When Xia Xiyao woke up, the sky was already light.

Gu Xingyi had gotten up at some point, and in her arms, there was only the soft, warm body of Xiao Nainai.

She clearly remembered falling asleep in Gu Xingyi’s arms last night—he must have placed Nainai in her arms after getting up.

Thinking back to last night, Xia Xiyao’s face flushed slightly. She could hardly believe that the one clinging to Gu Xingyi and refusing to let go… was actually her!

When did she get so bold?

Xia Xiyao’s lips curved in a small smile. This feeling… was actually really nice.

She planted a kiss on Nainai’s little cheek, then got out of bed quietly and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

The moment she pushed the door open, the delicious aroma of food drifted from the kitchen. Xia Xiyao sniffed—she smelled steamed eggs!

“You’re up? Go wash your face. I’ll call Nainai for breakfast in a bit.”

Gu Xingyi had just come out of the kitchen carrying a dish. Seeing that Xia Xiyao was already awake, he smiled as he spoke.

“Mm~”

Xia Xiyao nodded with bright eyes. These simple, peaceful moments of daily life made her feel truly fulfilled.

Sure enough, breakfast included Nainai’s favorite—steamed egg!

With her personal little spoon, Nainai was scooping big mouthfuls into her mouth. No matter how many times she had eaten steamed egg, her eyes always curved into adorable little crescents.

Xia Xiyao could still vividly remember the joy on Nainai’s face the first time she ate steamed egg made by Gu Xingyi.

Thinking about it made Xia Xiyao a little emotional.

She felt like crying—not from sadness, but from happiness. She looked toward Gu Xingyi, who was gently feeding Nainai, and her heart overflowed with quiet joy.

After breakfast—

While Gu Xingyi washed the dishes in the kitchen, Xia Xiyao helped him out beside him, though her eyes kept drifting to him.

She felt like Gu Xingyi was becoming more and more like a stay-at-home husband!

“Oh right! I almost forgot something important!”

Just as Gu Xingyi finished putting away the dishes, he looked up and noticed Xia Xiyao staring dreamily at him. He suddenly spoke.

His words snapped Xia Xiyao out of her daze. She watched as Gu Xingyi put down the chopsticks in his hand and jogged over to the side bedroom—which he had already turned into a study.

When Gu Xingyi came back out, he was holding two sheets of music manuscript paper, a bright smile on his face.

“Here! This! What I promised you last night!”

He walked into the kitchen and handed the manuscript to Xia Xiyao.

“That horror movie we watched last night wasn’t for nothing—and neither was your effort, my dear wife. This song hit me all at once during that film!”

Xia Xiyao’s cheeks reddened slightly. With Gu Xingyi’s reminder, she couldn’t help but think of last night again. She took the sheets from him and looked down—on the first page were the lyrics.

The title was a single character.

《Double Happiness》!

Xia Xiyao froze for a moment.

She didn’t understand—how could a name like “Double Happiness” be associated with tragedy and a horrifying atmosphere?

Then she kept reading.

"First month, eighteenth day, an auspicious day, sorghum raised~
Draped in red robes, one step, one grudge, hurriedly cut~"

…

Just reading the first few lines, Xia Xiyao’s skin broke out in goosebumps.

The eighteenth day of the first month? An auspicious day?

Everyone in Hua country knows you can’t get married on the eighteenth of the first lunar month—it’s a day for funerals!

Yet the lyrics said it was an auspicious day!

Xia Xiyao swallowed hard and suddenly remembered the woman in red she had seen the night before.

So this was…

A ghost marriage!

Xia Xiyao skipped past the lyrics and looked at the sheet music. After just a moment, her body shuddered slightly, and she looked up at Gu Xingyi.

“This… I don’t think I can sing this…”

Her voice sounded a bit aggrieved.

Gu Xingyi cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly reassured her.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. If it’s too much, we won’t sing this one. Don’t worry about it.”

To Gu Xingyi, nothing mattered more than Xia Xiyao and Xiao Nainai—not even the competition.

Seeing him say that, Xia Xiyao calmed herself down a bit and softly said,

“That’s not what I meant… I’m just a little scared. But… if you’re by my side, then I’ll feel a lot better!”

