Chapter 8
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
The world had changed, but no transformation was as shocking as the one Shi Yunxi carved out of her own bones.
After leaving the country with her two surviving children—Shi Qing'er and Shi Yichen—she vanished completely from the circle that once mocked, framed, and discarded her. No one knew where she went. No one knew what she endured. And no one imagined she would ever return.
But she did.
And she returned as a woman the world now whispered about in both awe and fear.
On the day Shi Yunxi stepped out of the airport terminal, the sunlight hit her face, illuminating features that had grown sharper, colder, breathtakingly refined. Her long coat fluttered behind her, and the two small figures beside her clutched her hands tightly.
Shi Qing'er, with her crystal-clear eyes, looked around curiously.
Shi Yichen, calm and quiet like a miniature adult, scanned every corner protectively as if aware that danger might lurk anywhere.
"Mother, are we home?" Qing'er asked softly.
Shi Yunxi nodded. "Yes. We're home."
Not to the home she left behind—but to the battlefield she would conquer.
She had returned with a brilliant résumé hidden beneath an ordinary appearance:
World-known miracle doctor
Internationally recognized actress under a secret stage identity
Top-tier hacker: Phantom Orchid
Disciple of Master Qiu, the legend feared across martial circles
Every identity could shake the country.
Yet nobody knew they all belonged to her.
As the chauffeur arranged by Dr. Meng loaded the luggage, Shi Yunxi took a deep breath. "Qing'er, Yichen—remember what I told you."
Yichen answered with maturity beyond his years. "Never reveal who we are. Protect Qing'er. Stay close to Mother."
Qing'er puffed her cheeks. "I'll be good! I won't tell anyone I'm a little princess!"
Shi Yunxi smiled faintly. "Good."
Her enemies had taken everything from her.
Now, she would take everything back—slowly, decisively, beautifully.
Across the city, in the Mu Corporation skyscraper, Mu Linchen stood in his office, staring at the latest report from his private investigator.
Three years of searching.
Three years of dead ends.
Three years of unexplained longing every time he looked at the child he was raising alone—Mu Rui, the quiet, clever boy with eyes that felt like déjà vu.
"Still no lead…" Mu Linchen muttered, his voice cold enough to freeze the air.
He had never found the woman who gave birth to his son.
The woman he met only once.
The woman whose face he never saw.
The woman who haunted him at night.
Mu Rui tugged at his trousers.
"Father, someone arrived today. I… I feel like something is going to change."
Mu Linchen raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
Mu Rui shook his head. "I don't know… but it feels like the wind is different."
Mu Linchen dismissed it. A child's intuition meant little to him.
But fate had already moved.
Later that afternoon, a trending post exploded on the national entertainment board:
"Goddess Shi Roulan to begin filming a new drama! Auditions open tomorrow!"
Shi Yunxi saw the headline from the car window.
Shi Roulan.
The stepsister who ruined her life.
The actress who built her fame on lies, manipulation, and connections.
The woman who still walked freely while she—Shi Yunxi—had nearly died.
Her lips curled into a slow, chilling smile.
"Mother?" Yichen asked. "Is something wrong?"
Shi Yunxi shook her head. "No. Something is finally right."
Tomorrow's audition would be her first public step.
And the first thing she would steal…
was Shi Roulan's spotlight.
With calm, murderous elegance, Shi Yunxi pulled out the audition form and said softly:
"Let the game begin."