Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Sister Wei was as efficient as ever.

By the next day, she had already picked out several new jobs for her.

”This one is an endorsement for an established domestic jewelry brand. It’s for their new diamond collection. You know, ’A diamond is forever.’ Even though diamonds are what they are, they have high market recognition. It’s the end of the year, so a lot of people are getting married. Endorsing this would be great.”

Sister Wei was highly professional and extremely well-connected. Even if the current job offers weren’t suitable, she could always use her network to find good opportunities for her.

The jewelry brand was a household name. Many people from their parents’ generation bought this brand’s ”three golds” for their weddings. It had been in the diamond business for about a decade, so endorsing it wouldn’t diminish her commercial value. Besides, jewelry isn’t like other products; there’s not much risk involved. It was a very good opportunity.

Ni Bingyan nodded in approval.

”This is an ambassadorship for a 5A-rated scenic area on Qiong Island. The pay isn’t great, but it’s very good for your public profile. After you finish shooting the endorsement ad, you can go to Qiong Island to shoot this. Since it’s the end of the year, you can also do a photo shoot to solidify your fanbase that’s here for your looks.”

It was winter, and everyone was bundled up, which wasn’t great for photos. A photo shoot on Qiong Island was perfect.

”This arrangement sounds good too.”

Ni Bingyan once again agreed with Wei Shuojie’s choice.

”Considering the convenient travel schedule, this variety show is a good option. You’d be a guest star for one episode, and it happens to be filming on Qiong Island. I recommend you take it.”

Wei Shuojie handed her a sheet of A4 paper. ”The production team originally invited Guo Tong, but she’s pregnant, and her belly is getting too big to hide. She can’t film, so they had to find a last-minute replacement. I happen to have a friend working at Mango TV who called me the second they heard. If you’re okay with it, I’ll sign the contract.”

She said this to emphasize how sought-after the job was, urging Ni Bingyan to consider it carefully and not let her hard work go to waste.

When it came to work, as long as it didn’t cross any of her personal lines, Ni Bingyan would always follow her agent’s advice. But—

”Which Guo Tong?”

Ni Bingyan took the document and was about to see what kind of variety show it was when she heard the name and looked up in surprise.

She had filmed Star Chef PK with Guo Tong before. She hadn’t heard anything about her having a boyfriend, had she?

And she definitely hadn’t heard anything about a marriage.

They were classmates and on pretty good terms. If Guo Tong were getting married, she would have at least sent her an invitation.

”Who else could it be? Your classmate, of course! She’s been secretly dating someone for several years. No idea why they haven’t married. Maybe the parents disapprove, or maybe she felt she was too young and wanted to wait a few years.”

Guo Tong debuted as a child star and has been famous for about twenty years. What kind of newcomer would be unlucky enough to have the exact same name as her?

Ni Bingyan had a feeling it was the Guo Tong she knew, but hearing the news was still a little hard to accept.

Seeing the look on Ni Bingyan’s face, Wei Shuojie sighed. ”Don’t overthink it! You know how things are in this industry. People have to hide things even from their own relatives, let alone from a regular classmate like you.”

Realizing she’d accidentally spoken a harsh truth, Wei Shuojie gave an apologetic smile.

”For female celebrities, problems usually fall into a few categories: they’re dating someone, they got married, they became the other woman, or their partner cheated on them. Getting pregnant before marriage is a minor issue. They’ll just get married later and say they registered a long time ago but were too busy for a wedding. After the baby is born, she’ll go right back to filming and endorsements. Her family is well-connected, so there won’t be any real consequences. You’re still young and haven’t seen enough. What’s so surprising about this? Once you’ve seen it enough, you get used to it.”

”That may be true, but an actress’s golden years only last a decade or so. The opportunities you get when you’re married versus unmarried, or when you have kids versus when you don’t, are completely different. Unless her family is financing the project themselves, what production team would be willing to take that risk? In any case, doing this is just disregarding her future.”

’If it were me,’ she thought, ’and I got pregnant, I would have gotten married the moment I found out. I’d never let it drag on until my belly was impossible to hide.’

’It’s just too passive.’

”Her future? Have you ever seen someone who’s love-struck care about that? Alright, alright, hurry up and take a look. If it’s fine, just accept it. We’ll pretend we don’t know about this. You absolutely cannot tell anyone!”

The first part was directed at Ni Bingyan, but the last part was a specific warning for Lu Yao, fearing her inexperience would cause trouble.

Lu Yao was working as Ni Bingyan’s assistant during her winter break. Since this was a work discussion and not some big secret, they hadn’t hidden it from her.

”You have a point. It’s better not to pry into other people’s business. Yaoyao, you can’t go around talking about this! If her belly is already showing, people in the industry probably already know. It’s only a matter of time before the paparazzi expose it. Given my relationship with her, I absolutely can’t be the one to say anything. It would offend people.”

