CHAPTER 22
The hallway outside the viewing room felt strangely quiet after Mu Lingchen's departure—too quiet, as if even the air was cautious of making noise in his absence.
Shi Yunxi remained frozen for a few breaths longer, her hand still hovering near her chest. The echo of the door closing behind him lingered in her ears like a faint tremor.
She exhaled slowly.
Calm down…
But her heart was still racing.
Not because she feared him.
But because his presence was… overwhelming.
That man—Mu Lingchen—was the kind of person who carried an entire world of pressure around him without saying a word. Cold. Controlled. Dangerous in a way that was not violent, but absolute. The kind of man whose decisions made empires move.
And he had just told her:
This conversation is not finished.
Her stomach tightened.
She didn't even do anything wrong.
She didn't know who he was when she saved his child.
She didn't expect Mu Rui to cling to her like that.
She didn't expect Mu Lingchen's eyes to follow her with that unreadable weight.
But she also knew—
Men like him didn't forget things easily.
And they didn't let go of unexplained details.
Yunxi steadied her breathing and finally walked toward the elevator.
As the doors slid open, her assistant, Lin Meixi, practically burst out from inside.
"Yunxi! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Meixi grabbed her arm, eyes wide with worry. "Are you okay? I heard—people are saying a child went missing and—Wait." She stopped, glancing Yunxi up and down. "You're… trembling?"
Yunxi wasn't. Not anymore.
But her heartbeat hadn't fully settled.
"I'm fine," she said softly. "Everything's fine now."
Meixi narrowed her eyes. "Fine? You look like you just faced a thunderstorm wearing silk."
Yunxi gave a weak sigh.
"It was… a complicated situation."
Meixi opened her mouth to ask more—but then froze.
Because stepping into the building from the entrance below in full view was—
Mu Lingchen.
Even from a distance, the atmosphere shifted. Staff straightened. Actors lowered their voices. Assistants stepped out of the way.
He moved like a king surveying his territory—cold, precise, untouchable—carrying Mu Rui with one arm while speaking sharply into his phone with the other.
Meixi's jaw dropped.
"T-that's Mu Lingchen? That Mu Lingchen?? The CEO of Mu International? The chairman of Skyline Tech? The man who owns half the entertainment industry through silent investments—?"
"Lower your voice," Yunxi whispered.
Meixi did—not out of respect, but fear.
"That man could buy the entire building and evict everyone inside it before lunchtime," she muttered. "Why on earth is he here? And why is he carrying a child? And most importantly—" She turned to Yunxi with a horror-struck whisper. "Did he see you?!"
Yunxi didn't answer.
Because at that exact moment—
Mu Lingchen lifted his head and looked directly at her.
Even across the distance, the intensity of that gaze hit her like a strike. His dark eyes held no warmth, no familiarity—only calculation. As if he were silently analyzing her existence.
Not because he remembered her.
But because she was a variable in his world now.
And Mu Lingchen tolerated no variables.
Yunxi's breath caught as he continued to stare.
Not moving.
Not blinking.
Not speaking.
Just watching her.
Mu Rui shifted in his father's hold and waved a small hand.
"Mama!"
Dozens of heads snapped toward her.
Meixi nearly screamed.
"HE'S CALLING YOU WHAT?! Yunxi—WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Yunxi felt heat crawl up her neck. "I didn't do anything."
Mu Lingchen finally turned away, carrying Mu Rui toward the exit. But just before he stepped through the door—
He spoke again.
Not loudly.
Not softly.
Just enough for her to hear from across the hall.
"Miss Shi," he said without looking back, "expect my call."
The doors closed behind him.
Yunxi felt the blood drain from her face.
Meixi grabbed her shoulders sharply.
"Yunxi. Shi Yunxi. Listen to me very carefully."
"…Yes?"
"You are dead."
Yunxi closed her eyes.
She feared Meixi might be right.
Because somehow—
without recognizing her, without knowing anything about her—
Mu Lingchen had already marked her life with his shadow.
And once a man like that stepped into your world—
there was no going back.