Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

As the saying goes, if you have time to let your mind wander, it just means you’re not busy enough—you’re simply idle.

Sang Yuan’s advances were too intense, and with the truth being revealed piece by piece before her, Ni Bingyan nearly lost her composure.

To escape this flustered state, she threw herself into her work as soon as she returned to the film set.

Unlike a finished film or TV show, a film set is where the raw materials for them are produced.

On set, every scene is like a single fragment that might be used in the final product.

Once production is complete, the post-production team selects the right fragments, pieces them together in a specific order with artistic flair, adds a score, dubs the dialogue, applies various filters, and only after it passes review can it finally appear before an audience.

Because of this, working on a film set isn’t as interesting as an outsider might imagine.

Sometimes, the same scene has to be shot over and over again, to the point where the actors feel like throwing up, before they finally hear that single, heavenly word: ”Pass.”

Sometimes the director will even say, ”You know, I think the first take had more feeling.”

That infuriating look on their face is just like every client who has ever driven a contractor to the brink of homicide.

The plot is fragmented, scenes are often shot out of sequence, and they even film many segments that won’t be used in post-production. If an actor hasn’t done enough prep work, they might finish shooting the entire movie without even knowing what the story was about.

Day in and day out, most of the crew find their work tedious and dull.

Ni Bingyan also went through periods of burnout.

To maintain her high efficiency and the quality of her performance, she would spend more time reading the script. This gave her a comprehensive grasp of the work and helped ensure she didn’t fall out of character.

As the female lead, and with the studio’s facilities allowing for it, Ni Bingyan now had a private dressing room on set. In addition to her usual routine of reading the script, working out, and studying, she could now do much more.

Now, her workday looked like this—

She would report to the set at the time listed on yesterday’s call sheet. After checking in, she would go to her dressing room for makeup, hair, and wardrobe. When it was almost time for her scene, an assistant to the AD would come to her door to notify her.

Then she and Duanmu Li would follow the young assistant.

Once on set, the director would first explain the scene, followed by blocking. If possible, she would also run lines with her scene partner beforehand.

When filming began, she would first act it out as written in the script. Then, according to the director’s instructions, they would change camera angles, adjust the lighting, and she would alter her performance...

After various fine-tunings, they would achieve the ideal state the director envisioned.

They would shoot it again and again like this, until the director announced, ”That’s a take,” and the scene was finally over.

She had been in the business for many years and was no longer a fresh-faced rookie. Nowadays, unless she was in a particularly brilliant scene with a costar or a big star was making a cameo that required her to be there out of courtesy, she wouldn’t stick around to watch.

After her scenes were shot, she would head back to her dressing room.

If she had more scenes coming up, she would get ready for the next shoot, which might involve a costume change, a makeup touch-up, or even a completely new hairstyle.

If she had no more scenes for the day, she could either return to her hotel or wait in her dressing room until the crew wrapped.

Work on a film set is full of uncertainty. An actor’s poor performance in an earlier scene could lead to constant retakes, delaying her own. On the other hand, if things went smoothly, her scene might be moved up.

If the director was having a particularly smooth day, they might even decide to shoot some of the next day’s scenes ahead of schedule.

In such situations, if she left early, she could inconvenience others. And if she annoyed the director, rumors would surely spread through the industry that she was a diva.

So, unless it was absolutely necessary, Ni Bingyan never left early.

This meant she had breaks of varying lengths between her scenes.

Many actors used this downtime to team up for online games, scroll through Weibo, surf the internet, binge-watch shows, or sleep. But she, as if blessed with boundless energy, preferred to use the opportunity for self-improvement.

Lately, feeling agitated and unable to go fishing to calm her mind, she had developed a new hobby.

The original owner of her body had studied calligraphy and painting since childhood, and she had inherited those memories. Though she hadn’t been interested before, she decided to pick it up again. It felt a little awkward at first, but she got the hang of it within a couple of days.

Once she got her touch back, she thought, ’You can’t just practice in a vacuum. No matter what you’re learning, you have to keep improving!’

So, just as she had when she learned to fish, she found a calligraphy and painting enthusiast group on a social media app and joined it.

At first, she just wanted to meet a few fellow enthusiasts in the group to learn from each other and improve together. But after a few days, she discovered that people were actually posting purchase requests in the chat!

[I just moved into a new house with Chinese-style decor. The entryway wall is a bit empty, so I’m looking for an auspicious painting. Any masters here willing to part with one of their works?]

’Could this be a scammer?’

Just as she had that thought, a pile of photos appeared in the group chat.

