Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

At the coffee shop, Ni Bingyan arrived ten minutes early for her appointment.

”Miss, how many in your party?”

A waiter immediately came up to greet her as she entered.

It was a cafe with a lovely ambiance, and the prices reflected that. The service was excellent; a waiter, seeing her remove her coat, took it from her and led the way with a smile, walking just ahead and to her side.

”Excuse me, has a Mr. Sun arrived yet?”

”Not yet.”

Normally, on a date, the man arrives first to wait for the woman, but this time it was the other way around. The waiter was tactful, not wanting her to feel awkward.

”I’m just early. The appointed time hasn’t come yet. I’ll find a place to sit for a bit. When someone arrives for me, please bring him over. By the way, my name is Ni.”

Ni Bingyan was very considerate. Since the agreed-upon time hadn’t arrived, she didn’t mind that he wasn’t there yet.

The waiter didn’t follow the entertainment world and wasn’t one for movies or TV shows, so he didn’t recognize her. ”Of course, Miss Ni,” he said.

Ni Bingyan, who disliked bitter tastes, ordered a mocha. Then, she pulled a thin volume of poetry from her bag and began to read quietly.

She herself wasn’t well-versed in classical poetry, but the body’s previous owner had adored it. There were many classical books at home, and she’d been captivated by them for the last two days. This was the perfect chance to sneak in memorizing a poem.

What a master of time management she was.

Anyone else would have killed time scrolling through social media or chatting with friends, but she never wasted a single moment.

The light by the window was excellent, and she had eyes only for her book. Still, the people passing by couldn’t help but stare. Some even recognized her and furtively snapped a picture.

It just went to show how inexperienced the person arranging the blind date was.

They had provided a time and a place but no contact information or even a photo—they just told their respective children to go.

The whole affair sounded unreliable and frankly absurd, no matter how you sliced it.

But it was really happening.

The whole story was rather amusing, actually.

This Old Sun was a long-time customer of the Ni family and one of their suppliers. His family had been in the seasoning business for generations.

The two men, Sun and Ni, were close in age, their businesses were intertwined, and after several decades, they were on excellent terms. Both had also become fathers late in life, so they frequently met for tea or drinks to chat about their kids.

One day, the two met at a teahouse. As soon as they saw each other, Old Sun began to complain about his troublesome son.

”When that boy was in school, all he did was bury his head in his books. He studied abroad and still didn’t find a girlfriend. Now he’s back, has a stable job at a bank, and his superiors think highly of him. You’d think the time would be ripe for him to find someone, right? But he’s just not in any rush!”

At first, Ni Guangli just made some noncommittal responses.

As a father himself, he understood perfectly. What parent didn’t have a mountain of worries when it came to their kids?

But as Old Sun kept talking, the tone began to shift.

”Look at my son’s credentials. Our family has been in business for generations, so we’re well-off, right? He has a master’s degree from studying abroad, so his education is top-notch, right? And he’s a handsome kid, presentable enough, wouldn’t you say? But his standards are just too high! His mother arranges blind dates for him constantly—he’s been on more than a dozen, and he hasn’t liked a single one.”

Ni Guangli thought, ’So what if your son is great? Why are you bragging to me? It’s not like my own child is some slouch. What the hell are you trying to show off for?!’

And so, he too switched into bragging-about-his-kid mode.

”You’ve met my daughter a couple of times. She’s been a beauty since she was a little girl, and she’s so driven. She’s a professionally trained actress, started making movies her sophomore year of college, and now she’s already a leading lady! You know that movie, *Children of the Mountains*? It’s a huge hit right now!”

Old Sun thought to himself, ’You booked entire theaters for it multiple times. For the sake of our friendship, I was even forced to go see it twice. How could I possibly not know?’

But he had something on his mind that day, so he refrained from his usual sarcastic jabs.

After a casual, ”Your daughter’s a fine young woman,” he returned to the topic of his son:

”His mother asked him, ’What’s the deal? You’ve met so many girls, and you don’t like a single one?’ He just says they’re not pretty enough. So she asks him, ’Well, what do you consider pretty?’ And he says he wants to find someone who looks like a celestial fairy. My dear old friend, just listen to him! Where on earth am I supposed to find a celestial fairy for him to marry? And that... is when I thought of you.”

The younger Sun had only said this because he didn’t want to get married at a young age and was just looking for an excuse to placate his family.

But his father took him seriously.

’Women can be so unreliable! When it really matters, a father has to take charge.’

And so, he had invited Ni Guangli for tea.

Initially, Ni Guangli hadn’t thought of setting his daughter up on a blind date. After all, she was only twenty-five, and as an actress, her prime career years would only last a decade or so. What was the rush?

