Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Just as Sang Yuan said, how could they know if they were a good match in such a short time? It was better to spend more time together and let time give her the answer.

He wasn’t like other suitors who sent her flowers or showered her with gifts. He never pestered her with constant chats, told her boring jokes, or tried to show off all sorts of knowledge to seem erudite. He just came by every now and then to see her, bringing some fruit from her own yard.

He didn’t visit too often, either, keeping to a frequency she could accept, coming by every few days.

The fruit trees at her home were in their peak season. Since Ni Bingyan hadn’t been home in a long time, she was afraid they would overripen and go to waste. So, she left the courtyard gate open and hung a sign at the entrance, telling her neighbors they were free to go in and pick the fruit.

Sang Yuan knew what she liked and never stepped on any of her landmines.

He never brought too much fruit—just a small handful each time, washed and placed in a white porcelain bowl for her.

While she ate at a leisurely pace, he would sit beside her and talk.

He’d talk about his work, his friends, his life.

The moment she finished the fruit, he would get up and leave, never overstaying his welcome.

Sometimes, Ni Bingyan even had the illusion that they had known each other for a long time.

Ni Bingyan once asked Sang Yuan jokingly, and he replied, ”There are those who are like strangers even after their hair turns white, and those who feel like old friends at their first meeting. We’re probably the latter.”

”What do you want for dinner? Let’s eat before you go home! We eat dinner early at my place, so if you go back now, there won’t be anything left.”

Sang Yuan kept his eyes on the road as he drove, speaking naturally with Ni Bingyan.

Ni Bingyan knew his family had two cooks, so it was impossible that he wouldn’t have food. He was just finding an excuse to spend more time with her.

Filming this TV series was mentally draining, and she didn’t feel like cooking either, so she nodded and agreed.

”If I were out with my friends, would you call and tell me to come home?”

The atmosphere in the car was too heavy. Sang Yuan knew she was stuck in her role and couldn’t break out of it. She had been quite down lately, even taking the time to see a therapist, so he tried to find a topic to make her laugh.

”Why would I call you? I wouldn’t have any reason to.”

Ni Bingyan was still lost in thought. When she heard his question, she answered without thinking much.

”I mean, what if—what if we were already married, and I went out drinking with my buddies...”

”You like to drink?”

Ni Bingyan’s brow furrowed immediately.

”Oh, no, I mean, if my friends asked me out to play mah— oh, no, to play board games...”

Ni Bingyan’s frown deepened. ”We’re married, and you’re going out to have fun without me?”

Sang Yuan: ”...”

’Looks like I started this conversation the wrong way.’

Seeing him keep glancing over at her, Ni Bingyan said irritably, ”Just drive.”

The two fell silent and went straight to a hot pot restaurant.

The hot pot base was brought to a boil and the various dishes arrived. Just as Sang Yuan had resignedly started cooking some tripe for her, he suddenly heard her ask, ”Would you want me to call you back?”

The two were in the process of getting to know each other, and it was quite interesting to occasionally discuss topics like this.

Ni Bingyan had been a bit slow to react lately, always spacing out, lost in thought. She had a feeling of listlessness, with no energy for anything.

Sang Yuan had consulted a therapist and was constantly trying to lift her spirits, like taking her for her favorite hot pot, bringing her favorite fruits, and telling her lots of interesting stories.

Seeing that she had finally started a conversation, he quickly placed the cooked tripe in her bowl and began to talk effusively:

”That depends on the situation. For example, if my buddies and I are all out without our wives, and we put our phones in the middle of the table with the rule that whoever gets a call first has to pay the bill—then you’d have to call me right away.”

”Oh? Shouldn’t you *not* be the first one to call? Wouldn’t that be a poor way to manage a household?”

Sang Yuan laughed out loud, putting some shiitake mushrooms into the pot as he chuckled.

