She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Liu Yifei left under the pretext of getting a drink of water. She leaned against the kitchen island counter, holding a half-full glass of water in her hand.

My heart is still racing.

From that hug at the airport, to him closing in on her in the study until they were only centimeters apart, to him sitting next to her so naturally like the host while they were eating noodles just now.

My God, her heart rate has never been normal.

If this continues, the defense line will collapse sooner or later.

This kid is a scoundrel. We kindly took him in, and he actually tried to steal our house?

Liu Yifei put the water glass on the table, turned around and walked back to the living room.

Xiao He was squatting on the ground playing with the orange cat when he heard footsteps and looked up.

"Why aren't you leaving yet? You should stay at a hotel tonight."

"Sis, your villa is so big, the guest rooms are just sitting empty anyway."

"The guest rooms haven't been cleaned yet."

"I'm fine with sleeping on the sofa."

"You can't sleep on the sofa."

"Then I'll sleep in the backyard. I'll squeeze in with the cat." Xiao He scratched the orange cat's chin, and the cat purred comfortably. "It doesn't mind."

Liu Yifei took a deep breath and told herself that she couldn't let him lead her astray.

"Xiao He, you're the center of the boy group now. Tomorrow, paparazzi might be staking out my house and taking pictures of you coming out. You're not afraid, but I am."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Xiao He stood up, brushing the cat fur off his hands. "Didn't you say we're already at rock bottom? How much lower can we go?"

Liu Yifei was speechless after he retorted with his own words. Her lips moved, but she couldn't find the words to refute him.

She sighed inwardly; this kid's shamelessness was truly speechless. He was already this arrogant just because he participated in a talent show? What would happen if he became her husband?

Wait... how did that make you think of the word "husband"?

Liu Yifei quickly shook her head and recited a calming mantra.

Xiao He straightened up, his gaze shifting from her face to the wooden folk guitar resting quietly against the French windows in the corner of the living room.

"Sis, didn't you want a duet song?" He walked over, picked up the guitar, and casually strummed the strings. The pitch was still right. "I've written it. I'll sing it for you."

Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment.

She thought he was just casually agreeing, but she didn't expect him to actually write it down.

And so fast?

So... you finished writing it in less than a night?

Xiao He sat on the armrest of the sofa with his guitar in his arms, one leg crossed over the other, and bent down to adjust the string length.

Then his fingers landed on the strings.

The sound of a guitar began.

"The light from my phone illuminated the ceiling again. I sent a self-righteous 'goodnight'."

His voice was not loud, and it was a little hoarse.

It's not the kind of powerful singing style you see on stage; it's more restrained and more emotional.

Like typing on your phone late at night, typing and deleting, deleting and typing again, only to finally send out two words.

I know this will put you in a difficult position, but I'm still waiting for a cheap answer.

Liu Yifei's fingers, which were gripping the edge of the central island counter, tightened slightly.

"Perhaps it was my own greed that made this relationship so unbearable. It turns out I was overthinking things. I mistook your politeness for a promise."

His fingers moved across the strings, each note perfectly clear.

He suddenly remembered the list of women he had been with in his previous life, the women who came and went, none of whom made any promises to him, and he had never thought of making any promises to anyone.

The first person I considered getting married after being reborn was the one standing in front of me.

"I overdid this performance. In the end, I'm the only one left reaping the consequences."

The last chord fell. The vibration of the strings lingered in the air for a moment before silence returned.

Xiao He raised his head.

Liu Yifei was still standing next to the central island counter, the water in the glass in her hand had stopped steaming.

Her lips moved slightly, then she put down the cup, walked to the sofa, and stood in front of him without sitting down.

"What's the name of this song?"

"Crossing the Line"

"Crossing the line." She repeated the song title, her voice very soft at the end, as if savoring the weight of the word.

"Sis, didn't you ask me where the lyrics came from?"

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding his gaze: "Then you tell me."

"Because of you."

Of course, Xiao He couldn't just say the song was plagiarized and start making things up.

He leaned the guitar against the sofa armrest and stood up.

Liu Yifei subconsciously took half a step back, her lower back hitting the edge of the central island platform, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.

Just like last time in the study.

He took a step forward.

"I told you before that writing songs requires inspiration. And that inspiration is you."

Her hand braced itself against the edge of the central console, her knuckles turning slightly white: "Me?"

"Yes. From last winter until now, every time we're together, every time we're apart. The way your shoulder stiffened when we hugged at the airport, the force and direction you used to pinch my arm in the car, the foot you pulled back in the study just now, it's all in the lyrics."

"Crossing the Line is exactly what I wanted; I hoped the relationship between the two people could take it to the next level. But what if, in the end, my own greed makes things unbearable for both of us..."

He paused for a moment.

"I can't bear that kind of outcome."

Liu Yifei didn't speak. She kept her head down, her eyelashes trembling slightly under the light.

She bumped the water glass on the island counter; it wobbled but didn't fall over.

"So, hopefully, in the end, the two of them can successfully cross the line."

The living room fell silent. The orange cat jumped from the sofa onto the coffee table, its tail brushing against the remote control. The TV screen suddenly lit up, then went dark again.

Liu Yifei slowly raised her eyes and looked into his eyes.

"Are you confessing your feelings to me?"

"You can treat it as a song. Or you can treat it as the answer I'm looking for."

She turned her face away: "Xiao He, I'm your sister."

"Not my biological sister."

"A five-year age difference."

"A woman three years older is like holding a gold brick; a woman five years older is like holding a mountain of gold; a woman older..."

"Stop, you're doing it again..."

She almost burst out laughing at the last sentence, forcibly suppressing her inappropriate laughter. Her fingers gripped the edge of the central console, and her voice was very low: "Do you know, when Song Seung-heon and I officially announced our relationship, the comments were all 'The fairy sister has finally descended to earth,' as if my being in a relationship was some kind of great blessing. But after we broke up, the comments were all 'Happy breakup.' Those fans were happier celebrating with giveaways than it was my birthday."

"They don't like me. They like the fairy sister. The fairy sister who will never grow old, will never fall in love, and will never belong to anyone. If you were with me, you would be cursed to death."

"sister."

Xiao He didn't step forward; he just looked at her.

Last winter, behind that iron gate, you took off your down jacket and said, "Do you want to have a baby?" That's what you said back then, and I was the only person you could trust in the whole world. Does that still count now?

She didn't answer, nor did she deny it. She simply turned her face to the window; the cats on the backyard lawn had long since dispersed, leaving only the tortoiseshell cat dozing on the steps.

"Xiao Yao, I'm scared." Her voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the sound of his heartbeat.

"What's there to be afraid of?"

"I'm afraid I'll get used to it. I used to it being just Mom and me. It's so safe for you to be my younger brother. We won't argue, we won't break up, and it won't turn into one of those public relations statements that tear each other apart on Weibo. If we cross the line..." She looked up at him.

Xiao He didn't let her continue.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

She didn't struggle in that embrace.

"You said you hoped to successfully cross the line."

She spoke against his chest, her voice muffled.

"What if it fails?"

"I wrote 'Crossing the Line' after I failed." Xiao He's chest vibrated near her ear. "So this song is about 'what ifs,' about what if I was too greedy, what if I took your politeness as a promise, what if in the end I'm the only one left to suffer the consequences. But look, I'm still in front of you now. I haven't suffered the consequences yet."

Her fingers gripped the fabric behind his back a little tighter.

"You brat."

"Um."

"If you're going to write a song, just write a song. Why write one that's so heartbreaking?"