Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

After leaving the pier, the production team went straight into the city.

It wasn’t just Ni Bingyan who hadn’t been resting well these past few days; no one else had, either.

After a quick lunch, the group arrived at their hotel, planning to stay for one night before flying to Hong Kong Island to film the eleventh episode.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, they could all go home to celebrate once filming was done.

Duanmu Li and the others went to check in, while Ni Bingyan and Brother Biao sat in the lounge area to watch the luggage.

She wore a hat and mask, one hand resting on the armchair’s armrest and the other propping up her chin as she dozed off.

Suddenly, she felt someone gently touch her hand.

She opened her eyes to find a mother and son had appeared beside her at some point.

The mother was sitting on a sofa, replying to messages on her phone.

The person sending her voice messages was an older woman—perhaps her mother or mother-in-law.

The young mother, however, preferred to type, her head bowed as she tapped away at the screen.

But just by listening to the voice messages, Ni Bingyan could guess what they were talking about.

”What time is your flight?”

”When will you be back?”

”Do you need me to pick you up?”

”Was Yangyang a good boy during the trip?”

...

’It’s such a wonderful feeling to have someone who cares about you and waits for your return.’

Ni Bingyan felt a pang of envy, but it didn’t make her sad.

’Because I’m a precious little darling with lots of people thinking of me now, too! Hehehe~’

The adorable baby sat in his stroller, looking to be just over a year old.

The wind had been a bit strong outside, so the stroller’s canopy was down. Slumped in her armchair, Ni Bingyan could only see his chin.

A smooth golden bracelet adorned the baby’s chubby, dimpled wrist. He reached for Ni Bingyan’s hand and missed, but he didn’t give up. He kept leaning forward, finally managing to grab her ring finger.

She had been so busy for so long; it was rare to encounter such a heartwarming moment. The instant she noticed the child’s adorable actions, Ni Bingyan pulled out her phone and started recording a short video.

The baby grabbed her hand and refused to let go. When she saw him craning his neck to get a better look, Ni Bingyan realized he was probably curious about her ring.

Today, she was wearing the ruby-and-diamond ring Sang Yuan had given her. The gem wasn’t particularly large, but the setting was exquisite, making it look like a little red heart with wings.

Children are easily drawn to bright and interesting things, so it was only natural that he wanted a closer look.

Ni Bingyan held out her hand, letting him look to his heart’s content.

There was something so soothing about a child’s innocence. After she finished recording and put her phone away, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but smile as she watched him.

”Oh! I’m so sorry, so sorry!”

The mother had only just realized what her son was up to. She quickly and embarrassedly pushed the stroller’s canopy back up.

When she saw her son still wouldn’t let go, she gently patted his hand, trying to get him to release his grip.

But when a child wants something, they don’t let go easily.

She tapped him twice to no avail. Seeing her son staring unblinkingly at the woman’s diamond ring, the young mother grew even more embarrassed.

Seeing her embarrassment, Ni Bingyan took out her phone and showed her the video she had just recorded.

”It’s no problem at all. Your son is adorable! I actually just recorded a little video. Would you like to see? I’m sorry, I filmed without asking your permission. I’ll delete it if you mind. By the way, his face isn’t in it.”

Even if she had only filmed his hand, it was still proper to mention that she had recorded someone’s child without permission.

Just as she’d expected, the mother’s embarrassment was forgotten. She immediately leaned over to watch the video.

”Oh, it’s totally fine! Oh, you little rascal!”

Seeing her son hadn’t done anything inappropriate, she breathed a sigh of relief, though she was still very apologetic.

”The video is so cute! I don’t suppose you could send it to me? I’d love to post it on my social media.”

Of course, Ni Bingyan agreed.

Just as she finished sending the video via Bluetooth, Duanmu Li returned from the check-in desk to get them.

Ni Bingyan immediately stood, grabbed her suitcase, said her goodbyes, and left with the team.

Sanya is a tourist city that attracts wealthy visitors year-round, so seeing someone with an entourage was perfectly normal.

The mother was still happily posting on her social media. Seeing them leave, she just said a quick ”bye-bye” and didn’t say anything more.

’They were from different worlds. For a chance encounter between strangers, simple politeness was enough.’

