Returning to Infancy with my Nemesis

Finally, the car leisurely returned home.

Tang Mian glanced at Fu Shizhao, who obediently wore two flowers without resisting. Holding his small hand, with the help of Tang Minghuai’s embrace, they got out of the car together.

After pushing open the courtyard gate and walking for a little while, Tang Mian soon spotted a familiar figure. His nose began to feel tingly, and he instinctively tightened his grip on Fu Shizhao’s hand.

It was his mother.

His mother from her younger days.

She wore an elegantly simple dress, her hair pinned up with a clip, a few strands casually falling around her beautiful neck. She wore a bodhi bracelet on her wrist, and there were no scars from her suicide attempt. Her mental state seemed good, but her brows were slightly furrowed with concern for them. She was currently bending over, tending to the flowers in the garden. Upon hearing the noise, she looked in their direction.

Tang Mian blinked rapidly, fearing she would worry, and struggled to hold back his tears.

Then, with a bouquet of sunflowers in his arms, Tang Mian briskly ran toward her on his short legs, stepping as if he were on fire wheels.

“Mom—” the childish voice cut through the air in the courtyard.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Siwan bent down to catch the little bundle charging towards her. Seeing his energetic appearance, her furrowed brows finally relaxed.

Tang Mian tilted his little head, holding the bouquet of sunflowers, his eyes still slightly reddened, but he managed to keep the tears from falling.

Shen Siwan smiled as she took the small sunflowers, looking at Tang Mian’s still slightly red eyes with some concern. She kissed his forehead lightly and then pinched his little face. “So beautiful, thank you, Mian Mian. I’ll leave these by your bedside for now.”

Tang Mian giggled and planted a kiss on her cheek.

The rest of the group quickly gathered around them.

Shen Siwan’s gaze naturally landed on Fu Shizhao, noticing the flowers on both sides of his ears. She understood they were a “masterpiece” of their mischievous little one.

Her gaze eventually shifted to the bandages wrapped around Fu Shizhao’s arm, and she asked with concern, “How’s Shizhao? Is it serious?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Fu Shizhao quickly shook his head. However, as he shook his head, the flowers on his ears accidentally fell off. He quickly bent down to pick them up and placed them back on his ears.

Tang Mian was quite satisfied with this.

That’s how a little brother should be, considerate and understanding.

If they continue like this, they’ll definitely grow up well.

The group didn’t linger in the courtyard and headed back inside the house together.

After a slight delay, it was almost time for dinner. The housekeeper had already started preparing dinner.

Tang Mian quickly scanned the first floor of the villa.

When they rushed to the hospital earlier, they were in such a hurry that he didn’t get a chance to take a proper look around.

In his past life, after their family went bankrupt, and the house had been mortgaged. He never managed to buy it back. After all, his family had already fallen apart. Buying back the house wouldn’t change anything; he couldn’t just live there alone… It would just add unnecessary troubles.

The furnishings and layout of the house were somewhat different from what he remembered. As he grew older, many things had changed. For example…

The corner filled with toy cars.

The wall covered in his messy doodles.

The sponge mats on the floor to prevent little ones from falling.

The cat and dog-shaped cushions on the sofa.

…

With age, these things gradually disappeared from the house. Some were broken and discarded, and some were given to children in impoverished areas when he couldn’t play with them anymore.

“Let’s watch some cartoons for a while. Big Brother hasn’t come back from school yet. We’ll have dinner once he’s back.” His mother’s voice suddenly sounded.

Tang Mian nodded slightly, glanced at the clock on the wall, and didn’t refuse. He held Fu Shizhao’s hand and sat down on the sofa.

If he remembered correctly… his older brother should be back from school around six o’clock.

When they were younger, they used to have dinner together after his older brother came back from school.

Their relationship during his older brother’s middle school years wasn’t exactly “good.”

After all, a nine-year age gap was quite significant, leading to some “generation gap.” Additionally, his hearing was impaired in one ear, making him more fragile compared to other children. His older brother, who was naturally quiet, was less interested in playing with him, especially as they grew older.

Tang Mian remembered how he used to beg his older brother to play with him when he was young, but his older brother always shut him out and remained cold.

Fortunately, Fu Shizhao came into his life, offering a friend of the same age.

As they got older, his relationship with his older brother quickly improved, especially after he discovered that his older brother was in a romantic relationship during his early years of primary school. His older brother would often use the pretext of helping him with homework to tell him about his interactions with that girl.

Like how he delivered breakfast to that girl today.

How that girl asked him questions today.

How he helped the teacher move assignments to the office with that girl today.

…

His older brother was quite the flirt, tsk.

Fu Shizhao was quite skillful, even teaching his older brother to fold a jar of paper hearts to give to that girl.

