The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love. (GL) - Chapter 34

Shen Buhui stirred her coffee gently with a spoon, then gave a soft cough.
“Why do you keep staring at me?”

Xu Zhiyan gazed at her without blinking, unwilling to look away for even a second.
“I… I’m just making up for the days I missed,” she offered as a clumsy excuse.

At that, Shen Buhui had something to say.

She set the coffee spoon down with a light clink, eyes narrowing slightly, the corners of her lips lifting in a half-smile.
“If you wanted to look at me so badly, someone sure had a funny way of showing it—avoiding me like the plague for days.”

Shen Buhui still remembered how, several times, she had tried to stop Xu Zhiyan, only for her to bolt like a frightened mouse the moment she caught sight of her—tail tucked, gone in a flash.

At first, she’d laughed in disbelief. But after it happened too often, the frustration had worn away even the energy to be mad.

Hearing that, Xu Zhiyan lowered her head, looking sheepish.
“That was my fault. It was my first time confessing to someone… I was nervous. And scared.”

Shen Buhui blinked, clearly amused by the phrase “first time”.

“…Forget it. I won’t hold it against you.”

Xu Zhiyan’s gaze dropped to the hand resting on the table—fair and slender, free of rings or nail polish. The nails were neatly trimmed, a healthy pink.

It looked very… holdable.

A sudden impulse hit her. Blushing, she reached out slowly and gently placed her hand on top of Shen Buhui’s, fingers tightening around it little by little.

Her face remained serious as she declared,
“I promise I’ll never do something that stupid again.”

The warmth of her palm was impossible to ignore. Shen Buhui blinked in surprise, then smiled even more.

“Good. Because next time you pull something like that, it won’t be so easy to laugh it off with a few cute words.”

“I wasn’t trying to laugh it off,” Xu Zhiyan muttered under her breath.

“Hm?” The atmosphere dipped slightly.

“I got it, I got it.” Xu Zhiyan immediately changed course, flashing a bright-eyed smile.

Before she knew it, their hands had naturally shifted—now interlocked, fingers laced tightly together. Xu Zhiyan sipped the last of her coffee, wishing time could stop right here.

Shen Buhui awkwardly used her left hand to drink her coffee, saying nothing about pulling away.

A while later, Xu Zhiyan—her love-struck brain slowly recovering functionality—suddenly remembered something.

She gave Shen Buhui’s hand a little squeeze.
“Can you sign a special autograph for me?”

Shen Buhui paused, eyes glancing over casually.
“For your friend? That Su’er girl?”

“Yeah, she really likes you. She’s a big fan.”

“She likes me, so you’re asking me for a special signature because of that?”

“Yup!” Xu Zhiyan, completely unaware of the faint jealousy brewing, continued squeezing her hand like a fidget toy, clearly amused.

The next second, the soft, smooth hand in hers was pulled away.

Xu Zhiyan blinked at the sudden emptiness and looked up.

Shen Buhui was staring down, expression unreadable. Her tone, however, carried something else entirely:
“You two must be really close.”

That moment in the auditorium—whispering, leaning in close—Shen Buhui hadn’t forgotten.

They hadn’t even been together for a full hour yet, and Xu Zhiyan was already bringing up another girl during their private time.

Xu Zhiyan: “……”

It only dawned on her now—could it be that Teacher Shen was… jealous?

“Our relationship is pretty good,” she admitted, watching her carefully. But as she caught the dangerous glint in Shen Buhui’s eyes, she quickly changed her tune:
“But no matter how close we are, it’s nothing compared to me and my girlfriend!”

It was the first time she had ever said the word girlfriend out loud. And as it slipped past her lips, a faint shyness flickered in her eyes.

“Jiejie, are you jealous?” she asked, the question coming out without pretense.

A direct hit.

Still lingering on the word girlfriend, Shen Buhui blinked, momentarily thrown.

“Who said that?!” she refuted instinctively.

