Celebrity Neighbor: My girlfriend is a big star?
Chapter 137. Excited Bae Juhyun (Thanks to all the readers who gave tips! 4/5)

Chapter 137: 137. Excited Bae Juhyun (Thanks to all the readers who gave tips! 4/5)

Since it’s rare to return to the country, lunch naturally had to be the most authentic and traditional Chinese food.

Li Chenglu often had business trips to Shanghai, so she was very familiar with the highly reputed restaurants here.

After winding through several streets with Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun, Li Chenglu parked the car in front of a small shop.

There was a long queue at the entrance, and seeing this long line, Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun instinctively looked at Li Chenglu.

Fortunately, Li Chenglu hadn’t spent all this time here in vain.

She went directly to the front and had a few words with the girl distributing queue numbers, then waved to Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun from a distance.

"Come over!"

See, that’s what you call privilege.

Even though they had the privilege, being the focus of pointing fingers from the queue made Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun feel quite embarrassed.

He held the girl’s hand and quickly walked to the entrance, only relaxing after they were out of sight from the crowd outside.

"What’s your deal? You can’t possibly be a member here, right?"

"I interned nearby the year I graduated, ate here for a whole year," Li Chenglu explained in a way Bae Juhyun could understand, then turned to wave at the smiling woman behind the counter, "Sister Li, I’m here!"

"Chenglu, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? The private room is reserved for you, go right in."

"Got it, Sister Li. This is my childhood friend and this is his girlfriend."

Liu Xin’an politely greeted the owner, and Bae Juhyun took a look at her boyfriend, then quietly greeted in halting Chinese as well.

Since it was a place recommended by Li Chenglu, the taste was naturally impeccable.

This Chinese meal thoroughly excited Bae Juhyun. She had tried many cuisines, but Chinese food was quite rare for her.

First of all, she had only been to China a few times, and those few times were to participate in family concerts with her team.

With schedules that typically involved arriving one day and leaving the next, without a guide, they mostly ended up dining at the hotel.

Furthermore, finding authentic Chinese food abroad was rather difficult.

She didn’t have Chinese friends, so it was less likely for her to experience authentic Chinese cuisine.

The time she ate at Liu Xin’an’s house could be said to be her first real encounter.

Back then, she showed a keen interest in braised beef and sweet and sour pork.

But now that she was actually in Shanghai, in China, she was left stunned by the new Chinese dishes she was tasting.

None of the dishes on the table were ones she had seen before, and today, Li Chenglu didn’t order the braised beef or sweet and sour pork that she’d enjoyed.

"This is pine nut sea bass, this is white-cut chicken, this is crab tofu, and for the main course, I ordered you some fried noodles, is that okay?"

Li Chenglu introduced each dish and then signaled to Liu Xin’an to help with translation.

Liu Xin’an opened his mouth but ended up laughing wryly.

"How am I supposed to translate these dish names?"

Liu Xin’an’s helpless response made Bae Juhyun, who was busy taking photos with her phone, burst into laughter. She gently patted her boyfriend, then whispered, "So, it’s all delicious, right?"

"Yes, nothing too greasy for you."

As a fan, Li Chenglu was even more attentive than Liu Xin’an when it came to looking after Bae Juhyun.

She wouldn’t order anything too greasy or too spicy for Bae Juhyun.

This time, the chosen dishes had both salty and sweet flavors, ensuring they would satisfy Bae Juhyun’s taste buds.

"Didn’t you order sweet and sour spare ribs?" Liu Xin’an knew that Shanghai’s sweet and sour spare ribs were famous, and honestly, he craved them.

"Order it yourself." Li Chenglu was happy to take care of Bae Juhyun, but as for Liu Xin’an, he could fend for himself.

She didn’t care.

Scooping a spoonful of white crab tofu, Bae Juhyun’s eyes lit up.

"Is this tofu?"

"Yes, be careful, it’s hot."

Bae Juhyun nodded, cutely blew on the spoon, and put it into her mouth.

The salty and fresh taste burst in her mouth, her beautiful eyes widened, lips curled up, and she couldn’t stop exclaiming like on a variety show.

But it was indeed quite hot, so Bae Juhyun blew off the heat, pointed to the crab tofu, and gave a big thumbs-up without hesitation.

The long wait had not been in vain. Having an empty stomach all morning made this lunch particularly satisfying for her.

It was truly delicious.

Afterward, Bae Juhyun tried the other two dishes. The white-cut chicken was just average for her, but she really liked the sea bass.

She didn’t eat the fried noodles. Instead, she took a piece of pork rib and half a bowl of rice from Liu Xin’an, filling her stomach with the crab tofu.

Finally, after finishing a sip of cola, this incredibly satisfying lunch for Bae Juhyun was over.

"Indeed, it’s China. There’s so much delicious food."

It was only the second day, last night she had eaten xiao long bao, before that she had eaten braised beef and sweet and sour ribs with Liu Xin’an, and today she had the crab tofu she couldn’t stop praising.

What a pity that Seulgi didn’t come with her.

She thought that food-loving Kang Seulgi would be super interested in the cuisine here.

"This is just somewhat good Shanghai cuisine. Tomorrow, when Liu Xin’an goes to rehearsal, I’ll take you to eat Huaiyang cuisine!"

