Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

The sudden realization that she owed someone a favor left Ni Bingyan feeling a little frustrated.

When Peng Huan gave her a hanfu, she felt obligated to give a qipao in return. But her relationship with Sang Yuan wasn’t nearly that close! Yet, he had gone out of his way to solve a problem for her. She absolutely had to thank him properly!

Lacking inspiration, she decided to go out for a stroll and see what kind of gift she could buy. However, just as she stepped outside, she ran into Granny Liao.

”Bingbing! Are you coming to the New Year’s Gala? If you are, I’ll save a ticket for you. They’re really hard to get this year!”

Granny Liao, wearing orange lipstick and looking full of life, called out to Ni Bingyan the moment she saw her.

New Year’s Day was just a few days away, and Ni Bingyan suddenly remembered that Granny Liao had invited her long before. Now that she was bringing it up again, it wouldn’t be right to refuse outright, so she asked:

”When is it? I’ll have to check if I have any work scheduled that day.”

’If I have time, I should definitely go!’ She had a strong sense of community. Whenever the complex organized events for the residents, she always participated if she was home.

Most of these neighbors were older, and their hobbies were quite respectable—not like her peers in the entertainment industry, who mostly partied hard.

She disliked small gatherings with industry people but genuinely enjoyed interacting with her neighbors. She always learned so much from their casual chats.

”It’s on the evening of New Year’s Day!”

Granny Liao had mobilized nearly the entire residential complex. They had even custom-ordered matching outfits and light-up signs. Come the day of the event, their community would definitely be the most eye-catching group there!

The first recording for the *Chinese Poetry Conference* was on the second of the month, and she had an interview with the movie channel on the third.

Ni Bingyan mentally reviewed her work schedule. Seeing that New Year’s Day was free, she immediately agreed, ”Of course! I’ll definitely be there to cheer you on!”

A delighted Granny Liao pulled a ticket out of her bag. It seemed she’d had it ready the whole time and had only hesitated to offer it directly, in case Ni Bingyan was busy and would feel too awkward to refuse.

Ni Bingyan accepted the ticket with both hands. After discussing the light-up signs and fan outfits for a moment, they parted ways.

Granny Liao went off to invite other neighbors, and Ni Bingyan was just about to head out again when inspiration suddenly struck!

The production team for the *Chinese Poetry Conference* had given each contestant several tickets to the live recording, encouraging them to invite family and friends. ’I can totally invite Sang Yuan!’

’It’s a CCTV show! How many people would kill to be in the live audience?’

’Instead of buying some gift, inviting him to the taping for a bit of cultural enrichment is so much more meaningful!’

’He’s so wealthy; he might not even care for anything I could buy. But giving him these priceless tickets? It’s the thought that counts!’

Besides, Sister Wei had told her to act as if she didn’t know Sang Yuan had helped her. Sister Wei had promised him she wouldn’t say anything, and Ni Bingyan couldn’t put her in a tough spot.

’This is a perfect, subtle way to do it. He’ll never guess I’m trying to repay a favor!’

The more she thought about it, the more perfect the idea seemed.

Forgetting about her outing, Ni Bingyan immediately went back inside and sent Sang Yuan a message.

[Ticket.JPG] ”Hey, President Sang! I’m recording a really interesting show in a few days. Does your company have that day off? The production team gave me tickets for the live taping, want to come?”

This year, New Year’s Day fell on a weekend, extending the public holiday to January 2nd. Ni Bingyan wasn’t sure if he was the kind of ruthless capitalist who lived by the motto ’I don’t take days off unless the Earth explodes,’ so she decided to ask first.

Last night, Sang Yuan had to go meet with President Chen after initially turning him down, which was rather awkward. President Chen was a heavy drinker who kept pushing alcohol on him. Too polite to refuse, Sang Yuan had a couple more drinks than intended. As a result, he’d woken up with a hangover this morning and was still in bed.

The moment he saw Ni Bingyan’s message, he felt instantly revived.

”A day off? Of course! The whole country gets a holiday, so my company does too! What show are you recording? If I have a chance to come cheer for you live, I’m definitely going!”

