After Filming A Lesbian Movie With The Straight Girl I Like - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: “Do you think she’s really experienced or something?”

This song was Jiang Ruzhi’s fixed encore track—its theme was love, love without boundaries—and every fan knew the lyrics by heart.

In the stadium, the crowd’s chorus was louder than her own voice. Jiang Ruzhi sang softly, guiding them along.

Only after the song ended did she say, “I hope the world can be tolerant of everyone. I hope this world is kind to every blade of grass and every tree. I hope this world loves us all.”

When the song ended, Gu Qi finally let go of Xu Ling’s hand and started wiping her tears.

Xu Ling suddenly felt the emptiness in her right hand, and her left hand immediately clenched tighter—so hard her forearm trembled, veins standing out.

Could she not let go of this hand?

Could she hold it forever?

But like Jiang Ruzhi said, everything comes to an end. Just being able to hold hands for these three minutes was already a miracle.

And she even stole a kiss.

Xu Ling treated the act of letting go as rehearsal—as practice. She gave a firm squeeze, then decisively let go. She pulled her hand back and passed a tissue to the sobbing Gu Qi beside her.

The second encore song had already started. This one was cheerful and energetic. Jiang Ruzhi ran across the stage, laughing and playing around with the backup dancers.

Even at the very end, she had so much energy. Her stamina was insane.

It was a four-minute song, and she bounced through it from start to finish. Her smile and voice were infectious. At the end, she was panting as she thanked everyone for coming—but she still cried, saying it was because she was so happy.

The broadcast played: “Please exit in an orderly manner.”

In the VIP section, they left through a side passage and were quickly escorted into a car, beating the crowd before the roads got jammed.

Gu Qi wasn’t crying anymore, but she was still giddy and full of things she wanted to say to Xu Ling. “It’s my first time seeing a concert live—Jiang Jiang is insanely talented! She sang nonstop from start to finish, like she doesn’t even get tired!”

“For real,” Xu Ling agreed. Jiang Ruzhi was incredibly capable. And you could tell it was all live—no backing tracks. Her voice wavered slightly when she ran, and she panted more toward the end, but she never cut corners.

But Xu Ling’s mood wasn’t as high as Gu Qi’s. Truthfully, she just wanted some quiet now. She didn’t really feel like talking much.

Gu Qi sensed that too. After rambling a bit more about how powerful Jiang Jiang’s voice was, she finally stopped.

What she didn’t expect—was for Qin Cong’an to suddenly speak to her.

“What’s the first encore song about?”

“Ah?” Gu Qi wasn’t sure what she meant but still replied, “It’s about love! It’s always the first encore song. She sings it to express hope for unity in the world, for love of all kinds to be accepted… that kind of vibe.”

“Oh.” Qin Cong’an asked again, “What about the other one? That one that goes…”

She started humming a melody.

Even though she didn’t seem like someone who listened to music—or remembered lyrics—her humming was pleasant and very accurate.

Gu Qi, a ten-year superfan, immediately recognized the tune. “Oh, I know that one! It’s about parting. It can be interpreted as a breakup, but it’s not limited to that. It could also be about losing a loved one or a friend—basically, it teaches people how to accept separation.”

Gu Qi was back in full chatter mode. “I cry every time I hear that one. I always think of my ex. I’ve kind of grown numb from hearing it so much, but hearing it live? I broke again. Oh, and Xu Ling, thanks for the tissue earlier!”

“Oh.” Qin Cong’an turned to Xu Ling and asked, “Did it make you think of your ex too?”

Xu Ling: “…” What was that supposed to mean? When did she ever say she had an ex?

She seriously suspected that Qin Cong’an thought she was really experienced or something—just assumed she had an ex. Last time, she even asked if she and Meng Bai had slept together.

Even though none of it was true… didn’t this mean that when they slept together, it felt so good and so natural that Qin Cong’an mistook her for being experienced?

That’s how satisfying it must’ve been. Xu Ling had worked really hard to make it good for her—especially after the first night, she’d even done research.

Xu Ling fought hard to suppress a smile. What the hell was she even fantasizing about?

Gu Qi was also very curious about the question. She had noticed Xu Ling cried during that song too, but from the look on her face now, it seemed like she didn’t want to answer.

What Xu Ling had thought about at that moment was their separation in two months. But how could she say that out loud?

So what should she say? Family? Friends?

Her family was alive and well—her parents were in great health, even her grandparents were spry and enthusiastic, already planning to hike all five sacred mountains. Honestly, she wasn’t even on their level.

She had been separated from friends before, sure, but none of those feelings were that intense or permanent.

After thinking for a bit, she gave a vague answer: “There are so many goodbyes in life.”

She didn’t deny having an ex. Let the misunderstanding stay—it didn’t matter. After all, it was Qin Cong’an who was the truly experienced one. Xu Ling didn’t want her to know she had been her first. That would make her seem way too naïve and dumb.

Gu Qi immediately chimed in, “Exactly!”

There was still a trace of curiosity in Qin Cong’an’s eyes, but she didn’t press further.

They arrived back at the hotel and got out of the car.

In the elevator, Gu Qi typed on her phone and showed Xu Ling:
Wanna chat in your room later? Or should I come over to mine?

Xu Ling glanced at Qin Cong’an, then typed back on Gu Qi’s phone:
I think I’ll sleep early tonight.

Gu Qi nodded.

But in truth, Xu Ling was thinking: Qin Cong’an would probably come find her.

She could feel it—there were questions still lingering.

If she did come, Xu Ling planned to ask why she brought up that question in the car.

