Celebrity Neighbor: My girlfriend is a big star?
Chapter 45. Liu Xin’an’s First Love

Chapter 45: 45. Liu Xin’an’s First Love

"Hmm? You know about it?"

Kang Seulgi’s response piqued Liu Xin’an’s curiosity. He was a fellow countryman and was fairly curious about the lives of celebrities.

After all, the profession of a celebrity was completely foreign to him, and people often become curious about things they are unfamiliar with.

"No, just that I’ve seen it often, so maybe I’m not that surprised anymore."

When it came to lying, Kang Seulgi was much more natural than Bae Juhyun.

While the latter might get nervous or blush when telling a lie, Seulgi seemed quite normal.

"Is that so? By the way, both of you are so beautiful, don’t you ever get approached by talent scouts when you’re out? Like, to offer you roles in movies or something?"

Bae Juhyun nervously took a sip of her cola, but perhaps due to her nervousness, she accidentally choked on it.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The severe coughing interrupted the casual conversation between Liu Xin’an and Kang Seulgi. Bae Juhyun, her little face wrinkled in anguish, made Liu Xin’an rise to his feet instinctively.

He quickly grabbed a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to Bae Juhyun’s lips.

This action once again caused Kang Seulgi’s eyes to widen. Normally, isn’t water handed to someone’s hand? Why did he bring the water directly to Bae Juhyun’s lips?

The coughing Bae Juhyun didn’t think too much about it and took a big gulp of water. Finally, she suppressed the unstoppable cough.

"Feeling better?"

"Um..."

"No one’s rushing you; take your time."

"Hmph."

After catching her breath, Bae Juhyun hummed softly.

Liu Xin’an placed the bottle of water in front of Bae Juhyun.

It wasn’t until Liu Xin’an settled down again that he noticed Kang Seulgi’s strange look.

Only then did Liu Xin’an realize that his actions towards Bae Juhyun might have seemed somewhat intimate in the eyes of others.

In a flash, a shade of embarrassment crept onto Liu Xin’an’s fair face. After all, to him, Kang Seulgi was still someone he’d met only twice and didn’t know very well.

"Cough, well, she looked rather uncomfortable."

"Eh? I haven’t said anything yet."

Kang Seulgi, with perfect timing, answered with feigned confusion.

Liu Xin’an exhaled in relief. His action was also instinctive. Perhaps it was because he had taken care of Bae Juhyun so many times in the past few days that he had developed muscle memory?!

Habits are indeed scary.

Bae Juhyun, who realized what happened later, was sipping her mouth joyously, trying hard not to let her elated mood show on her face.

Fortunately, Bae Juhyun’s coughing incident had steered the conversation away from the unwelcome topic of celebrities.

But Kang Seulgi’s intention had not yet been achieved. She took a bite of her greens, contemplating how to steer the conversation back.

Today, she must find out from Liu Xin’an what his true attitude towards celebrities was.

If he revealed that he disliked or even hated celebrities... She felt that Bae Juhyun should weigh whether she should continue developing a relationship with Liu Xin’an.

Although from the interactions during this period, Liu Xin’an had made quite a good impression on her, seeming both attentive and gentle, not too different from how Bae Juhyun described him.

But who could say for sure what someone is like in reality?

It’s always good to be cautious.

The meal continued, and it has to be said, authentic Chinese cuisine indeed had a unique charm. At least for Bae Juhyun and Kang Seulgi, who rarely encountered authentic Chinese food, it was a very fresh experience.

Kang Seulgi even noted the hand-shredded cabbage in her memo, planning to order it when she was hungry in the future.

All vegetarian, delicious, and seemed very healthy.

Seeing how popular Chinese food was, Liu Xin’an also heaved a sigh of relief.

"How is it? Does it suit your taste?"

"This is really super delicious."

Kang Seulgi, very supportive, pointed to the plate of hand-shredded cabbage that she had almost entirely claimed for herself, her face full of appreciation.

Bae Juhyun also nodded in agreement; she liked the braised beef in particular...

Especially the beef that was tender to just the right degree, it was simply perfect.

"Ah~ I’ve eaten too much. I have to train extra hard tomorrow... Ah!"

Kang Seulgi patted her belly contentedly and then cheerfully started to speak, but she was interrupted mid-sentence by a kick from Bae Juhyun at her side.

"Extra training?"

Kang Seulgi was quick to respond: "Because I’ve been working out lately. If my coach finds out I ate so much today, I’ll definitely be scolded to death tomorrow."

"Oh! Then you really should eat less."

Liu Xin’an, who was also a fitness enthusiast, could very well relate to Kang Seulgi’s feelings.

He himself had hired a fitness coach at the beginning, but he didn’t like the feeling of being constrained by the coach, so afterward he chose to train independently.

Kang Seulgi’s eyes gleamed as she turned to Bae Juhyun with a playful grin: "That annoying guy hasn’t been harassing you these past few days, right, Juhyun?"

