Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

On May 1st, Lu Yao got a call from her older cousin. ”Yaoyao, let’s go to Suzhou for the May Day holiday!”

”You said what?”

Lu Yao couldn’t believe it!

If her roommate hadn’t wished her a ”Happy May Day” right before heading home, she would’ve thought it was April Fools’ Day.

”I said, let’s go on a trip to Suzhou~”

Seeing her cousin’s shamelessness—she actually dared to repeat it—Lu Yao completely lost it.

”I called you the second I heard you wrapped on your movie yesterday, asking if you wanted to hang out. And what did you tell me? ’Oh~ I haven’t had a day off in months~ I’m just going to be a homebody for the next few days~’ And now, one night later, you’ve completely changed your tune? I just made other plans, and now you come looking for me?”

’Even for a woman, how can someone be *this* fickle?’

”Ahem, that was then, this is now. You need to look at things with a dynamic perspective.”

Hearing her younger cousin’s exaggerated impression of her, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

She decided to switch to bribery mode and launch into a hard sell. ”My dear cousin! I remember you telling me that a new ’Bridal’ or ’Tea Party’ version of that Lolita dress thing came out. They sell it in Shanghai, and Suzhou isn’t that far from Shanghai... I’ll take you to buy it. How about it?”

Lu Yao was disgracefully tempted, but she didn’t agree right away.

’Besides, my income from drawing comics these past few months has been pretty good. I could afford a few ten thousand yuan if I really wanted to.’

’Plus, ever since I stopped being a fangirl, my family has given me a pretty generous allowance.’

’You can’t buy my submission with money!’

Lu Yao clenched her fists, managing to withstand her cousin’s financial assault.

”Be honest with me, what are you really going there to do? Don’t give me that ’sightseeing’ nonsense. I wasn’t born yesterday, you can’t fool me that easily!”

Yesterday, she hadn’t been lying when she said she wanted to rest at home for the holiday.

Lu Yao had been understanding, considering her older cousin really hadn’t taken a break from work in months.

But now, just after she’d rearranged her own plans, her cousin suddenly did a complete 180, insisting on Suzhou of all places. No matter how she looked at it, something was off.

Ni Bingyan was a little sheepish.

”Come with me to an art exhibit!”

”Since when were you interested in art exhibits? And you’re willing to travel that far for one? I haven’t heard about any major exhibitions going on recently!”

Lu Yao was an art student herself. Even though her major was oil painting, she was still well-informed about what was happening in the art world. It wouldn’t be so easy for Ni Bingyan to pull one over on her.

”Ahem, alright, fine. It’s... I have two paintings in an exhibition over there...”

It was the first time she’d ever experienced something like this, so Ni Bingyan was both thrilled and a little bashful.

She had originally thought it wouldn’t start for a few more days, so she’d planned to use the holiday to get some much-needed rest at home.

But she’d just received a notification. Preparations had gone smoother than expected, so the exhibition was set to open in May—and today happened to be the first day.

It was like a writer who, despite having read their manuscript countless times before publication, would still sneak out to buy a copy and look at it one more time.

By the same token, she had seen those two paintings countless times, but what would they look like hanging in a gallery? As their creator, of course she was dying to know.

And so, as soon as she got the news, Ni Bingyan couldn’t sit still at home any longer!

This was a small, new hobby of hers, and Ni Bingyan wanted to enjoy it in private, not let the public know.

If Sister Wei found out, she’d probably make her post her paintings on her official social media accounts or film her while she painted to gain more followers.

If her professional partners knew, they would ask her to show off her skills every now and then while recording a show or doing promotions. For the sake of her career, it would be difficult for her to refuse.

But that feeling... it was like when she was a kid during the New Year, and whenever a guest came over, her dad would call her out to sing a song or recite an ancient poem.

Anyone with a similar experience would understand.

That’s why she did everything—from selling her paintings to participating in this exhibition—in secret, without telling a soul.

But this was, after all, a joyous occasion for her. Keeping it bottled up felt like wearing a beautiful gown in the dark—what was the point? She wanted to find someone to share her happiness with.

Her younger cousin happened to be an art student, possessed a trained eye for painting, and could understand her feelings. When it came to visiting an art exhibit, her cousin was the perfect person to bring along.

And just as she’d expected, upon hearing the news, Lu Yao shrieked.

”What?! An art exhibition?!”

Even through the phone, the scream made Ni Bingyan’s ears ring.

She held the phone far away from her ear with an exaggerated grimace, but an uncontrollable smile spread across her face.

After a long moment, Lu Yao’s excited voice finally came through. ”Bingyan! Which organization is hosting the exhibit? You’re incredible!”