Xu Zhiyan grinned like a cat who had just gotten away with stealing a fish.
“Oh~”

The teasing tone swirled around like a winding mountain path—twisting, turning, carrying a hint of smug satisfaction.

Though she was secretly delighted that Shen Buhui would get jealous over her—it meant she cared—Xu Zhiyan knew too much jealousy wasn’t a good thing. She cleared her throat and sat up straight, ready to explain.

“Actually, I’m only close with Su’er because of you.”

“Hm?” Shen Buhui looked at her.

Xu Zhiyan gave her a quick glance before confessing, “She’s experienced in dating and chasing people. When I found out, she was the first person I went to for advice.”

Shen Buhui was momentarily stunned.

“So as my top-secret romance strategist, it’s only fair I get her a special autograph from my girlfriend… right?”

With her hands propping up her chin, Xu Zhiyan made a goofy face for effect.

There was a pause—then:

“Fine. But you’re not allowed to get too close to her,” Shen Buhui said, her tone firm.

“No problem!” Xu Zhiyan agreed without hesitation.

Shen Buhui pressed her lips together, a faint smile escaping despite herself.

Now that she knew Su’er wasn’t single—and that their friendship had a romantic motive behind it—the jealousy weighing on her heart lifted a little.

Still…

Would anyone else be this jealous just because their girlfriend was close to her roommate?

Shen Buhui stirred her coffee absentmindedly, already knowing the answer: no.

Her gaze fell again on Xu Zhiyan’s radiant smile—and yet, a shadow passed quietly across the brightness in her chest, lingering like a stubborn mist.

Xu Zhiyan took out the postcard Su’er had given her and went to the front counter to ask for a marker. She handed it to Shen Buhui to sign, planning to give it to Su’er before they left.

She also wanted to grab a few more things from her while she was at it.

As Xu Zhiyan messaged Su’er, the timing lined up—Su’er had something she wanted to ask her too.

Looking at the message and then at her girlfriend across the table, Xu Zhiyan pointed toward the door.
“I’ll go give her the postcard. After that, we can head back together?”

Shen Buhui gave a small nod, her chin slightly tense. “Mm.”

—

Xu Zhiyan found Su’er by a bench near the library. She was aimlessly kicking at tufts of grass with her foot. When she saw Xu Zhiyan approaching, she didn’t even wait for the postcard to come out before blurting,
“Wait—first, I’ve got a question!”

“Go ahead.”

Xu Zhiyan sat down while Su’er circled around her twice like a suspicious little detective.

“You’re filming with Shen Buhui right now, aren’t you? You’re starring opposite her in Symbiosis, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Xu Zhiyan wasn’t surprised she’d found out—just surprised it had taken her this long.

She hadn’t brought it up before because no one had asked. It felt like bragging if she just brought it up unprompted. She hadn’t expected that Su’er had been so wrapped up in her own relationship stuff that she hadn’t pieced it together until now.

Su’er smacked her own forehead.
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize until now! Everyone else already knows! I’m the only one who didn’t put two and two together!”

It was only when the other two roommates mentioned it during the ceremony that Su’er finally made the connection. No wonder she’d always found “Xu Zhiyan” strangely familiar.

Xu Zhiyan stayed silent for a beat, then pulled out the freshly signed postcard.
“Now that you know, it’s not too late. Here—your special autograph.”

Su’er took it, looked it over several times, and her eyes lit up again as she stared at Xu Zhiyan.
“So earlier, when you slipped away—was it to meet with Senior Shen?”

Xu Zhiyan nodded.

Su’er’s eyes darted, clearly making a few connections in her head.

She carefully put the postcard away and didn’t press further. Instead, she gave Xu Zhiyan a pat on the shoulder and said kindly,
“Don’t worry. Even if that special autograph came a little too easily, I’m not going back on my word.”

With that, she lowered her head, opened her cloud storage, and selected several gigabytes worth of files to send over.

“These should be enough for you to start with. If you need anything else, you know where to find me~”

She leaned closer, bumped shoulders with her, and winked.
“Want tips on which tools give the best experience? Just ask.”

