The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love. (GL) - Chapter 13
Miss Shen, Senior Shen—even when she had boldly called her by her full name, Shen Buhui, it was still unacceptable. Then what exactly would satisfy her?
The drunken woman beside her swayed slightly, her soft strands of hair brushing against Xu Zhiyan’s cheek, tickling her skin.
While keeping an eye on Shen Buhui, Xu Zhiyan furrowed her brows in thought, trying to figure out what form of address might appease this childish senior.
“Call me Jie!”
A husky voice suddenly sounded near her ear.
Xu Zhiyan stared at her in surprise.
The person in question didn’t seem to find anything amiss. Instead, she curiously reached out and poked Xu Zhiyan’s cheek. The moment her finger pressed into the soft skin, it left behind a tiny dimple. Seemingly delighted by this discovery, Shen Buhui poked at it repeatedly, like a child who had just found a new favorite toy.
The cold aloofness and lazy indifference she had displayed earlier were completely gone.
It was as if the alcohol had stripped away her usual composure, leaving behind a more childish version of herself.
Her mischievous finger continued to prod at Xu Zhiyan’s face. Xu Zhiyan wrinkled her nose, instinctively wanting to swat the offending hand away. However, seeing the rare joy and carefree expression on Shen Buhui’s face, she hesitated. After a brief moment of internal struggle, she forced herself to ignore it.
Still, Shen Buhui hadn’t forgotten her demand. “Hurry up and say it!”
Say what? Call her Jie?
It wasn’t impossible.
Xu Zhiyan’s lips curled into a soft smile, the dimples at the corners of her mouth faintly visible.
Shen Buhui’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Buhui… um… Jie.”
Xu Zhiyan frowned slightly, her last word muffled.
Suddenly, something was in her mouth.
Startled, she instinctively licked at the unfamiliar object on her tongue.
The warm sensation spread instantly, sending an unmistakable shock straight to her brain.
Or rather—it wasn’t something.
It was a slender, pale, and delicate finger.
A finger that belonged to Shen Buhui.
A warm, soft, and slender finger.
The realization hit Xu Zhiyan like a bolt of lightning.
Her face turned scarlet in an instant.
And the finger was still in her mouth.
Shen Buhui had simply been fascinated by the dimples that appeared when Xu Zhiyan smiled. She had intended to poke at both sides, but somehow, her angle was off. Before she knew it, her finger had landed somewhere completely different.
Soft.
Even softer than her cheeks.
The sensation gathered at her fingertips, warm and damp.
Instinctively, she curled her finger slightly, her dazed eyes flashing with innocent curiosity.
“Mm—”
The unexpected intrusion made Xu Zhiyan’s tongue twitch in response.
By now, her cheeks and ears were burning red.
Too… too stimulating.
In just a few seconds, her composure had completely shattered.
She hastily pushed the rogue finger out of her mouth, averting her gaze with a face so flushed it could melt.
Clearly, the culprit was the drunkard in front of her. Yet somehow, she felt like she was the one who had done something shameful. Her heart pounded wildly, and she nervously glanced around—anywhere but at Shen Buhui.
Meanwhile, the finger that had just been ejected from the warmth of her mouth curled slightly as it was exposed to the cool night air.
Shen Buhui’s gaze, now drawn to the unusual sensation lingering on her fingertips, fixated on them curiously.
Xu Zhiyan, having finally managed to calm herself, still didn’t dare to meet Shen Buhui’s eyes. Instead, she lowered her gaze—only to see Shen Buhui holding up her hand, staring at it with an almost scientific level of fascination.
Heat rushed back to her face.
On those pale, slender fingers, a faint sheen of moisture glistened under the dim light. Shen Buhui studied it intently, her expression full of curiosity.
One glance was all it took for Xu Zhiyan to realize exactly what it was.
And that realization only made her face burn even hotter.
She averted her gaze and, with slightly trembling hands, took a tissue from her pocket. Carefully, she grasped Shen Buhui’s hand and wiped the moisture from her finger.
Finally, it was clean!
Xu Zhiyan exhaled in relief, glancing around for a trash bin. When she didn’t spot one, she had no choice but to shove the used tissue back into her pocket.
Fortunately, Shen Buhui wasn’t being particularly troublesome in her drunken state. Though she seemed a bit confused, she obediently let Xu Zhiyan do as she pleased.
But just as Xu Zhiyan finished putting away the tissue, Shen Buhui let out a soft sound and curiously asked, “Can I play with it again?”
Her usually calm and emotionless eyes rippled with curiosity, blinking as she spoke. “It’s soft. It feels nice.”
As she spoke, she pointed at Xu Zhiyan’s lips—indicating that there was even better to touch than her cheeks.
Xu Zhiyan: “!!!”
Why is drunk Miss Shen so… so…
Xu Zhiyan struggled to find the right words. She felt like she was reaching her limit.
