She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

When Xiao He put the guitar back by the French windows, Liu Yifei was still leaning against the island counter, her heart pounding wildly, and she hadn't calmed down yet.

"Sister Sissi," Xiao He turned around and leaned against the French window frame, "Do you know anyone in a recording studio? Could you borrow a professional one?"

Liu Yifei snapped out of her daze and put the water glass into the sink. "Yes."

She picked up her phone, and as the screen lit up, she smiled slightly. "Find Liangying. She can get you a reservation at the best studio in Beijing."

"Zhang Liangying? Your best friend?"

"What else?" Liu Yifei had already dialed. The phone was answered after two rings, and Zhang Liangying's voice came through the receiver, with faint piano accompaniment in the background, probably in a recording studio again.

"Yifei? What made you think of calling me?"

"Liangying, help me book a recording studio, I want to record a song."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Zhang Liangying's voice rose noticeably by half an octave: "Record a song? You? You volunteered to record a song? The sun must have risen in the west."

She paused, her tone shifting from surprise to gossip: "What song?"

"...a duet."

"A duet? With whom?" Zhang Liangying's voice immediately carried a hint of "you'd better tell me the truth."

Liu Yifei glanced at Xiao He. He was leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window, strumming a guitar, looking completely innocent.

"With my younger brother."

"Your brother, wait, Xiao He? The Xiao He from 'The Kirin'? The one you publicly supported on Weibo?"

Zhang Liangying's speaking speed increased.

"Yifei, tell me honestly, what exactly is your relationship? You never mention any man's name on Weibo, not even Song Seung-heon..."

"Liangying".

"Okay, I won't ask anymore." Zhang Liangying smiled slightly, clearly not intending to really not pursue the matter. "But you owe me an explanation."

"...See you in the recording studio tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Yifei turned to Xiao He: "She agreed."

Xiao He put the guitar back on the guitar stand, walked over, and stood naturally next to her, his shoulder just touching hers.

"Sis, is your best friend really curious about our relationship?"

"you guess."

"So, how do you plan to tell her?"

Liu Yifei looked up at him and said, "I told you we're dating."

Xiao He was stunned for a moment.

"I was just kidding." She turned and walked towards the stairwell, the hem of her white sweater swaying slightly behind her. "I said you're my brother."

"A relationship between an older woman and a younger man is not bad either," Xiao He joked.

"You're just being cheeky."

After Liu Yifei finished speaking, she went upstairs. She found that after the competition, this younger brother was incredibly shameless and clearly wanted to extort money from her.

The following afternoon, in an office building in Chaoyang District. The underground elevator leads directly to the floor where the recording studio is located, and gray soundproofing felt is installed on both sides of the corridor.

When Liu Yifei opened the door, Zhang Liangying had already arrived.

She was wearing a navy blue velvet tracksuit, her long hair was casually tied back, and her makeup was very light. She was sitting in front of the mixing console, scrolling through her phone.

Seeing the two enter, she stood up and hugged Liu Yifei first.

The kind of best friends who don't need to say much, just a touch of the arm to know each other's mood.

Then she turned her head and looked at Xiao He for a full three seconds.

"You're Xiao He." Her tone wasn't a question, but a statement. "You wrote 'Qilin' and 'Wild Wolf Disco'?"

"right."

"Both lyrics and music?"

"right."

Zhang Liangying looked at him for a few more seconds, then turned to Liu Yifei: "Yifei, your younger brother isn't just good-looking, he's also quite handsome. No wonder you're interested in him." She paused, then added, "He's not only good-looking, he's also quite handsome. No wonder you're interested in him."

"Don't talk nonsense, he's just my brother." Liu Yifei put the guitar case that Xiao He had brought on the sofa, glanced at him, and added, "Besides, he's too glib."

"Sis, when did I get oily?"

"Shut up and go tune the sound."

Xiao He walked up to the mixing console with a grin and spread out the sheet music for "Crossing the Line".

Zhang Liangying came over to take a look. At first, she was just being polite; after all, he was her best friend's brother, so she had to give him face.

But as she looked at the music, she unconsciously sat up straight. She stretched out her fingers and gently tapped the rhythm on the score, humming the melody softly.

When she hummed the chorus, her fingers stopped, she looked up at Xiao He, and her eyes changed.

This isn't just polite encouragement; it's the instinctive excitement of a professional musician when they encounter a great piece of work.

"Who wrote the key change for this bridge? The verses are so restrained, but the chorus suddenly soars. How did you come up with this approach?"

"It's a natural transition. When I think of the word 'crossing the line,' the melody just follows along on its own."

Zhang Liangying placed the sheet music on the mixing console, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke: "After recording, would you mind if I asked you for a copy of the sheet music?"

"Sister Liangying, are you trying to steal my song?"

"It's not about stealing." Zhang Liangying turned to Liu Yifei, her expression serious. "It's just that this song is really well-written. Yifei, are you sure he didn't graduate from the composition department?"

"Confirmed." Liu Yifei leaned against the soundproof glass of the recording studio, arms crossed.

Zhang Liangying sighed, "Alright. Since it's your song, let's go into the studio."

The recording began. Zhang Liangying served as the producer, her gestures precise and decisive.

She would occasionally ask the recording engineer to play back a certain segment, helping Liu Yifei adjust her breath line by line, and also forcing Xiao He to repeatedly polish those high notes and transitions that he had tried to get away with.

She told Liu Yifei, "The vibrato at the end of that sentence is too fast; use your abdominal muscles." Then she turned to Xiao He and said, "Your ending is too steady; add a bit more texture so your sister can catch it."

But on the third take, Zhang Liangying suddenly pressed the call button.

"Wait a minute. You two, did you make eye contact during the chorus?"

Behind the soundproof glass, Liu Yifei and Xiao He turned their heads at the same time.

"No," Liu Yifei said.

"Make eye contact. In the chorus, 'I overacted this whole thing,' Xiao He, look at Yi Fei when you sing that line. Yi Fei, look at him when you sing the next line, 'In the end, I'm the only one left to reap what I sow.' The lyrics are about two people being honest with each other. How can you be honest with each other if you don't look at each other? Come on, let's do it again."

The piano prelude resumed. At the climax of the chorus, Xiao He's gaze was fixed on him, without any attempt to look away.

Liu Yifei was stared at by him for a few seconds, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she slowly raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

One voice was clear and bright, the other deep and resonant; the two voices finally intertwined in the bridge section.

At that moment of perfect harmony, Zhang Liangying slowly took off her monitoring headphones behind the mixing console, leaned back in her chair, and gently twirled the pen in her hand: "Alright, keep one."

As the last chord ended, she lowered her voice and said something that thankfully wasn't caught on the microphone: "These two might not actually be acting."

While Liu Yifei was in the restroom after recording, Zhang Liangying leaned against the mixing console, twirling her monitoring headphones: "Xiao He, who were you thinking about when you wrote this song?"

Xiao He paused for a moment while adjusting the microphone stand, then looked up and smiled frankly: "You'll have to ask Sister Xixi about that."

Zhang Liangying laughed too: "I really didn't expect that Feifei would actually find love?"