Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

She was so exhausted after wrapping up for the day that she went straight to sleep without even eating.

She woke up at exactly nine o’clock. When her sister-in-law asked what she wanted to eat, she remembered they hadn’t finished cooking the glass noodles from the morning and said she wanted hot and sour glass noodle soup.

To her surprise, she had just started eating when Sang Yuan arrived.

’He got here pretty fast.’

Ni Bingyan quickly took a few bites of the crisp, tender bean sprouts and scrambled to her feet, wiping her mouth.

From across the large, steaming bowl, Wu Huijuan asked her, ”Who is it?”

Ni Bingyan had nothing to hide and was very forthright. ”You know how I contacted a neighbor about an investment this afternoon? He happens to be coming to Shanghai for an event, so he’s swinging by to talk about it. I’ve saved up a bit of money, right? I told Dad I’d give it to him, but he insisted I keep it, so I thought I might as well invest it.”

”He’s not a con artist, is he? Showing up this fast?”

”No, no. You have to consider who he is—the heir to Jiacheng Electronics. He also started his own company, which is worth at least tens of billions. The amount I have is hardly worth his time to scam. It’s probably just a neighborly thing, and I did him a small favor a while back. He probably just doesn’t want to be in my debt, you know?”

As she spoke, Ni Bingyan pulled on a puffy black down jacket.

With the year drawing to a close, the weather was growing colder by the day. The wind at night was strong and particularly biting. She had always valued comfort over style and wasn’t about to treat herself poorly.

Jiacheng Electronics was incredibly famous; who hadn’t heard of it?

Wu Huijuan’s doubts were immediately dispelled, but she still put on her own coat, saying:

”It’s so late, I’ll go with you. It’s better if Xiao Li comes along too. If something were to happen, these old bones of mine wouldn’t be much help.”

”Well, thank you both then!”

Ni Bingyan was never one to be ungrateful. When people were good to her, she always appreciated it.

Duanmu Li wasn’t sure if Ni Bingyan would want her to tag along for such a private matter, but seeing her agree, she quickly finished her hot and sour glass noodle soup in a few bites and stood up to join them.

”Ugh, a shame about my noodles. I barely had a few bites.”

Seeing her still lamenting a bowl of noodle soup, her sister-in-law said in exasperation, ”Serious business comes first! I’ll cook you as much as you want later!”

Before they started doing livestreams with their ”master,” she and her husband couldn’t earn ten million a year even with their store and regular jobs combined!

This was a huge deal; how could it be jeopardized by a bowl of noodles?

The three women, dressed warmly, walked out of the Dingsheng Film and Television Base. Before Ni Bingyan could even look around, a car’s headlights flashed by the side of the road, and Sang Yuan got out with his assistant and driver.

Good-looking people are just naturally blessed. Even when he walked with others, your eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

He had on a matching suit under an open black overcoat, his leather shoes gleaming. Compared to the casual clothes he wore when she first saw him by the lake, his current appearance alone was enough to tell you he was a business elite with excellent taste.

”Hello, Mr. Sang! I hope your journey wasn’t too tiring.”

Ni Bingyan stepped forward to shake his hand.

On such a cold day, his hand was surprisingly warm.

”Good evening, Miss Ni. Thank you for your concern. The trip was smooth, so I’m doing just fine.”

Sang Yuan was the picture of decorum, releasing her hand after a brief, light shake.

Even if his fingers, hidden inside his sleeve, couldn’t resist rubbing together excitedly a few times.

’Just ”doing fine”? If the flight attendant hadn’t stopped you, you’d probably have been tap-dancing on the plane.’

Xiao Zhao snarked silently in his head, as usual.

They could count the number of times they’d met on one hand. Ni Bingyan was being polite, so of course, Sang Yuan couldn’t be overly familiar right from the start.

”It’s awfully cold. Shall we find a place to eat? Judging by the time, you must have just come straight from work, right? Ha, this is a perfect opportunity to treat you to that meal I owe you.”

