16. Strange development

When Liu Xin'an saw the message from Bae Juhyun, it had already been almost half an hour since Bae Juhyun sent it.

He glanced at the content she had sent, thought for a bit, and then replied.

"Do you also want to become a video blogger?"

Honestly, if Bae Juhyun really wanted to be a video blogger, he would have recommended that she start streaming instead.

With a face that even someone like him, an acknowledged beauty-chaser, couldn't help admiring, it would be a waste not to use it as a face-cam streamer.

But he wasn't sure if Bae Juhyun had any talents; if she could sing, that would be even better.

As for dancing...

He knew all too well what kind of people frequented the dance section of that niche site every day.

Normal people don't attract an audience with just their figure!

Like him, who had been better off as an anon up even though he had been exposed by now, and had even experienced a surge in popularity due to his commendable looks.

Honestly, he really wasn't one to talk...

From "Unread" to "Read" took less than a minute.

"Yes, quick tell me, I'll go check it out."

Liu Xin'an propped his chin on the desk, holding his phone with both hands, and continued typing.

"This is quite troublesome, you probably can't find the app I use in China using an account from over there in the store."

Perhaps she could find it, but he found it troublesome, remotely instructing a foreigner how to use a domestic app... it wasn't easy.

"Eh?"

"You should check out YouTube. There are lots of good bloggers there, and besides, I am a game blogger, my experience might not be helpful to you."

This time Bae Juhyun didn't reply again.

Liu Xin'an didn't bother waiting aimlessly, after checking for a few seconds and confirming Bae Juhyun had not replied, he thought for a bit and typed another line.

"I'm going to wash up, we'll chat whenever you're free!"

"Bye"

———

This was the last interaction Liu Xin'an had with Bae Juhyun within those two days.

For the following two days, Bae Juhyun completely disappeared from Liu Xin'an's life.

Whether it was on social media or the door of her neighbor's apartment, Bae Juhyun didn't show up even once.

Liu Xin'an didn't feel particularly unaccustomed, he was not a man short of friends, plus, his friendship with Bae Juhyun was just a few days old, so he didn't mind her disappearing from his world.

However, he still paid close attention to Bae Juhyun's front door during this time.

After all, Bae Juhyun had mentioned she wanted to hide for a while, and he knew her; under the premise that it wouldn't affect him, he could still help watch her front door.

Fortunately, the entrance to Bae Juhyun's house was very quiet these two days, as if her family members, referred to by her, had not visited at all.

By the time he came out of the gym, it was already very late.

Liu Xin'an flexed his slightly sore arms as he exited the elevator.

Because his neighborhood was a very well-equipped community, it had its own gym.

As soon as Liu Xin'an had settled down, he immediately signed up for a gym membership and enjoyed a satisfying workout.

These past two days without working out were tormenting for someone who had made fitness a habit.

Although there were quite a few people in the gym, he hadn't yet made a second local friend besides Bae Juhyun.

This made Liu Xin'an's life very routine.

Gathering materials, editing videos, streaming, working out, resting.

There was also the eating part; he had practically scoured all the local delivery apps these last two days.

If he wanted to treat himself to delicious food, he would have to take the subway to another area.

This aspect made Liu Xin'an somewhat critical of his current residence.

After calming his breath, Liu Xin'an put on his mask and walked toward his apartment building.

After entering the apartment, Liu Xin'an approached the elevator and quietly waited.

However, while he was waiting for the elevator, suddenly two more people wearing masks and hats appeared behind him.

Judging by their height and build, they seemed to be girls. Liu Xin'an casually glanced at the two behind him using the reflection from the elevator door, but he didn't strike up a conversation rashly.

It wasn't until the elevator came down to the first floor and the doors opened in front of him that he stepped inside and stood towards the back.

The two indistinctly-faced girls also followed him in.

Liu Xin'an first pressed the button for the seventeenth floor, then looked at the two girls with an inquiring gaze.

Unexpectedly, one of the girls suddenly widened her eyes, exchanged a look with the other girl, and then spoke in a very cautious tone to Liu Xin'an.

"Do you live on the seventeenth floor?"

"...Uh? Are you asking me?"

Liu Xin'an was a bit stunned; he did live on the seventeenth floor, but what about it?

"Yes."

"I do live on the seventeenth floor... why?"

The two girls exchanged another glance, then subtly moved towards the corner of the elevator.

"It's nothing, we live on the eighteenth floor, I just remembered that the seventeenth floor only had a single girl living there."

Only then did Liu Xin'an breathe a sigh of relief; he thought something had happened.

However, the residents of the apartment felt quite secure, which is perhaps unsurprising since he had just moved in less than a week ago.

It's just...

"Ah, the person you're talking about must be my neighbor, I'm another resident on the seventeenth floor, I just moved in this week."

"This week?" one of the girls seemed to recall something, repeating the timeframe Liu Xin'an had mentioned.

"Yes, to be precise, it hasn't been a week yet, you can come downstairs to find me if there's anything in the future."

Liu Xin'an smiled with his eyes curved. Although his face was obscured by a mask and unclear, his sturdy physique was still visible through his sportswear.

