Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”The weather on Qiong Island is such a fickle little minx!”

The morning sun had been brilliant, but now a light rain was falling in the afternoon. Ni Bingyan stood at the hotel entrance, looking up at the sky.

A dark cloud shaped like a puppy was being pushed by the sea breeze, making it look like it was running. It was quite a sight.

Ni Bingyan was so engrossed that she didn’t even bother to push up the sunglasses that had slipped to the tip of her nose.

BEEP! BEEP!

Seeing that Ni Bingyan hadn’t even noticed the car pull up in front of her, Duanmu Li had no choice but to honk the horn.

Ni Bingyan quickly looked down. Seeing that Duanmu Li had brought the car around, she pushed up her sunglasses, walked down the steps, and pulled open the door to sit in the passenger seat.

”Let’s go!”

Wei Shuojie’s family of three, plus her mother-in-law, made four people in total. The six-seater SUV they had rented would fit them all perfectly.

”I hope the flight isn’t delayed.”

That morning, they had decisively walked off the job. The people from the scenic area were furious, initially calling and demanding an explanation. Before they could finish, Ni Bingyan hung up, citing she was unwell. Later, their tone softened, and they sent an apology to Duanmu Li via WeChat, claiming it was a misunderstanding, but Ni Bingyan still ignored them.

Everything would have to wait until Sister Wei arrived.

With this weighing on her mind, Ni Bingyan was in no mood for conversation.

Duanmu Li was a woman of few words. If Ni Bingyan didn’t start a conversation, she wouldn’t speak unless absolutely necessary.

And so, the two of them drove to the airport in silence.

Seeing it was almost seven-thirty, the two of them worried they’d be late. They parked the car and even ran for a stretch. But just as they reached the arrivals hall, they heard an announcement: due to the weather, Wei Shuojie’s flight was expected to be delayed by half an hour.

The flight was booked for three in the afternoon and scheduled to arrive just after seven in the evening. But because of the delay, the two of them didn’t get to meet them until eight-thirty.

”Sister Wei! Over here!”

When she saw the group of four emerge with three suitcases, Ni Bingyan immediately waved to her.

”Have you been waiting long?”

Such a long flight delay was frustrating. Wei Shuojie gave a tired smile and walked over to speak with her.

”It’s fine, it’s fine! Come on, let’s head to the parking lot first.”

”This is my husband, Li Hui, and this is my mom. You can just call her Aunt Wu. This is my son, Li Zhi, whom you’ve met before.”

Aunt Wu had salt-and-pepper hair and a kind smile. Li Hui had a resolute face and stood ramrod straight. Li Zhi had shot up in the last two years and now looked tall and lanky.

Anyone who didn’t know Li Zhi would probably think he was aloof, but Ni Bingyan knew he was just a very shy young man.

And sure enough, after she stared at him for just a moment, he blushed and turned away to look at his dad.

The two groups greeted each other and exchanged a few pleasantries before heading to the parking lot.

Li Hui pushed two of the suitcases by himself while Li Zhi pulled the third one, walking beside him. The others walked ahead, each carrying their own small bag.

There were too many suitcases to fit in the trunk, so they brought a slightly smaller one into the car with them.

Li Hui took over driving, with Aunt Wu in the passenger seat. Duanmu Li sat in the middle row with Li Zhi, while Ni Bingyan accompanied Wei Shuojie in the very back. After sending the location to Li Hui, the car started moving.

Her cousin was absorbed in her comics and didn’t want to go out for dinner, so she had ordered room service. She’d already eaten and was back to grinding. Ni Bingyan sent her a quick message telling her not to go out alone, then started telling Wei Shuojie about the day’s events.

”They contacted me again later. Their tone was much more conciliatory, and they tried to coax me into going to the shoot, promising they’d stick to the contract this time. I didn’t go. I figured I’d wait for you.”

”Mm, I contacted them before I boarded and scheduled a face-to-face meeting for tomorrow. Don’t worry about what comes next. If it really doesn’t work out, you can go shoot the variety show first.”

”Okay. The variety show set isn’t far anyway, so making an extra trip won’t be a big deal.”

Ni Bingyan twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to Wei Shuojie. ”Your lips are chapped. Why don’t you have some water?”

Wei Shuojie took a drink of water, then pulled out a tablet to show her. ”This is the report from the Poverty Alleviation Office. These are all unscrupulous merchants. Because they’re from all over the country, filing lawsuits would be too much trouble. After negotiations, the Poverty Alleviation Office has already issued a directive for the various regions to handle corrections internally.”

She hadn’t expected a good deed to turn into such a hassle. Fortunately, the Poverty Alleviation Office had a good attitude and was actively handling the matter.

”What if the corrections aren’t effective?”

’Local protectionism is all too common.’

”Sigh, then we’ll just have to trouble our colleagues in the legal department.”

’They’re the kind of people who would bleed a poverty alleviation project dry. Making them suffer for it would be nearly impossible.’

