Вдовствующая императрица Сяосюань

Глава 31

Ru Feng retorted, "Is it any of your business? I'm the scholar type, and my scholarly demeanor only makes me look more elegant. You have the air of a barbarian, and your fair skin just looks out of place!"

Just as the two were about to say something more, they noticed someone standing at the door.

Yu Jue stared at them with a dark expression.

Ru Feng and Yu Xuan hurriedly separated as if they had done something wrong. Ru Feng rushed forward, smiling sweetly, "Brother Jue, what brings you here?" Her palms were sweaty, though. Ru Feng glared angrily at Yu Xuan; it was all his fault! He'd been walking around naked in front of her, causing her heart to pound like a ton of bricks. Ru Feng cautiously stole a glance at Yu Jue, wondering if he could hear her frantic heartbeat. This heartbeat was even louder than when her master threw her off a cliff!

"Can't I come?" Yu Jue didn't notice Ru Feng's gaze and looked at Yu Xuan's body with a sour expression. Why did he always see this situation every time he came?

"Little San, hurry up and put on some clothes. Even in your own room, you shouldn't be naked. It's not appropriate. And don't forget, you're not the only one in this room. Be mindful of your image." Yu Jue was always smiling, so his stern face made Yu Xuan and Ru Feng uncomfortable. Yu Xuan simply threw on a robe and hurriedly went to the bathhouse.

Ru Feng, who was left, hurriedly said with a smile, "Brother Jue, please sit down. Would you like some tea or plain water?"

Yu Jue shook his head: "I just came to ask if you still want to go to the cafeteria for dinner with me."

Ru Feng had just eaten at Mu Wenchen's place and wasn't very hungry, so she planned to eat there later. But seeing the current situation, since Yu Jue had personally come to invite her, she naturally had to go.

On the way there, Yujue put his hand on Rufeng's shoulder and lectured her, "Rufeng, even if you and Yuxuan are both boys, you shouldn't be with Yuxuan like this. You should always be careful so that no bad things get out of the picture."

Ru Feng was still immersed in the shock from just now, and could only nod and respond to Yu Jue's words. In fact, she hadn't listened at all. She just felt that the hand in hers still held the wonderful touch of Yu Xuan's firm and smooth muscles. She didn't expect that a real man's body could be so good. She thought that only women's figures could be called beautiful.

Ru Feng noticed that her heartbeat was a little abnormal, probably because she had never seen a male body before. So she regretted that her family had been too strict in her previous life, and she had never personally touched a man's body.

At this moment, Ru Feng truly forgot that in her previous life she lived to be almost twenty years old. At that time, she was obsessed with the world of chemistry and opposed her grandfather, and she never thought about men at all!

So now that she's seen such a well-built male physique for the first time, and even went to "inspect" it herself, it's no wonder she couldn't handle it.

Ru Feng's absent-mindedness caught Yu Jue's attention. He coughed and said, "Ru Feng, what's wrong? You seem to have something on your mind."

As if someone had read her mind, Ru Feng quickly took a few steps forward, casually shaking off Yu Jue's hand that was on her shoulder, and said urgently, "It's nothing, it's nothing, what could possibly be wrong with me?"

As if he were lying, he touched his nose sheepishly, but then he immediately put his hand down. He knew he had told plenty of lies since childhood, so wasn't this just an attempt to cover it up?

Sure enough, Yu Jue noticed her unease and asked suspiciously, "Ru Feng, could it be that you—" Yu Jue was now unusually concerned about Ru Feng, so he was naturally aware of the changes in her expression. Seeing that Ru Feng's face was red, and she didn't dare to look him in the eye, her eyes darting around as she spoke, Yu Jue knew that Ru Feng was definitely not as unharmed as she claimed.

Thinking of this, Yu Jue glanced around and quickly whispered tentatively, "Ru Feng, you wouldn't happen to have fallen for Yu Xuan, would you?" When he asked this question, Yu Jue felt very complicated, but he was very clear about one thing, which was that the answer must not be yes.

As if her tail had been stepped on, Ru Feng leaped three or four zhang away from Yu Jue, shouting, "Brother Jue, how could that be? Yu Xuan is a man, how could I possibly like him?" Only then did she realize that they were in a public place. Fortunately, no one was around, so Ru Feng immediately jumped back to Yu Jue's side and whispered, "Brother Jue, you can't say things like that. If someone hears us, it will have a bad influence on us."

Yu Jue felt a pang of sadness. Ru Feng's strong reaction only meant one thing: either Ru Feng had inappropriate feelings for Yu Xuan, or she had absolutely no interest in him. But what about himself? What were his feelings for Ru Feng? Seeing her close to Yu Xuan made him uncomfortable, and the thought that he might actually like his own younger brother made him feel even worse. Did he really have some inappropriate feelings for Ru Feng?

