Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis - Chapter 87

In the end, Tang Mian still sought help from the bodyguard, who brought a small cart to help transport Snowball back home.

On the small cart, Snowball’s tail wagged back and forth, showing some spirit, probably finding it fun to ride in the cart, enjoying the breeze, but still remaining limp on it.

Fu Shizhao naturally heard the commotion in the courtyard and came over to join in the fun, wearing a faint smile on his face. He intended to tease Tang Mian a bit, but he found Tang Mian walking extremely fast, not waiting for him at all, and leaving him behind. He could only see his figure in the dim moonlight.

It seemed like Tang Mian had grown a bit taller again.

He took off the small hair tie and tied it around his slender wrist. His hair had grown a bit longer compared to before, and he would probably go to the hair salon for a trim soon. Although Tang Mian liked to keep some hair, he wouldn’t let it grow too long.

His walking posture wasn’t very smooth; he probably walked Snowball for too long, and both Snowball and he were tired.

It’s best to soak his feet at night, or else walking tomorrow would be especially painful.

Back in the nest, Snowball licked up a whole bowl of water frantically, finally regaining some energy.

Back in the bedroom, Tang Mian quietly picked up his pajamas, headed straight to the bathroom, and took a slow shower.

Although he had walked for such a long time that even the dog was tired, Tang Mian still felt like he hadn’t released anything except for consuming a lot of physical energy.

The day he was in the hospital in the previous life was the last time he spoke to Fu Shizhao during high school, and it was because of the series of events that happened that day that his relationship with Fu Shizhao was completely broken.

Like the last snowflake weighing down on a reed in winter, it completely crushed it. The mist was heavy in the bathroom, and Tang Mian always took off his hearing aids when showering. The warm water flowed over him, and just like that day, he couldn’t hear anything in his right ear. What did Fu Shizhao say to him that day…

The source of sound conduction is not only air but also mediums like bones. Although he couldn’t hear the sound of water in his right ear now, he could still feel the sound on his right side.

But he didn’t hear a single word Fu Shizhao said that day, he deliberately lowered his voice and didn’t want him to hear. Tang Mian kept thinking about it as he finished showering, wiped the water droplets off his body, and put on clean pajamas.

When he came out wearing pajamas, he found that Fu Shizhao had already prepared a footbath, with some medicinal herbs inside, and there were also two vacuum flasks filled with hot water beside it.

There was only one footbath, which had a considerable capacity, enough for two people to soak together.

Grandma was very particular about health, and every winter, when it got chilly, she would drag them to soak their feet together. The medicinal herbs used for foot soaking were also carefully selected.

But now it was summer, not the best time for foot soaking, yet Fu Shizhao had prepared all these…

He walked vigorously at night, tiring out Snowball, and indeed, his feet were a bit sore.

Fu Shizhao was always attentive to him, so he must have noticed.

“Ge, come and soak your feet.” Fu Shizhao waved to him.

Tang Mian walked over slowly, put on his hearing aids, and sat on the stool that had been prepared for him next to Fu Shizhao, unceremoniously putting his feet into the basin.

Fu Shizhao also followed suit, putting his own feet in, and holding Tang Mian’s feet.

Tang Mian had just come out of the shower, with a faint pink left on his body from the hot steam, including his toes. Fu Shizhao’s eyelashes trembled slightly as he looked away and started adding water.

One bottle of water had a moderate temperature, while the other was slightly warmer. Fu Shizhao poured some of the moderately warm water over the tops of their feet first, then added some of the warmer water.

Tang Mian casually picked up Fu Shizhao’s phone nearby and started playing a single-player mobile game.

Tang Mian loved playing these types of single-player mobile games. They were short, so he could pause halfway through if he didn’t feel like playing anymore and resume whenever he wanted to. Occasionally, it was fun to come back and tackle some levels.

Fu Shizhao’s phone was filled with quite a few of these single-player mobile games, all downloaded by Tang Mian himself.

Aside from the text messages with that girl and the group named “Get Lost, Wei Haifan,” Tang Mian found nothing else on Fu Shizhao’s phone.

Or rather, most of the apps on Fu Shizhao’s phone were downloaded by Tang Mian himself and often opened by him.

As the tower they built destroyed the last enemy, a huge “win” appeared on the screen, and Tang Mian smiled satisfactorily.

Though they were sitting opposite each other, Tang Mian placed the phone flat on his lap, allowing Fu Shizhao to see the screen. Naturally, he saw the “win” on the screen and smiled along with Tang Mian.

Just as Tang Mian was pondering whether to continue to the next level, Fu Shizhao suddenly spoke up: “Relatives from my Mom’s side want me to spend a year as an exchange student in Country B during my sophomore year. They’ve already contacted the best international school there and they want to ask if I’m willing or not.”

Tang Mian’s gaze instantly shifted from the phone screen to Fu Shizhao.

Country B… exchange student…

In their previous life, Fu Shizhao didn’t meet with relatives from his mother’s side in advance, and this incident didn’t happen.

In this life, he would make time every year to visit Country B and stay with relatives from his mother’s side for a while.

Especially that year in junior high when he learned about his own origins, making him accompany him to pay respects at his biological parents’ graves.

But Fu Shizhao was also reborn, naturally knowing about his own origins a long time ago. The conflict with the child from the Fu family in junior high wasn’t accidental either, and he worried for a long time, fearing that Fu Shizhao wouldn’t be able to accept his own origins.

Fu Shizhao even talked to him about some “revenge plan” back then, which was extremely naive. Thinking about it now… he was just teasing him.

Thinking of this, Tang Mian couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed and said bluntly, “Go ahead, anyway, you speak Country B’s language so well, communication won’t be a problem.”

