CHAPTER 41 — The Threat Arrives
The message on Shi Yunxi's phone burned hotter than fire.
A single image.
A single sentence.
A stranger's hand reaching toward Shi Yichen and Shi Qing'er outside their kindergarten.
And the text underneath:
"We know they're yours. Cooperate… or we take them."
Her blood chilled instantly.
The world around her muted—the Mu family murmuring behind her, Old Madam Mu's slow breaths evening out, Mu Rui tugging her sleeve softly.
Everything blurred into a cold haze.
Her children.
The only two souls she would die for.
Threatened again.
After three years of hiding…
after three years of sacrificing…
the Shi family dared come for them?
Her fists tightened.
She slipped the phone into her sleeve before anyone noticed, breathing slow, steady, calm—
but inside, something dark unfurled.
No more running.
No more enduring.
No more suffering in silence.
Tonight, the Shi family had crossed a line she would never allow again.
She straightened slowly, smoothing her hair, expression calm and unreadable.
When she turned, Mu Lingchen was watching her.
Not with suspicion.
Not with coldness.
But with that intense, quiet focus he rarely showed to anyone.
"You're pale," he said. "Did something happen?"
Yunxi shook her head gently.
"It's nothing."
A lie—smooth, practiced, perfect.
But he didn't believe her.
His brows drew together, gaze sharpening.
"You saved my grandmother's life," he said lowly. "If someone is troubling you—"
"It's personal," she cut him off softly. "It's not for outsiders to handle."
Mu Lingchen froze.
Outsider.
The word landed like a blade.
He swallowed the instinctive response that rose to his throat. For some reason… it hurt. More than it should.
Mu Rui hugged Yunxi's legs tightly, unaware of the tension.
"Mama, are we going home now?" he whispered.
Yunxi bent, picked him up, holding him close—a natural motion, as if she'd been holding him his whole life.
Mu Lingchen watched silently, chest tightening at the sight.
He still didn't understand why Rui was so attached to her.
Or why she comforted him so effortlessly.
Or why her presence—her existence—felt like a piece of his life he had lost without knowing.
He would know soon.
He had to.
Yunxi finally set Rui down.
"I should leave," she said. "Old Madam Mu will recover with rest."
Mu Weiya stepped forward, overwhelmed.
"Miss Shi… our family owes you more than we can repay. Please allow us to—"
"No."
Yunxi bowed slightly—elegant, distant.
"I did not help for repayment. Let the old madam rest. That is enough."
Then she turned and walked away.
Mu Rui reached out after her.
"Mama—!"
Mu Lingchen caught his wrist gently.
"Rui, let her rest."
"But Daddy—Mama looked sad…"
Mu Lingchen's throat tightened.
He could no longer brush it off.
No longer pretend he didn't see it.
Something was wrong with Shi Yunxi.
Something deep.
Something dangerous.
And he would find out what.
Outside the Mu Mansion
Yunxi stepped into the cold night air.
Her hands trembled—just once—before she forced them still.
The streetlights glowed.
The wind was sharp.
The city felt too big, too loud, too threatening.
She inhaled deeply.
Then she whispered to herself:
"No more fear."
Her phone buzzed again.
Another message.
"Choose: your career, or your children."
Her jaw clenched.
Fine.
If they wanted war—
She would give them a war they could never recover from.
Inside the Mu Mansion — Moments Later
Mu Lingchen stood at the balcony window, staring at the driveway where Yunxi had walked away.
His fingers curled loosely around the balcony rail.
He should return to work.
He should plan his grandmother's long-term treatment.
He should focus on the Mu family crisis.
Yet—
His mind kept returning to a single thought:
Shi Yunxi is hiding something.
And I will find out what.
But deep inside, he already feared the truth—
That whatever she was hiding…
would tear the world he knew apart.