"Can I just write down your home address?"
Bae Juhyun certainly couldn't pick up takeout herself; every time she ordered, she had the delivery guy leave it at her door, only daring to open it once she confirmed no one was around.
Liu Xin'an was a foreigner, so he could understand, but if it were a local... it's unlikely they wouldn't recognize her.
Especially in this entertainment-rich city.
"Ah, of course, you can. What are you planning to order?"
"Um... just a regular bibimbap will do..."
"Oh~ Are there any good restaurants around here? You live in this area, so you must know a lot, right?"
Considering he would be living here for the next six months, finding a few takeout places that suited his tastes was necessary.
He naturally didn't cook; his mom had thought about teaching him, but he had always pushed back.
Being a video streamer was too busy! Who had time to cook, plus he wasn't in the foodie section...
However, Liu Xin'an had somewhat overestimated Bae Juhyun.
An embarrassed tinge crossed her attractive face. Although she did live here now... saying that she was familiar with the area was a bit of a stretch.
She had indeed bought a house here, but initially, she hadn't planned on settling down.
The company provided dorms for them, and with rushing schedules and appearances, it was definitely more convenient for everyone to stay together. Since buying the house, she had only started living here after the incident.
And takeout... let's not even mention that. She only ordered takeout now because she wasn't at her own place; otherwise, she would have prepared something herself.
During her unemployed period, she was anxious, so she had to find things to do to pass the time.
Learning to cook was a good example.
"I don't know much... I only started living here not long ago."
The not-so-good liar, Bae Juhyun, chose to be honest; for takeout... she usually relied on the sales volume and reviews.
This response left Liu Xin'an somewhat puzzled, but seeing the girl's slightly dimmed expression, he could guess that Bae Juhyun wasn't in a great mood, and this was probably a sensitive topic for her.
So he decisively changed the subject.
"Have you ever eaten Chinese food?"
The topic of Chinese food indeed piqued Bae Juhyun's interest.
"Right, ah, I'm not talking about those localized Chinese dishes from here, but authentic Chinese food."
Liu Xin'an's comment was problematic.
If there were authentic Chinese dishes available here, that would be strange. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Not to say there weren't any, just that they were few and far between.
Bae Juhyun naturally hadn't tried it; she shook her head: "If it's jajangmyeon or sweet and sour pork, then I have tried those."
"Ah, those are the localized Chinese dishes. That's too bad. I'll take you to try authentic Chinese food when we have the chance!"
Bae Juhyun's lips curved into a gentle smile as she nodded.
She agreed, but... it wasn't an easy thing to do.
She was too recognizable; strolling around outside casually like an ordinary person was quite improbable.
The living room quieted down, Liu Xin'an stopped eating his fried chicken, planning to wait for Bae Juhyun's takeout to arrive so they could eat together.
Meanwhile, Bae Juhyun was curiously taking in the room that had the same layout as her house.
"By the way, you said you're a... blogger?"
"Mmhmm, interested? Want to see my workspace?"
Calling it a workspace was actually a bit of a misnomer. Gaming room would be a more precise term.
Having been there for half a day, Bae Juhyun was no longer worried about Liu Xin'an being a wolf in sheep's clothing. She nodded.
Not curious would be a lie; after all, her job was akin to his, and that's precisely why she was curious.
Liu Xin'an stood up, and Bae Juhyun followed him, eyeing a room with curiosity.
As Liu Xin'an opened the door, the sight that met her eyes left the girl slightly shocked, her red lips parted in astonishment.
It was indeed a very professional room.
An extra-large desk caught her eye, neatly arrayed with various consoles, both those she recognized and those she didn't.
The other eye-catching feature was a white computer case along with two monitors of different sizes.
Speaking of his profession, Liu Xin'an enthusiastically began to show off his workspace.
"This is the computer I use for live streaming. I'm a gaming blogger, and I usually stream games, so the equipment I need is pretty good."
Bae Juhyun nodded in admiration. Indeed, everyone has their specialty; she only recognized a few gaming consoles.
"Why are there two monitors?"
"Ah, one is for streaming, and this second one is for reading the comments and bullet chats from the fans in the livestream."
"Fans? Do a lot of people watch your streams?" Bae Juhyun caught a familiar term, her beautiful eyes blinked in curiosity as she looked at Liu Xin'an.
Liu Xin'an spread his hands, "It's okay, I guess. Each stream usually pulls in around fifty or sixty thousand viewers."
"...Fifty... sixty thousand?!"
The exaggerated number made Bae Juhyun's eyes widen with shock. The already stunning girl's surprised expression was even more captivating, catching Liu Xin'an's gaze for a fleeting moment before he quickly composed himself.
"Of course, I can't compare to those top streamers."
The modest Liu Xin'an still shocked Bae Juhyun. After all, before the incident, her group Red Velvet was very famous.
She also went live on Instagram, and with nearly ten million followers, she only had tens of thousands of viewers at her last birthday live stream...