But a nagging worry always gnawed at him: he feared that his precious darling, whom he had cherished and protected, would fall for the wrong man and have no one to truly care for her after he was gone.

Since Old Sun had taken the initiative to approach him, showing him great respect, he started to think it over. ’We know the Old Sun family inside and out, they’re well-off, and their son is very capable. A blind date isn’t the same as a marriage. Wouldn’t it be good for her to have another option?’

Even if it didn’t work out, she would gain some experience in judging people.

A young woman’s youth is so precious! How many years can she afford to waste?

He’d rather his daughter go on a few more dates than see her fall into another deep pit she couldn’t climb out of.

She was lucky this time, but who could guarantee she would be next time?

Besides, what if she actually liked him?

It could turn out to be a wonderful match.

So, the two fathers told their respective children about the blind date.

As it was their first time arranging something like this, they were hopelessly inexperienced. They assumed that because the two families went way back, their children must surely know each other.

They didn’t realize that to the body’s previous owner, the boy from the Sun family was just her father’s business partner’s son. She might have met him once or twice as a child, but they hadn’t crossed paths as adults, and she had no memory of him at all.

And that’s how the situation ended up like this.

After finishing the poem, Ni Bingyan glanced at her watch. Twenty minutes had passed since their scheduled meeting time.

That Sun Yaowei still hadn’t arrived.

Having waited awkwardly for nearly half an hour, Ni Bingyan was starting to get annoyed.

When you have an appointment with someone, being on time is a reflection of your character, no matter how unwilling you are to be there.

’Agreeing to meet and then not showing up on time... That makes for a terrible first impression. Is this any way to behave on a blind date?’

Just as an impatient Ni Bingyan was getting up to leave, the waiter led a young man over to her table.

It was none other than the son of the Old Sun family, Sun Yaowei.

Sun Yaowei was fair-skinned and clean-shaven, tall and slim, and dressed in a dapper style.

His hair was slicked back, and he wore a suit and tie, his leather shoes polished to a mirror shine.

At first glance, he certainly had the air of a successful professional.

Sun Yaowei had arrived late on purpose, intending to sabotage the blind date.

But the moment he stepped into the cafe and got a clear look at the woman reading by the window, his eyes lit up.

’I can’t believe it,’ he thought. ’When my dad makes a move, he really delivers. The woman he set me up with this time is the real deal—truly as beautiful as a celestial fairy, with an absolutely incredible aura!’

Sun Yaowei instantly regretted making a bad first impression. It was going to make things more difficult for him now.

But he was a very confident person and wasn’t too worried about it.

As he drew closer, he immediately extended a hand and bowed slightly in apology. ”My apologies, my apologies. I had a business meeting this afternoon that ran late. Add to that the evening rush hour traffic, and, well... I’m so sorry for being late.”

The blind date her father had arranged was surely with someone from a family he knew well. So, even though she could tell at a glance that he wasn’t her type, Ni Bingyan gave a faint smile and sat back down to save her father from embarrassment.

But she wasn’t a particularly forgiving person. As she sat down, she deliberately ignored Sun Yaowei’s outstretched hand.

She wasn’t even willing to shake his hand.

Unfazed, Sun Yaowei sat down, ordered a Blue Mountain coffee, and began complimenting Ni Bingyan on her excellent taste in choosing such an ”authentic” cafe.

Ni Bingyan’s eyes widened slightly. ’What exactly,’ she wondered, ’makes a cafe authentic?’

Besides, she hadn’t even been the one to pick this place. So, she remained silent, simply sitting there and watching him politely.

’Let’s see what kind of show you put on.’

Sun Yaowei’s face reddened slightly. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and deliberately raised his wrist to flash a large, green-faced gold Rolex. Then, out of habit, he took charge. ”It’s dinnertime, Miss Ni. Let’s go get something to eat!”

Ni Bingyan was already impatient from all the waiting; even staying for coffee was testing her patience. The last thing she wanted was to have dinner with him, so she refused him outright.

”I have something else later, so I don’t have time today. Some other time, perhaps.”

’Her voice is so beautiful, too! She’s exactly my type.’

Even though she was cold to him, Sun Yaowei was now smitten and managed to keep up a warm facade.

’Even the busiest person has to eat.’ He was a smart man and knew from her tone that she was displeased with him. He figured the only reason she was even tolerating staying for coffee was because she recognized his ”excellent qualifications.”

’As long as she’s somewhat impressed, that’s a start,’ he thought. He decided not to press the issue.

’There would be plenty of time later. It would all come down to his performance!’