The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love. (GL) - Chapter 23.4
But at those words, Xu Zhiyan abruptly lifted her head, shyness forgotten. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Jie, are you… experienced?”
Otherwise, why would she sound so composed and confident?!
But thinking about it, Shen Buhui had been acting for years. It was impossible she hadn’t filmed kiss scenes before—maybe she was even very skilled.
With that thought, a dull pressure settled in Xu Zhiyan’s chest. It’s normal, isn’t it? Then why did she feel a little… unhappy?
She didn’t even realize her tone had subtly crossed a line—no longer just playful banter between colleagues, but more like the jealous discovery of an unknown ex in a girlfriend’s past.
Shen Buhui caught the shift in emotion clearly. The smile at her lips deepened. Her reply was natural, yet deliberate: “No, only with you.”
“Eh?” Xu Zhiyan was stunned.
No? Really no? Her eyes kept searching Shen Buhui’s for confirmation.
She didn’t realize how much she resembled a spoiled child just then, gradually claiming the full extent of the affection offered, wanting it to belong only to her.
Shen Buhui, still in a good mood, added warmly, “Really. I’ve never filmed a kiss scene before. I used to refuse them.”
Xu Zhiyan’s shock only grew.
Shen Buhui explained, “Because I’m allergic to saliva. Before every shoot, I’d always disclose this to the director. Any kiss scenes would either be cut or handled by a stand-in. I’m not lying—my first real kiss scene was with you.”
Xu Zhiyan touched the corner of her lips and suddenly realized that the cryptic exchange between her and the director earlier… had been about this.
The next moment, her brows knit with worry, and she looked at Shen Buhui anxiously. “That’s terrible! Are you feeling okay now?”
Shen Buhui shook her head, signaling her not to panic. “During our last shoot, we had an accidental… contact. I noticed I didn’t have any allergic reaction. I’m guessing I’m not allergic to your saliva.”
Xu Zhiyan smacked herself on the head, frustrated. “I shouldn’t have done that last time!”
Thank goodness Teacher Shen hadn’t had an allergic reaction. Otherwise, she really would have messed up.
Shen Buhui gently caught her hand, stopping her. “You were immersed in the role—how is that your fault? You didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, you made me understand what a kiss really feels like for the first time. If anything, you’re my teacher.”
Xu Zhiyan stammered, lost for words. Kissing teacher? What a strange title! But once her thoughts headed in that direction, everything got even stranger!
Shen Buhui’s hand still held her wrist. Neither of them noticed; neither moved to let go. Instead, Shen Buhui, in that same posture, asked teasingly, “Speaking of which, I haven’t asked you—how are you so skilled at your age?”
During their last shoot, their lips had only briefly touched—there had been no deeper contact—so Shen Buhui hadn’t been able to gauge Xu Zhiyan’s “skills.” But after these two recent experiences, the redness and swelling of her lips were proof enough.
Xu Zhiyan scratched her head, a little embarrassed as she admitted, “I watched a few videos last night… for research.”
It was her first on-screen kiss—and with Shen Buhui, no less. Naturally, she’d started preparing early.
Shen Buhui gave her a curious look, then, after a pause, commented with a faint smile, “Your research paid off.”
Xu Zhiyan felt so mortified, she wanted to dig a hole and hide in it.
Just then, Zhao Yue walked in, phone in hand.
“Zhiyan’s here too?” She glanced up. “Perfect—the production team just released the official costume stills and tagged you both. Hop on Weibo and share them.”
These days, Zhao Yue managed not only Shen Buhui but also Xu Zhiyan. Given that the two of them stuck together constantly, it was incredibly convenient to handle both at once.
Seeing Zhao Yue felt like spotting a lifeline. Xu Zhiyan immediately lowered her head and opened her phone to log into Weibo.
This account had been created at Zhao Yue’s insistence when their studio announced Xu Zhiyan’s signing. From then on, it was her official star account. As someone with three Weibo accounts, every time Xu Zhiyan posted, she had to triple-check that she was logged into the right one, terrified of mixing them up.
As soon as she logged in, she saw her notifications had already exceeded 99+.
She found the production’s official post and shared it first before finally checking her mentions.
Aside from a few followers who admired her looks, her account usually didn’t get much traffic. But this time, her notification page was practically glowing red.
Shen Buhui, also on her phone, glanced at Xu Zhiyan, who had been buried in her screen since Zhao Yue walked in. She called out, “Zhiyan, I think we’ve got CP fans.”
Xu Zhiyan looked up with a helpless smile. “Yeah, I saw that too.”
Wait—she only noticed because she didn’t have many fans, so the sudden influx of CP comments stood out. But how did Teacher Shen see it so quickly too?
Shen Buhui pointed to a trending post from a popular promotional account featuring a few of their official photoshoots together. Below, fans were buzzing with excitement about how well-matched they were.
【Am I really seeing this? So spicy, so perfect, so much chemistry! KDL!!】
【Holy—this vibe is insane! Who said they have no CP chemistry? WHO?!】
【Hehehe… so spicy… I ship it!】
【I declare, Straightforward CP is the ultimate match!】
…
Xu Zhiyan felt her heart racing and her face burning as she scrolled through the comments, especially the more suggestive ones—because the very person they were talking about was sitting right beside her!
Shen Buhui scrolled calmly, then said in surprise, “They’ve already named our CP? ‘Straightforward’?”
“Mm,” Xu Zhiyan nodded quickly, then explained in case Shen Buhui didn’t get it, “It’s from combining the ‘Zhiyan’ in my name and ‘Buhui’ in yours—it forms the idiom ‘straightforward’ [直言不讳, zhiyan buhui].”
