Celebrity Neighbor: My girlfriend is a big star?
Chapter 126. The Trust of Bae’s Father

Chapter 126: 126. The Trust of Bae’s Father

Comforting Bae Juhyun was no longer a very difficult task for Liu Xin’an.

He let her hold him while gently stroking her back, attempting to soothe her in this way.

After staying quiet for a while, he could feel her arms gradually relaxing.

"Not scared anymore?"

"Still scared."

"What’s there to be afraid of? I’m not going to get mad at you over something like this." Liu Xin’an couldn’t help but smile wryly; anyone would be upset about being hit out of the blue, but he also understood why Bae Juhyun was upset.

Having one’s sore spot directly poked would not be so easily accepted by anyone.

Though it was a misunderstanding, indeed, his conversation with Li Chenglu was somewhat... uh, easy to misinterpret.

"Do you think I’m an especially violent person?"

"...I’ve seen you in your group’s variety shows, you didn’t exactly go easy on Seulgi and the others, did you?"

"That was a subconscious reaction to the emotion at the time!"

Bae Juhyun suddenly raised her head, then, realizing her fearsome look was not too different from before, she embarrassedly buried her head back in Liu Xin’an’s chest.

"Anyway... I’m sorry."

"Alright, alright, let go of me. I need to wash up, I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Hmm, does your arm still hurt?"

"It hurts."

"What should we do then? Should I rub it for you?"

"Maybe if you kissed it, it would heal faster."

The rogue’s teasing tone made Bae Juhyun’s face turn red.

But still, the bottom line was that she was the one in the wrong.

Moreover, a kiss wasn’t something particularly hard to accept, so Bae Juhyun didn’t plan on refusing.

However, just as she was about to push Liu Xin’an onto the bed and offer a kiss, Liu Xin’an smiled and said, "The pain has shifted now."

"Huh?" Shifted? Could pain even shift?

Under Bae Juhyun’s bewildered gaze, Liu Xin’an brazenly pointed at his own lips.

"Now, it hurts here."

"...Ah!"

Five minutes later, with her face flushed red, Bae Juhyun cautiously opened a crack in the door of Liu Xin’an’s guest room to check the outside.

After confirming that it was pitch dark and no one was in the living room, she bit her lip and hurried back to her own room.

And the very next second, a thoroughly content Liu Xin’an stepped out with a smile, heading straight for the bathroom.

———

Liu Xin’an had come out greatly disadvantaged and the ’night raid’ he had imagined didn’t happen; he had even left the door unlocked to make it easy for Bae Juhyun to come in during the night.

The next morning just after six o’clock, the alarm woke a soundly sleeping Liu Xin’an.

He was not troubled by unfamiliar beds, so he had slept very satisfactorily, especially since the bedding prepared by Mrs. Bae had been washed, he could smell the fragrance of laundry detergent, enhancing the quality of his sleep considerably.

The self-disciplined man got straight out of bed upon waking. He was wearing pajamas; he reached up to tousle his messy hair, then got out of bed and left the bedroom.

But he might have gotten up a little too early, as the living room was still very quiet, with no signs of anyone else being up.

First, he went to the bathroom to wash up. While he was washing, Mrs. Bae’s voice came from outside the bathroom door.

"Who’s in the toilet?"

"Ah, Auntie, it’s me."

Liu Xin’an quickly responded.

"Oh, Xin’an, why are you up so early? Did you sleep badly?"

"Ah, no, I have a habit of getting up early. I’m planning to go out for a morning run soon."

Liu Xin’an said through his teeth, telling a white lie, for not only did he lack the habit of rising early, but he also didn’t really have a habit of morning runs.

However, if he pretended to have these habits here, it might improve the impression Mrs. Bae had of him.

So, he had made up his mind to wake up very early these next few days!

"I see, then continue with your washing up."

"I’ll be quick." Liu Xin’an hastened his pace, quickly rinsed out his mouth, spit out the foam completely, and then with his hair still slightly damp, he opened the bathroom door.

Perhaps it’s because men tend to look more handsome than usual after washing their hair. Liu Xin’an, already a good-looking man, really resembled the ’boy-next-door’ at this moment.

With his tall figure to boot, Mrs. Bae truly was very satisfied with her eldest daughter’s boyfriend.

"You’re so tall. Isn’t our Juhyun rather short compared to you?"

"Not at all, I think Juhyun’s height is just right. She’s neither too tall nor too short and matches me quite well." Liu Xin’an, who had just brushed his teeth, confidently displayed his pearly white teeth, showing off his charming smile.

This ingratiating smile pleased Mrs. Bae immensely.

After a while, Mr. Bae too came out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the time, then saw Liu Xin’an, already changed into activewear, sitting on the sofa.

"You’re up so early?"

"Good morning, Uncle. I’m getting ready to go out for some exercise. Yesterday, Juhyun took me around, and I noticed the neighborhood seemed quite suitable for a morning jog, so I decided to give it a try today."

"Oh... is your Aunt in the bathroom?"

"Yes."

With the bathroom occupied, Mr. Bae wasn’t in a rush to go in; instead, he sat down next to Liu Xin’an and continued to wake up.

Honestly, having his girlfriend’s dad sitting next to him, Liu Xin’an was genuinely nervous.

But fortunately, he was just about to go running.

Whether it was a pretense or not, sweating a bit in the morning was ultimately a good thing.

