The sound of laughter between father and daughter echoed through the living room. This was the first time since she turned three that Xiao Nainai had cuddled and played in her papa's arms, feeling the unique warmth only he could give.

It was also Gu Xingyi's first time taking care of a child, enjoying the joy of having an adorable little one at home. For someone who had always been a single dog, this was undoubtedly a good start.

On the side, Xia Xiyao leaned against the doorframe, quietly watching this beautiful scene unfold before her eyes, her eyes misting over.

She didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, afraid of shattering this dreamlike moment. For the first time, the resolve in her heart began to waver slightly.

If things could stay like this… maybe that wouldn’t be so bad?

The father and daughter didn’t play for long. Under Gu Xingyi’s guidance, Xiao Nainai was decorating her princess room. When Gu Xingyi looked up, he saw Xia Xiyao leaning dazedly against the kitchen doorframe.

The sunlight outside streamed through the gaps in the curtains, landing softly on her thin frame. Her faded pale-blue shirt, worn from too many washes, looked particularly harsh in the light, making Gu Xingyi squint unconsciously.

Mother and daughter really looked alike—not just their eyes, but even their obviously too-small clothes. Were they… matching outfits?

Gu Xingyi suddenly remembered—it was a matching set. It was bought secretly by Xia Xiyao for Xiao Nainai’s second birthday. When the original Gu Xingyi found out, he beat her and sold her phone.

He had one too. But it had long been used as a rag and tossed into some garbage heap, who knows where.

Thinking of this, Gu Xingyi fell silent. The next moment, he stumbled to his feet, covered his mouth, and rushed to the bathroom to vomit violently.

Only now did he truly realize what kind of sickening, angry feeling it brought to look back on such behavior with a conscience and from a first-person perspective.

If you haven’t suffered someone’s pain, how can you know what they endured?

The sudden change scared the mother and daughter. Xia Xiyao flinched and quickly rushed to the sofa, pulling Xiao Nainai tightly into her arms.

Xiao Nainai burrowed into her mama’s embrace, afraid that her papa would suddenly come storming out after vomiting, just like before, yelling and hitting her and mama.

Back then, every time papa made that kind of sound, he would become like a man-eating tiger—terrifying.

A while later—

Gu Xingyi staggered out of the bathroom, his eyes bloodshot and red. Looking at the frightened Xia Xiyao and Xiao Nainai made his heart ache even more, and his stomach churned again.

But he still forced himself to endure the discomfort and weakly said to them, “Sorry… I scared you. I just felt a little sick.”

He was sick—unbearably so. The memories in his mind of the original Gu Xingyi’s actions made him feel constantly nauseous, especially knowing that he now inhabited that body. His entire skin crawled like it was covered in crawling ants.

Seeing that Xia Xiyao and Xiao Nainai still looked at him with caution—

Gu Xingyi let out a long sigh and silently walked past them into the kitchen, picking up the vegetables and starting to wash them.

“Nainai might still want to play a bit more. Why don’t you stay with her a while? I’ll cook lunch.”

The sound of running water was light, and Gu Xingyi was focused.

Xia Xiyao carefully glanced at Gu Xingyi’s side profile. It was so familiar, and yet so unfamiliar.

In the end, she nodded, carrying Xiao Nainai to the spot where Gu Xingyi had been sitting.

Peeking out from her mama’s embrace, Xiao Nainai saw that her papa was still the gentle papa from earlier. Her little face finally brightened with a smile.

The father-daughter bonding time ended unexpectedly and turned into a quiet mother-daughter moment.

Smoke rose in the kitchen. Soft voices filled the living room outside.

Eventually, lunch was ready, and the aroma of food wafted into the living room.

Xia Xiyao watched as he placed the dishes on the table, then silently retreated into the side bedroom. Her lips parted slightly, but she couldn’t bring herself to say a word.

While eating, Xiao Nainai held her little spoon, then suddenly turned to look at her mama with a puzzled frown.

“Mama, why isn’t papa eating with us anymore?”

Xia Xiyao was chewing a piece of stir-fried pork—her favorite dish. She had rarely eaten it, whether before or after marriage, because Gu Xingyi couldn’t handle spicy food.

Hearing her daughter’s question, she unconsciously glanced toward the side bedroom, then looked back at her daughter’s confused face. She suddenly smiled.

That smile bloomed like a spring flower—beautiful beyond words.

“That’s because papa and mama… still aren’t ready yet.”

The little one didn’t understand. Her small brows furrowed deeper. Her tiny head couldn’t grasp what mama meant.

Inside the bedroom, Gu Xingyi sat in a daze. He knew his sudden vomiting was a psychological reaction—but there was nothing he could change.

Even though he kept telling himself deep down that it wasn’t his fault, that didn’t change the fact that he was him now.

Feeling helpless, Gu Xingyi picked up his phone and scrolled through Douyin to distract himself. His own video was still trending, and the comments were filled with people urging him to release another song.

But he wasn’t in the mood for any of that. Making money was a means, not the end.

The video was still generating revenue, though the income would gradually shrink, probably disappearing completely in a few days.

Still, the money was more than enough for the family’s daily needs. There was no need to release another video just for profit.

Just then, the sound of dishes being washed drifted in from outside. Gu Xingyi put down his phone, opened the bedroom door, and walked out.

There was still a place set for him at the table. Xia Xiyao was washing dishes in the kitchen. Xiao Nainai had run back to the sofa and was playing with her toys again.