Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Time flies when you’re having fun. In the blink of an eye, it was late October.

During this time, both of the variety shows she had appeared on had aired, and Ni Bingyan’s performance was met with unanimous praise.

The most direct proof of this was on her Weibo, where her follower count had already surpassed nine million. She was only a few hundred thousand followers away from the small goal her manager, Sister Wei, had set. Barring any surprises, she was sure to meet her KPI by the end of the year.

In addition to the variety shows, her lipstick commercial had gone live, with sales reportedly being excellent. The special issue of *Beauty* magazine was highly acclaimed, while her feature in *January Talk* was for the December issue and had yet to be released. She had also landed the role of Lu Lingling in *Demon Suppression Tower* with surprising ease.

All in all, this period had been nothing but smooth sailing for her.

With an endorsement contract in hand, a magazine cover on the stands, and several appearances on Weibo’s hot search, she had secured her ”ticket”—invitations to year-end charity galas, Weibo Night, and similar events.

*Children of the Mountains* had finally wrapped filming. Since post-production was straightforward and the relevant authorities had given it the green light, it was guaranteed a spot in the holiday movie lineup. There was also a high probability it would make an appearance at some film festivals next year.

For her, the most important thing now was to finish filming *Breakup* before the end of the year.

The commercial film was targeting a Valentine’s Day release.

As for *Demon Suppression Tower*, she would join the cast after the New Year. For now, it was still in the preparation stage.

She also had plenty of work scheduled for the upcoming New Year.

First, she had to participate in the Spring Festival Gala hosted by Chili Channel. Second, with the release of *Children of the Mountains*, she would have to join the cast for the promotional tour. Although the film’s production budget was modest, there was more than enough money for promotion and distribution.

With at least three of her movies set to be released next year, her market value was about to skyrocket. Endorsement deals typically lasted two years, so signing one now would be a bad deal. Sister Wei told her to focus on filming her current project and use the rest of her time to prepare for *Demon Suppression Tower*.

”You’ll probably be in Shanghai until filming wraps at the end of the year. Stay with the crew and focus on your work. Report any unexpected situations immediately. I’ll call you back for a meeting once we hear from the Poverty Alleviation Office.”

Wei Shuojie saw her off at the airport, nagging her relentlessly, terrified she would fall into some trap while out of her sight.

”I won’t harp on anything else, but there’s one thing you absolutely must remember: keep your distance from the male actors. No scandals. The male lead is especially off-limits—he has a girlfriend outside the industry. They’ve been dating secretly for years, so there can be absolutely no hint of ambiguity between you two. Xiao Li, you need to pay attention, too. Stick to Sister Bingbing’s side at all times. As long as you’re there, no one will be able to succeed in any scheme against her.”

”I’m just the second female lead. It’s not like they’d try to gin up a scandal with me...”

Seeing Wei Shuojie purse her lips, on the verge of losing her temper, Ni Bingyan immediately backed down.

”Okay, Sister Wei. I get it.”

Ni Bingyan nodded in agreement, and Duanmu Li nodded along with her.

”If something happens that makes you angry, keep your cool. Tell me about it later. Don’t lose control of your emotions and give someone an opening to exploit.”

”Okay, Sister Wei. Don’t worry.”

”Did you pack enough clothes? The winter there is a damp, bone-chilling cold. The costumes probably won’t be very thick—they worry about how it looks on camera—so remember to buy some heat packs to wear under them.”

”Yes, yes, I know. Don’t worry! The film set is right in the city. If I need anything, I can just go out and buy it.”

”Remember to wear a mask when you go out. You’re much more recognizable now. What if you accidentally cause a stampede?”

Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but laugh.

”The way you talk, you make me sound like an international superstar. Haha! I mean, award-winning actors still take the high-speed train carrying their own bags! I doubt I have that many rabid fans.”

”It’s better to be safe than sorry. What if you run into some creepy old loner who just runs up and grabs you? Forget what the news would write—you’d be traumatized for years.”

”Don’t scare me, don’t scare me! It’s almost time, I need to go board. We’ll talk later.”

Seeing Wei Shuojie was still worried, Ni Bingyan sighed and grabbed her arm. ”Why don’t you just come with me, then!”

Wei Shuojie chuckled and swatted her hand away. ”Go on, get out of here! I have a ton of work to do! Where do you think all these great opportunities of yours come from?”

Ni Bingyan immediately grabbed her suitcase and left with Duanmu Li.

Once the plane reached cruising altitude, she took out her script to read.

’She’d already read this script many times. The reason she kept going over it was that the director, Chen Zhiwen, was a stickler for details. The script was full of them, and she had to memorize and internalize every single one to perform effortlessly during filming.’

’Finishing a whole movie in just two months would be a frantic rush. The more prepared she was, the better.’

’The movie’s plot was simple. After a devastating breakup, the female lead, Gong Lili, finds happiness again with the encouragement of her best friend, Shen Bingyi.’

’It didn’t have any deep, philosophical core. Aside from a barrage of punchlines meant to make the audience laugh, its only real purpose was probably to provide a new batch of material for the lovesick.’

’Well, the movie’s dialogue was certainly witty.’

