CHAPTER 17
The night deepened by the time Mu Lingchen's car reached the Mu estate—an expansive mansion surrounded by towering pines and a stillness that felt almost sacred. Yet inside the sleek black car, silence hung heavy, thick, and strangely disturbed.
Mu Rui sat in his booster seat, not touching the snack bag in his lap.
His small fingers curled and uncurled absentmindedly.
Mu Lingchen glanced at him through the mirror—usually, Mu Rui was composed, obedient, calm beyond his years. But now, the boy's peach-blossom eyes seemed distant, as if replaying something.
Or someone.
"Mu Rui," Lingchen said quietly.
The boy blinked and looked up. "Yes, Daddy?"
"You were distracted."
Mu Rui hesitated. Then, softly—
"…She smelled nice."
Mu Lingchen stiffened.
Not because of what the boy said—
but because the boy never said things like that.
"Who?" his voice lowered.
"The pretty auntie," Mu Rui said seriously. "I… want to see her again."
Mu Lingchen's brows tightened almost imperceptibly.
Impossible.
Illogical.
The boy did not bond so easily—he barely spoke to strangers at all. But tonight, he had looked at Shi Yunxi as though drawn by something deeper than curiosity.
Lingchen dismissed the thought.
Attachment didn't matter.
Coincidence didn't matter.
Yet—
for the first time in years, he felt something tug at the edge of his rational mind.
A thread of familiarity he couldn't explain.
But he didn't believe in fate.
So instead, he asked coldly:
"Why do you want to see her?"
Mu Rui lowered his gaze, tiny brows knitting together.
"I… don't know."
Lingchen didn't respond.
When they arrived at the estate, Mu Rui walked inside obediently with the nanny, but he kept glancing back—even after the doors closed, even after the driver bowed and left.
His little heart was still outside.
Still with her.
Shi Yunxi.
And Mu Lingchen noticed.
He noticed everything.
He removed his suit jacket, handed it to the butler, and walked into his private study—dark, vast, lined with shelves and a single glowing computer at the center. He loosened his tie, sat down, and opened the security feed the company sent earlier.
The footage from Starlight Entertainment's entrance.
The moment he stepped out of the car.
The moment she looked at him.
Shi Yunxi.
Her calm gaze.
Her soft lilac dress.
Her quiet composure.
She did not shrink back. She did not fawn.
She treated him like any other man.
No fear.
No trembling.
No over-eager flattery.
He found himself watching the screen longer than expected.
He frowned and shut it off.
This was pointless.
He didn't have time for irrational distractions.
Yet—
His fingers moved to the keyboard again, typing her name.
Shi Yunxi — Starlight Entertainment
A brief profile appeared.
But something caught his eye immediately.
Place of birth: N/A
Family background: N/A
Previous records: N/A
Entered country: Three years ago (incomplete data).
Fragmented. Missing.
Purposely hidden.
Mu Lingchen's gaze sharpened.
"Interesting."
He leaned back in his chair, his cold aura filling the room until the temperature seemed to drop.
People did not slip through information networks he controlled.
Unless they had help.
Or unless someone powerful wanted them unseen.
He tapped his finger lightly on the table.
Shi Yunxi.
Starlight.
Lilac silk.
Peach-blossom eyes.
Mu Rui's strange reaction.
A suspicion—small but persistent—uncoiled in his chest.
A feeling he didn't like.
Because he could control markets.
He could control companies.
He could control the world—
But this?
This strange pull?
It slipped through his fingers.
He shut off the computer and stood up.
He would not think about her again.
Or so he told himself.
The next morning, sunlight spilled across Shi Yunxi's bedroom as she adjusted the cuffs of her ivory blouse. Her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, a style Lin Meixi insisted looked "perfectly effortless but still expensive."
Today was her first costume fitting for Scarlet Moon Pavilion.
Song Liyun had already taken Shi Yichen and Shi Qing'er out for breakfast, sending Yunxi a photo of the two children smiling with steamed buns in hand.
"Don't worry," Liyun had texted. "Your little ones are safe with me!"
Yunxi smiled softly.
She stepped out of the apartment complex, heels clicking lightly on the pavement—
when a sleek car slowed beside her.
Lin Meixi popped out of the passenger seat.
"Yunxi-jie! I came to pick you up!"
Yunxi nodded and climbed in.
As the car began moving, Meixi turned around excitedly.
"Yunxi-jie, you should have seen the internal chat last night! Everyone is talking about the results. The directors were absolutely impressed. The main director specifically said—"
Before she could finish, Yunxi's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
She answered calmly.
"Hello?"
A low, steady female voice responded.
"Miss Shi, this is Secretary Wang. President Mu Lingchen would like to meet you tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Please confirm attendance."
Yunxi's breath paused.
Lin Meixi froze.
Secretary Wang.
President Mu Lingchen.
The same man she met yesterday… the man whose child had clung to her with inexplicable warmth… the man whose eyes held a coldness sharp enough to cut.
Yunxi regained her composure instantly.
"May I ask the reason for the meeting?" she asked.
"The President will explain in person."
Cold. Efficient.
No room for negotiation.
Yunxi's fingers tightened around the phone very slightly.
"I understand. I will be there."
"Confirmed."
The call ended.
Lin Meixi stared at her, eyes wide.
"Yunxi-jie… why does President Mu want to meet you? Did you offend someone? Did someone recommend you? Or—"
Yunxi didn't answer.
Her gaze drifted to the passing streets outside the window, her heartbeat steady but her mind suddenly restless.
Mu Lingchen…
Why him?
Why now?
What did he want from her?
And why did his child look at her with eyes that twisted her heart in ways she couldn't explain?
Outside, the city kept moving—
unaware that fate was pulling two long-separated threads closer again.
Pieces were aligning.
Paths were merging.
And the storm waiting ahead
was only beginning to form.