Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Before she knew it, it was already midnight.

Seeing how late it was, Ni Bingyan closed her laptop, set it beside the book, and snapped a photo. She then casually posted it to Weibo with the caption—[Turns out romance is only sweet when it’s happening to someone else. Photo.JPG]

Anyone who reads novels late at night knows the feeling. After you finish and lie down in bed, you can’t help but replay little scenes in your head before you fall asleep.

Ni Bingyan was no exception.

It made her toss and turn, struggling to fall asleep. Every few minutes, she felt the urge to bury her face in her hands and squeal. ’Oh my god! This couple is just too sweet!’

’I wonder who they’ll cast as the male lead?’

’If I pass the audition and we film such a sweet drama together, there’s bound to be a ton of shipping fans, even if neither of us tries to generate any hype.’

’I just hope I have good chemistry with the male lead. Otherwise, even if the fans force us into a pairing because of work, it’ll still feel awkward.’

At this thought, she couldn’t help but fantasize about her own significant other.

’If I were in a relationship, would it be this sweet?’

The moment the thought surfaced, she let out a disdainful, "Eww..."

’Forget it. Dating is high investment, low reward, and a huge hassle. It’s better to just watch from the sidelines.’

’If I’m feeling that adventurous, I might as well buy a lottery ticket. At least then I’d have a chance of winning something.’

’Never mind how annoying the whole "you misunderstand me, I misunderstand you, you get mad, I give you the cold shoulder" routine is. A relationship has to lead somewhere, right?’

’No one gets into a relationship planning to break up.’

’So if you don’t break up, and the feelings are there, wouldn’t you have to talk about marriage?’

’Love is between two people, but marriage becomes a matter for two families.’

’Let’s not even talk about how easily arguments can break out over things like wedding planning and bride prices. After getting married, you suddenly have a whole bunch of relatives you can’t ignore. More people means more problems. If you don’t handle it well, your husband gets caught in the middle, and over time, even the deepest feelings will be worn away.’

’Take this novel, for instance. The main couple is super sweet, and you can just ignore the deceptively innocent stepmom. But he has that clueless dad and a brother who was once illegitimate. Can you imagine how awful those family dynamics would be after they got married?’

’No matter how bad the father-son relationship is, you can’t sever blood ties, right? He’d still have to fulfill his legal responsibilities, right?’

’The illegitimate son is still his father’s biological son, so he also has inheritance rights. The fight for property would be a huge mess, wouldn’t it?’

’If I were Wen Qing, I’d find a new job to save my own skin before Gu Feng even had a chance to fall in love with me.’

The next morning, Ni Bingyan got up early, hurried to a nearby theater to buy a few tickets for a children’s play, and returned to the inn. After resting for a bit, she received a call that her fishing buddy who was bringing the farmhouse sauce had arrived.

Ni Bingyan hurried out to welcome him into the inn. Old Huang was just dropping something off and would be leaving shortly, so the two of them stood in a corner of the lobby and started chatting.

"Brother Huang, you’re truly a man of your word! I thought you might have forgotten!"

"How could I forget, young lady! HAHA! You can ask around the fishing circles in the Three Eastern Provinces—when Old Huang says something, it’s set in stone! When have I ever broken my word? Here! My wife made this herself. When I told her yesterday you liked this stuff, she stayed up all night packing this huge jar for you!"

Ni Bingyan took the yellow peach preserve jar, now filled with soybean paste. She hefted it and guessed it must weigh at least five pounds, leaving her at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.

’Brother Huang’s wife is such a genuine person!’

"Oh my! Then I really must thank your wife properly! You didn’t bring her along? What about your granddaughter? She didn’t come either?"

’Kids are so curious. How could she not want to tag along when she knew her grandpa was going to deliver soybean paste to a female celebrity?’

But the timing was off. "Her cousin is turning twelve today, and they’re throwing a big party for him. Her family of three left early this morning. As for my wife, her old legs act up in the cold, so she doesn’t like to go out when it’s this chilly!"

"Oh, what a shame! Here, a friend of mine gave me a few tickets. They’re perfect for you. I don’t have time to go myself, which is a real pity!"

