Celebrity Neighbor: My girlfriend is a big star?
Chapter 44. Teacher Kang begins to make arrangements

Chapter 44: 44. Teacher Kang begins to make arrangements

Liu Xin’an’s rather smooth exchange with Kang Seulgi wasn’t overheard by Bae Juhyun, who had just entered, for she was already captivated by the array of Chinese dishes spread out on the table.

Of course, she couldn’t name most of the dishes, but there were a few she was quite familiar with, the localized Chinese dishes.

These were specially ordered by Liu Xin’an, fearing the two might not be accustomed to traditional Chinese food.

Before she could shift her gaze away, the familiar voice of Kang Seulgi sounded from behind her.

"Wow! It looks so delicious!"

One of Kang Seulgi’s greatest passions in life was naturally, eating.

The table full of appetizing dishes instantly drew away all her attention, and she couldn’t help but covertly swallow her saliva as she approached the dining table.

She had come straight here with Bae Juhyun after finishing their practice.

At that moment, she was in a state of hunger.

"These should be some of the most authentic Chinese dishes I could find. Of course, if you aren’t used to them, we also have sweet and sour pork and breaded shrimp," explained Liu Xin’an.

While saying this, Liu Xin’an began to introduce the Chinese dishes that the two girls couldn’t name.

After all, inviting people for a meal, the embedded hospitality of the Huaxia people was on full display.

Bae Juhyun listened earnestly because it was her crush introducing the delicacies of his hometown, and of course, she wanted to show support.

As for Seulgi... well, she was just plain hungry.

After a brief introduction, the three of them took their seats.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Just eating seemed too dull, so Liu Xin’an also bought some drinks and stored them in the fridge.

Bae Juhyun’s eyes lit up, "How about soju!"

Today, she wasn’t planning to pretend to be drunk; she simply felt that such a lavish dinner without soju would be a waste.

However, Kang Seulgi had some understanding of Huaxia.

How could one possibly drink soju with authentic Chinese food?

"Do you have baijiu? Drinking baijiu with Chinese food might be more authentic, right?"

As the host, Liu Xin’an was rather stiff at the suggestion.

Were all friends of a drinker also drinkers?

"Uh... I didn’t prepare any baijiu, and it’s much stronger than soju."

"A lot stronger?"

"Baijiu is generally around 50 proof."

This exaggerated alcohol content startled both Bae Juhyun and Kang Seulgi.

"Then let’s stick with soju..."

"Mm-hmm."

Liu Xin’an nodded and stood up to head towards the fridge.

While Liu Xin’an was away grabbing the drinks, Kang Seulgi took the brief opportunity to tease Bae Juhyun with a nudge of her elbow.

"He’s so considerate, isn’t he, Juhyun?"

Indeed, the new slippers ready in advance, the carefully prepared Chinese meal, and even the selection of dishes that considered the girls’ preference for less oily food—all of it had been thoughtfully chosen by Liu Xin’an.

Hearing the unguarded praise from her close younger sister for Liu Xin’an, a faint sense of pride washed over Bae Juhyun.

She didn’t get too smug, but the smile that appeared on her face to some extent betrayed her mood.

Only... this bright smile turned to bewilderment as a pop-can of Coke was placed in front of her.

In front of Liu Xin’an was a bottle of soju, and the same in front of Kang Seulgi.

As for her?

Coke?

For a moment, she wondered if Liu Xin’an didn’t respect her.

But when she looked at him with dissatisfaction, he gave a response that left her speechless.

"You got drunk from just one bottle yesterday."

This piece of information, loaded with context, made Kang Seulgi’s mouth drop open in shock.

"I... okay, fine."

Bae Juhyun sipped her Coke with a sulky pout, resting her cheek in her hand.

If only she’d known not to pretend to be drunk yesterday... now she couldn’t even drink.

Luckily, Liu Xin’an knew that Bae Juhyun liked to drink; after all, the two of them had already gathered to eat and drink three times.

And every time, she had gotten completely wasted...

Not a bottle, but a glass would still be okay.

Liu Xin’an poured a glass from his bottle of soju and pushed it in front of Bae Juhyun.

Watching as her expression brightened up again, Liu Xin’an shook his head helplessly, "A glass should be okay for you, right?"

"Don’t underestimate me, I can handle three bottles!"

Of course, Liu Xin’an flat-out ignored Bae Juhyun’s self-defense.

The first time he might have believed her.

The second time, he possibly still could have been swayed.

But now?

No matter what Bae Juhyun claimed, he wouldn’t believe she could handle three bottles.

"Seulgi, are you sure you can handle this bottle?"

"Seulgi?"

Before Kang Seulgi could respond, Bae Juhyun repeated "Seulgi," her face filled with confusion.

Liu Xin’an didn’t quite understand either, but Kang Seulgi suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Ah, isn’t Liu Xin’an a year older than me? It’s too troublesome to speak formally all the time, so I let him call me by my name."

Bae Juhyun nodded in understanding. While it made sense, somehow... hearing the person she liked calling another woman by her name intimately was somewhat uncomfortable for her.

