Вдовствующая императрица Сяосюань

Глава 65

Ru Feng said absentmindedly, "You look so beautiful when you smile. How about you smile for me more often from now on?"

That smile was like a night-blooming cereus quietly blooming in the dead of night, stunningly beautiful.

Mu Wenchen nodded, smiled slightly, and replied, "Okay, as long as you like it." With that, he and Rufeng walked into the brightly lit restaurant.

The two appeared natural, their actions stemming from genuine feelings. Ru Feng seemed oblivious to how shocking their intimate behavior appeared to the world. Beneath her hat, Ru Feng's handsome face beamed with smiles, while Mu Wenchen looked on with doting affection. Clearly, this seemed to be the behavior of lovers. However, since both Ru Feng and Mu Wenchen were dressed as men, passersby frequently turned their heads and whispered amongst themselves.

Ru Feng was in a good mood and naturally ignored it, while Mu Wenchen never cared about other people's opinions, so the two of them walked into the restaurant with complete disregard for others.

After reserving the most expensive private room, Mu Wenchen looked at Rufeng and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

Ru Feng looked at the menu and pouted, "Why is it all glutinous rice balls?"

Ru Feng's feminine gesture went unnoticed by the waiter, who remained unmoved as if he hadn't seen it at all.

Mu Wenchen leaned closer and whispered, "Yuanxiao is also called 'tangtuan' or 'tangyuan.' These names sound similar to 'tuanyuan,' meaning reunion and symbolizing family harmony and happiness. So you must eat tangyuan on the Lantern Festival. What flavor do you like?"

The waiter, beaming, said, “Esteemed guests, our shop offers a variety of glutinous rice balls. For example, there’s the ‘Sister Detective’ glutinous rice ball, made by grinding glutinous rice and regular rice into a paste, using the powder to make the skin, and filling it with jujube paste, white sugar, and osmanthus. It’s snow-white, glistening, small and exquisite, and sweet and delicious. There’s also the sesame and jujube paste glutinous rice ball, made by first cooking large red dates, removing the pits, and grating them into a paste, then removing the membrane from pork fat and crushing it with a knife. Both are then mixed with fine white sugar to make the filling, which is then mixed with water-ground glutinous rice flour to make small glutinous rice balls. Sesame seeds are roasted until hot, and the white sugar is ground into a fine powder to make a fried flour. The cooked glutinous rice balls are then rolled in the flour and eaten immediately. They’re oily, soft, and fluffy…” The waiter went on and on, seemingly wanting to introduce all the glutinous rice balls in the shop at once.

Ru Feng had no patience to listen to this and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Just these two? Wen Chen, what about you?"

"These two will do," Mu Wenchen replied, and the waiter withdrew with satisfaction.

Ru Feng rested her chin on her hands as she looked at Mu Wenchen and said with a smile, "Wenchen, have you finished what you came to Yuezhou City to do?"

"Alright." Mu Wenchen nodded, his eyes fixed on Rufeng without blinking.

Ru Feng's face flushed slightly from the gaze, so she lowered her head, drew circles on the smooth table with one hand, and said softly, "I am so happy that you came to see me."

Mu Wenchen frowned: "But when you saw me that night, you seemed to be very frightened and kept trying to drive me away."

Upon hearing this, Ru Feng awkwardly took off her hat and said, "At the time... I felt it was too sudden, and I was disheveled, so of course I was embarrassed." Actually, Ru Feng was only worried about Mu Wenchen discovering that she was a woman, so she didn't care about anything else.

Thinking of this, Ru Feng quickly added, "I was so happy when I thought about you after you left, but I only just saw you now." After saying that, she mustered up the courage to look up at Mu Wenchen.

Mu Wenchen smiled slightly: "You have a point."

While they were talking, the glutinous rice balls were served quickly. After Ru Feng and Mu Wenchen finished eating, they prepared to go for a walk.

"Let's go, let's guess the riddles and look at the couplets," Ru Feng said with great enthusiasm.

Mu Wenchen naturally wouldn't object. The two weaved through the crowd and soon arrived at the place where they could guess riddles. There were colorful lanterns with riddles on them. Many people who looked like scholars stood in front of the lanterns, waving fans and pointing. Some people were even walking through the crowd with their lovers or wives, no one knew.