Shen Buhui looked at her. “Zhiyan, you’re pretty knowledgeable.”
Xu Zhiyan froze. Suddenly, she remembered that she had previously followed the ‘Straightforward CP’ fan community…
She fumbled, “I used to follow some CPs, so… I guess I’ve got experience.”
Zhao Yue listened to the two of them discuss CP names with a deadpan expression. Suddenly, she felt that all her earlier concerns about potential CP scandals had been completely unnecessary.
Especially now—knowing what Shen Buhui really felt about Xu Zhiyan—seeing the clueless girl chatting away felt like watching a pure, unsuspecting bunny wander into the jaws of a big bad wolf. By the time she realized, no matter how much she flailed those tiny legs, escape would be impossible.
“I’ve got things to take care of. You two carry on.”
Xu Zhiyan looked up in surprise. “Huh? Zhao-jie, you hadn’t left yet?”
Zhao Yue: “……”
So I’m the clown here?
Feeling both defeated and out of place, she quietly exited the room.
Once again, the space was left to just the two of them. Shen Buhui, still in her curious, “eager-to-learn” mode, looked at Xu Zhiyan and asked, “So why isn’t my name first?”
“……”
Xu Zhiyan hesitated, unsure whether she should explain. In CP fandom, there was an unspoken rule—when naming a CP using character names, the order in which names appeared often implied something. It was an unspoken consensus, sometimes suggesting a top-and-bottom dynamic.
Clearly, the fans had unanimously agreed on the order of their names. Or rather… the order of something else.
Stop it! What are you thinking?!
Xu Zhiyan forcefully shut down her spiraling thoughts. Facing Shen Buhui’s blinking, inquisitive gaze, she lied for the first time: “They probably just chose that order because it sounds better.”
“Oh…” Shen Buhui drawled, feigning understanding—though her fleeting, knowing smile didn’t escape notice.
“Then… what does ‘spicy’ mean?” Having grasped one concept, Teacher Shen, still innocent to internet lingo, dropped another embarrassment-inducing question.
Xu Zhiyan fanned her flushed face with her hand, trying to cool down.
“Why don’t you read it out loud?” she said, resigned to her fate.
“Sè… sè?”
“Correct.”
“As in… the character for ‘yellow’ [色情]?”
“…Yes.”
“It’s a homophone?”
“Exactly…”
Shen Buhui nodded as if enlightened.
Xu Zhiyan couldn’t take it anymore. She clutched her burning face and muttered, “These netizens are too unruly! So inappropriate!”
“But you said you’ve shipped CPs before,” Shen Buhui responded, putting her new knowledge to use. “Were you inappropriate too? Did you post ‘spicy’ stuff?”
“Of course not!” Xu Zhiyan replied firmly.
Of course I did! What’s a CP without some spice? That’s no fun at all!
Whether Shen Buhui believed her or not, she didn’t press further.
Xu Zhiyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
That evening, back at the hotel, Yuan Yuan was still buzzing about the day’s events.
“Zhiyan, you don’t need to worry about lacking CP chemistry with Teacher Shen anymore! Ever since your official photos dropped, your CP super-topic has been gaining fans like crazy!”
Xu Zhiyan had long stopped worrying about CP chemistry. But then she caught something in Yuan Yuan’s words.
“CP super-topic? You’re following the CP super-topic too?”
You’re her assistant! Shouldn’t you be focused on her individual fan base? How did you end up tracking the CP fan count?
What Xu Zhiyan failed to realize was that she was just as guilty as Yuan Yuan.
Yuan Yuan suddenly caught herself. “Uh… yeah, the CP super-topic. ‘Straightforward CP.’”
Xu Zhiyan narrowed her eyes, suspicious. “Be honest. When did you start following the super-topic?”
“….” Yuan Yuan’s eyes darted away, but under Xu Zhiyan’s piercing stare, she finally confessed, “When there was only one person in it…”
Only one?
Earlier than me?!
That was Xu Zhiyan’s first thought.
Intent on dragging someone else down with her, Yuan Yuan continued, “Xiao Fang’s in there too! I’m the second follower, and he’s the third.”
Now that truly shocked Xu Zhiyan.
She suddenly remembered seeing a post from an account called “Civil Affairs Bureau Here” on her fangirl account—someone had joked that the person who created the super-topic was probably one of the crew members.
To be honest, Xu Zhiyan herself was starting to wonder.
Suspicious, she asked, “Are you sure that person’s a fan?”
Yuan Yuan nodded firmly. “Definitely! I even DM’d her. She said when she created the super-topic, she couldn’t find anyone to join, so she begged friends to help reach the 10-person minimum. After that, her friends unfollowed, so I ended up as follower number two.”
“…That’s… kind of sad.”
Still, some things needed to be made clear. “Follow if you want, but remember—don’t reveal your identity, and never leak any of my or Teacher Shen’s private matters.”
“Of course!”
After Yuan Yuan left to handle other tasks, Xu Zhiyan expertly completed her skincare routine, cheerfully said goodnight to Teacher Shen, and dove into her soft, fluffy bed, ready for sleep.
But that night, she had a bizarre dream.
In the dream, she was passionately kissing Teacher Shen, hands pressed against the back of her head, deeply entangled in an intense moment. It was sultry and steamy. But just as she wrapped her arms around her and toppled them onto a white bed—her head fell off due to sheer exertion…
She jolted awake, the soft morning light filtering through the cream-colored curtains and dispelling the darkness.
I’m never watching ghost stories late at night again.
As she pulled open the curtains, Xu Zhiyan thought with lingering dread.