I Could Never Fall In Love With A Villain - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: If My Brother Finds Out About Us…

“I was so nervous just now.”

Song Xingyao claimed to be nervous, yet his posture was entirely composed. He sat straight down on the sofa and poured himself a full glass of wine. The unsuppressible smile at the corners of his lips was obvious—he was a man who loved watching the world burn.

Upon meeting Mu Yin’s cold gaze, his smile seemed to deepen.

“I’m truly nervous. Don’t you believe me, Sister-in-law?”

He lowered his voice on the last two words, pronouncing them with lingering affection.

“After all…” he leaned back, swirling his wine. “If my brother found out about us, what would we do?”

“Oh?” Mu Yin didn’t take the bait. Instead, she countered, “And what ‘us’ is there?”

“Turning a cold shoulder so soon?” Song Xingyao’s tone was full of feigned grievance, but his expression remained leisurely. He sipped his wine while looking at the night view, as comfortable as if he were on his own sofa.

In the original novel, the scenes between Mu Yin and Song Xingyao were few, primarily serving to push forward a few key plot points. The relationship between the two Song brothers was a classic wealthy-family rivalry—they weren’t close growing up and fought covertly for their own interests. Later, as they grew up, they learned to maintain a facade of peace. When Song Jinxun was named the heir-apparent, Song Xingyao moved abroad and hadn’t returned for years. Everyone thought the fraternal struggle had ended.

But it wasn’t so. Mu Yin didn’t know the specifics of what had happened between them, only that Song Xingyao’s hostility toward Song Jinxun was absolute. To break the marriage alliance between Song Jinxun and the Mu family, Song Xingyao had secretly returned to the country early and launched a series of seduction tactics against Mu Yin.

In the original plot, Song Xingyao had already used various methods to manipulate Mu Yin, which was why they had entered the hotel room together…

Mu Yin retracted her thoughts. Heh.

She curled her lips into an overt sneer. “You have the nerve to mention that? Song Jinxun’s sudden appearance here was your doing, wasn’t it?”

Song Xingyao stopped smiling. He looked at Mu Yin with quiet, steady eyes. After a long silence, he spread his hands and admitted it quite generously.

“Sigh, it was me.”

“Because I wanted to know… would Sister-in-law worry about me?” He gave a frivolous laugh. “I wanted to know if you would protect me. I didn’t expect you to be so clever; our secret actually went undiscovered.”

“I’m half happy and half a bit disappointed.” He sighed dramatically. “When will our ‘shameful’ feelings finally receive everyone’s blessing?”

Mu Yin just let him act. While reading the original story, how did she never notice Song Xingyao was such a drama queen? Did he have a histrionic personality disorder?

Seeing that Mu Yin didn’t speak but merely looked at him with deep thought, Song Xingyao’s smile deepened. He rose from the sofa and approached her. The distance between them vanished; warm breaths intermingled, brewing an atmosphere of ambiguity and blurred lines. Night, alcohol, and dim lighting—ingredients that easily trigger hormones and lead to uncontrollable plots.

Song Xingyao lowered his head. At the moment he leaned in—

Slap.

His head jerked to one side. Feeling the stinging heat on his cheek, he raised an eyebrow and actually laughed out loud.

“Sister-in-law, do you still refuse to accept me? It’s true, I’m not as gentle and considerate as my brother. It makes sense that you don’t like me.”

“However…” He looked at her sideways with deep meaning. “Actually, you don’t want this marriage alliance either, do you?”

“That has nothing to do with you.”

She wasn’t the original Mu Yin; she wouldn’t fall into this man’s verbal traps and be manipulated. She ignored the conversation and took two steps back.

“I won’t settle the score for tonight with you for now. Now, get out of here. Then, go destroy the surveillance footage.”

Mu Yin spoke in a tone of command. Seeing her cold expression, Song Xingyao judged that she might truly be annoyed. He stopped acting, his eyes showing a hint of genuine intrigue.

“Fine. Everything as Sister-in-law commands.”

He smiled slightly, raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, and backed toward the door. Once outside, he turned and left without looking back.