Afraid he wouldn’t accept them, Ni Bingyan told a small, white lie.

People from the Northeast care a lot about reciprocity. When he saw her casually offer a gift in return, Old Huang felt that even though his new fishing buddy was a star, she was a very open and honest person. He didn’t make a fuss and accepted the tickets readily.

"Next time you’re in the area, come over to my place for a meal. The missus would be thrilled!"

After dropping off the gift, Old Huang left with the tickets.

When his son’s family returned from the maternal grandmother’s house the next day and saw the tickets, they looked them up online. They discovered each ticket cost over a hundred yuan, meaning the set of them was worth nearly a thousand. The whole family couldn’t sit still.

"How much is a jar of soybean paste worth? This return gift is way too expensive."

"She said a friend gave them to her, so I thought she didn’t spend any money..."

His daughter-in-law didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Dad, look, the ticket has the purchase time printed on it! She went out of her way to buy them for us early this morning! Besides, she’s a single young woman. What kind of clueless friend would give her tickets to a children’s play?!"

"Ai! That’s not how we do things in the Huang Family! We can’t take such a huge advantage of her! Quick, quick, pack up some things to bring to her. Tell her we’re here to see her off since she’s leaving soon!"

The family hurried over to the inn with their things, only to discover that the film crew had left the previous afternoon.

Old Huang couldn’t help but sigh. He contacted Ni Bingyan on WeChat to express his regret at not being able to see her off.

When Ni Bingyan received the message, she just thought about how warm people from the Northeast were. ’If I have a vacation next year, I’ll come back,’ she thought to herself.

Besides, ice fishing was so much fun. She hadn’t had nearly enough of it yet!

After arriving at the new location and taking a short break, it was time to start filming the scenes where Lu Lingling follows Mo Li into the city. Ni Bingyan was once again immersed in her busy work schedule, completely unaware that because of those few tickets, she had been pushed onto the trending topics again.

This is how it started.

Big Dog, the paparazzi from Chaotianmen who had been caught secretly taking photos in the "Big Underpants" building, was nabbed by the production team and sent to the local precinct for a little "re-education" that lasted over ten days.

After paying his fine and getting out, he planted his hands on his hips, a triumphant rogue once more. ’I’m going to earn back my money in the very place I was fined!’

With this thought in mind, he set his sights on Ni Bingyan again.

He took out his confiscated phone, charged it, connected to the internet, and did a quick search. Well, I’ll be! Right there on the trending topics was the news about her winning ten thousand yuan from fishing.

’She’s in the Northeast? Perfect!’ Big Dog immediately looked up the address, flew over that same night, and checked into the inn across the street from the film crew.

To make things easier, he even specifically chose a room with a window facing the other inn.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, he got up, lay on the heated brick bed, stuck his butt in the air, and peered out the windowsill, staring at the inn opposite without blinking.

It was his lucky day. Before long, he saw Ni Bingyan emerge, all bundled up.

Big Dog immediately and excitedly followed her!

’So early, and all bundled up... could she be meeting a lover?’

With his mind full of gossipy speculation, Big Dog followed Ni Bingyan to the children’s theater.

Seeing her buy tickets and leave, Big Dog quickly ran to the ticket machine to check.

Well, the only tickets being sold here were for the children’s play "The Three Little Pigs."

He started to wonder—’Why would a single young woman like her be buying tickets to a children’s play?’

He followed Ni Bingyan all the way back to the inn. When she went inside and didn’t come back out, he decided to take a nap since he had woken up so early. But when he woke up, he saw someone arrive at the entrance across the street.

It was none other than Sang Yuan, who had felt a pang of jealousy after seeing Ni Bingyan’s Weibo post the previous night.

TSK!

’Well, well, well!’

’And they said they weren’t married?!’

’I paid a fine over this, and you tell me you’re not married!’

’She even bought tickets for a children’s play!’

’This couple must have a kid already!’

’Oh my god! This is it! This is it! A huge scoop!’

As for not getting a picture of the child?

No problem, no problem. Big Dog will continue to bring you the latest dirt from the front lines. He’ll get the shot sooner or later.