Celebrity Neighbor: My girlfriend is a big star?
Chapter 28. Wealthy lady Bae Juhyun

Chapter 28: 28. Wealthy lady Bae Juhyun

Bae Juhyun turned her head abruptly when she didn’t hear a response, her elegant long hair swinging out in a beautiful arc through the air.

Feeling a pair of beautiful eyes firmly fixed on himself, Liu Xin’an smiled awkwardly without any embarrassment.

"Where am I supposed to find a lunchbox?"

"Haah..." It was hard to tell if it was speechlessness or the desire to laugh, or perhaps it was laughter born out of sheer speechlessness; Bae Juhyun simply put a hand to her forehead and gave one of the lunchboxes she brought to Liu Xin’an.

There was indeed a refrigerator, although this refrigerator seemed to somewhat belie the name "refrigerator."

There was no need to mention the upper cooling section, which Liu Xin’an had already neatly stocked with drinks, beverages, and some snacks; it was the lower freezing section that truly rendered her speechless.

Empty, that’s right, this guy who couldn’t cook had never thought about storing food.

She hadn’t even seen a few packets of instant noodles.

The girl frowned and turned to look at the man who was only a few steps away from her.

"Are you planning to eat takeout for the next half year?"

"What else? I don’t know how to cook."

"At least you should have some instant noodles on hand, you can’t eat takeout every day."

Liu Xin’an was stunned for a moment; instant noodles... that’s what’s commonly referred to as ramen back home, right?

Even though in recent years there had been many debunking the myth that instant noodles are a particularly unhealthy junk food, his long-standing habits made it impossible for him to consider instant noodles as a normal meal.

"Uh... I just haven’t had the chance to shop yet."

"You’ve moved in for over a week now, right?"

"Work! Work has been busy!"

Liu Xin’an felt inexplicably guilty, mainly because the way Bae Juhyun frowned and scolded him was too imposing, as if she had done many similar things before.

Come to think of it, he still didn’t know what Bae Juhyun’s job was; with such authority in her words... she was probably part of the management in a company?

Otherwise, she definitely couldn’t afford a house in this area.

"Haah..." Bae Juhyun sighed and then said no more, mainly because she suddenly realized, why was she lecturing Liu Xin’an, of all people?!

The girl deliberately turned her back, not daring to let him see her already flushed cheeks.

She had unconsciously brought the way she lectured her younger sisters in the dormitory in front of Liu Xin’an...

But she was indeed older than Liu Xin’an; lecturing him... was certainly reasonable, right?

Then she suddenly felt less embarrassed and even became righteous and emboldened.

———

Since they had agreed not to drink alcohol that day, after the takeout arrived, both of them held a cup of cola in their hands.

Ice-cold cola was also very refreshing, especially after taking a big sip in the warm room.

The cold, tingling sensation made Bae Juhyun’s head swell a bit; she squinted her eyes and pressed her forehead with her wrist, and it took a while before she felt much better.

"How is it?"

Watching Liu Xin’an pick up a piece of the kimchi she had made by hand, a restored and hopeful Bae Juhyun cast an expectant glance at him.

Liu Xin’an wasn’t someone who liked to lie, and indeed, this batch of kimchi tasted much more refreshing than the one that came with the bibimbap a couple of days ago.

"It’s like night and day." He gave Bae Juhyun an unreserved thumbs up, and to show he wasn’t lying, he grabbed another piece of kimchi, imitating Bae Juhyun’s method and ate it with rice.

The praise made the girl’s large eyes crinkle happily, and her lips, tinted with spicy sauce, curved into a smile, a sign of her good mood.

"Right? I’ll share some with you later. When you have time, buy some ramen. If you really don’t want to order takeout, cook a bag of ramen and pair it with this, it’s honestly perfect!"

Bae Juhyun happily shared her recipe with Liu Xin’an, then shoveled another spoonful of bibimbap into her mouth.

Bae Juhyun with her cheeks puffed out was incredibly adorable.

"Mmm, I’ll try it tomorrow."

"Ah~ if only we had a bit of soju now, it would be even more perfect."

Bae Juhyun still wanted to prove to this guy that she wasn’t someone who got drunk on two cans; she couldn’t stop thinking about her beloved soju, and then successfully elicited a speechless look from Liu Xin’an.

"Are you some kind of booze monster?"

