By the time he had finished everything, Lin Lin had run out of fight, looking utterly dejected.
She was exhausted—too tired even to move a muscle. She had stopped struggling and given up completely, resigning herself to whatever would happen next.
With his eyes covered, Xiao Fusu wasn’t sure if he had gotten her truly clean, but he was certain she was far cleaner than before. The servants had prepared everything properly, and he had changed all the necessary items. Though he was unfamiliar with women’s clothing, especially the special garments used during monthly courses—everything had felt rather complicated.
At the thought, his face flushed red again, and he roughly pulled the cloth from his eyes.
Standing on the edge of the bed with his hands on his hips, he glanced down at her.
“Hey—move over a bit. I need to throw out the soiled sheets.”
He gently nudged her hip with his toe, his voice carrying a hint of tired roughness and warmth.
She had been so stubborn when she shouldn’t have been, yet now when she needed to move, she wouldn’t budge an inch.
Looking at her curled up like a shrimp on the bed, he reminded her with a touch of annoyance.
She still didn’t move.
“Hey…”
“Wuwu!”
He called to her again, but just as his patience was wearing thin, she suddenly burst into loud, wailing sobs.
“Stop crying,” he said, trying to sound calm as he soothed her.
If she kept this up, anyone who heard would think he’d done something terrible to her.
But her crying only grew louder.
Lin Lin felt deeply wronged—being treated like this by him was mortifying!
She felt she could never face anyone again, least of all him.
Her emotions were simply too tangled to put into words.
She had never imagined that she would spend her monthly courses with a fictional man from a book she’d only just met—and in such a humiliating, chaotic way at that.
“Why do you cry so much!”
She heard a weary sigh from above her, full of helplessness.
The audacity of him to complain in such a casual tone!
It was like a knife to her heart.
Lin Lin’s cheeks were still wet with tears as she bit her lip and sniffled, feeling wronged.
Finally, after a moment, those large hands gently lifted her into his arms again.
She tried to push him away but couldn’t, so she gave up and buried her face in his chest, crying even harder without restraint.
Tears and snot streamed down unchecked—her misery was overwhelming!
In the end, she wiped all of it onto his clothes.
With no other choice, he lifted her face and used a clean cloth hanging nearby to carefully wipe her cheeks, moving with gentle care.
“You brute! You big brute!”
Somehow, she still had the strength to scold him.
Looking at her stubborn little face, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
Strangely enough, he felt no anger—instead, he found her rather endearing.
For the first time in his life, he felt a strange flutter of attraction for this peculiar young woman.
Though the spark of warmth in his eyes faded quickly, replaced by a look of complexity.
When she saw him smile, she stopped crying, though she continued to glare at him with resentful eyes—anger mixed with stubborn defiance.
Perhaps his amusement had had a calming effect.
His heart stirred slightly, and his lips curved upward again.
Wordless and intimate, his smile carried a natural charm and grace, making his handsome face all the more striking.
Lin Lin stared for a moment, then quickly looked away.
Flustered and embarrassed for no clear reason, she turned her face slightly out of his grasp.
Xiao Fusu frowned at her distraction, his expression growing serious as he gently but firmly turned her face back.
“Don’t squirm—we’re almost done.”
His gaze was earnest and focused, as if cleaning her face was the most important task in the world right now.
This time, she didn’t scold him for being overbearing.
Time passed quietly between them—if this moment could have lasted forever, it would have been perfect.
Alas… even the most beautiful moments must eventually end.
At last, she was clean.
After patiently finishing her face, Xiao Fusu studied her for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.
Without hesitation, he set her down in the corner, then stripped off his own undergarments—now stained with her tears and snot—and tossed them to the ground, his voice filled with distaste. “Filthy.”
Huddled in the corner, Lin Lin watched him and thought he must be a clean freak.
It was just a little mess on his clothes—was it really that bad? Though she admitted it was somewhat gross, it was all his fault to begin with.
If he hadn’t bullied her and made her cry, none of this would have happened.
So really, he was to blame for everything.
Thinking back on everything that had happened tonight with him, her cheeks flushed red again.
Still… even with his obsession with cleanliness, he had patiently and gently changed her clothes and wiped her face.
So this time, she would forgive his rudeness.
Of course, she would only do so in her heart—she would never say the words out loud to him.
What about her pride? Absolutely not—she would just quietly forgive him and leave it at that.
She mused to herself, though he had no idea what was going through her mind.
He then busied himself gathering the soiled sheets, used clothes, dirty cloths, and blood-stained basin, piling them all on the floor before calling out loudly.
“Someone! Come clean this up—take all this filth away!”
The servants rushed in at once, removed the dirty items, and swiftly cleaned the floor until everything was spotless.
By the time order was restored and the servants had left, dawn was nearly breaking.
He felt tired and sleepy, with no energy left to speak. He simply lifted the covers, climbed into bed, and pulled them over his face.
“Go to sleep,” he mumbled, his voice weary. After a whole night of chaos, he had no patience left for anything else.
She could tell how tired he was and, surprisingly, behaved herself without disturbing him.
“Okay,” she whispered, carefully lifting the edge of the covers and sliding into bed.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince…”
But after only a short while, she called to him in a soft, muffled voice like a mewling kitten.
“What now?!”
He had just started to drift off to sleep, and now it was gone—his mood was thoroughly soured.
“Do… do you feel cold?”
She asked in a pitiful little voice.
Oh right—she was still ill.
He lay with his back to her, but forced his eyes open a crack.
“And… my lower belly feels cold… it hurts a bit.”
And she was having her monthly courses too.
Xiao Fusu let out a quiet sigh—not quite sure if it was from helplessness or sympathy.
She reached out to touch her own weak abdomen, then spoke again in a soft, hesitant voice tinged with sadness.
In truth, she had wanted to ask if she could have another blanket. After all, she had a chill and was on her monthly courses—her body was weak and sensitive to the cold.
“I’m cold… I don’t handle the cold well… could I—”
Before she could finish, Xiao Fusu had turned over without a word and pulled her firmly into his arms.
She stared in surprise, but heard him speak with his eyes closed, his voice thick with sleep. “Is this warm enough now?”
His tone was completely natural, and she could feel the steady beat of his heart and the rhythm of his breathing. Their faces were close together, his long, thick eyelashes brushing against her cheek—tickling her skin, and stirring a similar flutter in her heart.
In this moment, he was calm, warm, and tenderly caring.
His hand gently rubbed her cool lower belly, and the warmth from his palm felt like a small flame. Gradually, the pain and cold faded, and even her heart felt warm.
A sweet, knowing smile curved her lips unconsciously.
The night was quiet, and moonlight like water shone gently on his beautiful, peaceful face.
Describing a man as “beautiful and delicate” might seem too soft, but there was no denying he was handsome and elegant—a rare beauty among men, truly one in a million.
“Thank you,” Lin Lin whispered, looking at his serene sleeping face with genuine gratitude, even though he could not hear her.