CHAPTER 21
For a long moment, the room held its breath.
Mu Lingchen remained crouched before his son, tall and sharply composed even in that lowered position. His hand rested on Mu Rui's shoulder—steady, controlled, not tender, but not harsh either. His presence alone filled the room with an authority that made the air feel heavy.
"Mu Rui," he said quietly, voice low and dangerously calm. "Come here."
Mu Rui's fingers tightened on Shi Yunxi's sleeve.
His small voice trembled.
"I-I don't want Daddy to be angry at Mama…"
Shi Yunxi's breath caught.
Mama?
Her heart lurched, and she automatically looked at Mu Lingchen, unsure of how he would react.
Mu Lingchen's expression shifted, but only slightly—a tightening around the eyes, a faint drop in temperature. His face remained otherwise unreadable, cold as ice carved into human form.
But he did not deny it.
He did not correct the child.
He did not even look surprised.
Only… controlled.
Too controlled.
Yunxi swallowed, her voice soft.
"He only said that because he was frightened."
At her attempt to explain, Mu Lingchen finally looked at her—a cold, assessing stare as sharp as the edge of a blade. It wasn't familiarity. It wasn't recognition. It was simply a powerful man staring down a stranger who had gotten too close to his son.
But there was something else behind the darkness in his eyes. Something Yunxi couldn't understand. Something heavy.
He looked back at Mu Rui.
"I am not angry," he said, each word measured with restraint. "But you disappeared from school today. That is unacceptable."
Mu Rui's eyes watered again.
"I just wanted to see Mama…"
Mu Lingchen inhaled. A slow, tight breath.
Then, unexpectedly—
he lifted a hand and brushed away the tear from his son's cheek.
Yunxi's eyes widened slightly.
Mu Rui blinked up at him in surprise.
"Daddy…"
"You cannot run away," Mu Lingchen said firmly. "No matter what the reason."
This time, the boy nodded.
Slow.
Guilty.
Still clinging to Yunxi's sleeve.
Yunxi exhaled softly.
The tension in the room finally began to ease—until Mu Lingchen rose to his full height, lifting Mu Rui effortlessly into his arms. His eyes—quietly burning beneath the surface—returned to her.
"Miss Shi," he said, his voice calm but edged with something she couldn't name. "We will… speak again."
The subtle warning sent a faint chill down her spine.
Mu Rui reached toward her from his father's arms.
"Bye, Mama…"
Yunxi forced a gentle smile.
"Be good, RuiRui."
Mu Lingchen paused at the doorway, not turning, only speaking in that low, controlled voice of his:
"This conversation is not finished."
Then he left, carrying his son with him—cold, poised, and frighteningly composed.
The door shut behind them with a soft click.
The silence left in their wake was suffocating.
Yunxi pressed her hand to her chest, feeling the uneven rhythm of her heartbeat beneath her palm.
She had never met Mu Lingchen before today.
He had never met her.
They were strangers.
Yet the weight of his gaze—
that sharp, unyielding presence—
felt as though it could cut through every wall she had built.
She inhaled shakily.
Whatever this was…
it wasn't over.
And deep down, she already knew—
Mu Lingchen was a man who never let unanswered questions remain unanswered.