Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”What gift? Quick, let me see. It’s not a special occasion, why’d you get me a gift? I didn’t bring you anything!”

Ni Bingyan dragged her suitcase in and closed the door behind her.

The production had wrapped, so she had hastily packed and mailed her things before coming straight over. She hadn’t even thought about getting a special gift for Peng Huan.

After all, she was going to take her home in a couple of days, so there would be plenty of opportunities to play the host.

”Didn’t I tell you I took a job and went to Jinling? A local friend took me shopping, and the moment I saw this, I just had to buy it for you. Ah, it’s just so beautiful! Only a beauty deserves it! Hold on, I’ll get it for you.”

Peng Huan set down the camera hanging from her neck and bent down to pull a suitcase out of the closet.

She was a total sucker for pretty faces, always talking about ”beauties,” so Ni Bingyan was long used to it. Without arguing, she found a nearby chair, sat down, and slipped into idle chatter mode.

”We’ve talked on the phone so many times recently, and you actually managed not to say a word?”

’I can’t believe the seemingly carefree Sister Huan could be so tight-lipped.’ Ni Bingyan was genuinely impressed!

”Surprising, right? Haha! This is exactly the effect I was going for! I held it in for so long, all for this moment! Too bad I forgot to record your expression, haha! This is hilarious!”

Laughing, Peng Huan placed the brand-new little suitcase on the bed. She pulled open the curtains to let the sunlight in, then unfastened the latches with two loud CLICKS.

Ni Bingyan hurried over.

’What on earth could it be, hidden away so securely?’

”Oh my god! This is gorgeous!”

When the suitcase opened, the first thing she saw was a warm, golden glow, as if the afterglow of a sunset had been captured—warm and gentle.

Looking closer, she realized it was a folded, bright red garment embroidered with auspicious patterns in golden thread. It was so magnificent it made her gasp in admiration.

”Is this... a set of Hanfu?”

Ni Bingyan lifted the garment by its collar and saw that there was also a skirt and other pieces in the suitcase.

She didn’t know much about Hanfu, so she couldn’t identify its style or fabric. In any case, it just looked very luxurious.

”Hehe, beautiful, right? This is made from authentic Yun brocade, a Ming Dynasty style Hanfu. Put it on and I guarantee you’ll transform into a Ming Dynasty noblewoman. So, am I a good sister or what? I was thinking of you even on a business trip!”

Peng Huan picked up the skirt and held it up against Ni Bingyan, nodding as she did so, looking very pleased with her own taste.

”Yun brocade? That’s way too expensive! Why would you buy this for me?”

Even a complete amateur knew this was expensive.

After all, back home there was a qipao made of hand-woven decorative Yun brocade fabric. The golden thread was real gold, the blue thread was peacock feather, and the generous President Jiang had spent several hundred thousand on it. Even the original owner, a Little Fairy who seemed above such worldly matters, couldn’t help but ask the price.

In her memory, the original owner had sighed to Jiang Sheng, ”As expected, our Chinese culture is still the most incredible. Compared to foreign haute couture gowns, the things our ancestors left behind are the truest form of luxury.”

The country bumpkin Ni Bingyan couldn’t tell the different types of Yun brocade apart and just assumed all of it was that expensive. The clothes in her hands suddenly felt scorching hot.

”Oh, don’t worry, this isn’t Real Gold Embroidery, and it’s not handmade. It’s just machine-embroidered, so it’s not that expensive. Don’t feel pressured. I heard the salesperson say that the truly handmade decorative fabric woven with golden thread was used to make Dragon Robes in ancient times. It’s ridiculously expensive now, way out of my price range.”

With that explanation, Ni Bingyan accepted it graciously.

The clothes were secondary; what was truly precious was the sentiment behind them.

That afternoon, Peng Huan still had work to do. Ni Bingyan had thought about visiting some acquaintances on set, but after considering it, she decided against it.

People in the same profession are rivals. She had almost no personal relationships with young female stars her age and had no intention of manufacturing a ”sisterly” friendship for publicity.

As for the male actors she knew relatively well who happened to be filming in Hengdian, even an innocent visit would inevitably be spun into dating rumors by unscrupulous media outlets. Thinking of Sister Wei’s blood pressure, she decided it was better not to.

And visiting the respected senior actors was even more out of the question.

Filming is actually quite tiring. They were older and lacked the energy, so if she went, not only would she be disturbing their work, but they also wouldn’t have much to talk about. There was really no need.

After mulling it over, she simply took out the script for *Demon Suppression Tower* and started reading.

But as she read, her gaze couldn’t help but drift to the suitcase containing the Hanfu...

’Come to think of it, I’ve never worn Hanfu in real life, only for filming. Especially one this beautiful... if I don’t try it on, how can I do justice to Sister Huanhuan’s kind gesture?’

’Why not? I could give Sister Huanhuan a surprise too!’

Once she had the idea, she acted on it. Ni Bingyan found matching shoes, along with thermal underwear and pants, and took the suitcase to a good styling studio. She spent the better part of the afternoon getting a beautiful Ming Dynasty noblewoman look, which made her look like a newly married young wife from a wealthy family.

She had originally wanted a more girlish style, but the makeup artist said the color wasn’t delicate enough and a youthful hairstyle wouldn’t match.

’Oh well, on the inside, she was a thirty-something-year-old aunty anyway, so she wouldn’t be so picky.’

She returned to the hotel to drop off her things, then, holding a silk embroidered circular fan gifted by the studio, Ni Bingyan went to pick up Peng Huan from work.

The two of them had also made plans for dinner that evening.

Peng Huan’s film crew was in the final stages of wrapping up, so there wasn’t much work. At the agreed-upon time, she came out of the studio.

Seeing her looking down at her phone, Ni Bingyan waved and called out, ”Sister Huanhuan, I’m over here!”

There were many historical drama crews around, so people in costume were a common sight. At first, Peng Huan didn’t even notice her. But when she heard her name and looked up, her eyes were glued to the sight.

”I guess I’m not stunning enough! You didn’t even see me right away.”

Ni Bingyan pretended to be sour, which made Peng Huan laugh again.

”Come on, come on! There’s no time like the present. Let me take some pictures of you first. Don’t worry, my photography skills are pretty good too!”

A cinematographer and a photographer are two different professions, but who’s to say she could only be good at one?

The film studio was full of replica ancient buildings, so it was easy to get great shots just by snapping pictures casually. Ni Bingyan thought about how she hadn’t updated her Weibo in a long time and that she could send the photos to Sister Wei later, so she agreed.

The two of them chatted as they walked, taking pictures along the way, stopping here and there as they searched for a good place to eat.

*Children of the Mountains* was currently a box office hit, which in turn had made Ni Bingyan famous as well.

The most obvious change was that now when she walked down the street without a mask, people would occasionally recognize her.

These people had probably seen too many celebrities. They would just greet her and leave it at that; no one came up to chat or ask for an autograph.

She found this quite pleasant.

Just as the two were happily enjoying their rare time together as friends, they saw a crowd gathering up ahead, as if something was happening.

”What’s going on over there?”

Peng Huan had a strong sense of curiosity. She stood on the curb, craning her neck on her tiptoes, but still couldn’t see what was going on, so Ni Bingyan just pulled her over.

’No need to be discreet about a little public rubbernecking~’

’With so many people watching, two more wouldn’t make a difference.’