Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis

Intersection, an out-of-control large truck was charging straight towards a black Cayenne, ruthlessly colliding.

Just a second ago, Tang Mian was bantering with Fu Shizhao, but now he hastily met the gaze of a pair of beautiful yet distressed light-brown eyes in the driver’s seat. The next moment, he was hit by a fierce impact, sending him flying.

Tang Mian felt a buzzing in his ears. He instinctively reached for the hearing aid in his right ear, but his entire body was instantly engulfed by a dense, throbbing pain.

Before losing consciousness, a fleeting thought raced through Tang Mian’s mind—damn, he shouldn’t have gotten into Fu Shizhao’s car, how unlucky.

–

–

Unaware of how long he had been unconscious, Tang Mian’s consciousness remained somewhat hazy. It was as if his soul had been separated from his body, and everything felt dissonant and uncomfortable.

However, instead of the expected scent of blood and gasoline, a faint, elusive smell of milk lingered in his nose.

Tang Mian blinked and stared at the familiar duck-shaped lamp on the ceiling, lost in thought.

This duck lamp hung in his childhood bedroom and had the ability to switch between bright and warm lighting. With each transition, the duck’s appearance shifted between white and yellow, making it adorable and charming.

Later, after the troubles and calamities that befell the Tang family, his mentally unstable mother would often mention how he used to turn the duck lamp’s switch on and off repeatedly whenever he entered the room, adjusting the color and brightness until he was satisfied.

Eventually, he noticed that the duck lamp in his mother’s room at the care facility had been replaced with an exact replica. His mother was as happy as a three-year-old child. He knew that Fu Shizhao was behind this.

Tsk, what a show-off.

Despite living with the Tang family for so many years, after being taken back by the Fu family, Fu Shizhao had never come back to visit his mother, who treated him like a son. At school, he barely paid any attention to him, even intentionally opposing him.

Fu Shizhao, the well-known young master of the Fu family, was someone nobody dared to approach.

Thinking of this, Tang Mian subconsciously turned around and suddenly Fu Shizhao, the well-known young master of the Fu family, was someone nobody dared to approach.

Tang Mian was taken aback.

It was Fu Shizhao.

Or, to be more precise, it should be the young version of Fu Shizhao.

He looked to be around three years old, wearing a pale yellow bib and holding a bottle that was half-filled with milk. He stared at Tang Mian, unblinking.

Despite looking thin and easy to bully as a child, he seemed to have gone through a growth spurt and shot up to about 1.9 meters in height.

Staring at the miniature version of Fu Shizhao, Tang Mian’s mind momentarily went blank.

Was this a dream?

Or had he really gone back twenty-something years?… This was getting too sci-fi.

Tang Mian raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then fiercely pinched the small Fu Shizhao’s cheek. He watched as the beautiful eyes gradually turned red and welled up with tears, then let go.

Not because he felt sorry for Fu Shizhao, but because he suddenly realized – to test whether this was a dream or not, he should be pinching his own face, not Fu Shizhao’s.

But before Tang Mian could continue and actually pinch his own face, the young Fu Shizhao suddenly burst into tears with a loud “wah,” clutching his bottle of milk tightly. He cried as if he were a pitiful little pear blossom caught in the rain, looking at Tang Mian pitifully, yet making no attempt to fight back.

Tang Mian: “!”

Tang Mian suddenly felt a mix of panic and satisfaction.

So, the young Fu Shizhao was this easy to fool huh?

Cry, cry louder. He’d love to watch.

An inner mischievousness stirred in Tang Mian.

However, soon enough, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from outside the room.

In no time, the bedroom door swung open.

Tang Mian instinctively turned his head toward the entrance.

It was the two young maids who used to take care of him and Fu Shizhao when they were kids.

Their personalities were quite cheerful, acting like sidekicks, and it was their lively natures that had made their mother to hire them.

They left the Tang family when he and Fu Shizhao entered middle school.

“Why is Zhao Zhao crying? Did he have a nightmare?,” one of the round-faced maids quickly approached the bed, using a gentle tone to comfort the crying young Fu Shizhao.

The other maid, with an oval face, fetched a baby wipe from the nearby table.

Tang Mian glanced guiltily at the red mark he had left on Fu Shizhao’s face.

A child’s skin was tender, and even a light pinch could make it swell, which was quite evident.

The two housemaids would probably figure out what had happened with just one look.

And Fu Shizhao would definitely rat him out…

Even though he hadn’t fully figured out the situation, Tang Mian didn’t want to reveal his hand so soon, especially in matters of bullying Fu Shizhao.

Having fought against him for so long in his previous life, if he really had a second chance, he needed to settle the score with Fu Shizhao more subtly.

Before Fu Shizhao could respond, Tang Mian swiftly moved closer to the other side of his face and playfully nibbled it, his voice surprisingly loud even to himself. He then somewhat guiltily licked his lips—salty, it tasted like Shizhao’s tears.

