She Said: A Passionate Kiss [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 20
When Qiang Huai saw the message in the chat window, she immediately sprang up from her chair.
She called in the makeup artist to touch up her look. Since she had her own dressing room at the company specifically for emergencies like this, she could now pick out an outfit with ease.
She chose an off-white overcoat layered over a short skirt and long boots, spritzed perfume on her neck twice, then took the elevator downstairs.
The entire routine took about ten minutes.
Gu Pingwan was already sitting on the lobby sofa waiting for Qiang Huai. She opened her long-unused QQ account. There weren’t many contacts in her list, so she scrolled from top to bottom until she saw Qiang Huai’s profile.
To her surprise, it showed that she was online.
Curious, she clicked into Qiang Huai’s profile and saw that her account had been logged in for over 3,000 consecutive days, with an impressively high level.
Intrigued, Gu Pingwan opened her QQ Space. The visitor count was high, but the latest post dated back to their high school graduation period.
The post was a blog entry titled:
“Anyone up for a graduation trip? Let’s go to Hangzhou, Yunnan, or Tibet together?”
Gu Pingwan scrolled down further and saw some youthful selfies of Qiang Huai. The selfies had lots of likes.
But oddly, none of the blog posts had any likes.
That didn’t make sense—someone like Qiang Huai, with such social pull, should’ve gotten tons of comments saying “Let’s go!”
Below the selfie was another blog post:
“Shocking! Jin City has such delicious street food! Who wants to go eat with me?”
Still no likes.
Just as Gu Pingwan was about to click on it, Qiang Huai walked out from the office turnstile.
“What’s this, Classmate Gu came all this way just to treat me to dinner?” Qiang Huai pretended to still be upset, though her carefully done-up appearance gave her away.
Gu Pingwan put her phone away. “Classmate Qiang, it’s true that I said some thoughtless things before. Are you still mad?”
Qiang Huai coughed dramatically. “Yep.”
“Then… how about I embroider another pair of gloves for you?” Gu Pingwan offered sincerely.
“Nope. One kiss, and I’ll forgive you.” Qiang Huai raised her brows and looked straight at her.
Gu Pingwan’s face flushed uncontrollably.
“Um…” She didn’t know how to respond.
Qiang Huai burst out laughing. “I’m kidding! I’m not that petty. Besides, my face is way too valuable to let just anyone kiss it!”
Gu Pingwan laughed along. “True enough.”
Just as the two stepped out of the office building, Qiang Huai got a call from Qun Qun.
“My dearest Huai Huai! Where are you? I’m back in Jin City!” Qun Qun’s voice was full of excitement, and the rolling of her suitcase could be heard in the background.
“Why are you back now?” Qiang Huai was surprised. She thought Qun Qun said she wouldn’t be back until late December, and since she hadn’t called, Qiang Huai assumed she wasn’t coming.
Qun Qun flagged down a cab. “What, not happy to see me? Your big sis made it big out there—you should treat me to dinner! Where are you?”
“I’m at work. You made it big and you want me to treat you?” Qiang Huai replied.
“Who earns more than you?” Qun Qun buckled her seatbelt. “Driver, to Guojin Center, please.”
“Wait, don’t come here—I’m on a date,” Qiang Huai quickly said.
“Ooh, with Gu Pingwan?” Qun Qun teased.
“Yep,” Qiang Huai whispered to Pingwan, “That’s Qun Qun—our high school classmate.”
Gu Pingwan squinted, trying to remember, and then recalled the girl in high school who had a bubble-perm hairstyle and once told the teacher it was natural—only to have the teacher straighten it out on the spot.
“Perfect! Let’s all eat together then. There’s that fancy restaurant under your office—go reserve us a spot!” Qun Qun shamelessly picked the place with a 3,000 yuan per person average.
After checking with Pingwan, Qiang Huai led her to the restaurant.
The decor was dark and muted, with only the aisles lit. The walls were all black and gray, creating a quiet, elegant atmosphere.
The server led them into a private room. Coming straight from the airport, Qiang Huai handed the menu to Pingwan to choose while they waited for Qun Qun.
After glancing at the menu, Pingwan said, “I’m not great at picking dishes. Classmate Qiang, why don’t you decide?”
The server poured lemon water and remained professionally composed upon seeing Qiang Huai.
Qiang Huai asked if Pingwan had any dietary restrictions. Pingwan shook her head.
So she ordered a few small dishes and three set meals.
“Are you on New Year’s break?” Qiang Huai asked, sipping water.
“Mm, three days off. I came home to see my mom,” Pingwan paused, “and also to see you.”
Qiang Huai raised her brows with a teasing smile. “Oh~ So I hold that much weight in Classmate Gu’s heart?”
Pingwan bowed her head slightly and smiled behind her glass.
“Did you finish your work back at the institute?” Qiang Huai asked curiously—scientific researchers were usually pretty swamped.
“Yes,” Pingwan replied just as the first dish arrived.
Before either of them touched their chopsticks, a loud “clack clack” noise echoed—like a suitcase rolling on the floor.
In such a quiet restaurant, the sound was piercing.
Qun Qun loudly announced her reservation and followed a server into the private room.
As soon as she entered, she flopped into a chair. “My god, I’m exhausted.”
“There was this old man behind me on the flight. He took off his shoes and shoved his foot between my seat and the one next to me. I could literally see the dead skin on his foot through his socks and dress pants!”
She gulped down a glass of water before greeting the other two.
Qiang Huai and Qun Qun sat on one side, and Gu Pingwan on the other.
Qun Qun waved dramatically. “You, move over. I need space to spread my majestic self.”
