The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love - Chapter 46

Since she had already promised Shen Buhui that she would join her on the variety show, Xu Zhiyan left the follow-up arrangements to Zhao Yue.

This would be Xu Zhiyan’s first official schedule after wrapping up the filming of Symbiosis, so Zhao Yue was determined to handle it with utmost care.

Taking both Shen Buhui and Xu Zhiyan’s preferences into account, they initially leaned toward the travel-themed variety show with a competitive edge, which had piqued Xu Zhiyan’s interest. But after considering the tendencies of some domestic variety show directors, she ultimately chose the pastoral lifestyle show that Shen Buhui preferred.

A slower pace of life didn’t sound too bad, either.

All that remained was to wait for updates from Zhao Yue.

In fact, when Zhao Yue went to discuss the matter with Director Yan Lu, it was as if she had just been struck by an overwhelming surprise—she didn’t even react right away.

Despite how masculine the name “Yan Lu” might sound, the director was actually a gentle-looking woman from Jiangnan.

…Though her temper was anything but gentle.

“You’re serious?!” Yan Lu practically jumped with joy upon hearing the news.

Zhao Yue closed her eyes briefly, trying to endure the thick Northeastern accent coming out of the Southern-born director—it was still something she found hard to get used to.

The contrast between appearance and voice was downright torturous. No one could guess where Yan Lu had picked up such fluent Northeastern-style Mandarin.

Doing her best to ignore it, Zhao Yue shifted to her businesslike tone. “Yes, Buhui has agreed…”

Hearing the unfinished sentence and the nuance in Zhao Yue’s tone, Yan Lu instantly understood—there were conditions.

“You know that Buhui recently opened her own studio. The studio currently has a newcomer, so…” Zhao Yue gave a polite smile, picked up the tea on the table, and sipped without elaborating further.

Understanding the hint without needing it spelled out, Yan Lu slapped her thigh with a cheerful grin. “Aiya! That’s no problem at all. In fact, we’ve had our eye on Xu Zhiyan too! We were planning to send her an offer after confirming Shen Yinghou’s availability anyway!”

Zhao Yue raised an eyebrow slightly and offered a knowing smile at the quick-witted and capable Yan Lu.

After hashing out the contract terms through some back-and-forth, Zhao Yue finally left, ears still ringing from a full morning of Northeastern-accented negotiations.

She called afterward to report: “From what Director Yan said, the casting isn’t completely finalized yet. Besides the two of you, there’s still Shang Qi and Chen Xingguang—two more spots remain open.”

Shen Buhui answered the call with a simple, “Mm,” and asked, “It’ll be filmed during winter break, right?”

Zhao Yue confirmed, “Yes.”

Shen Buhui didn’t ask further—she trusted Zhao Yue’s judgment. However, when she heard the name “Chen Xingguang,” her eyes lingered for a moment as she recalled the autograph she had sent out some time ago.

Later, through some roundabout questioning, she’d learned from Xu Zhiyan that the autograph giveaway was just a favor for a friend—so Chen Xingguang didn’t really mean anything.

With Xu Zhiyan’s personality, she was the type to fall in love with whoever she saw next. Once she had someone new in her life, she’d completely forget the old ones. Since they’d started dating, Xu Zhiyan hadn’t even had time to fangirl over other ships.

Well—except for one. Lately, Xu Zhiyan had been very productive in the “Zhi Yan Bu Hui” CP super-topic.

To that, all Xu Zhiyan could say was: pain and joy go hand in hand.

She was happy while creating content and sharing it with fellow fans, but she suffered every time Shen Buhui seemingly kept an eye on her fan account—pulling out the spiciest pieces to “test out” with her personally.

Xu Zhiyan: Sigh!

She had just uploaded another story. One of those that made your face flush a little just from reading it.

It wasn’t explicit, per se, but the mood was suggestive enough to make anyone feel shy.

