CHAPTER 33 — The First Crack in His Walls
Mu Lingchen had always prided himself on two things:
his control and his clarity.
But ever since the day Shi Yunxi appeared in his office with a crying Mu Rui in her arms, both had been slipping—quietly, steadily, like water wearing down stone.
He couldn't sleep.
Not because of work.
Not because of the company merger.
Not even because of the shareholders' meeting he was supposed to prepare for.
But because of her.
And because of the words she had spoken, almost carelessly, yet now carved into his mind:
"My… children."
Plural.
Not one.
Not guessing.
Not a slip of the tongue.
Children.
He tried to forget it, but the thought pushed against the back of his mind relentlessly.
Who were they?
Where were they?
Why did she look at Mu Rui with that soft, instinctive tenderness—one she couldn't fake?
Why did Mu Rui cling to her instantly… as though he knew her?
By the next morning, Mu Lingchen's self-restraint finally snapped.
He picked up his phone.
"Lin," he said to his assistant, voice low and cold, "I want a background investigation on Miss Shi Yunxi."
There was a pause on the other side.
"…To what extent, President Mu?"
His jaw tightened.
"Everything."
⸻
The Investigation
His assistant worked fast.
Yunxi's public records were clean — too clean.
Too smooth.
Too perfect.
The timeline of the last three years showed gaps—months missing, explanations vague, movements unaccounted for.
And then—
A clue.
A hospital record.
A brief stay nearly three years ago.
Listed under a different name.
No diagnosis stated.
But the date… the date matched the timeline of when Yunxi had disappeared from the entertainment scene.
Mu Lingchen stared at the printed documents, fingers tightening.
The thin, whisper-soft voice of Mu Rui echoed in his mind:
"I wanted to see Mama…"
His breath stilled.
It wasn't proof.
It wasn't confirmation.
But it was enough to plant a seed.
And seeds… grew.
⸻
The Next Encounter
They met again two days later, at Starlight's headquarters.
Yunxi had come to review her contract and costume schedule.
She didn't expect to see him there.
But Mu Lingchen stood at the end of the corridor, tall and cold in his black tailored suit, hands in his pockets, gaze pinned on her as if he had been waiting.
Her steps faltered.
"…President Mu?"
He walked toward her slowly, controlled, each step steady and deliberate. The air around him seemed to cool with his presence.
"Miss Shi," he said quietly, "we need to talk."
Her heart skipped.
Again?
"President Mu, if this is about the other day—"
But she didn't finish.
Because he had already stepped closer.
Too close.
Dangerously close.
His fingers brushed her hair at the same moment a cool whisper cut through her breath:
"You missed a strand."
Before she could react, his fingertips caught a single fine hair that had fallen across her shoulder.
He plucked it.
Soft. Gentle.
So smooth she barely felt it.
But she knew.
Her heart dropped.
"W-What are you doing?"
Mu Lingchen's face showed nothing.
No guilt.
No embarrassment.
Just calm precision.
He held the strand between his fingers like a piece of evidence.
Like truth in physical form.
"Verifying something," he said coolly.
Her breath hitched. "President Mu—"
"Don't worry," he said, voice softer, too soft, "you'll know soon."
He brushed past her, but as he did, his hand paused—just a fraction—hovering near her back.
He didn't touch her.
But the restraint burned more than any contact.
His footsteps echoed down the hall.
And she realized—
His walls weren't cracking.
They were shattering.
Silently.
Inevitably.
Because for the first time…
Mu Lingchen wasn't doing this only for Mu Rui's sake.
He was doing it…
because of her.
⸻