Just thinking about how Shen Buhui might remember everything after sobering up tomorrow made her want to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
But now wasn’t the time for that. It was late, and they needed to get back.
With an air of righteousness, Xu Zhiyan firmly declared, “No, that’s not something you can just touch as you please.”
“…Alright.” Shen Buhui nodded, looking visibly disappointed.
Thank goodness she didn’t ask why.
Xu Zhiyan relaxed and said, “Buhui-jie, let’s go back.”
Shen Buhui obediently followed her for a few steps—then stopped again.
Xu Zhiyan: “…”
Bracing herself, she asked, “Now what?”
That one word—‘now’—spoke volumes about her struggle.
Unfortunately, a drunk person neither understands nor cares.
A drunk person only wants to be happy.
So the drunk person changed her mind again. “‘Buhui-jie’ doesn’t work either.”
Xu Zhiyan: “…”
Weren’t you the one who wanted to be called ‘Jie’?
With her clouded mind working hard to process, Shen the Drunk pondered why she suddenly disliked the way she was being addressed.
Then, a childhood memory surfaced—an old drama she had watched, the dialogue playing clearly in her head.
“Gege… come here~”
She imagined it for a moment—and her eyes sparkled.
Then, with newfound anticipation, she said, “Call me Jiejie!”
Jiejie?
Xu Zhiyan imagined calling Shen Buhui “Buhui Jiejie” and immediately got goosebumps all over. It sounded way too much like something straight out of a cheesy romance novel. She couldn’t bring herself to say it.
But when she met Shen Buhui’s expectant expression, she realized she had no choice.
“…Jiejie.”
Her voice was so soft it was barely audible.
But Shen Buhui heard it loud and clear.
In an instant, her lips curved into a dazzling smile, like ice melting under the warmth of spring—rippling with charm, intoxicatingly beautiful.
“Mm.” She responded in satisfaction.
Xu Zhiyan’s cheeks turned slightly red, but with the deep night as her cover, she mustered the courage to say it again.
“Jiejie, let’s go back now.”
This time, there was no resistance whatsoever. Shen Buhui followed her steadily, and their return to the hotel went surprisingly smoothly.
When they arrived at her suite, her assistant, Xiao Fang, was already waiting inside.
Relieved, Xu Zhiyan sighed and said, “Take care of Miss Shen. I’ll head back now.”
Xiao Fang expressed his gratitude. “Thank you for bringing Buhui-jie back, Teacher Xu. Sorry for the trouble.”
Leaning quietly against the doorframe, Shen Buhui remained silent, her expression serene. At this moment, she appeared obedient and well-behaved.
Xu Zhiyan hesitated for a moment, casting one last glance at her before finally turning to leave—only after making sure Xiao Fang had helped Shen Buhui inside.
After returning to her room, Xu Zhiyan poured herself a glass of cold water and downed it in one go before heading to the bathroom to fill the tub.
Tonight was absolutely surreal. She thought as she soaked in the warm water.
From unexpectedly catching Miss Shen smoking to witnessing her drunken antics—including her insistence on a particular form of address—everything about tonight felt bizarre.
But why had she suddenly decided to drink? And why had she been smoking in such a secluded place?
With unexplainable concern lingering in her heart, Xu Zhiyan drifted into sleep.
In her dream, she had somehow turned into a fluffy white puppy—round from eating too much, yet still adorable enough to be loved by her owner.
The chubby little pup must have eaten something strange because its owner seemed worried and tried to pry open its mouth to check.
So, lying obediently in the owner’s soft embrace, the puppy stretched out on its back and opened its mouth for inspection—only for a sudden flash of light to turn it into a human again…
For the entire night, Xu Zhiyan found herself trapped in an absurd cycle of transformation—sometimes human, sometimes a dog. But regardless of form, the dream always fixated on one thing.
The lips.
And that ever-present, slender, elegant finger.
By the time she woke up, her face was burning. She quickly got up and began washing up, determined to forget about the absurd dream.
What kind of ridiculous dream was that?!
As she brushed her teeth, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, focusing on her lips.
Was it just her imagination, or did her tongue feel a little numb?
She paused mid-brush, then shook her head and hastily finished before stepping away from the sink.
Just as she was drying off, her assistant, Yuanyuan, walked in and immediately noticed her damp bangs and flushed face.
“Did you turn the air conditioning up too high?” Yuanyuan asked, puzzled.
Otherwise, why did she look so overheated?
Xu Zhiyan shook her head so vigorously it was like a drum rattle. “No, not at all!”
“Oh, okay then.” Yuanyuan didn’t press the issue and instead glanced at the schedule for the day. With a smile, she announced, “You don’t have to go to the set this morning. We’re heading straight to the studio for the character photoshoot.”
Character photoshoot.
With Shen Buhui.
Xu Zhiyan’s steps abruptly halted.