[Bro, check out my ”Blossoming Riches.” Peony_Cluster.JPG]

[My ”Persimmon Wishes” isn’t bad either! Persimmon_Vine.JPG]

[My ”Smooth Sailing” has to get a mention! Sea_Ship.JPG]

...

The skill level of the group members varied wildly. Some were just tossing their hats in the ring, while others were true masters who had developed their own unique style.

Ni Bingyan looked at the painting she had just finished. Just for the fun of it, she snapped a photo and tossed it into the group chat.

[Just painted this ”Great Fortune in All Things.” Wonder if it suits your taste? Rooster_Under_Persimmon_Tree.JPG]

Her painting had a unique, charmingly naive quality. The persimmons were plump and round, looking as if they might turn into a gaggle of toddlers and start bouncing around at any moment. The rooster, while majestic, also had an inexplicable cuteness to it, its eyes even holding a hint of playful arrogance.

Amidst a pile of paintings in various styles, the requester was instantly captivated by hers.

In his wife’s words— ”Oh! This one is wonderful! The moment I saw it, I just felt so happy. It would be absolutely perfect for our entryway wall!”

Imagine being in a good mood every time you come and go from your new home. How great is that!

The man who requested the painting was decisive. Having taken a liking to it, he immediately asked to add her as a friend to chat privately.

Ni Bingyan had never imagined she could one day make money from this, and she was thrilled!

She immediately added the man on WeChat, and the two began to chat back and forth.

They discussed things like whether she should frame it before shipping or if he would get it framed himself, how payment would work, and most importantly, how to set the price.

It was Ni Bingyan’s first time doing something like this, so she didn’t know the going rate. Besides, she wasn’t hurting for a bit of extra cash, so she told the client to just pay whatever he felt was fair.

The man was a successful businessman in his fifties. Since he was buying a painting for the entryway of his new home, he didn’t want any unpleasantness associated with the transaction. They quickly agreed that she would ship it directly, and he would handle the framing. He set the artist’s fee at 1,688 yuan, an auspicious number that sounds like ”prosper all the way.”

This was incredible! It made her even happier than when she received her multi-million-yuan salary for a film!

This was the first painting she had ever sold! It was a historic moment!

Ni Bingyan quickly took out the seal she had recently had carved, stamped it neatly on the painting, and signed her name. Only then did she carefully pack it in a box and take it to the courier station at the film studio’s entrance to mail it.

The man was just as straightforward. The moment she sent him the tracking number, he transferred the money.

The transfer came with a message: [Haha, let’s be friends!]

Successful businessmen often operated in this style.

More friends mean more opportunities. Besides, someone who could paint traditional Chinese art to such a high standard was no ordinary person. Forming a good connection couldn’t hurt.

’He probably didn’t suggest paying a deposit first and the rest later because splitting the auspicious number would be unlucky.’

Ever since selling that painting, she had fallen in love with the feeling. During her breaks from filming, she would find herself opening the WeChat group to take a look from time to time.

If she saw someone requesting a painting, she would actively try to win the commission.

Perhaps because her art style was so endearing, she managed to sell three paintings in just one week, earning nearly five thousand yuan. It was truly delightful!

Being busy with something she enjoyed, and earning a little pocket money on the side, Ni Bingyan’s mood visibly improved.

Duanmu Li had long since grown accustomed to seeing her bustling about every day like a human spinning top, but the newcomer, Wang Biao, found it hard to adapt.

The main reason was that he had a daughter who was a troublesome underachiever. Seeing that an overachiever like Ni Bingyan actually existed in the world made him, as a father, deeply worried about his own daughter’s future.

And with that worry weighing on him, his days became difficult to endure.

Ni Bingyan, of course, paid no mind to his thoughts. She was completely engrossed in her painting, unable to pull herself away, and had already accumulated dozens of finished pieces!

Inspired by her younger cousin, she even started to wonder if she should find a publisher to release an art book. ’Even if it doesn’t sell,’ she thought, ’it would be nice to have it just for myself to enjoy!’

After all, you can’t put a price on what the heart desires, and with money on hand, she could afford to be whimsical. Her cousin might not have the courage to do something like that, but she did!

Duanmu Li was already influenced by her, becoming more proactive and gritting her teeth each day to learn new things. Wang Biao, after lazing around for just a couple of days, soon discovered that the soccer matches he used to find so captivating now seemed as tasteless as chewing wax.

Occasionally, he even felt like he was wasting his life.

It wasn’t until he bought a copy of *The Art of Conversation* and started trying to keep up that he began to feel less miserable.

Humans are strange creatures. We tend to follow those with strong wills. To be an outsider feels deeply uncomfortable, but once you join the group, life starts to feel normal again.