After sending the message, he immediately contacted his do-it-all assistant, Xiao Zhao: ”Something’s come up for the second. Clear my schedule.”

When Xiao Zhao received the message, he almost wept with joy. ’That damned capitalist! He’s finally showing some conscience!’

He’d been working for this workaholic ever since he started, and this was the very first time he didn’t have to work overtime on New Year’s Day. He was deeply moved!

Having achieved financial independence long ago, he couldn’t care less about triple holiday pay.

Though ecstatic, Xiao Zhao’s reply was impeccably concise: ”Understood, Boss.”

After sorting out his work, Sang Yuan cheerfully closed his chat with Xiao Zhao, only to see that a new message had arrived from Ni Bingyan:

”Haha, it’s a really interesting show called the *Chinese Poetry Conference*. There will be a lot of experts and professors there to discuss the poetry. If you have any kids in your family, you could bring them along for some cultural enrichment.”

Sang Yuan’s lips curved into a smile as he typed back quickly:

”I don’t even have a girlfriend, so no kids for me! My sister has a child, though; I can ask him to come. By the way, how many tickets do you have? I’m afraid my sister and my mom will both want to go. You know our family—we all love CCTV variety shows. They’d be ecstatic to attend a live taping.”

Ni Bingyan was overjoyed when she read his message.

’See? I’m so good at giving people what they want!’

”The production team gave me quite a few! How many people want to go? If it’s not enough, I can figure out a way to get more.”

She had at least that much clout.

Sang Yuan thought for a moment. Figuring his brother-in-law probably wouldn’t go, he replied, ”Let’s say five!”

The production team had given each contestant five tickets, so it was the perfect number!

Ni Bingyan replied decisively, ”I have just enough. When do you get off work? I can drop them off!”

Sang Yuan was too embarrassed to admit he was hungover and skipping work.

He quickly replied, ”Let’s do this: I’ll come to your place to pick them up after work tonight! Thanks so much for thinking of me for such a great opportunity.”

Ni Bingyan grinned from ear to ear.

’Oh man, I’m such a genius!’

’Made someone happy without spending a dime!’

”Okay, okay!”

Ni Bingyan replied cheerfully.

Then, another thought occurred to her, and she asked, ”Oh, right! The district is holding a gala on New Year’s night, and the ladies from our complex are performing. Are you going to cheer them on? I just ran into Aunt Liao, and she gave me a ticket!”

’Since his family enjoys lively events, they’ll probably want to go to the New Year’s Gala, right?’

Ni Bingyan gloated inwardly.

’Subtle flattery is my specialty. I’m amazing!’

’The whole Sang Family will be there, all lively and cheerful. How perfect!’

Sang Yuan was also secretly delighted.

’Man! This New Year’s holiday is going to be amazing!’

’I’ve got plans with the Beauty two days in a row!’

Without even stopping to think about how to get tickets, he quickly replied, ”I’m going, I’m going! Aunt Liao practically watched me grow up. Now that she’s leading a team to compete, how could I possibly not be there to support her?”

After their chat, both were pleased, each for their own reasons.

Ni Bingyan was relieved, feeling she had cleared her debt, while Sang Yuan was ecstatic that his crush had invited him out for the first time. Both were in high spirits.

Suddenly, his headache was gone and his stomach settled. Sang Yuan shot out of bed to find his mom and ask for tickets.

”It’s just going to be a choir or some line dancing. That gala is so boring, don’t waste your time. Besides, didn’t you say you had a business trip on New Year’s Day? How would you have the time?”

”The performance on stage might not be the main attraction, but the audience definitely will be!”

Sang Yuan grinned from ear to ear. Then, he pulled out his phone again and messaged Xiao Zhao: ”Something’s come up for the first as well. Clear that day, too.”

Never mind Xiao Zhao’s delight at scoring a two-day holiday. Mrs. Sang circled her son, a look of dawning realization on her face. ”Don’t tell me... that girl, Bingbing, got roped into being their cheerleader, did she?”

Sang Yuan smiled and nodded.

That was exactly it.