She Said: A Passionate Kiss [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 29
Gu Pingwan showed no intention of getting off of Qiang Huai. Their faces were still pressed close together, and with the alcohol on her breath, she was muttering nonsense.
“Qiang Huai, actually, I’ve known for a long time that you #%@…” Gu Pingwan’s head leaned toward Qiang Huai’s ear, her breath making Qiang Huai’s heart itch.
Qiang Huai didn’t catch it clearly. “What did you say?”
“I said, let’s sleep together!” Gu Pingwan said, then buried her head in Qiang Huai’s neck and promptly fell asleep.
And just like that, Gu Pingwan lay on top of Qiang Huai for half an hour. Qiang Huai’s neck ended up covered in teeth marks.
After helping Gu Pingwan to the bed, Qiang Huai went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.
She gently touched the spot on her neck that had been bitten and muttered, “Gu Pingwan, are you a dog or something?”
The bite marks weren’t very obvious yet, but they were sure to bruise by the next day.
She looked at the person lying on the bed and smiled helplessly, shaking her head.
Qiang Huai used a warm towel to wipe Gu Pingwan’s face, then sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re not allowed to drink that much outside again, got it?”
The more she looked, the cuter Gu Pingwan seemed—her cheeks were red, and she was murmuring nonsense with her little mouth.
“Going back to the research institute must be exhausting, huh?” Qiang Huai picked up Gu Pingwan’s hand and wiped each of her fingers clean.
“Look at you, you’ve even got dark circles under your eyes,” she chuckled.
The grandfather clock in the living room chimed midnight. Qiang Huai leaned down and whispered by Gu Pingwan’s ear, “Happy New Year, my Wanwan.”
Gu Pingwan didn’t respond, only scratching her neck in her sleep.
…
The next morning.
Qiang Huai kicked off the covers; the room was warm from the heater.
Suddenly, she jolted awake—where was Gu Pingwan, who’d been sleeping beside her?
She found her in the kitchen making breakfast. When Gu Pingwan saw Qiang Huai, she looked a little awkward and avoided eye contact.
“Happy New Year,” Gu Pingwan said, poking at the dumplings with her chopsticks. They were almost done.
Qiang Huai poured herself a glass of water. “Happy New Year.”
“I… I didn’t say anything inappropriate last night, did I?” Gu Pingwan asked nervously.
“What kind of things would you consider inappropriate?” Qiang Huai walked over to her with a teasing smile.
Gu Pingwan stayed focused on the pot of dumplings. “Nothing… Also, how did we end up sleeping in the same bed? Don’t you have so many rooms in your house?”
Now it was Qiang Huai’s turn to look sheepish. She explained, “My housekeeper’s on vacation, and the other rooms haven’t been cleaned, so they’re probably dusty. Don’t worry, nothing happened between us.”
Then she quickly added, as if trying to cover something up, “Besides, we’re both women—what could I possibly do to you?”
Gu Pingwan lifted her head. “Oh.”
“Wait, what’s that on your neck?” Gu Pingwan noticed the circle of bite marks on Qiang Huai’s neck. Could it be… her?
She tried to recall what she’d done last night. She vaguely remembered gnawing on something like a chicken drumstick… Was that Qiang Huai?!
Her mind went blank from embarrassment—this was mortifying!
She covered her face with one hand, stirring the dumplings with the other.
Qiang Huai burst into laughter. “No idea which dog bit me. Is it that noticeable?”
Gu Pingwan mumbled through her fingers, “You can cover it up with foundation.”
“Hungry. Are the dumplings ready yet?” Qiang Huai hooked Gu Pingwan’s arm with her finger.
“Al-almost,” Gu Pingwan stammered, awkwardly pulling away.
…
Gu’s mom called early in the morning. Last night, when she called, it was Qiang Huai who picked up and told her that Gu Pingwan was drunk and staying the night.
She invited Qiang Huai to their house for lunch—eating alone just wasn’t festive.
That afternoon, Qiang Huai dressed up and dragged Gu Pingwan to the market to buy a ton of gifts for her mom.
“You didn’t have to buy so much,” Gu Pingwan said, putting some of the items back on the shelf.
Qiang Huai wore a mask and a scarf around her neck.
“I have this quirk—if I like someone, I love spending money on her,” Qiang Huai said, putting everything back into the cart.
Gu Pingwan gave a forced smile. “Then who does Qiang Huai like, huh? My mom’s already a senior.”
Qiang Huai waved dismissively. “You’re killing me with this ‘filial piety.’”
They returned to the Gu house loaded with gifts. The moment they stepped in, Gu’s mom, dressed in red, came out to greet them.
“Happy New Year, Xiaohuai. Here’s your red envelope.” She handed a red packet to Qiang Huai, then gave another to Gu Pingwan. “Here, this one’s yours.”
When Gu Pingwan took hers, she noticed it was a bit thinner than Qiang Huai’s.
Qiang Huai took off her mask and beamed, “Happy New Year, Auntie! These are for you.”
“Haha, you always bring so many gifts every time you come. I won’t know what to bring next time I visit your house.”
