She Said: A Passionate Kiss [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 47
Qiang Huai walked over and handed the other umbrella in her hand to Gu Pingwan.
“Classmate Gu, it’s time to retire that old umbrella,” Qiang Huai said, her gaze landing on the faded umbrella—so much like their pale, barren youth. The new umbrella in her hand shimmered with deep, vivid color.
Gu Pingwan took it. The rain was getting heavier, and they had to stand close to hear each other.
“What did you say?” Qiang Huai saw Gu Pingwan’s lips move but couldn’t catch her words.
She pulled Gu Pingwan under her umbrella. The cool, dry space wrapped around the damp and dewy Gu Pingwan.
“I said, I’m sentimental,” Gu Pingwan whispered, waist encircled by Qiang Huai’s arm. Their hands brushed against each other. Raindrops landed on Gu Pingwan’s eyelashes, blinking like stars.
Qiang Huai smiled but said nothing. The rain seemed to cut them off from the world, leaving only their lingering emotions.
“Qiang Huai, come closer. I want to tell you a secret.” Gu Pingwan curled a finger, motioning her in.
Qiang Huai leaned in, and Gu Pingwan kissed her cheek—just a light touch.
“You—!” Qiang Huai was a little flustered. Her mind flashed back to that summer, at the door of the sports equipment room. Back then, she had asked Gu Pingwan to lean closer so she could tell her a secret—and had kissed her cheek.
Now, years later, Gu Pingwan had done the same.
Their youth had passed, but the person beside her remained.
“Qiang Huai, would you be my girlfriend?” Gu Pingwan asked, as if summoning all her courage.
Qiang Huai hadn’t expected Gu Pingwan to confess first. She stood frozen for a whole minute.
It felt like a dream. She couldn’t believe Gu Pingwan was the one to confess—so directly, so boldly. The sudden wave of affection overwhelmed her.
“Classmate Gu, are you sure you like me?” Qiang Huai asked cautiously. She didn’t know what Gu Pingwan truly felt, or even if she was straight.
Gu Pingwan’s gaze was steady. “I’m sure. It’s not friendship. It’s the kind of like where I want to be with you.”
Qiang Huai had waited so many years for this answer. Now that happiness was within reach, she could hardly believe it. “If this is just on a whim—if you just want someone to talk to—I think we’re already in a good place.”
“It’s not a whim. I’ve thought about it a lot,” Gu Pingwan replied patiently.
“If, after we get together, I turn out to be different from what you imagined—too busy to keep you company, or if we lose our freedom being tied to each other… If that scares you, you can still back out now,” Qiang Huai said.
Gu Pingwan lowered her head with a soft laugh. “I won’t regret it.”
“Then I don’t want to,” Qiang Huai said flatly.
Now it was Gu Pingwan’s turn to be stunned.
Qiang Huai didn’t rush to explain. She took her hand and led her to the back of the car. She unlocked the trunk with the car key.
Inside, it was filled with fresh flowers. White roses surrounded a cake. On the cake were two small figurines—one sitting on a bed, the other kneeling and gently kissing the first one’s knee. Raindrops rolled off the umbrella and onto the petals.
“You confessed once, so now it’s my turn. That’s only fair,” Qiang Huai said as she picked up a white rose. “Classmate Gu Pingwan, would you be my girlfriend?”
Gu Pingwan took the flower, and as their fingers touched, Qiang Huai immediately pulled her into her arms.
She lifted a fork with a bite of cake. “It’s really sweet. Want to try?”
Before Gu Pingwan could answer with her “I do,” the words melted into Qiang Huai’s kiss.
The two umbrellas shielded them from view. Passersby just thought they were rummaging through the trunk. The world under the umbrellas belonged to only them.
The sweetness of the cake lingered between them as their kiss lasted several long minutes.
“Dinner?” Qiang Huai held Gu Pingwan’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go.
Gu Pingwan’s ears were red. Just moments ago she had boldly confessed, and now she was dazed from the kiss, feeling a little shy.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Shall we eat nearby?” Qiang Huai glanced at the sky—it didn’t look like the rain was stopping anytime soon. It was the perfect weather for some nostalgic comfort food.
She took out a mask, put it on, and led Gu Pingwan to the right of the school gate. That way was a street filled with snack shops. They used to be plain cloth signs, but now most had switched to LED boards.
Qiang Huai brought her to a dry pot restaurant. She used to treat friends here to spicy duck feet and tomato beef.
They ordered a yin-yang hot pot—one half spicy duck feet, the other tomato beef. Delicious as always.
The restaurant didn’t have private rooms. Even though it was a school holiday, many students were still gathered to eat. Five or six tables were filled. Qiang Huai and Gu Pingwan found a seat in the corner.
After ordering, Qiang Huai even opened a food delivery app. “Want to get some milk tea?”
She handed her phone to Gu Pingwan, who looked puzzled.
“Aren’t we already eating?”
“It’s been so long. I just want to have some again,” Qiang Huai smiled. Their vibe was just like a group of high schoolers hanging out after class, sharing daily life, recommending milk tea places.