Shizhao was also momentarily stunned by the sudden action, tears welling up in his eyes but not falling.

Fortunately, the effect was good; a faint red mark appeared on the other side of Shizhao’s face too.

Immediately, Tang Mian put on an innocent expression, tilting his little head back and speaking with an unclear voice, “Kiss… kiss.”

The voice of an infant is soft, and with his intentionally blurred pronunciation, it sounded even more endearing.

The maid: “…”

The maid quickly caught on and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

‘Did young master just kiss Zhao Zhao until he cried… The friendship between these two children is really heartwarming.’

The other maid handed the baby wipes to Tang Mian and gently advised, “You shouldn’t kiss so hard, it can be very painful. Just lightly touch the lips together. If the young master made zhao zhao cry, he should make it right himself.”

The maid’s approach to guiding the infants was sound—taking responsibility for one’s mistakes, even if he was the son of the master and Shizhao was the driver’s son, indulgence was not acceptable.

The Tang family’s values had always been this way—while they protected their own, they didn’t spoil them senselessly.

However, Tang Mian wasn’t really an infant, and he had no intention of comforting Fu Shizhao.

He’d love to see Fu Shizhao cry a bit more.

If only he had a cellphone right now, he’d definitely record a video of Fu Shizhao crying and use it to mock him mercilessly in the future.

But there was no way… he hadn’t fully grasped the current situation, so he could only continue playing the role of his infant self and adapt as the situation unfolded.

Forced to take the baby wipes, Tang Mian wiped Shizhao’s face haphazardly and casually comforted, “I won’t kiss you anymore.”

However, this caused Shizhao to cry even louder.

Tang Mian: “?”

Did he wipe too hard??

Why was young Fu Shizhao so delicate back then??

The maid chuckled helplessly and explained, “Apologizing like this won’t work, Xiao zhao might think you don’t like him.”

Tang Mian shrugged, thinking that he indeed didn’t like it, but he belatedly realized the true reason behind Fu Shizhao’s sudden burst of tears.

—It wasn’t because he wiped too hard, but because of what he said.

Because he said he wouldn’t kiss Fu Shizhao anymore, was that really so upsetting…

Tang Mian suddenly realized that he seemed to have found a new source of amusement.

Then, the maid turned to the sniffling Fu Shizhao and said, “Young master doesn’t dislike you. What he meant is that he won’t kiss you like he did just now. That kind of kiss is not right; it hurts, doesn’t it?”

Fu Shizhao seemed to be drawn in by the maid’s words, sniffled, and obediently nodded.

The maid continued, seizing the opportunity, “Xiao zhao, stop crying. How about letting the young master reward you with a proper kiss?”

Fu Shizhao nodded obediently again, his tears stopping, and he looked at Tang Mian holding the baby wipes with an expectant expression.

Fu Shizhao’s eyes were a light brown, exceptionally beautiful. When he was young, they were round and shiny, like the eyes of a little creature. As he grew older, they turned into captivating peach blossom eyes, combined with his facial features, it was truly deceptive.

During high school, Fu Shizhao had deliberately disrupted Tang Mian’s romantic pursuits, leaving him speechless for quite a while. Although he didn’t have feelings for those admirers, it was clear that Fu Shizhao was deliberately targeting him.

It was around that time that rumors began to spread across all grades about Tang Mian and Fu Shizhao becoming arch-enemies.

All eyes were on him, and Tang Mian pursed his lips, raising his hand to wipe away the tears on Fu Shizhao’s face.

Young Shizhao’s skin was soft, dampened by tears, making him look like an easy target.

Although he and Fu Shizhao were at odds, and he wasn’t exactly a saint, he certainly wasn’t twisted enough to hurt a child.

When they were young, he had a good relationship with Fu Shizhao. He had even believed they could become lifelong good friends.

The change all started when Fu Shizhao was adopted by the Fu family…

Tang Mian didn’t want to dwell on the past. After wiping away the tears on Shizhao’s face, he quickly gave a peck on the side he had pinched earlier.

Thankfully, young Shizhao wasn’t as annoying as he became when he grew up. In fact, his appearance was quite cute, so he didn’t hesitate to do it.

Sure enough, after receiving a kiss, Fu Shizhao stopped crying and even flashed a cute smile, his beautiful eyes reflecting only Tang Mian.

Tsk.

So easily appeased.

Look at that cheap smile.

The two maids finally breathed a sigh of relief.

One of them took the wet baby wipes from Tang Mian’s hand and complimented him a few times.

The other glanced at the small clock by the bedside, smoothing down the stray hairs on Tang Mian’s head and saying, “Nap time isn’t over yet. Do you want to sleep a bit longer or get up to play? Xiao Wei gege will come to play with Madam Chen this afternoon. Are you excited?”

