I Could Never Fall In Love With A Villain - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: I Actually Want People to Misunderstand

“I know her.”

Her voice was clear and soft. She curled her lips into a casual smile, oddly reminiscent of a sweet cherry that had just been bitten into.

“Liang Yunxi. We just met last night, and we even added each other on WeChat.”

Mu Xuan shifted his gaze away. After a two-second pause, he asked again, “And besides that?”

Mu Yin’s smile grew more playful. “Wow, you want to know so much… and you still say you don’t have a crush?”

“It’s not what you think.” Mu Xuan felt she was doing this on purpose. His eyes flared with a desire to glare at her, but when his gaze moved back, it collided with her radiant, smiling face.

He silently looked away again. “…I have a right to ask what kind of friends you’re making.”

“Wow,” Mu Yin remarked with zero sincerity. “Must have been hard to find that excuse, huh? Truly not easy.”

“…”

Fortunately, the waiter arrived with their food, cutting off the conversation. As the tension dissipated, Mu Xuan felt the air in the room become a bit easier to breathe.

Mu Yin took a bite of food, eating leisurely before speaking in a neutral tone: “However, it’s impossible between the two of you. If you have feelings, you’d better give up early.”

Mu Xuan’s hand froze mid-air with his chopsticks. His eyes turned even more complicated.

Holding their separate thoughts, the two reached a silent consensus not to pursue the topic. The table fell quiet, save for the slight clinking of utensils.

Once she had eaten her fill, Mu Yin’s mind became active again. She cleared her throat. “Mu Jiarong froze my cards.”

Mu Xuan: “And?”

“Help me unfreeze them? I’m living off the pocket change on my secondary card right now. I’m penniless. It’s tragic.”

Despite her “selling misery,” Mu Yin spoke with total confidence. She didn’t sound like she was pleading; she sounded like she was giving an order. After a moment, she seemed to realize this and tried to soften her tone.

“How about it? Please… Brother?”

“…”

Brother?

He had never noticed before that Mu Yin was so good at being “flexible.” Mu Xuan rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, speechless.

Finally, under Mu Yin’s persistent gaze, he miraculously failed to activate his mockery skill. He merely huffed, “Fine. It was your money anyway.”

Mu Yin was surprised. She hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. Was it because she had poked his secret crush, making him feel guilty? Was this a “hush money” transaction?

Regardless, Mu Yin was in high spirits and didn’t hold back on the sweet talk.

“Thank you, Brother.” “Brother is the best.”

“…”

Mu Xuan was momentarily stuck. His face turned visibly red, but he glared at her, raising his voice. “Shut up! If you keep being this mushy, you can get lost.”

Mu Yin immediately stood up. “Then I’ll head out first.”

“…?”

She waved with a grin, turned around, and walked out of the restaurant booth without a hint of hesitation.

“Mu Yin!” He called out instinctively, his eyes full of bewilderment.

But she didn’t look back. “Brother, remember to unfreeze my cards!”

That “Brother” was becoming easier and easier to say. But neither her tone nor her actions held even a shred of a “pouting little sister” act. She was a master of turning a cold shoulder the second she got what she wanted.

Mu Xuan leaned back against his chair and laughed in spite of himself.

…

The Idle Socialite and the Hidden Rebel

After lunch, Mu Yin returned to the archives and stayed there all afternoon. When Mu Xuan heard about this, he assumed she had a sudden whim to work seriously. He sent her a message offering to put her in charge of a project.

Mu Yin rejected him without a second thought: “Not doing it.”

Mu Xuan sent back a question mark.

Mu Yin: “I just want to be an idle second-generation rich kid.”

Mu Xuan didn’t reply. It was easy to imagine him being fuming.

Mu Yin wasn’t telling the truth, of course. She just had no interest in the entertainment industry; her ambitions lay elsewhere. She went to the archives to understand the social rules of this world.

After a day of exploration, she confirmed three things:

1. The technology here lagged behind her original world.

2. The basic social system was similar to reality.

3. The world-building was incomplete; one could easily find “gaps” in the logic of this world.

No wonder CEOs here could get away with illegal activities. However… if used correctly, combined with her professional knowledge and technology that surpassed this era, she could realize her own ideals and escape her scripted future.

As quitting time approached, Mu Yin received a bank notification—her frozen card was active. Mu Xuan was indeed efficient. This was great news; she needed this money. She planned to transfer it as soon as possible to avoid being threatened with “freezing” every day.

Feeling excellent, she rewarded herself by clocking out exactly on time.

In the bright company lobby, employees were filtering out. When passing the lounge area, they all turned their heads, slowing their pace. Seeing this, Mu Yin looked over too.

