“Nainai, be good. Papa will pretend to be a little tiger, okay? Don’t cry anymore, alright?”

At home, Gu Xingyi was on the verge of breaking down. Ever since Xiao Nainai woke up, she had been crying nonstop for Mama. No matter how much Gu Xingyi tried to coax her, it only made things worse.

Just yesterday, he had confidently promised Xia Xiyao that he would take good care of Nainai.

Now? He just wanted to say one thing: This servant truly cannot do it!

When Xia Xiyao was home, Xiao Nainai clung to him and never made a fuss. So what was happening now?

Facing this meltdown, Gu Xingyi wanted to cry too. He thought he was a “King-tier” dad, but it turns out he was just Bronze-tier.

Gu Xingyi grimaced as he acted like a tiger, but Nainai’s tears were still falling one by one like little pearls.

“Papa is bad. He hid Mama! I want Mama! Waaaah!”

Xiao Nainai sat on the sofa, kicking her feet, clearly prepared to riot until she saw Mama again.

Gu Xingyi crouched in front of the sofa, scratching his head. What was he supposed to do? Xia Xiyao had only been gone for half a day. He couldn’t possibly call her back now, right?

She’d never let him live it down! No way!

Gu Xingyi wrestled with the dilemma, his “tiger” act completely falling apart.

Just then, his phone on the table rang. He glanced at it—and the next second, his eyes lit up with joy.

A savior!

He grabbed the phone. It was a WeChat message from Xia Xiyao. Just two simple words:

“You there?”

Frantically, Gu Xingyi typed back.

“I’m here! Of course I’m here!”

“Aren’t you busy?”

Xia Xiyao had just finished lunch and was resting at the apartment. Her expression was calm as she looked at the message, but there was a faint sense of menace.

“I just had lunch with Director Yang.”

???

What kind of unrelated answer was that? So what if you had lunch with Director Yang—did you have to report it to me? Gu Xingyi scratched his head, ignoring the confusion, and immediately started a video call.

Xia Xiyao’s cool, pretty face appeared on the screen. Gu Xingyi gave a sycophantic smile and turned the camera toward Xiao Nainai.

“Ahem… Nainai misses you!”

“!!! Gu Xingyi! This is what you meant by taking good care of Nainai?!”

Gu Xingyi pretended not to hear and looked completely innocent.

The little one was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, but now that she saw Mama on the screen, she wiped her tears with both hands, looking utterly pitiful.

“Mama, did Papa hide you? Don’t you want Nainai anymore?”

“Nainai, be good. Mama just went to work. I’ll be home very soon, alright? Don’t cry.”

Xia Xiyao spoke gently on the other end. Miraculously, the little one actually began to calm down, cradling the phone with both hands and trying to get even closer to her Mama.

At that moment, Gu Xingyi felt like he’d taken a million damage hits to the heart.

He had tried everything—funny faces, tiger impressions—yet none of it worked as well as one sentence from Xia Xiyao?

Truly… life was as lonely as snow.

After a few more soothing words from Xia Xiyao, Nainai finally stopped crying completely. Gu Xingyi let out a huge sigh of relief.

Once the little one was calm, Gu Xingyi turned the phone’s camera back to himself, eyes darting like a thief’s—he didn’t dare meet Xia Xiyao’s gaze.

“Gu Xingyi, are you really capable of taking care of a child?”

Xia Xiyao’s voice came sternly through the phone.

Gu Xingyi panicked.

“Who do you think you’re underestimating! Today was just an exception! If I left the house and you stayed, you wouldn’t be able to calm Nainai down either!”

He looked utterly defiant. Xia Xiyao stared at him deeply—was this man even self-aware?

Wait! She didn’t call to argue about this!

This guy was trying to change the subject!

Her eyes narrowed, and she asked casually, “You and Director Yang seem pretty close?”

“Eh, I guess we’re okay.”

Gu Xingyi replied offhandedly, completely unaware that he was skating on very thin ice.

“‘Okay,’ huh…”

Xia Xiyao repeated slowly, her eyes darkening as she stared at him.

Gu Xingyi suddenly felt a chill and tugged at his clothes. Weird… it was hot out—was he catching a cold?

“Yeah, okay. Are you settling in alright over there?”

“Not really. I’ve got something to do, I’m hanging up.”

Xia Xiyao rolled her eyes at him and ended the call before he could say anything else.

It was only then that Gu Xingyi realized… wait, was she angry?

What the hell!

Unfairly attacked while doing nothing, Gu Xingyi put down his phone and looked at his now-adorable daughter curled up on the sofa. He chuckled helplessly.

...

Over the next two days, Xia Xiyao called home once a day. It gave Gu Xingyi some peace of mind, but something felt off—she only ever talked to their daughter.

When it was his turn to speak, it felt like he owed her eight million or something—her tone was always cold!

Gu Xingyi could only comfort himself: every woman has those few “special” days every month. Just ride it out!

Xia Xiyao had been relatively idle the past two days. She either stayed in the apartment or in her lounge. The company hadn’t given her any schedules yet. Yun-jie had been reaching out to lyricists and composers, but unfortunately, with no success.

This left Tao Lele bored out of her mind, complaining all the time.

Like right now—she was sprawled on the sofa, hugging a pillow, whining.

“Xiyao-jie, what’s with Yin Hai Entertainment? They’ve given you nothing—no announcements, no publicity. What’s the difference between this and not making a comeback at all?!”

Yun-jie looked equally troubled. She’d contacted a lot of her old industry connections, but as soon as they heard it was for Xia Xiyao’s comeback, they all politely declined.

After all, nobody’s stupid. Someone who’s been out of the industry for over two years, with no popularity or resources—why write a song for her? It’d be like tossing the song into a black hole.

“Let’s wait a little longer. There’s always a way.”

Xia Xiyao comforted Tao Lele. She’d also been trying to compose music these past two days, but she was stuck. Inspiration just wouldn’t come.

It made her think of Gu Xingyi. If it were him, he’d probably already written something amazing.

That thought made her feel discouraged—right now, she felt like she couldn’t match him in anything.

“How about… you ask Gu Xingyi?”

Tao Lele suddenly sat up and blurted out.

Xia Xiyao hesitated. The whole reason she came out here was so she wouldn’t have to rely on him.

After a moment’s thought, she finally said, “Let’s wait two more days. If we still have nothing, I’ll call him.”

“Alright then.”

Tao Lele hugged her pillow, looking a little downcast.

She didn’t get it—Gu Xingyi was her husband, wasn’t he? Why couldn’t Xiyao-jie just ask him for a song directly?

What they didn’t know was that at that moment, a meeting was underway in one of Yin Hai Entertainment’s conference rooms. Yang Xian and several executives sat around a table with an invitation document in front of them.

Yang Xian raised a hand, and the room immediately quieted.

“You’ve all seen this, right? StarSong Gathering—the most famous talent show in Hua country. Almost every singer who made their debut there has risen to top-tier status.”

“The new season is about to begin. We’ve been given two slots. Let’s discuss who we should send.”

As soon as he finished, murmurs resumed around the table. Not long after, a well-dressed man in his 30s, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was the first to speak.

“I think Cheng Di is a good pick! She’s got a sweet look, decent popularity, and solid vocals. She’s currently second-tier, and if she gets a good result in StarSong Gathering, she could easily jump to first-tier.”

His suggestion earned nods from most of the people present.

Seeing the agreement, Yang Xian made the call.

“Alright, one slot goes to Cheng Di. Now, who do we give the second?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Chao stood up and said:

“Chairman, I think Xia Xiyao is a solid choice too!”