The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love. (GL) - Chapter 21

While Xu Zhiyan and Shen Buhui were having their meal, Shen Buhui’s newly established studio released two consecutive Weibo posts.

@Nianshang Studio: A new definition, a new beginning. Today, Nianshang Studio officially meets everyone!

@Nianshang Studio: Meeting you, knowing your heart, speaking with sincerity. From this day forward, Nianshang walks with you. 💖 @Xu Zhiyan

Shortly after, Shen Buhui’s personal studio shared these posts, instantly pushing the news to the trending list.

Before terminating her contract with Xingmang, Shen Buhui had already set up her own personal studio. However, at that time, it was more like a dedicated team serving her. Now that she had gone independent and was considering signing Xu Zhiyan, using the same personal studio no longer seemed appropriate. After much thought, she decided to establish a new name and split the teams—one to manage her affairs and another for Xu Zhiyan.

Once again, Shen Buhui and Xu Zhiyan’s names appeared together in the trending topics.

#Shen Buhui establishes a studio and signs Xu Zhiyan#

Since the trending topic was related to work and was a decision made by Shen Buhui as a business owner, there were no extreme comments under the Weibo post. Instead, the atmosphere was filled with congratulations, with only a few curious inquiries about who Xu Zhiyan was.

Seeing this, Xu Zhiyan let out a breath of relief.

“The studio moves fast,” she remarked in amazement.

She had just signed the contract, and before they even finished their meal, the news had already been made public.

Shen Buhui dabbed her lips with a napkin, pleased with the studio’s efficiency. “That’s how it should be—high efficiency.”

Suddenly remembering something, Xu Zhiyan said, “By the way, Sister, about Yuanyuan—I’d like her to continue working as my assistant. Her salary can be deducted directly from my personal account.”

If the salary came from her account, it meant she was personally hiring Yuanyuan.

Shen Buhui had anticipated this and responded, “No need to take it from your account. Everything will go through the studio’s financial department.”

She firmly stopped Xu Zhiyan from arguing further, making the final decision. “The studio was going to assign you an assistant anyway. Now that you’ve chosen someone you’re more comfortable with, it actually saves us some work.”

Ridiculous. Xu Zhiyan was now in her territory, so naturally, everything should be arranged for her comfort. How could she allow her to worry about such trivial matters?

Seeing Shen Buhui’s unwavering attitude, Xu Zhiyan decided not to press the issue. Leaning back against her chair, she relaxed completely. “Alright, I’ll listen to you then.”

Shen Buhui smiled brightly.

That afternoon, Xu Zhiyan returned home. Neither Lin Ya nor Xu Qingyi were there, and only Aunt Wang was cleaning the living room.

After exchanging a few words with her, Xu Zhiyan headed upstairs to her room.

Having spent days staying in hotels while filming, returning to her own bedroom felt incredibly familiar and comforting.

However, she hadn’t forgotten what she had wanted to do for the past two days.

She walked over to a light green cabinet placed against the wall. It was slightly taller than her, with three shelves on top and two rows of drawers below the tabletop.

The three shelves contained various memorabilia from her years as a fan, including autographed photos.

She located the section dedicated to the “Wealthy Couple” merchandise and pulled out everything related to Jiang Yu.

Then, without a change in expression, she picked up a pair of scissors and started cutting up the posters and postcards bearing the face of that scumbag.

She made sure to dispose of every single scrap into the trash bin. Afterward, she carefully gathered the remaining Bai Xilin-related items and locked them away in the cabinet. The once fully occupied space was now completely cleared out.

Sweeping her eyes across the shelves, she felt a wave of satisfaction—there was nothing unsightly left.

“…Wait, I forgot to tear up the signed photo,” she murmured.

It was the only autographed photo she had of the so-called “Wealthy Couple”—a prize she had won in a giveaway. She remembered placing it with her other photos and signed memorabilia in the lower drawer.

She pushed back her chair, crouched down, and pulled open the second-to-last drawer.

A thick stack of items lay before her. Flipping through them, Xu Zhiyan soon found the signed photo she was looking for.

Now that she had gotten rid of the last remaining piece of that scumbag’s memorabilia, she tilted her head slightly, staring at the drawer filled with postcards and autographed pictures in a daze.

“So many?” she murmured in surprise.

Ever since she started following celebrities five years ago, most of the signed photos she had collected had either come as gifts with endorsed products or were won through giveaway draws.

Among all the Weibo accounts running such giveaways, there was one called “Guardian of Love.” Whenever it held a lottery, Xu Zhiyan’s winning rate was practically one hundred percent.

In other words, more than half of her autographed pictures came from that account.

If not for the fact that “Guardian of Love” frequently ran giveaways regardless of fandoms, allowing many others to win as well, Xu Zhiyan would have seriously suspected that the account had some kind of special bias toward her.

Well, in “Guardian of Love”, she felt like a true lucky charm!

Now, as the “lucky charm” cut up the signed photos she had won from them, she felt a rare twinge of guilt. After all, she had milked them for so many prizes!

After admiring her accumulated collection for a little while longer, she pushed the items back into the drawer. Just as she was about to lock it, a photograph buried at the very bottom caught her attention.

Curious, she pulled out the yellowed photograph.

Unlike the vintage-style postcards and photos that were deliberately designed to look nostalgic, the worn edges of this photograph clearly showed that it was genuinely aged.

More importantly, the picture featured two children—one older and one younger.

She immediately recognized the younger child—it was her.

“When was this taken?” Xu Zhiyan muttered, holding the photograph in confusion.

In the picture, the two girls stood facing each other. The younger girl, with her hair tied into two ponytails, appeared to be holding a piece of candy, seemingly offering it to the older girl.

