She Said: A Passionate Kiss [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 6
After leaving the office, Gu Pingwan went downstairs to the convenience store to buy dinner.
She was holding a triangular seaweed rice ball, standing at the entrance chewing on it. Dark clouds loomed overhead — it looked like it was going to rain again.
The towering skyscrapers blurred into the clouds. She caught sight of a blue logo on the rooftop of a nearby building. Something with “Huai” in the name — she didn’t pay it much attention.
After finishing the rice ball, she balled up the wrapper and tossed it into the trash, then bought a bottle of yogurt. She hadn’t bought a new phone yet, but it didn’t really affect her daily life — she mostly used cash when going out, and didn’t have many people to contact anyway.
She wondered if Qiang Huai had added her on WeChat yet. That thought made Gu Pingwan decide to buy a new phone soon.
Qiang Huai rarely went to her company. She had hired a top-tier team to manage everything, and besides, there was Qin-jie. They had a clear division of labor — Qin-jie made money at the company, Qiang Huai made money outside. Most things didn’t require her involvement.
When Qin-jie called, Qiang Huai was sprawled on the couch playing Honor of Kings.
“Xiao Huai, there’s an ad opportunity for a location-based app. Should we take it or not?” Qin-jie flipped through the documents on her end. The game voice on Qiang Huai’s side suddenly shouted, “Nice job!” — making Qin-jie feel like she might as well clock out early and start gaming too.
While skillfully operating her in-game hero, Qiang Huai replied, “What exactly does the app do?”
“I just finished reading the intro,” Qin-jie said. “It’s pretty interesting — not specifically targeted at women, but many of the features are female-oriented. It’s mainly designed for emergency location tracking, and it’s quite different from traditional location apps.”
“You listening?” Qin-jie asked, not hearing any response.
Qiang Huai nodded while pulling off a triple kill with her hero, Shangguan Wan’er. “Which company?”
“It’s under DDK. The project is being developed in Jin City. If we decide to go with it, it’d be convenient to visit them directly,” Qin-jie paused, then added, “It’s a good product. And they’re offering good money.”
“Alright. Send me the info.” The game had ended. Qiang Huai exited the interface and checked the time.
She added, “Qin-jie, you’ve already worked an hour and a half of overtime. If you do this again, it’s a 500-yuan fine.”
Qin-jie emailed the product brief to Qiang Huai, then immediately shut down her computer. “Hahaha. Go ahead and review it. I’ll follow up with them tomorrow.”
Qiang Huai opened the email. The PDF read: 3D Satellite-Based Emergency Location System App Introduction.
Wait — why did this look so familiar?
She recalled the document she saw at Gu Pingwan’s place last night. Wasn’t this the app Gu Pingwan was working on?
The product description was nearly identical. This PDF version was more streamlined — it even included a satellite model of Earth and added testing data, making it easy for laypeople to understand.
Qiang Huai immediately picked up her phone and called Qin-jie. “I’m taking this ad! I’ll go to the negotiation myself!!”
“Okay!” Qin-jie was surprised by how quickly Qiang Huai responded — and she sounded… excited? Was it the price?
Qiang Huai opened WeChat. The friend request she sent to Gu Pingwan still hadn’t been accepted — maybe she really hadn’t bought a phone yet?
She called Xiaoyu and asked her to bring over the latest iPhone.
“Miss Qiang, did your phone break?” Xiaoyu asked when she arrived and saw Qiang Huai sitting at the computer reading a document.
Qiang Huai, with her back to Xiaoyu, shook her head. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the villa garden was bathed in golden lights. Crickets chirped in the background.
She turned to look at the bag in Xiaoyu’s hand, then paused for a moment. “Would this be too much?”
“What’s wrong, Miss Qiang?” Xiaoyu asked. Ever since she reunited with her high school classmate, Qiang Huai had been acting strangely.
Qiang Huai exhaled deeply. “Give me the phone. Also, take away all those girly outfits from the wardrobe.”
Now Xiaoyu was even more confused. She went into the walk-in closet and pulled out a bunch of cream, sky-blue, and pastel green clothes — all items Qiang Huai had bought to fit her public persona. In contrast, her real wardrobe was full of sexy, sultry outfits — deep V-necks, high slits — a completely different vibe.
“Miss Qiang, these outfits are so pretty. Are you sure you want to get rid of them?”
Qiang Huai poured two glasses of champagne and took a sip from one. “You can pick the ones you like. The rest — send them to the kids we sponsor.”
“Thank you, Miss Qiang! Mwah!” Xiaoyu dove into the pile. Many clothes still had tags on them, but she lamented that most weren’t her size.
Qiang Huai drafted the work plan on the new phone, thinking to send it to Qin-jie — then realized it was after work hours and decided against it.
She brought the new phone to her bedroom but hesitated again. Maybe she shouldn’t give it to Gu Pingwan just yet. They had only just reconnected — if she acted too enthusiastic, she might scare her off like in high school.
She tucked the phone into her nightstand drawer and covered it with a book.
