Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Damn it!

Ni Bingyan was so angry her fists clenched.

”What did she say?”

Everyone took their seats in the interrogation room.

Behind a desk near the door were three chairs. A female officer sat in front of a computer to take notes, the male officer from the scene sat in the middle to lead the questioning, and Ni Bingyan sat on the right to interpret the suspect’s hand signs.

As for the suspect, who had a violent streak and had assaulted someone in the street, she was locked into an interrogation chair across from them.

Normally, they would first register the suspect’s basic information, like her name and her relationship with the man. As the sign language interpreter, Ni Bingyan would also have to register her name, workplace, occupation, and address. But since the woman was so agitated and couldn’t speak, the police were afraid of missing crucial information, so they decided to ask about the incident first.

”She said she and her grandmother only have each other. The man lied, saying he would marry her, and took a large sum of money from her grandmother, claiming it was for wedding preparations. But after he got the money, he vanished. Her grandmother got sick with worry. She searched for a long time before finally finding him here. When she asked for the money back, he refused and said some nasty things, so she couldn’t stop herself from hitting him.”

The mute woman was young and pretty. Aside from being unable to speak, she was a full head taller than the man. Her grandmother was likely worried that her granddaughter would have a hard, lonely life, which is why she wanted to find someone for her to marry, even if it meant paying for the wedding herself. To run into a scammer instead... it’s no wonder she was so worried and upset.

Having a disability often leads to being slighted in marriage matters, as potential partners worry it could be a genetic issue and that their children would also be mute. It was completely understandable that her grandmother, in her desperation, was scammed.

’So that’s what happened.’

Now that they had a general idea of the situation, the officers knew what to do.

”Okay, we’ve got him now. Let’s take our time and figure this out, so don’t be anxious. For now, just answer what I ask. And one more thing: you’re not allowed to lie. See that? That’s a security camera, and we’re taking notes. Everything you say will be recorded. If you lie, you’ll be breaking the law. Understand?”

After a moment, the officer added, ”Can you understand what we’re saying? Nod if you can, shake your head if you can’t.”

The mute woman seemed to be reassured. Her emotions finally calmed, and upon hearing his words, she immediately nodded.

”Can you read? Can you write?”

An awkward expression crossed the mute woman’s face. She looked at Ni Bingyan and began to sign.

”She says she attended a special needs school for a few years, so she doesn’t know many characters, but she can write her own name.”

The officer gave her a form to fill out with her basic information—name, place of origin, age, and so on. Since there were many characters she didn’t recognize, he had to explain them to her.

For example, she wasn’t quite sure what ”place of origin” meant.

By the time she finished, Ni Bingyan had already filled out her own form long ago.

”Thank you for your trouble.”

The female officer took the forms, thanked her, and then added in a low voice, ”I just watched your movie yesterday. You played Liang Hongying so well.”

Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but feel a genuine sense of joy.

Everything went smoothly after that. Ni Bingyan helped interpret the parts the mute woman couldn’t write, which the officer recorded, read back to her for confirmation, and then had her sign.

”Thank you so much for your help, Miss Ni. We’re sorry to have kept you for so long. We need to go interrogate the man next, so we won’t keep you any longer.”

The two officers walked her out and shook her hand goodbye. Peng Huan immediately stood up.

”Are you done?”

”All done. Sorry, Sister Huanhuan, for making you wait so long.”

”No, no, it’s a good thing you were able to help in a situation like this. I brought my charger, so I just finished charging my phone to full. Haha!”

Seeing her smug look, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but laugh. ”It’s just charging your phone. Is it that big of a deal?”

”Maybe not for you, but for me, it was a lifesaver. You have no idea what it’s like to get off work and see your battery at only 20%.”

How many young people these days can live without their phones? Only a weirdo like Ni Bingyan could make one charge last for three days.

The two of them chatted and laughed as they left the police station, and only then did Peng Huan ask about the situation.

