I Could Never Fall In Love With A Villain - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: What Kind of “Masterpiece” Is This…

Pei Che didn’t spare her a single glance. His slender fingers deftly unbuttoned his suit jacket, folding it to prop up the fallen woman’s head.

“I feel like I can’t breathe! I’m dying… I’m really dying…” Madam Song grabbed Mu Yin’s wrist. Her grip was heavy, but Mu Yin didn’t push her away, instead using her free hand to pat the back of the woman’s hand comfortingly.

“Breathe slowly, don’t rush,” Pei Che’s voice came from above, deep and steady.

Madam Song didn’t seem to hear him. Her breathing remained rapid, her eyes fixed on Mu Yin. “It hurts so much. I’m going to die. Before I do, can I see my…”

Mu Yin leaned down, trying to catch the rest of the sentence. Suddenly, a sharp scolding cut through the air.

“What is the meaning of this?!” “You’ve brought your ‘pretend illness’ all the way here?”

Mu Yin turned her head. A crowd of guests had gathered by the glass doors leading to the interior. Liang Yunxi stood at the edge of the crowd, looking bewildered. After Madam Song collapsed, Liang Yunxi had tried to call emergency services and rushed for help, but the Song family staff had hung up her call and tried to silence her.

At the front of the crowd was Old Master Song. Leaning on his cane, his face was ashen with rage. His words—“pretend illness”—carried a heavy weight.

The guests’ eyes widened. Pretending? Wait, is that Madam Song? Isn’t she supposed to be abroad?

Mu Yin felt Madam Song’s body stiffen for a moment before her chest began to heave even more violently.

“I know you’re uncomfortable,” Mu Yin whispered. “It’s okay. We’ll get you to the hospital. Just relax.”

Madam Song seemed to calm down slightly. Song Jinxun stepped forward, but before he could take two steps, Mu Yin and Pei Che both looked at him with identical, silencing glares. He froze, doubt flickering in his eyes.

Madam Song went silent the moment she saw Song Jinxun. But as he stopped moving, she seemed to snap back into her “act.” She clutched her heart, her eyes darting toward him.

Old Master Song signaled his bodyguards. “Get her out of here.”

“Don’t come any closer,” Mu Yin said. Her voice was quiet but held a cold, sharp authority that made the guards pause.

“Mu Yin, move aside,” Old Master Song commanded. “She’s just setting up a stage to put on a show.”

Madam Song wailed louder, “I’m dying! I’m dying!”

Mu Yin remained calm. “Please, everyone, stay back.”

The situation turned bizarrely delicate. Pei Che looked down, his voice cooling but soothing. “You’re too tense. We’re taking you to the hospital right now.”

“I’m not going to the hospital! Bring the doctor to me!” Madam Song cried.

Pei Che played along smoothly. “I am a doctor.”

“Liar! I know you, you’re from the Pei family!”

“Madam Song, you’re mistaken. I really am a doctor.”

Mu Yin: “…” She hadn’t realized Pei Che had a dramatic side.

His “acting” only swayed Madam Song for a few seconds. She clutched her chest even tighter. “I don’t believe you. Let Jinxun come here… I only trust him!”

Song Jinxun moved to step forward again. No matter what, this was Song family business, and he had to end the farce. But before his foot landed, Mu Yin spoke: “Song Jinxun isn’t here. Let’s go to the hospital first, then we’ll call him, okay?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot? I clearly saw him!”

Pei Che added, “Madam Song, you saw wrong.”

Song Jinxun: “…”

Something was wrong. Song Jinxun realized it, but he couldn’t understand why Mu Yin and Pei Che were so adamant about keeping everyone away. His sharp observation finally caught Mu Yin’s gaze—she was staring downward.

…

The Hidden Danger

Mu Yin was tense. Her eyes were locked on Madam Song’s right hand. While her left hand clutched her heart, her right hand was pressed flat against her thigh, never moving an inch. She was clearly hiding something.

Madam Song’s acting was as bad as Pei Che’s, and the two of them were still performing for each other.

“Madam Song,” Pei Che said, “only a hospital has the equipment to find out what’s wrong. Trusting a doctor is better than trusting your son.”

Finally, seeing that Song Jinxun hadn’t approached, Madam Song changed her mind. “Fine… the hospital.”

Mu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Being a woman, she naturally reached out to help Madam Song up. But as Madam Song stood, the cold object in her palm reminded her of her purpose.

The reversal happened in a flash.

The crowd gasped as the moonlight glinted off a blade. Madam Song had been hiding a fruit knife. This was why Mu Yin and Pei Che had been playing along—they were trying to keep the situation from escalating.

But they underestimated her condition. Madam Song lunged with the knife toward Mu Yin.

Mu Yin was prepared and dodged quickly, but she forgot one thing: she was backing onto a slope. Her center of gravity shifted—

Oh no. She was going to fall into the lake.

Wait! She was supposed to be the villainess who harms the protagonist. How could she end up the victim before doing anything?

That won’t do.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pei Che. He had already grabbed Madam Song’s wrist and disarmed her. He’s a strong male lead, Mu Yin thought. Even if he falls into the lake, he won’t catch a cold.

“You’ll do.”

In a split second, Mu Yin grabbed Pei Che’s sleeve. He turned in shock, instinctively trying to steady her, but at that moment, Madam Song’s staggering body collided with them both.

SPLASH!

The freezing lake water swallowed Mu Yin instantly.

This time, she really had “dug a pit and fallen into it herself.” Water rushed into her nose and mouth as she sank. The screams from the shore faded.

SPLASH. SPLASH.

Two figures broke through the surface of the water.

As she drifted, two thoughts circled her mind:

1. I need to learn how to swim.

2. Both the male and female leads jumped in to save me, the villainess. What kind of world-famous masterpiece of a scene is this?

…

The Aftermath

“Are you an idiot?” Mu Xuan’s mocking voice came from above. The next second, he was roughly scrubbing a towel over her head.

Mu Yin sighed. “Sigh. People really shouldn’t do bad things. Karma comes fast.” She had intended to let the male lead take the fall, and the retribution was immediate. Is this the ‘Protagonist Halo’?

Mu Xuan sneered. “So that’s why you decided to play Robin Hood today?” He had stepped out for a ten-minute phone call and returned to total chaos.

A Song family auntie knocked and entered. “Miss Mu, these are clean clothes prepared by the Master. There is a bathroom in the room; please make yourself at home.”

Mu Xuan tossed the towel at her. “Go wash up. I don’t want to look at a drowned rat any longer.”

“Where is Madam Song?” Mu Yin called out as he reached the door.

“Are you gossiping or actually worried?” Mu Xuan replied. “The family doctor is seeing her. The Song family will bury this scandal deep. You’d better not go asking around. Every family has skeletons; just watch the show and move on.”

After he left, Mu Yin showered and changed. Once she was dry and warm, she felt human again. She pushed open the door to exit just as the door next to hers clicked open.

She made eye contact with Pei Che. He had changed into a simple white shirt, smelling faintly of clean soap.

Pei Che wondered if he was imagining it, but he felt like Mu Yin was looking at him with pure resentment.

Arch-nemesis, Mu Yin thought.

She forced a smile. “Thank you for saving me just now.”

Pei Che: “…”

The “thank you” sounded like it had been squeezed out through clenched teeth.