Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

The theme of the eleventh episode of the variety show, filmed on Hong Kong Island, was ”The Pursuit of Financial Freedom.”

The episode was both exhilarating and envy-inducing, as it featured Ni Bingyan on an endless shopping spree.

From high-end luxury, haute couture, and antiques to small craft shops in back alleys—be it fashionable, classic, quirky, or elegant—she bought whatever caught her eye.

There was only freedom, not a hint of financial restraint.

The joy of being a rich woman is just that simple~

With the New Year fast approaching, she needed to buy gifts for friends and family anyway. Coming to this shopping paradise allowed her to get everything in one go. She filmed her show, drove traffic to some struggling artisan shops, and promoted brands she had commercial ties with. It was the perfect blend of public and private interests, a win for both her reputation and her wallet.

To be honest, even she had lost count of how many birds she was killing with one stone.

With her perspective broadened, she was no longer content with pursuing a single objective. She made a habit of thinking things through carefully, not just for caution’s sake, but to create more meticulous plans and reap greater rewards.

This episode wasn’t purely about flaunting her wealth, though.

Mindlessly flaunting her wealth would ruin her public image, and that was out of the question.

No matter what she bought, she was always rational, buying only what she needed or genuinely liked. She never pulled a ”wrap everything up for me” stunt.

She would tell the audience who each gift was intended for, explaining the stories behind them. She’d talk about a favor someone once did for her, or how another person had once wished for a specific item they could never seem to find.

Ni Bingyan was very skilled at maintaining relationships. Of all the people she had worked with in the industry, there wasn’t a single person on bad terms with her—with the sole exception of the oddball Xu Bin.

During the show, she intentionally revealed the preferences of some of her celebrity friends. This not only helped flesh out their public personas and boost their popularity but also increased the show’s ratings.

When the fans of these celebrities watched the episode, they were sure to be thrilled.

’I learned so much more about my idol today! Bingbing is such a gem! Please, tell us more!’

In addition to a few high-end, haute couture pieces for special occasions, she also bought many affordable clothing items.

She didn’t buy things blindly; with every purchase, she explained her styling thought process.

Many female celebrities are fashionistas with a great sense of style; true fashion disasters are rare.

Ni Bingyan always had impeccable taste, and her fashion advice was applicable to many ordinary people.

How can an ordinary person dress with a sense of style?

How do you make a twenty-dollar outfit look like it’s worth two hundred?

How can you style versatile wardrobe staples in fresh, new ways?

What are some clever styling hacks using small accessories?

What kind of shoes are both stylish and comfortable?

...

Her series of tips was both economical and practical. Even the film crew couldn’t help but marvel at how savvy Sister Bing was.

She was also very natural and never came across as pretentious, which was a rare quality for a variety show.

Wei Shuojie expressed high praise for her planning on this episode.

Once the major brands saw her power to drive sales, how could they not offer her endorsement deals?

She had planned this entire travel variety show herself; the rest of the team only assisted with the execution.

After the show aired, its ratings steadily climbed, and it constantly trended online. Everyone saw that her talents extended far beyond acting.

Her fan club, the Iron Triangle, even joked with her, ”If you ever fall out of the limelight, we won’t be worried. You could switch careers and become a show planner to support yourself.”

The final episode of the show was about her going home for the New Year.

Besides mixing business with pleasure by using the work trip to go home, it was also meant to express a theme: ”The world outside is vast and wonderful, but the place that truly touches the heart is wherever your family is.”

After filming for so long and working nonstop—planning the show’s content and setting the itinerary all by herself—Ni Bingyan felt she had literally been worked thin.

Now she could finally eat to her heart’s content over the New Year. Otherwise, she’d be too thin and have to gain weight when she joined her next film crew.

It was much better to gain weight by eating delicious home-cooked meals than by eating boxed lunches on a film set.

The Ni family’s New Year celebration wasn’t like an ordinary family’s, which might just end with a family dinner and a game of mahjong. They had to prepare New Year’s Eve dinner for guests, host live-stream sales events, promote a new movie, and more.

Mr. Ni’s Sichuan and Chongqing New Year Goods Festival was even bigger this year.

