He doesn't realize that she pays close attention to his facial expressions. The first time around his face was fluctuating between impatience and fear. This time around he was more confident since he "knew what was going to happen" She even said that she loves watching him panic. Since he's not panicking this time around, of course she's going to have a different reaction to him pulling the rice off of her face. Especially when he looks like he's doing it intentionally unlike previously where he looked more innocent doing it.
Also he needs to stop saving so often. I'd rather save once a day and redo a day than saving every 30 minutes and get stuck in a near death loop, but I guess him being stupid adds to the tension.
*edit* Also with invisible sword he could have waited a few moments before reloading in the apartment situation. At least long enough to figure out what was going on before he reloaded.