What kind of god-tier song is this?

After reading through the lyrics and the sheet music, Xia Xiyao felt her heartbeat quicken.

She finally understood all those comments online.

So this is what people meant by "If it's from Xingyao, it must be gold!"

And the most terrifying part—he wrote it in just a few hours!

Xia Xiyao could hardly stop herself from calling Gu Xingyi to ask just how much he was hiding from her in that head of his!

With that thought, she took a deep breath and picked up her phone.

Gu Xingyi had just finished dressing Xiao Nainai, getting ready to take her out, when he saw a video call pop up from Xia Xiyao.

"...Something else already?"

He was puzzled. Didn't they just hang up not long ago? Why another call so soon?

On screen, Xia Xiyao’s eyes were blazing, locked straight onto him. It made Gu Xingyi a bit flustered.

“W-What’s up?”

His voice stuttered, and his eyes darted around.

What was with this woman? Was she just showing off her pretty eyes now?

“Can’t I video call you for no reason?”

Well, damn! That was his line earlier—she was using it on him now!

This woman wasn’t just beautiful—she held grudges! Gu Xingyi thought to himself as he laughed awkwardly.

“Ah? Of course you can! Totally allowed!”

“Gu Xingyi! Just how much have you been hiding from me?!”

Huh? Where was this coming from? Was she accusing him of something?

Gu Xingyi scratched his head, completely confused.

Seeing his clueless face, Xia Xiyao blushed and, slightly flustered, raised her voice.

“All these songs of yours!”

"Ah~ those? What if I told you I suddenly had an epiphany one day? Would you believe it? Hahaha, pretty sudden, right?"

Gu Xingyi didn’t know how to explain, so he rubbed his nose and tried to bluff his way through.

Xia Xiyao gave him a deep look, then dropped the questioning. She lowered her gaze to the lyrics and, after a long pause, softly spoke.

“Thank you.”

Her sudden change in tone caught Gu Xingyi completely off guard. He could only nod in response.

“Make sure to practice the song well. Nainai and I will be cheering you on!”

“Okay!”

Her voice was soft, and when she looked up again, a smile had bloomed on her face.

“I won’t let your song go to waste!”

Gu Xingyi nodded, then lifted Xiao Nainai’s little hand to wave at the screen.

“Nainai and I are heading out!”

After the video ended, Xia Xiyao grabbed her phone and knocked on Tao Lele’s door.

“Lele, get ready. We’re going to the company.”

“Xiyao-jie, we’re going to the company?”

Tao Lele stepped out of her room, confused about the sudden plan.

Xia Xiyao raised her phone with a smile on her face.

“To practice. We’ve got a song now!”

“Really? Gu Xingyi gave it to you, didn’t he? I knew it—he wouldn’t just sit by and do nothing!”

Tao Lele lit up with excitement, grabbing Xia Xiyao’s hand and shaking it, completely unaware that she’d just outed herself.

Xia Xiyao’s cheeks turned slightly red. One glance at Tao Lele, and she realized it was this little traitor who tattled.

Soon after, she called Yun-jie, who was still out trying to contact lyricists and composers. When she heard Xia Xiyao had a song, her tone was filled with excitement.

After hitting so many walls these past few days, finally not having to depend on anyone else was a huge relief.

The three of them drove straight to Yin Hai Entertainment, heading up to the 11th floor where the recording studios were. Xia Xiyao planned to stay there as much as possible for the next two days—until she was satisfied with her performance of the song.

And only after she actually sang “The Wind Rises” did she realize just how incredible it was.

Especially Tao Lele and Yun-jie—when they heard her sing it a cappella, their eyes widened. They never expected the song to be so stunning.

In that moment, their anticipation for the upcoming Xingge Hui skyrocketed.

After a few tries, Xia Xiyao gradually found her rhythm. Her singing grew smoother and more natural. If Gu Xingyi were here, he would’ve been amazed—she was already nearly indistinguishable from the original singer in the previous world.

Time flew by. By afternoon, Xia Xiyao had already copied the song Gu Xingyi had sent onto music sheets. Tao Lele was put in charge of contacting the company’s recording team to produce the instrumental and register the copyright.

The company’s team was highly professional. For original songs like this, they handled everything—Xia Xiyao didn’t need to lift a finger.

What surprised her most was how detailed Gu Xingyi’s sheet music was—it even included what instruments to use. That kind of precision was something only seasoned composers could pull off.

That’s why she’d reached out to him earlier. It was just too polished to be casual work.

When Tao Lele returned, Xia Xiyao finally stepped out of the studio. She planned to eat dinner and then return to practicing. Tomorrow was her last prep day—after that, she’d be performing at StarSong Gathering.

She couldn’t allow any mistakes when singing Gu Xingyi’s song.

As they stepped out of the recording studio, the room across the hall also opened. A cute girl with a baby face walked out just as they did.

She paused when she saw Xia Xiyao, but still nodded politely in greeting.

Xia Xiyao returned the smile. She always met kindness with even greater kindness.

But the man behind the girl—wearing gold-rimmed glasses and holding his nose high in the air—looked at Xia Xiyao with clear disdain.

Xia Xiyao didn’t recognize him, so she naturally didn’t greet him. She turned and left with Tao Lele and Yun-jie.

After she left, the man let out a cold snort.

“Doesn’t even know how to greet a superior. What kind of standards is the company using to select people?”

“Uncle! She just joined. It’d be weird if she did know who you are.”

“Xiao Di, make sure you sing well this time. I personally picked you. Don’t embarrass your uncle.”

“Got it!”

This girl was Cheng Di, who would be competing with Xia Xiyao at Xingge Hui. And the man beside her—none other than her uncle, Yin Ping.

After speaking, Cheng Di glanced toward the now-closed elevator, lost in thought.

She already knew from her uncle how Xia Xiyao got chosen, so she was quite curious—just what kind of song would she be performing?

After all, it was written by Xingyao. It had to be good, right? She was a Xingyao fan too.

As for what kind of person her uncle was, Cheng Di knew very well. If he weren’t her biological uncle, she wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

...

In the days that followed, Xia Xiyao woke early and returned late, practicing tirelessly. Tao Lele was so moved by her dedication that she started cooking even more nutritious meals.

Yun-jie wasn’t idle either. She revived Xia Xiyao’s Weibo and posted an official comeback announcement:

"Hello everyone, I’m Xia Xiyao. On August 7th, I will return to the stage at StarSong Gathering. I’m back as a singer under Yin Hai Entertainment. I hope everyone will support me, and I’d love to see you interact with me in the comments. Thank you."

The post was short. Xia Xiyao only had a few thousand followers left—most were zombie accounts. So the post went mostly unnoticed.

Only a few old fans and minor entertainment blogs picked up on it.

Though she’d been out of the industry for over two years, Xingge Hui brought enough traffic that some people started remembering her as a once-popular starlet.

Still, most didn’t take it seriously.

It was old news—who cared anymore?