CHAPTER 55 — The Spark That Started the Storm
(Long version — ~900+ words)
The Mu Corporation's executive floor was always quiet after 7 p.m.—
a silence of glass, marble, and distant city lights. Most employees had gone home. Only muted footsteps echoed occasionally along the corridor.
Shi Yunxi exited the elevator with a folder clutched tightly against her chest.
She hadn't planned on coming to Mu Corporation today, but Lingchen's assistant had called earlier:
"President Mu asks that you bring the casting completion documents today. He wants to finalize them personally."
She didn't think much of it.
But the moment she stepped onto the executive floor, she sensed it—
a tension in the air, like something waiting to snap.
She stopped by the restroom to fix her hair before meeting Lingchen. Her hands were trembling slightly, still carrying the emotional exhaustion of the last few days.
Just outside the restroom was a quiet, secluded lounge area with velvet seats—a place designed for executives to take private calls.
Yunxi walked toward it.
She didn't know she wasn't alone.
Behind a slightly ajar utility room door, hidden in the shadowed gap, someone froze the moment she recognized the figure passing.
Shi Roulan.
Her eyes widened, then darkened.
Why is she here? Why is that bitch walking into Lingchen's territory with such confidence?
Roulan had come earlier to try to beg Mu Lingchen to delay the release of her scandalous photos.
She wasn't allowed past the reception desk.
Humiliated and furious, she had stormed upward without permission, intending to catch Lingchen directly.
Instead, she found something better—
a chance.
She slipped silently out of the utility room and followed Yunxi like a shadow.
Just a few minutes later, Mu Lingchen stepped out of his office, brows tight with worry, heading straight for Yunxi.
Roulan's heartbeat sped up.
She quickly slid into the washroom, hiding herself in the last cubicle, keeping the door slightly open.
From there, she had a perfect angle to the outer mirror area—and to the entire conversation that was about to unfold.
Outside the Washroom
Yunxi had just set her things down near the counter when Lingchen entered.
"Yunxi."
She looked up.
His voice held something deeper than his usual restraint—
urgency, protectiveness, fear of losing her.
"We need to talk," he said.
Roulan covered her mouth in the stall, leaning closer.
Perfect.
The Confrontation
Yunxi kept her eyes fixed on the mirror.
"What is it?"
Lingchen stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"I've received news. They're pushing a smear campaign against you. Tomorrow morning, rumors will flood the internet."
"I expected that," Yunxi replied calmly.
"No," he said sharply. "This one is worse."
She stiffened.
Lingchen clenched his fists, jaw tight.
His eyes were burning with violence held barely in check.
"They're saying you seduced me," he said through gritted teeth.
Yunxi froze.
Roulan nearly gasped in excitement.
Lingchen continued:
"They're spreading a story that you forced yourself on me in exchange for the role you received from Starlight Studios."
Yunxi slowly turned to face him.
Her voice was icy.
"And who is the source? Roulan or your good friend Qin Yuhan?"
The sharpness in her tone made Roulan tremble with rage inside her hiding spot.
Lingchen exhaled.
"Both."
Yunxi looked away.
Of course.
Of course they would drag her this low.
Lingchen's eyes softened when he saw her expression.
"I won't let it happen," he said. "I'll clean all of it up before it spreads."
"Lingchen," she murmured, "they're desperate. They'll keep attacking. They won't stop until I'm gone."
"And I won't let anyone touch you."
Roulan bit her lip until she tasted blood.
His voice—
his gaze—
his tone—
He cared for Shi Yunxi.
Deeply.
Dangerously.
"Yunxi," Lingchen said again, stepping even closer, "I need to know—are you okay? You've been avoiding me since the attack. I'm not letting what happened that night fade like nothing."
She swallowed.
That night.
Her being dragged toward a van.
His eyes filled with murderous panic.
His arms around her as she trembled.
She pushed away the memory.
She couldn't afford to be weak.
"I can protect myself," she said quietly.
His voice lowered, almost breaking.
"I know. But you don't have to do it alone."
Yunxi's chest tightened.
Roulan's nails dug deep into her palm.
Every word she heard fueled the vicious fire inside her.
So this is why he refuses to help me. This is why he rejected me. Because of her.
The Damning Words
Lingchen gently lifted Yunxi's chin.
"I will not let them destroy you. Even if the world turns against us—"
He stopped.
Yunxi stared up at him, confused.
Against us.
The phrase hung in the air, fragile and powerful.
She whispered, "Lingchen… what are you saying?"
Before he could answer—
A loud crash echoed.
Roulan had stumbled backward inside the stall.
Lingchen's head snapped toward the sound.
Yunxi tensed.
Roulan realized she'd been caught. She quickly pushed open the door and stepped out, pretending to adjust her hair.
"Oh," she said sweetly, "President Mu. Miss Shi. What a coincidence."
Lingchen's eyes narrowed instantly.
Cold. Deadly.
"Roulan," he said slowly, "how much did you hear?"
Roulan smiled innocently.
"Everything."
Yunxi's breath hitched.
Roulan's smile widened into a venomous smirk.
"And trust me," she whispered, "Yuhan will want to hear all of it too."
Then she walked out—
Her heels sharp against the polished floor.
Each step echoing like a ticking bomb.
Lingchen cursed and rushed after her, but she was already in the elevator.
Yunxi stood frozen.
Everything—
everything—
was about to spiral out of control.
And Roulan now held the match that could burn the world.