Bae Juhyun, familiar with variety shows, was very clear about what kind of atmosphere this was.
She could almost see a pink aura bubbling between her and Liu Xin'an.
However, compared to her, someone very accustomed to variety shows, Liu Xin'an was much more clueless.
All he did was to cast a puzzled look at Bae Juhyun, apparently wondering why the girl had suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence.
"What's up with us?"
"Nothing, all is good, cheers!"
Bae Juhyun cut off the topic and picked up a water bottle to gesture towards Liu Xin'an.
Liu Xin'an laughed out loud, thinking since when do people clink water bottles as if they were toasting with alcohol?
"Are you leaving again in the next few days?"
Bae Juhyun nodded, propping her chin with one hand, curiously watching Liu Xin'an.
"Why, will you miss me?"
"Of course, after all, you're pretty much the only friend I have around here. Who's going to have meals with me when you're gone?"
"Come on, you could ask that beauty who showed you her phone earlier."
"Hmm... that's true."
Liu Xin'an thought it over and realized it was indeed the case. With some time on his hands in the next days, he could meet up with Snow Cat to make a video. With more followers, he could help bring traffic to her as a way of returning the favor for the 1000sc she had tipped a few days ago.
Bae Juhyun hadn't expected Liu Xin'an to agree so quickly. After a moment of surprise, she speared a piece of sausage with her chopsticks and bit into it forcefully.
After more idle chit-chat, time had unknowingly reached midnight.
During this time, Bae Juhyun kept sneaking glances at her phone, worried that her sisters would find out she had sneaked out—now that would be difficult to handle.
Liu Xin'an was unaware of this, but he noticed Bae Juhyun's actions and asked with a smile, "Waiting for a phone call?"
"Hm? No, not at all."
Bae Juhyun put her phone aside and continued to pick at her favorite foods with her chopsticks.
"You've been looking at your phone; I thought maybe you were waiting for a call."
"Who would call at this time, are they mad?"
It was already midnight, and although the nightlife here was rich, who in their right mind would make calls at such a late hour?
Since idle chat wasn't getting anywhere, Liu Xin'an turned his gaze to the TV on the wall.
"How about a movie? Do you have any favorites... ah, forgot you don't like celebs."
Bae Juhyun was about to mention her favorite movie, but upon hearing Liu Xin'an's comment, her expression stiffened, and then she forced herself to answer, "It's not that I don't like celebs entirely, I still have movies that I like."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Yeah, are you interested?"
Liu Xin'an nodded but glanced at the time again.
It was past midnight, and if they were to watch a movie now, Bae Juhyun would probably get home around one or two in the morning.
"It's okay for you to go back late?"
Bae Juhyun nodded; to be honest, she was eager to stay a bit longer.
At least until she was certain that her sisters were asleep, then she could go home.
Otherwise, if she went home now, with how lively the girls were at her house, she didn't think the sound of her opening the door would go unnoticed.
"Hmm, then you pick one."
Liu Xin'an handed the remote control to Bae Juhyun.
She took it, thought for a moment, and then first looked at Liu Xin'an.
"Can you get me a bowl?"
As she spoke, the girl flashed her signature perfect smile.
Asked by a beauty like that, even Liu Xin'an who was somewhat slow on the uptake would definitely be willing to help.
He stood up, cheerfully heading into the kitchen to fetch a bowl for Bae Juhyun.
Once Liu Xin'an had left, Bae Juhyun quickly turned on the TV, searching for her favorite movie.
What she feared most was turning on the TV and having something pop up that would reveal her identity.
She thought of everything!
———
The spicy chicken feet turned the girl's tender lips a shade redder.
She looked at the beer in Liu Xin'an's hand; this was his second can already.
After spending so much time together, she had completely let down her guard against Liu Xin'an.
After all, if he had any untoward intentions, there was no way she could run now.
She still had a lot of trust in Liu Xin'an.
The icy water didn't do much to alleviate the intense spiciness, and as luck would have it, the chicken foot she was eating was the spiciest one.
The sound of her sharp intakes of breath drew Liu Xin'an's attention away from the movie.
He glanced curiously at Bae Juhyun and immediately noticed her eyes misting over with tears.
The girl's continuous gasps for air coupled with the tears made Liu Xin'an annoyingly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, got a chili?"
Bae Juhyun couldn't speak and angrily inhaled sharply, also not forgetting to smack Liu Xin'an with the back of her hand in frustration.
Her hand was covered with red oil, and if she smacked him, his clothes would be ruined—she didn't want to end up washing them for him.
After laughing for a while, Liu Xin'an had had his fill of amusement and looked at Bae Juhyun's empty water bottle. He stood up.
"I'll get you some water."
"Alcohol..."
"Hmm? You want to drink? Can you handle your liquor?"