Ni Bingyan explained it to her in a low voice.

”Sigh. Scumbags really are everywhere.”

That sounded like a comment from someone with a story to tell, most likely an unpleasant one, so Ni Bingyan didn’t press.

”That girl really let him have it. So satisfying. If I’d had half her nerve back then and just beaten the guy up, I wouldn’t feel so frustrated thinking about it now!”

’She clearly wants me to ask about it!’

Ni Bingyan had always been considerate.

”What was your ex like?”

Once a friendship between girls reaches a certain point, there’s one thing they’re guaranteed to do: curse out an ex.

Even if they don’t have an ex, they’ll use real-life examples to share tips on how to spot a scumbag, just for peace of mind.

Last time, when Ni Bingyan was dealing with the Bai Jian incident, Peng Huan had overheard her mention Jiang Sheng, so she knew about Bingyan’s ex. But she hadn’t gotten the chance to talk about the scumbag she’d met. She was clearly determined to make up for it now.

”He didn’t just two-time me; he had more girls on the side than a centipede has legs. I wouldn’t have even known if I hadn’t accidentally caught him. And the worst part is, several of my friends knew about it! Can you believe that? F*cking hell, none of them told me. I cut them all off. This is why people in our industry prefer to date other people in the industry, right? At least you can find ways to be in the same place for a long time, even for work. When you’re with an outsider, long-distance is what causes all the problems.”

”Sister Huanhuan, what are you talking about? What does being long-distance have to do with it? That’s a problem with the scumbag’s character, okay? You should be glad you hadn’t married him and had kids yet! Plenty of couples who see each other every day still have the husband messing around on the side! And as for your friends who hid it from you, you have to consider the circumstances. What if she thought you knew and didn’t bring it up in front of you to protect your feelings? What if she dropped a bunch of hints that you just didn’t get? You have to analyze the situation properly, you can’t just make a sweeping judgment.”

”You actually make a good point. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”

Peng Huan answered perfunctorily.

It all happened a long time ago, and Peng Huan didn’t want to dwell on it. Right now, filling her stomach was more important.

”We’re here. The fish maw chicken soup at this place is amazing.”

Following her finger, Ni Bingyan saw a small shopfront across the street with a solid wood sign that was clearly very old.

Once inside, Peng Huan called out to the owner in Cantonese, asking if they still had any fish maw chicken soup.

”Of course we do! It’s still early. We’re open 24 hours! Is this pretty lady here for the first time?”

”It’s my first time, but the next time I come won’t be my first time.”

The best praise for a shop is a customer who promises to return.

The owner was delighted to hear her say that. She enthusiastically led them to a table, and after they ordered, she went to pass their order to the kitchen.

Only then did Ni Bingyan say, ”I just realized you’re from Guangdong Province! Your Mandarin is so perfect, I couldn’t even tell.”

”Well, I graduated from the Communication University of China. My roommates were broadcasting majors, so I practiced with them, haha!”

They chatted for a little while until the chicken soup and the stir-fried choi sum they ordered arrived. Then they both dug in, eating quietly.

But while Ni Bingyan only had eyes for the delicious food, Peng Huan was in the habit of scrolling through her phone while she ate.

”PFFT—”

Suddenly, no one knew what she saw, but she sprayed a mouthful of soup everywhere.

Luckily, she reacted quickly and turned to spray it on the floor, otherwise the whole pot of soup would have been ruined.

”What’s wrong?” Ni Bingyan asked. Her phrasing was tinged with a Northeastern accent. She had just come from the set of *Breakup* with Zhou Dawei, who was from the Northeast, and his accent was proving to be extremely contagious.

”COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!”

Seeing how hard she was coughing, Ni Bingyan had no choice but to walk over and pat her on the back.

”See? You have to focus when you’re eating. Otherwise, this chicken will come back from the dead to get you.”

”COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!”

Peng Huan wanted to laugh at her joke, but it only made her cough even harder.