CHAPTER 15
The conference room on the top floor of Starlight Entertainment was silent enough to hear the ticking of the antique clock on the wall. The air felt cold—not because of the temperature, but because Mu Lingchen was sitting at the head of the long obsidian table, reviewing documents with the same ruthless precision that had built an empire.
Starlight Entertainment was just one of his holdings.
Below it were decades of accumulated power—finance, media, real estate, technology.
People in the business world had a saying:
"If Mu Lingchen moves, the entire city adjusts its heartbeat."
Lin Meixi sat beside Shi Yunxi, trying to keep her breathing steady. This was her first time in a meeting with the CEO of CEOs. Everyone had warned her:
"Don't speak unless he asks."
"Don't look him directly in the eyes."
"He hates incompetence."
"He is colder in person than he is in the tabloids."
And now here he was—tall, sharply dressed in a black suit, his expression carved from stone. His gaze swept through the documents as if he could slice them open just by looking.
Shi Yunxi, however, remained calm.
She sat straight, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her lilac eyes steady. She didn't bow her head. She didn't tremble. She simply waited.
Finally, Mu Lingchen closed the folder.
The faint click echoed like thunder.
Everyone else in the room stiffened.
His eyes lifted—and landed on Shi Yunxi.
The world narrowed.
He didn't know why.
He didn't understand the strange pull beneath his ribs.
He didn't recognize her.
He didn't remember that night from years ago.
But he felt… something.
A familiar warmth he had forgotten.
A tug in a place he had convinced himself was dead.
He crossed one long leg over the other, his voice calm but razor-sharp.
"So," he said, "you are Shi Yunxi."
One simple sentence, yet the entire room held its breath.
Shi Yunxi nodded. "Yes, CEO Mu."
Lin Meixi almost fainted—why did Yunxi's voice sound so calm?!
Mu Lingchen tapped the table lightly. "I reviewed your audition footage."
A pause.
A pause so heavy it felt like the ceiling lights dimmed.
Then—
"It was acceptable."
Everyone froze.
Acceptable?
From Mu Lingchen, that was equivalent to a full round of applause.
"But," he added, eyes narrowing slightly, "I heard the directors want you for Scarlet Moon Pavilion."
"Yes," Yunxi replied.
"And you accepted."
"Yes."
Mu Lingchen lifted one brow.
"You must think highly of yourself."
Her expression didn't even twitch. "I only think highly of my ability."
Lin Meixi internally screamed.
Is this still the polite, gentle Yunxi she knew? Who answers Mu Lingchen like this?!
But instead of anger, something unreadable flickered across Mu Lingchen's eyes.
Interest.
He leaned back, studying her carefully, as though trying—failing—to place a memory he didn't have access to anymore.
"You will be working under Starlight," he said. "That makes you my employee."
"Yes," Yunxi replied softly.
His lips pressed into a thin line.
"For your sake," he continued coldly, "I hope you don't cause trouble. I dislike troublesome people."
Yunxi met his gaze steadily, not intimidated.
"I am not troublesome, CEO Mu. And I never cause unnecessary problems."
The silence between them thickened.
The executives along the table exchanged looks—
She's still alive after talking to him like that?
Is CEO Mu… not angry?
Is this… admiration?
Finally, Mu Lingchen stood up.
The power in the room shifted instantly—he moved like a king rising from his throne.
Meeting adjourned.
Everyone scrambled to bow or rush out, but Shi Yunxi stood slowly, collecting her documents without panic.
As she walked past Mu Lingchen, a faint fragrance drifted with her—cool, light, clean.
His eyes lowered, following her unconsciously.
Something inside him clenched.
A memory flashed—
A scent like this.
A warmth like this.
A presence like this.
But the face… lost in his damaged memory.
Shi Yunxi walked out without looking back.
Mu Lingchen remained still.
Something was wrong.
For the first time in years, his heart reacted.
And that reaction terrified him.