Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Wei Shuojie knew she was waiting, so she didn’t beat around the bush. After taking a couple of sips of tea to moisten her throat, she sat down to talk.

”Previously, An Xin auditioned for the female lead but didn’t get it, so she set her sights on the second female lead. However, there was already a favored candidate for that role. The company had to pull some strings, backing her with an investment to finally lock it down. Her coming to fill in this time has nothing to do with any friendship with Luo Susu.”

As actresses from the same company who both primarily work in television dramas, Luo Susu is just three years younger than An Xin.

The company only has so many resources. For Luo Susu to get ahead, she had to fiercely compete for the resources that would have otherwise gone to An Xin. You can just imagine how intense their conflict must be.

An Xin has won the top three Best Actress awards for television twice over. In terms of accolades, Luo Susu is a step behind, but her body of work is far, far larger than An Xin’s.

It can’t be helped. She’s famous in the entertainment industry for being a workaholic, so it’s only natural that she has a large filmography.

Now, both are facing career transitions. An Xin wants to pick a rock-solid script, hoping to make the leap in one fell swoop. Luo Susu, on the other hand, is casting a wide net, banking on the idea that quantity will eventually lead to a qualitative breakthrough. She has barely rested in the past two years, constantly filming movies. She’s even shown up to award ceremonies still in costume.

They had secretly undermined each other countless times over the years, so Ni Bingyan knew this couldn’t be a favor for Luo Susu.

’So that’s how An Xin landed the role of the second female lead in *Great Grandmaster*.’

’Thinking about my own situation,’ she mused, ’just because my status isn’t high enough, someone like Bai Jian nearly cost me my job. Not only did the company not protect me, they sacrificed me to curry favor with his uncle.’

Her company was considered to have one of the best reputations in the industry, and even they operated like this. One could only imagine what other companies were like.

’Capitalists are truly ruthless.’

Ni Bingyan was once again soberly reminded of this fact.

’There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If I want the company to back me up when it counts, I have to work harder and make myself more valuable.’

That’s just how society works. The only people who will value their connection with you are your family. Everyone else puts their own interests first.

So when they abandon you for their own gain, you shouldn’t complain. You should just strive even harder.

She stopped asking about An Xin. Figuring Wei Shuojie had rushed over and probably hadn’t even eaten lunch, Ni Bingyan offered her a plate of mung bean cakes.

”So what’s the deal with Susu? We were running lines just last night! How could she just quit all of a sudden?”

’If she’d planned on quitting, why would she have worked so hard preparing for the next day’s shoot? It makes no sense at all.’

’Something unexpected must have happened.’

And who in this world doesn’t love a bit of gossip?

Wei Shuojie didn’t beat around the bush, lowering her voice. ”She’s pregnant! The schedule for this film is too tight, and there’s bound to be constant overtime. She hasn’t had a proper rest in years. Now that she’s finally conceived, she wants to protect the baby, so of course she can’t do the film.”

Most actresses stay thin to look good on camera, but that physical state isn’t ideal for pregnancy. To have a healthy baby, you have to stop working and gain weight first.

Luo Susu had pushed herself so hard over the past few years that her health must have been suffering. She probably needed a period of careful recuperation.

No wonder she quit. She was planning to give up a career opportunity for her child.

’If it were me, I’d do the same.’

’But... it would depend on the circumstances.’

Ni Bingyan’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. ”Isn’t she single? When did she even start dating anyone? I never heard anything about her getting married! Who’s the guy? This... this... this is just reckless!”

She had gotten along well with Luo Susu over the past few days, so hearing something like this, she couldn’t help but worry.

In the entertainment industry, there are always prettier girls showing up, always talented newcomers emerging. Having and raising a child takes at least one or two years. By the time she returns, who will even remember who she is?

’And having a baby out of wedlock...’

’Granny Sun’s story is a clear cautionary tale.’

’I wonder if the man is married or single this time...’

Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but shiver at the thought.

’Love really is the most toxic thing.’

’Staying single is the only way to stay safe!’

Feeling it was a real shame, Ni Bingyan sighed.

”Susu doesn’t seem like the type to be so irrational. Why would she do something like this? Is her agent getting paid for nothing?”

Wei Shuojie was quite satisfied with her reaction.

After enjoying the show, she finally said, ”They’ve been married for ages. They have the certificate and everything, you know? Just because there was no wedding doesn’t mean they’re not married. Take a look at how many projects she films each year. How could she possibly find the time to plan a wedding?”

”What?”

Ni Bingyan was even more astonished.