For a brief moment, a flash of memory flickered through her mind—too fast for her to grasp.

Frowning, she stared at the photograph. It felt as though the dust-covered corners of her memory were stirring, something deep inside threatening to surface.

She knew exactly when this photograph was taken. Or rather, she understood that her eighteen years of life were split into two distinct phases.

One was before the age of eight. The other was after.

This photograph was from before—before she came to the Xu family.

But beyond that, she couldn’t recall anything.

Too much time had passed, and both Lin Ya and Xu Qingyi had always avoided discussing the past in front of her. As a result, seeing this old, timeworn photograph now left her completely at a loss.

She thought long and hard but still couldn’t piece anything together. Eventually, she gave up. Setting the photograph aside, she stored it separately from the rest of her collection.

After tidying up the cabinet, she checked the time on her phone—only 3 p.m. Deciding to take a shower, she then indulged in a delayed afternoon nap.

By the time she woke up, it was dinnertime. Rubbing her groggy head, she made her way downstairs.

Pausing at the dining table, she noticed that there was only a single portion of food prepared.

“My parents aren’t coming home tonight?” she asked, puzzled.

Aunt Wang emerged from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of porridge. “Sir and Madam called half an hour ago. They said they’d be visiting a friend’s house tonight.”

“I see. I’ll eat by myself then.” Xu Zhiyan nodded.

She had originally planned to discuss her future work arrangements with her parents today, but since they weren’t around, she figured she’d just tell them over the phone later.

Just as she sat down, her phone vibrated on the table.

[Do you want me to send someone to pick you up tomorrow?]

It was Shen Buhui.

With a bun in her mouth, Xu Zhiyan freed one hand to type out a reply, about to decline. But before she could send it, another message popped up.

[We have a car available anyway. I’ll have someone pick you up.]

Raising an eyebrow, Xu Zhiyan smirked. Well, if the boss had already decided, then she had no reason to refuse!

[Alright! ^_^]

The early morning sun had yet to grow scorching, and the gentle morning breeze brushed against her cheeks, sweeping away the lingering warmth of sleep.

As soon as Xu Zhiyan got into the car that had come to pick her up, she was surprised to see Shen Buhui sitting in the back seat as well.

“Sister, why did you come all this way?”

Leaning against the seat with a somewhat weary expression, Shen Buhui looked noticeably less energetic than usual. It wasn’t until Xu Zhiyan stepped inside that her face showed a hint of vitality.

“I figured it was on the way, so I came to pick you up.”

It was only then that Xu Zhiyan realized this nanny van actually belonged to Shen Buhui.

“I thought you were sending another car,” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Shen Buhui took a sip of warm tea, her expression relaxed. “Mine works just as well.”

Well, not really. One was a company vehicle, while this was Shen Buhui’s private car. But Xu Zhiyan kept that thought to herself.

Once she settled in beside Shen Buhui, she finally noticed something seemed off. Taking a closer look, she saw that Shen Buhui had one hand resting on her lower abdomen. Her usual soft pink lips looked a little pale.

Frowning with concern, Xu Zhiyan asked, “Sister, are you feeling unwell?”

As she spoke, she instinctively reached out to check her forehead.

The warmth of someone else’s touch gently pressed against her skin, soft and delicate. Shen Buhui’s heart stirred slightly—she was reluctant to break the rare closeness in such a sober state.

After a brief moment, however, she restrained herself and placed her hand over Xu Zhiyan’s, guiding it away. “I don’t have a fever, just feeling a little uncomfortable.”

Xu Zhiyan’s concern remained evident on her face. As she glanced down, her eyes landed on the thermos cup in Shen Buhui’s hand. Noting what was inside, she immediately pieced things together.

Leaning in closer, she whispered near her ear, “Sister, is it cramps from your period?”

The warm breath tickled against her ear, sending a subtle sensation down her spine, as if tracing its way straight to her heart. Lowering her gaze, Shen Buhui gave a soft hum of confirmation.

Recalling her own experiences during that time of the month, Xu Zhiyan instinctively glanced at Shen Buhui’s lower abdomen, unable to tell much through the fabric. “Did you put on a heating pad?”

Shen Buhui shook her head—she didn’t like using those.

Xu Zhiyan frowned slightly, sighing. “You should’ve stayed home and rested today. You really didn’t have to come pick me up.”

She looked at Shen Buhui with a touch of disapproval.

The faint curve at the corner of Shen Buhui’s lips disappeared. She lifted her gaze, looking directly into Xu Zhiyan’s eyes, her expression carrying a trace of… grievance?

Grievance?

Xu Zhiyan was momentarily stunned. Taking a closer look, she realized—yes, it really was grievance.

…Was Shen Buhui really sulking because of what she just said?

How should she even react to this?

Right now, Shen Buhui was leaning against the seat, looking frail and weak. Her usually soft and gentle eyes carried a hint of misty vulnerability, as if caught between drowsiness and unshed tears.

That fragility, for some inexplicable reason, stirred a sense of tenderness in Xu Zhiyan’s heart.

It was strange, wasn’t it? In terms of age and status, Shen Buhui was clearly the superior one—successful and accomplished. Yet, at this moment, it was she who made Xu Zhiyan, someone who was usually on the receiving end of care, feel the urge to protect her instead.

Unconsciously, a hint of warmth crept into Xu Zhiyan’s gaze as she asked softly, “What can I do to make you feel better?”

Shen Buhui was momentarily taken aback. She had caught the fleeting trace of tenderness in Xu Zhiyan’s eyes—quick, but unmistakable.

Her mind whirred at lightning speed before she spoke naturally, “Whenever my period comes, a gentle massage on my stomach helps a lot.”

Then, lifting her gaze slightly, she added with a hint of expectation, “So… would you be willing to do it for me?”