2. A Close Beginning

A small misunderstanding invisibly made two completely strangers feel less awkward.

Especially the girl, her profession required her to interact with people from all walks of life, so she was somewhat confident in her ability to read people.

But seeing the man in front of her displaying an awkward expression that did not seem feigned, coupled with his indeed strange accent, the girl, feeling a bit tentative, recalled the few phrases of Chinese she had learned.

"Nǐ hāo?"

Hearing the familiar mother tongue, Liu Xin'an was slightly surprised and smiled as he corrected her, "It's nǐ hǎo, not nǐ hāo."

"Nǐ hǎo?"

"Nǐ hǎo."

"Nǐ hǎo?"

"That's right."

The brief exchange convinced the girl that the person in front of her was indeed a... foreigner, completely oblivious to her.

However...

A foreigner, huh...

Now, aside from her fans, are only foreigners blissfully unaware of her the ones not giving her weird looks?

They're bound to find out sooner or later...

She thought he probably wasn't much different from all those people.

Liu Xin'an was oblivious to the struggle going on inside the girl's mind, but his observant nature allowed him to notice the sudden dimming of the girl's radiant smile.

Although he didn't understand her fully, the naturally sociable Liu Xin'an, who effortlessly mingled and boasted an impressive social flair, suddenly spoke up, "I don't know what's troubling you, but that smile you had earlier suits you much better."

After saying this, Liu Xin'an smiled, waved his hand, bowed slightly, then turned around to leave, leaving the girl standing there, completely astonished by his words.

It wasn't until the sound of the neighbor's door closing that the girl awkwardly curled her toes while standing at the door.

This... what a weirdo.

Sexual harassment?!

———

He definitely couldn't start broadcasting right after moving in, especially since he had promised his fans he would take some time to travel. His sudden rise to fame meant that he wasn't lacking in popularity or money. Seeing how his looks could bring in so much income, Liu Xin'an naturally chose to develop in all directions.

Who would complain about having too much money?

Nowadays, he would stream daily, produce videos, and enjoy life in his free time, even making vlogs about it, which also allowed him to expand into new fields. It was undoubtedly a decision that killed two... no, even three birds with one stone.

Effortlessly opening his fan club chat, Liu Xin'an briefly explained the current situation, then ignored the replies filled with fan exclamations, turned off his phone, and lazily sprawled out on the sofa.

It was his first day here; he couldn't say whether he was adjusted or not. But at least for the moment, Liu Xin'an felt that life here wasn't too bad.

His nap stretched into the evening, and hunger woke Liu Xin'an from his slumber. The pitch-black room made it hard to discern the time.

After finally fumbling for his phone, Liu Xin'an checked the time.

"Eight o'clock already..."

Mumbling to himself, Liu Xin'an touched his flat stomach and then opened the food delivery app.

The takeout industry here was nowhere near as developed as back home, even though phone ordering services here were introduced earlier than in his home country.

He had no aversion to Korean food—his mom would often cook it for him at home, so he didn't have to worry about the food disagreeing with him.

After ordering a pork cutlet meal, Liu Xin'an turned on the lights and the 75-inch TV on the living room wall.

The TV started to play some variety shows that he had seldom watched before.

It was odd, considering his mother was Korean, and he had learned Korean from her influence, but he just wasn't interested in Korean entertainment stars.

So everything playing on the TV was unfamiliar to him.

But unfamiliar meant novel.

Being completely clueless was the fairest standpoint from which to judge the show's quality.

After watching for about twenty minutes, Liu Xin'an chose to cast a TV drama from his phone to the screen.

The moment the familiar music of "My Own Swordsman" began, the doorbell rang, attracting his attention.

He glanced at his phone, puzzled, "So fast?"

Then, he stood up, slipped on his shoes, and lazily shuffled to the door, not bothering to check the peephole before opening it.

"Hard work, ah—eh?"

The person ringing his doorbell wasn't the delivery person he was expecting but the petite girl from across the hall.

It was the same beautiful face that he couldn't help but admire.

But now, she looked troubled, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

After observing for a moment, Liu Xin'an took the initiative and asked, "Do you need my help with something?"

Having her thoughts read made the girl even more embarrassed, and a faint blush spread across her fair cheeks.

"Hmm... could you help me change a ceiling light? I..."

Well, she couldn't reach it.

The apartment's ceilings were mostly around three meters high, making them quite tall.

Even standing on a chair and stretching, she couldn't touch the ceiling.

In such a case, changing a ceiling light in the living room was indeed troublesome.

Seeing the girl's awkward expresssion, Liu Xin'an understood what she meant. He was indeed outgoing, but he wasn't socially inept.