Li Chenglu beamed.

"You can take her wherever, but be careful not to expose her."

"Don’t worry, there’s no way I’d do something stupid like that."

Li Chenglu retorted, feeling she was being wronged. She was a fan!

Of course, she knew how important it was for Bae Juhyun to keep her identity hidden.

Even if she took Bae Juhyun out to play everywhere, she would be very careful to keep her identity a secret!

———

Big city activities were actually quite similar; without considering going to historical sites, there weren’t that many places to visit.

After taking Bae Juhyun around the city a few times and visiting several popular spots for photos, Li Chenglu drove the two back to the hotel.

It had been a long time since she had the leisure to wander around like this, which had drained Bae Juhyun’s energy early on.

As soon as she got back to the room, she lazily leaned on the sofa, unwilling to get up.

"How far is it from here to your home?"

Bae Juhyun had no concept of the size of China. She tilted her head and looked at Liu Xin’an who was sitting on the other side, curiously asking.

"Hmm," Liu Xin’an thought for a moment and replied, "About over a thousand kilometers."

"Over a thousand kilometers?"

"Yes, roughly five times the distance from Seoul to Daegu."

Bae Juhyun clicked her tongue, "Are you going home?"

Since it was rare to come back, didn’t Liu Xin’an think about going home?

"No rush, I’ll definitely go back during the New Year."

"New Year?... Oh right, there’s also New Year. When is the Chinese New Year?"

"Mid-February. By then, I should be going back for a few days."

"Oh..."

Bae Juhyun thought about her work at that time and sighed.

Well, she had no work then. Manager Kim said they’d have news about a comeback before March but knowing Manager Kim, the company wouldn’t reveal anything before the end of February.

The idle days would continue for a while.

She casually turned on the TV, found a variety show, cast it to the screen, and then put her slender legs across Liu Xin’an’s lap.

"I’m so tired today. It’s been a long time since I’ve walked this much."

Liu Xin’an gently massaged her calves, and since he was doing it over her pants, Bae Juhyun didn’t feel shy.

"Don’t you walk a lot during schedules?"

"No, we have cars, we don’t need to walk much."

Work busy and leisure busy were two different concepts and couldn’t be mixed together.

His hands massaging her calves gradually moved upwards, and Liu Xin’an remained expressionless, "Then let’s just watch a movie tonight, no need to go out."

"Hmm... either way, but if we go out, let me rest first."

There was another reason why this outing made her so tired.

It was the need to conceal her identity.

She had also traveled while working, filming group variety shows, but at those times she didn’t need to hide her identity.

She spent her leisure time recuperating, uninterested in running around.

It was her first time traveling during leisure without cameras.

She wanted to fully enjoy the scenery and also had to be cautious of being exposed.

The conflicting feelings made Bae Juhyun feel more exhausted than ever.

Luckily, at this time, Liu Xin’an’s excellent massage technique came in handy.

Her previously heavy legs gradually felt lighter under Liu Xin’an’s big hands.

The tops of her feet, hidden under white socks, arched slightly, her brows knitted tightly as she tried to suppress a moan from escaping her lips.

"Okay, okay, if you keep massaging, I’ll fall asleep."

"If you’re sleepy, take a nap. It’s just after five, you can eat dinner when you wake up."

"Hmm... Don’t we need to call Chenglu? She said she’d take me out for snacks."

"Don’t worry about it, you’re here for a few days anyway. One afternoon won’t make a difference."

Bae Juhyun acknowledged that Liu Xin’an had a point; what he said made sense.

Having thought it through, she yawned, got up, and although she had slept for a long time last night, she was getting sleepy again under Liu Xin’an’s massage.

"I’m going to take a nap. Explain to Chenglu for me."

Liu Xin’an nodded, watching as Bae Juhyun stood up, yawned lazily, and headed to the bedroom. After she closed the door, he stood up, looking at the nearby fridge with a mysterious smile.

About an hour later, there was a knock on Liu Xin’an’s door.

It was naturally Li Chenglu, who had agreed to go out for snacks in the evening.

"Where’s Irene?"

"She’s sleeping. She’s quite tired, so we won’t go out tonight. We’ll order some barbecue later."

Recently, he had been eating grilled meat so much that he terribly missed barbecue from back home.

Although it was winter, who said you couldn’t eat barbecue and drink beer in winter!

It was like the feeling of eating hot pot in the summer.

At first glance, it seemed nonsensical, but it was an absolutely enjoyable way to eat!

Li Chenglu didn’t overthink it and nodded.

"Alright, then I’ll go take a nap too. Call me later."

"Okay."

After sending Li Chenglu away, Liu Xin’an closed the door again.

He sat back on the sofa, continuing to play the video on the TV.

Tomorrow, if everything went well, he would definitely meet many streamers.

So at this moment, he was diligently giving three likes to his friends’ posts to avoid the embarrassment of them finding out they were mutual white freeloaders when they met tomorrow.

He had been caught last year, when some outgoing streamers visited him with a camera and made him open his liked posts list on camera.

Hmm...

It revealed he was a super freeloader.

That had embarrassed him for quite a while!