The two girls quickly nodded and watched Liu Xin'an leave the elevator, then they took the elevator to the eighteenth floor.

After waiting quietly for a while, they entered the elevator again.

And these two mysteriously dressed girls were actually Bae Juhyun's group members, Son Seungwan and Kang Seulgi.

Ever since Bae Juhyun had returned to the dormitory, they quickly noticed something off about their older sister.

Well, the number of times Bae Juhyun spaced out visibly increased, and she would inevitably go to the balcony to enjoy the cold breeze every day.

Despite the fact that this older sister had always been so sensitive to the cold, it was already deep autumn now, and during the cold times, the nighttime temperature could drop to single digits. Logically, Bae Juhyun shouldn't enjoy the cold breeze like that.

A string of abnormalities made Kang Seulgi increasingly worried.

After all, a bloody lesson had occurred not long ago, so to ensure Bae Juhyun's psychological state, she grabbed Son Seungwan, a strong person, and sneakily ran to Bae Juhyun's home.

Attempting to find some clues to put them at ease.

Of course, going to someone's home without the owner's permission is an extremely impolite act.

So this time, they came here behind Bae Juhyun's back.

Just going down one floor in the elevator didn't take much time.

However, the moment they appeared in the hallway of the seventeenth floor, a male voice startled their legs into weakness.

"As expected, you are here for Bae Juhyun!"

———

Although they hadn't contacted each other for two days, Liu Xin'an sensed something unusual the moment these two odd girls reacted strangely.

However, considering the possibility of a misunderstanding or alerting the suspects, he chose not to speak recklessly in the elevator and took it easy.

As for the earlier excuse Bae Juhyun had made about just hiding from her parents...

Although it was somewhat believable, Liu Xin'an couldn't fully trust it.

Then he quietly waited on the seventeenth floor for a while.

As he had expected, the elevator that had stopped on the eighteenth floor began to descend.

Just seconds later, the elevator on the seventeenth floor opened, and the two girls who claimed to live on the eighteenth floor appeared right in front of him.

Considering what Bae Juhyun had said before about "hiding for a while," it all made sense for him to assume that these two girls were the people Bae Juhyun was currently hiding from.

They were just girls, after all. If they had been two adult men, Liu Xin'an might have been the one who falsely claimed to live on the eighteenth floor...

The cute reaction of the two startled girls did not earn Liu Xin'an's sympathy; instead, he took out his phone and looked seriously at the two girls in front of him.

"What on earth did Bae Juhyun do to offend you, forcing her to move out of her own house? I'm telling you, don't mess around, because I can call the police at any time."

Since Liu Xin'an could clearly pronounce Bae Juhyun's name, it also indicated that he indeed knew Bae Juhyun and knew that she lived here.

Kang Seulgi quickly took off her mask, revealing her highly recognizable face.

She extended her hand in panic, signaling Liu Xin'an to calm down.

"Don't, don't call the police, could there be some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding? I heard her personally say she needed to go out and hide for a while. Does she owe you money?"

This bizarre statement stunned Kang Seulgi, while a bewildered Son Seungwan also lingered behind her.

After exchanging glances, they seemed to realize something was amiss.

If they knew who Bae Juhyun was, they shouldn't be failing to recognize Kang Seulgi.

That meant...

"Uh...do you not know what Bae Juhyun does for work?"

"Although I'm not very clear, it's really not good to bother people like this. If she really owes you money, I think it's better to communicate properly. Besides, you've showed up empty-handed, and because of you, Bae Juhyun has already moved out from here."

Having enjoyed the moon and shared meals together, Liu Xin'an felt it necessary to speak a few good words for this new friend of his.

As for whether it would implicate himself... it shouldn't, since Bae Juhyun was the debtor, not him. Besides, he was a foreigner, one who had come here with proper and official procedures, belonging to the type that was hard to provoke.

"...You've misunderstood, you've really misunderstood. We are actually friends of Bae Juhyun, and we came here not to trouble her but because we noticed she has been acting strange recently, so we wanted to investigate."

Kang Seulgi hurriedly explained, noticing that Liu Xin'an had already dialed the emergency number. Because calling the police over this matter would be absurd, they needed to first calm down this... strange guy.

Liu Xin'an didn't seem likely to believe such a story.

"Do you think I would believe that?"

Kang Seulgi looked at Son Seungwan, who sighed and grumbled, "I said we shouldn't do this. If we get exposed, Juhyun will definitely be very upset."

"I'm just worried about her... What do we do now?"

"What else can we do, contact Juhyun."

Son Seungwan rolled her eyes, removed her mask, and likewise revealed her exceptionally recognizable pretty face.

Clearly, the man in front of them didn't recognize them.

So, there was no need for them to keep hiding.

"Sir, I will contact her right now. This should prove our innocence, right?"

The statement by Son Seungwan made Liu Xin'an suspicious, but just as the other party had said, if they really could contact Bae Juhyun, there really wouldn't be any reason to doubt them.

"Then you contact her, and if you can't get through, I will call the police."

"...You really are persistent."