I Could Never Fall In Love With A Villain - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: In your eyes, am I that much of a bru… beast?

The two walked side by side toward the laboratory, stepping through the final rays of the setting sun.

Pei Che spoke up: “Mu Xuan is hospitalized?”

Mu Yin turned her head in surprise. “Wow, word traveled all the way to you? Is Jiabei City too small, or are the citizens just too fond of gossip?”

“Mu Xuan is a celebrity in his own right,” Pei Che said with a faint smile, his eyes searching hers. “What happened? Does it have to do with your intern?”

“You’re quite sharp.”

Mu Yin was a bit surprised he connected the two so quickly, but she didn’t hide anything—after all, Pei Che was now a consultant, and it was only right for him to know things related to the project.

After listening to Mu Yin’s account, Pei Che stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing slightly. “That dangerous? Were you hurt?”

“Am I not standing right here in front of you? I’m full of energy.”

“That doesn’t mean you weren’t injured… besides, being startled counts as an injury too.”

Mu Yin put her hands behind her back and continued walking with a light step, clearly dismissive of the concern. “I’m not hurt. I’m not a ‘glass cannon’ like Mu Xuan.”

Hearing this, Pei Che didn’t say more. The two climbed the stairs and reached the lab.

The laboratory windows were open, and the cool evening breeze blew in, feeling refreshed and crisp. Mu Yin’s gaze swept around, immediately drawn to the various instruments laid out. She toured the room politely, making sure not to touch anything or flip through the files on the tables.

Pei Che stopped ahead of her and turned. “Want to try this?”

Mu Yin’s eyes landed on the equipment beside him.

He introduced it: “You’ve likely heard of it—a polygraph, or a lie detector.”

“Oh? Its design looks a bit different from standard polygraphs.”

“Mhm, it’s the latest model. Improved accuracy and portability.”

Mu Yin’s interest was instantly piqued, her eyes lighting up. “Sure, I’ll give it a try.”

Under Pei Che’s instruction, she sat in the chair and put on the sensors. Her heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, and muscle tension flashed onto the screen.

After finishing the calibration, Pei Che asked without warning: “Were you really not hurt?”

“…” Mu Yin froze for a second, looking speechless. “Pei Che, you are so naggy… No, I wasn’t hurt.”

Pei Che kept his eyes on the screen and nodded. “Mhm, you truly weren’t lying.”

In her state of annoyance, a spark of inspiration hit Mu Yin. She looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Can we switch? I want to try it on you.”

“Sure, let’s switch.”

Pei Che agreed readily, and they swapped places. As Mu Yin adjusted the equipment under his guidance, her mind began to wander—with a lie detector right here, this was a golden opportunity to test the male lead’s heart.

“Ask away. What do you want to know?” Pei Che’s posture was relaxed, looking as though he wasn’t worried about being caught off guard, completely open.

Mu Yin blurted out something shocking: “Pei Che, have you ever been attracted to a student?”

Caught off guard by such a question, Pei Che blanked for a moment, then knitted his brows.

“What kind of question is that?” “In your eyes, am I that much of a bru… beast?”

Mu Yin watched the screen intently, only to find that his physiological indicators remained steady and normal. That slight flicker appeared more like—annoyance.

She felt a bit guilty and sheepishly pulled back her gaze, hiding her “unpure” thoughts. “Don’t get worked up, I was just asking randomly.”

Pei Che wouldn’t let it go: “That question was clearly targeted; it didn’t sound random at all… Mu Yin, did I do something to make you misunderstand?”

His gaze was serious and stern as he stared at her without blinking.

She felt even more guilty and didn’t want to linger on the topic. “No, no, it was a slip of the tongue. My bad… let’s talk about the upgraded features of this device instead.”

Pei Che leaned forward slightly, still persistent: “This misunderstanding seems quite deep. I think it’s necessary to clear it up.”

“It really was a slip of the tongue…” Mu Yin felt the pressure of his gaze and scrambled for a distraction. “Right! I still owe you money! Did you find the receipt for the clothes I need to reimburse you for?”

She knew it was a clumsy pivot. But to her surprise, Pei Che’s attention actually shifted.

“…No.”

Still no? Does this man have chronic procrastination?

Mu Yin couldn’t stand it. “Have you even looked? Or did you just forget about it entirely?”

“…No. I looked.”

“Really? When was the last time you checked?”

“…Last week. Still didn’t find it.”

Mu Yin hummed skeptically, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the indicators on the polygraph screen—they were fluctuating wildly.

“Wait, you lied?” “In that last exchange, you lied! You got nervous! Which part was the lie?”

“…”

Pei Che immediately took off the sensors but didn’t answer.

“Which part was it?” This time, Mu Yin became the persistent one. She regretted focusing on the pivot instead of the screen, missing the exact moment his mental state shifted.

Pei Che coughed and said: “By the way, didn’t you need psychological data? I’ve contacted the Jiabei Psychiatric Hospital. Through a partnership, I’ve secured a batch of data for you; it’ll be ready in a few days. If your product progresses, you can establish a long-term collaboration with them.”

