Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Previously, when Ni Bingyan was on set, she could take a two-hour lunch break. But after returning from a week off, the production was rushing to catch up, so her break—for eating and makeup touch-ups combined—was cut to just one hour.

She had the guts to ask for time off, so she had to accept the consequences.

Ni Bingyan was already mentally prepared and had no complaints about the crew’s arrangement.

After all, the work of dozens, even hundreds, of people had to be adjusted for her schedule. She felt quite bad about it.

’If I’m more professional and cause less trouble for others, then I won’t feel so guilty.’

Because she’d been away from the set for so long, the crew was definitely unhappy with her. She could feel it clearly on her first day back.

Staff members who had always been friendly to her were now giving her strange looks. It was as if they were all avoiding her, no longer striking up conversations.

During a break in filming, Ni Bingyan instructed Duanmu Li to book the nicest place possible to treat the crew to dinner that evening.

You can’t badmouth someone who just fed you. She hoped that after a good meal, their attitudes would soften a bit tomorrow.

They still had to work together for a long time. It was better to be on good terms to avoid people making things difficult for her at every turn.

It was 2:30 in the afternoon when a furious Wei Shuojie stormed onto the set.

Ni Bingyan had just finished two scenes and was sitting under a sun umbrella, memorizing her lines.

Her makeup was exquisite, and she looked well, but her body language screamed, ’I’m so, so tired.’

Seeing Ni Bingyan’s calm, oblivious expression, Wei Shuojie felt like she’d thrown a punch and hit a wad of cotton.

’Celebrities are under a lot of pressure, so many have private social media accounts. They’re only human, with all the usual human emotions and desires. It’s inevitable that they’ll say some inappropriate things in private.’

’Netizens are fascinated by it because it’s a window into who these celebrities really are.’

’Frankly, what Ni Bingyan posted on her private account was much better than what other celebrities post.’

’At least she didn’t badmouth her colleagues or throw shade at her agency, partners, or anyone else with whom she had professional ties.’

She’d gotten the news hours ago but couldn’t just call and interrupt filming. The drive over had taken forever. By now, Ni Bingyan’s private account had been screenshotted from top to bottom; deleting it would be pointless.

Seeing Ni Bingyan working so diligently, looking completely serene and untroubled, Wei Shuojie suddenly wondered what the point of rushing over even was.

’Yell at her?’

’Honestly, there was no point in yelling. The contract she had with Ni Bingyan didn’t forbid her from having a private social media account, and it’s not like she posted anything too outrageous.’

’Strictly speaking, her public and private personas matched.’

The way she was in public was pretty much how she was in private. There was nothing to fault her for.

’She was even a ”treasure girl,” hiding so many of her good qualities and positive deeds instead of showing them off.’

”Huh? Sister Wei, what brings you here?”

Despite also having just traveled a long distance, Ni Bingyan had eaten and slept well the day before and was in good spirits. Even with the early start, she was holding up.

Wei Shuojie, on the other hand, was not.

Her face was pale, her lips were chapped, and, in a rare move, she’d even left the house without any makeup on.

Ni Bingyan didn’t know that she had been woken from a deep sleep and had rushed over after a hasty wash-up; she just assumed her agent was poorly rested.

”I know about treating the crew to dinner tonight! It’s all arranged at the Jia Yi Hotel. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I won’t be cheap when it matters.”

’If everyone’s motivated to work, I can wrap up filming sooner. I can earn back the money for this dinner with any odd job.’

Ni Bingyan wasn’t a fool; she knew how to do that kind of math.

’Ah, Sister Wei is the best! She always looks out for me in every little detail.’

Seeing Ni Bingyan looking at her with such a moved expression, the little flame of anger in Wei Shuojie’s heart sputtered out with a PFFT.

’Sigh! An artist this well-behaved is a rare find. I should be content.’

’There’s no need to nitpick.’

’I’m not even this strict with my own son!’

”I just came to check on you. This work schedule is so intense, I wanted to see if you were holding up. Filming all day in this heat... sigh!”

’To have such a dedicated artist... as a manager, I must have done something right in a past life.’

The more Wei Shuojie thought about it, the more she realized that Ni Bingyan had so many good qualities that it was easy to overlook her few, uncontrollable little flaws.

”Don’t worry! Sister Wu knows what she’s doing. She lets me rest a bit after every scene. Haha! Actually, she’s probably more afraid of me getting sick than I am. Imagine how much I’d slow things down if I fell ill!”