They eventually attended different majors at the same university, had meals at their house, and even went on a trip to the beach with Tang Mian and Fu Shizhao while Tang Mian was still in middle school, unintentionally acting as a third wheel.

Unfortunately, the Tang family faced a crisis, and that girl ultimately didn’t become his sister-in-law—his older brother didn’t want to hold her back.

When Tang Mian went to the cemetery to visit his older brother’s grave, he once bumped into that girl there, wearing the ring his older brother had given her during university. He heard that she never got married.

His older brother was still in middle school, so he probably hadn’t met that girl yet.

He hoped that this time they would end up together in this lifetime.

Tang Mian playfully tossed off his slippers, cradled his cat pillow, and lay down restlessly on the sofa. He shook his small feet and stuffed a dog pillow of the same kind into Fu Shizhao’s arms.

Fu Shizhao, however, just placed the pillow on his lap. His injured arm hung limply, unable to exert much force.

The TV had been turned on, pointing to the colorful animation on the screen, and asked, “Which one do you want to watch today?”

Staring at the names of the childishly themed animation series on the TV, Tang Mian’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. In the end, he decided to pass the hot potato to Fu Shizhao. “Let’s watch whatever Shizhao wants to watch.”

Even though he was wearing the appearance of a three or four-year-old, he… had the mentality of someone in their twenties and had no interest in such childish things.

He hoped his older brother would come back soon; otherwise, he might fall asleep watching this stuff.

Fu Shizhao obediently took the hot potato and said, “I want to watch ‘Meow Woof Family.'”

“Alright.” Shen Siwan controlled the remote and started the animation series that Fu Shizhao mentioned. It continued from the episode they had watched last time.

With everything set up, Shen Siwan was guided by Tang Minghuai to the backyard. He intended to share all the events of the day with her and advise her to keep his distance from Chen Junyu’s family.

In the living room, only Tang Mian, Fu Shizhao, and the housemaid who accompanied them to the hospital remained.

The background music of the animation series continued to play on the television.

Tang Mian now only had vague memories of this animation series. In his new life, the show had continued to produce new seasons after he grew up a bit, but he hadn’t watched it since.

Bored, Tang Mian kicked off his slippers and hugged his cat pillow, sprawling on the sofa. He rolled around comfortably, taking a moment to glance at Fu Shizhao, who sat attentively, engrossed in watching the television.

Tsk, kids will be kids. They love watching this kind of stuff—so childish.

As the current episode’s opening theme was coming to an end, the screen was filled with the faces of the main characters, Meow Meow and Woof Woof. Each appearance was accompanied by a “Meow” or “Woof” sound effect.

Kind of… cute.

Being idle as well, Tang Mian magnanimously decided to watch the beginning with Fu Shizhao for a bit.

–

–

When Tang Sheng returned home with his schoolbag, he saw the two little rascals sitting side by side on the sofa, engrossed in the animation.

With just a glance, he walked past them and headed upstairs to his room, ignoring their presence.

He could sense that the two on the sofa had stared at him for a while, their eyes holding a strange emotion that wasn’t there before. Nonetheless, he continued on without hesitation and went straight to his room.

Today was Wednesday. He had just finished a monthly exam a few days ago, and the results hadn’t been announced yet. His teachers took this opportunity to load them with homework.

He hoped Tang Mian wouldn’t come knocking on his door and disrupting his study session tonight.

The moment he finished dinner, he locked his room, put on his noise-canceling headphones, and immersed himself in his studies.

The dinner table was already filled with dishes. Compared to the previous days, tonight’s meal was lighter, but Tang Sheng wasn’t a picky eater. The change didn’t bother him much.

His parents and Uncle Fu had already taken their seats. When they saw him coming down, his mother gave him a smile and gestured for him to call Tang Mian and Fu Shizhao to join them for dinner.

Tang Sheng responded with a nonchalant “Mmm” and walked towards the living room where the animation was playing.

He knew his mother was trying to bring him closer to Tang Mian, but there was still a significant generation gap between them. He wasn’t interested in interacting with Tang Mian too much.

However, it was just a matter of calling them for dinner, so he didn’t feel the need to refuse.

Entering the living room where the animation was playing, Tang Sheng simply turned off the television and calmly told the two sitting on the sofa, “Dinner.”

In the next moment, the dining area resonated with Tang Mian’s wails.

“It’s just two more minutes until the end… sniff… bad big brother…”

—————-

Tang Mian before watching the animation: Tsk, childish.

Tang Mian after watching the animation: It’s good, I love watching it.

Tang Sheng when “disturbed” by Tang Mian: Annoying.

Tang Sheng after losing the “disturbance” from Tang Mian:… Why hasn’t he come to knock on my door yet?