Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”In the entertainment industry, beauty is the sharpest machete. No matter how many thorny, untamed mountains block your path, if you’re beautiful enough, you can carve your way through.”

For dinner, Ni Bingyan followed Wei Shuojie to a famous Western restaurant in the city.

After parting with Cheng Man that afternoon, the two of them didn’t invite anyone else, deciding to simply go enjoy a good meal.

The head chef here was said to be a man of great ideas, and his creative dishes were exceptionally unique. Wei Shuojie had to call in a favor just to get a reservation.

When the appetizers arrived, both women were amazed. Their good mood prompted them to open a bottle of red wine.

Unlike the potent dry white from the day before, today’s wine was only eight percent alcohol and had a sweeter taste, perfect for casual sipping.

Ni Bingyan had just half a glass with her meal and stopped there, but Wei Shuojie drank one glass, then another, and after that, another still.

By the time they were halfway through dinner, only the dregs of the wine remained.

Wei Shuojie, now in a tipsy state, started to get talkative.

”Some actors have zero skill, yet they can climb to the A-list and land so many high-end luxury endorsements they can’t even count them, all on the strength of their looks. Don’t you get jealous? In fact, if you wanted to take that path, it would be even easier for you.”

She looked Ni Bingyan up and down like a lecherous old man.

”You’ve never gone under the knife, you’re self-disciplined, you’ve maintained a great figure, and you have an excellent air about you. If you were to walk this path of weaponizing your beauty, I guarantee you’ll stay at the top for a decade without fail.”

Seeing that her speech was still clear and she obviously wasn’t drunk, Ni Bingyan felt like talking as well.

Since they had nothing else to do tonight, a chat to deepen their understanding of each other was a good idea. She smiled and retorted,

”And then what? Rely on my looks, grab endorsements left and right, and do variety shows just to maintain my popularity?”

Wei Shuojie saw her raise an eyebrow, a hint of disdain in her eyes, and raised one of her own. ”Many people are on this path, which proves it’s a genuinely easy one to walk.”

”Oh, and when the audience gets tired of my face, or when I get older and the brands decide it’s time for a fresh face, what am I supposed to do then?”

Ni Bingyan saw it more clearly than anyone. ”By then, it’ll be a fall from grace. Forget getting lead roles; I’d struggle to even land a supporting part! And wouldn’t I be ridiculed to death by the public? Once I lose my influence, wouldn’t all the people I stepped on to get to the top come swarming with bared teeth, ready to devour me without leaving a single crumb?”

Wei Shuojie was being blunt, so she didn’t bother beating around the bush either. ”If I take that path, I’ll probably be infamous and forced into a miserable retirement before I’m even forty.”

When it came to a battle of wits, she, Ni Bingyan, had never lost.

”Relying on the unwavering loyalty of capitalists is less reliable than working hard to improve myself. As long as my influence is great enough, the brands will be the ones who need me, not the other way around.”

Listening to Ni Bingyan’s words, spoken calmly but with powerful conviction, Wei Shuojie felt a fire ignite in her chest. It warmed her heart, and it was as if she was instantly transported back to her youth, the hot blood of passion surging through her veins!

She flicked her hair back, removed her silk scarf, and asked, ”Everyone in the industry believes in ’making it big while you’re young.’ Do you know why? If you can’t get famous, what’s the point of having a long career?”

Realizing she was being tested, Ni Bingyan chuckled and refused quite decisively. ”Alright, Sister Wei. I’m not short on money right now, and I don’t want to take that path, so you can stop testing me! I just want to act, build my career steadily, and climb my way up one step at a time. Rather than a sudden explosion of fame, I’d prefer to be famous for a long time.”

Talking more with her agent and understanding each other’s perspectives would be very helpful for their future collaboration, so Ni Bingyan was willing to say more.

”Nowadays, everyone wants to get popular fast. Once they do, they’ll have fans to foot the bill, they can endorse luxury brands, they can participate in variety shows, and they can earn a fortune. I understand all that. But look, which real, dedicated actors actually respect them?”

Looks fade, and popularity can’t last forever. Only a girl who isn’t thinking clearly would expect to get through life relying on her beauty.

Even if you’re blessed with a pretty face, you still have to work hard to improve yourself and walk the right path. That’s the key to securing one’s place in the world.

Seeing Wei Shuojie looking at her intently, her eyes moist with a mix of regret and relief, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but smile.

”Me? I want to become the kind of actress, like the veterans before me, who people will call a ’veteran artist’ when my hair has turned gray. My ambition might sound a little ridiculous, but to live, a person needs to have their own dream.”

”An actress’s golden period is only ten or twenty years. Even international award-winning actresses have a hard time finding suitable scripts once they hit their forties or fifties. Rather than waiting until your youth has faded and then regretting it, it’s better to become famous first. You can always slowly hone your acting skills after you’ve made a name for yourself. It won’t get in the way. The kinds of scripts you can get at that point will be completely different.”

For some reason, Sister Wei just wouldn’t stop trying to tempt her tonight. Ni Bingyan furrowed her brow.

