Early the next morning.

Xiao Nainai was still sound asleep, while Gu Xingyi had already gotten up.

He gently pushed open the bedroom door and walked into the living room, getting ready to go for a morning run.

The next moment, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

The ointment that had been on the coffee table was gone!

Gu Xingyi's eyes gradually lit up, and a knowing smile spread across his face.

He stepped out of the house today in a great mood.

Running, showering, and cooking breakfast—altogether, Gu Xingyi spent over two hours.

After finishing breakfast, he had one more task today: waking up his daughter.

Xiao Nainai was gently woken up by Gu Xingyi’s soft voice.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes, and the moment she saw Gu Xingyi, a sweet and adorable smile began to bloom on her little face.

The little one stretched out her soft arms, clearly asking papa for a hug.

Gu Xingyi immediately reached out and gently picked her up, dressed her in the new clothes he had bought yesterday, and then carried her out for her morning wash.

Gu Xingyi had watched videos on how to take care of children, but theory was one thing—doing it in real life was a whole different challenge.

The little one’s body was so delicate that he didn’t dare to use any force. So the whole process was clumsy, especially when trying to tie her hair—he completely fumbled it and could only manage a crooked mess in the end.

“Papa is a big dummy!”

Seeing her crooked hairstyle in the mirror, Xiao Nainai pouted and teased Gu Xingyi.

Gu Xingyi pinched her tiny nose, making her giggle uncontrollably. She reached out her small hand to pinch his nose in return.

When Xia Xiyao came out of the bedroom, she saw this heartwarming scene between father and daughter. She didn’t say anything and silently walked into the kitchen to bring out breakfast.

She probably didn’t even realize that the corners of her mouth had already curled up into a faint smile.

After a simple breakfast for the three of them, Gu Xingyi didn’t return Xiao Nainai to Xia Xiyao. Instead, he continued playing princess house with her in front of the sofa.

But this time, while playing, Gu Xingyi casually began introducing her to some very basic numbers, from one to ten.

After discovering her learning gap, Gu Xingyi secretly made a plan to foster the little one’s ability to learn on her own through playful interaction.

From simple numbers to basic life knowledge, he planned to teach Xiao Nainai bit by bit.

Obviously, this wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight, but fortunately, Xiao Nainai was very smart. It was just that no one had taught her before. Now, with Gu Xingyi’s subtle guidance, she quickly remembered some of the knowledge.

Gu Xingyi also noticed that ever since Xia Xiyao came back yesterday, it felt like she had become a different person.

She was still just as quiet, but there was a clear, newfound light in her expression that wasn’t there before.

Like now—she didn’t return to the bedroom but sat on the other end of the sofa, fiddling with her phone, occasionally glancing at him and the child.

It was a good sign, and it brought Gu Xingyi a sense of relief.

While downloading apps like WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin, Xia Xiyao quietly observed the interaction between the father and daughter.

She also noticed how Gu Xingyi was subtly teaching Xiao Nainai and watched without saying a word, a soft sweetness rising in her heart.

She had long wanted to educate her child, but given their previous home situation, life was already hard enough. She simply didn’t have the ability to teach Xiao Nainai like a normal mother.

Xia Xiyao looked back down at her phone screen.

As expected of the latest model—the download speed was fast. In just a few seconds, all the apps were installed.

The moment she logged into WeChat, an unread message popped up.

It was from her assistant of two years—

Tao Lele.

She only had a handful of contacts on WeChat, aside from Gu Xingyi, mostly people from her old company.

Messages from Tao Lele had kept coming ever since she got married, continuing right up until two days ago. Most of them were just asking how she was doing, but she had never replied.

Looking at the string of messages, Xia Xiyao felt a little warmth in her heart and finally responded.

“Sorry, Lele. I haven’t been able to reply until now. I’m doing pretty well—don’t worry.”

Just two seconds after the message was sent, a reply came instantly.

“Xiyao-jie! You’re alive! I thought after you got married you just didn’t want to deal with me anymore! Waaaah!”

“Xiyao-jie, you have no idea. After you disappeared, the company was full of gossip—especially that annoying Liu Qian! She’s been insufferable these past two years, badmouthing you to everyone and saying you got what you deserved. It’s so infuriating!”

Reading Lele’s message, Xia Xiyao’s lips tightened slightly.

Liu Qian wasn’t wrong. She had brought this on herself.

Back when she was at the company, she had always outshone Liu Qian. After she left the industry, it made sense that Liu Qian would act this way.

Still, her little assistant hadn’t changed at all—still full of energy.

“How have you been lately, Lele? Is life treating you okay?”

Xia Xiyao didn’t respond to Lele’s complaints, instead asking about her current situation.

“Pretty good! Don’t worry, Xiyao-jie. I’m like an unkillable cockroach!”

“I just missed you, Xiyao-jie. Waaaah~ Are you ever going to make a comeback?”

Xia Xiyao froze for a moment, a hint of longing flickering in her eyes.

Would she ever come back?

She turned to look at Gu Xingyi, then at Xiao Nainai. After a moment, the desire in her eyes slowly faded.

“Probably not.”

“But, Lele, if you miss me, we can still meet up sometime!”

Meanwhile, in the Tianmei Entertainment Building in the center of Jiang City, a petite girl about 160 cm tall put down the equipment she was carrying. Her slightly chubby baby face was flushed red, with two little dimples on her cheeks.

At this moment, she looked like she was about to jump for joy, tapping away excitedly on her phone.

But soon, a sharp female voice jolted her out of her happiness.

“Tao Lele! Are you slacking off? Hurry up and get to work! Do you still think you're the assistant to some top-tier actress? If you don’t want to work, then quit already!”

Tao Lele looked up.

The voice came from a woman with a fox-like face and eyes full of disdain.

“What are you looking at? Hurry up and carry that equipment to the recording studio. If you delay my session, can you afford to pay for it?”

Tao Lele rolled her eyes at the woman and muttered under her breath, but still picked up the equipment and headed to the recording studio.

“Okay~ Xiyao-jie, I have Saturday off. Let’s plan to meet up!”

Looking at this message, a genuine smile finally appeared on Xia Xiyao’s face.

She scrolled through WeChat again, and seeing no other messages, she switched to Weibo. Her last post was from two years ago—her retirement announcement.

The followers she once had in the hundreds of thousands had dropped to just a few thousand. But among the zombie followers, there were still some loyal fans who regularly left comments asking how she was doing.

She casually browsed the trending topics. Most of them were recent celebrity gossip, but a few were about a song that had gone viral.

“‘A Lifetime With You’—A Divine Song! A mysterious singer gains over a million fans overnight with just one video!”

“Xingyao? Who is he really? In-depth analysis and a breakdown of this hidden gem of a song!”

“This song shot to number one on Douyin’s trending chart overnight! Listen now!”

Curious about the song that had blown up, Xia Xiyao clicked the post.

The blog was full of glowing reviews, with a link attached at the end.

She tapped the link, and her phone automatically opened a Douyin video.

A familiar figure appeared on screen, followed by a familiar guitar melody.

Then, a familiar voice echoed through the living room.

“Because I dreamed of you leaving, I woke up crying...”