I Could Never Fall In Love With A Villain - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Received a Friend Request

“I didn’t expect you to arrive so early.”

“But, Pei Che, you came at just the right time. Student Mu has also just arrived.”

Professor Xu spoke with a chuckle, completely oblivious to the instant undercurrent surging in the office.

Naturally, this undercurrent originated entirely from Mu Yin—

The persistent arch-nemesis. Why is he everywhere?

Is the survival path of a villain destined to be filled with obstacles set by the protagonist?

Standing by the door, Pei Che gave a slight nod, stepped from the sunlight into the room, and closed the door behind him.

As the light on the office floor vanished bit by bit, Mu Yin felt her inner world darken along with it. The only reason she wasn’t scowling right now was that she still had a shred of politeness left.

Professor Xu turned to Mu Yin first. “Student Mu, I’ve read the ideas you mentioned in your email several times. I’m very interested.”

Mu Yin’s focus finally returned.

Speaking of this, Professor Xu became quite excited, pacing back and forth in the office.

“Artificial Intelligence is developing at high speed, and humanity has always anticipated which areas of society it can be implemented in. If it can truly be combined with the field of psychological therapy, that would be the true realization of a human-centric approach through technology.”

“However, no one has made such an attempt yet.”

“But the papers you sent me touched me deeply… It’s just that I study AI and know nothing about psychology. So, today I specially invited a psychology professor from our Jiabei University.”

Professor Xu shifted the topic to Pei Che, saying with a smile, “Professor Pei Che is an outstanding psychology professor at Jiabei University. His classes can be described as having ‘no empty seats.'”

Mu Yin maintained a smile on the surface while thinking “Heh” internally: First, it’s because of his protagonist halo. Second, it’s because of his face.

Professor Xu then introduced Mu Yin to Pei Che.

“Pei Che, this is the student of my high school classmate I mentioned.”

“My classmate moved abroad to become a teacher for family reasons. Originally, that school was a famous ‘aristocrat college’—that’s a nickname, meaning the school is full of second-generation rich kids who get in by paying ‘construction fees.'”

“Most students are there just to get a diploma; few are truly studious.”

“My classmate originally thought Student Mu was the same.”

“But unexpectedly, Student Mu sent him several emails recently, articulating her thoughts and asking for a recommendation.”

“My classmate is someone who cherishes talent and was overjoyed after learning more. But since he doesn’t know much about AI, he called me immediately.”

“When I heard about it, I also thought it was very interesting and kept the email information. Sure enough, Student Mu’s ideas did not disappoint.”

“Hey, Pei Che, I’ll forward it to you later. What do you think?”

Pei Che curled his lips slightly. “Yes, it is indeed very interesting.”

Professor Xu laughed heartily, wearing an expression that said, “As expected, today’s meeting was the right move.”

Only Mu Yin’s smile was strained.

However, she was very grateful for Professor Xu’s enthusiasm; it was exactly what she needed. Professor Xu was a leader in the field of AI in this novel’s world. If she wanted to develop her career line, she needed his help. As for Pei Che, she would just automatically ignore him.

“Thank you, Professor Xu… Why don’t we sit down and talk in detail?”

“Yes, yes, let’s talk in detail.”

Conversation filled the office.

Professor Xu was very eloquent, and the content he shared was very enlightening to Mu Yin. She immediately took out a notebook to record it.

A mid-afternoon breeze blew through the open window, carrying a slight chill of the season. Mu Yin listened intently, reluctant to interrupt, so she only rubbed her arms during the gaps.

When she looked down to finish recording a paragraph, she suddenly noticed that the cool breeze had stopped. She glanced sideways at Pei Che, who had closed the window and returned to his seat, and let out a light huff in her heart—

Good. It seems my nemesis was also too cold to stand it and knew to close the window.

The time spent chatting flew by.

Professor Xu began to summarize, saying, “However, without the support of technical experts, I’m afraid this will be hard to implement. Student Mu, you’re a Management major. Have you thought about how to solve the technical side?”

Mu Yin nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry, Professor Xu. My partner has a technical background and is currently researching a ‘Neural Mapping Algorithm’ that can precisely read a user’s emotional signals… This technology is definitely at the forefront.”

Professor Xu’s eyes lit up with interest. “Once your demo is finished, you must let me try it first. By the way, if you lack technical personnel, I can recommend a few students to you.”

“That would be wonderful. I really need them.”

“You’re welcome. If I can see this idea come to life, I’ll feel honored as well.” Professor Xu turned to Pei Che. “By the way, Professor Pei, what do you think?”

Pei Che’s tone was neutral. “AI plus psychological medicine. It’s a good idea.”

He said this while looking at Mu Yin. However, Mu Yin didn’t spare him a single glance.

Mu Yin smiled at Professor Xu. “I’ve really troubled you today. By the way, I have some other matters I’d like to discuss with you privately. I wonder if that’s convenient?”

The meaning was clear: she wanted Pei Che to leave.

