CHAPTER 88 — The Secret Mommy Won't Tell
Morning sunlight filtered through the soft white curtains of the Mu estate's family lounge, scattering warm gold across the plush carpet where three tiny figures sat huddled together.
Shi Yichen leaned over a stack of colorful blocks, trying to balance them into a crooked castle. Shi Qing'er was drawing circles that were supposed to be rabbits. And Rui —
Mu Rui wasn't doing anything.
Not today.
He sat unusually still, small brows furrowed, dark eyes fixed on the door where his mother had disappeared minutes ago after receiving a phone call.
A phone call she tried very hard to hide from them.
A phone call that made her expression change.
Yichen glanced at him. "Gege, why are you quiet?"
Rui didn't answer.
Qing'er scooted closer, tugging on her brother's sleeve. "Rui-gege? You're thinking too much. Mommy said that makes your head hurt."
Rui didn't laugh.
He didn't even smile.
After a long pause, he finally spoke — voice softer than usual, almost confused.
"Mommy cried."
Yichen straightened immediately. "When?"
Qing'er's eyes widened. "Mommy cried?! Where? Who made her cry? I'll bite them!"
Rui shook his head quickly. "No. Not crying crying. She didn't make sound." His little hands gestured awkwardly. "But her eyes looked shiny. Like she wanted to cry but didn't."
That silenced the twins instantly.
Even at three years old, they understood what Rui meant.
Their mother rarely cried.
She rarely showed pain.
But when she did… it was always quiet. Always the kind that hurt more because she tried so hard to hide it from them.
The triplets exchanged glances.
Yichen shifted closer. "Gege… what do you think happened?"
Rui didn't respond at first. He stared at the family portrait on the table — the new one Lingchen had insisted they take last week. All four of them smiling.
But Mommy's smile then… hadn't reached her eyes.
Just like it hadn't today.
Rui's voice was small. "Mommy lied."
The twins froze.
"Lied? Mommy?" Qing'er whispered.
Rui nodded. "She said she was okay. But she wasn't."
He wasn't angry.
He was afraid.
Not for himself.
For her.
"We need to do something," Yichen declared, puffing his small chest out importantly. "We're big already."
"We're three!" Qing'er added proudly.
"That's not what I meant…" Rui sighed.
Then, pushing himself onto his feet with surprising determination, he declared:
"We must protect Mommy."
Qing'er gasped dramatically. "Like superheroes?!"
"No," Rui corrected seriously. "Superheroes make noise. Mommy doesn't like noise."
"Oh." Qing'er nodded. "Then… like… super-quiet-heroes?"
Yichen frowned. "That doesn't sound cool."
"It's not supposed to be cool!" Rui snapped with tiny frustration. "It's supposed to help Mommy."
He started pacing in tiny steps, hands behind his back exactly like Lingchen did when thinking. Somehow, it made the twins straighten up and listen even more seriously.
"Mommy has something she's hiding from us. Something she's scared of."
"Scared?" Yichen whispered. "Mommy is never scared."
Rui shook his head firmly. "Everyone can be scared. Even Mommy."
Qing'er bit her lip. "Then… we should hug her. Hugs fix everything."
Rui softened a little. "Hugs help. But not enough."
Yichen raised his hand. "Then we should ask Daddy!"
Rui hesitated.
He trusted Daddy.
Maybe more than he wanted to admit.
But…
"No," he finally decided. "Not yet."
"Why not?" Yichen asked.
"Because Mommy didn't tell him either." Rui folded his arms tightly. "If Mommy is hiding something, maybe she doesn't want Daddy to know. If we tell him, she'll be sad."
The twins looked troubled. They didn't want to make Mommy sad.
Qing'er tugged Rui's hand. "Then what do we do, Rui-gege?"
He took a deep breath, exactly like Lingchen did when preparing for an important decision.
"We will watch Mommy carefully."
The twins nodded, serious.
"We will stay close to her."
Another nod.
"And when she looks sad… we will help her smile again."
Qing'er's eyes sparkled. "I can make funny faces!"
Yichen jumped. "And I can sing!"
Rui sighed. "Please don't sing."
Yichen pouted. "But—"
"Okay fine, sing quietly."
Yichen beamed triumphantly.
Rui continued, voice a little stronger now.
"We won't ask Mommy questions she doesn't want to answer. We won't make her feel scared or alone."
The twins leaned forward.
"And most important," Rui whispered, lowering his voice:
"We won't let anyone hurt Mommy ever again."
A quiet determination settled over the three small children, far too deep for kids their age — but they weren't ordinary.
They had lived through Yunxi's fear.
They had experienced hiding, running, and starting over.
They had seen the pain she thought she concealed.
Rui clenched his tiny fists.
"If someone tries to hurt Mommy again…" He looked at his brother and sister. "We protect her. Together."
"We protect Mommy!" the twins echoed.
Just then, footsteps approached.
The door opened softly.
Shi Yunxi entered the room, her expression warm — but her eyes still slightly red.
Before she could say a word, all three children rushed to her.
"Mommy!"
They wrapped around her legs and waist like small vines.
She froze, startled.
"What's wrong? Why are you all hugging me at once?"
Rui tilted his head up, eyes bright but serious. "Because we love you."
Yunxi's breath caught.
Qing'er pressed her cheek to Yunxi's stomach. "We will take care of Mommy."
Yichen added, "We're big now."
Yunxi laughed softly — but her voice trembled. "What's gotten into you three?"
Rui didn't answer.
He simply hugged her tighter.
And for a moment…
Yunxi let herself sink into the embrace of the three little people who had been her entire world for three years.
Three children.
Three hearts beating against hers.
Her strength.
Her hope.
Her home.
The secret in her chest — the danger looming closer, the threat she feared — didn't vanish.
But with the triplets holding her…
It hurt a little less.
Rui looked up at her silently.
Mommy was scared.
He knew that now.
And he would not let anything happen to her.
Not ever.
Not again.