She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Liu Yifei doesn't know how she fell asleep last night.

I only remember glancing at my phone screen one last time—3:47 a.m.

Her WeChat conversation with Shu Chang ended with the last sentence, "You've fallen for her." She didn't reply, put her phone face down on the bedside table, turned over, and buried her face in the pillow.

She lay there with her eyes open in the darkness, replaying every scene from the previous night—the strength of the embrace, the feel of her face against his, the moment her heart skipped a beat when the kiss landed.

Then, he suppressed the thought of "letting it be" in his mind, turned over, and stared blankly at the streetlights that were leaking in through the gap in the curtains.

Later, I don't know how, I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up, what was leaking through the gap in the curtains was no longer the streetlights, but the midday sunlight.

She sat on the edge of the bed and regained her senses for a moment.

Those impulsive emotions from last night have been completely eliminated by a night's sleep.

Liu Yifei sat up in bed and walked to the makeup mirror to look at herself—no makeup, messy hair, and a little trace of eye cream left on the corner of her eye.

She stared blankly at herself in the mirror for a moment, the image of herself struggling with whether or not to change into cooler pajamas flashing through her mind last night.

Good heavens. Who is that?

She decided to start anew from today—no sweet talk, no flirting, and let that brat who missed his chance regret it himself.

Xiao He was already up in the living room. His laptop was open on the coffee table, displaying a multi-track file. He looked up at the sound of footsteps: "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"good."

"The milk is in the microwave. Microwave it for thirty seconds."

Liu Yifei carried the milk to the sofa, sat on the single sofa furthest from him, and picked up her phone to start browsing Weibo.

He stood up, walked around the coffee table, leaned down, and wanted to kiss her on the forehead.

She turned her head to dodge, the movement was very light, but the direction she dodged was very clear.

Xiao He paused for a moment, then retreated to the sofa.

What happened—didn't things progress a lot yesterday? We kissed, she even put her hand inside, and she said in the kitchen, "I don't want to hide anymore."

How come they deny everything after I woke up?

He was puzzled, but didn't say anything.

In the following period, Liu Yifei did not deliberately distance herself.

We discussed with him whether to add a key change to the bridge section of the lyrics, asked Han Dong to prepare the equipment for the recording in the afternoon, and asked the assistant to print out the arrangement sheet.

But I wouldn't let him have any physical contact—when handing him the sheet music, my fingertips would touch his fingers, and I'd immediately take it back.

He accidentally brushed against her shoulder as he passed by, and she moved half a step to the side.

He tried to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, but she simply stood up and said, "I'll go get some water."

No touching, no kissing, no chance to get close.

Liu Yifei took all these details in and snorted inwardly.

You didn't hug me after I walked around the living room twice last night, and now you're trying to flirt with me—humph, no way.

The sleepless night I spent was not for nothing; I must be punished, severely punished.

This will show you what it means to have a fleeting opportunity—once it's gone, it's gone forever. When it will reopen depends on my mood.

Xiao He took a sip of milk and placed the cup on the coffee table.

He decided to stop thinking about it. Women's minds are indeed hard to guess. Anyway, he'll just hug them every day. He'll hug them whenever they want, and kiss them whenever he can.

There's no escaping it.

In the afternoon, at the recording studio.

Old Zhou had already set up the equipment. Han Dong hung his monitoring headphones around his neck and patted the mixing console when he saw the two of them come in one after the other.

"I listened to the version of the arrangement sheet music you sent for 'The Only One'—the piano intro retains the original foundation, strings have been added to the bridge, and the drums in the chorus are pushed forward more than in the demo. This arrangement structure is for duets; how do you plan to divide the vocal parts?"

"The first verse is sung by Yifei, the second verse by Xiaohe, and the chorus is sung by her." The producer flipped through the sheet music. "The two lines of the bridge section—'Love is essentially the same, it's just that there are too many people,' Xiaohe, you sing them solo, and you provide her harmonies. The last chorus is sung by both of you, and the last line, 'Prove that I am your only one,' is the quietest line in the whole song, dedicated to Yifei."

Liu Yifei stood in front of the microphone stand, clutching the lyrics sheet in her hand.

Her voice is better suited to the mid-range, and it's easy for it to tremble when she switches between her true and falsetto voices too forcefully. But in the few rehearsals of the chorus she sang earlier, she went all out and no longer tried to hold back her singing power. In the recording studio, no one opened their lips and breathed softly anymore. Only she used all her strength to keep every last note firmly on the beat.

The recording has begun.

As the first piano prelude gently flowed from her monitor headphones, she closed her eyes.

Unlike before, she lowered her eyelashes naturally and then gently put her voice into the microphone.

"You truly understand that the definition of 'unique' is not as simple as breathing."

After she finished singing the first verse, it was Xiao He's turn to sing.

He stood a few steps away from her in front of another microphone stand, his gaze never leaving her profile.

Old Zhou thought to himself, "This kid is acting differently today. He used to look at Liu Yifei when recording, but that was when he was confirming the beat."

From beginning to end today, every word and every glance was fixed on Yifei.

Xiao He spoke softly into the microphone stand: "I truly love you, and every word is precious."

He kept looking at her while singing that line.

He recalled the scenes from the previous night: their tight embrace and passionate kiss. Then he remembered Liu Yifei's blushing face and her attempts to avoid him the next day.

Xiao He didn't tell her that he accidentally glimpsed the chat window between her and Shu Chang on her phone screen that morning, and the last sentence was "It's over, I'm completely finished."

Liu Yifei stood next to him and felt his gaze on her cheek. It tickled a little, but she didn't want to open her eyes.

A song thus became an emotional outpouring between two people, a source of mutual reliance and comfort.

In the chorus, the two voices finally intertwine in the bridge section, one clear and the other deep, like two rivers that have meandered through many bends finally converging.

Outside the recording studio, Lao Zhou put his monitoring headphones on the table, raised both hands, and clapped loudly at the soundproof glass.

Han Dong didn't stand up and applaud; instead, he increased the volume of the two vocal tracks separately and replayed Liu Yifei's solo lines.

The sound flowed slowly from the monitor speakers, filling the entire control room.

"I know that love is essentially the same; it's just that there are so many people that it's crowded, and you don't want to prove that I'm your only one..."

Liu Yifei took off her headphones, her eyes slightly red.

It wasn't because she couldn't sing the high notes; it was because her fingers were shaking when she saw Lao Zhou stand up and clap. This man, who had been recording for decades, was standing up and clapping for her twice in a row in the recording studio for the first time.

Xiao He walked over from the microphone stand and took her hand in his palm.

She glanced at him sideways—her eyes held no evasion, no warning of "don't be presumptuous," but simply looked at him and asked, "Have I succeeded? Am I singing better and better?"

Xiao He said with a warm smile, "The greatest charm of a song has never been its technique, but rather the rendering and expression of emotions. Congratulations, Sister Xixi, you are becoming more and more like a unique singer."