’She could already picture it being posted on social media feeds, used as captions for short videos... It would be incredibly popular.’

The first scene was the female lead catching her boyfriend cheating, which led to a huge fight and their breakup. It didn’t involve her character, so she skimmed past it.

In the second scene, the female lead, assuming her boyfriend cheated because the other woman was exceptionally beautiful, develops a severe anxiety about her looks. She goes to her best friend, the plastic surgeon Shen Bingyi, and begs her for surgery.

Ni Bingyan’s first line was: ”What does real love have to do with looks?”

’Truly the voice of reason.’

The beautiful ”ice queen” had uttered such a sobering line that the female lead was too stunned to even wipe away her tears.

Her second line packed even more of a punch: ”Take a good look at me. I look like this, and I’ve been single my entire life.”

The script had a note in bold: **The camera gives her a close-up here.**

’A haggard, post-breakup Gong Lili sitting next to her ethereal best friend—the contrast only made the beautiful friend look even more stunning.’

’And yet, this best friend was single.’

’So, with the evidence right in front of her, it was clear that no matter how beautiful you are, if you don’t have a boyfriend, you just don’t have a boyfriend.’

’What was she thinking, trying to find a reliable boyfriend through plastic surgery?’

Just reading the script, she could predict that with Chen Zhiwen’s careful polishing, this scene would elicit the first big laugh from the audience, a laugh that would then give way to deeper thought.

The female lead then launched into a tirade, full of flashbacks, regrets, and sorrow.

’This part is bound to cause a heated debate online. All the scumbags will be dragged out for a public flogging.’

’It was absolutely going to happen.’

’Because even when they’re eighty, women never forgive the person who cheated on them as a teenager. Given the chance, they’ll tear into them and, in the process, try to save their sisters who haven’t seen the light yet, urging them to wake up and start fresh.’

”A scumbag doesn’t deserve you getting surgery for him, and a good man would never want you to suffer for him. If you were doing it for yourself, that would be one thing. But for a man? Hmph!”

The script was again noted in bold: **Must roll her eyes here.**

’Alright, how does one roll their eyes beautifully? That was a key skill she had to master.’

’The advice might be cold as ice, but it was genuinely effective.’

’Girls would definitely walk out of the theater remembering that line, ready to post it everywhere the first chance they got.’

’They were always trying to teach the boys they liked how to love them.’

’The reality was, most boys who saw those posts would just find them melodramatic.’

’Sigh... these girls. They have nothing better to do. With all that time to be overly sentimental, why not just play a few rounds of a video game? What a waste of a life!’

’See? Two completely different ways of thinking.’

’If a custom-order perfect boyfriend service existed, who would bother looking for a partner on their own!’

Ni Bingyan snarked internally as she read. She really wanted to meet this screenwriter; anyone who could capture the market this perfectly was a true talent.

And just like that, the female lead was miraculously comforted and gave up on the idea of getting plastic surgery.

”Doctor Shen, a girl just came in from the ER! She’s only twenty, her face was injured in a car accident! They’ve already sent her to the OR!”

An off-screen voice grew louder as a nurse hurried over to get her.

”Okay, I’m on my way!”

Her break was cut short. As Shen Bingyi rushed off to surgery, the two said their goodbyes, leaving an unopened box lunch on the table.

Because of Gong Lili’s visit, Shen Bingyi hadn’t eaten a single bite of her dinner.

’When this scene aired, countless medical workers would surely be moved to tears.’

’There would be no shortage of comments, and plenty of film reviews would probably be written from this very angle.’

’Sigh, this screenwriter was a genius, milking at least two waves of free publicity from a single scene. They were much luckier than certain authors who could never seem to get any comments from their readers.’

This was Ni Bingyan’s first scene.

Gong Lili was a cute-looking character with a boisterous personality, a one-woman show who could carry a scene all by herself. She did most of the talking in this scene. Shen Bingyi, calm and quiet, was her polar opposite—the embodiment of stillness next to her motion.

When filmed, the scene was bound to be incredibly dynamic.

Ni Bingyan recited her few lines over and over, carefully considering the subtle differences in tone.

After a while, she began to mull over the details.

’For example, when Gong Lili came in, she could put down her box lunch and break apart a pair of disposable chopsticks. The audience would know she’d been about to eat.’

’When Gong Lili entered, she would immediately put her food aside, showing she didn’t have the habit of eating while someone was talking to her. It would show her good manners.’

’Gong Lili, preoccupied with her own problems, wouldn’t notice her friend hadn’t eaten. This would indirectly show Gong Lili’s whirlwind, slightly scatterbrained nature.’

’After Shen Bingyi hurried off to the operating room, Gong Lili would see the separated chopsticks on the table and realize her visit had kept her friend from eating. This would set up the later scene where she invites Shen Bingyi out to dinner.’

She mulled over just a few pages of the script until the plane landed. Even after reading it so many times, she could still find new insights.

Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but curse under her breath.

’This shouldn’t be called the *Breakup* production; it should be the *Breakdown* production!’

’To put it nicely, the director was a stickler for details. To put it less nicely, he was just plain fussy!’

She could already imagine how hellish life on set was going to be.