The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love - Chapter 69

“Did you guys hear? Shen-senpai got confessed to again!”

“Who was it this time? I remember the last one was that hot guy from Grade 11.”

“You’re behind! That was two confessions ago. The last one was from Xu-ge — you know, the infamous school bad boy from Second High.”

“Ugh, don’t get sidetracked! We’re talking about this time. So, who was it?”

“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to spread it around… This time it’s Zhou Peng’s older brother — Zhou Kun. The guy who’s always ranked right under Shen-senpai in exams. Second place, every time.”

Xu Zhiyan had been quietly copying notes that Shen Buhui had specially written for her. But when she overheard the conversation behind her — particularly the name of the note’s owner — she couldn’t help herself. She subtly leaned back, ears perked, listening intently.

When she heard the name Zhou Peng, her eyebrows twitched. She turned to glance at the boy slumped over his desk in the back row, fast asleep, and frowned.

“Ah! Xu Zhiyan, you heard all that?”
Cao Yueyue, who had just spilled the juicy gossip, noticed Xu Zhiyan’s movement and instantly remembered the unusual closeness between her and the subject of their discussion — Shen Buhui. She immediately stopped gossiping, a bit embarrassed.

Xu Zhiyan gave a small, composed nod.

Cao Yueyue blushed.

They were all eighth-grade students at County No. 1 Middle School, classmates since seventh grade. After so long, everyone had a pretty good sense of each other’s personalities.

Xu Zhiyan knew Cao Yueyue wasn’t a bad person — just a bit nosy. She was famous in class as the go-to person for news and gossip. But that wasn’t such a bad thing. At their age, when life was all about exams and studying, gossiping about celebrities or school legends was one of the few fun distractions.

And Cao Yueyue’s favorite subject — apart from celebrities — was always the elusive, stunning upperclasswoman: Shen Buhui.

Shen Buhui was about five years older than them. A former student of their middle school, now attending the best high school in the county — County No. 1 High — just next door.

From elementary school onward, Shen Buhui had never lacked admirers. With her stunning looks and exceptional grades, she had always been a legend. Stories and rumors about her floated through every grade like wildfire.

Whenever Xu Zhiyan was too embarrassed or too prideful to ask Shen Buhui directly about something, she always found out through Cao Yueyue.

“Xu Zhiyan, you’re really close with Shen-senpai, right? Do you know who her favorite among all those people is?”
One of the other gossiping girls turned excited eyes on her.

Shen Buhui was gorgeous, sure — but also cold and aloof. Distant. Untouchable. And yet they’d all seen her waiting patiently for Xu Zhiyan after school, smiling at her with a softness they hadn’t seen her show anyone else.

Word was, Xu Zhiyan and Shen Buhui had known each other since they were little. Lived near each other. Grew up together. There had to be something there.

“Yeah, yeah, you definitely know! Just tell us — we won’t tell anyone, promise!”

Cao Yueyue’s deskmate looked ready to explode with curiosity.
From the cool school bad boy to the sweet honor student — even the eternally second-place Zhou-senpai — they were all dreamboat material!

She secretly rooted for the school bad boy, but… she’d take anyone.

Xu Zhiyan felt an inexplicable wave of irritation.

Facing their sparkling eyes, she replied coldly and decisively:
“She doesn’t like any of them.”

“Ahhh—”
The girls let out exaggerated groans of disappointment.

“Then… which girl does she like?”
Another girl piped up, rattling off a list of girls who had also confessed to Shen Buhui.

Xu Zhiyan didn’t hesitate:
“She doesn’t like any of them either.”

Watching their letdown expressions, she doubled down, tone firm:
“You should all give up. Shen Buhui isn’t going to like any of them.”

“…Then who does she like?”

A girl with braided hair chewed on the end of her pen and scrunched her nose. If it were her, she’d be totally overwhelmed with choices!

Xu Zhiyan, in the middle of angrily ruffling her hair in frustration, blurted out without thinking:
“She likes me!”

Cao Yueyue grinned.
“Well duh, of course she likes you. But not like that kind of like!”

The others nodded along, eyes full of innocent misunderstanding.

Xu Zhiyan stared at them, speechless.
She was done.
They don’t understand anything!

Grumpy and fuming, she turned around, flopped onto her desk, and didn’t even want to copy notes anymore.

Thinking about all her complicated, tangled-up feelings — and their clueless, giggling reactions — made her want to cry.

But then she remembered:
The notes beneath her arms, the ones warming under her forehead, were the ones Shen Buhui had made just for her.

Sniffling, she rubbed her nose, wiped her eyes, and picked her pen back up.
She had to finish copying the notes, like Shen Buhui asked.

—

Afternoon classes passed quickly.

As the bell rang for dismissal, the classroom erupted as everyone raced to the door. Xu Zhiyan stayed back to pack her things.

As she reached the hallway, Zhou Peng — still half-asleep — stumbled out of class. The moment Xu Zhiyan saw him, all she could think about was what Cao Yueyue had said.

Clutching her bag strap, she stomped past him, letting out a dramatic hmph! as she did.

He’s the brother of a love rival. That makes him my enemy!

Zhou Peng, completely baffled: “…???”

Before he could react, she’d already bolted.

She knew exactly who was waiting outside.
Shen Buhui. And she had to guard her closely.

“Shen Buhui!”
Spotting the familiar figure under the trees in the distance, Xu Zhiyan broke into a grin and waved both hands above her head — sprinting toward her like sunshine on legs.