’Getting legally married without a wedding ceremony... If the fans found out, who knows what kind of stories they’d spin about her debasing herself, being desperate to get married.’

It’s rare enough for ordinary people to skip a wedding, let alone a famous actress.

’She’s so brave.’

’To give up something as important as a wedding for her career...’

’What a badass!’

”But isn’t she always on set with a production? How would she even have time to date and get married?”

Now that she knew Luo Susu wasn’t having a child out of wedlock, Ni Bingyan relaxed and her curiosity took over.

’If a couple lives apart for long periods, wouldn’t it affect their relationship?’

’To have both her career and her love life flourish... how on earth did Luo Susu manage that?’

Honestly, she considered herself a master of time management, yet this was something she’d never managed. She was genuinely impressed that someone else had.

In her past life, she had been single into her thirties. Part of it was not meeting the right person, but not having time to date was also a major factor. Now that she’d encountered a prime example of success, she couldn’t help but want to study it.

Wei Shuojie couldn’t help but laugh. ”Her husband is her agent. It’s not that she doesn’t want to make it public; her husband doesn’t want it to affect her career. They’re together all day long. How else do you think the baby happened?”

’But I haven’t seen her husband around these last few days!’

Ni Bingyan wanted to ask more, but Wei Shuojie was already getting impatient. ”Alright, alright, that’s their business. Stop worrying about it. The two of them have a great relationship, none of the sordid stuff you’re imagining. Now, get to sleep. You have to reshoot your previous scenes tomorrow. An Xin and Luo Susu have very different acting styles, so you’ll need to be well-rested to adapt.”

’Right. No matter how juicy someone else’s gossip is, it’s not as important as my own career.’

Ni Bingyan always knew how to get her priorities straight, so she really didn’t ask any more questions.

That night, Wei Shuojie had a simple meal and headed back to Beijing. Before she left, she told Ni Bingyan that Luo Susu’s husband had recommended a television series for her. She would send over the script later for her to see if she wanted to take the role.

She had done several movies in a row, so it was probably time to do a TV series and take a bit of a breather. Otherwise, audiences might get tired of seeing her at the cinema all the time next year.

The sets for television dramas are relatively fixed, and the acting requirements aren’t as meticulous. They’re less stressful to film, and the pay is high. Doing one or two a year was an excellent way to maintain her popularity while also earning good money.

In Sister Wei’s words, if you want to flourish in both film and television, you have to keep a foot in both worlds.

’Alright, this must be her compensation.’ Ni Bingyan would, of course, read it carefully. As long as there were no issues, she planned to accept it.

After all, she had five perfectly good days of filming that now had to be redone. Since they were all from the same company, it would be unreasonable not to offer some form of compensation.

Luo Susu’s husband was also a top-tier agent, with resources nearly on par with Wei Shuojie’s.

Now that Luo Susu was taking time off for her pregnancy, her husband could naturally use the projects she’d vacated to build goodwill.

By building good relationships and at least avoiding offending people, she would face fewer obstacles when she made her comeback.

That night, Ni Bingyan tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

It took so much courage for an actress to get married and have children. An event like this happening so close to home had a significant impact on her.

In her past life, it wasn’t that she lacked courage. She just never met someone who was worth risking it all for.

Take Luo Susu, for example. Although she had incurred a huge loss, her husband had immediately and joyfully stepped up to protect her and handle all the trouble. In its own way, that was a kind of bliss.

Her career might be delayed, but she could always catch up later with hard work. A child, on the other hand, was never a guarantee.

Before she died in her past life, she had actually been planning on trying IVF.

’To live all alone in the world... During the holidays, when the lanterns of countless homes were lit, not a single one was left on for you. You’d stand at a crossroads, not knowing which way to turn. Even your closest friends would return to their own families...’

’It was truly heartbreaking.’

She desperately longed for a relative of her own blood.

’In this life, I have my father, but he’s already in his sixties. How many more years will he be with me?’

’A child is definitely something I need to plan for.’

’But I have such a good start in this life. I have to focus on my career first, to do myself justice.’

’I’ll work hard, land a few more leading roles, and wait until I’m successful and famous. Maybe when I’m 35? Or 38?’

’When the time comes, I’ll definitely have to pick some good genes to make sure my child is beautiful.’

’With my looks, there’s no way the kid could be ugly, right?’

’Oh, man!’

’To have money, a career, a child... but no troublesome mother-in-law, and no man with a mountain of bad habits to wait on... what kind of heavenly life would that be?’

The thought was so wonderful she couldn’t sleep. It was as if her ambition now had a whole new kind of motivation.