Double Rebirth: The Scumbag Heroine is Terrified of the Yandere Prince! - Chapter 13

The room was vast, but there was only one bed. There wasn’t even a chaise longue to be found.

Xie Xuanyin’s brows were locked in a deep frown.

“Your Highness, why don’t we?”

“Fine.”

Before Shen Ruoli could even finish her sentence, Xie Xuanyin nodded in agreement. He assumed she was going to suggest sleeping in separate rooms, with her taking another chamber. Therefore, he had agreed quite readily.

Seeing his quick consent, Shen Ruoli let out a breath of relief. She flopped onto the bed without hesitation, rolled over to the inner side, and then extended a hand toward him in an inviting gesture. “Your Highness can sleep on the outer side!”

Having shared a bed with him for years in their previous life, she naturally understood his sleeping habits. Not only was he a very light sleeper, but he also preferred the outer edge of the bed and slept fully clothed. Not only that, he always kept a dagger under his pillow! As he put it: This way, even if I encounter danger, I can react immediately. If he slept on the inner side, he would be trapped and unable to move freely.

She wondered just how many assassinations attempts he had survived growing up to develop such a peculiar habit.

Xie Xuanyin: “??? You’re sleeping here?”

Seeing his surprise, Shen Ruoli propped her head up on her hand and looked at him curiously. “Your Highness, it’s so late. If I don’t sleep here, where would I go?”

She gestured around the empty room. “I’ve heard that Sixth Uncle has always been frugal and that his manor is simply furnished. I thought the rumors were exaggerating, but it really is true! There isn’t even a single chair or a daybed!”

Then, Shen Ruoli’s eyes widened. “Surely Your Highness doesn’t expect me to sleep on the floor?”

Xie Xuanyin: “…”

No. He didn’t even want to be in the same room as her. He wanted her in a different room—or better yet, kicked out onto the street!

“Your Highness! This is the middle of winter! And I caught a chill tonight!”

Shen Ruoli scrambled to a sitting position. She seemed quite agitated, but after a few words, she suddenly clamped her mouth shut and stared at him with a strange expression. Gradually, her face turned red, then her neck, and even her eyes began to well up. Her body shook slightly, as if she were suppressing something intense.

Seeing this, Xie Xuanyin frowned. “Are you going to cry again?”

In the previous life, this woman was not one for tears. Even when her arm was pierced by a sword, she would grit her teeth and endure it. To trick him into believing her, she had used the “self-injury” tactic several times; each time, she would be pale and drenched in sweat, but silent.

Only in that final moment, when she cried and said he didn’t trust her—wishing to be struck by lightning if she lied—did her tears hit him like a heavy hammer, causing a dull ache in his chest.

Yet, only a few days into his rebirth, he had seen her cry almost every single day. Had her personality shifted, or was this a new tactic?

Xie Xuanyin’s mind was a mess, but he dared not let his guard down. Shen Ruoli continued to keep her mouth tightly shut, shaking her head vigorously.

Not crying?

“Then what is it?”

She continued to shake her head.

“Speak!” Xie Xuanyin lost his patience.

Shen Ruoli looked at him with those red, rabbit-like eyes, a gaze so pitiful he nearly lost his resolve.

“Whatever it is you want to do, I grant it!” Xie Xuanyin gritted his teeth, giving in. Then he added, “Only for tonight!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Shen Ruoli erupted into a fit of violent coughing—”Keke, keke!” She clutched her chest, her body curling up like a shrimp. She coughed so hard it felt as if her lungs were about to come out.

Xie Xuanyin hesitated for a moment before reaching out and gently patting her back. The moment she stopped, he retracted his hand so fast it was as if he weren’t the one who had just comforted her.

He waited for her to speak her mind now that the coughing had subsided, staring at her expectantly.

“Why is Your Highness looking at me like that?” Shen Ruoli touched her face, wondering if something was on it.

Xie Xuanyin: “…Didn’t you have something to say? You were so desperate your tears were coming out.”

“Oh!” Realization dawned on her. Then she looked aggrieved again. “I didn’t actually have anything to say! It was just that earlier, Your Highness ordered me not to cough randomly.”

Xie Xuanyin: “…”

So, the reason she was turning red and crying like she’d been bullied was simply because she wanted to cough but didn’t dare to?!

Seeing his speechlessness, Shen Ruoli chuckled inwardly. It seemed he still cared about her after all.

“Does what Your Highness said just now still count?”

“It does not,” he immediately denied. Otherwise, this woman would definitely take a mile if given an inch!

“A Prince’s word is his bond! How can you go back on it?” Shen Ruoli didn’t care; she curled back up on the bed, her eyes shining like stars. “Tonight, I will not leave this room, and neither will Your Highness!”

“And why is that?”

“Because Your Highness said it—whatever I want to do tonight, you grant it!”

Xie Xuanyin: “…” Curse my loose tongue! Curse my soft heart!

“Your Highness is a God of Softheartedness,” Shen Ruoli murmured, having read his temper perfectly. She patted the bed. “Dawn is almost here; Your Highness should rest. Don’t think about separate rooms. This is the King of Zhenbei’s manor. If we don’t share a bed, won’t people gossip that the Crown Prince and Princess are at odds?”

“So what if they do?” They were at odds!

“Your Highness promised me we would be an affectionate couple!”

“On the surface only.”

“Then Your Highness must maintain the surface appearance!”

Shen Ruoli countered every one of his points until he was speechless. He began to wonder if he was spoiling her too much tonight. However, looking at her lively demeanor, he found her unexpectedly vivid and interesting. He decided to ignore her, blew out the candle, and lay down on the very edge of the bed with his back to her.

It was as if a galaxy existed between them.

“Your Highness, rest assured, I won’t do anything to you!” Shen Ruoli said, even as her body stealthily began to inch toward him. The bed creaked—”Zhiya, zhiya” adding a layer of tension to the air.

Xie Xuanyin was so annoyed he laughed. “Shen Ruoli, do you think I’m deaf?”

In the next second, he rolled up the quilt and shoved it between them like a barrier. Shen Ruoli stopped.

At that moment, a dark shadow flashed past the window. A sharp glint appeared in Shen Ruoli’s eyes, but she didn’t alert Xie Xuanyin. Instead, she sniffled. “Your Highness, I’m a bit cold.”

She punctuated the sentence with a sneeze. In the darkness, Xie Xuanyin’s brow furrowed.

“Your Highness, I think I have a fever,” she whispered. “If you don’t believe me, feel for yourself?”

Her hand groped in the dark, trying to find his. But he kept his arms crossed, pretending not to hear.

“Your Highness, touch me.”

“Shut up!” Where is your sense of propriety?! Xie Xuanyin gritted his teeth, his ears burning. It was a good thing the candles were out, or he would have knocked her unconscious just to keep her from seeing his embarrassment.

“Your Highness, the room is so dark, I’m scared!”

Before he could react, Shen Ruoli suddenly threw back the quilt and lunged over! She wrapped herself around him, pressing her body tightly against his back. Her legs entwined with his like vines—she was clinging to him like an octopus.

The warmth behind him was like a surging volcano, enough to melt his icy exterior. He heard a “boom” go off in his head, and then, matters began to spiral out of control.