Here is Chapter 3, longer, darker, more emotional, following all the rules you set.
Mu Lingchen and Shi Yunxi still do NOT see each other.
Mu Lingchen remains cold, feared, unreachable.
Tension slowly builds.
No mistakes in names.
CHAPTER 3 — Whispers of the Night
Shi Yunxi stood frozen in the middle of her room, staring at the two messages that refused to disappear from her screen—words that settled like ice in her bones.
"You were not alone in that room."
"The man you were with… is far more dangerous than you think."
Her fingers trembled as she held the phone tighter.
She didn't understand.
She didn't remember.
She didn't know who had been with her.
Everything was a blank space—an empty patch of darkness swallowed by the alcohol Roulan forced into her hands and the faint scent in the hotel room that had made her dizzy.
Who was the man?
Why was he dangerous?
Why was someone sending her warnings now?
She swallowed hard and typed back with shaking hands:
"Who are you?"
No response.
Not even a second message.
As if the sender didn't exist.
The silence deepened her dread. Slowly, she sat on the edge of her bed, her breath unsteady as she tried to piece together the fragments of her memory… but there was nothing.
Only flashes.
A warm hand.
An unfamiliar scent.
A whisper she couldn't decipher.
A weight beside her in the darkness.
Her stomach twisted painfully.
Who exactly did Roulan send her to meet?
Why would Father involve himself in something so vile?
Yet in her heart, she already knew the answer.
She was the disposable daughter.
The one who existed only to be used.
Just then, a knock sounded on her door.
Her heart clenched.
But this time, it wasn't Qin Yuchan.
It was her stepmother's irritated voice.
"Yunxi, stop being dramatic. Get dressed. Your father wants you at dinner."
Dinner?
After everything?
The cruelty of it stung more than anything.
When she didn't respond, the voice sharpened.
"Don't embarrass us further. If you don't come out, it will be worse for you."
Worse.
As if she had any dignity left to lose.
Shi Yunxi inhaled shakily and forced her trembling legs to move. She changed her clothes slowly, her face pale and drained. Her eyes were still swollen, but she didn't try to hide it.
Let them see what they created.
Downstairs, the dining hall was filled with warm lights, expensive dishes, and the scent of food—
—yet all she felt was a suffocating chill.
Father sat at the head of the table, his expression as cold as stone.
Roulan sat on his right, wearing a gentle smile that masked her triumph.
Qin Yuchan sat beside her, eyes lowered, pretending calm.
And she…
she was the outsider now.
"Sit," her father ordered without looking at her.
She obeyed quietly.
Nobody spoke. The tension was thick—so thick it felt like a blade pressed against her throat.
Finally, her father set down his chopsticks.
"Tomorrow, the engagement ceremony will be rearranged," he said flatly.
"This time, it will be between Roulan and Yuchan."
Her breath hitched.
Of course.
Of course, this was why she'd been called down.
"As for you," he continued, his tone hardening, "the rumors cannot be erased. Because of your… shameless actions, the Shi family has suffered humiliation."
"Father—" her voice cracked. "I didn't—"
"Enough!" His fist slammed against the table, making the plates tremble.
"I will not listen to your excuses. You were caught in a hotel room with a stranger. That alone is shameful enough."
Her lips trembled.
She wanted to shout that she didn't remember.
That she didn't choose it.
That she didn't want any of it.
But nobody here would believe her.
Roulan leaned closer to Qin Yuchan, holding his arm gently.
"Father, maybe we shouldn't be too harsh on Yunxi. After all… she might still be in shock from what happened."
Her tone was sweet. Her eyes were filled with false concern.
But the smirk hiding behind her lashes was sharp, poisonous.
Shi Yunxi felt the blood drain from her face.
They were treating her like an inconvenience—like a stain they needed to scrub away.
Her father continued without emotion:
"You will stay inside the house for now. Avoid public events. The less you are seen, the better."
Her heart constricted painfully.
She was being erased.
Like she never mattered.
As she sat there quietly suffering, miles away, in the highest floor of Mu Corporation, the real storm was brewing.
Inside the private office, Mu Lingchen stood with his hands in his pockets, his posture straight, cold, and terrifyingly composed. The floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the sharp lines of his face, the unreadable calm in his eyes.
His assistant, Lu Shan, approached again—cautiously.
"President Mu… about last night's situation, the hotel contacted us. They said a woman was also involved and—"
"I told you," Mu Lingchen interrupted, voice deep and emotionless,
"there is no need."
"But, sir—"
"It was an accident," he repeated, each word clipped and cold.
"I don't care who she is. The matter is irrelevant."
Lu Shan swallowed nervously.
"All right, President."
Mu Lingchen's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes—an irritation he didn't show others.
He disliked losing control.
He disliked unpredictability.
He disliked anything that disrupted his perfect order.
And that night had been all three.
He dismissed the thought immediately and returned to his documents.
Yet somewhere deep in his mind—
buried under layers of logic and coldness—
the faint scent he remembered from the dark room drifted back for a moment.
Soft.
Warm.
Unexpected.
He forced it away.
That woman was nothing to him.
A mistake he would never repeat.
A shadow he intended to forget.
But fate had already decided otherwise.
And the next time he and Shi Yunxi crossed paths…
neither would escape unscathed.