What if they never parted ways—childhood sweethearts, and something even closer.

Shen Buhui pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the sweat from Xu Zhiyan’s forehead. Then, with a soft smile and a playful tap on her forehead, she said,
“Why aren’t you calling me ‘Jie’ anymore?”

Linking her arm with Shen Buhui’s, Xu Zhiyan hung her head and glanced at how she only reached up to the older girl’s shoulder. She pouted, a little discouraged.
“Because your name is pretty… I just want to call you that.”

Tilting her head up, she blinked innocently.
“Everyone else gets to call you by name. Why can’t I?”

“And who’s ‘everyone else’?” Shen Buhui asked.

“Your classmates.” Xu Zhiyan grumbled with a little huff.

“I see…” Shen Buhui tilted her head thoughtfully, then smiled softly.
“You can call me whatever you want, Yan Yan. But…”
Her voice dropped tenderly,
“I still like it best when you call me ‘Jie.’”

“…Oh.”

The color immediately rose in Xu Zhiyan’s cheeks.

All her earlier resolutions to “grow up” and “change” were obliterated by one spoiled, doting smile.

Eyes lowered, she whispered again:
“Jie…”

“Mhm.” Shen Buhui responded, her voice smiling too. “What should we have for dinner tonight?”

Xu Zhiyan tilted her head thoughtfully.
“How about tomato and scrambled eggs? I’ll cook tonight.”

She knew Shen Buhui had heavy study loads. Even if she was younger, Xu Zhiyan believed she could help take care of her — just like Shen Buhui had always taken care of her.

They chatted like this, step by step, all the way home.

Everyone thought they “lived nearby.” That wasn’t exactly wrong — just not the full story.

The truth was:
They’d always lived together.

From the beginning… until now.

Years ago, a fire had taken Xu Zhiyan’s parents and her home.

Even after the house was rebuilt, Xu Zhiyan clung tightly to Shen Buhui and refused to go to the orphanage. It was Shen Buhui who chose to stay by her side, getting them through that painful time.

Thanks to the government, the kind neighbors, and some money left by Xu Zhiyan’s parents, the two girls were allowed to live together. They grew up side by side — attending school together, sharing meals, becoming each other’s everything.

When Shen Buhui was in eighth grade, someone from the Xie family showed up — her biological family.

They wanted to bring her home.

But she said no.

Xu Zhiyan never knew what they talked about that day. She only knew that from then on, people started visiting them more regularly. Funds were transferred to help them, and life slowly became easier.

—

That evening, during homework time, Xu Zhiyan chewed on her pen, eyes glazing over her worksheet.

She wasn’t really seeing the questions — her mind was a whirl of thoughts. Zhou Kun. Classmates’ gossip. Those cheesy novels her deskmate liked to read.

“What are you thinking about?”

Shen Buhui looked up from her own workbook and saw Xu Zhiyan zoning out, chin in hands, eyebrows furrowed.

She tapped the desk lightly to pull her attention back.

Xu Zhiyan clutched her pen tighter, scribbling a dark, smudgy line across the page. Then, after a beat of hesitation, she asked the question burning at the back of her mind.

“Jie… do you think you’ll ever fall in love?”

“…Hm?”
Shen Buhui blinked. She hadn’t expected that.

Xu Zhiyan puffed out her cheeks, clearly sulking.
“Everyone says you’ll definitely fall in love. You’re so pretty, so smart, and so many people like you. They all say you’ll end up with one of them.”

The more she repeated her classmates’ words, the sadder she got. By the end, her eyes were rimmed with red.

Staring at Shen Buhui’s soft, gentle face under the lamp, she couldn’t stop herself.

She reached out and grabbed her hand tightly.

“Will you fall in love with someone? Will you… stop caring about me?”

They had grown up together — closer than anyone. More than just childhood friends. Their bond was so deep, so consuming, that the very idea of someone replacing her… made Xu Zhiyan want to cry.

In her teary haze, she heard Shen Buhui sigh.

Then, a warm hand gently wiped her tears away.

Her voice was calm, but serious.

“Who told you that falling in love meant leaving you?”

Xu Zhiyan moved her lips but said nothing.

No one had said that. She just… made it up.

“Stop imagining things.” Shen Buhui said, her tone firm. “I’m never leaving you. Not in this life. So don’t say that kind of thing again.”

Xu Zhiyan still stared at her, stubborn.
“You still haven’t answered if you’ll fall in love.”

Shen Buhui hadn’t planned on answering. But under that gaze — all intense and burning — she gave in.

Her reply was vague, but gentle.

“You’ll find out eventually.”

…What kind of answer was that?

Xu Zhiyan pouted. Dissatisfied.

But when she saw Shen Buhui’s expression, she held her tongue.

After a moment, she asked again:
“You’re not going to fall for any of them, right?”

“Who’s ‘them’?”

“The ones who confessed to you.”

Shen Buhui blinked. Wow. She really knew quite a lot.
But she just gave a casual shrug.

“I don’t even remember who you’re talking about. I don’t know them.”

Just one light sentence — and all of Xu Zhiyan’s gloom vanished.

Her smile bloomed, sly and pleased, like a cat who’d gotten into the cream.
“I knew it!”

As for those unimportant NPCs — hmph!

Off to the side, Shen Buhui turned her head, lips curving up uncontrollably.

Little rascal… does she really think I don’t know she’s fishing for answers?

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