I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 277 - 203: Oranges

Gu Lan rubbed her eyes, her heart pounding like thunder, and slowly spoke: "I think..."

Rong Heng gazed at her without blinking, his eyes serious and gentler than the moon: "Hmm?"

"I think I’m really deaf!"

After saying this, Gu Lan took off running.

"Gu Lan!"

Rong Heng called out, chasing after Gu Lan.

Gu Lan turned a deaf ear, and even left behind her fiery red cape as she ran.

Rong Heng’s eyes were deep, his lips pursed as he chased after her, until finally, he watched as she disappeared into the night. Dejected, he stopped, bent down to pick up the cape on the ground, and gently held it in his arms.

A layer of black mist seemed to cloud the depths of his eyes with grievance.

Gu Lan went back.

Instead of returning to Xiefang Palace, she left the Imperial Palace overnight.

Originally she had been taking a walk with Rong Heng, wanting to ask whether that witch doctor from the Wei Country was reliable, but now she hadn’t even had the chance to ask anything.

Once she laid on the rocking chair in the courtyard of Step Lotus Hall, she spread herself out, slowly let out a sigh of relief.

Gu Lan "gulped" down a large cup of cold tea, feeling the heat on her face finally subside, and thought to herself, maybe she really was dreaming just now.

Then, she supported her aching lower back.

The scorching warmth from Rong Heng’s palm seemed to still linger there.

When she looked up, Rong Heng’s face appeared in the crescent moon hanging high in the sky, looking at her with a hint of a smile in his eyes, bewitching.

Damn,

it’s not a dream.

Rong Heng just said he wanted to be with her.

With her, a "man".

He even said he might let her be on top sometimes.

How could this be?

She worked so hard to learn, cross-dressing as a man, becoming the handsome young man adored by so many women in the Capital City, and had promised herself to only focus on her career and not talk about feelings. Now... he wants to be with her?

Gu Lan’s head suddenly felt like it was a size bigger.

Zijin brought over a plate of small tangerines. She had never seen Gu Lan so absent-minded before and asked, "Young Master, you—"

"I just want to be brothers with him!" Gu Lan murmured softly.

Zijin: "...Your head is so big."

Gu Lan looked in a mirror, and indeed, her head seemed a size bigger.

"Fifth Prince Rong wants to be with you?" Zijin asked pointedly, not at all surprised by this matter.

Gu Lan looked up and began peeling tangerines, her mind racing with questions:

"How do you know, is this reasonable? Is this scientific? Is this normal? How could this happen? Aren’t we always good brothers?"

At the end, she thought this was simply absurd, something must be wrong somewhere.

Zijin, seeing through it all, said, "Isn’t it obvious? Back then, you personally told Fifth Prince Rong that you were a homosexual, that you liked men. Plus, you are always so kind to Fifth Prince Rong. At such a youthful and romantic age, if he doesn’t like you, who else would he like?"

"Why do you seem to know so much, Zijin? Do you have a young master you’re interested in?" Gu Lan asked.

Zijin replied, "This servant has no young master I like."

Gu Lan furrowed her brows and murmured, "Am I really that good to Rong Heng? I just bring him meals, sugar, and take care of Rong Heng who’s easy to look after—the meals aren’t even prepared by me."

Zijin smiled, her eyes soft, and gently said:

"Young Master, you are the best man this servant has ever seen. Although you are cross-dressing, you shine brighter, are more impressive, and more charming than all the men in the world. This servant still remembers what you said the first time I mentioned Fifth Prince Rong."

Gu Lan asked, "What did I say?"

"You said respect is mutual. Since Fifth Prince Rong is the former Emperor’s fifth prince, he should be addressed as Your Highness. Calling him Fifth Young Master Rong is an insult and disregard from outsiders, and since you chose to befriend him, Zijin should also respect him and choose to call him Your Highness."

As Zijin spoke, she recalled Gu Lan’s serious yet gentle demeanor at that time, and that was when she truly got to know the Young Master, empathetic and understanding. Gu Lan is indeed the best Young Master Gu in this world.

Gu Lan remembered, she had indeed said that, which is why Zijin, Zipei, and even Jiu all called Rong Heng Your Highness.

Gu Lan lowered her eyes, ate a piece of tangerine, sweet and sour as it was, she was now too confused to even be interested in her favorite meals: "This is just a small matter."

"To you, Young Master, it’s a small matter, but I am your servant, and my way of addressing others represents your thoughts. Fifth Prince Rong is so smart, he could surely have guessed that it’s a sign of your respect for him."

