“Liu Qian! Will you knock it off already? Today’s our day off!”

Tao Lele’s face darkened, her whole posture bristling like an angry kitten as she glared at the woman in front of her.

Xia Xiyao turned around and finally saw who it was—a tall, shapely woman wearing a baseball cap and a face mask. A gleam of calculation flashed in her long, narrow eyes. When she saw Xia Xiyao, she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Liu Qian? Xia Xiyao blinked. She used to be a popular idol in the same company, also walking the path of a powerhouse vocalist.

But back then, Liu Qian was always one step beneath Xia Xiyao. While Xia Xiyao was active in the company, Liu Qian constantly addressed her as “Xiyao-jie.”

Now that Xia Xiyao was gone, the respect naturally vanished too. Xia Xiyao understood how fickle fame was and hadn’t taken it to heart.

“Well, well~ isn’t this Xiyao-jie? Not at home quietly playing the good wife and mother—what are you doing out here meeting with Lele?”

Liu Qian’s eyes held a mocking smile, but her words dripped with sarcasm. She had only come out shopping and hadn’t expected to run into Tao Lele and Xia Xiyao.

Before Xia Xiyao could respond, Tao Lele exploded.

“Liu Qian! Mind your own damn business! This isn’t a workday, so quit acting all snide and self-important! Xiyao-jie, let’s go. There’s a mad dog barking around here—no need to let her ruin our mood.”

With that, Tao Lele picked up Xiao Nainai and grabbed Xia Xiyao’s hand, ready to leave.

But Liu Qian moved first and blocked their way. Her gaze darkened slightly as she looked at Xia Xiyao, raising an eyebrow again and smirking.

“Sigh! Xiyao-jie, why are you so skinny now? Rough times, huh? If it’s really that bad, just say the word—your meimei here can spare you a little. I mean, look at Lele. She’s working under me now, doing errands and getting by just fine, right? Isn’t that so, Lele?”

Tao Lele’s face turned ashen, and she stared at Liu Qian in silence.

Xia Xiyao whipped her head around to look at Tao Lele, eyes wide in disbelief.

Lele was working under Liu Qian as a gofer? Didn’t she say she was still working as someone’s assistant and doing fine? Doing errands like that was grunt work—how could the company put her in that position?

But now wasn’t the time to ask. Xia Xiyao turned her gaze to Liu Qian, eyes filled with anger. Her fists clenched tight. If it was just herself being mocked, she could endure it. But seeing Lele bullied like this—that was something she couldn’t accept.

She was just about to speak when Tao Lele cut in first.

“My contract with the company ends at the end of the month. I’ll be resigning then. I just hope certain people don’t climb too high, or the fall might be brutal.”

“If Xiyao-jie makes a comeback, someone might wake up screaming from nightmares.”

Liu Qian was stunned. She did indeed have a psychological shadow from Xia Xiyao. After all, she’d been overshadowed by her for a whole year and a half. Back when Xiyao was around, no one even knew who she was.

But Liu Qian quickly regained her composure and sneered, her eyes filled with disdain as she looked at Xia Xiyao.

“Comeback? Haha, that’s the funniest joke I’ve heard. What kind of company would sign a washed-up has-been with a kid?”

“Speaking of kids—Xia Xiyao, your daughter is quite the looker. Maybe consider grooming her to be the next trending idol.”

Her face full of contempt, Liu Qian even shamelessly reached out to pinch Nainai’s cheek.

“Stop!”

“Stop right there! Take your filthy hand away! I swear, if you lay one finger on her, I’ll make sure you regret it!”

Two voices shouted at once—one was Xia Xiyao’s. Xiao Nainai was her bottom line. No matter how gentle her nature, she would never allow anyone to hurt her daughter, not even a little.

A mother’s strength comes out when it matters. Even Gu Xingyi in the past hadn’t been allowed to touch Xiao Nainai—Xia Xiyao had blocked everything herself.

The second voice, deep and forceful, came from the entrance of the bubble tea shop—it was Gu Xingyi. His eyes were sharp and fierce, and he held three ice creams in his hands—one for each of them.

He quickly strode over to Xia Xiyao, handed out the ice cream, and then turned to face Liu Qian, shielding Xia Xiyao and Xiao Nainai behind him. His voice was icy.

“And you are?”

Liu Qian flinched, involuntarily taking a step back. An angry Gu Xingyi carried a strong sense of pressure.

But after steadying herself and getting a good look at him, she suddenly laughed. So it was that useless pretty boy.

“Oh, it’s you. What, you planning to hit someone in public now?”

Gu Xingyi frowned and looked back at Xia Xiyao, his eyes questioning—who is this crazy woman?

“She… she’s a singer from my old company. I didn’t expect to run into her here,” Xia Xiyao said quietly, lowering her head slightly. As calm as she usually was, Gu Xingyi’s anger intimidated her a little.

Seeing her like that, Gu Xingyi’s frown deepened, and he sighed inwardly.

He didn’t ask further. Instead, he turned back and looked down at Liu Qian with a cold gaze.

“A singer? Sorry, never heard of you. Don’t know you. All I know is, you’re blocking our way. Move.”

His tone was serious, leaving no room for argument. There was nothing wrong with his words—but to Liu Qian, it was like a slap in the face. Her voice turned shrill.

“Pfft! Know your place! Don’t think I don’t know you were sucking up to Gao Cheng and Xu Bin from the Flower Boys group, buying them drinks every day. Now you wanna play tough with me?”

Gao Cheng? Xu Bin? Gu Xingyi thought for a moment before remembering—those were members from the idol group the original Gu Xingyi had been part of. After leaving the industry, he’d tried to get back in and often treated them to drinks, trying to curry favor. But they didn’t even bother to respond.

Still, that was what the old Gu Xingyi did. What did that have to do with him now?

“Never really knew those two. Thanks. Good dogs don’t block the road. Keep this up, and I’ll call security.”

Yida Plaza was the biggest commercial center in Jiang City—they definitely didn’t allow disturbances here.

Liu Qian was stunned speechless. She glared at Gu Xingyi and cursed him silently, but still stepped aside.

Gu Xingyi took Xia Xiyao by the hand, signaled for Tao Lele to follow, and began walking toward the exit.

But just as they brushed past Liu Qian, she suddenly spoke again.

“Sigh, what a shame. Looks like someone won’t be singing ever again! Xia Xiyao, my new song drops on Huayin at the end of this month~ haha!”

She laughed gleefully.

How could someone like you ever compare to me?

Her smug voice echoed behind them.

Tao Lele nearly lost it right then and there. She wanted so badly to slap Liu Qian across the face. She knew Xiyao-jie loved singing, and now that she couldn’t anymore, saying something like that was just plain cruel.

Gu Xingyi’s steps also paused. He gave Liu Qian a long, unreadable look, then silently continued walking.

Xia Xiyao said nothing. She simply pressed her lips together gently.

But at that moment, a clear, determined child’s voice suddenly rang out:

“Mama sings way better than you! You’re a mean aunty!”