"Your dad can’t come, it’s too much of a hassle. But he did get a call from above the other day."
"Uh... Because of me and Juhyun?"
"Yes, lucky you didn’t follow your dad’s path, or you’d be in trouble with Juhyun."
Liu Xin’an pursed his lips. He chose his own industry because he found too many rules in his dad’s line of work.
Of course, this was also because he made a name for himself. If he were still a small streamer with less than ten thousand fans... he might have had to turn to Li Chenglu and become a translator like him.
"By the way, Mom, when we go there, you might need to help me and Juhyun shoot a video..."
"Hmm? I have to be in the video too?"
Park Jinsuk was surprised but didn’t reject the idea; in fact, she was quite keen on it.
Even though she loved being in front of the camera, she refrained from taking pictures with celebrities when she met Park Jinyoung last time, as he advised against exposing their relationship due to the sensitivity of the situation. For the sake of her two children, Park Jinsuk listened to her brother.
Turns out... that decision was correct.
"Just like those videos you usually watch of me and Juhyun."
"Ah, but you two haven’t been publicly exposed yet. Is it really okay for me to join?"
"Um... we’ll pixelate your face."
"..." Park Jinsuk’s eyes widened. Her rare chance to be on camera, and she wouldn’t even show her face?
"You want to be in the video?" Liu Xin’an seemed to guess his mom’s regret and carefully asked.
"Uh... okay, I’ll ask Taekyon later, but it should be fine. My followers know you’re Korean after all."
Park Jinsuk felt relieved and smiled again. "Where are we heading now?"
"Let’s go to my place first. Then, I’ll take you to the filming site. You like Song Ying, right? I can introduce you to her."
"Great, great, great."
After getting in the car, Liu Xin’an’s initial joy of seeing his mom slowly faded, and he finally remembered he had left Bae Juhyun hanging.
He quickly took out his phone and opened the chat. As expected, the chat window was flooded with messages from Bae Juhyun.
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"Hey, where are you?"
"Did you pick up Auntie?"
"Gosh, you jerk, you actually forgot about me!!"
As soon as these "unread" messages turned "read," Bae Juhyun, who had been waiting on the other side, sent another message quickly.
"Finally remembered me?"
From these ordinary words, Liu Xin’an could almost see Bae Juhyun’s icy expression.
He gestured to his mom about the message. Receiving a playful look from her, he cleared his throat and dialed the phone.
Instantly, the call connected, and Bae Juhyun’s emotionless voice came through the receiver.
"Did you pick up Auntie?"
"Yes, I picked up Mom. We’re in the car heading to the hotel now."
"Phew, I’m already at your place."
"Huh? When did you get there?"
Stunned, Liu Xin’an realized Bae Juhyun had been strictly following Seong Taekyon’s rules, rarely visiting his place in recent days. Besides official shoots and "coincidental" meetings, he hadn’t privately met with Bae Juhyun for a while.
"Since I couldn’t meet Auntie at the airport, I thought I should wait at home. Come on, don’t worry about me. Even Taekyon didn’t say anything."
"... I wasn’t blaming you." Liu Xin’an felt warm inside, sensing Bae Juhyun’s deep consideration for his mom.
Being valued by the woman he loved and his closest family made him genuinely feel lucky.
After all, he grew up watching countless dramatic shows about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts with his own mom, which left quite a shadow on him.
But Liu Xin’an forgot he wasn’t alone in the car.
"Why are you blaming Juhyun?"
Beside him, Park Jinsuk was eavesdropping on her son’s conversation with his future daughter-in-law. Upon hearing the word "blame," she shot a glare.
Though her voice was soft, it was loud enough for Bae Juhyun to hear on the other end.
In an instant, her imagination ran wild, and Bae Juhyun started shouting dramatically.
"Ah~ I’m so wronged~ Why am I getting blamed~"
The sudden increase in volume overcame the barrier of the "phone receiver" and reached Park Jinsuk’s ears.
Seeing Liu Xin’an’s baffled expression, his mom snatched the phone from him and comforted the "wronged" Bae Juhyun on the other side.
"Juhyun, what did that little rascal say to you? Did he force you to come pick me up with him?"
"Mom, Liu Xin’an is so mean; he won’t even let me come to see him~"
Speaking through the phone, Bae Juhyun no longer held back her shyness, calling her "Mom" delighted Park Jinsuk.
She was already fantasizing about future grandkids.
"It’s alright; Mom’s got your back. Liu Xin’an, you little rascal!"
"..." Sitting next to Park Jinsuk, Liu Xin’an was stunned.
After scolding Liu Xin’an for a while, Park Jinsuk finally calmed down with Bae Juhyun’s comfort on the other end.
Then, the newly bonded "mother and daughter" started chatting amiably, leaving Liu Xin’an to helplessly sigh and gaze at the passing scenery outside.
They weren’t even married yet, and these two women were already on the same team.
In the future, if he ever had a fight with Bae Juhyun, would there be anywhere left for him to go?
Liu Xin’an started to reflect deeply.
From August 12th to October 12th, the two-month continuous update campaign is perfectly concluded.
Next comes the payback period. Currently, I owe about 80 Chapters.
I might be the "cheapest" author with premium results. One cute sticker costs me 20,000 words... if converted to 2K words per Chapter, it’s one extra Chapter per 10,000 rewards.
And then there’s the pacing issue.
More readers want public Chapters, so I have to reluctantly delete a Chapter and proceed directly to the public preparation.
Good thing there’s a plan. You guys are going to drain me dry~