In the end, Kang Seulgi's idea of looking for Liu Xin'an never came to fruition.
Mainly because she didn't have a good excuse to go over, plus what her friends said made a lot of sense.
The job so close by made it impossible for her to be distracted by romance.
Yes, she was not like Bae Juhyun, who was now in a semi-retired state...
She had a lot of work that required her to run around.
The initial excitement quickly faded in her heart and eventually dissipated into nothing.
Kim Yerin was also quite disappointed. She really wanted to observe how Bae Juhyun and that guy Liu Xin'an interacted.
But it seemed there was no chance for that now.
Tonight's entertainment was still a movie.
Bae Juhyun yawned after watching for a while, rubbed her eyes, and got up from the sofa.
"I'm going to lie down first. You can keep watching."
Her place was big enough for all four of them to sleep.
Whoever got to the guest room first could have it. Those who didn't could deal with sleeping on the sofa.
Anyway, she was planning to sleep alone tonight. She'd lock her bedroom door in a bit.
After a quick wash, most of Bae Juhyun's drowsiness had disappeared. Looking at her big bed, she suddenly didn't feel like lying down.
So, she walked to the dressing room next to the bedroom, took a very warm coat, and opened the balcony door.
The familiar night view greeted her, and the quiet night relaxed her completely.
She sat in the familiar recliner, stretching lazily.
Because it was sheltered from the wind and the weather was calm tonight, she didn't feel cold even though the outdoor temperature was in single digits.
Wrapping herself in her coat, Bae Juhyun didn't bother to take out her phone.
After quietly sitting for more than ten minutes, she keenly heard a door open.
The sound didn't come from her bedroom, but from...
"Liu Xin'an?"
"Huh? Bae Juhyun? You're out here moon-gazing too?"
It had to be said, it was really a coincidence.
Liu Xin'an hadn't expected to run into his neighbor on the balcony tonight, especially since Bae Juhyun had friends over. Given the circumstances, she shouldn't have appeared here at this time.
"Don't you need to accompany your friends?"
"Uh... We're very close, so I don't need to accompany them."
"I see."
"Aren't you working? Doing those livestreams and such?"
Hearing Bae Juhyun's curious voice, Liu Xin'an chuckled, "There's a network issue. We'll get it fixed tomorrow."
"Network?"
"Seems to be a setup problem. I'm not great with this stuff, so today's stream ended early."
He had no choice. He wasn't a professional in this field. Messing around might break things further, so he gave himself a small break.
He had been working hard these days, posting videos, editing vlogs, and livestreaming daily.
Don't think that a video creator's life might be leisurely. When it gets busy, he really worked round the clock.
"Wouldn't your fans be very disappointed?"
Bae Juhyun could deeply relate to the feeling of being unable to work due to circumstances beyond her control.
She was feeling the same now...
Because she couldn't appear before her fans due to uncontrollable factors...
Every day at home or the dorms mindlessly passing time, it wasn't the life she wanted.
"Whether they're disappointed or not isn't my concern. I'm quite happy~"
Liu Xin'an's gleeful remark caught Bae Juhyun, who was in an emotional state, off guard.
The girl's breathing became a bit heavy.
"You are disrespecting your fans!"
"Everyone needs a break. Streaming every day is really exhausting."
"...Do you stream every day?" Bae Juhyun was momentarily stunned. She imagined Liu Xin'an to be like her, an artist.
Artists didn't need to be in front of their fans daily.
"Yes, in livestreaming, taking a break makes it very difficult to regain your previous popularity, so usually it can't be stopped."
It's not like taking a break leads to increased popularity. Though such instances exist, they're rare among streamers.
No one dared to stop, especially with a substantial audience.
Big streamers take about a day off per week. He belonged to that category.
"I see. So how many consecutive days have you been streaming?"
"Hmm, every day lately."
"Then you definitely need a break."
"Right~"
The upswing in Liu Xin'an's voice revealed his good mood.
Bae Juhyun laughed too. Though their professions were similar, there were still considerable differences between streamers and artists.
"By the way, can't you tell me your livestream account in China? I'm very interested in your streaming content."
"Eh? You want to watch?"
"Of course."