[@DrinkMoreHotWater]: Wuwuwu how does this author write so well?! And secretly, I wanna ask—why have none of your posts ever been flagged by the mods~

The comment quickly got pushed to the top, followed by a wave of enthusiastic “+1”s.

Xu Zhiyan knew exactly why. In recent months, the super-topic moderators had tightened up their reviews in response to online cleanup policies. Many creators’ posts had been flagged for even borderline suggestive content. The rule seemed to be: better to wrongly flag one than miss a hundred.

[Sugar Devotee]: Because I’m very careful~ I haven’t done anything, really~

Xu Zhiyan thought to herself with a guilty heart: That’s because I’ve already done everything I wanted to—in private! I’d never let it all hang out online!

More importantly… she had connections.

In the moderator team, her friend Xiao Yuan—newly promoted—sneezed out of nowhere. “Achoo!”

Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the behind-the-scenes drama, other fans scrolled and read with glee, enjoying the sweetness of it all.

Xu Zhiyan, however, was suffering. She sighed and picked up her textbook, burying herself in study to escape the sweet torment she had brought upon herself.

“Aren’t you supposed to relax a bit before starting to review?” Su Er asked casually when she saw Xu Zhiyan pick up her textbook again.

“I’ve already relaxed,” Xu Zhiyan replied. “If I don’t start reviewing now, it’ll be too late.”

For her, writing was a form of relaxation. After finishing a post and uploading it, her tense and anxious mind felt significantly calmer. Because of finals, she hadn’t gone out with Shen Buhui on a proper date for several days.

Su Er pinched her own arm. “You’re right. If I don’t start now, I’ll regret it.”

She waved goodbye to her girlfriend, picked up her History of Film textbook, and started memorizing.

Thinking about the three more exams after tomorrow made her want to cry in despair.

Later that night, after a quick call with Shen Buhui, Xu Zhiyan returned to her half-memorized textbook and resumed burning the midnight oil.

Heaven favors those who work hard. The next morning, after finishing the History of Film exam, Xu Zhiyan let out a huge sigh of relief.

The remaining three exams weren’t as urgent or as demanding—they were much simpler compared to the overwhelming amount of memorization required for film history.

Chuan City’s first snowfall of the year had been unusually delayed. As Xu Zhiyan climbed into Shen Buhui’s car wrapped in a thick down jacket, she finally took off the scarf around her neck and set it aside.

Two gray-blue knitted scarves—matching couple scarves—lay next to each other. The previously flat and neat one was now gently crinkled where it touched the other.

Shen Buhui handed her a cup of hot drink while driving and said, “Director Yan confirmed the variety show. It’s basically finalized.”

“Oh right!” Xu Zhiyan exclaimed. “I’ve been so busy with finals, I completely forgot about it.”

She might have forgotten, but Zhao Yue and Director Yan certainly hadn’t—and neither had Shen Buhui. For Yan Lu, without a signed contract from Shen Buhui, the much-coveted title of “Shen Buhui’s Variety Show Debut” could slip away at any moment. As soon as the final lineup was locked in, she immediately contacted Zhao Yue.

Shen Buhui turned the steering wheel and added, “Aside from the previously confirmed Shang Qi and Chen Xingguang, the remaining cast includes Qi Helin and Zeng Yue.”

Hearing those names, Xu Zhiyan was calm now—unlike the first time she’d heard “Chen Xingguang,” when she had visibly reacted. But hearing the last two names, she paused. “Is this really Director Yan’s ‘slow-paced healing show’ or just a group vacation for our Symbiosis cast?”

Six guests in total—two men, four women. Four of them had just worked on Symbiosis.

Shen Buhui chuckled too and teased, “Maybe it really is a disguised cast retreat?”

That said, aside from greeting them on set, she and the other two weren’t particularly close.

Knowing that Shen Buhui was actually asking for her opinion, Xu Zhiyan answered, “I don’t mind. What about you?”