Inside, Lu Yao’s mind was racing with comments: ’My eyes have been opened! They’ve really been opened! So this is what the real entertainment industry is like! What a mess!’ But on the outside, she obediently agreed.

Aside from her obsessive fan-girling, she actually had a good personality and a kind heart. She knew what was important and wouldn’t actually sabotage her own cousin.

After cautioning her cousin, Ni Bingyan picked up the document to read about the variety show. ”Filming the ’good life’ in a small fishing village? I rarely go to the seaside, so this sounds pretty nice. Since the weather is so cold right now, spending a few extra days on Qiong Island wouldn’t be bad either.”

”That’s what I was thinking too. I was originally planning to take my family abroad for vacation, but after talking it over with my husband last night, we decided to go to Qiong Island instead. That way, I can also be there with you while you film the show. It’s perfect!”

Ni Bingyan knew they had changed their plans because of her and chuckled. ”Well, there are plenty of fun places in our own country! You’ll be boosting Qiong Island’s economy; the people there will thank you! When my big nephew has his summer vacation, I’ll treat you all to make up for it!”

”Like we need you to treat us?! You’re such a sweet-talker!”

”Is there anything else?”

Folding the A4 paper, Ni Bingyan looked at her expectantly.

Wei Shuojie shot her an exasperated look.

”There are only two weeks left before the New Year. Aren’t you going home to celebrate? Don’t you have to visit relatives? This is more than enough already. Don’t you also have to attend Zhou Dawei’s wedding? You need to leave time for that.”

’That’s true,’ she thought.

Ni Bingyan thanked Sister Wei again.

With things settled, Wei Shuojie still had follow-up matters to attend to, so she finished her fruit tea and got up to leave.

Before leaving, she reminded Ni Bingyan, ”You’re flying to Shanghai tomorrow for the jewelry ad. Have Xiao Li and Yaoyao go with you. I have other work to do, so I won’t be joining you this time. It’s the end of the year, so don’t cause any trouble.”

Ni Bingyan looked apologetic. ”I don’t know how it happens either. I always end up trending for some bizarre reason. But as long as I don’t get into any scandals, it shouldn’t have a big impact. Don’t worry, Sister Wei.”

”That’s true.”

Wei Shuojie didn’t dwell on it, simply getting in her car and leaving.

After seeing her agent off, Ni Bingyan went back inside with her cousin.

”Go check if the clothes we bought yesterday are dry. Those Lolita dresses of yours aren’t really appropriate for work, so don’t bring them on the business trip.”

Lu Yao was a reasonable person, so she didn’t object. ”Okay, Sis. I’ll go pack right now—are we going for one day or two?”

”After the shoot in Shanghai, we’re going straight to Qiong Island, so we won’t bother going back to Beijing. Let me see... it’s over twenty degrees there right now, so don’t bring too many winter clothes. We can buy new outfits when we get there.”

”Okay, Sis. Do you want me to help you pack?”

”No, thanks. Just focus on packing your own things.”

She had to bring a lot of things for work. If she packed carefully, two suitcases would be enough. But if Lu Yao did it, she was afraid even three suitcases wouldn’t be enough.

Lu Yao was staying in the first-floor guest room. After they had a plan, they both went to their rooms to pack.

At noon, Ni Bingyan caught a carp from the fish tank and braised it in soy sauce. After they finished lunch, Lu Yao went back to her room to do who-knows-what, while Ni Bingyan took the script for Demon Suppression Tower to the study to read.

An actor reads a script differently than an ordinary person reads a novel.

They not only have to remember all the character relationships and understand each character’s personality, but they also have to focus on analyzing their own role. Most importantly, they have to memorize their lines.

She didn’t know about other actors, but she had always demanded this of herself: not only did she have to memorize her own lines, but she also had to memorize the lines of the actors she had scenes with.

This prevented missed cues during filming and greatly reduced the number of ”no good” takes.

She had already read this script many times and had memorized the lines. Now she was doing her final preparations, analyzing the emotion behind every single line.

The same sentence can have a completely different effect depending on the tone of voice used.

Even though the film would be dubbed later, she still had to speak her lines during filming. Different words and different tones produce different facial expressions.

Filming a movie is different from filming a TV show. On the big screen, every subtle expression is noticeable.

Often, winning an award comes down to this kind of detailed work.

She was working diligently in the study, but Lu Yao kept popping in, now bringing her a small snack, now offering her a cup of tea, to the point that it was breaking her concentration.

”What is it you want? I’m on a diet, so I can’t keep eating. If you have something to say to me, just say it!”

Having merged with the original owner’s memories, Ni Bingyan’s interactions with her cousin felt completely natural. Seeing her act like this, she knew she definitely had something on her mind.

She was naturally good-tempered and doted on her younger cousin, so she was very patient.