Double Rebirth: The Scumbag Heroine is Terrified of the Yandere Prince! - Chapter 31

“Does Your Highness promise to answer truthfully?”

Shen Ruoli struggled to lift her head while still in Xie Xuanjin’s embrace. As she looked up, stray strands of her hair brushed lightly against his face—itchy, soft, and fragrant.

Xie Xuanjin seemed to have a premonition that her questions were not going to be serious. He was about to decline, but Shen Ruoli beat him to it.

“Your Highness just told me to ask! You can’t go back on your word! Otherwise, I’ll go to the Weiyang Palace tomorrow and ask Jiaojiao instead!”

Xie Xuanjin’s jaw tightened. “Fine. Ask.”

“When is Your Highness moving back to Qingning Palace? What kind of women does Your Highness actually like? Did Your Highness have other women before—like bed-warming maids or the like…?”

Shen Ruoli’s smile was cunning, like a little fox that had successfully pulled off a prank. “The winter nights are so long and lonely. Does Your Highness not find it difficult to sleep alone?”

Xie Xuanjin: “…”

He felt like he was being flirted with, but he had no proof.

“Why has Your Highness stopped speaking? Didn’t you just say you would clear up my confusion personally?”

Shen Ruoli knew he was speechless, yet she pressed him intentionally. “Is it that Your Highness is going back on your word and refuses to tell me? Oh, right! I just thought of another question!”

“Your Highness likes Salt-Baked Chicken because it is golden and bright… then, does Your Highness like a woman like me, who has a bit of ‘color’ and quite a bit of ‘beauty’?”

Shen Ruoli put her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly, continuing to look up at him. Her smile was brilliant and as pure as it had been in her youth, untainted by the “filth” of her time with Xie Xuansong.

Xie Xuanjin’s eyes flickered uncontrollably.

He had been steady beyond his years since childhood. Because of his status as “Crown Prince,” there had always been an unbridgeable chasm between him and his siblings or peers.

When other children studied, he was twice as diligent; when other children played, he was practicing martial arts; when other children slept, he was reading by lamplight. When other children went out for excursions, he followed his Imperial Father into the Golden Chimes Hall.

His father’s back had been so imposing; the young Xie Xuanjin followed closely behind, feeling that the long flight of stairs was endless and that the silent, trembling officials were as dull as statues.

Later, they all grew up. Although Shen Ruoli became increasingly arrogant and looked down on everyone, the smiles she occasionally showed were still so radiant. She was like a star surrounded by moons—someone always supported her, someone always followed her.

And he? He only had mountains of petitions that could never be finished.

“What? Does Your Highness not like it?” Seeing no answer but only a flickering, avoiding gaze, Shen Ruoli raised an eyebrow.

Since Xie Xuanjin wasn’t displeased, he must like it! Having lived through two lifetimes, how could she not know that the man in front of her was actually a “closet romantic”? Silent on the surface, but full of love in his heart!

Thus, Shen Ruoli’s hands grew even bolder; she reached out and wrapped her arms directly around Xie Xuanjin’s waist!

She pushed her luck, leaning closer. “If Your Highness likes delicate young girls, I can actually do that too… Whatever look Your Highness prefers, I can become the version you desire.”

“Would Your Highness like to try?”

Xie Xuanjin: “!!!”

This woman was simply audacious! Adding his past and present lives together, he had lived for fifty-four years, and he had never been flirted with like this!

Wait… adding two lives together, he had only lived fifty-some years? He really was a short-lived ghost.

If Xie Xuanjin only felt like he was being flirted with a moment ago, he was now absolutely certain: he was being toyed with by this woman!

Despite her usual cold and arrogant “keep away” demeanor, in front of him, she was shameless, thick-skinned, and persistent! Yet, strangely, Xie Xuanjin did not find her persistence repulsive.

He looked down at her hands, which were growing bolder as they stroked upward, and his gaze darkened.

“Shen Ruoli, do you know what you are doing?” His voice was tinged with a hint of huskiness.

Shen Ruoli’s movements paused briefly, but her face remained innocent. “I am just helping Your Highness dust off your clothes.”

Dusting? It was the first time he had seen someone “dust” by sliding their hands inside his robes.

“My inner robes have dust?” He grabbed her wrists.

“Hiss.”

Shen Ruoli let out a sharp breath of pain, taking the opportunity to lean further into his chest. “Your Highness is pinching me!”

Startled, Xie Xuanjin immediately let go and took a step back. He clearly hadn’t used any strength!

“What is Your Highness afraid of? Afraid I’ll take advantage of you?” Shen Ruoli blinked innocently.

Realizing he had been played, Xie Xuanjin’s cheeks suddenly burned hot! He gritted his teeth. “Shen Ruoli!”

“Present!” Shen Ruoli stood at attention.

Xie Xuanjin snapped in embarrassed rage, “Do not be so shameless in front of me!”

“And so? Is Your Highness afraid of my shamelessness?” She leaned in again.

This time, Xie Xuanjin did not retreat. It wasn’t until her forehead pressed against his chin that he spat out a cold sentence: “Are you truly not afraid of me?”

He had felt a moment of panic just now, but he adjusted his emotions instantly. With his hands behind his back, he looked coldly at her acting like a rogue. “Are you not afraid I will kill you?”

“And so? Would Your Highness really kill me?”

Shen Ruoli used his own trick against him. Just moments ago, she had been driven crazy by his repetitive “And so?” Now, she was returning the favor!

She thought he would be angry, but to her surprise, the man simply turned around and headed for the door. “Do not speak like that in the future. I do not like it.”

Shen Ruoli: “???”

He didn’t get angry? She was completely bewildered.

“Well?” Seeing that she wasn’t following, Xie Xuanjin suddenly turned at the doorway. “Are you not hungry? Are we not having dinner?”

We are! Why wouldn’t she have dinner? After being busy for him all day, she hadn’t even had a drop of water. Her stomach was empty, and she no longer had the energy to argue. She hurried to catch up.

Xie Xuanyu was sitting on pins and needles. He wanted to leave, but the dazzling array of delicacies on the table made his head spin and his mouth water. Furthermore, several guards stood at the door, watching him like hawks. Without Xie Xuanjin’s order, he couldn’t leave the estate.

“What are those two doing?” Xie Xuanyu’s stomach growled loudly.

Over the years, as the Emperor gradually handed power to the Crown Prince, the struggle among the brothers had intensified, moving from the shadows to the open. The reason he had been able to save himself—offending no one and being troubled by no one—was because he loved food, not power!

In just two short years, he had managed to transform himself from a “jade-faced gentleman” into a “porcine figure”…

Xie Xuanyu sat in his chair, his round body curled into a ball, his chubby face looking exceptionally aggrieved. He wanted to ask when dinner would start, but because the hosts hadn’t arrived, he didn’t dare pick up his chopsticks or send someone to hurry them. Anyway, he couldn’t even order the servants of the Crown Prince’s Estate around. Sigh.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, he could no longer hold back. His chubby hand reached tremulously toward a large braised pig trotter in front of him.

By the time Shen Ruoli and Xie Xuanjin arrived, the table was a mess of half-empty plates.

And Xie Xuanyu was nowhere to be found.