Liu Xin'an's doubtful gaze annoyed Bae Juhyun greatly. No matter what, she could handle three bottles of soju; what was one can of beer to her?
"Sss, go grab it, I'm dying from the spiciness."
"Okay, okay."
Liu Xin'an didn't refuse again, since the girl wanted to drink, he'd let her, he wasn't a petty person.
Soon, Liu Xin'an reappeared in front of Bae Juhyun with a can of beer, opened it in front of her, and handed it over.
Bae Juhyun unceremoniously took a big gulp, not until her pretty lips were covered in the spillover of foam did she put down the can, then she burped subconsciously, and her little face instantly turned red.
"Feeling better?"
Liu Xin'an didn't laugh at her but looked at her with concern.
Bae Juhyun nodded, placed the beer down but soon picked it up again, a face full of curiosity.
"This isn't beer from our country, is it?"
The taste was different from the local beer she usually drank; theirs was less stimulating and went down smoother, whereas the beer Liu Xin'an gave her had a crisper kick.
Especially the instant chill of the beer as it went down, that invigorating feeling that seemed to sweep through her whole body, it was difficult for her to control the bubbles rushing up from her stomach.
That's why she couldn't help but burp.
Ah~ So embarrassing!
"Um, I air freighted it over, u8, the beer from our side, what do you think?"
"It's okay."
Bae Juhyun took another sip, and finally managed to suppress that irritating spiciness.
She glanced at the chicken feet with a bit of lingering fear, then showed a hint of regret.
Noticing her cute expression, Liu Xin'an smiled and picked up a chicken foot: "I'll eat it, I don't mind the spiciness."
Bae Juhyun huffed lightly, then turned her attention to the other snacks.
The movie was still playing, Bae Juhyun had watched it many times before, but it was Liu Xin'an's first time.
Whether it was the characters or the plot, everything was fresh to him.
As he was getting absorbed, he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.
Turning his head, Bae Juhyun's beautiful face unexpectedly appeared in front of him.
"What is it?"
"Do you have more?"
Bae Juhyun picked up the nearly empty beer can, giving it a little shake.
The absence of beer clanking against the sides of the can made Liu Xin'an a bit startled.
He had bought u8 with 500ml per large can; although not very potent with only 8% alcohol by volume, drinking two of these could still make one tipsy.
"You aren't tipsy, are you?"
"Tipsy?"
Bae Juhyun didn't understand what he meant and asked in confusion.
Liu Xin'an looked at Bae Juhyun's sober expression and shrugged: "I mean, you aren't drunk, right?"
"How could I be drunk after just one can."
"Well then, I'll pause this and go get you another one."
"Okay."
Bae Juhyun picked up the remote and pressed the pause button, then naturally crossed her legs while sitting on the couch, flip-flops aside.
She raised her hand to untie her ponytail, let her hair hang loose by shaking her head, then tied it back up into a topknot using the hair tie from her wrist.
If her familiar friends like Kang Seulgi were present, they would recognize this as a sign Bae Juhyun was getting buzzed.
Who would have guessed that the ordinarily gentle and well-behaved Bae Juhyun could become so unrestrained once alcohol was involved?
Liu Xin'an obviously didn't know this.
When he returned with more beer for Bae Juhyun, he was immediately astonished by her new look.
The girl with thick hair and a perfect face shape suited the topknot extremely well.
Not to mention Bae Juhyun had a small face to begin with.
Plus, her very fair skin, Liu Xin'an felt a flutter of attraction for a moment.
"Wow, that hairstyle really suits you."
Bae Juhyun smiled, picked up the beer, and cheerfully toasted with Liu Xin'an.
"Cheers~"
This time it wasn't a toast with water and beer.
The clinking of beer with beer brightened Liu Xin'an's mood even further.
How could alcohol be absent from adult socializing?
The two sat side by side, watching the movie Bae Juhyun had seen many times.
Because it was new to him, Liu Xin'an was quite interested in the movie and watched with concentration.
Besides chatting with Bae Juhyun every now and then and clinking glasses, he was captivated by the film.
The movie was two hours long, and after an intense storyline in the middle, Liu Xin'an finally emerged from the world of the film, and as he turned to discuss the plot with Bae Juhyun, he was flabbergasted to see the girl half-lying on the couch, sleeping sweetly.
Her cream-colored jacket that she'd discarded laid aside, and her pinkish white T-shirt did not fully conceal the girl's skin.
The smooth glimpse of her arm and a sliver of her bare waist caused an empty feeling in Liu Xin'an's heart.
He quickly averted his eyes, took a deep breath, and paused the movie.
How did she suddenly fall asleep?
"Bae Juhyun?"
He softly called her name but only got a mumbled murmur in response.
"Mmm..."
Liu Xin'an showed an embarrassed smile.
She seemed to have fallen asleep from the alcohol.