She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Even before the Spring Festival Gala rehearsals began, the nationwide physical autograph sessions for HF's first self-titled album, "HF," were already in full swing.

The first stop was the Xidan Book Building in Beijing.

When Xiao He and Liu Yifei got out of the van, the huge crowd in the square made Liu Yifei pause for a moment.

From the entrance of the building to the auxiliary road of Chang'an Avenue, the sea of ​​people stretched as far as the eye could see, each holding an album with the cover featuring a misty blue satin dress and a pure white linen shirt.

Some people held up light boards, while others unfurled banners that read "HF Forever Together".

In March, Beijing was still chilly, but the rising heat in the square had already made the security guards sweat.

"So many people." Liu Yifei stood by the car door, quite surprised.

Looking at the sea of ​​people before her, a scene from long ago suddenly flashed through her mind.

In September 2006, at the age of nineteen, she held the Asian premiere ceremony for her self-titled debut album "Liu Yifei" in a huge banquet hall of 1900 square meters at the Beijing Hotel.

By then, she was already known as "Fairy Sister"—four TV series, including "The Story of a Noble Family," "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," "Chinese Paladin," and "The Return of the Condor Heroes," propelled her to the throne of national goddess.

Sony Music held an 18th birthday banquet and signing ceremony for her at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Director Zhang Jizhong personally sent a large bunch of barley as a congratulatory gift. Six hundred fans spontaneously formed a group to attend the press conference, and the entire audience sang her songs together.

That album contained ten songs, among which "Heartbeat" was her first dance performance. The company specially invited Lan Bo, the personal dance teacher of Will Pan and Jolin Tsai, to choreograph it for her.

Within a little over a month of its release, the album sold over 600,000 copies in mainland China and topped the sales charts in Japan, surpassing many top-tier singers.

But it was an album propped up by online traffic.

The sales of 600,000 copies were not due to how good the song was, but rather the national popularity that came with the name "Fairy Sister".

The album did not receive a warm response after its release, and she gradually let go of it and focused more on exploring her career path.

After that, no one remembered her for her songs anymore. Occasionally, she would sing a few OSTs for movies, such as "Lan Ruo Ci", "Still Here" and "Waiting for Snow", but these were just minor embellishments on the sidelines of her career.

But today is different. Everyone standing here today isn't holding up her movie posters, they're holding her albums.

They queued for hours, even more than ten hours, not to see her act, but to hear her sing.

They listened to "Insomnia Flight" hundreds of times online, posted hundreds of thousands of comments on "Mohe Dance Hall," and turned the chorus of "Sparrow" into their alarm clock.

They lined up for her autograph because of her singing.

She went from actress Liu Yifei to singer Liu Yifei.

This change in identity was not officially announced or released in any press release, but the thousands of people holding albums in the square at this moment are the best proof of it.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao He's voice pulled her back to reality.

"I'm thinking, these people are here to hear me sing."

After she finished speaking, she looked up at Xiao He with deep affection.

All of this wonderful thing started when this bratty little brother came to visit him in Beijing.

Xiao He reached out his hand to her.

She placed her hand in his palm and stepped out of the car.

A burst of screams erupted in the square, and the light boards were all raised, forming a flowing galaxy.

The book signing event was held in the lobby on the first floor of Xidan Bookstore.

Behind the long table, two people sat side by side, with a mountain of albums piled up in front of them.

The line of fans stretched from the lobby all the way to the fire escape outside. Many people had been queuing since 5 or 6 a.m. There were students with backpacks, white-collar workers who came straight from get off work, middle-aged listeners who took time off work, and young mothers holding young children.

For every fan who came up to sign an autograph, Liu Yifei would look up, smile, and hand back the signed album with both hands.

After signing autographs for several hours, Liu Yifei put down her pen and rubbed her wrist.

She glanced at Xiao He beside her—he was engrossed in signing his name on album covers one after another, occasionally looking up to say a word to fans, his tone as casual as if he were chatting with an old friend. He had just finished signing a little girl's album when she excitedly hugged it and ran away.

Liu Yifei suddenly realized that she had started to secretly watch Xiao He.

He looks so handsome when he's working hard.

Starting in Beijing, the autograph sessions have covered more than a dozen cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Wuhan. Every stop was packed, and the organizers had to prepare contingency plans in advance for each event.

Fans brought a variety of heartwarming and adorable gifts: handwritten letters of blessing, scarves and pendants printed with the letters HF, and even hand-drawn postcards featuring Zhao Pan'er from the novel "Meng Hua Lu".

On social media, posts of people "checking in and sharing autographs" from various places are flooding the screen, and the hashtag #HFAutographSigningEvent# has been trending for several days. Many netizens have posted photos of themselves with the two, with captions full of sincere love and emotion.

Marketing accounts quickly followed suit.

A well-known blogger in the film, television and music field wrote an analysis: "Liu Yifei's autograph sessions have always been fan meetings or endorsement events, but today's autograph session is completely different. She came with her own album, which marks her transition from actress to singer and completely breaks away from the stereotype of her being just a dabbler in other fields."

Another entertainment influencer with millions of followers also posted a touching message: "There was a scene at the autograph session that particularly moved me: Liu Yifei handed a signed album to a girl who looked to be only ten years old. The girl took the album, bowed, and said to her, 'Sister, your songs accompanied me through the most difficult times.' At that moment, it wasn't just an interaction between an idol and a fan, but the most sincere emotional exchange between a singer and her audience. The transition from actress to singer wasn't achieved through marketing and press releases, but through building up one song after another."

The final stop of the autograph session was back in Beijing.

Taihe Music took the opportunity to hold a press conference at the Kempinski Hotel for HF's debut self-titled album.

Two rows of microphones were placed on the long table, and the backdrop was the iconic album cover—the silhouettes of the two standing at the end of the wooden walkway, their backs illuminated by the light, showing them side by side.

The audience was filled with reporters from major media outlets, their cameras and microphones aimed at the two people on stage.

At the start of the press conference, the host's opening remarks were brief yet impactful: "HF has surpassed 4 million copies in total sales across all platforms, becoming the first digital album in the Chinese music scene to break the 100 million yuan mark. Today is the media conference for our HF group's debut album. If you have any questions, please raise your hand."

A male reporter wearing glasses stood up first: "I'd like to ask Ms. Liu Yifei, you released your self-titled debut album in 2006, which sold over 60 copies, surpassing many top Japanese singers to top the charts. But since then, you haven't been very active in music. More than a decade later, sitting here today, recognized by both the industry and fans—was this something you expected?"

Liu Yifei remained silent for a moment. The reporters below the stage thought she was carefully choosing her words, but she was simply recalling some scenes from a long time ago.

"Unexpected, but also reasonable."

"When I released that album more than ten years ago, I was only nineteen years old. The album sold a lot of copies back then, but to be honest, it wasn't because I sang well, it was because I was Liu Yifei. Later, I kept waiting—waiting for an album that I could approve of, waiting for someone who could stand on the stage with me."

She glanced at Xiao He beside her.

All the camera shutters clicked simultaneously.

The second person to stand up was a young female reporter, whose tone was noticeably more relaxed than the previous one, with a hint of gossip: "Ms. Liu Yifei, I'm a reporter from Entertainment Weekly. You two played a couple in 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' and you've often been photographed interacting in 'unintentional yet confident' moments in music videos. Online discussions about your on-screen couple have reached a fever pitch. I want to ask a question that fans are most concerned about: Is your real relationship one of siblings, partners, or—a third kind of relationship we don't know about?"

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

Liu Yifei lowered her head slightly and touched the microphone with her hand. When she looked up, the tips of her ears had subtly turned pink.