She Said: A Passionate Kiss [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 30
Gu Pingwan leaned over. Qiang Huai’s skin was very fair, and the bite marks still showed faint bruising.
She whispered, “It’s still a bit visible.”
Qiang Huai adjusted her collar. “It’s been so long and still hasn’t faded.”
As the culprit, Gu Pingwan’s eyes darted around—she couldn’t bring herself to look at Qiang Huai directly.
“What’s wrong? Feeling shy now?” Qiang Huai poked Gu Pingwan’s arm with her finger.
Gu Pingwan rubbed her nose and quickened her pace toward the sports field. To get to the teaching building, they had to go around the field, so most students who were nearly late usually dashed across it.
Director Qin was waiting for them downstairs at the teaching building. Since both of them had busy schedules, they didn’t have time to run through the procedure beforehand, so she wanted to go over things briefly with them.
When they arrived downstairs—
Qiang Huai greeted Director Qin. Director Qin beamed with delight and had even dressed up in a suit and slicked-back hair that morning.
“You two finally made it,” Director Qin said while walking with them. “What do you think? The teaching building was renovated last year. Not bad, right?”
Qiang Huai looked around. The tiles had been replaced, the walls freshly painted, and through the windows, she noticed that the old blackboards had been replaced by whiteboards and new multimedia teaching tools had been installed.
“Nice. The learning environment is much better now,” Qiang Huai commented.
Director Qin puffed her cheeks. “It wasn’t bad back in your day either!”
Laughing and chatting, they entered the office. Director Qin’s office, which used to be in a shared space, had been upgraded to a private office.
“Tea, or something else?” Director Qin asked.
Qiang Huai chuckled. “Besides tea, what else could you possibly have here?”
“You guessed wrong. I confiscated some beer from students. Want a little?” Director Qin actually made a rare joke.
“No need for that,” Qiang Huai said, surprised to find Director Qin had developed a sense of humor—she used to be quite stern.
Gu Pingwan also laughed.
“Then tea it is.” Director Qin brewed the tea and began briefing them on the event schedule.
Qiang Huai and Gu Pingwan had already prepared their speeches, which they had previously sent to Director Qin via WeChat for approval. She was very satisfied with them.
“First, a senior student representative will give a speech, then the two of you will speak in turn, and finally…” After going over the schedule, Director Qin let them rest for a while while she went to organize the senior students for the assembly.
Since Gu Pingwan hadn’t had time to print her speech earlier that morning, she used Director Qin’s computer to print it before leaving the office with Qiang Huai.
Qiang Huai took off her mask and inhaled deeply, taking in the familiar air of her high school days.
“Don’t you feel like it’s all a dream?” Qiang Huai leaned on the railing, watching the senior students begin to gather below.
Gu Pingwan leaned against it too. “It really does.”
Just then, a teacher holding a thermos walked over and adjusted her glasses. “Are you Gu Pingwan?”
They turned their heads—it was their math teacher from high school.
“Ms. Ye!” Gu Pingwan’s eyes lit up. Back then, it was Ms. Ye who had persistently convinced the homeroom teacher to let her pursue a science track.
Qiang Huai also greeted her, though Ms. Ye didn’t recognize her right away.
“You’re… Qiang Huai?” Ms. Ye squinted—her presbyopia had gotten worse.
“Yes, that’s me,” Qiang Huai replied.
Ms. Ye sized them up. “Not bad, not bad. So you’re the excellent alumni Director Qin mentioned coming back to give a motivational speech to the seniors?”
Qiang Huai and Gu Pingwan nodded simultaneously.
“Great! So, Gu Pingwan, what are you doing now?” Ms. Ye was clearly very pleased.
“I’m working at the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences,” Gu Pingwan replied modestly.
“I knew you’d be successful. Choosing a science track back then was definitely the right call. Those old-fashioned teachers had no clue,” Ms. Ye beamed, growing more fond of her by the second.
Qiang Huai gazed at Gu Pingwan—it really did feel like being back in high school.
“Are you two still as close as before?” Ms. Ye asked. She had remembered seeing them together all the time back then but noticed they had grown apart later. She never quite understood how students’ relationships worked.
“I think… we’re even closer now,” Qiang Huai joked lightly.
Gu Pingwan gave her a glance, then nodded at Ms. Ye.
Ms. Ye took a sip from her thermos. “Your old homeroom teacher retired. If he saw how well you two turned out, he’d be thrilled.”
“Come on, let’s head to the assembly hall.” Ms. Ye sighed and led the way.
Along the way, many students greeted Qiang Huai. They knew she had graduated from Jincheng High School, and some recognized the academic star beside her. Gu Pingwan’s picture had been hanging on the school’s “Outstanding Graduates” wall for years.
Qiang Huai and Gu Pingwan sat in the front row while the students behind whispered excitedly. Some even mustered the courage to ask Qiang Huai for her autograph.
