She Said: A Passionate Kiss [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 26
Gu Pingwan was brushing her teeth with an electric toothbrush when she saw the screenshot Qiang Huai sent—her hand trembled.
How could these netizens dig up everything?
She replied: “Did it cause you any trouble?”
Qiang Huai typed back with a smile: “That’s what I should be asking you.”
After finishing her routine, Gu Pingwan lay on the bed.
“No impact on me.”
“I just don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
Qiang Huai could already picture Gu Pingwan’s cautious expression—she suddenly had the urge to fly over and squeeze her tight.
“When I finish dealing with this, let’s make another date?” She really hoped for a positive reply from Gu Pingwan, but considering how busy she always was, it might not be easy to find the time.
Gu Pingwan plugged in her phone and replied, “Sure.”
Xiao Yu had already booked the earliest flight back to Jincheng for Qiang Huai. After packing up her things, she finally saw Gu Pingwan’s message.
But since it was already so late, she decided not to disturb her.
At the company, Sister Qin was working overtime. Zheng Yu’s team claimed they’d never encountered a situation like this and insisted they couldn’t have orchestrated it themselves.
From the start of the incident’s spread until now, apart from trying to ride the wave without giving a proper response, they didn’t seem to have gained much either.
Sister Qin drafted an announcement clarifying that Zheng Yu was not an artist under Huaisheng Group. After being approved by PR, it was posted late at night on the official account.
As soon as Qiang Huai got off the plane, she headed straight to the company.
She’d already read the statement during her ride over. The netizens clearly weren’t satisfied—it was obvious everyone was here for the drama. How could it just end like that?
Netizen: “From my analysis, even if she’s not under Qiang Huai’s company, she must be someone Qiang Huai likes. Otherwise, how could they be so close?”
Netizen: “If I had Qiang Huai’s status, I’d sleep with 800 people a day.”
Fan: “Let’s eat the melon rationally. Huaisheng Group has always upheld… Please focus more on the work, and give them privacy in their personal life.”
Fan: “Thanks for supporting Huaihuai! Looking forward to the new suspense film Kill Yesterday and the anti-school-bullying film She’s Me. Feeling excited~”
Still, many netizens criticized the rumor mill—saying even after officially distancing themselves, people refused to believe it. After digging deep, the only connection between the two was their interaction at the award ceremony. Nothing prior.
Qiang Huai was feeling a bit tired. She sat in her office drinking coffee and silently studied the data Sister Qin had handed her.
“I don’t think Zheng Yu was behind this,” Qiang Huai said after downing the coffee in one go.
Sister Qin agreed. “Exactly. Zheng Yu might’ve gained some exposure, but it didn’t actually benefit her at all.”
“How’s her team reacting?” Qiang Huai asked as she set down the cup.
“They’re just trying to ride the free trending topic. No other moves so far,” Sister Qin explained. They had put out a puff piece to celebrate Zheng Yu’s award win.
“I’m just curious,” she added, “you, Zheng Yu, and Chief Engineer Gu all entered the hotel… was it really…”
“Don’t,” Qiang Huai cut her off before she could finish. “I know what you’re about to say. We happened to run into Zheng Yu on the way out. I was just being a helpful bystander and helped her upstairs. Wanwan came to meet me and also lent a hand.”
Sister Qin made a knowing face. “Wanwan? Oh~ Wanwan, hahaha.”
In the early hours of the morning, Zheng Yu woke up in her hotel bed. She panicked at the sight of countless missed calls.
The hot water on the nightstand was still warm. She took a sip just as her assistant came out of the bathroom.
“Rainie-jie, thank goodness you’re awake! I’ve been calling you for ages—any longer and the company would’ve fired me,” the assistant said tearfully.
“You brought me back here?” Zheng Yu asked in confusion, clearly unsure of what had happened.
The assistant handed her some hangover meds. “Nope, it was Teacher Qiang who brought you back. Quick, take your meds—we need to go to the office.”
Zheng Yu downed the medicine in one gulp. “Q-Qiang… Teacher Qiang?”
“Yeah, now come on!” the assistant urged, practically jumping with anxiety.
Zheng Yu didn’t want to go back to the company, but with her contract binding her, she had no choice.
On the way there, the assistant updated her on what had happened online. Zheng Yu’s heart sank—she had no idea if Qiang Huai had misunderstood her.
When they reached the office, her assistant rushed her, but she stood at the door for a long time before stepping in.
“Rainie, there you are! Quick, quick, quick, let’s film a video and ride the wave,” said her manager, Shen Huan—a flamboyant man gesturing with orchid fingers.
Zheng Yu’s makeup was already half smudged. Shen Huan grabbed a brush and patched her up himself. Zheng Yu sat there like a lifeless doll—she was exhausted.
“Come, come, babe. The camera’s ready—just read the script,” Shen Huan pushed her toward a white wall inside the company. There was only a side light source, making Zheng Yu look like a drenched flower in the shot. The background gave no clue about the location.
Zheng Yu glanced at the teleprompter. She hesitated, then caught Shen Huan’s impatient stare.
“It’s fine—don’t worry if you fumble. It needs to feel natural,” he snapped, clearly irritated. He’d already called her countless times. His superiors were breathing down his neck.
