The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love - Chapter 45

@Shen Buhui: Happy end of filming!

She attached six photos to the post.

After posting, Shen Buhui refreshed the page with a slight movement of her finger. The comments were already increasing at a rapid pace.

Immediately afterward, Xu Zhiyan noticed Shen Buhui turn her head and glance at her. She instantly got the message.

Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone, opened Weibo using her main account, and commented under Shen Buhui’s post: “Congratulations on wrapping up, Teacher Shen!” Then, she went back to her nearly-abandoned backup account and posted a similar celebratory message.

After executing this series of actions without a hitch, Xu Zhiyan caught a glimpse of Shen Buhui’s relaxed expression out of the corner of her eye.

“Your fans have good taste,” Shen Buhui said, raising her phone to show her.

Xu Zhiyan looked down and saw a comment that read, “Aaaaaah, you two look so good together!!”

Glancing up, she realized that in the six photos Shen Buhui had posted, half of them showed the two of them in intimate, affectionate moments. It was clear to anyone that they had a close relationship.

Considering the flood of solo-fan comments that completely ignored her presence, it must’ve taken some effort for Shen Buhui to spot this one CP (couple pairing) comment among the sweet, lovey-dovey posts.

“Indeed, they do have sharp eyes,” Xu Zhiyan replied.

Shen Buhui casually turned her phone in her hand. “As far as I know, we have quite a number of CP fans. There’s even a super-topic dedicated to us. Do you know what it’s called?”

…Of course she knew. Not only that—she was practically a founding member of the fan base.

Xu Zhiyan, feeling slightly smug but trying not to give herself away, put on a thoughtful expression and hesitated for a moment before saying, “I think I’ve heard of it… is it called ‘Zhi Yan Bu Hui’?”

Shen Buhui: “…” Not bad at pretending, huh?

She smiled at Xu Zhiyan’s feigned ignorance and said, “That’s right. I happened to stumble into the super-topic once and was pretty surprised.”

That was a lie. She’d been thrilled to see people with discerning eyes recognizing the chemistry between her and Xu Zhiyan at a glance.

“There’s a lot of fun stuff in there. Fans make edited videos and write little stories—it’s all quite entertaining.”

Xu Zhiyan suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Shen Buhui continued, “The one that stuck with me most was a story titled something like ‘Sugar Devotee’s Guide to Kissing’.”

Xu Zhiyan: “…” She felt guilty. And a bit embarrassed.

“You know, the whole waist-grabbing, corner-kissing, forceful-smooching sort of thing…” Shen Buhui asked naturally, “Have you read it?”

Xu Zhiyan shook her head like a drum, “No, I haven’t. I don’t usually look at those kinds of things. But I’ve heard fans have a lot of fun with it.”

She shifted the blame onto the fans with the utmost naturalness and righteous confidence.

The CP fans who actually wrote those things: “…???”

Shen Buhui, who had once caught her red-handed, gave a meaningful smile and suggested, “Then maybe you should look them up sometime. They’re pretty well-written. I think we could borrow some ideas.”

Help! How could she let Teacher Shen read that shameless, fanfiction fluff!?

Internally screaming like a prairie dog, Xu Zhiyan struggled to maintain her composure and obediently nodded, adding, “I think we’re doing pretty well already.”

Shen Buhui tilted her head. “Do you really think so?”

“I truly do.” Xu Zhiyan replied with absolute sincerity.

Watching her carefully hide her true identity, Shen Buhui licked her lips and smiled silently.

In her heart, though, she was already making a mental note to try everything Xu Zhiyan had written—after all, she was the kind of person who liked to spoil her girlfriend.

That afternoon, Xu Zhiyan suddenly remembered something about autographs. Since the movie hadn’t been released yet, she was still more or less a semi-anonymous figure and hadn’t really had opportunities to sign for fans.

Even when a few fans had approached her at the set, she’d written each autograph slowly and carefully. But when she held a giveaway yesterday, she suddenly realized she should start practicing properly.

So she invited Shen Buhui to help her design a signature and practice it until it became second nature.

After spending two blissfully clingy days with Shen Buhui in the apartment, Xu Zhiyan finally returned to campus.

The days that followed were peaceful and warm. When she had a lot of classes, Shen Buhui kept herself busy with work. When her schedule was lighter, Xu Zhiyan would sneak out from school to spend time with her at the apartment. Over time, she felt that her cooking had improved quite a bit.

The apartment itself gradually bore traces of their shared life—starting to resemble a place where a young couple was living together.

When Zhao Yue knocked on the door, having followed the address Shen Buhui gave her, she was stunned to see Xu Zhiyan opening the door and greeting her with such familiarity.

“Hello, Sister Zhao,” Xu Zhiyan handed her a glass of water. “Did you need something from her?”

The way she carried herself like the lady of the house made Zhao Yue’s eyelid twitch. “Have you two… been living together all this time?”

Zhao Yue had known that Shen Buhui had moved to be closer to Xu Zhiyan. But since both of them had light workloads recently, she had taken a break and hadn’t been checking in on their personal affairs.

Seeing Xu Zhiyan’s current demeanor, Zhao Yue couldn’t help but feel a jolt in her chest.

“No,” Xu Zhiyan shook her head. “I only come over on weekends.”

Zhao Yue let out a breath of relief. After taking a sip of water, she glanced around and asked, “Where’s Shen Buhui?”

“In the bathroom,” Xu Zhiyan replied, pointing inside.

Noticing that Zhao Yue seemed to be here for work, Xu Zhiyan didn’t probe further and instead made casual small talk.

When Shen Buhui came out of the bathroom and saw Zhao Yue sitting on her living room sofa, she raised an eyebrow and went straight to the point. “What is it?”

