Chapter 211: Bae Joo-hyun
At Jiang Shu’s home.
Ding-dong.
Jiang Shu had just cast the Bilibili New Year's Eve Gala onto the TV and hadn't even had a chance to sit down and watch when he heard the doorbell ring.
“The delivery is that fast?” Jiang Shu muttered in surprise, getting up and walking towards the door.
He didn't rush to open the door. He had attracted quite a few fans recently, and although it was highly unlikely they would come here, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Through the peephole, Jiang Shu saw an unexpected figure.
“Why is she here?” Jiang Shu mumbled, then opened the security door, revealing the person standing outside.
“President,” Bae Joo-hyun smiled slightly, bowing respectfully to Jiang Shu as she greeted him.
“Why did you come over?” Jiang Shu asked, surprised.
“My schedule finished early, and I thought if you agreed, I could use this time to add more content to the show,” Bae Joo-hyun explained, standing at the doorway.
“Come in first,” Jiang Shu said to Bae Joo-hyun, stepping aside.
“Yes, then I'll trouble you,” Bae Joo-hyun bowed again, then took off her shoes and stepped onto the floor in her socks.
The floor was warm, with no hint of cold.
Jiang Shu glanced at Bae Joo-hyun. She was dressed in a full set of casual women's suits, which, even on a woman with Bae Joo-hyun's less-than-perfect figure, managed to exude the capable aura of a strong woman.
Jiang Shu quickly withdrew his gaze after a brief look, reaching out to close the door.
“Did you bring a camera?” Jiang Shu asked casually.
“I did,” Bae Joo-hyun took out a small, portable camera from her pocket. Jiang Shu reached for it, placed it on top of the TV cabinet, then found another new portable camera and placed it on the other side to create a dual-camera setup.
“Thank you, President,” Bae Joo-hyun said apologetically after Jiang Shu finished setting up the cameras.
Jiang Shu waved his hand at her words.
“I can understand how you feel.”
Bae Joo-hyun was not like the younger generation; at her age, she naturally had to seize every opportunity.
Since “We Became a Family” was so popular, she certainly wanted to increase her presence in the show.
“Since you’re here, then watch the New Year’s Eve Gala with me,” Jiang Shu said, pointing to the screen.
“Is this the New Year’s Eve Gala that President and Hitomi Honda filmed together?” Bae Joo-hyun asked curiously.
“Yes,” Jiang Shu glanced at Bae Joo-hyun, “Aren’t you hot? You’re still wearing your jacket.”
“My apologies,” Bae Joo-hyun stood up and gave a slight bow, then pushed down her suit jacket, revealing the fitted shirt underneath.
Seeing this, Jiang Shu’s expression subtly shifted. Although Bae Joo-hyun didn’t have his favorite long legs, she still had some… assets, and most importantly…
She was beautiful.
But having learned from a certain someone’s past example, Jiang Shu merely glanced and then averted his gaze.
Just as he was about to lean back on the sofa, he heard the doorbell ring again.
“I’ll get it,” Bae Joo-hyun stood up instantly and walked towards the door.
“It should be the delivery.”
No sooner had Jiang Shu finished speaking than he saw Bae Joo-hyun first look through the peephole, then open the door.
“Hello, I’m Security Guard 0039, this is President Jiang’s delivery!” The smiling security guard, seeing Bae Joo-hyun open the door, had a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly lowered his head, spoke rapidly, and handed the delivery to Bae Joo-hyun.
“Thank you,” Bae Joo-hyun took the delivery and thanked him.
“No problem, no problem, it’s our duty!” the security guard said, somewhat flustered.
Bae Joo-hyun was a little puzzled, but didn't say anything more, closing the door.
“President, your… um, your delivery.” Bae Joo-hyun placed the delivery on the coffee table in front of Jiang Shu.
“Sit,” Jiang Shu reached out to unwrap the delivery, taking out the fried chicken inside.
“Why was it delivered by a security guard?” Bae Joo-hyun helped Jiang Shu with the food and asked casually.
“Deliveries aren’t allowed inside the complex; the security guards deliver them instead,” Jiang Shu explained, “The reason they didn’t stop you when you came up is because I told security last time we came together.”
At this, Jiang Shu turned his head to look at the camera on the TV.
“Cut this part.”
Bae Joo-hyun didn't react much; it wasn't a live broadcast, so there was room for error if something was said incorrectly.
Jiang Shu reached out and patted Bae Joo-hyun’s arm.
“Go to the fridge and get me two glasses. There are drinks in there, pick what you want, and get me a bottle of beer.”
Beer with fried chicken, a perfect match!
“Okay.”
Bae Joo-hyun stood up, found the glass cups in the fridge, then came back with two bottles of beer.
“You’re drinking too?” Jiang Shu asked, surprised, looking at the beer Bae Joo-hyun had chosen.
“Drinking alone is too lonely, I’ll drink with you,” Bae Joo-hyun said with a smile.
“That’s great!” Jiang Shu smiled, opened the beer, and poured half into each glass.
The other can of beer remained untouched.
“One can each, a little drink for pleasure,” Jiang Shu said, placing the other glass in front of Bae Joo-hyun.
“Thank you.”
Jiang Shu opened all the fried chicken boxes, took a cushion and placed it on the floor, then plopped down onto the cushion.
“Watching TV like this is more comfortable.”
Bae Joo-hyun followed suit, imitating Jiang Shu and sitting down as well.
“Here, gloves.”
Jiang Shu handed Bae Joo-hyun a disposable glove. Bae Joo-hyun didn't refuse; since she was already here, she might as well eat something.
He raised his glass.
Seeing this, Bae Joo-hyun also raised her glass with her other hand.
Bang!
“Cheers!”
The cold beer flowed from the mouth into the esophagus, and in this cold winter, drinking cold beer with the heater on…
Refreshing!
Putting down his glass, Jiang Shu picked up a piece of fried chicken and started gnawing on it.
She had grown accustomed to Jiang Shu's unpretentious eating habits after several meals together.
“What performance did President and Hitomi Honda have?”
“She sang, and I accompanied her,” Jiang Shu said, his words muffled as he gnawed on a chicken leg.
“Accompaniment?” Bae Joo-hyun’s eyes widened, “Does that mean only Hitomi Honda herself was singing?”
“Yes, her Chinese song was quite good,” Jiang Shu commented.
Hitomi Honda was indeed a linguistic prodigy; while her spoken Chinese wasn't fluent yet, her pronunciation in the song she performed was largely clear.
At least it didn't sound like a Japanese general.
“Then I’m really looking forward to it,” Bae Joo-hyun nodded and said, “Roughly how long until your turn?”
“Let me see,” Jiang Shu glanced at the program on the screen, opening the program list with one hand.
“About half an hour more. Our segment is before midnight, and it’s already eleven-thirty.”
“That’s very soon then.”
“Mm.”
As they ate and chatted, time quickly reached eleven fifty-three.
Along with the host's introduction, a line of text appeared on the large screen.