Xiao Nainai quietly played her game on her own.

Gu Xingyi picked up his phone and headed to the side room. He opened Douyin’s backend and started scrolling through his private messages.

His inbox had been blowing up ever since he posted the first video. He had only skimmed through it back then and hadn’t checked since. Now it was hard to find anything, but Gu Xingyi patiently scrolled through message after message.

Finally, his eyes lit up as he spotted one. He tapped it open immediately.

As he read the message, his fingers tapped lightly on the screen, clearly deep in thought.

Originally, he only posted videos to make money. Once he’d earned enough to secure a good life for Nainai and Xia Xiyao, he planned to fade away.

But after spending the past few days with them—especially everything that happened yesterday—he’d changed his mind.

The message was simple: Yin Hai Entertainment sincerely invites you to join our team. With your musical talent, we will fast-track your rise to superstardom.

At the end of the message was a contact number for Yin Hai Entertainment.

Yin Hai Entertainment, along with Tianmei and Shengshi, was one of the three entertainment giants in Huaguo. The Douyin platform itself was a subsidiary of Yin Hai.

Considering both of his viral videos—each with original songs—blew up on Douyin, it wasn’t surprising that Yin Hai would reach out.

After thinking it over for a moment, Gu Xingyi didn’t hesitate. He dialed the number.

The phone rang only a few times before a confident female voice answered.

“Hello, who’s speaking?”

“Hi, my Douyin username is ‘Xingyao.’ I received a message from your company. Is now a good time to talk?”

At that moment—

Far away in the Douyin headquarters in Modu.

Yang Chenglin blinked in surprise as she took the call. She hadn’t expected this mysterious creator, Xingyao, to actually contact her.

It had already been a few days since she sent the invite. She thought he wasn’t interested in the entertainment industry.

“Hello? Are you still there?”

The pleasant voice on the other end pulled her back to her senses. A hint of excitement lit up her face.

Not only was she the head of Douyin’s operations department, she was also the deputy director of HR at Yin Hai Entertainment.

Her dual role allowed her faster access to rising talent.

And now Xingyao had called her!

In the past few days, this mysterious figure had become the hottest name online.

“Hello, Mr. Xingyao. I’m Yang Chenglin, deputy director of Human Resources at Yin Hai Entertainment. I’m free now. May I ask if you’re calling to officially join us?”

Though thrilled inside, she kept her tone professional and prompt.

But Gu Xingyi’s next words left her stunned.

“Hello, Director Yang. I’m sorry, I’m not planning to enter the entertainment industry for now. But I’d like to recommend a singer to you. Would your company be open to that?”

…What?

He wasn’t joining? He was calling to recommend someone else?

Yang Chenglin couldn’t hide her disappointment. She gave a wry smile—what she wanted was him, this already-famous figure with two viral hits under his belt.

“Mr. Xingyao, I’m just a deputy director. If it were you, I could make the call on my own. But if it’s someone else… I’m afraid I don’t have the authority to approve that myself.”

Though reluctant, she still answered sincerely.

“I can assure you—she’s a talented singer. Also, I’ll be writing songs for her. And if your company ever needs songs, I’m willing to contribute as one of Yin Hai’s composers. But of course, there’ll be conditions. I won’t write for just anyone. If I don’t like them, I won’t write.”

“If you agree, we can negotiate the specifics. What do you think?”

Gu Xingyi’s voice was calm, but Yang Chenglin fell silent. Her mind was racing, weighing the potential benefits.

After a moment, she admitted it—she was interested.

But this wasn’t a decision she could make alone. She still had to report it up the chain.

“Mr. Xingyao, this isn’t something I can approve alone. How about this—I’ll discuss it with the higher-ups and get back to you. No matter the outcome, I’ll respond as soon as possible.”

“Alright. I’ll look forward to your reply.”

After hanging up, Yang Chenglin didn’t hesitate. She grabbed her phone and rushed out the door.

Back on Gu Xingyi’s side, he set down his phone and thought for a bit. He decided to wait for Yin Hai’s reply. As one of the top three in the country, they were on a completely different level. If this didn’t work out, he’d just look for another company.

It felt good to finally take a step forward. He let out a breath and opened the door to the living room.

Xiao Nainai was still playing with her toys, babbling to herself from time to time.

Xia Xiyao was already up, sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. She looked up briefly when she heard the door open, then quickly lowered her head and pretended not to notice.

But the blush on her face didn’t escape Gu Xingyi’s eyes—nor did the dark circles under them.

Who knew what she was thinking about last night, staying up like that?

Gu Xingyi was even more confused. What was she embarrassed about now?

He didn’t mention the call with the entertainment company. No point talking about something uncertain.

Instead, he went over and sat on the sofa to keep Xiao Nainai company.

To his surprise, the little one could now count from one to ten perfectly. Just yesterday, she was still stumbling on a number or two.

Even after being out all day yesterday, and playing alone this morning, she had already gotten it down!

This discovery filled Gu Xingyi with joy and pride. In just about a week, he’d helped her catch up to other three-year-olds.

Was he born to be a dad? The thought made him beam.

But just as he was feeling smug, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Gu Xingyi looked at Xia Xiyao in confusion—only to find she was staring back at him with the same puzzled look.

Now he was even more confused. Both of them were orphans. No one ever visited their home.

So who could this be?

The knocking continued—and grew louder. Clearly, the person outside was getting impatient.

Gu Xingyi frowned. That’s rude. Just because no one answered right away doesn’t mean you start pounding the door like that.

He stood up with a cold expression and walked toward the door.

But before he could open it, someone outside shouted.

“Xiao Gu! Open up! I know you're in there! It’s your gege Gao! Didn’t you keep messaging us to go out for drinks? Well, here we are!”

“And me too! Your gege Xu! Come on, open up!”

Hearing those two obnoxious voices, Gu Xingyi’s face instantly darkened.

Xia Xiyao’s expression also changed. She frowned, her face full of disgust as she looked toward the door.

Xiao Nainai had already dropped her toy and run into Xia Xiyao’s arms. The loud banging had scared her.

Gu Xingyi turned just in time to see the scene—and his expression grew even colder, now tinged with a trace of fury.

Damn it. He’d spent days gently coaxing his precious little one out of her shell, and these two had the nerve to scare her like this?

Unforgivable.