Walking slowly through the hotel corridor, Song Xingyao touched his slapped cheek and laughed again. Though they weren’t exactly “childhood sweethearts,” they had known each other since they were kids because of their families. He believed he understood seventy percent of Mu Yin’s personality.

But after tonight, he felt he had to subtract ten percent from that.

As expected, people change when they grow up?

Mu Yin was different from his impression of her. Because he discovered this, his playfulness had been piqued, which was why he had lured Song Jinxun there—anyway, he had been very much looking forward to his brother’s reaction.

He dialed a number and ordered the person to delete all surveillance footage from the 22nd floor for tonight. Before hanging up, he changed his mind: “Wait. Before deleting it, make a copy for me.”

…

Steam filled the bathroom as water droplets slid down the walls. Soaking in the bathtub, Mu Yin finally had a moment to think about what came next.

In the original text, Mu Yin was the daughter of the Mu family. Wealthy families are heartless, and the Mu family was no exception. They raised her solely to be a qualified tool for a marriage alliance. Under such circumstances, it was natural she lacked a normal moral compass. Later, when the original female lead appeared and Mu Yin’s smooth life began to hit waves, her psyche twisted further—leading her to become one of the most vicious villains.

The life countdown floating before her eyes was a constraint, forcing her to follow the original plot. If she wanted to increase her life time, she could only:

1. Play the role of the vicious female lead—the more in character, the better.

2. Complete the plot tasks required of the female lead.

Her information was limited; she didn’t yet know the calculation method behind these rules. Although she solved the trouble tonight and extended her life, it was only by three days. Having a knife hanging over her head was unpleasant; she had to find the rules to maximize her efficiency so she wouldn’t live in constant fear.

Additionally… thinking about the original plot Mu Yin was about to face, she had a bit of a headache. She had to look further ahead and prepare.

The phone vibrated. Mu Yin glanced at the caller ID: her father, the head of the Mu family. It was after 2:00 AM. A call this late was definitely about tonight’s incident.

She answered, put it on speaker, and placed the phone on the tray by the tub, closing her eyes to rest. Sure enough, Mu Jiarong’s furious voice erupted from the other end.

Tonight’s farce had been framed as a misunderstanding caused by young people playing games. Even though Mu Yin wasn’t actually innocent—it wasn’t a rumor, it was a fact—since it hadn’t been exposed, she appeared innocent on the surface.

But Mu Jiarong’s logic was different. He felt that such a thing happening to Mu Yin had made him lose face. Even if the juniors playing the game were hateful, why did they target her and not someone else? It must be because Mu Yin didn’t maintain her social connections well.

In short: everything was Mu Yin’s fault.

Listening to the scolding and insults, Mu Yin stayed quiet, enjoying her bubble bath without arguing. When Mu Jiarong grew tired of talking, her mother, Lin Ying, took over.

“Jinxun handled tonight very well… fortunately, he kept telling everyone he trusts you. What a good boy. You must cultivate your relationship with him. He is such a catch; you have no idea how many women out there are dreaming of him…”

As Lin Ying droned on, Mu Yin remained silent, merely letting out a tired yawn. Her silence soon became a new point for her parents to nitpick.

“Are you listening?! Can’t you even respond? Are you a mute in front of Jinxun too?!” “Do you even know how to be likable?”

Finally, Mu Yin spoke. “I don’t have time right now.”

Mu Jiarong roared, “Where are you messing around now?!”

Mu Yin’s tone was flat: “Oh, I’m taking a bath with Song Jinxun.”

“…”

“Do you want me to describe the process? You surely don’t know Jinxun has this side to him in private.”

“…”

“Want to hear some sounds?”

“…”

The phone was hung up instantly.

Heh. Mu Yin’s lips curled into a mocking arc. She climbed out of the tub and tucked herself into the warm bed. Since things had come to this, she might as well sleep.

However… fragments of tonight’s events drifted through her mind. She felt frustrated as she drifted off. Why should she have to endure all the consequences? A flicker of anger arose, quickly turning into misplaced resentment, finally pointing at one person.

Song Jinxun, huh? I’ve added you to my grudge list.