The air in the quiet room grew thick and heavy, charged with a revelation that seemed to warp the very fabric of reality. Mo Yuxin's heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the profound silence that followed Shen Mingyue's words. She opened her mouth, but her voice was a trapped, fragile thing in her throat. "This… are you and Mother—" she began hesitantly, the question a wisp of sound stained with confusion and a desperate, fragile hope.