Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

After returning from Wutong County, Ni Bingyan posted a few photos of Lao Gua Village on Weibo.

The once-dilapidated little village had now been converted into a collection of B&Bs. The once-ragged elders, women, and children had been replaced by smiling, vibrant young people.

The sky had just cleared after a snowfall, and the wandering children who had left to make a living were returning to their hometown one by one.

When there’s hope at home, who would want to wander far and wide?

The snow-covered terraced fields, compared to the verdant fields of last summer, possessed a unique beauty of their own.

For her, this place was also very special.

She had filmed a movie here, and that movie had brought her her first Best Actress award.

On top of that, having just transmigrated and facing a different life, everything she had—aside from her invisible, intangible soul—was inherited from someone else.

She had felt lost at times, feeling that every aspect of her life was awkward. Even looking in the mirror made her uncomfortable.

’Hiding away to film in that small mountain village had been her way of giving herself time to adjust.’

She never expected to meet so many sincere and enthusiastic people.

Even now, the memory of that kindness still warmed her.

Her private account had been dug up by fans long ago, so now she used it to post personal updates. Work-related matters were still handled by her official account.

The moment she posted this, everyone noticed.

[Didn’t the Ni Bingyan’s World Travel production team say they were starting to film soon? I thought she’d be going abroad, but it turns out she’s staying in the country...]

Ni Bingyan was a known workaholic, busy all year round. Every time she took a vacation, it would trend on social media. Her trip to Wutong County was surely not just for tourism.

Quite a few people were disappointed.

After all, many were curious about just how many foreign languages Ni Bingyan could speak.

Going to some mountain ditch in Wutong County just didn’t sound interesting no matter how you looked at it.

Just as netizens were voicing their pessimism, the official Weibo account for *Ni Bingyan’s World Travel* released a teaser.

The teaser was incredibly short, only a few seconds long.

”I don’t like lamb! I really don’t like lamb!”

A woman’s voice emerged from the black screen.

Her tone was exceptionally firm!

The screen lit up, revealing a pair of beautiful hands elegantly setting down a clean-picked bone.

”BURP~”

After a satisfied burp, the screen froze on a row of bones.

A closer look revealed five of them, all lined up.

A male narrator’s broadcast-quality voice chimed in at the perfect moment: ”Ah... delicious!”

[Hahaha! Hahaha! I’m just here to laugh!]

[Can anyone tell me how many ribs a little lamb has? Rounding up, did our Bingyan just eat half a sheep?]

[Of course, our Bingyan is still the same foodie! She’s sailed past a thousand mountains, but she’ll never forget the mountain of lobsters. /Side-eyeing smile]

[LMAO! Can they even air this? What happened to her celebrity image?!]

[Suddenly, I’m thinking maybe this show won’t be so bad after all.]

[Hahaha! She’s a woman with my exact sense of humor! You guys film your hearts out! I’ll be sure to watch!]

[I was worried the director was inexperienced, but now I see he’s totally cracked the code for going viral! He actually knows what we like to see!]

[Just get to the point! When does it air?!]

...

It had to be said, even the netizens had noticed how special Pei Jin was. Ni Bingyan, for her part, thought his way of thinking was wonderfully bizarre.

Because the day after he released the teaser, he posted a behind-the-scenes clip.

In the video, Ni Bingyan was saying with a serious face, ”My family must have given me this name hoping I would be diligent and studious...”

Then the scene cut, and the RING RING of a phone dialing could be heard.

After a long pause, Ni Guangli’s voice came from the other end: ”Why did we give her that name? That was a long time ago, let me think...”

The older generation of BaShu people spoke Mandarin with a bit of an accent, so everyone immediately knew who it was.

Just as they were getting curious about what he was going to say, they glanced at the progress bar. Oh, crap!

[Holy crap! Ruthless! The production team is so cruel! Just tell us, when does it air?! My mind won’t be at peace until I go curse them out!]

[Just asked the director, ’What’s next?’ He said there’s nothing down there anymore.]

...

After three straight days of building up suspense, the official air date was finally announced.

Pei Jin might seem shy and quiet, but still waters ran deep. He had a whole bag of slick tricks.

He started hyping the show right after filming the first episode.

Other variety shows all invited a host of big-name celebrities, but this one featured only her and still managed to generate so much buzz. Saying he had cracked the code for going viral was no exaggeration.

Ni Bingyan didn’t have the energy to pay attention to any of this. She was busy practicing her dancing.

That’s right, there were still three days until her next departure, and she had to spend them practicing a dance.

”This dance needs to be alluring! Alluring to the bone! It should give off a feeling that even though you’re completely covered, one glance is enough to captivate someone! But be careful—it absolutely cannot be cheap! It can’t be tacky! So when you dance, you must pay attention to your expression and the force of your movements! It can’t be too rigid, nor can it be too limp! It needs to be tough! Flexible and tough! Do you understand what I mean?”

The company had spent a fortune hiring the choreographer, all for the sake of the movie’s awards campaign. Ni Bingyan naturally wouldn’t drop the ball.

The woman really knew her stuff. Not only were her dance fundamentals solid enough for her to demonstrate, but she could also spot exactly where Ni Bingyan was falling short with a single glance.

Ni Bingyan was thoroughly convinced by her. After spending a day learning the moves, she practiced them over and over again to the music.

”Your expression is on point, but your movements are off again! Come on, let’s do it again!”

It was the middle of winter, but with the heat on in the dance studio, Ni Bingyan was drenched in sweat, dressed in a form-fitting, comfortable dance outfit.

Hearing that her movements were off, she didn’t say a word. She just nodded and started the dance over from the top.

After two days together, the two had developed a good rapport, and the teacher was willing to share more with her.

”You’re not a professional dancer, so we aren’t aiming for a high degree of difficulty, but your movements must be precise! Precision prevents you from injuring your body! In dancing, the most important thing is to protect yourself.

”Many people have great talent, but what’s the use if they can no longer dance at a young age?

”Only those who can keep dancing have the chance to become a true dancer.”

Someone like her, for instance, who could still dance gracefully in her forties, had done very well in that regard.

The teacher had always been proud of this fact; it was advice born from solid experience.

Ni Bingyan was grateful that she was looking out for her and never slacked off during practice.

Dancing was actually a very tedious affair.

The same movements were repeated again and again, with every detail constantly being tweaked, all in pursuit of a perfect result.

Besides those who truly loved to dance, perhaps only someone like Ni Bingyan, who took everything she did seriously, could have the patience for it.

Everyone loved teaching someone like Ni Bingyan.

She had a good memory, was highly cooperative, had some foundational dance skills, and was in great physical condition—she could be both strong and flexible.

The teacher was happy to teach her. Pointing out a flawed movement, she called a halt, stretched out her arm, and rose onto her tiptoes, preparing to demonstrate.

”Here, watch closely. At the end of the spin, there’s a small detail...”

Ni Bingyan watched intently, also raising her arm and going onto her tiptoes. But before the next move could even begin, there was a faint SNAP.

She turned her head to see the teacher on the ground, brow furrowed as she clutched her leg.