CHAPTER 787: 388. EMPATHY FOR XIAO PEI’S CHILDHOOD

"Boss! Juhyun’s here."

Just as she returned to the store, Mrs. Bae heard Kim Jeongeun’s voice.

She was momentarily stunned, then an uncontrollable smile appeared on her face.

"Here already?"

"Yes, and Mr. Liu Xin’an... Ah! That’s Juhyun’s boyfriend, you should know him."

"Hmm, upstairs?"

"Yeah, in the private room around the corner."

Mrs. Bae nodded, "Got it, have they ordered?"

"Yes, a chicken combo meal and the fried rice Juhyun usually eats. It’s being prepared for delivery now."

"Give it to me, I’ll take it up... But did any customers see them?"

Mrs. Bae reached out to take the tray, then suddenly remembered this detail and asked quickly.

Not asking would have been fine, but upon her asking, the conflicted look on Kim Jeongeun’s face made Mrs. Bae frown.

...

"Hmph!"

The sulky Juhyun displayed her jealousy, snorting lightly as she took out her phone and pretended to ignore Liu Xin’an.

Liu Xin’an looked innocent; he hadn’t done anything, just smiled out of politeness.

"Looks like I’ll need to wear a mask next time we go out. Juhyun, what do you think of an Ultraman mask?"

Here, Bae Juhyun was not truly angry out of jealousy, but just throwing a little girlfriend tantrum.

If at this moment, someone with no sensitivity went to reason with Bae Juhyun, saying it was just out of politeness... That would be really stupid.

Even though Liu Xin’an had very little experience in dating, he had been with Bae Juhyun long enough, and his emotional intelligence had developed early on.

Bae Juhyun said nothing, but her gaze remained on Liu Xin’an.

He continued to ponder, "Ultraman... let’s go with Tiga. It’s more recognizable."

Upon hearing this, Bae Juhyun couldn’t hold it in. Even though she didn’t understand this stuff, she knew what Ultraman was.

"Childish, so childish."

"How is it childish?" Liu Xin’an slapped the table in defiance. How could anyone call Ultraman childish?

But to his surprise, just as he slapped the table, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside, and a familiar woman walked in carrying a large tray.

And his action of slapping the table was witnessed by the woman.

In an instant, Liu Xin’an, who subconsciously turned to look at the door, found himself locking eyes with the woman. His usually emotionless handsome face instantly turned bright red.

"Ah, no... Auntie, don’t misunderstand..."

"Mom~ Waa, Liu Xin’an is bullying me~"

Juhyun’s eyes rolled and a look of grievance appeared on her little face. She then raised her voice to drown out Liu Xin’an’s stammering and moved towards her mom.

This startled Mrs. Bae, as she was holding a tray with chicken and fried rice.

"Silly girl, are you crazy?" Mrs. Bae quickly raised the tray above her head, luckily, her daughter was short enough.

"Waa~"

"Stop pretending. Xin’an bullying you? It’s more likely you’re bullying him."

Fans and outsiders might not know the real personality of Bae Juhyun, but Mrs. Bae knew her own daughter.

Despite always acting as the older sister and even "mother" figure in front of Seulgi and the others, in reality, her daughter was someone who loved to make a fuss and play around.

She hadn’t shown this side before only because she hadn’t found someone she could rely on.

Now, Liu Xin’an’s arrival had perfectly filled that void.

Because of Liu Xin’an, Mrs. Bae’s beloved eldest daughter had returned to her energetic and lively self. After all, she still vividly remembered Juhyun’s gloomy appearance last year.

It’s no exaggeration to say, their family was truly grateful for Liu Xin’an’s presence.

"Wow, so unfair, Mom, I’m your daughter."

"Yes, yes..." Mrs. Bae responded perfunctorily, then took out the fried chicken from the tray and placed it in front of the awkward Liu Xin’an, smiling warmly, "Thanks for your hard work, Xin’an. This girl really isn’t easy to deal with, right?"

"Oh no, I’m the one being taken care of. Juhyun takes care of me very well."

"See! He even says so himself!"

"Exactly, how could he bully you?" Mrs. Bae sharply pointed out Juhyun’s contradiction, making Juhyun speechless.

Knowing her lie had been exposed, Miss Bae cutely stuck her tongue out and then took the fried rice she liked to eat and placed it in front of herself.

"You’re becoming more and more biased, even though you haven’t seen me in a while." This time, Juhyun was genuinely jealous.

But it wasn’t jealousy over another young girl, it was jealousy over her mom favoring Liu Xin’an.

They weren’t even married yet, and her mom’s partiality was already showing!

"You video-called me just yesterday."

"That’s not the same!"

"How is it not the same? What’s different about it?"

Juhyun sighed heavily, then resignedly scooped a spoonful of fried rice into her mouth, still staring fiercely at the innocent Liu Xin’an.

Heaven knows, Liu Xin’an really hadn’t done anything.

"The fried chicken is sweet and spicy, and honey mustard. Can you handle that, Xin’an?"

Faced with Mrs. Bae’s concern, Liu Xin’an was flattered: "I can handle it, don’t worry about us. You go ahead with your work."

"Alright, I’ll head down then... But did you two come straight here? Did you go home?"