After being on the boat for so long, she felt like she was still swaying after disembarking. It took a long time to get her land legs back.

Ni Bingyan didn’t go out that afternoon. She called her family, chatted with Sang Yuan for a long time, then turned off her phone and slept soundly in her hotel room.

During that time, someone tried to call her for an interview. When they couldn’t get through, they contacted Wei Shuojie instead.

When Wei Shuojie heard what it was about, she thought Ni Bingyan had made the right call and immediately declined the interview on her behalf.

”Anyone in that situation would do what they could to help them. Our Bingbing just did a small, insignificant thing. The crew and doctors responsible for the rescue, and especially the captain who decisively ordered the ship to head for the scene, are the ones who truly deserve praise.”

Ni Bingyan had been constantly trending lately due to her variety show and red carpet appearances. Her popularity hadn’t died down for the past two months, and now Sister Wei had a daily headache over which trending topics to try and get taken down.

She certainly didn’t want to get into a fight for the spotlight.

The captain and his crew had risked danger searching at sea for so long. If the media only reported on Ni Bingyan, who had just cooked some congee on board, simply because she was a celebrity, how would the rescuers feel?

When the time came, would they have anything good to say about Ni Bingyan?

Given human nature, you’d be lucky if they simply didn’t kick her while she was down; that would be a sign of good character.

Since promoting positive social values was the primary mission of the official media outlets, they didn’t press the issue after being refused. Instead, they truly did focus their resources on reporting about the captain and his crew.

Only netizens were tirelessly discussing the matter, poring over a few photos taken by passersby and remarking on how Ni Bingyan was truly low-key and kind-hearted.

A celebrity’s public appeal is built up, bit by bit, through these kinds of positive events.

When a celebrity with good public appeal makes a mistake and apologizes, people are quick to forgive them, feeling that their actions were understandable.

For a celebrity with poor public appeal, sometimes their very breathing is considered a mistake. They could wear a slightly fashion-forward pair of pants out, and people would spin it into something indecent.

Ni Bingyan had no idea that Sister Wei, without any communication, had managed to back her up so perfectly.

When she woke up, it was already evening.

The sunset on the horizon was spectacular. The sky was blue and the breeze was gentle—perfect weather for a walk.

It was a rare trip to Sanya, but it was all very rushed. The production team had scheduled free time for the evening.

Ni Bingyan didn’t want to hold Sister Li and Brother Biao back, so she told them she was staying in and that they should make their own plans.

She ordered room service for dinner. Afterward, Ni Bingyan curled up on the sofa with a book. After reading for a while, she did something rare and pulled out her phone to browse the internet.

As soon as she opened it, she saw a notification from her favorite short-video app.

”Heartwarming Baby Moments?”

As an actress who maintained a high-intensity work schedule year-round, Ni Bingyan liked to browse the internet in her spare time.

She always found watching videos of fluffy cats and dogs or adorable little babies to be very soothing.

Seeing a title that mentioned ”Heartwarming” and ”Baby,” Ni Bingyan immediately clicked on it.

’You have to admit,’ she thought, ’the recommendation algorithms these days really have their users completely figured out.’

Ni Bingyan swiped through three cute baby videos. Just as she was about to practice some self-restraint and close the app, she suddenly saw the one she had filmed.

It turned out the baby’s mother hadn’t just posted it on her social media feed; she’d also uploaded it to the short-video platform with a caption:

[A heartwarming moment from our trip. Yangzai really is Mommy’s good boy! He wouldn’t let go of the pretty lady’s hand. /crying-laughing emoji]

Amused, Ni Bingyan reposted it with her own comment:

[He has a car, he’s rich, has fair skin, and he’s enthusiastic and makes the first move. He doesn’t smoke, drink, or have a perm... what a total catch! My heart is fluttering!]

’Since the mom didn’t seem to mind, why not have a little fun with it?’

Her account had tens of millions of followers, and her online traffic was countless times greater than the young mother’s. In the blink of an eye, the video had been seen by a massive audience.

Someone, laughing their head off, replied, ”It’s a shame he still lives off his parents! Bingbao, you need to calm down!” This comment instantly doubled the comedic effect, and in the blink of an eye, it had over ten thousand likes.