"I get it, it’s because Rong Heng had a hard life before that he mistook the slight kindness I showed him for affection," Gu Lan paused, suddenly realizing something.

Zijin: "...You seem to understand, but at the same time, you don’t."

Gu Lan shook his head vigorously: "He’s surely too touched, that’s why he’s mistaking his brotherly feelings for affection towards me. Besides, Rong Heng is only seventeen, what does he know about love."

Moreover, Rong Heng is only seventeen. The seventeen-year-old protagonist has gone through hardships, but his good days are yet to come. In the future, he will become the cold-hearted lady killer, the youngest Regent King of Yan Country, the Emperor, the most noble man in this world—how could he possibly bend?

Zijin sighed: "Then, young master, how should you interact with Fifth Prince Rong in the future?"

Gu Lan opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

At that moment, Uncle Li mysteriously walked into Step Lotus Hall and said, "Young master, Fifth Prince Rong is just outside the wall."

Gu Lan stood up with a start, closed his eyes, and stepped into his own room: "Not meeting...uh, see him another day."

Halfway through her sentence, her tone softened.

She couldn’t provoke the protagonist; he hadn’t done anything wrong. This must be a misunderstanding.

Uncle Li nodded: "Understood, I’ll go and turn him away."

"Turn away!?"

She feared that Rong Heng might get angry and strike Uncle Li back.

Having just escaped from the Imperial Palace, and within less than a two-hour period, Rong Heng had already come after her.

Gu Lan retreated, gritted her teeth, got up, and jumped over her own wall.

She intended to tell him that he was still young and what he felt for her was merely being touched, just a brotherly bond!

Yet, looking at Rong Heng in front of her, covered in frost under the night sky, his face cold, still holding the red cloak she had lost, Gu Lan swallowed her words. Her throat choked up, and she couldn’t utter a single word.

Young Master Gu’s mind was in a chaotic state. The next moment, she realized she still had a freshly peeled orange in her hand.

"Stay here, don’t move, I’ll go get you an orange." Gu Lan didn’t know what she was saying; anyway, she just didn’t know how to face Rong Heng at this moment.

After she spoke, Young Master Gu dashed back and quickly returned, stuffing the large plate of oranges that Zijin had into Rong Heng’s hands.

Before he could speak, she took back the cloak from his arms and said, "Goodnight!"

This time, Gu Lan really hid back in her room and didn’t come out. Even if Uncle Li clashed with him, she needed to calm down first.

Rong Heng looked at the fresh and vibrant oranges in his hand, his figure bathed in moonlight, proud and cool, like an immortal, yet his gaze was dim and profound.

He stood outside the wall for a long time.

He could go in, but if the person inside didn’t want to see him, being close meant nothing.

Perhaps, Gu Lan truly didn’t like him.

Her youthful spirit was unrestrained and free, deserving of better people.

She was already very kind to him, even wanting to swear brotherhood with him.

What else was he unsatisfied with?

But he wasn’t satisfied; he still wished for something more.

Rong Heng’s slender fingers gently peeled an orange and put it in his mouth.

So sour,

He had never tasted such a bitter orange.

But he had to taste that slight sweetness.

Meanwhile, Gu Lan was in her room peeling oranges.

She peeled many, her fingers stained with color, yet she casually said, "Zijin, these are all for you."

Zijin frowned: "Does the young master wish for this servant to get heaty?"

Gu Lan: "That’s not what I meant."

Zijin said, "This servant knows the young master didn’t mean it that way, but this servant dares not eat the oranges the young master peeled for Fifth Prince Rong."

Hearing this, Gu Lan stuffed a whole orange into her mouth: "Who said these were for him!"

Zijin shook her head and stepped back: "Sigh, the one involved is always bewildered."

"Uncle Li, Uncle Li!" After a long time, Gu Lan finished the pile of oranges she had painstakingly peeled and called for Uncle Li.

"What instructions does the young master have?"

Gu Lan hiccupped and recounted in detail the events that happened today at Magpie Workshop and Yuan Lang’s request for the Marquis Mansion to help him find his mother.

Uncle Li agreed: "No problem, monitoring the Wei Country Empress’s movements is easier than monitoring Wei Liuyu and Wei Junzhuo. Besides, as you said, Wei Country is currently in turmoil, protecting the Wei Country Empress also serves to leave a burden for the Wei siblings."

For many years, Uncle Li had been responsible for intelligence in various places, his information always the most insightful.

Gu Lan pondered for a moment and asked: "Uncle Li, do you know that the Wei siblings are part of the Wei Country’s former Imperial Family?"