Talking about someone's physical shortcomings in front of them was surely a foolish act, so he smiled, nodded, and agreed to help.

"Sure, do you have a spare fixture at home?"

"Um, yes, it's a little troublesome, but thank you." Xin'an apologized.

"It's no big deal."

Liu Xin'an spread his hands, put on his shoes, and followed the girl out of his apartment, quickly arriving at her door.

The girl used her body to block Liu Xin'an's view, quickly entered her password, and then closed the cover of the lock before stepping inside.

Liu Xin'an stood at the doorway. He guessed the girl probably lived alone, so he said in a friendly tone, "You can leave the door open, I'm not a bad guy."

The girl's cheeks flushed red again, embarrassed at being read so easily. She felt inadequate; needing help and yet worrying about if the other person might do something bad...

"Sorry... to trouble you."

The girl bowed deeply, a perfect gesture of her embarrassment and guilt. Liu Xin'an entered, took off his shoes at the entrance, put on the slippers the girl handed him, and then stood up to observe her living space, which had the same layout as his but a completely different style.

The broken light was the ceiling light in the living room, and since the lights in the entranceway and hallway were working, he could easily get a good look at the room.

The overall decor favored a warm color scheme, with several cute ornaments on the shoe cabinet by the door and two pairs of flats, along with a pair of high heels underneath it.

Looking around a girl's house wasn't in line with his upbringing. Liu Xin'an quickly averted his gaze and turned to the girl.

"You lead the way."

"Okay."

Perhaps it was the "safe" aura exuding from Liu Xin'an that helped the girl act a lot more naturally than when she was being cautious at first.

She led the way ahead, and they soon arrived in the living room.

The style in the living room was similar to the previous decor, but the pitch-black surroundings made it impossible for Liu Xin'an to see everything at a glance.

The girl took out her phone, turned on the flashlight function, and shone it towards the ceiling.

"It's this one here, can you reach it?" she asked.

Liu Xin'an raised his hand, estimated the height and then asked, "Do you have a taller chair?"

"Yes, I do."

The girl nodded, turned around, and went into the kitchen. She soon came back with a chair.

It was a taller chair, but not particularly high.

Liu Xin'an estimated again and took the chair from the girl.

He placed it under the ceiling light, stepped onto it with his long legs, and then tiptoed slightly. He successfully touched the ceiling.

"This will do. Where's the spare ceiling light?"

"Ah! It's in the storeroom, please wait a moment; I'll get it!"

Sensing that the problem which plagued her was about to be solved, the girl's voice became cheerful, and her steps quickened.

After a short while, the girl came back with a new ceiling light.

It was a good thing she had a spare at home, or the living room would have remained in the dark.

Honestly, compared to professional repairmen or friends... she'd rather trust this foreigner who probably knew nothing about her.

She was a lousy person, so maybe it was excusable to ask for help while the other person was still unaware of her true nature, right?

Liu Xin'an took the new ceiling light, measured the distance, then looked down at the girl who was looking up at him.

"Uh, can you turn off the power?" he asked.

The girl's face turned completely red at his request. She quickly nodded with her lips tightly sealed, seemingly embarrassed by her oversight.

Indeed, it was obvious the power should be off when changing a light... How could she forget?

After the girl clicked off the main power switch, the house plunged into complete darkness.

Soon, a beam of light appeared; it was from the girl's phone, casting a bright glow.

The light shone onto the ceiling and the ceiling light fixture above.

Liu Xin'an, on his tiptoes, removed the faulty ceiling light and then mounted the new one in its place.

He used a screwdriver to secure it and finally, screwed on the light cover.

"Phew, go ahead and try turning it on."

"I'm turning the power back on. Make sure your hands aren't on the light, okay?" she asked.

"No, they're not. Go ahead and try it."

With a click, the living room was instantly bathed in light.

Liu Xin'an breathed a sigh of relief, then stepped down from the chair, stretching his shoulders that were a bit sore from holding his hands up.

The girl, visibly relieved by the bright ceiling light, beamed a radiant smile and hurriedly thanked Liu Xin'an with a bow, to which he casually waved off.

"We're neighbors; there's no need to be so formal. I can see you're living alone; feel free to call on me if you need any help in the future."

"I really appreciate it. Please wait here for a moment," the girl said gratefully and trotted back to the storeroom with her not-so-long legs.

She initially wanted to give her album as a token of her gratitude.

But...

Looking at her own fully made-up and exquisite face on the cover, the girl's initial excitement gradually subsided.

In the end, with a wry smile, she picked up a small decorative piece.

If possible...

She wanted to keep her identity a secret in front of him as much as possible.

It had been a long time since she felt such suspicion-free looks.