The music faded and the lights came back on.

Xia Xiyao slowly returned from the lingering emotion of the song, nervously looking toward the audience.

The silence below made her feel a bit lost.

Gu Xingyi slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Xia Xiyao’s nervous expression, he let out a laugh. Xia Xiyao had sung beautifully—on par with the original singer he remembered from his past life.

Xiao Nainai curiously looked around at the uncles and aunts in the audience, confused as to why their eyes were filled with tears.

Mama sang so well—wasn’t that a reason to be happy?

At her young age, she had no idea that the adults were reminiscing about the past.

But that didn’t affect Xiao Nainai at all. She raised her little hands and earnestly clapped for her mama.

The next moment, it was like a chain reaction.

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue. With tears in their eyes, the audience showed their full support for Xia Xiyao on stage.

In the StarSong Gathering’s livestream chat, the comments flooded in like a tide:

    “As expected, anything from Xingyao is a masterpiece! Absolutely amazing!”
    “I’m crying! This isn’t just a breeze—this is a full-on tornado that’s stirred up years of buried memories in my heart!”
    “Can’t deny it—Xia Xiyao perfectly conveyed the emotion behind this song! Starting today, I’m her fan!”
    “Wuwuwu! Beautiful song! Beautiful person! I’m totally in love!”
    “Guys! I just entered the workforce! I want to do something impulsive! I want to go back for her! I don’t want any regrets in my youth!”
    “Supporting the guy above! Go for it!”
    “I’m one of the lucky ones—my wife was my childhood friend. No regrets in my youth, but I’m still moved by this song!”
    “Xia Xiyao? Xingyao? Don’t tell me there’s a story between them?”
    “You dare shake my heart! Wuwuwu! Xingyao is mine! I’ve been a die-hard fan since his first song!”

With just one performance of The Wind Rises, she won everyone over. At that moment, no one remembered how no one had any hopes for Xia Xiyao before.

They thought she was just there to fill the numbers. Turns out, she opened with a royal flush.

Just like the lyrics said—completely unexpected! Crashing into everyone’s hearts.

And this put enormous pressure on the contestants who had to follow.

You start with a royal flush? What are the rest of us supposed to play with—four twos?

On stage, Xia Xiyao bowed to the audience, then reluctantly glanced at Gu Xingyi and Xiao Nainai before stepping offstage.

The competition continued—next up was Liu Qian’s performance.

At some point, Liu Qian had already gotten up from the floor. As she passed Xia Xiyao, a deep sense of helplessness welled up inside her.

She didn’t even know how she walked onstage. Even when the music started, she blanked for a moment before snapping back.

Unfortunately, she was already half a beat too slow. She stumbled right out of the gate.

The audience let out a collective boo. It only made her more flustered, and her pitch wavered off-key.

She muddled through the whole song, and the scattered applause afterward made her want to cover her face and run.

Backstage, Director Ren Chao frowned at the real-time viewership numbers. What the hell was Liu Qian doing? He knew her singing—she was always good before. What happened today?

Still, Ren Chao only stayed frustrated for a moment before brushing it off.

She was bound to lose anyway, so what was the point in dwelling? The ratings had already exploded tonight—that was enough.

Unsurprisingly, the final vote was a crushing victory: 5 to 0.

At that moment, Xia Xiyao sent Gu Xingyi a message, asking to meet at the backstage exit.

After seeing that, Gu Xingyi didn’t pay attention to the rest of the competition. He left the venue early with Xiao Nainai in his arms.

Just as Xia Xiyao reached backstage, she was pulled into a big hug by Tao Lele.

Tao Lele’s eyes were red, tears brimming.

Behind her, Yun-jie also had reddened eyes. She smiled gently at Xia Xiyao.

After all this time, seeing Xia Xiyao shining on stage again filled their hearts with indescribable emotion.

“Alright, no more crying. Things are only going to get better from here!”

Xia Xiyao took Tao Lele’s hand, speaking with heartfelt sincerity.

Tao Lele nodded hard, finally breaking into a smile. Today, Xiyao-jie totally stomped Liu Qian into the ground—she should be happy!

“Let’s go. Gu Xingyi is waiting for me at the door!”

Xia Xiyao didn’t want to waste any more time. She couldn’t wait to see them. She wanted to scoop up Nainai in her arms and shower her with love.

This was the longest she had ever been away from her little one. It wasn’t just Xiao Nainai who missed her—she missed her just as much.

“Ah! Gu Xingyi came too?”

Tao Lele widened her eyes in surprise. She didn’t even know how to face Gu Xingyi anymore.

She used to hate him to death. Now, she kind of felt he wasn’t so bad. It was complicated.

Xia Xiyao didn’t give her time to overthink it—she grabbed her and quickly headed for the exit.

It was already late. The streetlights on both sides of the road were glowing.

As soon as Xia Xiyao came out, she spotted Gu Xingyi holding Nainai, standing tall under a streetlamp.

They were both looking in her direction. The soft orange glow stretched their shadows long across the ground.

A warm surge of happiness filled Xia Xiyao’s heart. It felt like a husband waiting with their child for the wife to get off work and come home.

Ordinary. Simple. But incredibly warm.

Gu Xingyi spotted her the moment she walked out. She looked stunning tonight—but different from how she looked on stage. On stage, she was like a goddess descending to the mortal world—so dazzling that people didn’t dare approach.

But now, she was like a summer breeze—warm and familiar, making him want to get close without hesitation.

“Mama!”

Xiao Nainai couldn’t wait. She wriggled out of Gu Xingyi’s arms, her tiny legs running full speed toward Xia Xiyao.

“Hey!”

Xia Xiyao immediately crouched down, her face blooming with joy as she caught Xiao Nainai in her arms.

Gu Xingyi came over too, smiling as he greeted Tao Lele and Yun-jie.

Yun-jie responded with a faint nod, a trace of gratitude in her eyes.

Tao Lele avoided his gaze but still gave a small nod in return. Ever since she found out Gu Xingyi was Xingyao, her impression of him had softened.

After all, anyone who could write A Lifetime with You and Only Ordinary couldn’t have a bad heart, right?

Xia Xiyao stood up with Nainai still nestled in her arms. Nainai snuggled into her, unwilling to lift her face.

Gu Xingyi smiled, looking at Xia Xiyao.

“So? Was this surprise okay?”

A light blush rose on Xia Xiyao’s face, but she still looked Gu Xingyi in the eyes, her almond-shaped eyes curving with a smile.

“Mm!”

She answered softly, then lowered her head to look at Nainai in her arms, answering again.

“A big surprise!”

“How about we grab something to eat? Nainai and I haven’t had dinner yet! I’m fine, but Nainai’s little tummy has been rumbling!”

At that, Yun-jie stepped forward.

“Let’s go back to the apartment. There’s still food at home. It’s safer to eat what we cook ourselves.”

Xia Xiyao and Gu Xingyi nodded at the same time in agreement, and the group walked together toward the parking lot.

They didn’t realize that everything they were doing had just been seen by Liu Qian and Yuan-jie, who had just come out from backstage.

Liu Qian was holding her phone, staring at Xia Xiyao’s back with eyes full of resentment.

Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea—an idea to utterly destroy Xia Xiyao’s reputation.

If she had already lost completely… then she’d drag Xia Xiyao down with her!

If she couldn’t have it, why should Xia Xiyao be allowed to?