The Paranoid Film Queen Hooked Me, and I Fell in Love. (GL) - Chapter 39
By the next day, the small cut on Shen Buhui’s lip had already scabbed over. If you didn’t look closely, it was barely noticeable.
But in the eyes of someone observant, even the smallest detail could be magnified.
Zeng Yue, having just finished a scene with Shen Buhui, casually glanced at her lips. She pointed at them and gently reminded,
“Teacher Shen, your lip looks like it’s cracked. Want me to grab you some ointment?”
She had only vaguely gestured, but Shen Buhui’s hand immediately went to the exact spot.
“It’s nothing. I accidentally bit it while eating. It’ll be fine in a couple of days.” Shen Buhui gave a polite smile.
“You bit it while eating?” Zeng Yue replied with concern,
“Then you should be more careful in the future. Luckily it’s just a small cut—any worse and you really would’ve needed medicine.”
Shen Buhui lowered her gaze and nodded, thanking her for the kind reminder.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Xu Zhiyan approaching. She stood, dusted off her costume, and walked straight toward her.
Zeng Yue remained seated on the ground, her eyes following Shen Buhui’s tall, graceful figure—her gaze unreadable.
You say you bit it by accident?
Then sure—it was an accident.
She let out a soft chuckle, so gentle it gave her assistant goosebumps.
“Jie, it’s a call from Mr. Huang,” the assistant said cautiously, holding out the phone.
Zeng Yue took the phone with a lazy hand. The ringing had already stopped after going unanswered for too long. She twirled the phone twice in her fingers and leaned in to whisper something to the assistant.
“Understood?”
The assistant nodded firmly.
“Don’t worry, Jie. I’ll keep an eye on things.”
Zeng Yue’s beautiful, composed face broke into a gentle smile. She patted the assistant’s shoulder.
“I trust you. Let’s go.”
She brushed the dust from her clothes and returned to her usual soft and considerate demeanor, allowing the assistant to support her as they left the set.
…
“Really, Director?” Xu Zhiyan asked in surprise.
“It’s true,” Director Cheng said, laying the script flat in front of her.
“Your character will wrap in two or three days.”
He paused to think, then said,
“Let’s schedule it for three days from now. Liang Manye’s scenes will wrap that day too, so you can both finish together. We’ll have the wrap party that night.”
As he spoke, his gaze flicked meaningfully between Xu Zhiyan and Shen Buhui, who had just entered from the side.
Did they really think they were being subtle?
Director Cheng had been in the business for decades—he’d seen every kind of on-set romance. Those little hidden glances, whispered conversations… they were obvious to someone like him.
Xu Zhiyan instantly picked up on his teasing tone.
“Uncle Cheng, let’s just keep this between us, alright?” she said with a sweet smile, deliberately changing her address from Director Cheng to Uncle Cheng, playing the affection card.
“Alright, alright.” Cheng Xun nodded, humoring her, but he still clicked his tongue in amusement.
“Still, I have to say… never thought someone would manage to pluck that high-cold flower.”
To the public, Shen Buhui’s reputation was all grace and warmth, professionalism and kindness. But after working with her multiple times, Cheng Xun had a better sense of the truth.
That gentle exterior? A mask. What he saw was someone distant, reserved—cold, even.
So the fact that these two had ended up together? Unexpected.
Xu Zhiyan guessed he was referring to Shen Buhui’s so-called “cool aloofness” and could only respond with a modest smile.
Cheng Xun patted her on the shoulder and said with approval,
“Still, this isn’t bad at all. At least your partner’s not one of those messy industry types. She’s got her act together.”
After all, in a way, he had been something of a matchmaker in this situation. The fact that one of his juniors had found a high-quality partner made it easier to report back to his senior—Shen Buhui’s mentor.
By the time Shen Buhui approached, Cheng Xun had already been called away by the assistant director.
All she saw was him giving Xu Zhiyan a hearty pat on the shoulder before walking off, without hearing what they’d been discussing.
“What were you two chatting about?” she asked. “You looked like you were having fun.”
Standing to Xu Zhiyan’s right, Shen Buhui casually reached over and patted her shoulder—just lightly, as though brushing away dust with her fingers.
As if erasing a trace left behind by someone else.
Xu Zhiyan didn’t notice the subtle gesture. She picked up the script Director Cheng had left on the table, happily swinging the tips of her toes.
“Director Cheng said I’ll wrap filming the day after tomorrow. And since it lines up with the end of your scenes, he said we’ll have the wrap party together.”
Her lips curled into a satisfied smile.
“And guess what—he figured it out.”
“Hmm? Figured what out?”
Xu Zhiyan leaned closer and whispered,
“That we’re dating!”
Shen Buhui let out a soft chuckle, quietly pulling her hand back from Xu Zhiyan’s shoulder. As it fell, her fingers brushed against the back of Xu Zhiyan’s hand—an accidental touch, but it sent a subtle thrill between them.
Even though they were a real couple, the thrill of sneaking touches on a busy set—hooking fingers in passing, then quickly letting go—still carried a certain illicit charm.
“Silly girl, I’ve known that for a while.”
Shen Buhui lowered her gaze to meet Xu Zhiyan’s wide eyes, smiling silently.
“Director Cheng has seen too much in his time. I knew long ago he’d picked up on it.”
She flicked Xu Zhiyan’s forehead with a soft laugh, her expression warm.
“My guess is… he figured it out even before we got together.”
Xu Zhiyan’s eyes widened in surprise, and her cheeks flushed red.
