Let’s not go to the hospital, let’s just go home and rest. We have plenty of medicine at home.”

He was pretending,because he was scared of getting exposed.

He just wanted to disappear from Wei Haifan’s sight with Tang Mian.

The way Wei Haifan looked at Tang Mian made him want to punch him in the face.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right time to reveal Wei Haifan’s true colors.

Tang Mian could only go along with him.

Fu Shizhao had a mild stomach condition, which was caused by poor care when he was very young, taken care of by Uncle Fu. It only hurt occasionally when he ate something bad.

He even said he threw away the ice cream… Yet Fu Shizhao insisted on eating it.

Always making himself look pitiful like a little stray.