CHAPTER 111 — Learning to Breathe Again
The storm had passed.
Not just the one that ravaged the sky the night Rui was taken — but the storm that had lived inside Shi Yunxi's heart for years. For the first time in so long, the world was quiet.
Too quiet.
The Mu estate was warm, peaceful, filled with the soft tapping of rain drying on the windows and the distant sound of Xiolan's triplets laughing somewhere in the living room. Yet Yunxi stood in the hallway — frozen, uncertain, as if one wrong move would make her life crumble again.
Rui was safe.
That was supposed to be enough.
But the terror of almost losing him hadn't left her bones.
Her fingers hovered near the doorframe as she listened to the giggling inside the playroom.
Three different laughs.
Three little voices.
Three pieces of her heart.
Mu Yichen's soft, low chuckle as he tried to help Shi Qing'er stack blocks.
Rui's little voice shouting, "No fair! Baba is too tall!"
And Shi Yichen whining, "Qing'er knocked down my tower—Mommy! MOMMY!"
All three calling for her.
All three alive.
All three safe.
Her breath trembled.
She hadn't realized she was crying until warm arms slipped around her waist from behind.
"I've been looking for you," Mu Lingchen murmured into her neck.
Yunxi stiffened.
She always stiffened at touch first — trauma wasn't something that vanished overnight — but slowly, carefully, she relaxed into his embrace.
He held her gently, like she was made of breath and light. Not fragile — just cherished.
"You okay?" he whispered.
Yunxi's throat tightened. "I… I don't know."
"Then let me stay with you until you are."
Her eyes fluttered shut.
Everything was different now.
Roulan was in custody.
Shi Zhenai was facing charges.
The Shi family name was ashes.
Yunxi should have felt free.
Instead… she felt lost.
"Lingchen…" she whispered, fingers curling around his.
"Yes?"
"What if Rui has nightmares because of me?"
Lingchen turned her around, lifting her chin lightly so she had no choice but to meet his eyes.
"Yunxi. Listen to me carefully."
He spoke slow, gentle, firm.
"You didn't cause anything. Roulan did."
"But I should have protected him—"
"You DID," he said sharply. "You fought, you tracked him, you led the entire operation. Rui is alive because of you."
Yunxi looked away. "I don't feel strong."
He smiled — not mocking, not pitying — but proud.
"Strength isn't feeling brave. It's doing what you must even when you're terrified. That's you."
She bit her lip.
He brushed a tear from her cheek.
"You faced your past. You protected your children. And you didn't crumble."
"I almost did."
"But you didn't," he repeated softly. "You're here. With them. With me."
Her breath shook.
A small voice called from the playroom:
"Mama! Maaaamaaa! Rui is hungry!"
Yunxi laughed weakly, wiping her eyes. "Coming, sweetheart."
She started to pull away, but Lingchen caught her wrist.
"Wait."
She turned.
He hesitated — then took a breath.
"Move in with us."
She froze.
The words hung in the air, warm and dangerous.
"Lingchen—"
"Not because of danger," he said quickly. "Not because I want to protect you. Because I want to be with you."
Her heart raced.
"And I want the children to wake up in a home where both of us are there. Where they don't feel the fear of losing one parent or the other. Where they feel safe."
"And you?" she whispered. "Do YOU feel safe with me?"
He stepped closer.
"You're the only place I've ever felt safe."
Tears welled in her eyes again.
Not from pain.
From tenderness.
Something she hadn't known in years.
He tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear.
"You don't have to decide now. Just… let me stay close, okay?"
Yunxi nodded slowly.
"Okay."
Lingchen exhaled in relief — and Yunxi felt something inside her chest loosen for the first time in years.
He held out a hand.
"Ready to face the chaos?"
She laughed softly and slipped her fingers into his.
Together, they walked into the playroom.
Three heads snapped up instantly.
"MOMMY!!"
"MA-MA!"
"Mamaaaaa!"
Rui barreled into her first, as always, followed by the twins — Shi Yichen clutching a toy car and Qing'er dragging a blanket.
They crashed into her legs like a tiny tidal wave of love.
Yunxi dropped to her knees and gathered them close.
Her arms shook.
Her breath shook.
Her entire soul shook.
But the world felt right for the first time.
Rui pressed his forehead to hers.
"Mama… don't cry."
Yunxi hugged him tighter. "Mama's not crying. Mama is happy."
"Promise?" Rui whispered.
She put her hand over his heart.
"I promise."
Mu Lingchen stood silently behind them, watching the scene with softened eyes. The kind of eyes that held a whole lifetime of emotion.
Shi Yichen tugged on his sleeve. "Daddy, carry us too!"
Rui gasped. "Hey! That's MY Daddy!"
"You can share!" Qing'er insisted sweetly.
Lingchen looked at Yunxi, silently asking permission.
She nodded.
He lifted all three at once — one child on his shoulders, one on each arm — wobbling dramatically until Yunxi laughed out loud for the first time in days.
The children shrieked with joy.
Lingchen grinned.
"See?" he said softly.
"We're already a family."
Yunxi's heart trembled.
Maybe healing didn't happen all at once.
Maybe it happened like this:
A hand held gently.
A promise whispered softly.
A family rebuilt slowly.
One moment at a time.
One breath at a time.
One day at a time.
And for the first time since she was a child herself…
Yunxi let herself believe she deserved this.
She let herself believe she could heal.
She let herself believe she could stay.
The storm had passed.
And the light was finally breaking through.