CHAPTER 34 — The Result That Shouldn't Exist
The envelope lay on Mu Lingchen's desk like a bomb.
Plain. Thin. Unassuming.
But it pulsed with an energy that made the air in his office tight, metallic, impossible to breathe.
The result had come faster than expected. Money and power tended to bend time.
He sat in his chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin, eyes locked on the envelope without opening it. He had been staring for a full minute.
No—five.
Because he already knew.
Not logically.
Not with evidence.
Not with memory.
But in the way something inside him had shifted the moment he saw her holding Mu Rui.
The way Mu Rui clung to her.
The way her eyes softened with an instinct she didn't even realize she had.
His pulse thudded once—hard.
He reached forward and opened the envelope.
The paper slid into his hands.
One line.
One single line was enough to rip through every shield he'd built around himself:
Probability of maternity: 99.9994%.
The world stopped.
His breath didn't move.
His chest didn't rise.
Even the ticking clock in the corner seemed to fall silent.
Maternity.
Shi Yunxi was Mu Rui's biological mother.
His jaw tightened so sharply the muscles trembled.
Three years.
Three years of searching.
Three years of believing the mother had vanished.
Three years of raising a child he cherished more than his own life—
completely unaware that the truth was right in front of him.
A truth covered by lies.
By hiding.
By silence.
A truth she kept from him.
Something inside him—a dark, cold place—cracked.
But instead of an explosion…
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
He folded the paper with terrifying calm and set it on his desk.
"Shi Yunxi…" he whispered.
And for the first time in his life, Mu Lingchen did not know whether he wanted to hold her—
or destroy her.
Meanwhile
Shi Yunxi didn't know her world was seconds from breaking.
She was inside the fitting studio, standing on a small circular platform while the costume designer pinned the waist of the deep red robe meant for Sheng Ruyin. Layers of silk cascaded around her, the fabric whispering with each breath she took.
"Miss Shi, turn slightly… yes, like that."
She nodded gently.
But her thoughts drifted.
Not to the drama.
Not to the fitting.
But to a man.
He took my hair… he actually took it.
Why?
Why did he need her DNA?
Unless—
Her heart skipped.
No… that's impossible. He can't know. He mustn't know.
Her fingers tightened around the robe.
"Miss Shi? Are you alright?" the designer asked softly.
She forced a small smile. "Yes, just thinking."
But when she looked up at her reflection—
Her eyes were trembling.
Back to Mu Lingchen
He didn't rage.
He didn't shout.
He didn't crush anything in his hands.
He simply stood, buttoned his suit jacket with perfect precision, and walked out of his office with a face so calm the entire executive floor froze when he passed.
"President Mu—your meeting with the shareholders—"
"Cancel it."
"Sir—"
He didn't hear the rest.
His stride was measured yet lethal.
Every step felt like it pressed cracks into the floor.
The elevator opened.
He went down.
Straight to the fitting studios.
And when he reached the door, he didn't knock.
He opened it.
Silence fell instantly.
The designers gasped. The assistants froze. Yunxi turned—
—and her breath caught painfully.
He stood in the doorway like an omen.
Tall.
Immaculate.
Face carved from ice.
His eyes locked onto her.
And something inside her chest twisted sharply at the intensity of that gaze.
"P-President Mu…" she whispered.
He took one step toward her.
Then another.
His voice was low, too calm.
"We need to talk."
Those four words carried danger.
And destiny.
At that moment—
Shi Yunxi knew:
He knew something.
Something she had prayed would never be uncovered.