Xu Zhiyan: “……”

She hadn’t even mentioned that she and Shen Buhui were officially together, and Su’er was already being this… enthusiastic?

Still, Xu Zhiyan opened the file-sharing app and quietly saved everything, giving Su’er a dignified nod in return.

“I’ll head back now, unless there’s anything else?”

Su’er waved her off immediately.
“Go, go—focus on filming. Message me if anything comes up.”

Xu Zhiyan: “……”

Fine, she thought. She’s just enthusiastic about teaching. I won’t hold it against her.

After a few steps, she turned back, leaned in slightly, and whispered,
“Send me the link, too.”

She didn’t like going into anything unprepared. It was always good to have… resources ready ahead of time.

Su’er: “……”

On the way back, Xu Zhiyan and Shen Buhui sat in the back seat. Xiao Fang and the driver were in the front.

The car was quiet.

Shen Buhui leaned to the side, head resting lightly on Xu Zhiyan’s shoulder, eyes closed in sleep.

Xiao Fang turned around briefly, saw them, and wisely said nothing.

In the blind spot of her view, down between the seats, two hands were gently entwined—fingers interlocked.

From the moment they got in the car, Xu Zhiyan hadn’t let go of her hand once. Now, she subtly adjusted her posture, giving Shen Buhui a more comfortable resting angle.

When they arrived at the hotel’s underground garage, Xu Zhiyan glanced at her still-sleeping girlfriend, then gestured silently to Xiao Fang and the driver to go on ahead.

After they left, she tilted her head, her chin brushing softly against Shen Buhui’s forehead.

“Jiejie… Jiejie, we’re here.”

She called softly a few times. When there was no response, she tried again.
“Shen Buhui, we’ve arrived.”

A moment later, the woman half-curled in her arms stirred.

Xu Zhiyan watched as she slowly opened her eyes.

“We’re here. If you’re still tired, you can sleep more once we get upstairs.”

Shen Buhui sat up straight and raised her hand to fix her hair—only to realize something felt off.

Looking down, she saw their hands still firmly joined together.

Her lips curved, but instead of letting go, she used her left hand to smooth out her hair.

“You called me something just now, didn’t you? Was it ‘Shen Buhui’?”

Xu Zhiyan’s eyes flicked away, saying nothing.

To this day, she had only ever called Shen Buhui by her full name twice to her face—once during the confession, and once just now.

She’d thought the older woman was asleep. Apparently not.

“Can’t even look me in the eye now?” Shen Buhui chuckled.

She reached over with her left hand, gently turning Xu Zhiyan’s face toward her, taking in that guilty expression with an amused smile.

“Yan Yan, have you heard that old saying?” she asked, eyes sparkling.

Xu Zhiyan blinked. “What is it?”

“Young ones who stop calling you ‘jiejie’ are the ones with wild intentions.”

The corner of Shen Buhui’s lips lifted. Her gaze carried a teasing glint.
“So tell me—has your heart… gotten a little wild?”

Xu Zhiyan’s eyes darted, but she quickly recovered, replying with exaggerated sincerity:
“Your name’s beautiful. I just really like saying it.”

Shen Buhui stared at her for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then finally, she let go of her hand.

The two walked into the hotel one after the other. Xu Zhiyan followed behind, one hand casually tucked in her pocket. When her fingers brushed against her phone, she reflexively gave it a light squeeze.

Inside were all the “resources” she’d just saved—definitely proof that her heart wasn’t exactly behaving.

—

When they reached the top floor, Xu Zhiyan trailed behind her girlfriend, watching as she stopped in front of her room.

Just as she turned to unlock her own door, Shen Buhui’s voice drifted over.
“You’re not coming in?”

Xu Zhiyan’s heart jumped. Her thoughts spun out in a million directions.

Click.

The door opened.

Leaning against the frame, Shen Buhui tilted her head slightly and gave her a devastating smile.
“Aren’t you going to get your slipper?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Mmm? Our little Yan Yan… got a bit of a wild heart, didn’t she?”