Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”BLEGH~ BLEGH~”

Ni Bingyan was wearing sun-protective clothing and a sun hat, sitting sprawled on the deck. She was hugging a red plastic bucket, retching her guts out.

As if that wasn’t miserable enough, there were cameras all around her, filming.

Although they weren’t filming the disgusting vomit, just her pathetic side and back profile, it was still a little hard for a celebrity who relied on her looks to accept.

After all, she had no idea she would get seasick before boarding the boat!

She was truly, completely unprepared.

Right then, Pei Jin was sitting behind a camera, constantly adjusting the angle.

Things had already come to this, so there was nothing to be done. He might as well get some good shots, make her look a little more pitiful, and at least get the hashtag #NiBingyanGetsSeasick trending later.

It had to be said, he’d produced a hit right after entering the industry. The shrewd genes passed down in the Pei family had finally become dominant in him.

Ni Bingyan’s eyes welled with tears as she stared at him resentfully. She wanted to say something, but she just waved her hand, unable to get a word out before she started heaving again.

Even though she had prepared by not eating breakfast before they left, she still couldn’t stop vomiting.

’It’s all because I ate too much last night, WAHHH~’

After leaving Boao and arriving in Sanya, the production team boarded a boat that was regularly chartered for sea fishing trips. They also rented the owner’s fishing gear and began a three-day, two-night deep-sea fishing adventure.

But not long after they set off, Ni Bingyan started getting seasick.

Besides the production team, the captain, the chef, and the sailors, there were also a few fishing experts on board, invited by the Iron Triangle fan club.

They had invited these people for three reasons. First, Ni Bingyan had no sea fishing experience, so they could teach her. Second, it was to prevent her from ”skunking”—which would make for a boring show. Third, they wanted to make the program look more professional, so they wouldn’t get flamed by experts for just putting on a show when it aired.

Now that they had shown their commitment, no one could criticize them.

”Xiao Ni, is this your first time out at sea?”

They hadn’t even reached the first fishing spot yet. Staring at the sea scenery for too long gets boring, so when Brother Hao saw her getting seasick, he stood to the side with his arms crossed, chuckling.

He didn’t mean any harm. He was just bored and wanted to show some concern.

Brother Hao was the oldest of the fishing experts, already in his forties.

He was the owner of a seafood restaurant who loved sea fishing and fine food. His family was well-off, and his wife and kids didn’t object, so he often went out to sea.

Besides satisfying his own hobby, he could also find rare ingredients for his restaurant.

He was the type who loved to be where the action was and usually enjoyed doing things like live streaming.

Since he was friends with Song Fuling’s uncle, he got excited when he heard the production team was going sea fishing and looking for experts to fish with Ni Bingyan. He insisted on using his connections to get on board.

Ni Bingyan was dizzy and nauseous, wanting only to throw up. She couldn’t speak at all, just nodded with a pale face as a weak response.

Brother Hao was experienced and had seen all sorts of seasick people. He comforted her, saying:

”Don’t worry, a lot of people who’ve never been to sea are just like you. You’ll feel much better once you’ve emptied your stomach. After you’re done, drink some warm water and go take a nap in the cabin. Once the boat stops and you see us catching fish, your spirits will lift and you’ll be fine!”

’I hope so!’

Right now, the only thing keeping her going was the thought of the catch.

They were already out at sea. This trip would last for three days and two nights, moving between three different fishing spots. If she couldn’t catch a couple of big ones with her own hands, she felt like she would die with regrets!

Going out to sea was a common occurrence for the fishing experts, but participating in a TV show was a novelty.

But after a while, they realized it just meant having a few cameras pointed at you while you worked. It wasn’t that big a deal, so everyone went to find a place to rest.

They would be night fishing tonight, and with the cameras on them, no one wanted to lose face.

They had to conserve their energy and prepare for a big showdown!

Ni Bingyan vomited for half an hour before, utterly exhausted, she let Duanmu Li help her back to her cabin. Not long after, she fell into a deep sleep.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when she wearily opened her eyes and saw a bowl of noodles on the bedside table, topped with a fried egg and lettuce.

