Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”What are you looking at over there?”

”Didn’t you say that finding joy in helping others is a virtue? Those two humans are fighting. I think I should go in and break it up.”

”Don’t say ’two humans,’ say ’two people.’”

”That’s not the point. The point is they’re fighting. Should I help them or not?”

”Fighting? I remember a young couple lives here. Childhood sweethearts, very much in love. Why would they be fighting? Let me see... Uh, they’re not fighting...”

”They are too fighting! They’re still at it! Listen, the lady is crying out in pain!”

”This... this...”

Huang Ge was still seriously reciting his lines, but Ni Bingyan couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing!

When she first read this part of the novel, she had snorted with laughter in the middle of the night. Now that she had to say these lines herself, it was so awkward she could die!

”What’s this? I’ve said far more embarrassing lines! Come on, come on! Let’s run through it a few more times. We’ll get used to it. Otherwise, if we keep getting NGs tomorrow, no one’s going to have a good time in this weather.”

Seeing her laugh, Huang Ge couldn’t help but shake his head. ’Kids these days, so thin-skinned!’

’This was nothing, really.’

Here, the winter days were short, and it got dark early in the afternoon. If they couldn’t finish filming on time, they’d have to postpone it until tomorrow.

No matter how much money the production team was rolling in, they couldn’t afford that kind of waste. The producer and director would definitely be furious.

Huang Ge had been in the industry for years and had always been a consummate professional. He considered himself a respectable person and certainly didn’t want to get chewed out in front of the entire crew.

”Sorry, Brother Huang, let me just get a grip.”

Constantly breaking character and laughing was unprofessional and wasted her partner’s time. Having just lost her composure, Ni Bingyan waved her hand apologetically, took a deep breath, and told him to start again.

After they finished rehearsing the scenes for the next day, Ni Bingyan returned to her room to find her roommates already lying in bed, chatting with their eyes closed and face masks on.

Outside, it was a world of ice and snow. Inside, the heated brick bed was kept burning all day. It was warm, alright, but it made your skin dry.

Since arriving here, applying face masks and moisturizers had become a daily routine for everyone.

Ni Bingyan tiptoed into the room, put on a mask herself, and lay down in her spot. If she hadn’t overheard an interesting topic and chimed in, the others wouldn’t have even known she was back.

Everyone knew that Ni Bingyan went next door to rehearse lines with Huang Ge every day after dinner.

Seeing her return, one of them asked, ”Sister Bingbing, are you done with your lines? What scene are you filming tomorrow morning?”

The crew and on-set staff were most afraid of unprofessional actors with poor skills who caused NGs all day long, forcing them to work overtime. Having people like Ni Bingyan and Huang Ge instead was a dream come true, so they were naturally very friendly toward her.

”It’s the scene where I peep on the young couple doing... you know... and insist on dragging Mo Li along.”

Upon hearing her, someone who had read the original novel couldn’t help but laugh.

”I remember that part so clearly! The character is so clueless, it’s adorably silly! HAHA! I remember when I was following the novel as it came out, some talented fan even drew a doujinshi about it. It was super cute!”

”I remember that part too...”

Then everyone started chatting about the original novel, excitedly recounting their favorite scenes, so animated that they didn’t even notice their face masks had slipped askew.

For these local girls, this novel was their youth!

This book didn’t exist in Ni Bingyan’s original world, so she didn’t feel the same deep connection.

Seeing that her mask had been on long enough, she tidied up, put on her headphones, and snuggled into her quilt.

’I haven’t finished listening to today’s French news yet!’

’The worst enemy of learning is inconsistency. If you want to learn something, you have to be persistent.’

「The night passed without incident.」 The next day on set, Ni Bingyan, afraid she hadn’t memorized her lines well enough, took out her script to review. When Huang Ge saw this, he immediately came over and ran lines with her again.

Once the cameras were calibrated and all departments were ready, the day’s filming began once again.

Like her, Huang Ge was also playing two roles in this movie.

She played the Deer Demon before and after her suppression, while Huang Ge played the Demon Hunter Mo Li, as well as Mo Li’s descendant, Mo Sheng.

In the secluded mountain forest where he lived as a hermit, Mo Li encountered Lu Lingling, who had just taken human form. Tired of the endless fighting of the martial world, he wanted to test a fanciful idea of his own—

When a young demon first takes form, its mind is a blank slate. If it were well-educated like a human, taught about etiquette, honor, and shame, taught about the three cardinal guides and five constant virtues, would it still be so cruel? Would it still treat humans like livestock?

In a world plagued by demons, if human education could have a decisive impact on a demon’s character development, then perhaps the world wouldn’t be so chaotic in the future.

With the compassionate heart of a Bodhisattva bent on saving the world, Mo Li stayed in the deep mountains and devoted himself to raising Lu Lingling. Many years later, seeing she was no different from an ordinary person, he tried to bring her into human society.

Lu Lingling did very well.

She was hardworking, brave, respected her elders and loved the young, and was always ready to help others. She never used her strength to bully the weak. Anyone who met her couldn’t help but praise her as a ”good girl.”

However, Mo Li’s experiment didn’t go so smoothly.

Mo Li’s junior brother came to visit and was horrified to meet Lu Lingling, who was indistinguishable from a human!

He didn’t agree with his senior brother’s ideas. He firmly believed that those not of their kind were bound to have different hearts. If they helped demons integrate into the human world, it would only lead to more severe consequences.

Humans and demons walk different paths. If you see a demon, you kill it!

That was the principle a Demon Hunter should abide by.

Mo Li and his junior brother had a fierce argument. Lu Lingling overheard them and, deeply displeased, retorted, ”I’m not that kind of person!”

In response, Mo Li’s junior brother said coldly, ”You’re not a person at all.”

Lu Lingling gritted her teeth, about to erupt in anger, but Mo Li told her, ”He is your elder. You must not talk back.”

What happened after was predictable. Not wanting his senior brother to stray from the righteous path and ruin their sect’s reputation, the junior brother gathered heroes from the martial world to kill Lu Lingling.

Mo Li was outnumbered and outmatched. To save her, he sacrificed his own life to seal her within the Demon Suppression Tower...

A few days ago, after the opening ceremony, the news that the two of them were playing dual roles was released. The most upvoted comment from netizens was: [Time to test their acting chops!]

Indeed, this film demanded a high level of acting skill from both of them. On top of that, the set was in the frigid Forest Sea and Snowfield. Even in their thick costumes, spending a long time outdoors left their toes aching from the cold. At the end of each day, they had to soak their feet to recover.

To ensure a smoother filming process, Ni Bingyan and Huang Ge used nearly all their free time to prepare.

Huang Ge had been in the industry for many years and had also risen from humble beginnings, so his experiences were quite similar to hers.

But Huang Ge had better luck. In his early thirties, he met his benefactor. With his solid acting skills and memorable looks, he quickly made a name for himself after finding the right path.

Working with him, Ni Bingyan could learn many small acting tricks. Overall, her time with this production team was very pleasant.