Bae Juhyun took out her phone. After Liu Xin'an had initially refused her, she researched how to download Chinese apps.
It wasn't that difficult, just needed a Chinese account.
She got up from the recliner, "Wait a moment, I'll get my iPad."
"Oh, okay."
Liu Xin'an was surprised by Bae Juhyun's proactiveness and agreed instinctively.
Quickly, Bae Juhyun's voice rang out from next door again.
"I've downloaded it! Is it the one with the English letters?"
"To verify, she even sent a screenshot to Liu Xin'an."
"Yes, that's the one."
"How do I search?"
Upon opening, the array of Chinese characters overwhelmed Bae Juhyun.
Liu Xin'an laughed, "Watching is fine, but my stream is in Chinese. You wouldn't understand it."
"Can't I just experience the atmosphere? I'm very curious about video creators."
"Sure, sure, hold on."
Given her initiative, he couldn't dismiss her.
It was clear that Bae Juhyun put effort into this. She even prepared an account.
"Hmm... Just follow the steps in the screenshot I sent. I've sent you my ID, just copy it."
Liu Xin'an sent Bae Juhyun a step-by-step, beginner-friendly tutorial.
Following Liu Xin'an's guidance, Bae Juhyun finally found Liu Xin'an's personal page.
The last video was his moving vlog, so Bae Juhyun immediately spotted his familiar face.
"Wow! There you are, I see your face!"
"..That sounds weird."
Hearing Bae Juhyun's excited voice, Liu Xin'an chuckled quietly.
Then, he heard his voice from the video.
"Wow! Why do you look different in the video than in real life?"
Hearing Bae Juhyun's curiosity, Liu Xin'an blushed.
"Well, generally you look fatter on camera than in real life."
"Hmm, I know. I mean, you look strange, not as natural as in real life?"
"Of course, you're facing the camera. Who can look natural in front of it?"
There's a difference between livestreaming and recording vlogs.
When livestreaming, he could be relaxed, but he couldn't achieve that when recording videos.
It's strange; he couldn't explain why.
Bae Juhyun didn't respond as she could naturally stay relaxed in front of the camera.
Ultimately, there was a difference between artists and video creators.
That's why in many events, even though artists and influencers were invited, artists often outshone influencers in demeanor.
The public scrutiny and pressure they faced couldn't be compared to one another.
After clicking on two more videos and understanding nothing, she realized this.
Her knowledge of Chinese was limited to "you" and "I" and other very basic words.
So understanding those videos wasn't realistic.
"I completely don't understand."
"Mm-hmm, I told you. Instead of watching mine, you could check out some famous YouTubers. Are you planning to be a streamer?"
"Ah? Hmm... not particularly, just curious about the profession."
"There's nothing special, it's not much different from being an ordinary person, though it's a highly competitive industry. With your looks, you could definitely be a beauty vlogger."
Liu Xin'an wasn't just flattering Bae Juhyun. Truthfully, her looks were top-tier.
"Beauty vlogger?"
"Yes, share your makeup tips, outfits, can you sing?"
"Ah? Uh... a bit."
"That's even better. Singing on livestreams, with your looks, wouldn't be hard to get famous if a good opportunity comes by."
Liu Xin'an had years of experience as a video creator and streamer, giving him insight.
Bae Juhyun pouted unsatisfied from the next door.
"Is looks the only way to attract people?"
"Don't think it's shallow. Appearance is the first impression someone has of another. Being pretty is your advantage, how could you not use it?"
Though his words were straightforward, they brought a genuine smile to Bae Juhyun's face.
Strangely, many had praised her beauty. Most times, she politely smiled and moved on.
But when Liu Xin'an complimented her, she couldn't help but smile genuinely.
Maybe... it's because Liu Xin'an's compliments came without the celebrity lens?
To him, she was just an ordinary person, Bae Juhyun, not the big star from Red Velvet.
"How about you, did you gain fame because of your looks?"
"Not really. I started showing my face on streams not too long ago."
"Eh? Then how did you become famous?"
Liu Xin'an organized his thoughts and briefly told Bae Juhyun about his journey over the past few years.
Bae Juhyun listened with great interest.
Time flew by as they chatted and laughed.