Unlike last time, the hotel Gu Xingyi was staying at this time was very close to Xia Xiyao’s apartment. Even without a car, it was just a few minutes’ walk.

The car drove straight into the hotel parking lot, which confused Gu Xingyi.

Why didn’t she just drive directly to the artist apartment building?

He had deliberately picked this hotel for the sake of convenience—so Xia Xiyao wouldn’t have to drive back alone late at night after dropping him off. He wouldn’t feel at ease letting her go alone.

Seeing that the car showed no sign of turning, Gu Xingyi turned his head to look at Xia Xiyao.

“Let’s just go back to the apartment? I can walk over by myself.”

Xia Xiyao’s cheeks were slightly flushed. She kept her eyes on the road ahead and didn’t respond to Gu Xingyi’s suggestion.

Not until the car came to a steady stop in the parking space did Gu Xingyi finally hear her voice. It was so soft it could’ve been blown away by the wind.

“I forgot the apartment key~”

She forgot the key?

Don’t Yun-jie and Tao Lele live in the apartment too?

While Gu Xingyi was still puzzled, Xia Xiyao opened the car door and got out first. She kept her head down, and under the dim night light, her expression couldn’t be seen clearly.

Gu Xingyi quickly followed. Just as he was about to say something more, Xia Xiyao had already started walking toward the hotel.

Five minutes later—

The two of them entered the hotel room together.

Xia Xiyao only gave the room a brief glance before sitting on the bed. The room was simple—just a standard double room with nothing fancy.

“Aren’t you gonna call Yun-jie or the others?”

Gu Xingyi closed the door behind them, muttering as he spoke.

Sitting on the bed, Xia Xiyao’s face flushed red all of a sudden. She quickly lowered her head. Then, her soft, sticky voice reached Gu Xingyi’s ears.

“They’re already asleep… I didn’t want to bother them.”

Gu Xingyi responded with an “oh,” then suddenly realized something belatedly.

Wait, doesn’t that mean… tonight it’s just him and Xia Xiyao? Sharing a room? And Nainai’s not here?

Gu Xingyi jolted instinctively and looked at Xia Xiyao sitting on the bed.

She didn’t say anything else. Her head was still down, fingers twisted together nervously, her almond-shaped eyes not daring to meet his gaze.

The room fell into silence, and the atmosphere turned a little awkward.

Even though they were technically husband and wife, they had hardly ever been alone together like this in the same room. And Gu Xingyi… well, he only had theoretical knowledge—he was basically a total novice in love.

Although they’d had a couple of brief intimate moments before, nothing ever really happened. Now, in this situation… he was honestly panicking.

“Ahem… I’ll go take a shower.”

Gu Xingyi couldn’t take the awkwardness any longer, so he broke the silence first.

“……”

Xia Xiyao only gave a small nod. She was dying of nervousness inside. On the way over, she’d thought she was ready—but now that they were really here, her heart was a complete mess.

Then came the sound of the bathroom door closing, followed by the soft splashing of water inside.

Xia Xiyao blinked slowly, her almond eyes glazed with confusion. No one knew what she was thinking.

Inside the bathroom, Gu Xingyi’s heart was anything but calm. He kept rinsing his body over and over again. A shower that usually took five minutes ended up lasting more than ten.

After drying the water from his body, Gu Xingyi tightened the towel around his waist, took a deep breath, and pushed open the bathroom door.

Steam drifted out into the room, blurring the air, and Gu Xingyi suddenly froze in place.

Because he saw Xia Xiyao still sitting on the bed, her head lowered, shoulders trembling slightly, and crystal-clear tears dripping from her cheeks to the floor.

She was crying?

Gu Xingyi’s once restless heart instantly quieted down. A wave of pain surged up from deep inside him.

He slowly walked over and crouched in front of Xia Xiyao, gently cupping her small face in both hands and lifting it. His eyes were full of warmth, and his voice was even warmer.

“Why are you crying now?”

With her delicate face cupped in his hands, glistening tears sparkled in Xia Xiyao’s almond-shaped eyes. Like beads from a broken necklace, they fell onto Gu Xingyi’s hands, still warm.

“I…”

She opened her mouth. Her voice was choked with sobs. She only managed the word “I” before she couldn’t speak any further.

But in her eyes, the guilt and fragile hope she held were completely visible to Gu Xingyi. He paused for a second.

“What is it that my dear wife wants to say?”

Gu Xingyi gently wiped the tear tracks from Xia Xiyao’s face with his fingers. But the very next second, a fresh teardrop slipped down her soft, fair cheek, forming a new trail.

Xia Xiyao suddenly found herself unable to meet Gu Xingyi’s gentle gaze. She wanted to lower her head, but her little face was firmly held in his palms.

“I… I don’t think I deserve you!”

Xia Xiyao suddenly cried out with a sob in her voice. She shut her eyes tightly, not daring to look at Gu Xingyi’s pure, clean black eyes again. Her tears flowed even harder.

“I know, I know you’re not that kind of person, but I still had selfish thoughts. I still fell in love with you. I still wanted to keep you by my side. The closer I got to you, the more afraid I became. I already tried so hard… why…”

She kept her eyes closed, her voice trembling, pouring out the secrets she had been hiding deep in her heart.

Her tears fell one after another onto Gu Xingyi’s hands. The tear-streaked face resting in his palms made his heart clench painfully.

He gently caressed Xia Xiyao’s face and softly interrupted her.

“You’re wrong, my dear wife. You know it, and I know it too. But I feel truly honored to be liked by someone like you.”

“You probably don’t know this, but from childhood to now, no one has ever chosen me so firmly. Just like you, I used to be someone full of self-doubt—maybe that’s just something all orphans carry? I’ve never had feelings for anyone before, and no one has ever had feelings for me either.”

Gu Xingyi’s gentle voice echoed by her ear.

Xia Xiyao slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at Gu Xingyi’s face, now so close to her. The warmth in his eyes seemed as though it could melt her.

“It wasn’t until I met you all that I realized—ah, so I could fall for someone too. Honestly, hearing what you just said made me really happy. Because now I know for sure… Xia Xiyao likes me.”

“I’ve always thought what you said before was right. Some encounters, some feelings, they’re destined. Heaven brought me to your side, my dear wife. This is fate—it’s a match made by the heavens!”

“There’s no helping it. What Heaven arranges… is always the biggest!”

“R-Really?”

Xia Xiyao’s misty eyes blinked slowly, quietly gazing at Gu Xingyi’s handsome face as he spoke. When he paused, she sniffled and asked in a soft, tear-tinged voice.

Gu Xingyi gently stroked her cheek again, deliberately playing it up.

“Of course it’s real! Just think about it—Heaven arranged it! Isn’t that big enough for you?”

Then he added with a smile,

“Honestly, who’s really out of whose league? When I’m with you, I’m nervous too. You’re the most beautiful ghost bride! I’m just a regular guy. You’re so amazing—I have to work hard just to keep up!”

“As for why I fell for you, I think besides Heaven’s arrangement, it’s also because of every moment we’ve spent together. The kind of love I yearn for was never something dramatic or explosive… it’s always been something gentle, like you. Quiet and steady.”

As he spoke, a smile gradually spread across Gu Xingyi’s face as he locked eyes with Xia Xiyao.

Looking at the tenderness in his smile, Xia Xiyao pursed her lips. Then, the next moment, she suddenly stretched out her arms and wrapped them around Gu Xingyi’s neck.

The softness of her embrace returned once again.

And in that moment, the two of them completely understood each other’s hearts.

It was the perfect time, the perfect scene—
May the rest of their days be spent growing old together.