I Could Never Fall In Love With A Villain - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Big Brother Really Is the Best

After a series of exhaustive efforts, Mu Yin finally faced a dead end.

The next day, she contacted Mi An again to ask if the invitation had been relayed to S and what S’s response was. After a long silence, she finally received a reply.

Mi An: I’m sorry.

The answer was clear.

Mu Yin took a deep breath and announced her failure to her colleagues in the conference room. To her surprise, everyone took the news as expected. In the professional world, miracles are rare. The sculptor S was notoriously averse to commercial events—this was a well-known fact in the industry.

Consequently, Mu Yin wasn’t blamed. The manager even offered a few comforting words and said he would take the fall and report personally to Mu Xuan.

At that moment, Mu Yin spoke up: “However, there is still time before our planned launch date. I don’t think we should give up entirely just yet. I will prepare a better proposal to keep trying for S. In the meantime, I have a Plan B—”

“I’ve decided to look for other equally talented sculptors. Even if the collaboration with S falls through, we won’t be caught off guard.”

She articulated Plan B with clarity, detailing every step logically. The manager was stunned by her thoroughness, though her colleagues were starting to get used to it. They had originally thought the young heiress was just there to kill time and hoped she wouldn’t cause trouble; they hadn’t expected her to actually be helpful.

Their impression of Mu Yin had long since shifted. They now treated her like a regular colleague, greeting her in the halls and even inviting her to join in on the office gossip.

After the meeting, several colleagues called out warmly: “Mu Yin, want to join us for lunch at that new Sichuan place next to the office?”

“Sure.” Mu Yin closed her laptop and followed them downstairs, her mind still heavy with thoughts.

…

Driving through the scorching midday sun, Mu Xuan entered the underground garage with a cold expression, the recent conversation still swirling in his head.

He had just come from the hospital before heading to the office. He had been suffering from insomnia lately; his mind would uncontrollably replay that dangerous moment from the other day, and his heart would start racing… and he would even…

Forget it. Stop. Don’t think about it.

Mu Xuan had always believed his heart was as hard as iron; even if the sky fell, his expression wouldn’t change. He hadn’t expected a small “accident” to leave him so disheveled and unsettled. After days of internal torment, feeling quite disgusted with himself, he finally concluded he might have a psychological problem.

So, he left early today—not for work, but to visit a psychologist. In the beautifully decorated consultation room, he lay on a soft, comfortable chair with his eyes closed, answering the expert’s questions. Ten minutes later, he opened his eyes, the irritation clear in his gaze.

“It’s useless.” The more he tried to focus, the more his mind wandered. He couldn’t clear the intrusive thoughts.

The psychologist said gently: “If avoidance isn’t working, why not choose to face it head-on? Although you’ve intentionally sidestepped many of my questions, making it difficult for me to analyze specifically… if it’s related to feelings, why not move forward? Try interacting more; perhaps a new perspective will emerge.”

“It’s simple human interaction logic. Only through deep engagement will you understand your own heart—whether it’s a misunderstanding or your truest intent.”

Listening to the psychologist’s calm words, Mu Xuan had a sudden epiphany. “Oh, so you mean if I spend enough time with them, I might get ‘disenchanted’ and get over it.”

“…” The psychologist tried to explain that wasn’t exactly the point.

But the client was already convinced of this logic. He looked pensive and significantly more at ease. The memory cut off as Mu Xuan took a long breath, parked his car, and stepped out.

…

“What’s wrong? No appetite?”

In the restaurant, a colleague noticed Mu Yin hadn’t touched her food and asked with concern. Mu Yin was scrolling through her phone, nodding. “Mhm, I’m looking for other suitable sculptors.”

“Wow… do you have to be so competitive? Thinking about work during lunch!”

Mu Yin rested her chin on her hand, looking lazy. “I’m not thinking about work; I’m thinking about S’s art… After seeing his sculptures, it’s really hard to find anyone else interesting.”

“Right! Exactly!” another colleague shouted excitedly. “Finally, someone agrees with the treasure I found! S is truly incredible! You know, I used to hate art; it just made me sleepy. Because of S, I felt the charm of art for the first time. I’m so happy! Mu Yin, were you also struck by the beauty of his work? Does it make your ‘corpse’ feel warm?”

Mu Yin just smiled, not answering directly. No, what truly shocked her was the raw reality hidden beneath that beauty. There was darkness, criticism, self-mockery, and sometimes mockery of others. She had seen many works expressing darkness or critique before, but none had made her heart race like S’s.

Unfortunately, this S was a very proud person. Perhaps she had been too blunt and offended him. Mu Yin sighed in frustration.