The two exchanged a few more words before Wu Xi called out to Wei Shuojie and then began directing the crew on set.

The next scene was about to begin.

”I’ve got to get back to work. We can talk after we wrap for the day. Why don’t you go rest in the car for a bit?”

Ni Bingyan rolled up her script, handed it to Duanmu Li with a quick word, and went off to film her scene.

’After spending so much money on my trip abroad, I’m bursting with motivation to work!’

Wei Shuojie didn’t leave. Instead, she sat at a distance, watching her film.

’She’s clearly twenty-six, but in that school uniform, she looks like a real high school student.’

The clarity and innocence in her eyes, mixed with a hint of foolishness and recklessness, created a complex feeling that was nevertheless palpable to any observer.

Wu Xi had a delicate touch with emotions and was great at drawing out an actor’s performance.

’Ni Bingyan’s eyes are so expressive. This scene is going to look incredible on camera.’

Watching a movie in a theater is a completely different experience from watching it being filmed on set.

Without the polish of music and other post-production effects, you get a much rawer sense of an actor’s skill.

Under Wu Xi’s guidance, she had improved yet again.

Wei Shuojie was immensely gratified, her mood lifting in spite of herself. She decided to stay through the crew dinner before leaving, just in case someone tried to put Ni Bingyan on the spot about the private account. She was a real mother hen, through and through.

After a hectic afternoon, the entire crew headed to the Jia Yi Hotel for dinner.

The Jia Yi Hotel was a high-end Anhui restaurant where a meal cost several hundred yuan per person. By the end of the dinner, everyone was smiling. They thanked her profusely before heading back in small groups to the hotel the production had booked for them.

Ni Bingyan was on a tight schedule and didn’t want to waste an hour or two commuting, so she planned to sleep in her RV with Duanmu Li.

Seeing that Wei Shuojie didn’t look well, she decided to say her goodbyes—partly so her agent could get some proper rest, and partly to protect her own sleeping hours.

”Sister Wei, you need to get some rest! Rome wasn’t built in a day. We can take our time with work. I’ll be on set filming for the foreseeable future, not going anywhere, so don’t you worry, okay?”

’What a sweet and considerate girl!’

’She’s beautiful, has a lovely personality, handles herself with poise, has high emotional intelligence, works hard, and is multi-talented...’

Unfortunately, she was also a natural-born comedian with a built-in buff for chaos. She was always doing things that made others break into a bewildered smile, but which gave Wei Shuojie an arrhythmia.

The three of them stood on the curb outside the hotel, a light evening breeze blowing. Wei Shuojie held her tongue, then held it some more, until she finally couldn’t take it anymore.

”You know, as a young woman, you could be a little more... reserved.”

’Reserved?’

’Is she saying I’m too forward? Or too wild?’

Ni Bingyan felt a little hurt to be told that out of the blue.

’I’m so straight-laced and conservative! Why would she suddenly say that about me?’

She did enough acting for her job; she didn’t like to put on an act in her personal life. Her expressions were transparent, and she wore her heart on her sleeve.

Wei Shuojie sighed, exasperated. ”Just go check Weibo when you get back! Your private account has been exposed!”

Wei Shuojie opened her car door and got in. She rolled down the window and shot Ni Bingyan a teasing glance.

”Oh my god! A boyfriend! A real, live one! AHHHHH!”

Wei Shuojie repeated the line with theatrical flair, then slammed on the gas and sped off into the distance.

Ni Bingyan stood frozen on the roadside, completely stunned.

’So, Sister Wei didn’t come to visit the set because she was worried I couldn’t handle the crew... it was because my secret vent account got exposed??’

’And the crew’s weird attitude today wasn’t because I took a long break... it was because I showed up as a walking piece of gossip?’

’They were probably keeping their distance on purpose because they were worried I’d be too embarrassed, right?’

’Oh my god!!!’

Ni Bingyan suddenly felt the urge to go hang herself!

”You knew all along, didn’t you?”

Ni Bingyan hadn’t looked at her phone all day, but Duanmu Li was always on hers. It was impossible for her not to know.

Seeing the look of utter devastation on Ni Bingyan’s face, Duanmu Li cleared her throat.

”Alright, I think there are paparazzi across the street. Let’s get in the car first.”

Ni Bingyan mechanically followed her into the RV, feeling like her world was ending.

’What strangers thought was one thing, but what would Sang Yuan think of her?’

’SOB... How could I possibly explain this so he’ll believe me? I’m really not that desperate to get married!’