Zheng Yu had heavy eye bags and bloodshot eyes. “Hello everyone, I’m Zheng Yu. I sincerely apologize for the… the trouble I caused Teacher Qiang Huai. I…”
At this point, she felt a wave of nausea rising inside.
“Keep going—we’ll cut that part. Edit it out later,” Shen Huan told the crew beside him.
Zheng Yu continued, “I shouldn’t have let Teacher Qiang Huai help me. This is entirely my fault. It was completely my own carelessness that… that caused me to bump into Teacher Qiang Huai. Please don’t criticize her too harshly. She’s a wonderful actress.”
She went on with a bunch of fake-sweet lines. Shen Huan was thoroughly pleased with her performance.
After filming wrapped up, Shen Huan patted her on the shoulder. “You’ve got an ad shoot tomorrow. Go home, sleep an hour or two, then head out.”
“But… I haven’t really rested,” Zheng Yu protested.
Shen Huan glared. “You’re a female celeb. Sleeping three or four hours a day is normal—it’s enough.”
“Don’t forget—you belong to this company. Forever. The company didn’t even pursue you for what happened before. That’s already incredibly kind.”
“Call your assistant in. I need to confirm your schedule. Ad shoot tomorrow, event the day after, then two roadshows…” Shen Huan rattled off a list, ending with, “Director Chen’s coming to Beijing next week. Have dinner with him.”
Zheng Yu wanted to say Can I not go? But the words got stuck in her throat.
Shen Huan then posted the video to Zheng Yu’s Weibo, sparking an instant storm.
Many netizens blasted the apology as insincere and performative—nobody was buying it.
Even Qiang Huai’s haters couldn’t stand this level of nonsense. What was this move?
First they insinuated Qiang Huai was abusing power, now they were playing the victim card?
Some netizens even claimed Zheng Yu was being threatened by Qiang Huai’s company. She kept glancing off-camera and looked extremely nervous.
At 7 AM, Qiang Huai woke up from the backroom of her office. She ordered a few breakfast sets and was running on a treadmill.
“Do you think Zheng Yu’s team has a screw loose?” Sister Qin came in holding a tablet.
Qiang Huai had been listening to music with headphones on. If not for the incident, she would’ve been in Beijing watching the flag-raising with Gu Pingwan right now.
Sister Qin stood in front of the treadmill. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Of course,” Qiang Huai slowed down. “What company is Zheng Yu signed with?”
After Sister Qin told her, Qiang Huai said, “Isn’t that company infamous for exploiting artists?”
“Exactly. But they’ve also made a lot of stars,” Sister Qin replied, pulling up data. In the entertainment industry, many top agencies exist. Zheng Yu’s company was upper-middle tier, but still nowhere near Huaisheng Group.
“They’ve had a lot of contract terminations recently—usually after artists hit it big,” Sister Qin hinted.
People in the industry knew what that meant—most endured in silence until they had enough influence to walk away.
“After the awards, Zheng Yu came to ask for my autograph,” Qiang Huai recalled. Was Zheng Yu trying to tell her something?
But Lin Tang had interrupted their conversation.
“She even said she’d work hard to join our company. That was odd.” Qiang Huai paused the treadmill and walked over to take a sip of water.
Earlier that morning, Sister Qin had tried to reach out to Zheng Yu’s team. They said Zheng Yu was “busy” and couldn’t answer the phone—any issues should go through her manager.
Sister Qin was speechless. Was Zheng Yu busier than Qiang Huai?
Well, okay—Qiang Huai had been pretty free lately.
“Since that video dropped at midnight, a lot of netizens turned on her,” Sister Qin said. “Hard to tell if it was meant to disgust us or sabotage Zheng Yu.”
Qiang Huai had a vague feeling—if Zheng Yu was actually reaching out for help, how should she respond?
Just as Sister Qin exited the office, she saw Qiang Huai hunched over, responding to messages like she was about to climb into the screen.
Gu Pingwan had just returned to the research institute. She’d gotten up early to watch the flag-raising ceremony and sent a photo to Qiang Huai. Because of the crowds, her signal had been weak—only now could she send it.
“【Photo】”
“Standing in the square, I kept thinking… if only you were here with me.”
Qiang Huai held her phone, took a few deep breaths, and replied:
“Chief Engineer Gu, if you say things like that, it’s too flirty—I’ll get shy [blush.jpg]”
Gu Pingwan stared at the message for a while.
“?”
Reading Qiang Huai’s words brought back the teasing look on her face, and before she knew it, her ears were red, and her face felt warm.
Qiang Huai stifled a laugh.
“Next time, let’s go together. I’ll stand right beside you.”
Gu Pingwan nibbled on her bun. On the table was a cup of soy milk—she used to hate it, but she could stomach it now.
“Okay.”
“Today, the institute announced our holiday schedule. I’ll be heading back on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month.”
Qiang Huai counted on her fingers—it happened to be her free period too.
“I’ll be waiting~ [hug.jpg]”
As for Zheng Yu, the issue eventually faded. After the netizens gorged on the drama, a newer scandal soon took its place. In the entertainment industry, news had a short shelf life—gone in the time it takes to eat a meal.
Qiang Huai was swamped the entire week—her company’s annual party, a few ad shoots wrapping up, and the New Year magazine cover still needed to be shot.
It wasn’t until Gu Pingwan returned to Jincheng and messaged Qiang Huai that she realized the New Year was nearly here.
“Ah Huai, I’m back. Where are you?”