”Most people think that way, but very, very few who actually become famous can still put in the effort to hone their skills. They have an endless schedule to run every day. Sleep is a luxury, so how could they possibly focus on acting? Most of them, after they get older, are replaced by fresher, younger starlets. Before you know it, they just disappear into the crowd. I have no desire to end up that miserably.”

”Good. You need to remember what you said today. You’d better remember it forever!”

Someone had said something similar to her when she was young, but in the end, that person had been ruined by a married man. The thought was just so, so painful.

Wei Shuojie took off her glasses and lowered her head to gently wipe them. After wiping them and putting them back on, her eyes were clear again.

Knowing she had been in a low emotional state for the past couple of days, Ni Bingyan pretended not to see the glint of tears in her eyes and smiled, trying to cheer herself on.

”Yep! I will put my heart into every role. So, Sister Wei, I won’t have any projects after I finish filming *Breakup*. Time is money, and I can’t afford to rest! You need to hurry up and find me a good script!”

”Do you even need to tell me? I’ve been keeping an eye out for you for a while now.”

Wei Shuojie re-tied her silk scarf and added a final piece of advice. ”We’ll act with integrity. We won’t play that game of outshining others, and we won’t stir up scandals or play with ambiguous relationships. But we can’t just throw away the machete either. Post on Weibo from time to time, occasionally get on the hot search list, and take on some endorsements to increase your commercial value. That’s how you get better roles. These things go hand in hand. The times have changed. Don’t be so naive, you hear?”

Ni Bingyan, of course, had no objection. ”That’s what you’re good at, so I’ll leave it to you! I promise I won’t hold you back!”

As long as she wasn’t just being used as a pretty vase, she had no problem with a little icing on the cake.

”Hmph! We’ll see how it goes! Bragging is free!”

Wei Shuojie was being very proud and aloof. She paid the bill, grabbed her bag, and walked off.

Ni Bingyan sheepishly followed, not forgetting to call for a designated driver.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two returned to the hotel. With a stranger in the car, it wasn’t a good time to chat, so Wei Shuojie simply opened Weibo and got to work.

Previously, Ni Bingyan’s official Weibo account was managed by the company, and they put little effort into it. Now that she was in charge, things were immediately different.

The set of photos Cheng Man had taken were only posted to Weibo that afternoon, and now #NiBingyanAbs was already climbing to the bottom of the hot search list. Although the company’s PR team played a role, in the end, it was all because Ni Bingyan’s looks could hold their own.

She tapped open the comment section.

[Sister, those abs aren’t trained well enough. I have a suggestion. You can marry me, and I’ll help you practice.]

[Sister, can you delete the other comments? I don’t like it when their marriage proposals are more cultured than mine.]

[When I’m 120, a reporter will interview me: ”Grandma, what’s the secret to your long life?” I’ll shakily pull out a photo: ”I will never close my eyes for the last time until I’ve married Sister Bingbing in this lifetime!”]

[In this desolate land of mountains and rivers, Sister, please marry me!!]

[I just bought the latest special issue of *Beauty* this morning and was thinking how feminine Bingbing is, and how easy her style and makeup are to copy. I never expected to see this tonight! WAHHH! Are these hard stats something you can get just by working hard? As expected, there’s a difference between immortals and mortals. We mere mortals are not worthy.]

[Real talk, this outfit is clean, sharp, and scores a perfect 10 for Fashion. Definitely getting the same style.]

[Which brand is the blazer from? Link please.]

[This lipstick has such an autumn vibe. Is it from the D Family’s new fall collection? What’s the shade name?]

...

Seeing her watch with a fond, maternal smile, Ni Bingyan also took out her phone to take a look.

Watching a swarm of girls propose to her in the comments... the feeling was quite surreal.

Wei Shuojie winked smugly and sent her a message on WeChat—[The entertainment industry has never lacked beautiful people, but times have changed. A single type of beauty no longer satisfies the fans’ tastes. They appreciate more diverse kinds of beauty. Hmph, now you see how brilliant I am, right?]

The magazine hit the stands today. That retro, feminine beauty stunned many people. After being stunned, they would casually search her Weibo and discover she had other ways of being beautiful, creating a synergistic effect where one plus one was greater than two.

’Oh, so she’s not just beautiful in that way; she’s beautiful in this way too.’

[Following you, Sister, the road ahead is getting wider and wider.]

Ni Bingyan, influenced by the comment section, replied with a very sycophantic message. Wei Shuojie glanced down at it and continued to smile that fond, maternal smile.

Some people play one particularly good role, and from then on, no matter what else they act in, you feel they still carry the shadow of that character.

When female celebrities post photos to solidify their fan base of admirers, if their beauty is too overwhelming, it can also easily create a stereotype in the fans’ minds.

Wei Shuojie truly lived up to her reputation as a top agent; she had her own very clear ideas when it came to building a star.

Ni Bingyan sighed and closed her eyes, feigning sleep.

She was actually a little uncomfortable with this kind of change, but she wouldn’t be afraid.

’It made no sense to finally squeeze onto a high-speed train, only to complain that its speed was frightening.’

You need enough courage to support a big enough ambition. She understood this better than anyone.