And Liu Xin'an was saying he got fifty or sixty thousand viewers when he streamed?!
"So when you say you're a somewhat famous blogger..."
"Hmm? Doesn't that count as somewhat famous?"
"So, how many fans do you have roughly?"
Liu Xin'an walked over to the computer and gently shook the mouse.
The screen, previously dark, lit up.
He then opened his personal homepage on the small, broken site, pointing to the column labeled "Number of fans."
"Oh my god..." Bae Juhyun covered her mouth, exclaiming in shock.
Is this what they call a slightly famous Up-Master?
The expression on Bae Juhyun's face pleased Liu Xin'an. Boys do like to show off a bit in front of the opposite sex.
Especially in front of a beautiful one.
"Then! How do you respond to everyone's questions when you live stream?"
Bae Juhyun had also live streamed, but found it quite difficult to answer those fast-fading questions.
"Huh? Questions? There aren't many who truly ask questions; most are just joking around."
Liu Xin'an nodded, though these were things he couldn't really explain to Bae Juhyun.
He liked gaming, and those watching his live streams were definitely gaming fans; explanation of such gaming talk would be lost on outsiders, so he figured it was better not to bother.
"Anyway, just some pretty boring stuff. I usually reply, sometimes I pretend not to see it."
"...You can do that?"
"What else? I'd die of exhaustion replying to each one—being a public figure is hard, there's not that much time."
Liu Xin'an felt quite proud of his achievements and so he rather smugly started to boast about himself.
Listening to him, Bae Juhyun held back a smirk and nodded earnestly.
The pressure of being a public figure...
She was all too familiar with it.
"Did you come here to relax because the pressure was too much?"
"That's part of the reason."
Sensing that Liu Xin'an wasn't too keen on dwelling on this topic, Bae Juhyun tactfully nodded and didn't pry any further.
She surveyed Liu Xin'an's studio and quickly noticed a familiar item that caught her eye.
A camera lay quietly to the side; she subconsciously approached it and then turned around, pointing at it curiously.
"Are you still going to use this?"
"Mhm... I've been transitioning recently. Games aren't as popular as life nowadays."
"Yeah, like recording everyday life, those types of videos. Have you heard of vlogs?"
Bae Juhyun nodded; of course, she knew about them. The company had discussed whether to have them make such videos before, but before they could decide, an incident occurred.
First, her group's younger member got injured. Just as she was nearly recovered, Bae Juhyun got into this mess...
"I'm planning to film a moving vlog first. I've got the footage but haven't edited it yet."
"You can edit on your own too!"
This was a rare skill; even though they often shot various videos, the post-production editing was certainly not done by them.
"... I'm a video blogger, who else would edit if not me?"
Bae Juhyun laughed awkwardly, picked up the camera with ease, and flashed an incredibly radiant smile in front of the lens.
Having debuted years ago, she was used to changing her demeanor in front of the camera, but this was Liu Xin'an's first time seeing Bae Juhyun's professional smile.
Her eyes smiled along with the corners of her lips, effortlessly capturing Liu Xin'an's gaze until she put the camera down, and only then did he come back to his senses.
Indeed, this girl named Bae Juhyun could be considered the most beautiful person Liu Xin'an had encountered in real life.
Luckily, his mumbling was not heard by Bae Juhyun.
Regaining his composure, Liu Xin'an quickly turned away and awkwardly walked towards the door.
"Has your takeout not arrived yet?"
"Um... you're right, I'm so hungry."
Bae Juhyun subconsciously touched her flat stomach and then hurriedly followed behind Liu Xin'an out of his studio.
After sitting down on the sofa again, Bae Juhyun inadvertently caught sight of the remote control lying aside. She stealthily picked it up and placed it far from Liu Xin'an.
She was somewhat afraid of Liu Xin'an turning on the TV... Although it had been some time since the incident of her "bullying a staff member," it was possible that turning on the TV would still bring up related news.
If she could, she would rather not let Liu Xin'an know her identity.
Her discreet actions went unnoticed by Liu Xin'an. After she finished, Bae Juhyun suddenly realized a very important issue.
"You said you're filming a moving vlog, you're not going to include me in it, are you?"
This was a critical issue; she didn't want to appear in a foreigner's video in this way...
She had fans in China too, and if she was recognized... it would be a big deal.
Liu Xin'an didn't realize Bae Juhyun was actually afraid; his eyes lit up with excitement as he looked at her.
Bae Juhyun was very beautiful—if she was willing to appear on camera... he thought it would definitely attract a lot of fans.
"Would you be willing? If you are, I can include you!"
"Ah? No, no, no." Bae Juhyun waved her hands like crazy, and then hastily added, fearing Liu Xin'an wouldn't listen, "Please, don't even mention my name, I don't like being famous among strangers."
"Oh? Um... don't worry about that. As a video blogger, I have my principles."
Liu Xin'an quickly nodded, assuring her he wouldn't do something so impolite.