Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Since it was her first time landing such a great endorsement, Wei Shuojie accompanied her, worried she might not be able to handle it.

Once they arrived, Duanmu Li stayed in the car while the two of them went upstairs.

Inside the photo studio, Wei Shuojie greeted the brand representatives with practiced ease, while Ni Bingyan dutifully stayed by her side, putting faces to names.

After one round of introductions, she had most of the names and positions down and had at least become a familiar face.

By the time she emerged from the dressing room, her makeup done with a distinct autumn-winter feel and her outfit changed to match, she saw Cheng Man, a camera slung around her neck, chatting happily with Wei Shuojie.

Hearing the movement, Cheng Man turned around. As soon as she saw Ni Bingyan was ready, she lifted her camera and took a shot. CLICK.

”Perfect! Come on over, gorgeous!”

Cheng Man was all smiles, clearly in a great mood.

Seeing her, most of Ni Bingyan’s nervousness melted away, and a smile spread across her face as well.

Cheng Man took another picture. CLICK. ”Great. Keep that relaxed look. Come over here!”

It was clear that Cheng Man was incredibly experienced and skilled at getting her subjects into the right mood.

”Excellent. Now we need a close-up on your mouth. Come on, smile! Show off those beautiful, straight teeth! Perfect! A warm smile, one that feels like autumn! Okay, hold that, let’s get another one...”

With a familiar face behind the lens, Ni Bingyan just needed to be a mannequin and follow directions.

Because she felt so relaxed, the photos came out looking effortlessly poised.

Her looks were perfect, her modeling was perfect, and her makeup and styling were on point.

The brand representatives watched, nodding repeatedly. They couldn’t have been more satisfied.

First, they shot a set of photos. Then, they moved to another studio to film a short promotional video.

The set had already been built, so they were able to start filming immediately.

The video only had a few lines of dialogue; it was mostly about her blocking. Lacking experience in this area, Ni Bingyan had to do several takes before she finally captured the feeling the cinematographer wanted.

After a long day of work, Ni Bingyan felt like it hadn’t been a big deal after all.

”I thought it was going to be really difficult. I was nervous about it for days.”

’Turns out I just had to follow instructions.’

Back in the car, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but remark on it.

”Someone else decides what clothes I wear, what makeup I have, and what poses I strike. I felt like a mindless puppet.”

”You’ve never done a shoot like this before?”

Wei Shuojie had been there the entire time, though her main role had just been to carry a bag; she hadn’t needed to do much else. She wasn’t tired, so when she heard Ni Bingyan’s comment, she was up for a little chat.

”I think this is my first time doing this kind of endorsement.”

Ni Bingyan tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then gave her definitive answer.

”Shooting commercials... it’s and it isn’t difficult. You’re a natural at acting and used to being on camera, so the cinematographer just has to explain what they need, and you figure it out after a few tries. As for the photoshoot, I think the main reason it went well is that I arranged for a photographer you’re familiar with. You two have chemistry and work together well. If you’d been with a photographer you didn’t click with, you would’ve found out just how hard it can be.”

Without elaborating on the effort she’d put in behind the scenes, she turned and asked Duanmu Li to pull over at the next intersection.

She went to a supermarket and bought two bottles of water before getting back in the car.

”Dinner was a little salty. I need some water.”

After taking a drink, she said to Duanmu Li, ”We’re out of water in the car. Remember to put a new case in tomorrow.”

Once Duanmu Li acknowledged her, she continued speaking to Ni Bingyan. ”The truth is, the hardest part of an endorsement isn’t the shoot itself! It’s landing the deal in the first place.”

Ni Bingyan nodded, taking the lesson to heart. She took the water bottle Wei Shuojie offered her and quietly placed it in the storage compartment next to Duanmu Li’s seat.

’I’ll be home soon, so I can drink something then. This way, if Sister Li gets thirsty later, she won’t have to stop and buy a drink.’

Duanmu Li’s eyes flickered for a second, but she said nothing, keeping the car steady on the road.

’A warm-hearted person is a warm-hearted person. She can’t help but warm your heart.’

Wei Shuojie pretended not to notice and started laying out the schedule for the next few days.

”Now that the endorsement shoot is done, put it out of your mind. The *Big Mountain* crew won’t be filming the campus scenes until after the National Day holiday, so you don’t have to be on set for the next few days. For now, stay home and get a good read of the original *Demon Suppression Tower* novel. The day after tomorrow, you’re going to Hang City to film *Star Chef PK*. The audition will be not long after that.”

Ni Bingyan loved to learn. Her favorite reading materials were dense, information-packed reference books.

She wasn’t a fan of scrolling through short videos or browsing Weibo, and by extension, she wasn’t fond of web novels either.

*Demon Suppression Tower* was a hugely popular web novel that she knew absolutely nothing about. Upon hearing the title, she immediately asked Duanmu Li to change course and head to a bookstore.

”Wow, this author is prolific! I thought it was a single book, but it’s a trilogy! And they’re so thick!”

Ni Bingyan exclaimed in amazement when she spotted the books on the shelf.

”You clearly don’t read many long novels.” Duanmu Li, who loved to read, couldn’t help but chime in at Ni Bingyan’s naive expression. ”Look at this one—thirteen volumes!”

