Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

As long as money wasn’t an issue, what woman didn’t love sparkly jewelry?

Jewelry endorsements were one of the most sought-after gigs for any actress.

The next day, the jewelry commercial shoot in Shanghai went off without a hitch. They wrapped up that same day, and after receiving gifts from the brand, the trio happily bought tickets to Qiong Island.

Going from the cold north to the warm south, Ni Bingyan finally understood why so many people from the Northeast loved spending their winters on Qiong Island.

Shedding her heavy winter clothes for a light jacket felt incredible. When the sun was high at midday, she could even wear a short-sleeved shirt!

Since the Shanghai shoot wrapped up so smoothly, they arrived on Qiong Island ahead of schedule and checked into a hotel inside a privately-owned, top-rated scenic area.

They still had two days before the scheduled shoot. After a full day of rest at the hotel, Ni Bingyan took Duanmu Li and Lu Yao out for a shopping spree the next morning.

Buying clothes with a local flair was part of the fun of visiting a tourist hotspot.

Besides, they hadn’t packed many warm-weather clothes, leaving their suitcases mostly empty, so it was no problem to buy a bit more.

The three returned, laden with shopping bags. That evening, they found a restaurant known for its local specialties and feasted on seafood. Mindful of their work the next day, they didn’t linger and headed straight back to the hotel.

As soon as her cousin’s comic was released, it attracted several thousand followers. With a few consecutive days of updates, her follower count skyrocketed, and it was met with a flood of positive reviews. This left her fired up and bursting with creative energy!

Back in her room, she immediately picked up her drawing tablet and got to work.

Ni Bingyan hadn’t expected her cousin to do any work on this trip, so seeing her occupied, she left her undisturbed.

”Have you sorted out the details for tomorrow’s shoot? What time are we heading out? Are they sending someone to pick us up? Or should we just rent a car?”

The scenic area had provided them with a large, spacious suite with four bedrooms and a living room. While Lu Yao worked in her room, Ni Bingyan and Duanmu Li discussed the next day’s schedule in the living room.

She only knew the broad strokes of the plan and wasn’t clear on the specifics, so she naturally had to ask to get a better handle on things.

”It’s more or less what Sister Wei told us, but they’ve made some last-minute changes. They’re asking for an extra outfit and want to change the location, claiming it’s peak tourist season and the original spot has too many people to clear out effectively.”

’This gig was only confirmed a few days ago. The number of tourists couldn’t have suddenly spiked. There must be a reason for the last-minute change. We can’t just go along with it unless they explain themselves.’

’If we stick to the contract, we can sue if something goes wrong. If we don’t, they might turn around and blame us for any problems.’

Ni Bingyan was always cautious and wouldn’t entertain that kind of risk.

”Talk to them first. Insist we stick to the contract. If that doesn’t work, Sister Wei will be here tomorrow night. We’ll let her handle the negotiations. The shoot can wait until everything is properly settled.”

Professional matters should be left to the professionals. Ni Bingyan never overstepped her bounds.

If the risk was too great, she’d rather walk away from the job than proceed.

”Okay.”

Duanmu Li agreed. Just as they were about to discuss it further, Ni Bingyan’s phone rang.

She picked it up. It was Sister Wei.

Ni Bingyan assumed she was calling about the next day’s shoot and quickly answered:

”Sister Wei, don’t worry. It’s just a small issue, we’ll get it sorted out. We can all have dinner together tomorrow night when you get here.”

Her tone was light, but Sister Wei’s was heavy. ”Your situation isn’t the urgent part. I’m calling because something’s come up on my end. I’m obligated to tell you, but I need you to not panic. Just let the company handle it, okay?”

”What is it? You’re kind of scaring me.”

Realizing the call wasn’t about the shoot, Ni Bingyan felt a knot of anxiety.

”Okay, so here’s the deal. Remember that batch of pro bono endorsements you authorized, letting them use your image for free?”

”Oh, right! I remember there was goji berries, lamb, gray dates... Don’t tell me there’s a food safety issue?”

As soon as Ni Bingyan heard what it was about, her mind started racing.

Seeing her jumping to conclusions, Wei Shuojie quickly cut her off. ”It’s not a food safety issue.”

”Other than that, what other risks could there be with products like these? A quality control problem? But after-sales support isn’t my responsibility, is it?”

”It’s not about quality or after-sales either. Alright, stop interrupting and let me talk,” Wei Shuojie said, her frustration barely concealed. ”With the end of the year approaching, all the major platforms are holding their New Year’s Shopping Festivals. Our legal department discovered that tons of products have your picture on their packaging. Some just slapped your photo on there directly. Others deliberately Photoshopped it so it doesn’t quite look like you, then added a scribbled, illegible signature to trick consumers into thinking you endorsed their product.”