Bae Juhyun was caught off guard by the abrupt change in topic and took a while to understand who Kang Seulgi was referring to as "that annoying guy."

"Uh...no, I’ve been quite well-behaved these past few days,"

"That’s good. Since you’ve changed your phone, you might as well change your number too, Liu Xin’an! Please pay more attention from now on, that guy is really annoying!"

Liu Xin’an nodded, Bae Juhyun had now completely become a friend he acknowledged, especially after she came to explain to him with tears in her eyes.

How could he not reciprocate sincere friendship to such a pretty girl who valued him so?

"Describe the person who’s bothering you, I’ll keep an eye out."

"Uh..." This time both girls fell silent.

Bae Juhyun looked at her close friend who had dragged her into this mess with a mix of sorrow and anger.

"He’s not very tall, and not good-looking at all...in short, he’s just a sleazy guy!"

Kang Seulgi began to blather on.

Hearing Kang Seulgi’s description, Liu Xin’an remained silent.

"...then where does he get his confidence from?"

If he was really like what Kang Seulgi described, Liu Xin’an was genuinely curious as to how such a man dared to pursue Bae Juhyun, a girl who seemed to be exceptional both in looks and family background.

Rich?

"That’s why I said he’s an annoying guy." Kang Seulgi said with a disgusted face, and after finishing, she even nodded meaningfully.

Liu Xin’an didn’t doubt too much but made a note of the person’s characteristics.

If he ever encountered such a suspicious person in the elevator or near his home, he would keep an eye out for Bae Juhyun.

"Eh? By the way, Liu Xin’an, are you single right now?"

Kang Seulgi suddenly came up with an interesting idea.

Having had a few drinks and gotten along well with Liu Xin’an, she had by now completely forgotten the warning Bae Juhyun had given her before coming.

And at her sister’s words, a bad premonition rose in Bae Juhyun’s heart.

Though she didn’t know what Kang Seulgi intended to say, she still put on a fake smile and gently patted Kang Seulgi’s shoulder.

An invisible pressure enveloped Kang Seulgi’s entire body, which made her shiver at the thought of suggesting Liu Xin’an pretend to be Bae Juhyun’s boyfriend.

Looking at Liu Xin’an’s puzzled expression, Kang Seulgi chuckled nervously, "I just feel you’re quite attentive; girls must like you a lot, right?"

She caved, okay?

However, this topic was something Bae Juhyun was also curious about.

She herself had never been in a relationship, and although she had watched plenty of melodramatic romance dramas, real love was still an unknown territory for her.

She couldn’t imagine herself in the process of interacting with a love interest.

But at the same time, she greedily hoped that her future other half would be a "newbie" in love, just like herself, with no prior experience either.

Now that the man who truly captivated her heart had appeared, how could she not be curious about his past?

After pretending to be drunk yesterday and scouting Liu Xin’an’s bedroom, she wondered if she could find some old photos or something similar.

Shouldn’t everyone have photo albums?

Liu Xin’an was surprised to be suddenly asked this question.

He leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, and then decided to answer honestly.

There was no need to lie about it, and he knew he was handsome; claiming he wasn’t popular at all would seem like a pretense.

"Before becoming an up, back in university, I was quite popular,"

Kang Seulgi, sensing the scent of gossip, first glanced surreptitiously at Bae Juhyun, who was listening very intently, confirming that she didn’t see any dangerous expression on her face before she mustered up her courage.

"And then? What happened after that?"

"Then after graduation, I became an up host. The life of a video blogger is pretty dull—a cycle of shooting material, editing, shooting material, editing. No time to meet someone new of the opposite sex."

"...So, you’ve never been in a relationship?"

Bae Juhyun couldn’t hide her excitement and suddenly interjected.

Perhaps Bae Juhyun’s sudden speaking, after being quiet for the whole meal, surprised Liu Xin’an, so he didn’t notice the strange "also" in her words.

Regarding Bae Juhyun’s question, Liu Xin’an eventually shook his head under her expectant gaze.

"No, that’s not it. I dated a senior for a while in my first year of college...but it didn’t last long before she dumped me."

"What? Dumped? Why?"

Compared to the somewhat disappointed Bae Juhyun, Kang Seulgi, a simple onlooker, was just plainly shocked.

Such a thoughtful and gentle handsome guy...

Wait a second.

Kang Seulgi suddenly realized something quite amiss.

She came today more as a reference, to see if Liu Xin’an acted differently with her compared to how he acted with Bae Juhyun, to deduce whether Liu Xin’an felt the same way about Bae Juhyun.

So far, Liu Xin’an indeed seemed to take more care of Bae Juhyun, but it could also be because he was closer to her.

In other words, if this guy really had no feelings for Bae Juhyun yet still acted so gently and considerately... wouldn’t that make him a central air conditioner type of guy?!

Such people are the ones most likely to cheat in a relationship!