”You’re awake?”

Duanmu Li had just taken a jar of Mr. Ni’s secret recipe spicy beef sauce—part of his regular ”feedings”—from a suitcase. Seeing her eyes open, she asked:

”You slept through lunch. I figured you’d be waking up soon, so I made you a bowl of noodles. You should at least have a few bites to line your stomach, so you’ll have energy for fishing tonight. If you think it’s bland, want to add a spoonful of this?”

Ni Bingyan didn’t have much of an appetite, but she couldn’t bear to refuse the kind gesture. She sat up, took the bowl, and asked while mixing the beef sauce into her noodles:

”What time is it now?”

Duanmu Li looked at her watch before telling her, ”It’s 5:46 PM.”

The boat had stopped, which most likely meant they had reached the first fishing spot.

Ni Bingyan pulled open the curtain and glanced outside.

The sun was setting in the west; it was indeed getting dark.

She had just managed to eat half the bowl of noodles when she heard a shout from outside: ”Hey! Hey! Hey! Pull up the shrimp block! Aiyo! Don’t let it eat everything!”

Another familiar voice replied, ”It’s fine, it’s fine! We brought plenty this time, let it eat! Aiyo! The poor little thing~ Aiyo, aiyo, look how happily it’s eating!”

The main target at this fishing spot was yellowfin tuna.

Experienced anglers would mostly choose to use Antarctic krill for chumming and drift fishing to attract them. To catch larger tuna, many would also use lively scad to attract the big ones.

’What’s going on?’

Ni Bingyan’s curiosity was piqued. Whether it was because she had eaten the noodles or because she had finally adapted to the boat, she instantly perked up. She quickly tidied herself up and left the cabin.

She still felt a little dizzy, but the urge to vomit was gone.

”What’s going on?”

Stepping onto the deck, she saw everyone leaning over the ship’s rail, looking at something, so Ni Bingyan hurried over to join them.

”There’s a whale shark! It’s stealing the Antarctic krill Brother Hao put in the water. Haha, you should go see, it’s so dorky and adorable!”

The cameraman was a true professional. He had been filming B-roll the whole time, and since a whale shark was a rare sight, he was already in position and ready to shoot.

She had slept groggily for most of the day, making it impossible to film anything. Ni Bingyan felt quite bad about it, so now, without waiting for the director’s cue, she naturally walked in front of the camera.

The whale shark is a very cute and gentle creature. Its body is covered in spots, its head is round, and its mouth is big and flat. It looked especially adorable when it opened its mouth to eat the shrimp.

Brother Hao was someone who loved excitement to begin with. He was overjoyed that his chumming had attracted a whale shark. He completely forgot about preparing the fishing spot and was just focused on feeding the creature.

No wonder those ”feed the fish with a baby bottle” attractions at parks have been popular for decades.

People, no matter how young or old, just can’t resist the joy of feeding an animal.

Especially when you feed your daughter, she might complain you’re not giving her enough. But when you feed a cute creature like this, it just has a look of pure satisfaction.

The joy is completely different.

Seeing Ni Bingyan leaning over the side, her eyes full of longing, Brother Hao said magnanimously, ”Xiao Ni, want to give it a try? Feed this big guy?”

Of course, Ni Bingyan wouldn’t refuse.

The shrimp block was placed in a mesh bag. Soaked in seawater, it slowly broke apart. With a gentle shake of the rope, loose shrimp would drift into the water.

And then the whale shark would open its huge mouth and... ”NOM.”

Ni Bingyan beamed with a fond, aunt-like smile, but then she heard the captain’s helpless reminder: ”Aren’t you going to shoo it away? Do you still want to catch any tuna tonight?”

’He has a point,’ Ni Bingyan thought, and she quickly handed the rope back to Brother Hao.

Brother Hao knew she was inexperienced. He took the shrimp block and waited for the whale shark to swim away before he started chumming again.

While he was busy, he called out to Ni Bingyan, ”Tonight, you can take the spot next to me. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask.”

The other guys were all young men, several of whom were unmarried. Since Ni Bingyan wasn’t single, no one would object to this arrangement.