"No, but don’t you think it feels great to have your head all fuzzy?" Bae Juhyun blinked lightly, her eyes seeking agreement.

But this time, Liu Xin’an did not cooperate.

On the contrary, as if he sensed something, he put down his chopsticks.

"Do you have some kind of trouble?"

That fuzzy feeling after drinking... wasn’t that the sensation of being drunk?

He admitted there were indeed people in the world who enjoyed the feeling of drunkenness, but he didn’t think the Bae Juhyun in front of him was one of them.

So, aside from that possibility, there’s only one reason that could make someone fond of that light and floating sensation.

That would be escaping reality, or perhaps it was that there were things in reality that were really bothering her.

Considering how Bae Juhyun said she was resting when they first met...

Now that they were close enough to have meals together at home, Liu Xin’an felt that he could tentatively ask Bae Juhyun about her private matters.

Of course, he wasn’t curious, he merely wanted to share some of the newfound friend’s burdens.

However, Liu Xin’an’s counterquestion was an answer Bae Juhyun had not anticipated.

She was initially stunned, then laughed again while waving her hand, "No, not at all."

"...Has your friend ever complained to you about how bad you are at lying?"

Liu Xin’an’s tone was odd, and while he wouldn’t claim to fully understand this new friend, he could still tell when someone was lying.

With her unnatural tone and expression, Bae Juhyun vividly illustrated what a person looks like when lying.

This time, it was Bae Juhyun’s turn to fall silent. The jerk was spot on—she always got caught by her sisters whenever she lied.

"Who doesn’t have bothersome issues, right?"

Since she was going to be found out anyway, Bae Juhyun chose to laugh it off and moved on from the topic.

Sensing this, Liu Xin’an didn’t press the issue further but merely picked up his cola to signify to the girl.

"If there’s something truly upsetting, I don’t mind being a quiet listener."

Having a listener when distressed was always better, Liu Xin’an had concluded for himself.

And this gentle statement nearly broke Bae Juhyun’s defenses. The girl bit her lower lip hard, trying to keep her composure, yet her eyes reddened slightly, and she pretended to be annoyed, scrunching up her nose.

"This is the time to use alcohol!"

Cola toasts are just not the same.

Liu Xin’an shrugged, "If you really want to drink, I wouldn’t mind joining you next time."

"Really? Soju?"

"Wow, just how committed are you to soju."

Lightened by Liu Xin’an’s joke, the gloomy mood Bae Juhyun had been in was swept away. She put down her cola with an air of arrogance, "I am a synonym for soju..."

"A synonym for what?"

"Synonym!"

Good thing she didn’t get too carried away.

But this abrupt halt made her remember something urgently.

That something was her endorsement of soju.

Fortunately, due to the scandal that had erupted not long before, her presence on television had significantly decreased. Otherwise... given soju’s high national popularity, Liu Xin’an would have recognized her from the ads by now.

Somewhat to her own surprise, Bae Juhyun felt a sense of relief...

"Is it really as good as you say? I’ll go buy some tomorrow and try it."

Liu Xin’an, piqued by Bae Juhyun’s enthusiasm, said so offhandedly.

Yet, these words sent the girl sitting across from him into a cold sweat.

Her pupils dilated slightly as she hastily slapped the table with both hands.

"No way!"

What a joke—her identity had been well concealed. If Liu Xin’an really went to a store to buy soju... and if, just if, they hadn’t taken down the posters with her picture, what then?!

She didn’t want to interact with Liu Xin’an as "Irene."

Moreover, she couldn’t guarantee that if he discovered her real identity, he would continue to treat her the same way as before...

If he started treating her with god-like reverence like the fans did, it would truly discomfort her.

"Huh?"

"You... You’re the guest! How can we let you buy? Let me treat you instead?"

"Uh... but aren’t you on a break right now..."

Subtext: You don’t have an income, better save your money.

They were both adults, and had both been in the world of fame and fortune for years—who couldn’t read between the lines?

Seeing this guy actually questioning her "wealth," Bae Juhyun dismissed it grandly, "No worries, I’ll cover the expense for your soju while you’re in our country! It’ll also serve as compensation for the inconvenience I’ve caused these past few days."

Liu Xin’an opened his mouth, utterly dumbfounded.

What’s up with this person?

Can someone get drunk on cola?