No pleasantries—just clean and sharp. Her bluntness made Xu Zhiyan glance sideways in amusement.

But Zhao Yue was used to Shen Buhui’s style by now. She had always been cold and distant with everyone—except when it came to Xu Zhiyan, with whom she was endlessly warm and tender. Having seen through everything long ago, Zhao Yue felt no surprise.

“There are a few work matters I wanted to discuss with you.” Facing Shen Buhui’s gaze, Zhao Yue didn’t bother avoiding Xu Zhiyan’s presence and took out a thick stack of documents. “Besides the advertising shoots we’ve already agreed on and a few brand contract renewals, several directors have reached out to you recently.”

Xu Zhiyan sat quietly sipping from her cup, listening attentively without saying a word.

Shen Buhui looked surprised. “Directors? Are there any good scripts?” She immediately assumed it was about film offers.

Zhao Yue shook her head. “Variety show directors.”

“…Variety show directors?” Shen Buhui was completely taken aback.

And she wasn’t the only one. Even Xu Zhiyan couldn’t help but glance over in shock.

After all, since her debut, Shen Buhui had built her reputation and popularity solely through her work in film—without relying on hype or gimmicks. In the five years she’d been in the industry, aside from a few required interviews, she hadn’t participated in a single variety show.

“I thought I said I’m not really interested in those,” Shen Buhui said calmly.

Zhao Yue adjusted her glasses. “I know. I just thought these might actually suit you, so I came to ask.”

The truth was, it wasn’t that Shen Buhui had a strong aversion to variety shows. She simply didn’t like pretending to be close with a group of strangers while playing along with scripted interactions.

At that time, all she wanted was to gain enough recognition so that the person she liked might notice her—though that person had no idea how she felt.

She had considered variety shows in the past, but once she rose to fame through her unexpected breakout in film, she gave up on the idea.

Because she discovered that Xu Zhiyan didn’t particularly enjoy watching clearly scripted variety shows.

From then on, Shen Buhui focused solely on acting, never giving those shows another thought.

Now, leaning back comfortably in the armchair, Shen Buhui said, “Tell me more.”

Zhao Yue nodded and pulled out the materials she had already prepared. “This one’s a reality show that Director Yan Lu is preparing. It’s unscripted and focuses on idyllic rural life—basically, a group of people living a simple, back-to-basics lifestyle. This one’s from Director Lu—it’s also an unscripted travel and observation show, but compared to Director Yan’s, it adds a bit of a competitive edge… And then there’s a dating reality show, where you’d be an emotional analyst.”

By the time she finished listing them, Zhao Yue had drained the last drop of water from her glass, her throat dry. “All of these are unscripted.”

Xu Zhiyan listened, wide-eyed in shock, while Shen Buhui frowned deeply.

“A dating show?” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “I wonder what the director was thinking.”

After all, Shen Buhui was well aware of the image she projected to the public.

Zhao Yue replied, “They probably just saw how popular you are right now and wanted to ride the wave.”

Hugging a throw pillow, Xu Zhiyan tilted her head and asked, “Jie, would you consider going on a variety show?”

There was a flicker of curiosity in her eyes. Shen Buhui was just about to say no when she glanced at Xu Zhiyan’s fair and delicate profile—and suddenly paused.

She changed course mid-sentence, lowered her gaze, and calmly replied, “I’ll think about it.”

Zhao Yue immediately perked up, sensing a chance. “You’re interested?”

Shen Buhui reached over and gently rubbed the back of Xu Zhiyan’s hand, which was resting nearby. “A little.”

After a moment of thought, Shen Buhui turned to Xu Zhiyan and asked, “Would you want to go?”

“Me?” Xu Zhiyan pointed to herself. “But the invitations are for you.”

She was fully aware of her own position. As a newly signed rookie, it wasn’t like she could just say she wanted to join and expect it to happen—nor did she push for opportunities like that.

Zhao Yue quickly caught Shen Buhui’s hint. Ever quick on the uptake, she added, “Directors Yan and Lu did mention—since you’re now a shareholder, if there’s anything you need, they’re willing to help. That includes… helping someone you’d like to bring along.”

To land the goldmine that was Shen Buhui—and secure the highly anticipated title of ‘Shen Buhui’s variety show debut’—both directors had subtly indicated during their negotiations that if Shen wanted to promote a newcomer, they wouldn’t object.

Shen Buhui couldn’t help but grin, winking at Xu Zhiyan as if to say, See?

“But I have a heavy academic schedule…” Xu Zhiyan hesitated.

Zhao Yue immediately chimed in, “It’ll be filmed during winter break. Isn’t that just around the corner?”

Doing the math, it was already mid-November—winter break really wasn’t far off.

Noticing that Xu Zhiyan did seem somewhat interested in the idea, Shen Buhui gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “If I want to go… would you come with me, Yan Yan?”

Xu Zhiyan, who was just about to respond: “…”

How was she supposed to say no to her girlfriend’s soft, coaxing voice?!

Thinking that she wouldn’t have much to do during the break anyway, Xu Zhiyan gave a reluctant nod. “I’ll go back and check my schedule.”

She definitely needed to make sure filming wouldn’t clash with the start of the spring semester.

Hearing that, Shen Buhui knew she had more or less agreed. Her eyes curved into a smile. “Great.”

The mere thought of appearing on a variety show with her girlfriend filled Shen Buhui with joy.

What she truly wanted—more than anything—was for people to think of Xu Zhiyan when they heard Shen Buhui, and vice versa.

Zhao Yue, who was increasingly being ignored by the little couple: “…”

Well, whatever. In the end, she’d be the one profiting anyway.

One of them joins, she makes money. If both join—double the profit!

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