”The ’Real vs. Fake Ni Bingyan’ topic has been trending online for the past few days. People all over the country are posting pictures of the New Year’s goods they’ve bought.”

It’s not just the paparazzi who make a living by piggybacking on a celebrity’s fame. As they say, more fame, more problems.

A certain throat lozenge brand that tricked a global soccer superstar in her past life was a classic example.

’Celebrities run into this kind of thing all the time. The legal department should know exactly how to handle it.’

”Why not just sue them?”

’These unscrupulous merchants... to think they’d even try to exploit a charity project. They’re like vultures! It’s a slam-dunk lawsuit! Why is everyone reacting so strongly?’

But on second thought, she realized what the problem was.

This was a poverty-alleviation project. If these unscrupulous merchants were hiding behind the facade of being from a designated poor region, taking sweeping legal action could have negative repercussions.

She could already imagine the comments online: ’You’re a huge celebrity making millions, and you’re suing poor old farmers who’ve worked hard all year just to earn a little money from their produce!’

Seeing she’d caught on, Wei Shuojie sighed and explained:

”The moment we discovered the issue, our legal team contacted the Poverty Alleviation Office. They launched an investigation right away and found that these businesses are either officially registered in a poverty-stricken county or their supply chain includes those regions. The situation is... incredibly complicated.”

”When we contacted these businesses, most of them just pleaded poverty. They’d go on about how many of their employees are from poor regions, how there’s no money in agricultural products, how many products are returned infested with bugs, how much of it rots... basically, they just made all sorts of excuses.”

Honestly, even with all of Wei Shuojie’s experience, this was a new level of shamelessness.

”And then there were the really bizarre ones. One guy immediately shot back at our staff, ’Isn’t she doing charity? Endorsing for the poor for free? Are you trying to say there are different classes of poor people? Other people can use her picture, but I’m so poor I can’t? Let me tell you, I owe the bank eighty million! If my inventory doesn’t sell because of you, I’ll write a suicide note and jump off a building!’”

”Are people really that shameless?”

Something that was meant to be so positive had been twisted into this mess by a bunch of parasites. Ni Bingyan was so furious her brow furrowed in anger:

”If poverty alleviation isn’t about helping the poorest regions and the people who can barely afford to eat or dress themselves, then what is it? The contracts we signed were with collective enterprises, which are fundamentally different from these private business owners. Are they blind?”

”You can’t wake someone who’s only pretending to be asleep. And those are the obviously shameless ones! The passive-aggressive ones are even more infuriating. They say things like, ’The market is only so big, and we all sell similar products. Because of your endorsement, all the customers are buying from them, and our stock won’t sell. What choice do we have but to follow suit? If you’d just charged a proper endorsement fee, we’d accept it. But we’re genuinely poor, you see. We can’t afford to hire a big star like you.’”

Hearing Wei Shuojie repeat their excuses, Ni Bingyan felt like she was going to explode. She took several deep breaths to calm herself before speaking:

”What’s the company’s plan to deal with this?”

”We’re definitely going to handle it. It’s just that the situation is complex, so it’s going to take more time.”

”Sigh... Well, you handle it then. I don’t really understand this stuff, so it’s better if I don’t get involved and make things worse. I have a shoot tomorrow! I’m going to get some sleep. We can talk details when you get here tomorrow night.”

”Right. I just called to give you a heads-up. Since this isn’t resolved yet, if you see it in the news, remember not to say anything. We don’t want the media overanalyzing it or your rivals using it to stir up trouble.”

Before, no one bothered trying to sabotage her because she was considered a nobody. But after she won Best Actress, things were different. Other actresses at her level were now her direct competitors. Wouldn’t they jump at any chance to tear her down?

”Okay, I get it. Bye!”

After hanging up, she saw Duanmu Li staring at her phone with a goofy, indulgent smile. Ni Bingyan was feeling frustrated and, assuming her friend was looking at something amusing, she asked, ”What are you looking at? Let me see.”

Duanmu Li just looked up at her, a little awkwardly.

”What is it?”

”I... just accidentally stumbled upon some memes of you.”

”Oh? What memes are there now?”

This wasn’t the first time, so Ni Bingyan was already used to it.

”Look.”

Ni Bingyan took the phone. On the screen were pictures of festive-looking New Year’s goods tied with red ribbons. Whether it was dates, legs of lamb, crabs, or even frost-dusted dried persimmons, every single one of them had her face plastered on the packaging.

The expressions were all screenshots from her movies and TV shows—some crying, some laughing. You had to admit, they were pretty expressive.

It was just an eyesore.

She went back to the trending topics page and saw that the heat for it had already surpassed thirty million.

Ni Bingyan was utterly exasperated.

”This is trending, too? I give up! What is wrong with people online?”