The Alien Prince Has Fallen for Me

Chapter 9: Deadly Cold at Minus Twenty

The charity gala at the Moonshadow Hotel had drawn to a close amid surface glamour and hidden daggers. Yue Yao, accompanied by her billion-dollar 'auction item'—Xing Hun—and her inscrutable fiancé Fu Yuan, rode in the stretch limousine back to the villa.

The atmosphere in the car was tense. Fu Yuan pressed close to Yue Yao, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist, his eyes periodically flickering sharply toward Xing Hun across from him. Xing Hun appeared entirely at ease, leaning back against the plush leather seat, gazing out the window at the neon streaks of the city flashing past, an indecipherable half-smile on his lips.

Yue Yao was utterly drained. The evening's humiliations, the poisoning, the gunfire, Tang Yu's threats, and the predatory stares of Roger and Loli all churned in her mind like a feverish merry-go-round. She leaned against the seat and closed her eyes, her fingers unconsciously tracing the stiff paper in her clutch—Xing Hun's 'instruction manual.' This entire absurd nightmare traced back to that consciousness-transfer lab, to the moment she had become 'Mei Guo.'

'Xing Hun,' she broke the silence, her voice carrying genuine gratitude. 'I owe you for tonight.' Without him, she would now be a cold corpse.

Xing Hun turned his head, his gaze settling on her pallid face. The mockery in his eyes softened. 'It's my job,' he replied simply.

Yue Yao hesitated, then made sleeping arrangements: 'Tonight you'll take the room next to mine. If anything happens, I'll call you.'

Xing Hun shook his head, his tone unyielding: 'Sleeping next door—I'm afraid I won't make it in time. Look at what happened tonight. If measures hadn't been taken instantly, the consequences would have been unthinkable.' He was referring to those two bullets that had been mysteriously deflected.

Yue Yao thought of that heart-stopping moment and shuddered. She yielded: 'Fine. Sleep in my room. But we're setting up an extra bed!'

Fu Yuan was instantly displeased. He tightened his arm around Yue Yao and protested: 'We sleep together. Having a third wheel is just wrong!'

Xing Hun cast him a cold glance: 'You cannot enter her room.'

'How come you can and I can't?!' Fu Yuan exploded.

'Because I have neither the motive nor the suspicion of killing her.' Xing Hun's words were blunt and merciless, like an ice pick driven into Fu Yuan's heart.

Fu Yuan's face paled. He shot back heatedly: 'Neither do I! How could I possibly kill Mei Guo?!'

Xing Hun was unmoved. 'If she dies, you, as her fiancé, stand to gain the most. That makes you the prime suspect.'

'I would never kill Mei Guo for the inheritance! Don't you slander me!'

Yue Yao's head was pounding. She hastily stepped in, patting Fu Yuan's arm soothingly: 'Stop fighting, both of you. Once we find out who's trying to kill me, your name will be cleared, darling.' She turned to Xing Hun with a plea in her eyes. 'The situation is unusual. Let's be understanding of each other.'

Fu Yuan looked at Yue Yao's gentle profile and reluctantly grunted his acquiescence: 'Fine. But baby—don't let him take advantage of you!' He shot a warning glare at Xing Hun.

Yue Yao's face heated. 'Don't worry. Even if he wanted to, I wouldn't let him.' She punctuated this with a pointed glare at Xing Hun.

Xing Hun immediately seized the opening. Putting on a deeply wronged expression, he brought up old history: 'I'm the one who should be afraid of her taking advantage of my good looks. Remember in the warehouse—'

Yue Yao's face went crimson in a nanosecond. She brought the heel of her stiletto down hard on his foot! Xing Hun's face twisted in pain as the rest of his sentence died. Yue Yao huffed: 'Alright, I'm exhausted. Let's all go to bed.' Fu Yuan broke into a smile, kissed her cheek: 'Goodnight, baby!' Xing Hun, rubbing his smarting foot, muttered: 'Nauseating.'

The villa sat on the city's outskirts, sprawling across extensive grounds, its design modern and opulent. But under the heavy cloak of night, the building emanated a chilling, almost predatory coldness. The smart home AI 'Xiao Zhi' offered a gentle welcome as they entered, yet an inexplicable unease pricked at Yue Yao.

They reached the master bedroom on the second floor. The room was enormous, lavishly appointed, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the shadowy gardens. Yue Yao pointed at a less comfortable sofa bed toward the far side and declared: 'I'm the master. I shower first! No peeking!'

Xing Hun leaned against the doorframe and used his most infuriating tone: 'Already seen it. Nothing worth looking at.' Yue Yao grabbed a plush pillow and hurled it at him. Xing Hun caught it easily, watching her storm into the bathroom in a huff. An unconscious tender smile spread across his face.

Inside the bathroom, warm water cascaded over her body as Yue Yao tried to release her strung-taut nerves. She gazed into the fogged mirror at the beautiful but alien face reflected there. A crushing sense of loneliness and terror seized her. This gilded cage—hunters prowling outside, two men with hidden agendas inside. Who could she possibly trust?

When she emerged wearing pajamas printed with a cartoon McDull pig, Xing Hun was standing before the room's small refrigerator. 'Your pajamas are so childish!' he remarked.

'This is McDull! He's super cute!' she defended herself. Xing Hun's eyes deepened with amusement. 'Cute. The more I look, the more that little pig reminds me of you.' 'You're the pig!' Yue Yao glowered.

Xing Hun stopped teasing and pulled eggs, beef, tomatoes from the fridge, beginning to prepare them with practiced ease. 'You must be hungry after all that chaos tonight. Gourmet cooking is a complimentary add-on. By the way, have you read the instruction manual yet?' Yue Yao admitted she hadn't. Soon the microwave beeped and a rich aroma filled the room as he brought out steaming beef and egg drop soup.