After all, Liu Xin’an had never called her by her name like that.

But soon, Bae Juhyun realized an even more serious problem.

If Liu Xin’an called Kang Seulgi by her name, what did Kang Seulgi call Liu Xin’an...

Luckily, Kang Seulgi had anticipated this possibility.

"He told me I could just call him Liu Xin’an as well."

Quickly, before Bae Juhyun could say anything, Kang Seulgi hurriedly answered.

This brought great relief to Bae Juhyun.

The odd change in Bae Juhyun puzzled Liu Xin’an, as he was not so familiar with the culture here and didn’t understand what an affectionate "oppa" meant in this context.

"What’s wrong?"

Sensing Bae Juhyun’s mood swing, Liu Xin’an asked, puzzled, nearly causing Kang Seulgi, who was picking up food, to twitch her hand.

Bae Juhyun just shook her head, pretending that nothing was the matter.

"I’m fine."

"So, Seulgi, can you drink this? If you can’t handle it, we still have soft drinks at home."

"Ah! I’m fine, I can totally handle one bottle!" Kang Seulgi shook her head; her tolerance for alcohol... well, to be honest, she hadn’t yet figured out her limit because she had never been completely drunk before.

And naturally, one bottle of soju was nothing to her.

Hearing Kang Seulgi’s confident response, Liu Xin’an subconsciously glanced at Bae Juhyun.

As it happened, he and Bae Juhyun met each other’s eyes.

The sight of Bae Juhyun’s radiant smile that made his heart race caused him to quickly avert his gaze.

He couldn’t pinpoint what was odd, but he could sense that she was different from usual.

———

A few sips of the cold soju, and Liu Xin’an and Kang Seulgi had become much more familiar with each other during their second encounter.

"Speaking of which, Juhyun said you’re a video blogger. Doesn’t it get tiring to stream every day?"

"It depends. I’m one of those people who turned their passion into a job, so streaming games doesn’t feel like a burden to me. But sometimes, the fans do things that really give me a headache."

Liu Xin’an spread his hands and smiled as he replied, and his words struck a chord with Bae Juhyun and Kang Seulgi.

Being public figures themselves, they were all too familiar with this feeling.

However, Bae Juhyun had not yet revealed her identity, so they couldn’t show that they related to the sentiment.

Still, to be frank, if these two really did end up together in the future, there were some things that would be unavoidable no matter what.

Bae Juhyun’s identity would inevitably be known.

Now that this older sister knew she had feelings for Liu Xin’an, as a close younger sister and a good friend for ten years, Kang Seulgi felt it was necessary to inquire on behalf of her friend in advance.

As for what to ask... it was naturally about Liu Xin’an’s view on celebrities.

"Getting back to our conversation, your job seems pretty similar to being a celebrity, huh~"

Kang Seulgi suddenly steered the conversation towards celebrities and stars, which caught Bae Juhyun, quietly eating, off guard. She quickly nudged Kang Seulgi under the table with her hand, trying to signal Seulgi not to speak recklessly.

But Kang Seulgi pretended not to notice and looked at Liu Xin’an curiously.

Liu Xin’an, oblivious to the intimate interactions between the two girls under the table, shook his head with a clear sense of his limits: "There’s quite a big difference. I can’t sing, dance, or act. At most, I can just play games."

"But you’re really handsome! There have been several variety shows recently inviting non-celebrities; you might even get an offer to participate in one if you hang around these parts."

Kang Seulgi gleefully guided the conversation, while Bae Juhyun under the table kept pinching Kang Seulgi’s thigh harder.

Fortunately for Kang Seulgi, Bae Juhyun wasn’t very strong, plus Seulgi had high tolerance for pain.

After trying for a bit longer, Bae Juhyun gave up.

She knew Kang Seulgi wouldn’t do anything reckless, so she stopped worrying and listened intently, wondering why Seulgi would suddenly bring up this topic.

"Please don’t. I attended an awards ceremony hosted by our website last year and there were many celebrities there. After that, I knew I would probably never become a celebrity in my life."

His words rang true. For someone like Liu Xin’an, who couldn’t help using foul language during his streams, becoming a celebrity would be problematic... one slip with profanity on a show, and he’d likely be carried away the next day.

"Why not?"

"Well... it just feels really distant. You might not understand, but I guess running into celebrities isn’t such a rare occurrence here, right?"

In his homeland, many people might never encounter a celebrity in their lifetime.

But in this small country, especially this city... meeting a celebrity wasn’t a difficult affair.

Liu Xin’an’s comments left Kang Seulgi unsure of how to react, so she sneakily glanced at Bae Juhyun, relieved to see she wasn’t showing any signs of surprise.

"It’s indeed not a difficult thing – if you stay here long enough, you’ll see it’s not hard to meet celebrities."

"I even saw something on my way here. It looked like they were filming some variety show."

"Oh? They were filming here?"

"Yes, right by the entrance, they didn’t come into the community."

"Ah... that might have just been a passing thing."

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