Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

She picked up her phone and saw the caller ID: her agent, Sister Wei.

Sister Wei rarely called at this hour. Thinking about the day’s events, Ni Bingyan feared another setback. She quickly sat up and answered the phone.

”Hello? Sister Wei, is something wrong? You’re calling so late.”

”I’m coming to pick you up for the airport. The tickets are booked. We’re flying to Xiang Province tonight.”

She never expected to have to rush to a job in the middle of the night.

Ni Bingyan was a little surprised. ”A red-eye flight?”

Her schedule wasn’t that packed, and variety shows in China weren’t as cutthroat as in Korea. While they sometimes filmed late into the night, she had never heard of a show starting its recording in the wee hours of the morning.

Was it really necessary to rush over in the middle of the night?

Traveling to another province at this hour... with all this hassle, she wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.

It seemed completely unnecessary, so Ni Bingyan couldn’t figure it out. She had a strange feeling about the whole thing.

”Is there a problem?”

Wei Shuojie had slept all afternoon, but her voice was still raspy from staying up late.

She knew Ni Bingyan wasn’t the delicate type, and besides, it was common for celebrities to take red-eye flights for work. That’s why she had made the decision without consulting her first.

”No, I just wanted to ask about *Aiyou Refrigerator*. Weren’t they going to cancel our contract? Are we going to film that now? Didn’t they film with a replacement today?”

The original plan was to leave early this morning and film during the day. It was so late now, they must have already found a replacement and finished filming. What was the point of going?

It was a Mango TV variety show, after all. Tons of people were dying to get on it; they could find a last-minute replacement at any time.

She had only landed this opportunity thanks to her agent.

She wasn’t so full of herself as to think the production team would put everything on hold just for her.

After all, beforehand, no one knew how long her scandal would drag on. It was still up in the air whether she could even clear her name.

”You haven’t offended them, so why would they cancel without solid proof? Of course they were going to wait and see. If the project lead was so clueless that they’d kick someone when they’re down at the slightest rumor, the show would have been canceled long ago.”

Who would want to work with people who give up on you at the drop of a hat? That’s just too unreliable.

”You have a point, but...”

Wei Shuojie raised an eyebrow. ”Alright, stop overthinking things. The production halt wasn’t because of you, of course. I don’t have that much pull. As for why they didn’t film today... that’s because the other guest couldn’t make it either. After all, you also had something come up, right?”

*Aiyou Refrigerator* invited two guests each episode: one A-lister and one who was less famous. There were plenty of replacements for the less famous guest, but finding an A-lister with a suitable schedule wasn’t so easy.

Any popular celebrity would have their schedule planned out months in advance. Some of the more extreme cases were booked up to two years out.

Finding a last-minute replacement was no easy task.

’It seems Sister Wei has been pulling some strings behind the scenes again.’

’You don’t want my artist? Fine, then you can halt production and wait.’

’That’s Sister Wei for you!’

But something still felt off to her.

Wei Hang’s team had kept her on the hot search list for half the night, and Sister Wei had used the opportunity to drag Mr. Wei through the mud. How could someone so protective of her own suddenly act so accommodating, even accompanying her on a red-eye flight to film this stupid show?

She wasn’t some unknown, small-time agent.

As an agent, her artists were a reflection of her. For a production to be picky about her artist was a direct slight to her.

Under these circumstances, not only was she making her artist take a red-eye, but she was also personally coming to escort her. You didn’t need to be a genius to know something wasn’t normal.

But it wasn’t a question she could easily ask, so Ni Bingyan just kept her mouth shut and got up to change.

”I’ll head out now, then. I live close to the airport, so if I leave early, I’ll get there early. You don’t need to make a separate trip.”

As the main agent, she couldn’t possibly be running around with her all day.

Once business picked up, they would definitely need to hire a personal executive agent to accompany her to sets and promotional events every day.

With Wei Shuojie’s experience and status, she was long past the point of handling such trivial matters.

She assumed Wei Shuojie wanted to come along because of the recent incident, wanting to be there for moral support.

She felt she could go by herself; her agent had nothing to worry about.

Ni Bingyan was a person of action. The variety show she thought she’d lost was back on. Forget a red-eye flight—if time permitted, she would have driven there herself and left immediately.

The production team wasn’t run by her father. With the scandal being so bad, it was only natural for them to hesitate. There was no need to hold a grudge over it.

As a working person, as long as there was money to be made, it was fine. There’s no shame in earning a living through honest labor!

Wei Shuojie was driving. Hearing the sounds of packing on the other end of the line and realizing Ni Bingyan had walked away from the phone, she shouted urgently:

”Hey, hey, hey! There’s something else! You think I’d be running around with you in the middle of the night, losing sleep, just for a variety show? Wait until I get there to pack! I’m already outside your complex, it won’t take long!”

”Something else? What is it?”

The voice from the phone suddenly got louder. Ni Bingyan, who was packing small items at her vanity nearby, heard it loud and clear.

’If that’s the case, then it all makes sense.’

”Ah, let’s talk about it when I see you.”

Wei Shuojie was deliberately being mysterious.

Hearing her registering with the security guard at the main gate, Ni Bingyan wasn’t in a rush anymore. She hung up and continued packing at a leisurely pace.

’The luggage I packed this morning, which I thought I wouldn’t need, was put away. Now I have to get it all out again. What a hassle!’

Wei Shuojie arrived quickly. Ni Bingyan had just finished packing a couple of jackets when she heard a car pull up downstairs.

”The gate’s open, drive right in!”

Ni Bingyan leaned out the window and opened the courtyard gate with a remote. A moment later, Wei Shuojie came upstairs, wearing her designated pair of slippers.

”I was reluctant to make you travel so late at night, but they’re just offering too much! HAHAHA! You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours! If they’re willing to show us this much respect, we can at least put on a flawless show of appreciation!”

’She seriously suspects Wei Shuojie had deliberately kept quiet on the phone just for that ”HAHAHA!” She’s in her forties but still has such a wicked sense of humor.’

Ni Bingyan remained composed. While continuing to pack her clothes, she asked, ”Them? Mango TV?”

”Yup!”

Seeing Wei Shuojie happily open her handbag and take out some documents, Ni Bingyan was surprised. ”Didn’t we already sign the contract? Can they still increase the pay?”

Wei Shuojie flicked her hair back and gave a slight eye-roll. ”Silly girl, when are you going to start seeing the bigger picture! Don’t just focus on money!”

Ni Bingyan lowered her head, embarrassed.

She came from a humble background, and the original owner of this body was a carefree person who didn’t concern herself with such matters. There were many things she truly didn’t understand.

When faced with something she didn’t understand, all she had to do was listen attentively.

Wei Shuojie had long since noticed that this girl was a bit naive and didn’t grasp a lot of things. But considering she was only twenty-five and a rich kid who’d never really suffered, she didn’t give her a hard time. As usual, she patiently explained:

”You have to remember, money is just a paltry profit. The most important thing is resources. With resources, you can climb the ladder step by step, secure your position, and then the money that comes in won’t be just these bits and pieces. You have to think long-term, understand?”

Ni Bingyan obediently accepted the lesson.

”So, what perks did they offer?”

’Back when she worked with Granny Sun, what hadn’t she seen? Was this really something to get so excited about?’

’And to think she deliberately came over in the middle of the night just to tease me!’