Like a little koala, the moment Gu Xingyi picked her up, Xiao Nainai wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to let go, hanging on tightly.

Even when Gu Xingyi went to the kitchen to cook, she clung to him and wouldn’t come down.

In the end, it took Xia Xiyao’s stern face—plus the lure of the new toy Gu Xingyi had just bought—to finally pry the little one off and settle her on the sofa.

As she played with her new toy, Xiao Nainai kept glancing toward the kitchen, as if afraid Gu Xingyi might disappear again.

After a little while, the food was ready.

Three bowls of steaming hot noodles, paired with one meat and one veggie side dish—the family of three sat around the table, the air filled with warmth.

Xia Xiyao looked down at her bowl. Two leafy greens sat atop the noodles, along with two golden fried eggs—simple, but mouthwatering.

She picked up a strand and brought it to her mouth. Her eyes narrowed in contentment.

She had to admit, Gu Xingyi’s cooking was really delicious. In the days he’d been away, she’d made her own meals, but they barely seemed edible.

Xiao Nainai had already grabbed her little chopsticks and was slurping down noodles with big gulps. One strand after another vanished into her belly, and her eyes turned into bright crescent moons.

The way she ate made it look like Xia Xiyao had starved her for days. It made her both annoyed and helpless.

Skills lose to talent—what else could she say?

It even made Xia Xiyao pick up the pace. For some reason, when it was just her and Nainai at home, they didn’t really have much of an appetite. But now that Gu Xingyi was back, they both felt inexplicably relaxed.

As she ate, Xia Xiyao drifted into thought. It was scary, really—how just a short time ago, she’d wanted nothing more than to be rid of this man. And yet now, he'd subtly changed her and her daughter’s world.

Only the sound of slurping filled the dining room. When Xia Xiyao finally finished, she realized Gu Xingyi and Xiao Nainai had already finished and were both quietly watching her.

Her face flushed again. She quickly wiped her mouth and stood to cover her embarrassment, then began clearing the dishes.

"I’ll do the dishes. You stay and spend time with Nainai."

She stacked Gu Xingyi’s bowl on top of hers and carried them into the kitchen.

Seeing her practically flee into the kitchen like a gust of wind, Gu Xingyi shook his head. He hadn’t even tried to compete with her this time—what was she flustered for?

“Papa! Come play blocks with Nainai!”

“Coming!”

Xiao Nainai jumped off her stool and dragged Gu Xingyi to the sofa. There, she had her new toy building blocks—the kind that could be assembled into different shapes.

Her princess castle had already been completed and was now standing proudly in the master bedroom. Xia Xiyao often took it out to play house with her.

But now with new toys in hand, the castle was sure to be neglected for a while.

With Gu Xingyi helping her, Xiao Nainai giggled in her baby voice as they built little house-shaped structures with the blocks.

Seizing the moment, Gu Xingyi casually asked about how things had been at home.

The little one had no filter and eagerly spilled everything. Especially when it came to Xia Xiyao—she sold her mama out completely.

“Mama misses Papa too! I saw it! She watches Papa’s singing videos and secretly smiles!”

Gu Xingyi covered his mouth, laughing silently. He hadn’t asked that on purpose!

The real problem was, Xiao Nainai was saying it loud and clear—and completely failed to notice that Xia Xiyao had already stormed out of the kitchen.

Her face was as red as a ripe apple, but her eyes were frosty as she stared down at her little traitor of a daughter who was trying to earn points with her dad.

When Xiao Nainai noticed Papa had suddenly gone quiet, she looked up in confusion—only to see Mama’s glowing red face.

“Yaaah!” she cried, diving into Gu Xingyi’s arms and chanting, “You can’t see me, Mama can’t see me!”

Xia Xiyao couldn’t help but laugh through her anger. She reached out and patted the exposed part of Nainai’s little butt peeking from under Gu Xingyi’s arm, while glaring at the man’s barely-concealed smirk.

“Don’t listen to Nainai’s nonsense! I… I totally didn’t!”

“You did! Mama’s a liar! Lying isn’t what good kids do!”

Xiao Nainai’s little face was buried in Gu Xingyi’s chest as she mumbled stubbornly.

Just as Xia Xiyao was about to explode, Gu Xingyi quickly raised both hands in surrender, revealing the little culprit.

“No, no! I believe you!”

A wise man adapts to the situation. Unfortunately for Xiao Nainai, that meant she was scooped up by Xia Xiyao and given a good tickling.

Her big starry eyes looked pleadingly toward her upright and proper-looking Papa, clearly not expecting him to betray her so quickly and hand her over to Mama!

Gu Xingyi pretended not to notice. Eyes to nose, nose to heart—he had to let his little darling suffer a bit for the greater peace and harmony of this household.

After a while of playful chaos, things settled down.

Poor little Nainai bore all the consequences alone, left quietly playing with her blocks.

Gu Xingyi gave her a gentle head pat before standing up and retrieving a paper document folder from his suitcase. He placed it in front of Xia Xiyao.

“Mission accomplished. Here—this is the contract from Yin Hai Entertainment.”

Xia Xiyao glanced at the serious look on his face, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, betraying her unsettled heart.

In just a few days, he had really brought home a contract for her.

She lowered her head, opened the folder, and began reading through the contract inside. As she reached the final page, her hands began to tremble.

It was the kind of contract she’d never dared to dream of—top-tier terms, complete freedom. Even if she had never quit the industry and had kept singing all this time, she would never have received an offer like this.

She had no idea how he managed it. In just a few days, what had he gone through? What price had he paid to bring back a deal so unbelievable?

Looking up, Xia Xiyao stared at Gu Xingyi, her eyes misty, lips pressed together, locking gazes with him.

His gentle smile remained, like it was all no big deal.

After a long moment, she finally whispered,

“Gu Xingyi… honestly, I’d be fine not singing.”

Her voice was quiet but firm—without a trace of hesitation.

Gu Xingyi frowned slightly, confused. She clearly loved singing, clearly wanted to sing—so what was this?

He didn’t understand. What was going on in her head?

“Why? Haven’t you always wanted to sing? You finally have the chance—why back down now?”

His voice was a little more forceful. This was the first time since arriving here that he’d spoken to her like this.

A lifelong bachelor, he couldn’t understand what was going on in her heart. Everything inside her was a mess. She suddenly felt like maybe this quiet life wasn’t so bad.

If she really went back to singing, she was scared things would change. Scared life would never be like this again.

Xia Xiyao pursed her lips again, staring straight into his eyes. Tears fell, one after another.

After a moment, she spoke in a soft, distant voice.

“I’m scared. Scared things might change for the worse.”

It was the first time she had ever voiced her fear to Gu Xingyi so directly.

He froze for a second. Then the frown on his face vanished, replaced by a warm smile.

He picked up a tissue and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“Xia Xiyao, what kind of man do you think I am?”

“I’m telling you seriously—go for it. No matter what happens, nothing is going to change.”

“I’ll be at home, taking care of our kid. I’ve already prepared myself to be a full-time stay-at-home dad!”