“Huh? You… you actually agreed to battle Wu Fan?”

It wasn’t until evening that Xia Xiyao saw the trending topic on Weibo. She normally didn’t pay much attention to those things, and it was only after a phone call with Yun-jie that she learned someone had actually challenged Gu Xingyi.

Seeing how nervous Xia Xiyao looked, Gu Xingyi still appeared relaxed as ever.

“Yup! The guy came right to my doorstep. It’d be rude not to respond, right?”

“But… but you haven’t even written a song yet! What are you going to do...?”

Unlike Gu Xingyi’s casual attitude, Xia Xiyao was full of concern. She knew that Wu Fan was quite talented when it came to songwriting, and just this afternoon, Gu Xingyi had still been frowning over the song issue.

Gu Xingyi, who was still working on the Under One Person script, stopped typing and quickly waved his hand to comfort Xia Xiyao.

“It’s fine! Don’t you trust your husband?”

Even though Gu Xingyi said that, Xia Xiyao still couldn’t relax. If it were only about her own competition, she could’ve cared less about winning or losing.

But now the internet was in an uproar—this match had become something that directly affected Gu Xingyi’s reputation.

Xia Xiyao pursed her lips in thought for a moment. Then her eyes lit up, as if she’d suddenly come up with a good idea.

Seeing her calm down, Gu Xingyi continued working on Under One Person. But in truth, he was also a bit troubled—what kind of song should he write to win this battle?

It wasn’t until 9 PM that Xiao Nainai slowly drifted off to sleep under Gu Xingyi’s bedtime story.

Gu Xingyi had just gotten ready to lie down himself when he noticed Xia Xiyao, who was lying on the other side, carefully sit up. Like a little thief, she crooked her finger at him and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

Gu Xingyi blinked in confusion at first, but then his eyes suddenly lit up and excitement surged in his heart.

Could it be?

He didn’t dare think too far, but the joy on his face just wouldn’t go away. He quickly climbed out of bed, tiptoed after her, sneaking along like a thief.

After gently closing the bedroom door behind him, Gu Xingyi saw Xia Xiyao already sitting on the sofa, motioning for him to come over.

He rushed over and sat down right next to her, turning to look at her, his heart pounding in his chest. Then, boldly, he wrapped his arm around her slender waist.

Xia Xiyao froze.

What was he doing?

A blush crept across her cheeks, and she slapped Gu Xingyi’s wandering hand with a playful glare.

“What are you doing!”

Gu Xingyi also froze.

“Didn’t… didn’t you ask me to come out? What else could it be?”

Xia Xiyao rolled her eyes at him but didn’t move his hand from around her waist. Instead, she whispered,

“I asked you out here to help you get inspired! What were you thinking!”

“In… inspired?”

At that moment, Gu Xingyi felt unbearably awkward. He really had misunderstood! Because now he saw that Xia Xiyao had been searching for a horror movie on her phone, which she was now casting to the TV.

So it was just to watch a horror movie for inspiration... Okay then. Gu Xingyi instantly felt deflated. He’d thought his springtime had arrived.

Xia Xiyao lowered the volume, then noticed Gu Xingyi’s dejected expression.

She couldn’t help but giggle and gave his waist a pinch, but then leaned into his chest.

Gu Xingyi scratched his head—actually, this wasn’t so bad either?

And so, with Xia Xiyao in his arms, he started watching the horror movie.

It really was a scary film—clearly one Xia Xiyao had carefully selected. Gu Xingyi had a strong heart and wasn’t fazed, but Xia Xiyao, halfway through the movie, had curled up into a ball, clutching tightly onto Gu Xingyi.

Especially when the ghost woman in red suddenly appeared on the screen, and the eerie music blared, Xia Xiyao was so terrified she buried her face into Gu Xingyi’s chest and didn’t dare look anymore.

Gu Xingyi gently patted her back, comforting her.

“It’s fake… it’s all fake! If you don’t want to watch anymore, we can stop, okay?”

But Xia Xiyao snuggled deeper into his arms and shook her head, her voice trembling like she was about to cry.

“No! I want to watch it! It’s just… just this part that’s scary. It’ll be fine in a bit!”

Gu Xingyi chuckled softly and didn’t try to persuade her further. Instead, he kept watching the TV. He really did feel like some inspiration was starting to take shape!

On the screen—

The woman in red, with blood streaming from her eyes, let out a chilling laugh. Her figure suddenly vanished, and when she reappeared, it was a close-up of her ghastly face.

In the next moment, a red bridal veil was thrown over her head, while blood seeped from under her feet.

At that moment, Xia Xiyao peeked out again, and her whole body went limp. She collapsed completely into Gu Xingyi’s arms, her body trembling slightly.

That part really scared her!

“Gu… Gu Xingyi! Did you get any inspiration yet?”

Her voice was small and quivering.

Gu Xingyi just felt a warmth bloom in his heart. He wrapped his arms tighter around the soft body in his embrace and casually turned off the TV.

The room instantly went quiet.

“I got it! I got it! You don’t need to be scared anymore, I’ve already turned the TV off.”

Gu Xingyi continued gently patting Xia Xiyao’s back. His voice was tender, as if afraid of scaring his delicate wife even more.

“R-Really? You’re not lying to me?”

Gu Xingyi smiled and ran his fingers through her loose hair.

“Really! If I’m lying, I’m a little dog!”

Only then did Xia Xiyao lift her head. Her apricot-shaped eyes were misty with tears—clearly, she’d been thoroughly frightened. She looked at Gu Xingyi’s handsome face and asked again.

“Really?”

Gu Xingyi nodded. Looking at those soft, cherry lips so close to him, there wasn’t even a ripple in his heart.

“Really! Tomorrow morning, my dear wife will see a complete new song! It’ll have the horror atmosphere and the tragic elements all wrapped in!”

“Mm~”

Looking at Gu Xingyi’s gentle and resolute eyes, Xia Xiyao finally believed him. She gave a soft hum in response, then snuggled her little face into his chest again before finally wriggling her way out of his arms.

“......”

Gu Xingyi looked down at the wet patch on his chest, utterly speechless. This woman is acting more and more like a little kid…

“Alright, alright! Time for bed. I’ll go change into my pajamas.”

Gu Xingyi ruffled Xia Xiyao’s hair again, though this time, his voice carried a hint of resignation.

As soon as Xia Xiyao heard that he was about to leave, she immediately scooted back over and clung to him, looping both arms around his.

“No… don’t!”

That look in her eyes—nervousness, fear, embarrassment—had Gu Xingyi completely stunned.

But that wasn’t even the most important part. What really got to him was the soft sensation on his arm, which made his heart skip a beat.

Gu Xingyi let out a dry cough. Earlier, when she was in his arms, he hadn’t felt anything… but now? Now he definitely felt it. All he could say was—Nainai sure had it good!

“B-But I need to change into my pajamas! It’ll only take a second!”

Back before Xia Xiyao went to Modu, the two of them had naturally formed a habit—whenever it came time to change clothes, they’d do it separately, each taking turns in the bathroom. Even now that she was back, that rule hadn’t changed.

Xia Xiyao’s face turned even redder, but she still didn’t let go. She stubbornly stared at Gu Xingyi.

Fine then!

Gu Xingyi bit back whatever he wanted to say and led Xia Xiyao back to the bedroom.

This time, he changed into his pajamas right there in the bedroom. In the dim night light, he caught a glimpse of Xia Xiyao’s clear, bright eyes watching him.

That night, Gu Xingyi fell asleep with Xia Xiyao in his arms.

Both of them slept soundly.