Just then, her colleagues gasped: “Director Mu…”

She looked up to see Mu Xuan walking through the noisy restaurant. He walked straight to their table, his eyes fixed on her. She blinked in confusion, waiting for him to speak. He said nothing.

Mu Yin: ?

Her colleagues were also confused, not understanding why Mu Xuan would suddenly appear in a small Sichuan restaurant. But facing the boss, they couldn’t stay silent. One of them asked politely: “Director Mu, what a coincidence… have you eaten? Would you like to join us?”

He seemed to be waiting for exactly that. Mu Xuan gave a slight nod and sat down gracefully opposite Mu Yin.

“…”

Great. Now it was even more awkward.

“Order more food, this meal is on me,” Mu Xuan said.

The air finally began to move again. The joy of a free lunch slightly offset the awkwardness of facing the boss. Mu Xuan turned his gaze back to Mu Yin: “How is the work going?”

Mu Yin confessed honestly: “Can’t get S.”

Mu Xuan: “Stupid.” The disdain on his face was impossible to hide.

A colleague jumped in to defend her: “Director Mu, although we haven’t secured S, Mu Yin has prepared an alternative plan to invite other excellent sculptors. Running both plans in parallel is safer and won’t delay the project.”

Mu Xuan’s expression didn’t change. He simply asked: “Do you have any leads?”

“Cough.” Mu Yin said sheepishly, “Still looking…”

As if he had expected this, he gave a soft huff and suddenly pulled a slip of paper from his suit pocket, placing it in front of Mu Yin. She looked closely and saw it was a ticket to an art exhibition. Having browsed a lot of art-related info lately, she immediately recognized the name of the organizer—a major figure in the industry. This kind of exhibition usually wasn’t open to the public. If she could get in, she could find someone as good as S much more easily.

Mu Yin immediately snatched the ticket. “Big Brother really is the best!”

Since this was the Mu family company, it was only right for Mu Xuan to help. She wouldn’t refuse him, nor would she be stingy with free flattery.

Hearing her sweet, sticky voice, Mu Xuan froze for a moment. He eventually managed a slightly raspy huff in response.

“Brother, why don’t you have a drink? I haven’t touched this one yet; try it, it’s good.” Mu Yin pushed her drink toward him, continuing her “devotion.”

Mu Xuan looked down at the drink. Wait… did she realize this drink was just a cheap freebie from the set meal and she gave it to me because she didn’t like it?

While she was silently worrying, Mu Xuan picked it up and took a sip. He frowned. “It’s too sweet. I don’t like it.”

What a coincidence, I don’t like it either, hee hee.

Over lunch, Mu Xuan slowly sorted through his thoughts. Yes, this is how it should be. She is his sister; normal sibling affection looks like this. Although she’s clumsy and annoying, she hasn’t caused trouble lately and even started being nice to him… The change was so sudden that he wasn’t prepared, which led to his “symptoms.” It was just because they had been at each other’s throats for so long that he wasn’t used to actual “sibling behavior.”

He had actually given himself insomnia because he wasn’t used to being a good brother. Mu Xuan, Mu Xuan, you really are… He felt much more settled. All of this was perfectly normal and rational.

…

With the ticket in hand, Mu Yin arrived at the art exhibition. To her, “artistic immersion” was usually a sedative. Fortunately, she had bought a coffee beforehand to jumpstart her excitement.

The gallery was quiet and elegant, with very few people. Mu Yin sipped her coffee while wandering through the works, looking for a suitable artist. But just like her research online, her heart remained unruffled.

Just as she was starting to feel disappointed, a sculpture caught her eye. It was a woman cradling a young bird—peaceful and graceful. Every curve, facial expression, and detail of the clothing was perfect, conveying the woman’s charm and kindness.

However, Mu Yin felt as if she could pierce through time and space to see the sculptor’s cold eyes and the painful release of emotion during the creation. Their psychological state was deeply colored; they didn’t want others to see only the pure white surface.

Mu Yin slowed her pace, her eyes excitedly searching for the name of the artist. On the brass plate beneath the sculpture, a familiar name was engraved:

S.

? Him again?!

And… S’s work was actually in this exhibition? Mu Yin’s emotions became complicated. Why was it that every other sculpture made her sleepy, but this S could hit her right in the heart every single time? And this was the one person who was difficult to deal with.

In the midst of her confusion, a surprised male voice came from beside her.

“Huh? Isn’t this Miss Mu? What a coincidence!”

“President Song—look, your fiancée, Miss Mu, is here too.”