Wei Shuojie kept these thoughts to herself.

It was just a cynical prediction based on experience, with no real evidence, so it was better left unsaid.

They chatted idly all the way to the restaurant. After a lively dinner, they all returned to the hotel to rest.

「The next day」 The three members of the Li family went off on their own to do some sightseeing, while Wei Shuojie took Ni Bingyan and Duanmu Li to the 5A-rated scenic area they had a contract with.

The day before yesterday, when Duanmu Li was negotiating, she had asked to speak with their superiors to find out why they weren’t following the contract. In the end, she wasn’t even able to get a meeting with them.

Yesterday, after the talks fell apart, Ni Bingyan also tried to negotiate with their management, but they still refused to see her, sending only that same person-in-charge to talk.

This was why she had later stopped answering their calls and refused to communicate at all.

But today, with Wei Shuojie leading the way, the management was already waiting at the entrance with their own people, rushing forward to shake hands from a distance.

As for the department head who had given them trouble, he was relegated to trailing behind the group like a bowing and scraping lackey.

His position wasn’t that high to begin with, and now he had caused a major problem for his own selfish reasons. No amount of groveling in front of his superiors would be too much.

Ni Bingyan watched it all unfold with a cold gaze, taking in every detail.

With Sister Wei on the case, one of her was worth two of anyone else. The other party quickly apologized, not only increasing the endorsement fee but also demoting the department head to appease them.

As for the content of the collaboration, it would proceed as originally planned.

Wei Shuojie didn’t deliberately make things difficult for them either. Seeing that the weather forecast for the next day was good, she scheduled the shoot for then.

After returning to the hotel from the scenic area, the three of them parted with smiles and went back to their respective rooms.

A short while later, Ni Bingyan heard a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and saw it was Sister Wei, so she quickly opened it.

”Brought you a plate of cantaloupe. My husband bought it for me.”

Seeing the sweet smile on her face, Ni Bingyan found it amusing. ”I’m not even looking for a relationship. Why are you flaunting your happiness at me? It won’t work.”

’This woman is great in every way, except for her habit of flaunting her happy marriage at every opportunity. I’m so sick of being the third wheel.’

”Oh, I just saw you looked unhappy and came to chat.”

’An artist’s mental health is important, too!’

After a long stretch of smooth sailing, she’d recently hit one snag after another. Wei Shuojie was worried her mindset would affect the variety show recording.

”There’s nothing to be unhappy about.”

Ni Bingyan didn’t want to reveal her inner thoughts.

She didn’t want to ask, ’Why do they treat you and me so differently?’

Nor did she want to hear Wei Shuojie say that even though she’d won a Best Actress award, in some people’s eyes, she was still just a slightly more expensive vase.

”Oh?”

Seeing that she wasn’t talking, Wei Shuojie started speaking on her own.

”Want to know why they were so arrogant before and so respectful now? Or rather, why they don’t take you seriously enough?”

Ni Bingyan didn’t answer. She speared a piece of cantaloupe with her fork and pretended to eat it with great concentration.

”It’s only because even though I’m just an agent, I not only have extensive connections, but I’m also a shareholder in over a dozen companies with a hefty net worth. You, on the other hand, have only won one Best Actress award so far. It’s not enough weight.”

Although Ni Bingyan earned quite a bit, comparing her to Wei Shuojie was like comparing a basket full of eggs to a dozen hens that could lay them.

This scenic area was privately owned, so it was only natural that their upper management valued financial power more.

Capital values celebrities because their fame can bring profits. If a celebrity wants to be treated as an equal by capital, they have to become capital themselves.

Seeing Ni Bingyan looking down without a word, Wei Shuojie laughed. ”Feeling discouraged? Hey! Think about it, how old are you? You just turned 26! When I was your age, my monthly salary was less than nine hundred. What’s there to be discouraged about? By the time you’ve won every award there is and developed your career, you’ll be a powerhouse in your own right. The people who look down on you now won’t even be worthy of sitting at the same table with you!”

Wei Shuojie stood up and patted her on the shoulder. ”So you have to work hard! My dear, sweet Bingbing! Before I retire, I hope I can fly up to the clouds with you and see a much wider world together! Just forget about all this petty, sordid nonsense!”

Ni Bingyan was munching CRUNCH CRUNCH on the refreshing melon, not even noticing when Wei Shuojie left.

When she came back to her senses, she saw she had bitten right through the rind of the melon in her hand.

”Ptooey!”

She spat out the piece of rind in her mouth and shot up from her slumped posture, her despondency gone.

’There are still two hours before bedtime! I can do two more practice tests!’

’I’ve been studying French lately, and I’m really getting into it. Once I’ve mastered it, maybe I can walk the red carpet at Cannes!’

’All those foreign directors will be waiting to chat with me, fighting to cast me in their movies!’

’Yeah, grinding is much more my style than moping around!’