CHAPTER 46 — The Night Everything Snapped
The Shi family had panicked.
Qin Yuhan had panicked.
Roulan had panicked the most.
And desperate people did desperate things.
They couldn't destroy her reputation.
They couldn't suppress the shareholder announcement.
They couldn't stop the rapid collapse of the Shi Corporation.
So the only thing left was—
To get rid of her.
Completely.
⸻
Shi Yunxi left Starlight Studios late that night.
Her assistant Lin Meixi had already driven off to deliver costumes to another department.
The streets outside the studio were dark, the lamps flickering weakly.
Yunxi tugged her coat tighter and walked toward the intersection.
She didn't notice the black van at first.
Not until—
A hand clamped brutally over her mouth.
Her back slammed against the side of the vehicle.
Her breath stopped.
Her heart exploded with fear.
But she didn't scream.
She twisted sharply, elbowing the man holding her.
He cursed and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back.
"Stop struggling," another man hissed, "and we won't have to hurt you too badly."
Their intentions were unmistakable.
Her blood ran cold.
But her eyes sharpened.
"Roulan sent you, didn't she?" she whispered.
They laughed.
"She wants you ruined," one spat. "She wants you finished."
The van door slid open.
Yunxi bit down on the hand covering her mouth—hard.
The man shouted, shoving her to the ground.
"Bitch! You—"
A loud engine roared.
Headlights blasted across the alley—
Blinding.
Harsh.
Accusing.
A sleek black Maybach screeched to a stop.
The door flew open.
Mu Lingchen stepped out.
His expression—
Was death.
Pure, cold death.
"Put. Her. Down."
His voice was quiet, calm, and more terrifying than a scream.
The men froze.
Only for a second—but it was enough.
Mu Lingchen closed the distance in an instant.
One man reached for Yunxi—
He didn't reach again.
Mu Lingchen slammed him against the van with a force that cracked metal.
The second man tried to run—
Lingchen caught him by the collar and threw him to the ground with a precision that came from years of training.
Within moments—
Both attackers were on the ground, groaning in pain.
Yunxi stared, breath shaking.
He… came.
For her.
Mu Lingchen turned to her, eyes burning with a fury she had never seen on him before.
Not cold.
Not restrained.
Raw.
Terrifying.
Personal.
"Yunxi," he said, stepping close, his voice low and trembling with the rage he hadn't released,
"Are you hurt?"
Her throat tightened.
She tried to answer—
but the moment she opened her mouth, her shock broke, and her voice cracked.
He didn't hesitate.
He pulled her into his arms.
A firm, protective, almost desperate embrace.
"You're safe now," he murmured.
"I'm here. I've got you."
Yunxi's hands shook as they clutched his coat.
For the first time, she realized—
If he had come seconds later…
She might not have survived.
Mu Lingchen held her tighter.
He wasn't letting go.
Not tonight.
Not ever again.