Upon hearing this, Tang Mian’s heart suddenly raced, and his small hand clenched into a fist on the blanket.

Tang Wei… Tang Caihua’s distant cousin and his little wife, Chen Junyu’s, son.

Ironically, these two were the masterminds behind the downfall of his family in his previous life.

Tang Caihua, worn out by years of hard work, died suddenly; his father, Tang Caihua, got into an accident due to a troubled mind, and his mother also suffered from mental illness.

All of this was the result of Tang Caihua and Chen Junyu.

If he really had the chance for a second life, he would definitely not watch the Tang family meet the same fate again.

Seeing that Tang Mian didn’t react at all, the maid glanced at his right ear with some concern, then breathed a sigh of relief.

The hearing aid was still there.

Young master had been having some hearing problems in his right ear since birth, but with intervention training and the assistance of the hearing aid, it hadn’t affected his learning progress.

It was just that kids were prone to being careless; the hearing aid had been accidentally misplaced a few times, luckily they had always managed to find it.

Tang Mian was about to shake his head, but then seemed to remember something and nodded, releasing his clenched little hand and rubbing his eyes. He yawned in a feigned manner and softly said, “So sleepy.”

Though he wasn’t sure of his current age, Tang Mian didn’t want to see Tang Wei, and he certainly didn’t want Chen Junyu to come and soil the air in their house.

Initially, those two had forged a connection with his family through Tang Wei, who was of a similar age. After all, everyone doted on him, and they wouldn’t turn away any friends he got along well with.

In his previous life, he had been foolishly deceived as well, getting along well with Tang Wei.

But this time, he wouldn’t be the fool who was used again.

The maid didn’t think too much of it, assuming he was just tired. She adjusted the small blanket and said, “Then continue sleeping a bit longer.”

Tang Mian nodded, placing his small hand down, and inadvertently met the gaze of Fu Shizhao, who was still holding the small milk bottle across from him.

This person had been watching him since a while ago.

Tang Mian strangely remembered the way Fu Shizhao had looked at him just before the accident.

What’s he staring at?

This time, he better drive more carefully, no more accidents.

Tang Mian’s mood was already sour, and he impulsively reached over, snatched the small milk bottle that Fu Shizhao was holding, and chugged down the contents.

Although his childhood memories had mostly faded away, Fu Shizhao had been clutching this bottle since he woke up, indicating that he cherished it.

If he was unhappy, he would make sure Fu Shizhao was unhappy too.

After emptying the bottle, he stuffed it back into Fu Shizhao’s arms, propped himself up on his little feet, grabbed the small blanket, and covered himself before closing his eyes.

If Fu Shizhao continued crying, he’d just let the maid take him away to comfort him. Young Master Tang was going to take a nap, no disturbances.

However, the expected crying didn’t occur. Instead, the maid’s cheerful voice slipped into Tang Mian’s ears, “Young Master and Xiao zhao have such a good relationship. Knowing that he doesn’t like milk, you drank it all for him.”

“Sigh… Xiao zhao is too thin. Madam said he needs to eat more to get proper nutrition. He should have some formula every day. Next time, don’t indulge Zhao Zhao so much, Young Master.”

Tang Mian: “…”

Who on earth is indulging Fu Shizhao?!

Soon after, a soft bundle slipped into his blanket and embraced him from behind.

Tang Mian’s body instantly stiffened.

Damn it.

“Let’s go, let the two of them sleep well.”

“Yeah, I’ll go wash the milk bottle. This bottle was actually given to Zhao zhao by Young Master.”

Tang Mian didn’t care to listen to their conversation any further, nor did he want to turn around and face the young Fu Shizhao. He continued pretending to sleep, feeling disheartened as he digested all the information since the accident.

He had been reborn, back to his infant years.

His parents, brother, and even Fu Shizhao were all safe and sound. He felt a sense of relief knowing that Fu Shizhao was still that easily bullied little tag-along.

Although he had been cursing Fu Shizhao as his arch-enemy, he had to admit that the accident had been quite convenient. He could guide the Tang family to avoid the tragic fate of his previous life and… properly teach Fu Shizhao a lesson.

The heavens were truly just.

Suddenly, Tang Mian felt as if he had the spirit of Long Ao Tian, a legendary character from a novel, possessing him.

Gradually, Tang “Long Ao Tian” Mian, who had fallen into a drowsy slumber, turned over and snuggled into the even smaller Fu Shizhao’s embrace, hugging him tightly.

Fu Shizhao’s eyes sparkled with clarity, a hint of a smile flashing in his light brown eyes.

And then, just like Tang Mian had done earlier, Fu Shizhao lightly pressed a kiss on Tang Mian’s soft cheek and then, almost vindictively, playfully nibbled, leaving a barely discernible bite mark.

Quid pro quo.

Who would have thought… he had also been reborn.