By the floor-to-ceiling windows sat a young man on a black leather sofa, looking leisurely with his legs crossed. He was exceptionally handsome with bold features, but he radiated a wild, unbridled energy that kept people from approaching him.

It was Song Xingyao.

The man Song Jinxun couldn’t find last night was suddenly appearing here. And so openly…

He likes the feeling of ‘taboo,’ so surely he isn’t here for me? Mu Yin thought. Assuming it was none of her business, she prepared to walk out.

Right then, Song Xingyao looked up. Mu Yin’s eyelid twitched.

The next second, Song Xingyao’s smile was as bright as the stars. He raised a hand and waved lazily: “Sister-in-law!”

Everyone stared. Mu Yin just wanted to shove him into a nearby trash can.

Song Xingyao stood up and strode over, making no effort to lower his voice. “My brother told me to pick you up.”

Outside sat an off-road vehicle that matched his personality perfectly. He opened the door and made a “please” gesture. Mu Yin glanced at him and climbed in.

Once the car started, she gave a half-smile. “Where’s your brother?”

There were only the two of them in the car. Song Xingyao’s smile became more uninhibled. “There is no ‘brother.’ I came to find you behind his back.”

“What?” he added. “Isn’t it better without him? I just want to be alone with you.”

Mu Yin didn’t want to hear his flirtatious nonsense. “Where are we going?”

“There were too many people last night; I didn’t have time to chat with you properly… Come have a drink with me today?”

He watched her through the rearview mirror. Seeing her calm expression, his smile deepened. However, his smile soon stiffened.

Mu Yin asked, “Where were you last night?”

He hadn’t expected her to care about that. Song Xingyao fell silent for a moment. He quickly recovered, hiding behind a frivolous laugh. “Oh, I’m so touched that our Mu Yin cares so much about me.”

Mu Yin didn’t take the bait. “Your brother was looking for you all night.”

“Is that so? Only my brother was looking for me? Weren’t you looking for me?”

Mu Yin didn’t answer, merely looking at him through the mirror with a cryptic smile. Song Xingyao finally dropped the act slightly. “I was out with friends. I don’t like those kinds of events… If I had known, I should have taken you with me, right?”

“Did you go back afterwards?”

He was surprised by her persistent questioning. It seemed… she wanted to know his attitude toward last night’s incident. His smile faded. “No.”

“Don’t you care at all?”

He studied her. “You certainly seem to.” After a moment of silence, his voice dropped so low it almost blended with the wind. “It was a predictable outcome anyway. Better out of sight, out of mind.”

He didn’t specify what he meant. Mu Yin didn’t push.

Song Xingyao’s curiosity grew. He used to think Mu Yin was easy to read—her thoughts were always on her sleeve. Even her attempts to be a “dignified lady” couldn’t hide her bad temper or arrogance. But the current Mu Yin was shrouded in mist. He couldn’t see through her.

…

The Bar and the “Friends”

The car stopped as night flooded the sky. The street was a blur of neon lights and music. Song Xingyao led Mu Yin into a familiar bar. The booming music hit their eardrums instantly, and the hazy lights blurred their vision.

“Has the Eldest Miss never been to a place like this?” Song Xingyao leaned down, whispering into her ear with a hint of mockery.

“Indeed, I haven’t,” Mu Yin replied calmly. She scanned the room without the slightest hint of discomfort or shyness.

Song Xingyao felt a bit disappointed he didn’t get to see her flustered. He scanned the area and said, “I have a few friends over there. Do you want to come say hi?”

“What kind of friends?”

“Scoundrels and ne’er-do-wells.”

“Do your friends know you introduce them that way?”

Song Xingyao laughed. “In this world, anyone who isn’t part of the ‘Elite Circle’ is called a scoundrel… Isn’t it the same in the Mu family?”

Mu Yin thought of Mu Jiarong and Lin Ying and silently agreed. So, these friends weren’t wealthy heirs? Now that interested her.

“Let’s go. Say hi.”

Seeing her looking forward to it, Song Xingyao raised an eyebrow. Mu Yin spread her hands. “The more open our relationship is, the harder it is for people to find fault, right?”

He leaned in again, his voice dropping to a low, suggestive tone. “I actually want people to misunderstand.”

Before she could reply, he walked ahead and beckoned her. “Keep up.”

A group of people sat in the booth—men and women, mostly in casual clothes. They lacked the refined, snobbish air of wealthy socialites. Mu Yin had only one thought: Finally, some normal people.

After greetings, Song Xingyao introduced her: “My friend.”

Mu Yin laughed. As the music reached a crescendo, she lowered her voice and said, “Why didn’t you say I was your sister-in-law?”

“…”