“Uh…”

Only then did Gu Xingyi realize that Xia Xiyao wasn’t incapable of singing the song—she was still affected by the horror movie from the night before. She really was scared!

Thinking about that, Gu Xingyi felt even more moved. Even though she was that scared, Xia Xiyao had still dragged him along to watch the horror movie, just so he could find inspiration for writing a song.

Gu Xingyi gently rubbed Xia Xiyao’s head.

“Then I’ll stay with you the whole time and help you get through this competition!”

“Mm~”

Xia Xiyao lowered her head and responded softly, a faint smile rising on her face.

Gu Xingyi suddenly had a thought—was this woman just pretending to be scared so he’d stay with her?

That afternoon, the whole family packed their things. After contacting Jie Yun and Tao Lele, they headed to Modu.

Once they arrived in Modu, Gu Xingyi started to question his suspicion, because ever since they returned, he barely saw Xia Xiyao all day.

That was because she was spending nearly every waking hour in the recording studio at Yin Hai Entertainment!

The reason Xia Xiyao worked so hard was because she couldn’t stop thinking about how Gu Xingyi had challenged someone to a duel. She just couldn’t help but want to practice this song a little better! And then a little better again!

She didn’t want Gu Xingyi to lose!

So Gu Xingyi could only keep working on the Under One Person script on his end.

Time flew by, and just like that, the first round of the StarSong Gathering finals had arrived.

This year’s finals were far hotter than in previous years—because not only had the show brought in two well-known veteran mentors, but there was also the highly anticipated showdown between the "Godfather of Music," Wu Fan, and Gu Xingyi.

So many headlines, so much hype—this was exactly it!

If it weren’t for the popularity brought in by all this buzz, with just the keywords from this season alone, the finals might’ve been dead on arrival.

Ren Chao was immensely relieved—thankful that he’d simply followed his mentor’s advice. Who would’ve thought it would lead to such a surprising outcome, and even bring about the clash between Wu Fan and Gu Xingyi?

As for who he was rooting for—of course, he hoped Gu Xingyi would win. But he couldn’t help feeling a bit worried, mainly because Gu Xingyi had never written a song in this particular genre before.

At 8 p.m., the Modu Stadium opened its doors.

Several lines of people stretched out into the distance, everyone’s face filled with excitement and anticipation as they gradually filed into the venue.

Gu Xingyi was among the crowd. With his head down and a mask on, he didn’t even dare look up—because he saw quite a few audience members holding fan signs with his name on them!

This time, Xiao Nainai hadn’t come with him. She was staying back at the apartment with Jie Yun taking care of her.

By 9:30 p.m., all the spectators had entered the venue.

The competition officially began. On the stage, a throne fit for the champion slowly rose into view. Beside it stood a crystal-clear microphone that glittered under the lights.

The host, Chen Xue’er, walked gracefully down the red carpet and made her way up the stage. She picked up the microphone, beaming as she looked out over the crowd.

“Welcome, everyone, to the finals of the StarSong Gathering! I’m your host, Chen Xue’er! After enduring a series of grueling eliminations, the StarSong Gathering has finally reached its first final round.”

“Let’s first give a round of applause to our finalists—Xia Xiyao and Miao Anyun! These two contestants have made it through all the layers of selection and now stand on this stage, vying for the title of champion!”

As she spoke enthusiastically, the massive screen behind her lit up with photos of Xia Xiyao and Miao Anyun, along with a summary of the songs they had performed in the earlier rounds.

After a brief pause to let the audience take in the screen, Chen Xue’er continued.

“But the competition is harsh—there can only be one champion, and only one person can take this throne! Will it be Xia Xiyao who claims the crown? Or will Miao Anyun rise to the top? Let’s wait and see! And now, let’s give a big round of applause as we welcome our esteemed mentors to the stage!”

As her voice fell, four mentors slowly rose up with the lights from below the stage.

Gu Xingyi looked up, eyes turning to the screen displaying the mentors’ introductions.

The two familiar mentors—Gao Yu and Xue Xiaoqian—were still there, while the other two were Chen Yixun and Liu Ruoying.

Gu Xingyi couldn’t help but marvel.

StarSong Gathering really had money now—bringing in legendary veteran singers like these? That’s seriously impressive!