CHAPTER 18
The next morning arrived quietly, but the tension beneath the calm was unmistakable.
Shi Yunxi stood in front of her mirror, adjusting the sleeves of her white chiffon blouse. Her hair was styled in a soft, glossy tail—simple, elegant, professional. Today wasn't about acting. Today wasn't about auditions or filming or scripts.
Today, she was walking into the lair of the very man fate kept pushing her toward.
Mu Lingchen.
Her movement paused for a brief second.
Two worlds she never wanted intertwined were approaching each other again, and she wasn't sure why her heart had tightened ever since that call from Secretary Wang.
Behind her, Shi Yichen played with blocks on the carpet while Shi Qing'er sat cross-legged drawing little flowers on a notepad.
"Mommy, are you going out again?" Shi Qing'er asked, blinking her big eyes.
Yichen looked up too.
"Is it about your new job? Are you nervous?"
Yunxi crouched down and kissed their soft foreheads gently.
"I'll be back soon," she whispered. "Song Liyun will be here any moment."
Shi Yichen held her hand. "Come back early."
Shi Qing'er hugged her waist. "We'll wait for you, Mommy."
Their warmth steadied her heart.
Minutes later, Song Liyun arrived with breakfast, waving cheerfully.
"Go, go, go! Don't worry about the kids—I'll guard them like a dragon!"
Yunxi gave her a grateful smile before heading out.
When she stepped into the waiting car Lin Meixi had arranged, the assistant looked at her with a mixture of concern and curiosity.
"Yunxi-jie… do you know why President Mu wants to see you?"
Yunxi fastened her seatbelt calmly.
"No," she answered truthfully.
"Is it… bad?" Meixi whispered.
Yunxi's lips curved faintly.
"It's just a meeting."
But in her heart—she wasn't so sure.
The Mu Corporation headquarters towered above the city like an obsidian blade cutting the sky. Black glass. Silver framing. Cold, intimidating energy that matched the man who controlled it.
The moment Yunxi stepped out of the car, dozens of employees instinctively straightened their postures and lowered their voices.
Not because of her.
But because of where she was standing.
The entrance to Mu Lingchen's world was not for the faint-hearted.
Even Lin Meixi swallowed hard as the revolving doors swallowed them inside.
Sleek marble floors reflected soft light.
Security guards stood unmoving like statues.
Workers walked briskly with never-ending seriousness.
"Ah—Miss Shi Yunxi?" A woman approached—Secretary Wang, composed and professional. "President Mu will see you now."
Yunxi nodded and followed.
The elevator ride up was silent, her heart steady yet guarded. She kept her breathing calm, her eyes serene, but the closer the elevator rose, the sharper her instincts became.
This man…
This meeting…
It wasn't simple.
When the doors opened, she stepped onto the top floor. The hallway was lined with floor-to-ceiling windows and minimalist black décor. A world of quiet dominance.
Secretary Wang pushed open the final door.
"Miss Shi, please enter."
Yunxi stepped inside.
Mu Lingchen stood by the tall window, his back straight, hands in his pockets, looking down at the city as though he owned every street, every life, every breath beneath it.
Cold.
Untouchable.
A man people feared by name alone.
The air shifted the moment she entered.
He didn't turn immediately.
For a few seconds, there was only the soft hum of the city below and the rhythmic beating of her own heart.
Then—
"Miss Shi Yunxi."
His voice—deep, calm, indifferent—cut through the silence.
He finally turned.
Their eyes met.
This time, not in passing.
Not by coincidence.
Not surrounded by crowds.
Just them.
Face to face.
Cold phoenix eyes met serene, unreadable calm.
For a moment, something flickered in his gaze—too faint to decipher—before it vanished completely, replaced with icy control.
"Thank you for coming," he said.
Yunxi offered a polite bow.
"President Mu."
He gestured lightly toward the seat across from his desk.
"Sit."
She did.
The room fell silent again.
Mu Lingchen sat opposite her, long fingers tapping against the glass table in a slow rhythm as he observed her with the precision of a man used to dissecting everything in front of him.
Yunxi didn't flinch.
Didn't avert her gaze.
Didn't appear intimidated.
If anything, she seemed calmer than him.
And that unsettled him more than he expected.
Finally, he spoke:
"Yesterday, you crossed paths with my son."
Yunxi kept her expression composed.
"Yes."
"Mu Rui is… not a child who takes to strangers easily." His voice remained neutral, but his eyes sharpened. "Yet he held onto you. He refused to let go of your hand."
The implication was clear.
Why?
Yunxi lowered her lashes slightly.
"I was simply the one who found him."
No tremor.
No guilt.
No panic.
Just controlled indifference.
But Mu Lingchen wasn't easily convinced.
"Miss Shi," he said, leaning slightly forward, "a child does not react that way simply because someone found him."
This time, Yunxi didn't respond immediately.
Because she could still feel his small body trembling in her arms.
Still hear him whispering "don't go."
Still sense the strange warmth she couldn't explain.
But she lifted her gaze.
"President Mu," she said softly, "children react for many reasons. I do not presume to understand your son's thoughts."
He studied her.
Calculated.
Measured.
Silent.
A long moment passed before he spoke again.
"I want you to stay away from Mu Rui."
Yunxi froze.
A cold heat spread through her chest—not panic, not fear, but something deeper, sharper.
He continued:
"If you run into him again, do not speak to him. Do not comfort him. Do not let him approach you."
His tone was calm.
Authoritative.
Final.
"I do not allow emotional instability around him."
Yunxi's fingers curled faintly in her lap.
So this was why he had called her here.
To warn her.
To draw boundaries.
To erase something he didn't understand.
She lifted her chin, her eyes steady.
"I understand."
Lingchen observed her again—expecting reluctance, irritation, maybe defiance. Instead, she accepted the boundary with a calm so firm it felt like ice.
A strange feeling tightened in his chest.
Before he could speak again, the office door suddenly burst open.
"Daddy!!"
Mu Rui ran inside, the nanny chasing behind him in panic.
The boy's eyes scanned the room—and the moment he saw her, he ran straight past Mu Lingchen—
And threw himself at Shi Yunxi.
"Pretty auntie!"
He buried his face against her arm as though finding the one place in the world where he felt safe.
Mu Lingchen stood frozen.
So did Yunxi.
And the world—
just like that—
shifted again.