Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 78

When the car arrived, Tang Mian suddenly remembered something. As he helped Fu Shizhao into the car, he glanced back at their previous location.

The stray cats had already eaten their fill and disappeared into the bushes, and Wei Haifan had also vanished, returning to the group at the barbecue stall. Tang Mian got into the car and closed the door.

Watching the taxi start and gradually disappear from view, Wei Haifan finished the remaining drink in his glass.

Someone at the table noticed the commotion nearby and spoke up with a laugh, “Gotta admit, that classmate of yours, Ah Fan, is quite good-looking.”

“Yeah, good-looking but unattainable,” another person chimed in.

Soon, the table erupted into laughter and crude jokes. The smell of alcohol in the air wrinkled Wei Haifan’s brow slightly. Tang Mian didn’t have this kind of smell.

Instead, there was a light, sweet scent, like strawberries. Suddenly, Wei Haifan’s phone, which he had kept in his pocket, vibrated. A call came in.

He had kept his phone off all night, only turning it on when he wanted to exchange contact information with Tang Mian. Unexpectedly, Tang Mian’s younger brother showed up, who suddenly had a stomachache, disrupting his plans and leaving him with no progress.

The caller ID read “Baby.”

The person sitting next to him noticed and joked, “It’s your girlfriend calling. Better answer.”

Wei Haifan felt annoyed and directly declined the call.

Just as he was about to turn off his phone again, a text message came through.

“Don’t be angry, okay? I really like you. I’m just a little scared. I can overcome it.” Wei Haifan raised an eyebrow.

He had only intended to give her the cold shoulder for a while. Coldness often worked wonders. He hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly this time. Wei Haifan lit a cigarette, got up, and walked to the railing near the lake, away from the people at the table, as he composed a reply. He still had some novelty left for this girlfriend. After all, he hadn’t found his next target yet, so there was no rush to end things.

After exchanging a few messages, the person on the other end called again.

This time, Wei Haifan didn’t reject the call.

“Ah Fan, where are you? It’s a bit noisy over here,” a sweet female voice came from the other end.

“At the snack street. Feeling a bit down, hanging out with friends, drinking a bit,” Wei Haifan answered.

“I really want to come and accompany you,” the girl murmured softly, “but it’s too late tonight.”

Her parents were still quite strict, and suddenly going out at night would be troublesome. Unless she came up with a good excuse beforehand and told her family she was going to her best friend’s house and wouldn’t be back tonight. She had used this excuse for her previous weekend night outings with Wei Haifan.

“It’s okay, just talking to you makes me feel better,” Wei Haifan effortlessly comforted her. He was a natural at soothing people’s worries.

His gaze wandered aimlessly until it settled on an old lady selling fruits not far away on the bridge. Without a second thought, he strode over, phone in hand.

It was strawberry season, and the old lady’s basket was filled with strawberries.

Wei Haifan suddenly remembered the faint scent of strawberries on Tang Mian and immediately said to the old lady, “I’ll take all the remaining strawberries.”

The girl on the other end of the phone sounded puzzled and asked, “Are you buying strawberries?”

Wei Haifan responded with a soft “mm-hmm,” and continued, “I’ll bring you a basket tomorrow night. They’ll be really sweet.”

Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant there were evening self-study sessions.

Tang Mian would be in the classroom, so he could also bring some to him.

The girl’s face lit up with joy, “Okay.”

After buying the strawberries, Wei Haifan popped one into his mouth. It wasn’t just sweet; it had a hint of sourness to it.

Suddenly remembering something, Wei Haifan added, “Let’s meet up next weekend. I want to see you wearing your school uniform.”

The girl murmured, “School uniforms are so ugly… Why suddenly want to see me wearing one?”

Wei Haifan responded, “Not ugly, they’re cute.”

In his mind, the image of someone wearing a school uniform that he had seen that evening resurfaced. High school uniforms were the traditional blue and white, but they had a charming innocence and vitality.

The girl’s voice carried a smile, “Okay, I’ll wear it for you.”

Inside the car, Fu Shizhao rested his head on Tang Mian’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

Thinking his stomach still wasn’t feeling well, Tang Mian didn’t speak to him but let him rest quietly. Instead, he opened his phone and started chatting with his mom, sending her the photos of the food they had eaten tonight.

[Mom] : [Cat thumbs up.jpg]

[Mom] : When are you coming back? Do you want Dad and I to come pick you up? It’ll be perfect for Xiao Zhao to sleep over tonight, and you can taste my cooking tomorrow.

Tang Mian glanced at Fu Shizhao.

Fu Shizhao remained quiet, leaning against him.

[Tang Mian]: He still doesn’t feel well. I just got him a cab, and we’re on our way back.

[Mom]: Suddenly not feeling well? Is he okay? does he need to go to the hospital?

Tang Mian’s eyes flashed with a hint of guilt, but in the end, he decided to conceal the ice cream incident and simply replied vaguely that he might have eaten something bad, or else his mom would surely nag him for a long time…

Back home, Fu Shizhao drank some warm stomach medicine, changed his clothes, and lay down on the bed.

Fu Yu was a little worried and wanted to take him to the hospital for a check-up, but he couldn’t persuade Fu Shizhao, so he had to step back— if his stomach still hurt in the morning, he must go to the hospital.

Tang Mian then took a quick shower and planned to stay overnight tonight.

He had gotten some paint on him while painting in the studio, but luckily, he was wearing washable school uniform on the outside, so it wasn’t a big deal. He just needed to put it in the washing machine and it would be fine.

High school didn’t strictly require students to wear uniforms every day; they only enforced it on more important occasions, so they wouldn’t wear it many times throughout the year. Tang Mian casually considered it his “work clothes.”

After changing into his pajamas and coming back, Tang Mian’s gaze fell on Fu Shizhao, who was playing with his phone, and he asked with concern, “Feeling better?” Fu Shizhao nodded, put down his phone, and moved over to make some space for Tang Mian on the bed.

Although spring was comfortable, it was still necessary to cover up with a thicker quilt at night to avoid getting cold.

Tang Mian unplugged the electric hot water bottle that had been heated before his shower, tested the temperature, and placed it under the quilt, above Fu Shizhao’s stomach. Warming up the stomach would make him feel much better if it hurt.

Then, Tang Mian poured a cup of warm water into Fu Shizhao’s thermos, placed it on the bedside, and also brought a few warm pads. After doing all this, Tang Mian finally lay down on the bed.

Seeing the inexplicable smile on Fu Shizhao’s face.

Tang Mian asked puzzledly, “What’s wrong?” Fu Shizhao smiled and replied, “I was thinking… If I were a little girl, I definitely wouldn’t be able to resist ge’s care for a whole night. My heart would be stolen.”

Tang Mian paused for a moment, then quickly understood what Fu Shizhao meant.

Warming the stomach, pouring warm water — this was how girls were taken care of during their menstrual period.

Tang Mian responded without reservation, “That’s something I wouldn’t be able to resist. If you were a little girl, you’d definitely be a hopeless romantic.”

Fu Shizhao smiled but didn’t say anything.

He was indeed a hopeless romantic. Fortunately, the object of his affection was Tang Mian.