His pivot was also very blunt. But it hit right on the thing Mu Yin cared about most.

She gasped: “Wow, that fast? Did you save the director’s life?”

Pei Che had to remind her: “The Pei family has always had a partnership with that hospital.”

Mu Yin realized her mistake. The Pei family’s Heze Medical Group was a world-class manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals and medical equipment. The male lead’s primary identity as a psychology professor often made her forget his background.

She couldn’t help but ask: “Why didn’t you go home to inherit the family business and chose to be a psychology professor instead?”

Pei Che replied: “Studying the human psyche is very interesting, isn’t it?”

“That line sounds like something a villain would say.”

She remembered a file cover she saw on the desk and asked casually: “Are you researching criminal psychology?”

“Mhm, it’s a recent research topic,” Pei Che explained. “We work closely with the criminal investigation team. That Wei Wenbin who kidnapped your intern—if he really has a mental illness, the team might ask us to assist in uncovering the truth.”

…As night fell, the streetlights outside flickered on. Mu Yin realized she had stayed quite late and got up to leave. “It’s getting late. Thanks for today… I should head back.”

Pei Che stood up with her. “It’s so late, aren’t you going to eat dinner?”

After a two-second silence, Mu Yin asked in wonder: “Professor Pei, are you inviting me to dinner?”

Pei Che paused, then nodded. “Mhm. The food at the Jiabei University cafeteria is actually quite good. You haven’t tried it, have you?”

Mu Yin didn’t actually want to eat with him. However, her persona was a female supporting character with a “twisted crush” on the male lead. To keep her character intact—and boost her life points—she followed Pei Che into the cafeteria.

True to a male lead, he was very well-mannered. Mu Yin only had to sit there like a boss while Pei Che proactively brought over the food. She just had to focus on eating.

During the meal, she received a celebratory text from Song Xingyao: Mission accomplished. I’m a genius. I even managed to piss off Song Jinxun. Double win.

Even through the screen, she could imagine his smug, grinning face. Mu Yin felt a lot more relaxed and let a small smile curl onto her lips.

Pei Che, sitting across from her, spoke: “It’s healthier not to play with your phone while eating.”

Mu Yin glanced up at him. “I’ve noticed you really like managing people. Is that a common habit for teachers?”

“…” Pei Che felt choked for a moment.

Mu Yin waved her phone and said happily: “It’s good news from Song Xingyao. He stopped Mrs. Song from going abroad, which means I have more time to treat her.”

“Song Xingyao?”

“Mhm… ah, don’t tell me you forgot who Song Xingyao is?”

Pei Che was “choked” for the second time. “I haven’t forgotten.” “I’m just surprised. Why him? Did you two contact each other privately about this?”

“Mhm. I moved him with my personal charm! He’s much easier to talk to than Song Jinxun,” Mu Yin praised herself while gossiping. “Don’t let Song Jinxun’s gentle exterior fool you; he’s actually very stubborn deep down.”

Pei Che asked again: “Are you and Song Xingyao on good terms?”

“Not especially, but our families are connected, so it’s normal to be in touch.” Mu Yin replied casually while texting back.

Pei Che wanted to say more, but a voice suddenly came from nearby.

“Mu Yin?”

Mu Yin looked up and was surprised: “Oh, it’s you.”

Liang Yunxi was standing there with a tray, smiling brightly. She then noticed Pei Che and quickly greeted him: “Professor Pei.”

The professor nodded.

“You haven’t eaten yet either? Why don’t you sit with us? We can chat,” Mu Yin invited enthusiastically.

This caused Professor Pei to glance at her twice in succession. Liang Yunxi was also pleasantly surprised and sat down without refusing. As soon as she sat, Mu Yin warmly moved a chicken leg onto her plate, looking very happy.

Seeing her so joyful, Pei Che withdrew his gaze and let a faint smile touch his lips. The rest of the meal was spent listening to the two girls chat.

A perfect chance to create interaction between the male and female leads!

God, I am the most dedicated villainess in the world!

Mu Yin praised herself inwardly and noticed her life points ticking upward.

…

The next afternoon was a time for laziness. Mu Yin sat in the conference room, suppressing a yawn, doodling in her notebook.

Since she was on the verge of being found out and Mu Xuan was watching her closely, she had been very obedient about going to work lately. Originally, her position was a sinecure—she just had to sit there, which wasn’t tiring at all. She could even use the time to research data.

But Mu Xuan was being heartless; he specifically assigned her to a project. This was why she was currently sitting in a meeting, listening to a “lullaby.”

The leader was reporting: “Lately, the company has had too many negative trending topics. Although we’ve suppressed them, we urgently need to reverse the public’s negative image.”

“Mu Yin, what do you think?”

Mu Xuan spoke suddenly, cutting off the report and turning his gaze toward the figure at the very edge of the table.

Mu Yin, who was pretending to take notes while actually slacking off: “…”

She made a small but serious suggestion: “Maybe give the public some money? Use cash to shut them up?”