She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Xiao He stood at the bedroom door, holding a freshly warmed milk in his hand.

The cup was still steaming, and he reached out to turn the doorknob—but it wouldn't budge.

It's locked from the inside.

"Sister Sisi, I made you a cup of milk before bed."

There was a moment of silence behind the door, then Liu Yifei's voice came, muffled and impatient: "I'm not drinking."

Xiao He asked through the door, "Why?"

Liu Yifei said angrily, "I need to do my homework on how to kiss other men in a movie, I don't have time to drink."

Liu Yifei is so cute when she's angry; even her harsh words have a unique charm.

Xiao He leaned against the doorframe, unable to suppress a smile. He switched the milk glass to his left hand and knocked on the door with his right: "Open the door, I'll help you figure it out, okay?"

"I don't need you to come with me. Didn't you say I'm a professional actor? I want to study on my own."

"What about the milk?"

"You drink it. After you finish, stay away from me. I get annoyed just looking at you."

"Sister Sisi, would you like to have the breakfast I made for you tomorrow, or should Auntie cook it?"

"Cancel it. From now on, Auntie will make breakfast and dinner, and I'll heat up the milk myself. You don't need to worry about anything; I don't need you to take care of anything."

Xiao He almost burst out laughing and quickly covered his mouth. Why was Liu Yifei acting like a child when she was angry?

"How can that be? I'm your brother. If I don't take care of you, who will?"

"Now you know he's my brother? And you're the kind of brother who watches his sister's kissing scene and then tries to persuade the director to let her accept it? I think you're not just a stinky brother, you're a bad brother."

Xiao He leaned against the doorframe, looking down at the glass of milk in his hand. The steam from the rim of the glass had already dissipated, and he could imagine what it looked like on the other side of the door.

She must be wrapped in a blanket, her hair spread out on the pillow, her cheeks puffed out, and her phone screen lit up, probably sending a WeChat message to Shuchang to complain about him.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door again, this time at a slower pace, like he was knocking on the interlude of a song.

"Sister Sisi."

"Is there anything else?"

"So, have you gotten any results from your research?"

"Not yet. Don't bother me, I'm reading the script. Episode 19, the carriage confession, Zhao Pan'er takes the initiative to kiss Gu Qianfan—I'm imagining this scene."

"The scene was indeed quite beautiful."

"Xiao He, you really think it's okay for me to be kissed by other people, right?"

"Sissi, then when you're acting, just close your eyes and pretend he's me."

"Get out..."

Xiao He heard something hit the door and guessed it was a pillow.

"Xiao He, you move out of my house right now."

"Well... I'm leaving now."

There was a full five seconds of silence behind the door.

Xiao He tentatively spoke again: "I'm really leaving, okay? The XF group is disbanding, and I'm going solo."

There was still no sound from behind the door.

"The milk's on the coffee table. Calm down, call me when you're ready, I'm leaving..."

Liu Yifei had already gone behind the door and was listening intently. She could indeed hear the sound of the porcelain bowl being placed on the coffee table.

Is he really leaving?

Liu Yifei immediately opened the door: "Xiao He, stop right there."

Xiao He then noticed that Liu Yifei was already in tears.

Oh no, it seems like the joke went too far.

"You cried."

Xiao He felt very sorry for her and quickly stepped forward to hug Liu Yifei.

"You bastard, I told my mom that you've already learned to bully me before we've even started."

Liu Yifei punched Xiao He in the back with her small fist.

Xiao He gently comforted her, "Sister Qianqian, the reason I didn't object to you filming a kissing scene is because I'm the one kissing you."

Liu Yifei was stunned on the spot.

"What do you mean?" Her voice was a little hoarse.

"It's me, Gu Qianfan. I'm going to the audition."

"...You didn't tell me."

I wanted to surprise you.

"When did this happen?"

"Last week, Director Yang had me audition for two scenes, one as Gu Qianfan in the original script, and the other as an adapted version of a romance between an older woman and a younger man. I passed both. She said that this role was perfect for me."

Liu Yifei stared at him for a full ten seconds.

Then she raised her hand and punched Xiao He in the chest.

This time, it wasn't the cute little punch from before; it was a powerful blow—and then another punch, and another, until he was forced to take a half-step back.

"Why...why didn't you say so sooner! I almost quit! I even called Director Yang and said some harsh things! I was so angry that I drank two glasses of red wine that night! Shu Chang and the others even tried to comfort me...you actually...were you doing this on purpose! You were playing me from the very beginning, weren't you!"

Her eyes were slightly red.

"I thought you didn't care about me. I thought you didn't care if I was close to other people. But it turns out Gu Qianfan is you? You arranged the whole thing? Leaving me here alone, agonizing like a fool?"

Xiao He didn't dodge or explain; he simply opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace.

She struggled twice but couldn't break free, so she raised her hand and punched his back with considerable force, but he didn't flinch.

After punching him a couple more times, Liu Yifei finally felt much better. She buried her face in his chest and muttered, "You naughty little brother, how could you be so mean?"

"If the younger brother isn't bad, the older sister won't love him," Xiao He teased Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei stared at him for three seconds, then reached out and pulled his shirt collar over.

"Alright. Since it's you, let's practice."

"What are you practicing?"

"Kissing scenes."

Xiao He lowered his head and kissed her.

Her lips still carried the faint astringent taste of red wine, mixed with a heat that had been suppressed all night and was finally released.

Her tongue lightly touched his lower lip, and as they kissed, Xiao He lost himself in the moment, and then...

"Hiss." Xiao He took a half-inch back and touched his lower lip.

"You're going to bite me?"

"I'm going to bite you."

Liu Yifei looked at him, the kiss still lingering on her lips, her eyes gleaming with a triumphant light.

"You brat, I'm your older sister! How dare you keep this from me for so long, making me angry for nothing? Don't you know that women age when they're angry? If I don't bite you, you won't know that your older sister is not to be trifled with. I'll accept today's surprise, but this debt is on your head."

"Are you still angry? Are you going to kick me out, sister?"

"I'm annoyed. But let's see how it goes after you finish your lovingly prepared breakfast tomorrow morning. If you still can't do it well, I'll still kick you out."

"Didn't my sister just say she wouldn't eat her brother's breakfast?"

"Nonsense. When I said I was canceling breakfast, I was just saying it in anger. Did you really mean it?"

Liu Yifei turned her face away, but the corners of her mouth slowly turned up, revealing a faint smile that she couldn't hide.

She pulled her fingers back from his palm, tidied her disheveled hair, turned and took two steps toward the bedroom, then turned back.

"You little brat, the milk's cold. Heat up another cup for me, and after you finish, we'll continue kissing. I'll keep biting you, you little brat, until you're dead."

"I'll see you through to the end."

Xiao He heated up a cup of milk again and brought it to her bedroom door.