Wei Shuojie grabbed a set and handed it to her. ”This was insanely popular back when it was being serialized. I followed it for a long time myself. The author’s prose is quite delicate. A lot of readers find her long-winded, but I think it creates a special atmosphere when you read it late at night. For a long-form novel, getting published in just three volumes is actually on the short side. Anyway, the movie will be adapted to a certain extent for better on-screen effect, so you just need to read the original to get the gist of it. When it’s time for the audition, you’ll be working from the screenplay.”

”Okay.”

Ni Bingyan bought the set without hesitation.

After buying the books, on the way home, Ni Bingyan brought up the matter Sang Yuan had entrusted her with. ”How are the talks for that investment going?”

She had promised to help make an introduction for Sang Yuan, and she’d told her manager about it as soon as she got home. Sister Wei had said it was a matter that shouldn’t be delayed and needed to be settled quickly, which Ni Bingyan thought was very reasonable.

But she’d been rushing to meet the filming schedule on set for several days straight and had no time to spare.

So Wei Shuojie had offered to act as a go-between, mentioning she had a good relationship with the producer.

Ni Bingyan then told Sang Yuan and put the two of them in contact.

Compared to Ni Bingyan, who didn’t know the producer at all, the well-connected Wei Shuojie was obviously a much better fit for the job.

No reasonable person would refuse her offer to help.

Thus, Sang Yuan had no choice but to feign delight and agree.

Ni Bingyan, unaware of these behind-the-scenes complications, simply felt she had done a good deed. When Sang Yuan later sent her a case of imported New Zealand kiwis as a thank-you gift, she accepted it openly.

She hadn’t had a chance to ask about the outcome these past few days, and felt a little guilty eating the kiwis.

”Yes, the producer and I are on good terms. They signed the contract yesterday, and he let me know.”

”Oh, that’s great! Did everything go smoothly?”

Pleased that her efforts had paid off, Ni Bingyan’s voice filled with a cheerful lilt.

The two of them were sitting in the back. Wei Shuojie turned her head to glance at her. ”He was certainly quick to cough up the money; it was in the account right after the contract was signed. I did hear my friend complain, though, that Sang Yuan’s legal team is formidable. The negotiations turned into a real tug-of-war and dragged on for quite a while.”

”Oh? There were negotiations? Besides requesting that the original author join the screenwriting team, what else did he demand? He didn’t try to interfere with casting, did he?”

Ni Bingyan grew tense as she said this.

’If the Sugar Daddy started pulling strings to cast his favorites, what chance would she have?’

Wei Shuojie gave her a strange look. ”He demanded that the production guarantee a certain standard of living for the actors during filming. Not only did he lay out detailed requirements for their food and drink, he even set specific standards for their accommodation.”

”Is this guy nuts? Even if it’s a passion project, you wouldn’t go so far as to meddle in things like that, would you?”

Ni Bingyan was utterly astonished.

’Is that Sang Yuan crazy?’

”He said that if the actors aren’t in top condition, the faithfulness of the adaptation will suffer, and as a fan of the original novel, he refuses to accept such a half-hearted effort.”

”Oh, these damn rich people!”

Ni Bingyan sighed theatrically, then slapped the book resting on her lap. ”I have to read this original novel properly! I have to land this role! Damn it, I’ve been acting for so many years and I’ve never come across a dream production like this. I have to get in on this, just so I can brag about it to other actors later!”

Wei Shuojie made a disgusted sound. ”Ew~. Cut that out, now! Why are you cursing? If it becomes a habit and someone records you, you’ll ruin your public persona.”

Ni Bingyan laughed and changed the subject. ”Tell me, what other perks are there? Is the pay going to be higher? Give me some more motivation! I swear I’ll burn the midnight oil and study like my life depends on it!”

Wei Shuojie didn’t take the bait. Instead, she asked probingly, ”Do you think... he might have invested in this movie specifically for you? I get the feeling he’s quite fond of you.”

Ni Bingyan whipped her head around in surprise and stared at Wei Shuojie. ”Sister Wei! Have you lost your mind?”

Realizing her tone might have been too harsh, Ni Bingyan added, ”I admit, I’m pretty, but not every man is rendered speechless by a beautiful woman. There’s no way he’s trying to pursue me.”

”Oh? And how can you be so sure?”

So Ni Bingyan told her about what had happened by the lake.

”You’ve met him, right? I hear he’s a very successful businessman, so there’s no question he’s intelligent. Now you tell me, would a man with normal intelligence who wants to pursue a woman just turn and run the moment she tries to start a conversation with him?”

’Even an idiot would know to strike up a conversation and ask for her number, right?’

Seeing her reaction, Wei Shuojie relaxed. She didn’t mention her own little scheme and instead brought up the variety show they would be filming soon.

They chatted for the rest of the drive, all the way until Ni Bingyan was dropped off at home.

Sang Yuan sat in the pavilion by the lotus pond. He waited until her car passed by the courtyard gates. A moment later, he heard the sound of a car parking at house number 32. Only then did he turn on his phone screen.

It was just past nine.

Sang Yuan relaxed. ’Looks like her work went smoothly today.’

Still, he was frustrated. He pulled up his contacts and quickly changed the name ”Sister Wei” to ”Old Hag.” Then he changed ”Old Hag” to ”Corn.”

He thought that was ridiculous and chuckled, changing ”Corn” back to ”Sister Wei.”

’Oh, whatever. For the sake of how well you treat her, I’ll forgive you for making things difficult for me.’