After negotiating with several courier companies to ensure they wouldn’t halt deliveries, he didn’t even stop the live streams during the New Year’s holiday.

Last year, when he realized his daughter had gotten back on her feet and was earning more than enough for herself—even giving him money out of filial piety from time to time—Ni Guangli had felt a bit lost for a while. She simply didn’t need him anymore.

But ever since he established a charitable foundation dedicated to supporting anti-drug police officers, it was as if he had found a new purpose in life and was full of energy once more.

’My own daughter is all grown up now, so I can go help those heroes raise their sons and daughters!’

Even after returning home, Ni Bingyan’s schedule was still packed.

After filming the final episode of the variety show, she went live on New Year’s Day, as promised, to sing the theme song for her new movie as part of its online promotional campaign.

She was, in fact, completely tone-deaf. While her sense of rhythm was excellent when she danced, the moment she opened her mouth to sing, she would fall off beat and go out of tune.

The theme song was simple and lighthearted, with no real difficulty, yet she still had to practice for many days with a professional vocal coach before her singing became barely listenable.

The live-streamed singing performance was just meant to ride the wave of her popularity to promote the movie and drive some traffic to the sponsoring app. Unexpectedly, after the stream, a singing competition show actually invited her to participate.

The show was called ”I Am Also A Singer.”

The show’s premise was to select a group of celebrities widely known for their terrible singing voices. A team of ten professional coaches would then create a tailor-made training plan for each participant to help them become a true singer.

The show would feature round after round of competitive face-offs, with the five most popular contestants ultimately being chosen to record an album together.

It sounded interesting, but unfortunately, a show like that would demand a great deal of time and energy. Since she was about to start shooting a new movie, she had to politely decline.

She had already reaped more than enough benefits from this travel variety show. It was unlikely she would have any plans for another one in the next year or two.

On New Year’s Day, Ni Bingyan finished her live stream and immediately left to catch a plane.

With the release of ”Inheritor,” another busy promotional tour was about to begin.

After a relentless two-week promotional tour, she didn’t even have time to go home before rushing off to the filming base for ”Zui Sheng Building,” where she would begin her six-month-long stay with the production.

She was in such a rush that Duanmu Li had to deliver her luggage to her.

Mou Sanyang was known for his grand productions. The movie wouldn’t be filmed entirely on a studio backlot; he disdained green screens and had directly invested in renovating an entire ancient town for the shoot.

Aside from the palace scenes, the vast majority of the film would be shot here.

This was his usual MO.

Once the film was released, the town would be opened as a tourist attraction. If the film won any awards, it would ride the wave of popularity to become a viral tourist destination.

He had used this strategy to make several tourism projects wildly popular. Whenever he put the word out, there were always wealthy investors willing to foot the bill for his vision.

Filming hadn’t officially begun, but all the main actors had already arrived at the location. Ni Bingyan was the last to arrive, which was why she had been in such a hurry.

All outside activities were put on hold. Everyone was sequestered with the production team to focus on one thing and one thing only: the movie.

Round after round of table reads, until everyone had a clear vision of the film in their minds. Makeup test after makeup test, until the final character looks were set in stone. Set adjustments after set adjustments, until Mou Sanyang finally nodded in approval...

As a director who personally oversaw every detail, Mou Sanyang was always exhausted during filming. However, for the actors, as long as they could meet his demanding standards, the process was surprisingly smooth.

A week after arriving at the filming location, besides all the preparations, Ni Bingyan had another daily task: she had to get into full costume and, like a true woman of ancient times, stroll through the gardens with her handmaidens.

”To look graceful, you have to walk differently in modern clothes than you do in historical costumes. The required gait is completely different. From now until filming wraps, you will be Jiuli. You must strive to immerse yourself in this character in your everyday life.”

Mou Sanyang stated his requirements, as he always did.

To get her accustomed to a life of understated luxury, he even had her dining utensils changed.

While others ate from boxed lunches, she sat at a solid wood table in full costume, using gilded silver chopsticks to pick food from high-end, antique-replica porcelain dishes.

’It would be an enviable setup,’ she thought, ’if only there wasn’t an etiquette coach watching my every move.’