Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”Mr. Sun, I think it’s best not to make baseless accusations. If someone asked if people in finance spend all day figuring out how to dodge taxes, would you be happy?”

They continued their awkward conversation. Seeing that she was unhappy but still willing to talk, Sun Yaowei began to regret his impulsive remark. He shouldn’t have brought up that topic just to make her stay.

He hadn’t expected her to retort so sharply, and his face instantly flushed. ”That’s called tax avoidance! Don’t pretend you know what you’re talking about.”

She had already humiliated him several times today, and his pride couldn’t take much more. If he hadn’t been so captivated by her beauty, Sun Yaowei wouldn’t have put up with it for so long.

Women had always fawned over him. Now that he was being chewed out to his face, his expression turned cold.

”Oh? *I’m* the one pretending? And you’re such an expert on my industry? Where do you get off acting so high and mighty? Who are you to be so damn nosy?”

”You’re ridiculous. I wasn’t talking about you specifically, but you reacted like a cat whose tail got stepped on. Don’t tell me you’ve actually done something like that? Everyone knows women in show business are filthy. They’ll do anything for money. Am I wrong?”

Ni Bingyan almost punched him in the face!

’I’m a public figure, after all,’ she thought. ’No matter how furious I am, I can’t lose my composure in a public place. He’d only be in pain for a moment, but my career would suffer a fatal blow.’

So, with a cold sneer, Ni Bingyan tucked money for her coffee under the cup, grabbed her bag, and walked out.

Seeing her leave, Sun Yaowei realized his mistake and stood up to follow, but a waiter stopped him.

The Nanshan Coffee at this cafe wasn’t cheap. Trying to leave without paying? Not a chance!

While trying to placate his wife, Xiao Zhao kept an eye on the scene, wanting to report the latest developments to his boss. But he couldn’t.

His wife had taken his phone and was now hunched over it, meticulously checking for any suspicious activity.

”Oh my god! Is—isn’t that Bingbing? Honey, look!”

Xiao Zhao was speechless. ”Aren’t you a fan of hers? How could you be sitting so close and not even notice?”

Little Qin looked like she was about to cry.

”I was focused on you! How was I supposed to notice anyone else? Oh, I can’t believe I missed out!”

With a pang of regret, Little Qin forwarded the photos to her own phone. She zoomed in, looking them over and over, until she finally noticed something wasn’t right.

”Huh? Are they on a blind date? OMG! Even goddesses have to go on blind dates?”

”I reckon so!”

Just as he was breathing a sigh of relief, thinking he’d dodged a bullet, Little Qin opened his chat with President Sang.

”What? Bingbing and your boss?”

’Did I just stumble upon a huge secret?’ she thought.

”Your boss likes her? They don’t have... *that* kind of relationship, do they?”

’Oh no!’

’Is my idol’s image about to collapse?’

”No, no! My boss is pursuing her, but he hasn’t won her over yet! You can’t tell anyone. If you mess this up for him, I’ll definitely lose my job, and I’ll have a hard time finding another one.”

”You were sitting on such juicy gossip and didn’t even tell me! Hmph!”

”It’s the boss’s private life. How can I go around talking about it? You think being an assistant is that easy?”

Little Qin knew better than anyone how high her husband’s salary was and how great his benefits were, so of course she wouldn’t say anything reckless.

”Argh, I was so busy giving you a hard time that I completely missed my chance to meet my idol! I’m so mad at myself!”

The young woman slapped her thigh in frustration, and Xiao Zhao couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

”What’s the big deal? Once she becomes the boss’s wife, she’ll come to the company’s year-end gala. I’ll get you a front-row seat to see your idol then!”

”Oh, honey, you’re the best!”

While those two were being all lovey-dovey, Ni Bingyan was so furious she felt like her lungs would explode.

As a talented actress, it was easy for Ni Bingyan to hide her true emotions.

As she walked out of the coffee shop, she even managed a faint smile.

She walked a few steps to the elevator, went straight to the first basement level, found her car, and immediately drove to a hot pot restaurant she’d been craving for a long time.

”The extra numbing and extra spicy broth, please.”

