Xia Xiyao was dressed in loose homewear, her previously tied-up hair now let down, softly framing her face as she walked side by side into the hotel with Gu Xingyi.

Her fluffy hair partly covered her face, making it hard for Gu Xingyi to see her expression clearly.

He had never been this nervous before—not even when he first realized he had transmigrated.

His heart was pounding so hard in the narrow elevator that he could hear it loud and clear.

Xia Xiyao wasn’t doing much better. She didn’t even know what came over her. The moment Gu Xingyi told her to go home, she suddenly didn’t want to leave so quickly. Now, the heat radiating from the man beside her was suffocating.

She didn’t need to touch her own face to know—it was probably hotter than boiling water.

What am I doing? Why didn’t I just leave? What now?!

They were married because of a child. Ever since they got married, she hadn’t had any intimate contact with Gu Xingyi.

She stared hard at her toes, not daring to lift her head, completely unsure of what to do.

Ding~

Before either of them could think more, the elevator doors opened. They’d arrived on the third floor—where Gu Xingyi had booked a room for the night.

He stepped out on reflex, and Xia Xiyao hesitated a moment before following behind.

Swipe. Click. The door opened. Gu Xingyi walked in and glanced around. Standard single room—just one bed.

Xia Xiyao was in a complete daze. She didn’t even know how she walked into the room or when Gu Xingyi had closed the door.

Now, only the sound of their breathing filled the space.

What might happen next was easy to imagine—but Xia Xiyao suddenly felt a wave of panic. She wasn’t ready. She had only just begun to slowly accept him. She couldn’t go further yet.

But Gu Xingyi had no idea what she was thinking. Even he, dense as he could be, knew what it meant when a woman came to a man’s hotel room to “sit for a bit.”

He might have been single for ages, but that didn’t mean he lacked emotional intelligence.

He might never have eaten pork, but he’d definitely seen pigs run.

As for Xia Xiyao, Gu Xingyi had asked himself countless times about his feelings—from wanting to make up for past mistakes, to feeling sympathy, to liking her a little, to outright admiration. He knew clearly how he felt now.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked at Xia Xiyao, who still stood there with her head bowed, and took a deep breath. He reached out and gently took her hand.

Soft and warm like jade—that was his first impression of Xia Xiyao’s touch.

Her small, delicate hand lay quietly in his palm. He looked up, finally meeting her gaze. But the next second, the fire in his heart was abruptly doused.

Her beautiful almond eyes were filled with panic, unease, and fear.

Sigh.

Gu Xingyi let out a long breath and slowly released her hand.

“I’m going to wash my face.”

His voice was low and hoarse.

Xia Xiyao still didn’t lift her head. She just gave a soft, trembling “Mm.”

He washed his face with cold water for a long time until he’d completely cooled off.

When he came out of the bathroom and saw her again, he suddenly chuckled.

She was still standing there, head down like a little quail, frozen in place.

This silly girl… doesn’t she know she’s driving people crazy like this?

Starting fires without putting them out—that’s the most criminal thing you can do!

“Come on, I’ll take you downstairs.”

“Huh?”

Xia Xiyao looked up in surprise, eyes wide as she stared at Gu Xingyi.

“Huh what? Let’s go!”

He gave her a light knock on the head in mock annoyance. Xia Xiyao winced and rubbed her head, her misty almond eyes staring at him with a pouty expression.

She looked just like Xiao Nainai—like they were carved from the same mold.

But Xia Xiyao’s version… had even more charm.

Tch! This woman’s a total seductress!

Gu Xingyi couldn’t take it. Did she really not know how alluring she was?

“Go, now! If you don’t leave, you’re not leaving tonight at all! And you dare look wronged on top of it!”

He opened the door, practically shooing her out.

Xia Xiyao quickly scurried out, and after hearing the door shut behind her, she finally patted her chest and let out a breath of relief.

Gu Xingyi walked her all the way downstairs and waited until she got into her car.

Just as the car started, Xia Xiyao suddenly rolled down the window, her face flushed, eyes locked on his.

“Gu Xingyi, why? You… you don’t want to?”

“……”

Gu Xingyi rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply.

“Sigh. What do you think?”

“But… something like that has to be mutual, right? When my dear wife is truly ready—I’ll be more than happy to.”

Xia Xiyao’s face turned red all the way down to her neck. But her eyes… sparkled even brighter.

“I’m going!”

“Drive safe! Call when you get home!”

As her car pulled away, Gu Xingyi gave a bitter smile, then turned and headed back into the hotel.

Another late night. He needed a shower and sleep, fast—before he dropped dead from exhaustion.

Back in his room, he had just finished his shower when Xia Xiyao called. She was home safely.

They said goodnight to each other.

Neither of them knew that at that very moment, a post about Xia Xiyao had quietly started climbing the trending topics list on Weibo.

By the next morning, it had reached #10 on the hot search.

“Xia Xiyao having an affair? Cheating on her husband with mysterious singer Xingyao?!”

The post confidently claimed that Xia Xiyao and Gu Xingyi were already married with a daughter, but their relationship had always been strained.

It said Xia Xiyao was using her looks to seduce Xingyao in order to stage a comeback—implying that’s why Xingyao had written songs for her.

The post was full of fabricated details, and many marketing accounts quickly reposted it. Tons of comments followed.

By early morning, it had shot up to the top of the trending list.

At first, netizens were skeptical. But with comment sections overwhelmingly one-sided and promo accounts boosting it, public opinion started to shift.

Suspicion turned to belief, and belief to furious condemnation.

As more people woke up and saw the post, it blew up like wildfire.

Countless users flooded the comments. Xia Xiyao’s Weibo account was instantly overwhelmed.

    “Heh! I was wondering how she got Xingyao’s songs. So she used her body, huh?”

    “Xingyao isn’t innocent either! Looks like they’re both trash!”

    “I don’t believe Xingyao would do this! Just wait and see—watch this blow up in your faces!”

    “I don’t know much about Xia Xiyao, but I trust Xingyao. Someone who writes songs like his wouldn’t cheat with a married woman! Use your brains!”

    “Then explain why he only writes songs for Xia Xiyao? And did you notice—Xingyao created Only Ordinary with Huayin and Yin Hai Entertainment, and Xia Xiyao joined Yin Hai right after?”

    “This has to be Xia Xiyao’s fault! Xingyao was definitely tricked!”

Dozens of inflammatory comments flooded Xia Xiyao’s latest Weibo post. In just one hour—by 9 a.m.—both the post and her profile shot up to #1 and #2 on the trending list.

Meanwhile, Gu Xingyi had just finished his morning jog—completely unaware.