When his hair was no longer wet, Liu Xin’an stood up, but was then taken aback by the man’s voice that followed.

"Xin’an, thank you for everything during this time."

Liu Xin’an turned around in surprise, just in time to see Mr. Bae intentionally looking away towards the window.

He seemed to understand the other person’s meaning.

"You’re overstating it, for me, meeting Juhyun was my good fortune," he replied.

"Regardless of what you think, our whole family should be thankful to you for Juhyun having met you during this time."

"Uncle, please, you’re putting pressure on me." These words heaped Liu Xin’an’s pressure to the maximum.

He understood Bae’s father’s intention.

Previously, when he didn’t know Bae Juhyun’s identity, he was unaware of what his appearance meant to her.

But now, understanding Juhyun’s past, he realized what a dark time it is for her now.

Perhaps to some extent, his presence had offered a nearly collapsing Juhyun a lifesaving straw... Yet, for himself, it was simply because he liked Juhyun, just a neighbor who shared his pastime (referring to moon gazing) and who he found amusing, so he didn’t want to miss out on someone like that.

It wasn’t about any sort of redemption...

Bae’s father turned to look at him, his eyes, which bore a strong resemblance to his girlfriend’s, flickered with emotions that Liu Xin’an could not comprehend.

But the following words made Liu Xin’an understand the dignified man’s message.

"I am putting pressure on you, that’s correct."

"Eh?"

"Juhyun is fortunate to have you as her boyfriend, I’m relieved, but I hope no matter what, you’ll never fail the trust I have in you."

Liu Xin’an nodded unconsciously. He didn’t show the kind of panic Bae’s father might have expected. Instead, he simply flashed a handsome smile and with utter certainty said,

"Don’t worry at all, that kind of thing will absolutely never happen!"

"Huh... Well, then I’m reassured."

Liu Xin’an stood up and left the house to start his morning run for the day.

About five minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and Bae’s mother stepped out, wiping her face. Seeing Bae’s father sitting on the couch, lost in thought, she teased him with a smile, "Feeling relieved now?"

"Yeah, he’s quite a good lad... not the kind of excellent man that our country can produce."

Men are more adept at recognizing gaps between each other.

Honestly speaking... when it comes to treating one’s significant other, Bae’s father doesn’t consider himself a very excellent husband.

Everyone around him behaved that way, and if he didn’t conform, he’d look odd... so he became like that too.

But Liu Xin’an didn’t carry those pressures. And he could see that his daughter genuinely felt happy and joyful when she was with Xin’an.

Being a father unable to give his daughter much support in her career was already an embarrassment to his self-esteem.

So he was envious of Liu Xin’an, envious that he could help his daughter in her time of greatest pain.

"Alright, go freshen up. I’ll go wake up Jinhee," Bae’s father said.

"Okay."

By the time Liu Xin’an returned, sweating from his run, only the leisurely breakfast-eating Bae Jinhee was left in the house.

Her job wasn’t like those of traditional corporate workers, so she didn’t need to leave early to drive to the office like her father did.

And before her parents left, they told her Liu Xin’an had gone for a morning run, so his return at this time didn’t surprise her.

"Xin’an brother."

"Jinhee, you haven’t gone to work yet?"

"I just need to be at the office before ten. Do you want to eat?"

Bae Jinhee’s breakfast included instant noodles with kimchi and some leftover ribs from yesterday.

As a breakfast, it was indeed too extravagant.

Liu Xin’an gestured towards his forehead, "I should take a shower first, the bathroom’s free, right?"

"It’s free, go ahead."

After another comfortable shower and changing into fresh clothes, Liu Xin’an finally took a seat on the couch.

Jinhee’s breakfast was almost finished. She cocked her head, looking at Liu Xin’an curiously, "Xin’an brother, are all guys in China like you?"

"Like me?"

"Yes, you haven’t encountered our country’s men, have you? Many of them seem really disagreeable, you know, chauvinistic, right?"

With these thoughts, Bae Jinhee’s face showed disgust.

She was a victim of chauvinism. Nowadays, with the internet becoming increasingly widespread, young women of her generation have access to meeting some excellent men. But truthfully... finding an excellent man here is as hard as searching for gold in the sand.

Even some of the better men sometimes still exhibit chauvinistic tendencies.

It’s not a character flaw but an environmental one...

This distorted and perverse social environment has resulted in more and more people like that.

"Ah... I’ve heard about it. Am I different from those you usually deal with?"

"Completely different, the feel is totally distinct."

"Really?"

Bae Jinhee nodded, her hand propping up her cheek, somewhat excited, "Do you have other decent men around you that you could introduce to me?"

She wasn’t young anymore and it was about time to start thinking about love and getting ready to settle down, especially since she didn’t have a profession like Bae Juhyun’s that was inconvenient for dating.

"Around me, well... there are some, but language would be an issue."

"Ah~ right, Chinese is too difficult, I might as well stay single."

If she hadn’t met an exemplary man like Liu Xin’an, she might have been able to endure.

But now that she had seen the "light," to expect her to return to the "darkness"... nobody would be willing to do that, right?

"Take your time, you’ll eventually find a man who matches your heart’s desire."

"I hope so."

Bae Jinhee sighed, her spirits deflated as she stood up and grabbed her bag.

"I’m off, if my sister hasn’t gotten up by noon, don’t forget to call her."

"Oh... okay."

"Bye!"