Looking at the lively Qun Qun, Gu Pingwan thought she hadn’t changed much since high school.
Qiang Huai, of course, knew exactly what Qun Qun was up to. She pushed the tableware toward Pingwan and moved over.
Qun Qun wasn’t actually fat—just theatrical in her movements. She dragged her chair between two seats. “Let me eat something first. I’m starving. I could eat two cows.”
Qiang Huai and Pingwan exchanged a knowing smile and politely let Qun Qun enjoy her meal.
In no time, Qun Qun demolished three plates of sashimi and ten portions of sea urchin. She wiped her mouth and burped. “Whew, sorry. I feel like I just escaped a disaster.”
“No worries, nothing surprises us anymore,” Qiang Huai calmly scooped sea urchin onto a small jade-like plate and passed it to Pingwan.
Qun Qun then ordered a bowl of devil ramen. After finishing it, she pulled out two books from her bag. “Here, I wrote these.”
Qiang Huai and Pingwan each took one. The cover was a colorful painting. The title read “Breaking Out of Prescribed Boxes.” Qiang Huai flipped to the table of contents.
It listed topics like “How Women Can Break Free from Societal Expectations.” She remembered Qun Qun used to write comedic romance novels on Jinjiang Literature City.
“You suddenly switched genres?” Qiang Huai asked.
Qun Qun, still not full, ordered two sushi platters. “One night I had a dream—you were lying in a black box, chained at the ankles, being shipped off to some remote village. There, they treated you like a breeding machine, saying once you’re married, you have to follow all their rules.”
“I literally woke up from anger,” she dipped sushi into wasabi.
Qiang Huai blinked. “Wait—why was it me in the dream?”
“That’s not important,” Qun Qun’s mouth was full. “What matters is I had an epiphany. As women, if we can write, we should explore the world and speak up. Why should we be confined to society’s assigned roles?”
“Not that writing romantic fluff has no value—this just feels more meaningful to me now.”
After finishing her meal, she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “What do you think? Pretty sneaky, right? I only got my sample copy yesterday. You two are my first readers.”
Qiang Huai gave her a big thumbs up. Back in school, Qun Qun wasn’t a top student—only her Chinese scores were decent. Most teachers didn’t like her.
She didn’t go to college and started hustling right after graduation—from ghostwriting web novels to editing for magazines. One of her serialized web novels went viral on Jinjiang and got a print-and-film deal. A rare success story for someone without a degree.
Still, Qiang Huai believed Qun Qun would’ve gone even further if she’d had a chance to study more.
“Thank you, Classmate Qun,” Gu Pingwan quickly skimmed through a few pages. Even the titles were sharp and thought-provoking.
“Guess how many copies were printed for the first edition?” Qun Qun asked with a mischievous grin.
Qiang Huai shook her head—she didn’t know much about the publishing industry.
Pingwan didn’t know either.
“Three hundred thousand!” Qun Qun held up three fingers. “Today’s dinner is on Queen Qun!”
Qiang Huai was genuinely happy for her. Over the years, the two of them only met up during the New Year, but their bond remained strong. Come to think of it, aside from work, Qun Qun might be her only real friend.
After dinner, Qiang Huai went to the bathroom.
Qun Qun, feeling chatty again, ordered two more caramel puddings.
In Pingwan’s social circle, she rarely encountered such vibrant women. Qiang Huai was one; Qun Qun was another. Both were so full of life.
Suddenly, something occurred to her. She took out her phone and opened QQ Space.
“Classmate Qun, can I ask you something?” Pingwan asked cautiously, showing just a sliver of her screen.
Qun Qun, mouth full of pudding, replied, “Shoot!”
“Can you… see this post in Qiang Huai’s Space?” Pingwan asked while sneakily checking if Qiang Huai was coming back.
Qun Qun glanced at QQ. “Nope. Stop guessing—those posts are set to ‘visible to only you.’”
“Huh?” Pingwan’s suspicion was confirmed, leaving her stunned.
“She wanted to go on those trips and eat all that food—with you, back in high school,” Qun Qun said, licking her spoon. “Weren’t you two fighting back then? I don’t really know what happened… but Qiang really—”
Just then, Qiang Huai opened the door and walked in. Seeing that Qun Qun had ordered more food, she laughed. “Eat more. You can stand next to me in photos to make me look thinner.”
Qun Qun rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I eat because I like it. You’re a celebrity—you need to maintain your figure. Us regular folk just need to stay healthy and happy.”
“Please, I’m a regular folk too,” Qiang Huai said quickly.
Pingwan put away her phone, deep in thought. She hadn’t heard a word of what the two were saying.
After leaving the restaurant, Qun Qun, now sleepy, grabbed a ride home.
“Classmate Gu, want to walk by the river?” Qiang Huai suggested, putting on her mask.
Pingwan nodded. “Sure.”
They planned to walk from Guojin Center to the river—it wasn’t far.
The night view of Jin City was stunning, though the wind was strong. The uneven layers of lights sparkled in harmony, and ferries passed silently on the river.
Neither said a word as they strolled side by side along the embankment.
After a while, Qiang Huai spoke.
“How’ve you been at the institute lately?”
Pingwan looked at the glittering water in the distance. “Everything’s fine.”
“That’s good.”
“Are you free these next few days?” Pingwan stopped and leaned against the railing.
Qiang Huai thought for a moment. “Yeah.”
“Then… want to hang out for a few days?” Pingwan asked, remembering the travel log in Qiang Huai’s QQ Space.
Qiang Huai smiled playfully. “And what exactly do you mean by ‘hang out’?”