If that were true, didn’t that mean all the little things she thought she had hidden—her jealousy, her pining, her awkward attempts to get close—had all been completely obvious?
She instinctively thought back to how foolish she must have looked, hiding in corners of the set, stealing glances, pretending it was all nothing…
And never once did it cross her mind that someone else—especially an experienced director—might be seeing it all from a completely different angle.
Shen Buhui could guess exactly what she was thinking and didn’t call her out on it. Instead, she leaned in and teased gently,
“It’s just like you’re imagining. I’m sure he figured out everything.”
“…” Ugh, it’s true!
Xu Zhiyan fanned herself dramatically, trying to cool the flush on her face.
After a moment, she asked,
“Then… did you know, back then?”
“Know what?”
Xu Zhiyan shot her a glare.
“…That I liked you.”
“Take a guess.”
Shen Buhui’s smile deepened, but she didn’t answer directly.
Which meant, of course, that she did know. So frustrating!
Utterly exposed, Xu Zhiyan took a deep breath and decided to skip over the topic entirely.
Ever since they started dating, she’d been particularly mindful of how she came across. She cared about her image—especially whether her behavior seemed immature or childish. And all of it stemmed from the fact that her girlfriend was so mature, so capable. It made her unconsciously hold herself to higher standards.
Now that she knew some of her dorkiest, most lovestruck moments had been known all along, she didn’t have the nerve to bring it up directly with Shen Buhui. So instead… she turned to Su Er to vent.
Unfortunately, that woman had zero sympathy—and even laughed at her about it.
Su Er:
Hahaha, you’re really a rookie in love, huh? Please, this is totally normal! You’re new to all this, but you’ll figure it out the longer you date.
Xu Zhiyan:
This must be the trouble of dating someone more experienced, huh?
Su Er:
Is it? I never had any problems with it.
Xu Zhiyan:
…
Su Er:
But the upside of dating someone more experienced is that they can bring you joy with all the knowledge they have.
Xu Zhiyan couldn’t help but let her mind wander. She realized that whenever she chatted with Su Er, the conversation always seemed to veer into some inappropriate territory.
Xu Zhiyan:
I think this is something I should handle on my own. You know, my girlfriend doesn’t have much experience in this area either.
Su Er immediately sent a shocked emoji.
A few moments later, she texted again.
Su Er:
You’d better study up! In a relationship, it’s good if one person knows more than the other.
Xu Zhiyan nodded to herself. That makes sense.
Su Er:
Did you finish all the gigabytes of resources I sent you? If not, I’ve got more.
Xu Zhiyan paused briefly, then sent a quick reply,
No, not yet.
She had been too busy filming, and whenever she had some downtime, she’d spend it with Shen Buhui. There just wasn’t enough time to focus on studying.
Xu Zhiyan:
I’ve been learning how to kiss.
When she sent this message, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Su Er, unsurprisingly, was highly critical of her slow progress and doubted her potential.
Su Er:
You’re hopeless. Unlike me, I’m naturally gifted—I can make my wife happy in no time.
Xu Zhiyan didn’t even notice the bragging tone in Su Er’s words. Her attention was entirely caught by the word “wife” in the chat.
Wait… she thought.
Could I… stop calling her “姐姐” (jie) sometimes?
She quickly exited the conversation with Su Er and opened her pinned chat with Shen Buhui, her thoughts turning.
With a slight blush, she shyly changed the contact name.
—“Wife ❤️”
The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. Xu Zhiyan couldn’t help but smile, her lips curving upward.
She thought about it for a moment, then sent a message to the newly renamed “Wife.”
Xu Zhiyan:
Goodnight, sweet dreams… ❤️
She omitted the “wife” part from the message because she still couldn’t quite bring herself to say it so directly. Instead, she secretly expressed her feelings in her own way.
The person on the other end didn’t understand her shyness, though. While a little confused about why someone would say goodnight twice, they replied with perfect understanding.
Wife ❤️:
Goodnight. Put down your phone and sleep early ❤️.
Xu Zhiyan felt her heart flutter.
My wife is so considerate! She even sent me a heart emoji. I really like her! She even told me to sleep early… she cares about me!
Lying in bed, Xu Zhiyan covered her face, smiling sweetly. She secretly called her wife over and over in her heart.
After a while, though, she felt unsatisfied. No one was there to share how wonderful her wife was. Xu Zhiyan thought for a moment, then, grinning, took a screenshot of the contact name and quickly cropped the image before sending it to Su Er, who she’d been neglecting.
Xu Zhiyan:
Bragging, huh? I’ve got a wife too /image.jpg
Su Er quickly zoomed in on the image and, upon seeing the screenshot, her face went blank.
Su Er:
… After all that waiting, this is what you send me?
Su Er:
So shameless! Trying to copy me! Blocking you, going to sleep!
Just as Xu Zhiyan was about to reply, another message popped up from Su Er.
Su Er:
Forgot to mention, I’m going to sleep with my wife now. Hehe.
Xu Zhiyan: …
Heh. I’ll block you too!
Her eyes lingered on the word’s “wife” and “sleeping,” feeling a little envious as she exited WeChat.
Heh! Who says I can’t sleep with my wife one day?
With a frustrated sigh, she turned over in bed. The space beside her was clearly empty, and when she reached out, she only touched the soft, fluffy blanket.
…Heh. I’ll have my chance to cuddle with my wife too.
Pulling a pillow into her arms, Xu Zhiyan turned off the light and settled in to sleep.