Thinking of this, Yu Jue lost interest in investigating Ru Feng's affairs. He was thinking about himself and felt like he was stuck in a swamp, unable to find a way out.

Just then, they were almost at the cafeteria, so the two stopped talking and each went about their own business.

Ru Feng's mind was scattered, and she didn't notice Yu Jue's sudden silence and the complex expression on his face. She was thinking about Yu Xuan, going through everything from beginning to end, from their childhood disagreements to their occasional quarrels now. Thinking about Yu Xuan's charmingly wicked face and his almost naked body just now, all of this pointed to one thing: Yu Xuan was no longer the little boy who always opposed her; he had grown into a man.

This discovery shocked Ru Feng, because growing up meant that they would all get married and have children in the future, and Yu Xuan's words about getting married were still ringing in his ears... He felt a mix of emotions.

Ru Feng was still deep in thought when he was awakened by a loud voice.

"Little one, what are you daydreaming about? What would you like to eat? The pork liver looks good today, would you like some?"

Ru Feng shook her head, deciding not to think about it, and then gave a smile as usual: "Sister Lan, how come you look even younger and more beautiful than yesterday after just one day apart?"

Aunt Nalan rolled her eyes at Rufeng: "You little rascal, you're always talking nonsense, even joking about my aunt."

Ru Feng hurriedly smiled ingratiatingly, "I, Ru Feng, rarely lie." (Ru Feng thought to herself, "It's because I often lie," but continued aloud, "Sister Lan, you are beautiful! No one can deny that, right?")

Ru Feng suddenly spoke loudly at the end. There were quite a few people sitting in the cafeteria, and Ru Feng was always the center of attention, so everyone could hear what he said clearly. When they heard Ru Feng say this, everyone quickly chimed in, "That's right."

In fact, Ru Feng and the others weren't lying. Although Granny Lan was over forty, she was very well-maintained; her skin was still fair, her figure slender, and she looked only in her thirties. Moreover, she possessed a unique气质 (qi zhi, a kind of refined elegance or aura) unlike that of ordinary women. So, if it weren't for the actual age difference, she would probably have caused quite a stir in the all-male academy. In fact, according to Ru Feng's investigation, this widow Granny Lan had already gained the favor of the music teacher.

The laws of the Violet Kingdom didn't forbid women from remarrying, so the newly widowed Granny Lan still won the heart of the scholar whose wife had just died. However, according to Ru Feng, one was interested in the other, but the other was indifferent. It would be difficult for the scholar to win the beauty's heart.

"You're all sweet-talking, is it because I helped you today?" Aunt Lan said with a smile, while still deftly packing the food for Ru Feng.

"How could that be? They were just genuinely praising you," Ru Feng pouted.

The two chatted and laughed for a while until the next classmate arrived, at which point Ru Feng and Yu Jue left.

After finding a seat, Yu Jue asked in confusion, "This Aunt Lan is cold to everyone, but why is she so nice to you?"

Ru Feng took a bite of pig liver, swallowed it, and then said, "That's because I'm popular; everyone loves me."

Ru Feng's arrogant manner made Yu Jue laugh: "You little rascal, all you do is brag."

Ru Feng asked in confusion, "Why do you all like to call me 'little guy'? Am I that small?"

Yu Jue smiled without answering, but simply put all the food that Ru Feng liked into her bowl, and then took away all the food that Ru Feng didn't like, especially green peppers, which were a dish that Ru Feng and Yu Xuan both loathed.

Ru Feng didn't pay any attention and just kept eating. After the two finished their meal, Yu Jue took the food back for Yun Tianze.

*******************************************

The next day was the competition for music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The competition venue was still the square, which had been empty the day before, but Ru Feng and his group set up tables and chairs there early in the morning.

Today's activities included music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Because there were so many people, it took a whole day to finish. In particular, the Go event required participants to reach the finals and win. A day was very short and required a lot of mental effort, so the Go event started early in the morning and was held in a quiet shady spot.

Yun Tianze participated in the Go tournament. Ru Feng originally wanted him to participate in the music competition, but Yun Tianze felt that Yu Jue was enough for music, so he went to participate in the Go tournament instead. Only then did Ru Feng realize that Yun Tianze's Go skills were actually very high.

"Tianze, sit here quietly. If you need anything, just tell me. Winning or losing isn't important. Just do your best." Considering Yun Tianze's health, Rufeng specially arranged a very quiet place for him, giving him a private corner.

Yun Tianze smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiao Qing is here with me. He'll take care of me. You can go and do your thing."

Ru Feng then looked at the aggrieved Xiao Qing beside him and laughed, "Did I forget? It's because the academy doesn't usually allow us to bring servants. Well, I'm off then. Good luck and keep up the good work!" Ru Feng and Yun Tianze gave each other a high five, and then went off to attend to other matters.

Watching the departing figure, Xiaoqing cautiously asked, "Young Master, don't you always dislike people being overly cautious around you? Why this time..."