The combination of Ru Feng and Mu Wenchen naturally attracted a lot of attention. Just as Ru Feng was about to guess what was going on with the lantern, he saw that the other side of the lantern was a familiar face!

Life is full of unexpected encounters, and Ru Feng smiled and waved: "Sister, Brother Jue, why don't you come along too?"

Ru Xue stood next to Yu Jue, looking at Mu Wenchen with a slight frown. Yu Jue, however, was stunned and looked at Mu Wenchen without greeting Ru Feng.

Ru Feng was surprised and glanced at Mu Wenchen's profile, only to find that he was just staring at the lantern and said, "Weren't you going to guess?"

Ru Feng was puzzled, then glanced at Yu Jue, who had already come to his senses, and said, "Let's go and compose the couplets. We'll leave this place to Brother Jue and Sister Jue."

Upon hearing this, Mu Wenchen simply nodded, letting Ru Feng pull him forward.

Along the way, Ru Feng encountered quite a few familiar faces: the obviously disfigured Wu You Gongzi, the elegant and charming Wu Yan, the dazzling Murong Ying He, and the arrogant and domineering Bai Shao Jun...

When Bai Shaojun saw Mu Wenchen, his head, which had been held high, immediately lowered, and he stammered, "Shan...Shanzhang."

Mu Wenchen nodded lightly. Just as Bai Shaojun was about to say something, Ru Feng had already pulled Mu Wenchen away.

Ru Feng looked at Mu Wenchen with a puzzled expression: "Wenchen, why did they look at us so strangely just now?"

"Would you care about their opinions?" Mu Wenchen asked in return.

Ru Feng's face turned deathly pale. Only now did she realize why everyone was looking at her and Mu Wenchen like that. It turned out that Ru Feng had been walking with her arm around Mu Wenchen's shoulder the whole time. Ru Feng looked at her men's clothing and realized that, in other people's eyes, she and Mu Wenchen looked like they were acting out a scene from Brokeback Mountain!

Oh no, oh no! Tomorrow, she'll be at the top of the gossip charts in Yuezhou City again! Ru Feng's face immediately scrunched up. She didn't care, but her grandfather did. Last time, the rumors had given him a hole in his bottom! What will happen this time?

And... and most importantly, Mu Wenchen let her lead him around without caring at all, and he was so nice to her tonight. Could it be that he likes men? After all, she is a man now.

Ru Feng felt as if a sudden downpour had fallen on his heart, leaving him feeling utterly cold.

Volume 1, Chapter 71: Returning from Holiday

While Ru Feng was lost in thought, Mu Wenchen had been watching him for a long time. He noticed that Ru Feng's expression was constantly changing, sometimes pale and sometimes red, and now his brows were tightly furrowed, clearly indicating that something was troubling him.

A hint of disappointment flashed across Mu Wenchen's calm face. He composed himself and said softly, "Rufeng, don't worry. In everyone's eyes, we're like two brothers. No one will misunderstand."

Ru Feng looked up at Mu Wenchen's handsome face and was immediately filled with disappointment. Sure enough, handsome men are either already in a committed relationship or gay! So that's how it is! Mu Wenchen is so handsome, talented, good-looking, and virtuous, but he doesn't usually get close to women and spends all his time playing the zither in his dilapidated house. So... so he actually likes men!

This was a bolt from the blue! Ru Feng was instantly dizzy. This perfect man actually liked men, and she just happened to be a fake man!

Waaah... This is outrageous... Why?

Ru Feng's expression was sorrowful, his large eyes constantly glancing at Mu Wenchen. With each glance, his face darkened, until finally, his handsome face was clouded with worry, as if a storm was brewing.

Mu Wenchen, unaware of the situation, simply asked with restraint, "Rufeng, shall we still go and compare couplets?"

Ru Feng pouted, kicked a candied hawthorn that someone had thrown on the ground, and said sullenly, "I'm not in the mood anymore, I want to go home."

Mu Wenchen sighed inwardly, his eyes swirling with emotions that flickered between light and shadow, but ultimately settled into a calm. Then, his melodious voice, like the clinking of jade stones, rang out: "Then I'll take you back."

Ru Feng nodded listlessly, no longer clinging to Mu Wenchen's arm, lost in her own thoughts.