The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love - Chapter 52

For a moment, Xu Zhiyan felt both dismayed and amused—was she really the stand-in for someone’s long-lost first love? While wallowing in that possibility, she couldn’t help wondering… Could Shen Buhui be the one holding a “regretful lover in the ashes of pursuit” storyline?

Half-distracted, Xu Zhiyan turned off the rice cooker. By the time she carried the bowl of porridge upstairs, she’d already played out eight hundred possible drama scenarios in her mind for both storylines.

When she opened the door, the first thing Shen Buhui saw was the complicated expression on Xu Zhiyan’s face.

The steaming porridge was set aside to cool. Xu Zhiyan sat next to her, gently massaging her lower abdomen, though her attention was clearly elsewhere.

She had just spent some time carefully recalling every romantic detail between them. She couldn’t recall a single moment when Shen Buhui had shown that distant, nostalgic gaze—the kind that suggests one is seeing someone else through you.

Now that she’d calmed down, Xu Zhiyan began to think that maybe Zeng Yue was just stirring up trouble. But still… even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance…

Watching Shen Buhui raise the bowl to drink, Xu Zhiyan hesitated before asking, “Sis… do you have, like, a ‘first love you could never have’?”

“You know… the kind you love deeply but lose, and then mourn after they’ve died—the white moonlight kind,” she added, just in case Shen Buhui didn’t get the reference.

Shen Buhui: “…”

She gave Xu Zhiyan a strange look. Who curses their own lover to be dead?

Shen Buhui raised a hand. “Hold that thought. Let me finish this porridge first.” She was genuinely worried she might choke if Xu Zhiyan kept talking while she drank.

She downed the porridge quickly, then set the bowl and spoon aside. Looking at Xu Zhiyan seriously, she asked, “Alright, what happened?”

There was no way Xu Zhiyan would ask something like this unless something had happened.

Xu Zhiyan’s gaze darted away, but she wouldn’t let it go. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

She was determined to get a straight answer today.

Shen Buhui sighed. “I don’t have any so-called white moonlight—no tragic, unrequited love, no tearful mourning.”

Her white moonlight had already been embraced, turned into her girlfriend. Now she held her close in bed at night—what need was there for any other white moonlight?

“You’re not lying to me?”

“Why would I lie about that?” Shen Buhui gave her a light knock on the head. “The real question is, why are you suddenly bringing this up again? You’ve been basically cursing me this whole time.”

Xu Zhiyan felt a small weight lift from her chest. “I just… heard something and thought maybe I was playing the role of someone’s stand-in.”

“…Don’t tell me you also imagined I was in the middle of a ‘regretful pursuit after losing my love’ plotline?” Shen Buhui narrowed her eyes.

Xu Zhiyan: “…”

Her eyes suddenly widened with a how-did-you-know?! expression.

Having read and thoroughly analyzed Xu Zhiyan’s melodramatic fanfics before, Shen Buhui couldn’t help herself and gave her another playful tap.

“Who told you all this nonsense?” she asked. “Was it Zeng Yue?”

Realizing nothing could get past her, Xu Zhiyan nodded lightly.

A flash of coldness passed through Shen Buhui’s eyes. She reached out to ruffle Xu Zhiyan’s hair. “Don’t listen to her. I only like you. My first kiss and my first love—all given to you. There’s no one else.”

Xu Zhiyan was so stunned by this unexpected bombshell that she nearly fainted from happiness.

She was Shen Buhui’s first love?!

She couldn’t hide her joy, but after a moment, she frowned in thought. “Wait. I believe you about being your first love—your technique at the beginning was kinda amateur, after all…”

“But are you sure you’ve only ever liked me?” she asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

After all, there was that one person Shen Buhui had once confessed to loving deeply in front of a large audience.

She stared closely at Shen Buhui, waiting for her reply.

“…” Shen Buhui suddenly found herself stuck for words.

Seeing her hesitation, Xu Zhiyan finally understood.

After a pause, she smiled softly. “Alright, I get it. Who hasn’t had a wild, passionate crush when they were younger? As long as you love me now, and I’m the one by your side, that’s enough.”

She didn’t care about the past. As for that old secret crush—it was history.

If Shen Buhui didn’t want to talk about it, then so be it. What mattered was that she loved her now, and that love wasn’t mixed with anyone else.

Shen Buhui looked deeply at her. You “get it,” huh? What exactly do you think you’ve understood?

Still, she didn’t want to reveal everything just yet. After all, it hits differently when someone uncovers the truth on their own—it’s more powerful that way.

Shen Buhui wanted Xu Zhiyan to recall those shared memories slowly, to deepen their bond and make their love unbreakable.

So she simply nodded in agreement.

But then she added, “Please stop talking about me dying.”

Seriously, that was just bad luck.

Xu Zhiyan’s heart gave a pang. She pouted and hummed in agreement.

Whatever… as long as I know she likes me the most now, that’s all that matters. As for that old crush? She’d find a chance to tease the truth out of Shen Buhui later.

Zeng Yue had thought that what she said to Xu Zhiyan that afternoon might cause a crack in their relationship. Even better if Xu Zhiyan threw a tantrum and annoyed Shen Buhui—maybe she’d finally grow tired of her.

But that evening, when she saw the two of them coming downstairs together—close, laughing, looking as happy as ever—her expression froze. She was so angry, her lips nearly twisted.

Willing to be a substitute and still so shameless? Hah!

After dinner, everyone spread out in the courtyard, chatting idly. As the conversation dragged on, Chen Xingguang suggested they play a game to kill time.

“Truth or Dare?”

Xu Zhiyan raised an eyebrow. This simple?

