Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lu Yi clutched the sleeves of his military-style greatcoat and shuffled closer to the space heater.

’Working outside in the middle of the night in this freezing weather is so tough!’

Ni Bingyan looked at the little old man in front of her, who was wearing a Lei Feng hat, her eyes filled with unconcealable admiration!

She had just seen him at Chili Channel a little while ago. She never expected to run into him again while shooting a public service announcement. ’For someone his age, isn’t this workload a bit too much?’

”Don’t even start! The second you open your mouth, I know what you’re going to say. That I’m as prolific as a sow? Or that we’re fated to meet? Always running into each other?”

Lu Yi fiddled with the cigarette in his hand, then tucked it behind his ear, a smug look he couldn’t hide on his old face.

Ni Bingyan was speechless.

Before she could even get a word in, he had said everything for her.

This little old man’s screenplays were famous for their incisive dialogue, and when he spoke in person, it was like he had a power drill for a mouth, rattling on and on, giving people a headache.

But Ni Bingyan didn’t find him annoying; she just found him amusing.

Ni Bingyan chuckled. ”You’ve guessed wrong this time. I was just going to say that you’re so talented. Even your casual scribbles turn into brilliant screenplays. The next time you write something new, secretly let me know on WeChat, and I’ll come fight for your leading lady role again.”

Lu Yi snorted. ”Of course! Otherwise, what would be the point of all my hair falling out like this?!”

Seeing that he wasn’t being modest and was accepting all her compliments at face value, while completely avoiding the topic of work, Ni Bingyan didn’t press the matter. She just smiled and continued the small talk.

”Haha, otherwise, why would there be the saying ’brilliant and bald’?”

”You’re a rare one, saying whatever’s on your mind.”

As a bald old man, he usually hated hearing words like that, but when Ni Bingyan said it, it wasn’t annoying.

”Well, I wouldn’t dare lie in front of you.”

”If you did lie, I wouldn’t bother with you! Hmph!”

There’s a saying: ”To understand the world is knowledge; to grasp human nature is art.” People who write well often have a clearer insight into people and events.

A man like Mr. Lu, nearly seventy and having written screenplays for most of his life, had an incredibly sharp pair of eyes.

His wife had passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage the year before last, and he had no patience for babysitting his grandchildren at home. So, he spent his days hanging around various film sets. He saw all sorts of people every day, but very few could chat idly with him like this.

It was now 11 PM, and the closed-off section of the road was empty.

All the departments were ready. Ni Bingyan clutched a warm hand-warmer and huddled with the old man in a makeshift tent.

Below their feet, the space heater was blasting warm air at their legs, so it wasn’t too cold.

Tonight, they were shooting a public service announcement.

Ni Bingyan was playing a young woman who worked overtime until midnight, only to lose her job because her company went under.

In a moment, she would have to hail a cab and meet the taxi driver played by the award-winning actor, Zhang Ji.

”Alright, it’s about time. Get going! Stop whispering with this old man here. You might not mind the cold, but my mouth is getting chilly! Oh my! It’s actually snowing!”

Mr. Lu held onto his hat and looked up at the sky.

Under the dim yellow streetlights, crystalline snowflakes drifted down, growing heavier in the blink of an eye, as if someone were scattering salt from the heavens.

”Considering the date, it’s about time.”

Ni Bingyan held out her hand. A snowflake landed on her pale palm, melting into a glistening droplet in an instant.

”Lead actress! Is the lead actress ready? Hurry up! We’re rolling!”

The director was thrilled to see the snow and started calling for people with his megaphone.

”Coming, coming!”

This was the first time she had worked with this director, so Ni Bingyan wasn’t familiar with his temperament and didn’t dare to dawdle for even a second. She quickly shoved the hand-warmer at Lu Yi and dashed over.

”Ai! This little girl!”

Lu Yi started to chase after her but stopped after two steps. ”Forget it, forget it. Pity me, an old man, having to hold this for you.”

He completely ignored Duanmu Li, who was waiting to the side. Cradling the hand-warmer with both hands, his lips pursed in a high pout, he slowly ambled over to the director.

Having been in the industry for decades, any director in the circle with a name to speak of respected him greatly.

Seeing him approach, the director smiled and called out, ”Mr. Lu.” Lu Yi waved his hand with a smile. ”You handle your business. I’ll just wait on the side. Call me when you need me.”

The director nodded and shouted into his megaphone.

”All departments, listen up! We’ll start with the first scene!”

The various departments sprang into action, and the script supervisor clapped the slate.

Ni Bingyan came out of a nearby office building, clutching a folder and dragging her feet, yawning as she walked.

Reaching the roadside, she looked up at the sky with reddened eyes, stomped her feet, and only hailed the approaching taxi when it was close.

”Where to, miss?”

”886 Xingfu Li.”

”Alrighty! Buckle up, please!”

The heating in the car was strong, and a layer of fog quickly formed on the girl’s round glasses.

She paused for a moment, then took off her glasses, pulled out a lens cloth, and gently wiped them.

After wiping her glasses, she took out a tissue to gently wipe her eyes, but the more she wiped, the more the tears flowed.

”Miss, what’s wrong?”

It had to be said, Zhang Ji’s acting was superb. He first glanced in the rearview mirror again and again, only speaking after confirming the girl was crying.

The girl immediately turned her head to look out the window.

It was as if she didn’t want anyone to even see her cry.

The driver offered a warm consolation, ”It’s okay to be vulnerable sometimes, young lady.”

Young people were always like this—stubbornly pitiful.

A person who normally held her head high, forcing her tears back, could suddenly break down because of a kind word from a stranger.

The girl burst into tears, sobbing as she poured out her sorrows.

”My company went under again... I have to find a new job...”

The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror from time to time, finally letting out a long sigh after a while. ”Ai!”

That one sigh seemed to say, ’Your life is hard, my life is hard, all our lives are hard.’

’All this hardship is just for the sake of living!’

The girl’s eyes darted to the taxi meter from time to time, her voice laced with despair.

”I graduated this year, and in just a few short months, I’ve already worked for three companies that have gone under. I didn’t want to lose this job, so I worked late every day, but the company was short-staffed, and business was bad...”

”How much does your taxi ride usually cost?”

”Thir-thirty-two.”

The driver reached out and pressed a button on the meter.

On the small screen, the red numbers stopped.

It read 32.00.

The commercial ended here.

Ni Bingyan knew that as the car drove off into the distance, the ad’s closing line would be inserted in post-production.

”Love, like a firefly’s glow, warms both you and me.”

The ad was a call for everyone to show a little more love to strangers and a little more tolerance for the younger generation.

”Alright! Change camera angles and let’s go again! Lights! We’re focusing on close-ups this time!”

”Okay!”

The first scene had gone smoothly right from the start. Everyone’s morale was high, and with the added snow, the footage was both heartwarming and beautiful. The director was extremely satisfied.

They then went back and forth, refining the details, not wrapping up until three in the morning.

The crew provided hot eight-treasure congee for everyone. Ni Bingyan politely said her goodbyes to the seniors before getting in her car to go home.

By the time the car reached her residential community’s gate, it was already past five o’clock. Yesterday’s paparazzi were long gone. Ni Bingyan yawned, feeling utterly fulfilled.

No matter how explosive a scandal was, people would only talk about it for a few days. But a classic public service announcement would be discussed for a long, long time.

Even a fool knew which path was more worthwhile.