Since Xu Zhiyan had no objections, Shen Buhui certainly didn’t either. She had never been one to care much about others, and now that she had Xu Zhiyan, she cared even less.

Shen Buhui nodded. “Then let’s find a time to meet with Director Yan and sign the contract.”

Xu Zhiyan agreed—though she hadn’t expected things to move this quickly.

Inside the private room of the restaurant, Xu Zhiyan glanced curiously at Director Yan Lu, surprised by her soft and gentle appearance.

She didn’t expect Director Yan to look so kind and refined—nothing like the brash tone of her variety shows!

Zhao Yue hadn’t expected her to move this fast either. The moment she confirmed Shen Buhui’s participation, Director Yan had immediately pressed her to arrange a meeting—like she was terrified the opportunity might fly away at any second.

“Take a look and let me know if there’s anything you’d like to revise.” Yan Lu pushed two copies of the contract across the table.

But the moment she opened her mouth, the gentle image Xu Zhiyan had just built up in her mind shattered into pieces.

Too Northeastern! Too bold!

Fortunately, both of them had already eaten, so they could focus on discussing work.

As Xu Zhiyan flipped through the contract with care, she glanced up slightly and saw Zhao Yue nodding subtly at them from across the table—her signal was clear.

Compared to Zhao Yue, who had already vetted the contract in advance, Xu Zhiyan didn’t find anything problematic either.

Once both of them signed, the group exchanged a few polite words before Director Yan Lu finally took her leave.

Xu Zhiyan touched her now-cold teacup and smiled. “I didn’t expect Director Yan to be such an interesting person.”

Impatient, with a personality—and accent—that clashed completely with her gentle appearance.

Hearing Xu Zhiyan compliment someone else, Shen Buhui couldn’t help but say, “So she’s interesting, and I’m not?”

Xu Zhiyan: “…” Okay, no need to get jealous already.

After dating Shen Buhui for a few months, Xu Zhiyan had come to fully understand just how easily jealous she could get.

At first, she had tried to hide it. But eventually, she just stopped pretending.

And oddly enough, Xu Zhiyan didn’t find her jealousy annoying at all—in fact, it gave her an odd sense of security.

Though the two of them hadn’t really discussed “exes,” Shen Buhui’s interview from a few months back—where she’d vaguely mentioned a long-term crush—still lingered in Xu Zhiyan’s heart. It had never completely gone away.

There were several times she wanted to ask: Have you let go of that person you liked for so long? But every time her eyes met Shen Buhui’s, filled with such tenderness, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Or maybe… she just didn’t have the courage.

Thinking that, she sighed and took a sip of what used to be hot tea.

Shen Buhui spoke again, “Alright, three days without seeing you and you’re already tired of me? Can’t even answer my question now?”

Xu Zhiyan: “…!” Crap—she forgot she was sitting next to a vinegar jar!

She immediately reached for Shen Buhui’s hand and said sweetly, “I didn’t answer because the question doesn’t even need to be asked. In my heart, you’re the most interesting of all.”

The honeyed words rolled off her tongue with perfect fluency.

Shen Buhui squeezed her hand in return, her expression finally easing a little.

It wasn’t like she wanted to be this way. But every time Xu Zhiyan looked at someone else for even a second too long, she just couldn’t help it.

Then Shen Buhui asked, “Are you coming over after your exams? Hmm? I bought a few more things…”

Xu Zhiyan’s eyes lit up for a moment, but then reason quickly took over. “I don’t think I can. I haven’t been home in a while, and now that filming for the variety show is coming up, I haven’t even told my parents yet.”

Shen Buhui: “……”

She took a deep breath, tamping down her emotions, and smiled gently. “You’re right. You should go home and let Auntie and Uncle know.”

After a moment, she asked again, “Have you told them you’re in a relationship?”

Xu Zhiyan: “…” Um… probably not.

Just from that reaction, Shen Buhui understood everything.

Her eyes darkened slightly, and her grip unconsciously tightened.

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