In just one night, A Lifetime with You exploded on Douyin!

Gu Xingyi’s gentle voice paired with the soft melody of his guitar captivated listener after listener. Likes and comments skyrocketed like a rocket launch.

More and more people, whether through friends forwarding the video or recommendations from those around them, clicked out of curiosity—only to be instantly hooked. And just like that, they joined the ranks of those sharing and recommending it.

The buzz kept growing.

Eventually, it wasn't just on Douyin—even Weibo users began talking about it.

By 10 p.m. that night, the video had already climbed to No. 5 on Douyin’s trending chart!

At that moment, inside Douyin headquarters…

In the office of Operations Director Yang Chenglin, a knock sounded on the door. She had just wrapped up a long day of work and frowned as she looked up at the visitor, her expression serious.

It was a tech staffer, Xiao Li, holding a tablet and nervously wiping the sweat from his forehead as he faced the famously sharp executive.

“Director Yang, I have an urgent situation to report. Just now, a video on the platform reached the fifth spot on the trending chart in just two hours!”

Yang Chenglin didn’t seem impressed. Still frowning, she waved for the tablet.

“What’s the panic? This isn’t the first time something’s gone viral. Let me guess, some big influencer just dropped a new video?”

“It’s not a big influencer! It’s a brand-new account registered today! And the video didn’t even go through our recommended push! It’s just a song!”

Xiao Li spoke carefully, watching Yang Chenglin’s face. He knew very well—she hated being disturbed during her off-hours.

He was gambling on the value of this video. After all, he’d just listened to the song himself, and honestly—he was now a fan too!

At his words, Yang Chenglin’s expression suddenly changed to surprise.

“A new account? A single song? No push at all, and it still made it to trending No. 5?”

She sat back down at her desk and opened the trending chart on Douyin. Her eyes widened even more.

“No. 4 already? Let’s see what kind of song this is.”

After listening to the song, Yang Chenglin fell silent. This was the first time, in all her years working at Douyin, that she’d heard such a beautiful song on the platform.

She tapped into the creator’s profile. The username: Xingyao.

A very lovely name.

“Xiao Li, good work. Push this video to the recommendation feed. Make sure everyone sees it—I want it trending at No. 1 tomorrow. Also, keep a close eye on this account. If they upload another song of this level, don’t even report to me. Just push it out immediately.”

Xiao Li nodded enthusiastically, delighted, and left the office with the tablet in hand.

He knew it—he’d made the right call!

After he left, Yang Chenglin listened to the song once again from beginning to end.

Still so good. She gently tapped her fingers on the desk, deep in thought.

A moment later, she picked up her phone, typed out a private message, and sent it.

6 a.m. the next morning.

The video had already racked up a staggering 500,000 likes on Douyin, with over 80,000 comments.

For context, even top influencers with hundreds of thousands of likes often only get a few thousand comments. So this conversion rate was downright insane!

As for Gu Xingyi’s followers—he had surpassed 100,000 overnight.

All from a single song, a single video. Overnight, he became a 100k-follower content creator. Overnight, he became a sensation.

Of course, most of these followers were drawn in by this one video. If Gu Xingyi couldn’t keep up the same level of quality, he’d likely be forgotten just as quickly.

Gu Xingyi had woken up at 5 a.m. He still had no idea his song had gone viral.

After quickly washing up, he stepped outside for his first morning jog.

This body was in worse shape than he expected. After running for a bit, he was already panting like crazy. He had to rest every 20 minutes just to catch his breath.

Jog-rest-jog-rest. After a full hour, he finally ran five kilometers—his self-imposed goal for Day 1.

After a short cooldown and a few sets of pushups, he began making his way home.

By the time he returned, it was already 7:40 a.m.

Just as he opened the door, he bumped right into Xia Xiyao coming out of the bathroom. Her bangs were damp, and she was drying her hair with a towel. She was startled to see him, a flash of panic on her face.

Seeing Gu Xingyi dripping with sweat, she didn’t know what to do. Still flustered, she quickly said, “I—I didn’t know you went out. I’ll make breakfast right now.”

Gu Xingyi paused for a second, a little awkward, but responded quickly.

“Is Xiao Nainai still asleep?”

“Mm…”

Xia Xiyao nodded with her head down, her heart beating faster. She wasn’t used to this new sunny version of Gu Xingyi, fresh from a morning workout.

She was used to the old him—sloppy, grimy, disgusting. This sudden transformation made her flustered and nervous.

Instinctively avoiding his gaze, she hurried into the kitchen.

“You check on Xiao Nainai. I’ll cook after I shower. Is there anything you want to eat?”

His voice came from behind, a little awkward but trying to please.

Xia Xiyao’s steps froze. After a moment, her soft, trembling voice replied.

“No… nothing. Make whatever. I’ll go check on her.”

Then she quickly walked off, practically running into the bedroom.

Gu Xingyi looked at the closed bedroom door, shrugged helplessly, and hummed a tune as he enjoyed a relaxing hot shower.

The morning run had drained him. After washing up, his hunger hit hard, and the original body’s alcohol cravings were kicking in too. Gu Xingyi felt awful, his mouth constantly filling with saliva. To distract himself, he kept drinking hot water as he cooked.

Xiao Nainai had also woken up. After Xia Xiyao helped her wash up, she toddled to the kitchen doorframe, watching Gu Xingyi cook while hugging the doll he gave her yesterday.

When Gu Xingyi turned around, he spotted the little one immediately. He gave her a warm, almost motherly smile and asked gently, “Xiao Nainai, what would you like to eat this morning? Papa will make it for you!”

Her twin braids swayed slightly as she tilted her head and thought hard. Then her big eyes curved with a smile.

“Steamed egg! Nainai loves steamed egg!”

“Alright! Steamed egg it is!”

Gu Xingyi answered dotingly. He reached out to ruffle her little head, but pulled back cautiously—afraid of scaring this little angel.

Take it slow, no rush, he thought to himself.

Xiao Nainai was clearly starting to accept him. That gave Gu Xingyi hope, and his mood soared. Even the hunger and cravings seemed to fade away.

Breakfast was just as hearty as always: congee, rolled pancakes, one meat, two veggie dishes, and of course, the steamed egg requested by Xiao Nainai herself.

Gu Xingyi, as usual, returned to his small bedroom and let the mother and daughter eat first.

But this time, things were a little different—outside, during breakfast, the sounds of soft laughter echoed through the home.