After Xiaoyu picked out the clothes she wanted, she packed up the rest for courier pickup the next day.
The weather in Jin City dropped quickly in autumn. When Qiang Huai left the house to meet with Qin-jie for the meeting, she wore a heavy coat over a black deep-V slip dress. Her makeup was flawless.
“You look like you’re going to some rich stepmom tea party,” Qin-jie said, buckling her seatbelt. The bold makeup was a far cry from Qiang Huai’s usual “pure and innocent” public image.
Qiang Huai smiled, lips painted red. “It’s a date.”
Qin-jie: ………
DDK treated its subsidiaries generously. Their Jin City office was in the CBD, and they invested heavily in promising projects.
Qiang Huai wore a mask and sunglasses and entered the building with Qin-jie and Xiaoyu behind her.
The office building was heated. She draped her coat over her shoulders, revealing smooth, fair skin.
They were greeted by a young girl wearing a brown plaid shirt and blue jeans, glasses covering half her face.
“Hello, I’m from SW Tech. Are you Ms. Qin?” the girl asked timidly, not daring to look directly at the stunning woman behind her.
Qin-jie nodded, and the girl led them to the 23rd floor.
As soon as they stepped inside, Qiang Huai scanned the room like a retinal scanner, memorizing the cubicle layout.
She didn’t see the person she was looking for, but she instantly became the center of attention.
The programmers all looked up in unison. The dull cubicle space was suddenly ablaze with light.
You could even hear faint squeals.
“That’s Qiang Huai!”
“Oh my god, she’s gorgeous — she’s killing me!”
“I can’t believe our company really got Qiang Huai to be our brand ambassador!”
Qiang Huai took off her sunglasses and greeted everyone.
Screams erupted.
“Aaaahhhhhh!!!”
“I love this company so much. I never thought I’d see Qiang Huai in real life!”
Qin-jie and Xiaoyu were used to this scene. They stepped aside to let everyone admire Qiang Huai’s beauty.
Some young girls came over with notebooks, asking for autographs. Others started snapping photos.
Qiang Huai took off her half-draped coat and handed it to Xiaoyu. She tilted her head, her hair brushing her wrist like a whisper.
With a radiant smile, she signed the books.
Qin-jie glanced at the time. The meeting was about to start, so she gave Qiang Huai a look.
“Sorry everyone, I have to take care of some business now. I’ll sign more after we’re done, okay?” Qiang Huai handed the notebooks back with a sunshine-bright smile that captivated the entire room.
Everyone understood and quietly returned to their desks.
As they headed to the meeting room, Qiang Huai was still scanning for Gu Pingwan — but no luck.
“Miss Qiang, this way,” Xiaoyu called. Qiang Huai had been wandering like a lost child.
Inside, they were greeted by Pei Yang and Xiao Li from the advertising team. A product presentation was projected on the screen.
“Hello, Miss Qiang. Hello, Qin-jie,” Pei Yang shook hands with both.
Qiang Huai nodded politely.
“Please wait a moment. Our chief engineer will be here shortly to explain the product,” Pei Yang gestured for his assistant to serve coffee.
Before the coffee even arrived, the chief engineer walked in.
Qiang Huai looked up — and locked eyes with Gu Pingwan.
Neither of them seemed too surprised.
“Chief Engineer Gu, this is Miss Qiang Huai and Ms. Qin,” Pei Yang introduced them and handed her the laser pointer.
Gu Pingwan nodded slightly and began presenting the app.
She explained everything in detail — from internal testing data to product features, future development, and social applications.
Qiang Huai listened intently. She wasn’t clueless. After reading the product intro last night, she had stayed up all night researching in bed. If she was going to be involved, she had to do her homework.
After the presentation, Gu Pingwan gently asked, “Miss Qiang, Ms. Qin, did I explain everything clearly?”
Qiang Huai raised her hand. “I have a question, Chief Engineer Gu.”
“You mentioned the satellite positioning is based on existing geographic data. What happens if the area isn’t recorded? How is that handled?”
Gu Pingwan’s eyes glimmered with amusement. “No need to worry, Miss Qiang.”
“For remote environments, our company is continuously inputting terrain data. Within a week, our software will be able to pinpoint coordinates anywhere — well, anywhere but space.”
Qiang Huai raised an eyebrow. “Chief Engineer Gu, you clearly put a lot of care into this app.”
She couldn’t say why, but something about the title “Chief Engineer Gu” just felt off. Like everything about it was just slightly wrong.
“This was a team effort,” Gu Pingwan said quietly, organizing the papers on the desk.
After the product pitch, Qin-jie and Pei Yang went into a side office to discuss further cooperation. Only Gu Pingwan and Qiang Huai remained in the meeting room.
Qiang Huai leaned back in her chair, hand resting lazily on her thigh. The office heating was high, giving her cheeks a rosy glow.
“Chief Engineer Gu~” Qiang Huai drew out the title with a teasing lilt, “I waited all night for your WeChat request. Didn’t expect you still haven’t accepted me.”
Gu Pingwan’s eyes widened like copper bells.