”This is where you don’t get it. You have to let them know I’m scared of my wife. That way, they won’t drag me along when they’re up to no good, and I won’t have to strain our friendship by always refusing them.”

”You are the company you keep. Why would you be friends with people like that?”

Sang Yuan: ”...”

’There’s no way to continue this conversation.’

’Shouldn’t she be asking me why I’m so dedicated to being a henpecked husband? Then I could go on to praise her father, making both my wife and father-in-law overjoyed, right?’

’There really is a gap between theory and practice.’

’She’s just not someone who plays by the book.’

Seeing him scratching his head and deliberately acting anxious, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She fished out two stalks of asparagus lettuce for him.

She remembered he really liked it.

”Why are you always fantasizing about our life after marriage? To be honest, you scared the hell out of me at first.”

’Who pursues a girl like this?’

’When I first found out, I thought he was even scarier than a stalker.’

Sang Yuan widened his eyes innocently. ”Who asked you to be so hard to pursue? This is called taking an unconventional approach. If not for this, would you have been willing to even try getting to know me? Besides, when we invest in those projects and sign the contracts, what do you feel? Don’t you hope to make money? Or are you hoping to lose it?”

’When you start pursuing a girlfriend, if you’re not hoping for marriage, what are you hoping for? A breakup?’

’We may not be together yet, but aren’t things already progressing steadily?’

’That actually makes a lot of sense!’

Ni Bingyan stared back at him, her eyes wide.

This guy had a real knack for it. He’d talk nonsense, yet somehow you couldn’t find a flaw in his logic. He was so shamelessly weird that he made the people who thought he was weird feel uncomfortable instead.

”Hurry up, the goose intestines are getting tough!”

Ni Bingyan’s eyes felt dry from staring. She finally tapped the rim of the pot and told him to eat.

’Alright, food first.’

Sang Yuan shrugged helplessly.

After dinner, they headed home. Once they reached the suburbs where there were fewer cars on the road, Ni Bingyan couldn’t hold back anymore.

”Tell me, if a husband and wife have been in love for many years, and one of them passes away, what do you think the surviving one would feel? And what if their son and daughter are both unfilial...”

Sang Yuan slammed on the brakes, pulling the car over to the side of the road. He whipped his head around to look at her, a shocked expression on his face.

’One of them passes away, and their son and daughter are both unfilial...’

The car stopped abruptly. Caught off guard, Ni Bingyan was thrown hard against the seatback. She jumped in fright. ”What’s wrong?”

Sang Yuan stared intently into her eyes. Seeing none of the familiar emotion he expected, he stammered out an excuse:

”D-don’t say such unlucky things! We’ll both be fine! We have to be fine! We’ll raise our children well, they definitely won’t be unfilial!”

Ni Bingyan: ”...”

”If the children aren’t filial, I’ll leave you lots and lots of money, enough for you to live without a single worry...”

’What happened in his last life... he would absolutely not let it happen again!’

”Stop, stop, stop! What are you even thinking about?”

Ni Bingyan’s face turned beet red.

’It was one thing to fantasize about married life before, but now his train of thought had jumped straight to raising children and retirement. What kind of mega-weirdo was this?!’

’And ”children,” plural?’

’Forget it. He was the kind of person who would win over his future father-in-law before even pursuing the girl. There probably wasn’t a second person like him in the entire world.’

’You can’t reason with a weirdo.’

Ni Bingyan took a slow breath.

”I was just thinking out loud because of the TV series I’m filming. Don’t overthink it.”

When Sang Yuan didn’t say anything, she started telling him about the old woman in the show who had a son and a daughter but ended up taking her own life.

”Logically, you wouldn’t expect someone who’s lived that long to be so psychologically fragile. I suspect she might have developed some mental health issues after her husband passed away, and then she never went to see a therapist?”

Sang Yuan remained silent as he started the car again.

He didn’t answer her question the entire way home.

’He hadn’t thought about it in his past life, and in this life, he didn’t dare.’