Many regretted not sneaking in their phones—they hadn’t expected the school to actually invite Qiang Huai back.
Director Qin made a speech full of motivational words for the seniors. After the student representative spoke, it was time for Qiang Huai and Gu Pingwan.
As scheduled, Gu Pingwan was to speak first.
“I’m a little nervous,” Gu Pingwan said.
Qiang Huai held her hand and patted it. “Want me to go first?”
“No worries. These are just little brothers and sisters. An outstanding student like you should be seen and heard.” Qiang Huai teased.
Taking a deep breath, Gu Pingwan headed up like she was walking to her doom.
She gave her speech, and then Director Qin invited students to ask questions. Gu Pingwan was stunned—this part wasn’t mentioned earlier!
Director Qin winked and gave her an OK sign.
Clearing her throat, Gu Pingwan said, “Feel free to raise your hands and ask questions. I’ll try to answer as best I can.”
A girl with a high ponytail and a receding hairline asked, “Senior Gu, why did you choose computer science?”
Gu Pingwan smiled. “Because I liked it.”
“But… can girls really handle computer science? Can our brains keep up?” the girl asked hesitantly.
“Of course we can. I really dislike it when people say women can’t do this or that. There are so many top female talents in the world,” Gu Pingwan said firmly.
She continued, “I’m not trying to pit genders against each other. The real issue is the conflict between a generation of women awakening to their potential and the remnants of patriarchal thinking. Studies show that in many areas, women outperform men.”
“So listen to your own heart. Don’t confine yourself to society’s boxes. Do what you want to do.”
Applause thundered through the hall.
Qiang Huai admired her deeply. That soft-spoken, diligent Gu Pingwan was now shining brightly in her own field.
The girl who asked the question had tears in her eyes. She choked up, “Thank you. I’ll work hard.”
A few boys asked about job prospects in computer science, and Gu Pingwan answered each one patiently. Then it was Qiang Huai’s turn.
As soon as she stepped onstage, the crowd erupted in cheers. Some students even brought cameras, one with a DSLR.
“Hello everyone, I’m Qiang Huai, your senior,” she said warmly.
After her speech, there was another Q&A session.
A girl raised her hand. “Senior Qiang, did you date in college?”
Qiang Huai laughed. “Are you planning to be an entertainment reporter someday?”
“Hahaha—”
“What a question, legendary.”
The room was in an uproar.
“Of course I didn’t date,” she said.
The girl made a heart shape with her hands at her.
Gu Pingwan glanced at her. Why was Qiang Huai smiling so brightly up there?
Then a boy asked, “Senior Qiang, do you think I can become an actor with my looks?”
Qiang Huai studied him. Based on her company’s artist recruitment standards, she silently evaluated him. “Why not? You’re tall, good-looking, and have a nice aura. Way better than I was when I started.”
“Really? Do I need plastic surgery?”
The boy was quite handsome and could probably pass as a young idol with the right grooming.
“No need. Just cut back on late nights,” Qiang Huai replied, sparking another round of laughter.
Director Qin adjusted the mic and said, “Okay, let’s ask more meaningful questions. It’s not easy getting Senior Qiang here—our school can’t usually afford someone of her level!”
Thanks to Qiang Huai, the event was more joyful than expected.
After the assembly, the seniors flocked to take photos with her.
While Qiang Huai was surrounded on stage, Gu Pingwan chatted with Director Qin off to the side.
“Pingwan,” Director Qin asked, “did you and Qiang Huai not really keep in touch after graduation?”
Gu Pingwan nodded, her gaze fixed on Qiang Huai.
“Kind of surprising. I remember she even got into a fight for you in high school,” said Director Qin, following her gaze.
“Huh?” Gu Pingwan was shocked. She had no idea.
“You didn’t know?”
“That time she had that crazy makeup and colorful hair—she was standing up for you.”
Director Qin saw Gu Pingwan’s stunned face and continued, “Remember that big theft incident? The one where three students went to jail?”
“I-I didn’t know,” Gu Pingwan’s mind was in chaos. When had that happened?
“Ask her later. That was quite the favor,” Director Qin advised kindly.
After saying goodbye to the teachers, they walked from the office toward the sports field. Gu Pingwan kept her head down, kicking pebbles.
She thought of the rumors online about Qiang Huai being a delinquent, those photos of her with dyed hair. So it had all been for her.
“What’s wrong? Don’t want to leave?” Qiang Huai gently bumped her shoulder.
Gu Pingwan looked up. “Qiang Huai, are you hiding something from me?”
“No…” Qiang Huai was confused. Everything had seemed fine just moments ago—why the sudden shift?
She added quickly, “Okay, I admit a little girl held my hand earlier, but I rejected her!”
“There’s no way I’d be into her—I’m like ten years older than those kids!” she muttered. The crowd was too dense to even dodge.
Gu Pingwan widened her eyes in shock. “Qiang Huai, how could you!”