Moreover, Fu Shizhao didn’t have much pressure from the college entrance examination; his competition results were a bonus point, so obtaining a spot for application wouldn’t be a problem. Going abroad as an exchange student for a year was a good thing no matter how you looked at it, especially to the country where his parents once lived and loved each other.

“Do you want me to go, Ge? ” Fu Shizhao asked seriously, as if he would absolutely follow whatever Tang Mian said.

Tang Mian pursed his lips, shifted the foot sandwiched between Fu Shizhao’s, and said, “The decision is yours.”

In the past, he would definitely have discussed this matter seriously with Fu Shizhao, because when Fu Shizhao called him “Ge,” he always saw Fu Shizhao as a child.

Now that he knew Fu Shizhao was also reborn… his decision was none of his concern.

Anyway, with his abilities, he wouldn’t make a wrong choice.

“Think about it some more,” Fu Shizhao said, shifting his feet and squeezing Tang Mian’s foot a bit tighter.

He actually wanted to stay by Tang Mian’s side and spend the three years of high school together.

But Tang Mian would also be in a closed training session during his sophomore year, so they might not be able to meet often. That’s why he considered going to Country B. Otherwise, he’d have to stay at school alone, watching Mu Zichen and Fu Jiacao, that lovey-dovey couple.

Moreover, going to Country B would indeed be beneficial for some of his plans.

But this matter wasn’t urgent. The most important thing at the moment hadn’t been resolved yet… Fu Shizhao added some more hot water to the footbath.

Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.

And he hoped Tang Mian’s legs and feet wouldn’t hurt when he woke up tomorrow.

The next day, Monday.

Tang Mian leaned on Fu Shizhao’s arm, limping into the campus.

Fu Shizhao carried both of their school bags and escorted him to the fourth-floor classroom. Before going upstairs, Fu Shizhao smiled and asked him, “Shall I carry you up?” Tang Mian quickly declined and climbed the steps alone.

He woke up with sore legs and feet, but it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t climb stairs; it would be easier with some assistance. Resting for a couple of days would suffice.

Snowball was also exhausted from the long walk that night, spending the next day lounging in the nest, devouring a big bowl of dog food. Two days later, both Tang Mian and Snowball had regained their energy.

During Wednesday evening self-study, Tang Mian finished his homework early, tore off a sticky note, folded it into a small square, and passed it to Wei Haifan through the students around him.

Fu Jiacao keenly noticed Tang Mian’s move and also wrote a small note, intending to pass it to someone downstairs after self-study.

But when self-study ended, Tang Mian didn’t go downstairs with Fu Jiacao. Instead, he called Wei Haifan in front of Fu Jiacao and left the classroom together.

Fu Jiacao’s alarm bells rang instantly, and he hurried downstairs to inform Mu Zichen and Fu Shizhao of the situation.

Fu Shizhao frowned, “Which way did they go?”

Fu Jiacao replied, “The playground.”

He went downstairs with them but split up on the first floor. Wei Haifan did all the talking, while Tang Mian responded indifferently. He overheard their conversation, which mentioned the playground.

“I’ll go check. If he doesn’t come back by the next class, help me cover.” Fu Shizhao grabbed the hat Mu Zichen was fiddling with and left without looking back, running towards the playground.

He wasn’t particularly worried about why Tang Mian suddenly asked Wei Haifan out. He knew Tang Mian must be up to something, and he wasn’t afraid of his probing.

He just couldn’t completely trust Wei Haifan’s character. He feared that in the pitch-dark night, with the two of them alone together, Wei Haifan might try something inappropriate with Tang Mian.

He couldn’t even tolerate Wei Haifan touching Tang Mian’s hand.

The day was already getting warmer. The classroom had the air conditioning on, but there weren’t many people on the playground—just a few jogging or taking walks. It was quite deserted.

Tang Mian didn’t speak, just kept walking forward.

If it weren’t to confirm something, he wouldn’t want any contact with scum like Wei Haifan.

“Do you have something to ask me?” Wei Haifan became even more nervous when Tang Mian remained silent.

During the last self-study session, Tang Mian had passed him a note that read, “Do you have time after class to go to the playground? I have something to ask you.”

The handwriting was beautiful, and his heart had been racing ever since.

He had been keeping in touch with Tang Mian during this time, and although there hadn’t been much progress on the surface, he found himself liking Tang Mian more and more. Sometimes he was cute, sometimes gentle.

Although the cute and gentle one wasn’t him, he couldn’t help but get immersed in it. Especially during the period after breaking up with Zhan Wanqi, he had been a bit more patient.

Also, Zhan Wanqi hadn’t bothered him during this time, improving his mood significantly.

That Saturday had a good atmosphere. After coaxing and being a bit bold with Zhan Wanqi, she eventually relented, and they took the final step.

Once you’ve had the first time, there would be a second and third… He hadn’t expected Zhan Wanqi to get pregnant.

Girls were so troublesome.

It’s better to date boys; no matter what you do, you won’t get pregnant. Besides, he wasn’t picky about his diet.

Tang Mian walked steadily along the rubber track of the playground, hands behind his back. After hearing Wei Haifan’s question, he didn’t immediately respond but quietly surveyed the surroundings.

Though the playground was illuminated, it was still dim, and without careful observation, one couldn’t even see the faces of people passing by. Tang Mian naturally noticed that Fu Shizhao had followed them.

Fu Shizhao trailed behind them, neither fast nor slow, wearing a duckbill cap even in the late evening. It seemed that Xiao Cao had conveyed the message quite effectively.

Finally, Tang Mian stopped, lifted his head, and gazed at Wei Haifan, while his peripheral vision landed on Fu Shizhao not far away. He wanted to confirm the last thing.

“Do you like me?” Tang Mian’s voice was neither loud nor soft, audible to both of them.