She continued, “And the way you just greeted me was like a host on the Spring Festival Gala.”
Qiang Huai laughed. “Haha, well, if I ever get the chance, I’ll go on the Gala just to say hi to you.”
She actually had been invited to perform on the Gala before but declined due to scheduling conflicts and the lack of a good performance segment.
Inside, the heater was on full blast. Gu Pingwan had already taken off her coat and scarf.
Gu’s mom looked puzzled. “Why don’t you take off your scarf?”
Qiang Huai and Gu Pingwan exchanged a look.
Gu Pingwan answered first, “Mom, it’s for the look—it’s part of someone else’s ‘aesthetic.’”
“Oh, oh,” Gu’s mom nodded as if she understood.
They chatted about daily life. The Gu family had such a warm, homey vibe that Qiang Huai felt a kind of domestic comfort she had never known before.
She pulled out her phone and sent a message to her parents. Her father was still busy and had his assistant transfer ten million to her company account instead.
Qiang Huai gave a bitter chuckle. It had always been like this—money, she could earn herself. All she ever wanted was to spend a simple New Year with family. That was the most luxurious thing of all.
…
Gu Pingwan’s New Year break ended, and on the day she flew back to Beijing, Qiang Huai drove her to the airport.
“Did Director Qin tell you about school starting for the seniors at the end of the month?” Qiang Huai asked.
Gu Pingwan nodded. “He did. I’ll be back for two days.”
“I’ll free up some time, and we can go together.” Qiang Huai adjusted her coat collar.
“Okay.”
After Gu Pingwan left, Qiang Huai resumed her boring solo routine.
On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, her New Year issue magazine hit the stands, with people rushing to buy it. A few copies lay in her house, but when she flipped through them, she found them dull.
She logged into her alt account on Weibo to browse trending topics and saw Zheng Yu was trending again.
But this time, the hashtags were #ZhengYuTerminatedContract and #ZhengYuWorkplaceBullying.
Curious, Qiang Huai clicked in and saw that Zheng Yu had posted several damning exposés.
She claimed her agency had been exploiting artists—forcing them to trade sexual favors for opportunities and using compromising videos to threaten them into submission.
Zheng Yu even referenced a previously circulated photo of her collapsed on top of Qiang Huai, revealing that it had been staged to generate gossip and smear Qiang Huai. She also posted many photos of herself drinking with clients and screenshots of messages from her agent. There were even audio recordings.
Netizens were shocked.
“Didn’t know the industry was this filthy.”
“That agent’s full-on psychological abuser.”
“If even someone at Zheng Yu’s level has to go through this, what about the unknowns?”
Some questioned why Zheng Yu waited until now to speak up, accusing her of also seeking clout. But many defended her:
“So now we’re blaming victims for finally speaking out?”
“You think she didn’t face pressure? She’s doing this not just for herself, but for all women in the industry.”
Qiang Huai frowned. The entertainment industry was truly murky. She had heard rumors about Zheng Yu’s company before but didn’t expect her to go public like this.
Zheng Yu also revealed she had been burned with cigarettes and forced to use a baseball bat for self-pleasure during her time as a struggling rookie.
No one would post something like that online unless they were utterly desperate.
As more and more evidence came out, other artists from the same company—big and small—started sharing their own experiences. The scandal swept through the industry, tearing away its final fig leaf and exposing an ugly underbelly.
Ten days later, Zheng Yu’s agency was shut down for tax evasion, suspected human trafficking, and other shady dealings.
People online praised Qiang Huai’s company, HuaiSheng Group, for staying clean, offering fair dividends, and never crossing legal or moral lines. She had earned every cent she made.
Moved by the incident, Qiang Huai immediately called a management meeting. She emphasized that such things must never happen in her company and opened a new complaint channel—she and her manager Qin would personally review every report.
Work had been nonstop. A mystery film she shot earlier was about to premiere, and her anti-school-violence movie had just started leaking set photos.
Then Gu Pingwan reminded her to clear her schedule for a school seminar in two days. That was when she remembered the event.
Gu Pingwan flew in early that morning. Qiang Huai waited at their high school gate while seniors rushed in with bread in their mouths, high-strung from the looming college entrance exam.
The relaxed ones walking slowly in the back were probably freshmen or sophomores.
Qiang Huai glanced at her watch and spotted Gu Pingwan at 7:15 sharp.
“Classmate Gu, long time no see. You’re in senior year already—how are you still walking this slowly?” Qiang Huai teased.
Students in uniform walking past saw a masked lady talking nonsense. What was up with this weird auntie?
Gu Pingwan pulled two KFC breakfasts from her bag. “I’m not in a rush. I’m naturally good at studying. Here, I brought these on the way.”
Qiang Huai took one. “Wow, rare sight. I used to always bring you breakfast. Didn’t think I’d get to eat yours today~”
“Then I’ll keep supplying you from now on,” Gu Pingwan said, taking a bite of her panini. She’d flown in that morning and would leave by night.
Qiang Huai dragged her into the school, signing in at the security office before entering the campus.
“Is the mark on my neck still obvious?” Qiang Huai tugged down her collar, revealing her pale skin.