CHAPTER 61 — Three Years of Running, Three Years of Fear
Silence.
The kind of silence that wrapped itself around the room—heavy, suffocating, throbbing with everything neither of them had the courage to say.
Shi Yunxi stood with her back against the glass window of the conference room, hands trembling at her sides. Mu Lingchen stood several steps away, the DNA report on the table between them like a blade waiting to strike.
Three years.
Three years since she vanished from the world.
Three years since she erased herself.
Three years since she buried the truth so deeply she thought no one would ever dig it out again.
And now—
He had.
Mu Lingchen's voice broke the quiet first.
Not cold.
Not sharp.
Just… aching.
"Three years ago," he said slowly, "you disappeared without a trace. No contact. No explanation. Nothing. You cut ties with the Shi family. You cut ties with everyone."
He lifted the DNA report.
"And now I know why."
Yunxi's throat tightened.
She wanted to deny it.
Lie.
Escape.
But her voice refused to come out.
Lingchen exhaled shakily—the breath of a man who had been holding back too long.
"You left," he said, "because they tried to destroy you. Not because of your mother. Not because of any excuse you keep giving."
His eyes softened.
"You left because you were pregnant… and alone."
Her fingers curled at her sides.
He stepped closer—slow, controlled, as if afraid she would bolt again.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
The question cut her.
Not because of accusation.
Because of the pain in his voice.
"I didn't know who you were," she whispered. "I didn't even know your name. I only knew I woke up alone."
His jaw tightened.
"I never would have left," he said hoarsely.
"I know," she whispered.
And she did.
He was not the type to run.
Not the type to abandon.
But back then—
Before everything—
She had been terrified.
Broken.
Betrayed.
Hunted by her own family.
"Lingchen," she said softly, "I was scared. I didn't have anyone. I didn't trust anyone. The Shi family took everything from me. My name. My identity. My future. My dignity."
Her voice cracked.
"I couldn't let them take my children too."
Lingchen closed his eyes for a moment—pain passing across his face like a shadow.
Then, quietly:
"You endured everything alone."
A statement.
Not a question.
She bit her lip.
"Yes."
His eyes opened again—burning with something deep and fierce.
"Yunxi… I should have been there."
She shook her head hard.
"You didn't even know I existed."
"I should have found you anyway."
He stepped toward her until he was close enough to touch her—but didn't.
Not yet.
"I spent three years searching for the nameless woman I spent that night with," he whispered. "I thought I was insane. I didn't know why I couldn't forget. Why every face I saw disappointed me. Why I kept dreaming of you."
Her breath caught.
He had searched.
For her.
"And now that I finally found you…" His jaw clenched. "You pushed me away. Again."
Yunxi looked down.
"I didn't want to drag you into my problems."
"Your problems," he said, voice low, "are mine."
She shook her head again—more violently.
"No. You don't understand. The Shi family—Roulan—they're not done with me. They will use you. They will hurt Rui. They will hurt my children. They will destroy everything just to see me fall."
Lingchen's eyes darkened.
"Let them try."
"No!" she snapped, panic flooding her voice.
He froze.
For the first time, she looked up at him with raw fear, not for herself—
But for the children.
"Lingchen… if they find out the twins are yours too—"
He softened instantly.
"Yunxi."
She shook her head again and again.
"They will come for them. They will take them. They will claim them. They will use them. They will—"
Her voice broke completely.
Tears clung to her lashes.
She covered her mouth with her shaking hand—
The trauma of three years finally ripping free.
Lingchen didn't hesitate anymore.
He pulled her into his arms.
Not forcefully.
Gently.
Like holding something precious he didn't dare break.
"Yunxi…" he whispered against her hair, "no one will take our children. No one will touch them. No one will come near them without going through me first."
Her body trembled violently.
He held her tighter.
"I'm here now," he said. "I'm not leaving. Not again. Not ever."
Her voice was muffled against his chest.
"I'm scared."
"I know."
"I don't want to lose them."
"You won't."
She pressed her forehead against him, and for a moment—
She allowed herself to lean on him.
Allowed herself to breathe.
Allowed herself to want—
Just a little.
They stood like that for a long time, wrapped in the quiet storm between them, until finally Yunxi whispered:
"What… what do we do now?"
Lingchen pulled back just enough to look into her eyes.
"We protect our children."
He lifted the DNA report.
"And we decide together what comes next."
Yunxi swallowed hard.
"Together?"
His answer was immediate.
"Yes."
Her heart trembled.
For the first time in years—
She wasn't alone.
But outside that room—
Enemies were moving.
Plans were forming.
And the truth that had been hidden for three years—
Was now a ticking bomb waiting to explode.
And the person who had overheard everything earlier—the one she feared most—
Roulan—
Was already preparing her attack.
And this time—
She intended to destroy them all.