Xiao Zhao glanced at the not-so-distant Dingsheng Film and Television Base, then at the familiar actress before him, and couldn’t help but question his reality.

His fiancée happened to be a huge fan of Ni Bingyan’s looks, so with the actress standing right in front of him, how could he possibly not recognize her?

’So the boss rushed to Shanghai overnight not for some business meeting, but for a late-night rendezvous with an actress?’

Xiao Zhao was reeling.

’For years, countless stunning A-list celebrities have tried to latch onto my boss, and hasn’t he always given them the cold shoulder?’

’Why so enthusiastic this time?’

’How strange!’

At that moment, no one cared what Xiao Zhao was thinking. Seeing her generous invitation, Sang Yuan immediately agreed, ”You’re right, I haven’t had time to eat. Let’s see what’s good nearby, get a bite to eat, and then we can talk business.”

Ni Bingyan had already been here for about ten days and was quite familiar with the area. Thinking about the cold weather, she led everyone to a hot pot restaurant across the street.

This hot pot restaurant was right across from the film base and often did business with celebrities, so it had many private rooms.

The group requested a private room, ordered an estimated amount of food, and immediately began to chat about the asset management proposal.

Xiao Zhao was surprised to see that his boss was truly there to talk business.

But he was a competent assistant, so he naturally wouldn’t let anything show on his face. Instead, he chimed in with supplemental information when his boss needed it.

For example—”Last year, this project’s return on investment was 12%.”

That afternoon, Sang Yuan had already put together a simple work plan for her ten million. Now, he was placing his laptop on the coffee table, beckoning Ni Bingyan to come over and look at it with him.

At the table nearby, the dual-broth hot pot had already been served, and a waiter was bringing out the dishes. Seeing that the sofa area was rather cramped, Duanmu Li and Sang Yuan’s driver moved to sit at the dining table.

The small coffee table was placed in the middle, with two two-seater sofas facing each other. Two people sat on each, creating a very business-like atmosphere.

Ni Bingyan leaned over to look, and whenever there was something she didn’t understand, Sang Yuan would explain it.

After viewing the presentation, Ni Bingyan had to admit she was impressed. As expected, it was best to leave professional matters to the professionals.

So, without hesitating, she took the contract decisively.

The whole process seemed perfectly normal. It was only now that the reality of the situation dawned on Xiao Zhao.

’To make this ten-million-yuan deal happen, the boss actually went so far as to pull strings and register a dedicated asset management company?’

’I have to say, my boss is on another level!’

’Just look at his methods for wooing women!’

’He even manages to make giving away money look this artistic.’

It was no wonder he was overthinking it. Following Sang Yuan around, he had seen far too many powerful bosses.

All those bosses just kept actresses as mistresses; none of them ever actually married one and took her home.

He thought, ’It’s over. The boss is going down that crooked path too. He never made a move before... was it because those other actresses weren’t pretty enough? Is this the one who finally caught his eye?’

Xiao Zhao had a permanent poker face; it was impossible for the average person to read anything from his expression.

But this was Wu Huijuan.

Seeing that there was something more to his expression, Wu Huijuan subtly nudged Ni Bingyan with her knee.

Ni Bingyan had wanted to get this settled quickly, but upon feeling the nudge, she immediately changed her tune:

”Let’s just eat for tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll have a lawyer look over the contract. If there are no issues, we’ll sign then, alright?”

Sang Yuan: ”...”

’As expected, things were different in this lifetime. Even Sister-in-law, who had been so good to him, was now wary of him as if he were a thief.’

Sigh!

He truly didn’t have a single bad intention!

But how could he possibly explain himself in a way that would earn their trust?

’Someone she’s only met a handful of times is suddenly baring his heart and soul to her?’

Based on his understanding of Ni Bingyan, she would absolutely rather forgo this profit than continue collaborating with him.

’It’s better to let her have a lawyer review the contract. It’ll put her mind at ease and prevent future trouble.’

’The road to winning my wife is a long one!’

Still, just being able to sit across from her, alive and well, chatting happily—for him, that was already the greatest happiness. As for the rest, he would have to take it slow!