Gu Pingwan chose an avocado milkshake. Qiang Huai ordered a peach oolong.
Around them, students were chatting noisily.
“I swear, we’re still working over the May break. I haven’t done any of my homework.”
“Hey, you finished your math homework? Let me copy it.”
“Did you hear? That girl from Class 2 is dating our class’s bad boy.”
“…”
Gu Pingwan and Qiang Huai perked up their ears, eavesdropping on the high schoolers.
“I miss high school,” Qiang Huai sighed.
“What would you do if you could go back?” Gu Pingwan wasn’t particularly nostalgic. Back then, she had felt like a study machine. With her father’s death and her mother’s grief, those seven or eight years were the darkest time in her life. She was just glad she made it through.
She had hated the world then. But Qiang Huai was the exception.
Qiang Huai rested her chin on her hand. “I’d date you early on. Get caught by teachers. Call in the parents. And hold on to those three years so I wouldn’t lose you for over a decade.”
Gu Pingwan chuckled. “High schoolers aren’t allowed to date.”
“Back then, when I kissed your knee—did you feel like I was harassing you?” Qiang Huai asked, sipping her tea to hide her embarrassment.
The dining hall was still buzzing, no one paying them any mind.
Gu Pingwan thought back to that afternoon. She had been flustered, and did feel like Qiang Huai had crossed the line. But later, she figured it wasn’t a big deal—they were both girls, after all.
“I thought maybe you kissed me by accident,” she replied.
Qiang Huai knew she was giving her an out, so she didn’t push further.
The food arrived. Qiang Huai sanitized the utensils, then used her chopsticks to give Gu Pingwan a tender, fatty slice of beef.
Just then, a large group entered the restaurant.
“This is the place—old-school dry pot. I remember we—”
“Why don’t we go somewhere nicer for a reunion?”
A dozen people walked into the dining hall, drawing everyone’s attention. Qiang Huai was still giving Gu Pingwan food. Gu Pingwan turned around—and saw a crowd of familiar yet distant faces.
“Try it—see if it still tastes like it used to.” Qiang Huai looked up, and her gaze met those entering the restaurant.
They were their high school classmates.
One classmate recognized her and nudged the guy beside him.
“Qiang Huai?” he said.
The dining room went silent.
“No way!”
“Ahhhh!”
“Qiang Huai!”
The place erupted. Qiang Huai made a “shush” gesture, and the students nodded obediently—though a few bold ones still came over for autographs and selfies.
After the fangirling died down, the former classmates walked over to their table.
Before, Gu Pingwan had her back to the door, so no one noticed her. Now they saw clearly—she was sitting with Qiang Huai.
“You two weren’t coming to the reunion, right?” Doudou asked.
Skirt Skirt had mentioned a class reunion during the May break, but both Qiang Huai and Gu Pingwan had declined. Skirt Skirt didn’t show up either.
Another classmate, Xiong Xiong, said, “What a coincidence, old friends.”
Qiang Huai greeted them politely. Gu Pingwan nodded along.
“What’s top student Gu doing here too?” Doudou said as she sat at their table like an old friend.
Xiong Xiong asked the owner to push three tables together, and a dozen classmates sat down.
“Just passing by,” Gu Pingwan lied, unconsciously touching her nose.
Many of them had seen her and Qiang Huai give motivational speeches at the school, and knew they still kept in touch.
Still, Gu Pingwan had quit all the class groups after graduation—no one knew how Qiang Huai had gotten back in contact.
Doudou looked half-convinced. “Let’s all eat together. I mean, we’re already here.”
Qiang Huai quickly smoothed things over. “We’ve already started. Wouldn’t want to freeload off you.”
“Haha, still the same old Qiang Huai,” Doudou laughed. She often chatted with her in the group chat, but they hadn’t met in years.
“How about this—I’ll treat everyone,” Qiang Huai called the server. “Could you go outside and grab a few bottles of good wine?”
This restaurant, being near a school, only carried basic drinks. Qiang Huai asked the server to get something fancier, and even tipped them.
Gu Pingwan quietly ate her food, not saying much. She wasn’t used to crowds like this, but thankfully Qiang Huai handled it well.
One classmate teased, “Qiang Huai really is a big star now—so generous.”
“It’s a rare occasion. I was a class officer, after all—treating everyone is only right.” The speaker was a man named Tao Li. He’d been skinny and weak in high school. Now, he had a potbelly and greasy demeanor.
Thankfully, Qiang Huai still recognized his voice—sharp and mean, as ever.
Doudou tried to signal Tao Li to stop.
But he didn’t care. “Why is Gu Pingwan so quiet? What do you do now?”
“What do you do?” Qiang Huai shot back, deflecting for Gu Pingwan.
Tao Li picked at the plastic on his utensils. “I was asking Gu Pingwan. Why ask me?”
Qiang Huai put on a troubled expression. “I’m just worried that if I tell you, you won’t even understand what it means.”