She quickly ordered a pile of her favorite dishes. Before long, a server came to prepare the broth base at her table and brought out her food.

After she had satisfyingly devoured the hot pot, using up half a packet of tissues for her runny nose, she pulled out a mirror. Her nose was red, her eyes were red, and when she tried to speak, her voice came out hoarse. She looked as if she had suffered a terrible injustice.

Her lips were slightly red and swollen—the telltale sign of someone who had just devoured a spicy hot pot. She pulled out her lipstick and touched up her makeup.

Once everything was ready and tears were welling up in her eyes, she took out her phone, preparing to video call her dad and tattle.

Just as she found her dad’s contact and was about to press the video call button, an incoming video call popped up. Her finger slipped, and she accidentally answered it.

When she saw Sang Yuan’s face on the screen, Ni Bingyan was completely stunned.

She had only wanted to put on an act for her father to kill any future ideas he had about sending her on blind dates. She never expected a video call from Sang Yuan right at this moment.

The sudden turn of events completely threw Ni Bingyan for a loop.

’All that preparation for nothing!’

Just as she was frantically about to hang up, Sang Yuan spoke.

His voice was deep, with a dangerous edge to it. ”What happened? Why are you crying so hard? Who upset you?”

Even someone as thick-skinned as Ni Bingyan felt awkward.

For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

”Ahem. I know this might be forward of me, but I have to ask... do you need help? If you’re upset, you can treat me like a sounding board. Venting might make you feel a lot better.”

More than wanting to deal with the culprit, Sang Yuan was concerned about her feelings.

Work had been especially busy for Sang Yuan’s company in December, and he had been working constant overtime.

By the time he saw Xiao Zhao’s message, more than an hour had passed.

He couldn’t believe it. He’d just given his future father-in-law some business, and in return, the man had stabbed him squarely in the back.

’He was certain this Ni Bingyan was his wife, not the body’s original owner.’

’In his past life, he could calmly watch the original owner get together with Jiang Sheng. But now, he couldn’t possibly stay calm watching *his* Bingyan go on a blind date with another man.’

’After all, so many things had already changed from his previous life. He knew all too well the terrifying power of the butterfly effect.’

’What if she actually hit it off with this guy? Where would that leave him?’

In his panic, he had acted rashly. When he called and saw her state, he assumed she had been terribly wronged, and fury erupted within him.

’Xiao Zhao had sent that message a long time ago. Was she still crying? Just how long had she been crying?’

Left with no choice, Ni Bingyan turned the camera to show him the leftovers on her table.

”I was eating hot pot. It’s just really spicy. I’m not crying, really! Have you had dinner? Did you need something?”

She had been planning to play the innocent victim to her doting father and let him deal with that damn Sun Yaowei. She never imagined that a bizarre twist of fate would lead to her being caught in the act. Ni Bingyan was mortified.

’As long as I’m not embarrassed, someone else will be.’

Putting her acting skills to use, Ni Bingyan maintained a placid expression, completely hiding her true feelings.

Realizing the awkward mix-up, Sang Yuan felt a little embarrassed himself. He cleared his throat twice, momentarily at a loss for an excuse.

’Oh well, this isn’t my first rodeo. Just wait, I’ll cook something up!’

Sang Yuan smiled breezily. ”Oh, good. For a second there, I thought you were crying because someone had upset you. Anyway, I was calling because the script for *Demon Suppression Tower* is finished. I wanted to discuss the plot with you. Has the production team sent you the complete script yet?”

”The script is already finished? I haven’t received any notice about it.”

With the original author’s involvement, the initial script had undergone significant revisions, and she hadn’t seen the updated version yet.

The two chatted on that topic for a while before Sang Yuan tactfully ended the call.

Ni Bingyan thought about calling her dad again, but she just couldn’t get back into the right mood.

’Oh, forget it,’ she thought.

But when she got home after ten, her father was surprisingly still awake, sitting in the living room and waiting for her with a grim expression.

’I’m so screwed. That Sun Yaowei actually had the nerve to tattle on me!’

’My petty side is about to break loose!’

’Just you wait. I’m going to ruin you!’