And surely, Qin Cong’an must be curious about why Xu Ling kissed the back of her hand, and would come to scold her for doing something like that in public.

So Xu Ling waited by the door as soon as she got to her room, rehearsing possible conversations in her head. But ten minutes passed, and she didn’t show.

Xu Ling went into the bathroom to shower, keeping an ear out for any sounds outside. But even after finishing up—nothing.

She changed into long-sleeved pajamas and wrapped her damp hair in a towel. Then she left her room and knocked on Gu Qi’s door.

Gu Qi was surprised to see her. “Didn’t you say you were going to sleep?”

“Can’t sleep. Thought I’d come chat.” Xu Ling peeked over her shoulder and teased, “No one else in there, right?”

“Hahaha, no no no—come in!”

They sat on the couch and started talking about the concert—watching videos and scrolling through comments online.

“Look, the crowd here had such a great vibe! Compared to our section, where it felt like just the two of us were going crazy.”

“Well, that didn’t stop you from crying like a mess.”

Gu Qi laughed hard. “If I were sitting with a real fan, I might’ve passed out from crying!”

Xu Ling saw that someone had posted a blurry photo claiming to have spotted Qin Cong’an at the concert.

“She had a mask and hat on the whole time, but I swear it’s her! Ahhh I’m so excited. Just wish I was closer 😭😭😭”

True fans didn’t even need a clear picture. They could recognize her just from a zoomed-in blur.

Later, a few influencers sitting in VIP posted better photos.

“Omg did Jiang Jiang give her the tickets?? They know each other?? As a fan of both I’m going feral!!”
“This just confirms it—Anzi is definitely not straight 🤭”
“Who’s the pretty girl next to her? Girlfriend???”
“No way, I think there were three of them—Anzi’s filming in Misty City, so she probably came with other cast members. That girl next to her is probably the second female lead.”
“Second lead my ass, it’s dual female leads! bangs table DUAL LEADS!”

Technically, Xu Ling was one of the dual leads, but her fame couldn’t compare to Qin Cong’an’s. She was practically a nobody.

Back when she was modeling, she’d had a bit of a name—mostly overseas—but not many people in China recognized her. And this film hadn’t been officially promoted yet, so it made sense no one knew her.

Still, when she saw comments speculating that she was Qin Cong’an’s girlfriend, she couldn’t stop smiling.

Some people even posted photos of them going backstage together. One image had Qin Cong’an pulling Xu Ling by the arm—standing very close.

“Wow, she’s tall. For the first time, Anzi looks small and cute next to someone.”
“Just standing together, they look so good. What is this pairing? I’m shipping them anyway.”
“The movie isn’t even done filming yet, so there’s no need for promo. Going to a concert together means… what exactly? Don’t blame me for shipping them first!]
“And it’s Jiang Jiang’s concert. Think about that.”

“What are you smiling at like that?” Gu Qi was curious.

“Oh, just some funny comments.” Xu Ling chuckled and quickly switched to looking at general concert posts.

She brushed it off, then went back to searching Qin Cong’an’s name—specifically to see if anyone had noticed that hand-kiss during the encore.

Nothing.

Of course not. Even Gu Qi hadn’t noticed—no way other people would’ve. And during that moment, everyone had been holding hands. Nobody could take pictures. Even if someone saw it, there’d be no proof, and no one would believe it.

Only the two of them knew.

“What are you smiling at again? Let me see!” Gu Qi was dying of curiosity, even tried to peek at her phone.

Xu Ling slipped away, ending the chat. “Not telling. I’m heading back to sleep—got work tomorrow.”

Qin Cong’an never came to her room.

And the next day on set, she didn’t speak to her either.

Here we go again? Another cold war?

Xu Ling was speechless. What now? Was it really just because she kissed her hand?

During breaks, Gu Qi kept chatting with Xu Ling. In just a short while, they went from complete strangers to acting like close friends. Being in the same fandom meant endless things to talk about.

And since Qin Cong’an kept her head down reading her script, Xu Ling leaned into chatting with Gu Qi even more.

Gu Qi played the character of Ku Ai. This was her final week on the set of She Blade.

Her last scene was opposite Qin Cong’an.

Wen Xi had been searching for information on the man who killed Jian Yu’s parents. After a long search, she discovered Ku Ai actually knew the man.

She confronted Ku Ai, but she refused to talk.

After several attempts, Wen Xi lost her patience and tied her up at home, threatening to kill her if she didn’t talk.

Ku Ai just shook her head with a smile.

Wen Xi punched her—again and again—but Ku Ai still refused to speak.

“Why won’t you tell me? Are you protecting him? What’s your relationship with him?”

Ku Ai’s pupils looked unfocused—on the edge of losing consciousness. Bl00d dripped from her mouth, but there wasn’t the slightest desire to live in her eyes.

“I will really kill you,” Wen Xi said, pointing a gun at her.

In this line of work, you didn’t think much about living anyway. Live or die—what difference did it make?

Ku Ai gave her one final smile.

Bang—a gunshot rang out. Her life ended in that moment.

Chang Ning watched from the monitor and clicked her tongue twice. “Wen Xi is brutal.” Qin Cong’an had no expression as she acted, but the intensity in her eyes was fierce—like a true lunatic.

Gu Qi initially couldn’t stay in character, but after a few tries, she nailed the vibe—completely channeling the mental state of someone who had lost the will to live.

Perfect. It was exactly the emotion they needed.

Gu Qi had actually been a bit scared. She almost thought Qin Cong’an truly hated her. Almost couldn’t laugh afterward.

If she really were Ku Ai, she probably would’ve wet herself. Being able to smile like that—Ku Ai was one hell of a badass.