Chen Xingguang nodded. “Yeah. It’s easy to play, and we can all get to know each other better.”

Since they had nothing else to do, the six of them formed a circle and got ready.

Before the game began, Xu Zhiyan went back inside and grabbed a jacket to drape over Shen Buhui’s shoulders, then sat back down, ready to play.

Since there weren’t any beer bottles in the courtyard, Chen Xingguang went to find a clean empty bottle. He put a bit of weight inside to keep it from spinning too freely, marked the neck, and then turned to the group: “When the bottle stops spinning, the person it points to will have to choose either Truth or Dare.”

The six of them nodded in understanding.

The first to spin was Chen Xingguang. The bottle swayed back and forth before finally stopping in front of Shang Qi.

Chen Xingguang tried to suppress the excitement in his eyes. “Shang Qi-jie, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth,” she said with a smile.

“Alright, then I’ll ask—” Chen Xingguang was just about to speak when Qi Helin cut in.

“Why do you get to ask the question? Aren’t we supposed to ask together?”

Chen Xingguang gave him a side glance. “Then what would you ask?”

Qi Helin, who was only in it for the fun and had nothing in mind, shrugged. “Never mind, go ahead.”

Chen Xingguang: “…”

Seeing that everyone else was looking at him as if to say “Go on, you ask”, Chen Xingguang turned to Shang Qi, licked his lips, and casually asked, “Shang Qi-jie, what’s your ideal type?”

“Huh?” Xu Zhiyan tilted her head. “Didn’t Shang Qi-jie already say that on the show before?”

Staring at her red, upturned lips, Chen Xingguang said, “Yeah, I know. But that was ages ago. I want to know what her current standard is.”

Shang Qi smiled. “My ideal type… someone I find interesting, I guess.”

Chen Xingguang looked a bit disappointed. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Xu Zhiyan suddenly remembered Shang Qi once mentioning she liked older partners, so she asked, “Do you prefer someone older or younger?”

Shen Buhui turned her head and gave Xu Zhiyan a glance.

Hearing that question, Chen Xingguang perked up, clearly curious about the answer.

But Shang Qi raised her finger and playfully shook it. “Only one question per round for Truth, remember? That’s two. Ask again next time.”

From where Xu Zhiyan was sitting, she could clearly see the disappointment on Chen Xingguang’s face.

Her heart skipped a beat again, and she couldn’t help thinking back to the look she’d seen in his eyes yesterday.

“…Is my ship about to sink?” she thought, feeling a faint sense of loss. She still remembered that interview where Chen Xingguang said his ideal type was Lan Xingyu—how did things change so fast?

With that thought, Xu Zhiyan couldn’t help herself. Every time the bottle landed on Chen Xingguang during the next rounds, she tried to dig out more clues.

Shen Buhui, noticing Xu Zhiyan’s attention lingering on Chen Xingguang all night, felt a flicker of jealousy. But she held it in—barely. As long as Xu Zhiyan confirmed Chen Xingguang liked Shang Qi, she’d lose interest and never look his way again.

Thinking this, Shen Buhui squeezed her hand gently beneath the table and generously allowed her girlfriend to interrogate Chen Xingguang all she wanted.

But Qi Helin, oblivious to all of this, was getting suspicious. Seeing how enthusiastic Xu Zhiyan was with Chen Xingguang tonight, he wondered—

She doesn’t want to be paired with me… could it be because she actually has a thing for that guy?

Qi Helin glanced sideways at Chen Xingguang. Sure, he was a little taller, had a bit more popularity—but that was all because of his fake relationship with Lan Xingyu!

The more he thought about it, the more fired up he got. He started being extra warm and attentive to Xu Zhiyan.

As for Zeng Yue, watching Xu Zhiyan, who already had Shen Buhui, still paying so much attention to someone else, felt downright unbearable.

Why not me? she thought bitterly.

The more she thought, the more unwilling she became. Lowering her head, Zeng Yue adjusted her expression before raising it again to continue the game.

Had Xu Zhiyan seen her at that moment, she would’ve been shocked—Zeng Yue now looked nothing like the gentle, elegant woman she first met.

That softness had been gradually replaced by resentment and jealousy.

By the end of the Truth or Dare game, Chen Xingguang’s head was spinning from all of Xu Zhiyan’s questions.

“I didn’t know you were this curious about me,” he grumbled, rubbing his temples.

He’d originally suggested playing the game to get closer to Shang Qi—but the bottle kept pointing to him, and to avoid Xu Zhiyan’s questions, he’d ended up choosing Dares that left his face smudged and his dignity in shambles.

Xu Zhiyan looked at his blackened face, the result of one unfortunate dare, and offered a strained smile. “Maybe because I used to be your fan.”

Used to be.

Because the more she asked, the more disappointed she became. By the time the game ended, she had already lost interest.

Her ship had sunk. What was the point in staying a fan?

Chen Xingguang didn’t catch the implication. He thought she was just being polite. Rubbing his face, he couldn’t bear to let Shang Qi see him like this and quickly ran off to wash up and remove the smeared makeup.

Later that night, lying in bed, Shen Buhui glanced over at the sullen Xu Zhiyan and chuckled. “Un-stanned?”

Xu Zhiyan muttered, “Yeah.”

Shen Buhui wasn’t about to suggest she stan someone else—quite the opposite. She couldn’t be happier that Xu Zhiyan had shifted all her focus back to her, even if that attention used to be a little scattered.

She gazed at the crown of Xu Zhiyan’s head, a warm, certain smile tugging at her lips.

“Shipping other couples will never be as sweet as shipping us. Because we’ll never break up.”

No other pairing could compare to their own. Real, lasting, and true.

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