Whether in her previous life or this one, Gu Xingyi rarely went shopping, and as for Xia Xiyao, the number of times she’d strolled around shopping streets could be counted on one hand. She used to be an orphan, worked part-time jobs while studying, and became a singer right after graduating—there was simply no time to enjoy shopping.

She had even forgotten when was the last time she came to a night market like this.

But right now, she was truly falling in love with this kind of street food market—mainly because everything smelled so good!

Like now—before she even said a word, her almond-shaped eyes lit up as she stared at a grilled chicken leg stall by the road. Gu Xingyi would just walk over without needing her to say anything, and by the time he returned, he’d have two skewers of fragrant, sizzling chicken legs in hand.

Just this one simple thing…

Made Xia Xiyao realize that happiness had really come into her life.

That feeling kept the corners of her lips raised in a smile, and her heart felt warm and fuzzy.

Gu Xingyi also enjoyed moments like this. This must be what they called love. To others, he and she looked like a couple who had been married for years, already with a child.

But in reality, they were just like a pair of newly-dating lovers, experiencing so many things together for the first time.

The two of them strutted openly through the street food market. This was the most Xia Xiyao had ever eaten—she tried a little of everything.

Whatever she couldn’t finish, ended up in Gu Xingyi’s stomach.

“Xia Xiyao! Gu Xingyi!”

“Where? Where?”

Suddenly, amidst the usual noise of the market, someone cried out in surprise. The people nearby immediately looked around curiously, and in no time, most of the street was scanning around.

Then, when they saw those two familiar faces—they were stunned!

“Damn! It really is Xia Xiyao and Gu Xingyi!”

“Xia Xiyao is just as beautiful as she is on TV! That face! Absolutely flawless!”

“Gu Xingyi must’ve accumulated a mountain of good karma in his past life!”

In a flash, most of the people recognized them! Even those who didn’t know them were asking around about what was going on.

The whole street food market exploded into chaos, and people started swarming toward the two of them.

It was the first time anyone had seen actual celebrities at a market like this—no masks, no disguise at all!

Did they not realize just how famous they were right now?

Gu Xingyi and Xia Xiyao were both caught completely off guard. They had honestly forgotten about this possibility. After all, neither of them had been famous before, so it hadn’t even crossed their minds.

Only now did they realize—duh! They’d been trending nonstop for days! It would’ve been weirder not to be recognized!

And once they were spotted, the whole street fell into complete chaos!

Whether people knew them or were just there for the fun, everyone started rushing over in a frenzy.

“Holy shit!”

Gu Xingyi snapped out of it, cursed under his breath, and grabbed Xia Xiyao—who was still standing there dumbly holding her snacks—before bolting.

Thankfully, the layout of the market was a twisted maze of paths, and there were lots of people around. Gu Xingyi ducked and weaved through turns, and in no time, managed to shake off the bulk of the crowd chasing them.

By now, the two of them had reached the edge of the market, having snuck away like thieves. They put on masks, and Gu Xingyi even bought a baseball cap and plopped it on Xia Xiyao’s head.

Once they were safe, Gu Xingyi wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked helplessly at Xia Xiyao, who still hadn’t fully come back to her senses.

“Being a celebrity is a pain! That was terrifying!”

Xia Xiyao blinked under the cap, touched the mask on her face, and then raised the snack in her hand.

“I can’t eat like this anymore.”

Her voice carried a trace of grievance.

Gu Xingyi sighed. Why did it feel like this woman was getting dumber and dumber? Even now, all she could think about was eating!

“I’ll wrap it up for you, let’s go find a quiet place to eat?”

Xia Xiyao glanced at the snack in her hand, hesitated for a second, and then reluctantly handed it over to Gu Xingyi. But her eyes stayed glued to it the whole time, like she was afraid he’d sneak a bite the second she looked away.

Gu Xingyi was speechless. He wrapped up the remaining snacks, which weren’t much, then pulled out a napkin from his pocket and naturally reached for Xia Xiyao’s little hand, gently wiping away the grease that had gotten on it.

“Don’t worry! It’s all yours,”
Gu Xingyi said softly as he wiped.

Xia Xiyao stared blankly at Gu Xingyi’s gentle expression. Her eyes welled up involuntarily, but deep within them, an unmistakable sparkle began to shine.

“Let’s go,”
Gu Xingyi said as he gave her hand a once-over, confirming it was now clean and spotless, then pulled back and smiled.

Xia Xiyao kept her head down, blindly following Gu Xingyi as he walked ahead.

They walked until they reached a plaza in front of a shopping mall, where Gu Xingyi pulled Xia Xiyao down to sit on a bench. Then, he handed her the still-warm snacks he had carried along.

“Now we can eat in peace!”

Xia Xiyao nodded and took the food from Gu Xingyi, removed her mask, and began eating in small bites.

Gu Xingyi leaned back, resting both hands behind his head as he looked up at the night sky. The stars above this world were truly beautiful. The moon hung high with scattered stars around it. Even though it was already past midnight, the moon still bathed the land in a bright, silvery light.

Before long, Xia Xiyao had devoured all the snacks. Gu Xingyi handed her a tissue.

“Wipe your mouth.”

Xia Xiyao pursed her lips and took the tissue. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Gu Xingyi was taking care of her the same way he did with Nainai.

After she wiped her mouth and looked up, her gaze just happened to land on the big movie theater sign above the mall. Her eyes lit up.

“Let’s go see a movie! Please?”

“Uh…”

Gu Xingyi scratched his head. It was pretty late already. Would it be bad if they didn’t head home soon?

But the moment he saw the anticipation in Xia Xiyao’s eyes, his heart instantly softened. He stood up and pointed toward the direction of the theater.

“Let’s go!”

Xia Xiyao’s face bloomed into a bright smile.

She’d wanted to see a movie in a theater for so long, but never had the chance. Now, she finally could—and she was doing it with him.

When they arrived, the last showing was just about to begin. Xia Xiyao felt a wave of relief. If they had arrived any later, they would’ve missed it for sure!

They quickly bought their tickets and entered. Probably because it was so late, the theater was nearly empty—just a few scattered couples sitting in the more tucked-away spots.

Naturally, Gu Xingyi and Xia Xiyao picked seats in the middle, directly facing the screen.

Since there weren’t many people around, they casually took off their masks. The lights dimmed, and the movie began.

It was a coming-of-age romance film.

Gu Xingyi found it a bit boring. He hadn’t really watched this type of movie before. But Xia Xiyao was completely absorbed, watching attentively. Gu Xingyi, on the other hand, found himself more interested in watching Xia Xiyao’s serious side profile.

Especially halfway through the movie, when the male and female leads began exchanging ambiguous feelings—Gu Xingyi clearly saw Xia Xiyao’s cheeks slowly turning pink, her lashes fluttering a little awkwardly.

Then, all of a sudden, she turned her head toward Gu Xingyi—and caught him staring.

Xia Xiyao immediately panicked, her face growing even redder. This man—why wasn’t he watching the movie? Why was he looking at her!

Gu Xingyi chuckled. Yep, these kinds of films were still best suited for girls. They were much easier to get emotionally swept up in. Xia Xiyao was no exception.

As expected of domestic romance films—things rarely ended happily. Sure enough, by the end, the two leads went their separate ways.

When the movie ended and the theater lights came back on, Gu Xingyi could clearly see Xia Xiyao’s eyes were a little red.

Women are just so emotional.

For Gu Xingyi, a single look from Xia Xiyao was more powerful than the entire movie.