Pei Che stood up tactfully. “I have other things to attend to, so I’ll be going now.”

Professor Xu: “Good, good. Thank you for your hard work today, Professor Pei. We’ll talk more later.”

Pei Che glanced at Mu Yin. Mu Yin looked anywhere but at him, pretending not to see and having no intention of saying goodbye. Pei Che paused slightly before walking out of the office.

A moment later, the office became quiet again.

Mu Yin said immediately, “Professor Xu, I heard that Jiabei University has a Professor Wu who is very powerful in the field of psychology. I’ve read the articles he published; they are extremely professional and rigorous.”

Professor Xu immediately understood Mu Yin’s meaning.

He looked hesitant. “Professor Wu is indeed very capable professionally, but he is old-fashioned and likely won’t easily accept a connection with AI.”

He said reassuringly, “Student Mu, don’t be fooled by Professor Pei’s youth; his ability is actually quite good. I can guarantee that his level of professionalism won’t lose to Professor Wu.”

“And his character is excellent. I can vouch for that.”

Professor Xu spoke with such conviction that one might wonder if Pei Che had used his protagonist halo to cast a spell on him.

Although they hadn’t had much contact, Mu Yin already respected Professor Xu’s character. However, Pei Che was her arch-nemesis. How could a villain cooperate with a protagonist? Under the protagonist’s halo, a villain could likely only survive in the cracks.

Seeing Mu Yin’s struggling expression, Professor Xu laughed and continued, “Why not meet a few more times? Professor Pei is really quite good… Also, I strongly support your project. I even plan to have my son intern at your place later; he’s an AI major as well.”

Hearing Professor Xu say this much, Mu Yin truly found it hard to argue further. She thanked him sincerely. “Thank you very much. I may have to trouble you a lot in the future.”

…

After Mu Yin left, twilight descended, and evening arrived.

Pei Che returned to the office building and ran into Professor Xu, who was heading home, in the hallway. After greeting him, Pei Che stopped Professor Xu. “I’m very interested in the project mentioned today.”

“I knew you’d be interested, Professor Pei!” Professor Xu was exceptionally excited by the endorsement and accidentally let something slip. “Although Student Mu was a bit worried, I’ve already vouched for you! I knew there would be no problem.”

“Oh?” Pei Che’s eyes flickered. “She was worried?”

Realizing he had spoken out of turn, Professor Xu felt a bit embarrassed and said quickly, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I’ve convinced her.”

“After all, you’re so young. Anyone would inevitably have some stereotypes,” Professor Xu said. “You young people have more in common. Meet a few more times, and everything will be fine once you get familiar.”

The trees reaching into the corridor cut the twilight into fragments. Leaves fell lightly with the wind, drifting near Pei Che’s feet. He bent down to pick one up, twirling it gently between his fingers.

“Professor Xu is right… By the way, Professor Xu, do you have her contact information?”

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. “I believe I do, indeed, need to get more familiar.”

…

Mu Yin received a friend request.

There was no note, so she didn’t know who it was. The profile picture was a landscape—a quiet, shimmering lake. The WeChat name was blank.

Judging from the profile picture, it seemed like a middle-aged or elderly person. Based on this, Mu Yin didn’t refuse and accepted the request—an older person might be some technical big shot recommended by Professor Xu.

“Mu Yin.”

Hearing her name, Mu Yin put down her phone and looked up from the dining table at Mu Xuan.

Mu Xuan sliced his steak with elegant movements, his tone somewhat stern. “I heard you skipped work again today?”

How strange. The original Mu Yin used to skip work several days a week, and Mu Xuan never seemed to care. Why the sudden question today?

But Mu Yin first corrected him: “I took leave. I followed the formal leave process.”

“Out of 22 working days in a month, you’ve taken 15 days of leave. Don’t you blush?”

Mu Jiarong was still away on business, and Lin Ying felt this was a good opportunity to perform in front of Mu Xuan. She was about to criticize Mu Yin when Mu Yin spoke up righteously:

“So what? Don’t I always take leave?”

Mu Xuan’s mockery skill was charging. “I thought you’d changed your ways, but after only a few days of being on time… you’re starting again?”

“It doesn’t matter if I go or not. I don’t have work there anyway.”

“…”

Mu Xuan didn’t know whether to admire her thick skin—but he also couldn’t help but reflect on himself. Why did he feel Mu Yin had changed recently?

Mu Yin was still Mu Yin; it was impossible for her to have any real change. It was like a dog being unable to stop eating filth.

Thinking of this, Mu Xuan felt a sense of clarity. For some time now, he had been curious about Mu Yin but couldn’t explain why or find an answer. Now, finally, he had an answer. He could stop overthinking and continue mocking her without reservations.

At that moment, Mu Yin’s phone vibrated lightly. She checked it and found that the new friend had sent her several messages. The person didn’t say a word but kept sending her articles—all related to psychology and extremely helpful to her.

But… related to psychology?

Mu Yin typed a line in disbelief: Pei Che???

The new friend replied very quickly:

It’s me.