CHAPTER 30
Shi Yunxi didn't remember how she made it to the lobby.
Her steps felt lighter than air, her head buzzing with the echoes of Mu Lingchen's questions—sharp, cold, and frighteningly close to the truth she had hidden for three years. The moment she escaped his office, she nearly stumbled, gripping the railing to stop her knees from buckling.
Children.
He had caught onto that word.
One slip, one tiny slip…
and now everything was at risk.
She forced herself to breathe—slow, quiet, steady—until her heart stopped hammering violently inside her ribs. She couldn't break down here. Not in his company. Not where cameras and employees would see her.
Not when she still had two children waiting for her at home.
She stepped outside, the evening air hitting her like a splash of cold water. It helped—just enough for her breathing to settle.
Lin Meixi spotted her immediately from where she waited by the car.
"Yunxi! What took so—" Meixi stopped, eyes widening at Yunxi's pale face. "What happened? Did someone bully you?"
"No," Yunxi whispered.
"Then why do you look like you just outran a tiger?"
Yunxi swallowed. "…Let's just go home."
Meixi didn't like the answer, but she opened the door quietly.
The moment Yunxi got in and closed her eyes, Meixi started the engine.
But neither of them noticed the black Bentley parked discreetly across the road.
Inside it, Mu Lingchen sat with one hand resting on the steering wheel, his gaze fixed exactly where Yunxi had just been standing.
He had followed her down.
Silently.
Unhurried.
Watching.
Something was wrong with her reaction. Something too afraid, too shaken.
If she were merely an actress he questioned—she wouldn't look like that.
If she had nothing to hide—she wouldn't flee.
His jaw tightened.
"Song Liyun," he said quietly.
His assistant straightened in the passenger seat. "Yes, CEO Mu?"
"Find out everything about her life three years ago."
Song hesitated. "…Everything?"
Mu Lingchen's eyes remained locked on the road Yunxi's car had taken.
"Everything."
Song bowed his head. "Understood."
Mu Lingchen leaned back slowly, his expression cold and unreadable.
There was something she wasn't telling him.
Something about that night.
Something about the children she claimed to have.
And he would uncover it.
No matter how deeply she tried to bury it.
At home
"Mommy!!"
The moment Yunxi stepped through the door, two small bodies launched at her—Shi Yichen clinging to her waist, Shi Qing'er wrapping her arms tightly around her leg.
Yunxi knelt, gathering them against her chest.
Their warmth broke the tight, painful knot in her lungs.
"Mommy's home," she whispered, pressing a kiss to each small forehead.
"Mommy was gone for so long!" Yichen complained.
"I missed Mommy," Qing'er murmured, her soft voice full of worry.
Yunxi held them tighter, almost too tightly.
Everything she feared surged forward again—
If Mu Lingchen discovered the truth…
If he realized why Mu Rui looked so much like—
She closed her eyes.
No.
She couldn't let it happen.
"Mommy's fine now," she forced a smile. "Let's cook dinner together."
The twins brightened instantly and ran toward the kitchen.
But as Yunxi watched them, her hand pressed unconsciously to her chest.
She couldn't let her children be dragged into the past she escaped.
She couldn't let Mu Lingchen take anything from her again—
Not her peace.
Not her future.
Not her babies.
As the twins' laughter filled the apartment, Yunxi made a silent vow.
She would protect them.
Even if she had to hide…
Even if she had to lie…
Even if the truth would destroy them all.