Li Chenglu’s appearance gave Bae Juhyun more opportunities to meet Liu Xin’an, and being used as an excuse for their meetings didn’t bother Li Chenglu much.
One was a childhood friend, and the other was an idol she liked, so what complaints could she have?
Of course, Li Chenglu was still full of doubts about this whole CP hype thing.
"Do you guys really think it’s okay to do this?"
In this area, Li Chenglu wasn’t much different from Liu Xin’an; she also wasn’t in the industry and couldn’t handle the hype as well as Bae Juhyun and her manager could.
"Don’t ask me, she said it’s fine."
Liu Xin’an shrugged, looking innocent, shifting the blame onto Bae Juhyun.
If it were up to him, he would definitely handle this low-key and make Bae Juhyun give up on the idea of going public altogether.
Anyway, he could totally sneak around dating and marrying Bae Juhyun; he didn’t care about that stuff.
Well, of course, that was just his thinking; love was a matter for two people. Compared to him not caring about going public or not, Bae Juhyun’s opinion was definitely more important.
"There won’t be any major issues, I can assure you."
Bae Juhyun nodded, letting Liu Xin’an knead her small hand, speaking confidently.
But Li Chenglu was still not very reassured; she glanced at the time and looked at the two in front of her.
"Have you talked to Uncle about this?"
"Not properly, let me handle it!"
Li Chenglu took out her phone; she had been chatting a lot with her uncle recently, so they were quite close.
She turned on the speaker, and soon, Park Jinyoung’s laughter-filled voice came from the receiver.
"Chenglu, what’s up?"
"Uncle, I’m with Liu Xin’an and Irene right now, and we have something to ask you."
Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun obediently greeted the person on the other end of the phone.
"Mm-hmm, so, what do you want to ask me? Is it about the hype?"
"Yes, I just feel isn’t good. Now that Irene’s manager and others suggested the hype because they don’t know the two are really a couple. But that’s the problem, they are a real couple..."
"Chenglu, your concern is the same as what I told Xin’an before. The hype now will affect your future public announcement... Is Irene also listening?"
Park Jinyoung didn’t deflect just because Bae Juhyun wasn’t an artist under his company but seriously analyzed the situation for them.
"Good. You should know how excessive it is for an idol to deceive their fans, right?"
Bae Juhyun lowered her head guiltily; she knew this very well.
Idols are services for fans; dating was already a "disgraceful" thing for an idol to do. Not to mention, she was dating someone she previously denied being in a CP with.
Dating and deceiving fans, these two things together would definitely impact Bae Juhyun’s career. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
"Is it really that serious?" Liu Xin’an couldn’t help but speak up.
"Of course. Think about it, it’s like a gaming streamer using a booster."
Liu Xin’an took a sharp breath, understanding the analogy.
"So... is it better not to go public?"
Liu Xin’an just voiced a tentative suggestion, but before Uncle could respond, Bae Juhyun immediately rejected it.
Going public was a must, Bae Juhyun didn’t want to hide and sneak around dating Liu Xin’an for her whole life.
Even though she knew this would negatively impact her and Red Velvet, she still had to do it.
The members also supported her decision, and Kang Seulgi was even afraid she would give up because of them, taking time to have a long heart-to-heart talk with Bae Juhyun.
"Uncle already said it’s bad for you."
"That’s my business! You don’t interfere, you’re not an artist anyway."
Bae Juhyun’s strong opposition made Liu Xin’an smile; she was just looking out for him.
Hmm... unknowingly, Liu Xin’an also became the type of person he hated most.
Always saying it’s for your own good.
"Okay, even without this hype, Xin’an, do you think it’ll be smooth when Irene goes public?"
Park Jinyoung intervened timely, drawing their attention back.
"Uncle, what do you mean?"
"Don’t forget, you are Chinese, Irene is Korean. Even without these fan-deception issues, do you think fans would calmly accept Irene dating a Chinese person?"
The conflict between the young people of the two countries wasn’t lost on Park Jinyoung.
On the contrary, he knew it very well and knew how much Chinese youth disliked Koreans, and vice versa.
Uncle’s words left the three of them in silence.
"Angry fans unfollowing and boycotting is inevitable, but it doesn’t mean there’s no chance for fans to accept it."
Compared to the silent Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun, Li Chenglu felt her temple veins throbbing.
"Uncle, can’t you just say everything all at once next time? This suspense is killing us!"
Thanks to Li Chenglu, Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun didn’t have to voice their frustration.
Her candidness made Park Jinyoung laugh heartily. He liked it when juniors didn’t have barriers with him, unlike Liu Xin’an, sometimes being too polite, while Li Chenglu was just right.