'Wow! Smells amazing!' she exclaimed, her stomach growling. Xing Hun handed her the bowl. 'I said it was complimentary. Eat.'

Yue Yao was genuinely famished. The warm soup spread through her, chasing away some of the chill and unease. Xing Hun watched her contented expression with soft eyes, then picked up his own pajamas and headed toward the bathroom. 'Finish your food. I'm going to shower.'

Xing Hun had only just stepped into the bathroom when Yue Yao caught a slither of movement—a jet-black snake crawling across the carpet, its head raised, flicking a crimson tongue straight at her! 'AHHHH!' she shrieked in sheer terror.

Almost simultaneously, the shower water cut off. Time seemed to freeze. The bathroom door burst open—Xing Hun charged out with only a towel around his waist, his chiseled torso bare and dripping. He glanced at the snake, his eyes turning cold. In a blur of motion, he pinched the snake at its vital seven-inch point and slammed it against the wall. It fell limp into the corner trash bin.

Time resumed. 'Just a small black snake,' Xing Hun reported calmly. 'Looks non-venomous.' Yue Yao's gaze landed on his bare, water-beaded chest—and she screamed again. Xing Hun was bewildered: 'What are you screaming about? Never seen a handsome guy before?!' 'Y-you… why aren't you wearing clothes?!' 'Who wears clothes in the shower?!' Yue Yao, still red-faced but terrified, pleaded: 'H-help me check if there are any more snakes in this room.'

He began a thorough search—under the bed, behind curtains, beneath blankets. When he bent to check under the table, he found himself staring into compound eyes attached to a hairy body: a palm-sized black spider. 'AH! Giant spider!' Xing Hun shrieked reflexively, leaping backward and taking cover behind Yue Yao, grabbing her arm tightly.

Yue Yao stared—then burst out laughing at this man towering a full head above her cowering behind her in obvious terror. She pulled off her slipper and, with a decisive smack, flattened the spider. 'Hahaha! You're scared of spiders!' she doubled over, then deliberately pointed at another corner: 'AH! There's an even bigger one over here!' Xing Hun dove to the opposite side without looking, yelping again. She laughed until she couldn't straighten up: 'And you said you're not scared!' Only then did he realize she'd been messing with him.

Their laughter was interrupted when Fu Yuan burst through the door, catching a pillow in the face. He took in the scene—Xing Hun in a towel, Yue Yao laughing in cartoon pajamas, the dead spider and snake—and his face settled into devastated anguish. He wailed: 'Xiao Qiang! Xiao Hei! You've both left me!' He rushed to gaze upon the corpses. 'Xing Hun! Why did you kill them?! They were our pets! Mine and Mei Guo's!'

Yue Yao and Xing Hun's smiles petrified. Pets?! A snake and a spider?! Yue Yao quickly played along: 'Darling, I was terrified. Xing Hun was far too cruel.' She shot Xing Hun a meaningful look. He caught on instantly, delivering his excuse with professional seriousness: 'I must ensure Mrs. Mei Guo's safety. Such creatures are unsafe in the bedroom—they had to be dealt with.'

Fu Yuan, inconsolable, gathered up the remains and declared he would hold a proper funeral. He glowered at Xing Hun to put clothes on, then bid Yue Yao a wounded goodnight. After he left, Xing Hun returned to the bathroom to finish showering.

When he emerged in neat pajamas, Yue Yao had fallen asleep on the sofa from sheer exhaustion, still clutching her McDull pillow. Xing Hun gazed at her in silence—his eyes full of tenderness and pain. He lifted her gently into his arms, laid her on the large bed, and tucked the blanket around her. He murmured: 'I'm sorry… I'm so useless. I keep making you feel the agony of death, over and over again…' He lay on the sofa bed but stayed alert, tracking every faint sound.

At some unknown hour, he was jolted from sleep by piercing cold. The room temperature was dropping catastrophically! His exhaled breath had turned to white mist. 'Xiao Zhi—raise the thermostat!' 'Apologies. The system has been compromised by a viral attack. I am unable to control the central air conditioning.' 'Open the windows and doors!' 'Apologies. I have lost all permissions to operate the villa's smart home systems.'

Xing Hun tried to manually open the windows and door—they were sealed as if welded shut. The temperature panel read minus ten degrees Celsius and was still dropping. Another meticulously orchestrated assassination attempt—exploiting smart system vulnerabilities to freeze them to death!

He hurried to the bedside. Yue Yao was curled tight, lips tinged purple, trembling. He didn't hesitate—he slipped into the bed, pressing his body against her ice-cold form. He circulated some strange energy within himself, and his body began radiating astonishing heat like a living furnace. In her half-conscious haze, Yue Yao burrowed into his chest by instinct.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, cocooning them in the quilt, using his body's heat to drive away the deadly chill. 'Am I dying again… when I wake up, I'm never sleeping in this room again… so freaking cold…' she murmured brokenly. 'Don't sleep!' Xing Hun held her tighter. 'Wait until you're warm—then you can sleep.' 'Mm… I've dragged you into this too…' Xing Hun rested his chin against her cold hair: 'No… I'm the selfish one. I couldn't bear for you to forget me again. That's why I keep turning back time.'

Bathed in his continuous warmth, her trembling finally ceased. Her breathing grew steady. She murmured: 'You're so warm…' Xing Hun maintained the embrace without moving, continuing to circulate his energy, maintaining his body temperature through the entire night. Frost grew thick on the window glass. The room had become a vast ice cellar. Only that tiny pocket of space where they held each other still held the warmth of life.