Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”Let your uncle go with you,” said Lu Zigang’s wife. ”Your cousin still has a ton of things to deal with and can’t be left alone. I’ll head back first. After your dad’s situation is resolved in a few days, you can all come back together for the wedding.”

Lu Zigang’s only full-blooded sibling was Ni Bingyan’s mother. Even though she had passed away at a young age, the two families hadn’t grown distant.

Ni Guangli was supposed to sit at the head table for Lu Xun’s wedding.

He had almost boarded that fatal flight today, all so he could come over early to help with his nephew’s wedding arrangements. Now that he was in trouble, the Lu Family felt obligated to help, both out of affection and duty. It was the only way they could have a clear conscience.

Lu Zigang nodded. ”That’s right. My heart’s all over the place. I won’t be able to rest easy until I see him with my own eyes.”

Time was tight, and he didn’t want to waste a single second.

Ni Bingyan was busy on her phone, looking up the fastest way back home, so she said nothing.

’Setting aside the psychological trauma of the plane crash, the tickets aren’t even that expensive. It doesn’t matter if Uncle comes with me or not. Besides, it’s only a few hours to get back here. The wedding is still days away; there’s no way we’d miss it.’

The direct flight to Rongcheng City had taken off three hours ago. The next one wasn’t until tomorrow.

The high-speed train would take over seven hours. Adding the time to get to the station here and then to the airport police station on the other end, it would be at least a ten-hour journey.

If she wanted to get back as soon as possible, she’d have to find a connecting flight.

She was looking for the quickest layover option.

While Ni Bingyan remained silent, the other four began a silent battle of glances.

First, Lu Zigang shot a glare at Sang Yuan. He wasn’t happy seeing him with his arm around his niece the whole time.

’They’re not even married! Cuddling like that in public... it’s just improper!’

In his past life, the uncle and the father-in-law had been cut from the same cloth. Sang Yuan wasn’t about to upset him over something so minor.

Besides, he understood Lu Zigang’s perspective; the world was always a little harsher on women.

Noticing the glare, Sang Yuan gave a sheepish smile, let go of Ni Bingyan’s shoulder, and shot his mother a look.

’Understanding is one thing, but how am I supposed to dote on my wife with her uncle tagging along?’

Shui Sulan glanced at her son, amused, and began to reason with the others.

”Uncle, Auntie,” she began, addressing the Lu Family couple. ”Look, Yuanyuan and I are here. You can rest assured.

”Putting on a proper wedding is no easy task. With so few family members around, you’re already stretched thin. I’m afraid her aunt won’t be able to manage all by herself.

”Besides, we don’t know how many days this will take to sort out. It wouldn’t make sense for you to go all that way just to wait around.”

Seeing the couple’s determined expressions—they were clearly very close to Ni Guangli—Shui Sulan tried a different tack.

”If her grandparents see you’re not around, they’re bound to worry. There are a lot of busybodies in the family, and news of the crash is spreading like wildfire. The investigation has to be kept confidential, so you can’t tell anyone. They’re at an age where they can’t handle that kind of shock.

”It was one thing before. Having you here helped Bingbing feel a little better.

”But now that we know her dad is safe, both he and Bingbing would feel terrible if you neglected your duties because of this.

”In any case, communication is so easy these days. Bingbing will let you know the moment there’s any news. If the situation becomes truly urgent, it won’t be too late for you to come then.”

Someone who’s spent years negotiating business deals might not be a silver-tongued orator, but they definitely know how to get to the heart of the matter.

Shui Sulan would be a terrible liar—her acting skills just weren’t there. But when it came to persuading people with sound logic, she was worth three of anyone else.

She had such a sincere air about her that anyone would believe she was speaking from the bottom of her heart and truly had their best interests in mind.

Sure enough, the Lu Family couple wavered after hearing her out.

’His parents were the types to wander around, and they could easily overhear something. The death of his sister during childbirth had already been a massive blow. If they mistakenly thought their brother-in-law was also gone... at their age, they might not survive the shock.’

’On top of that, relationships between mothers- and daughters-in-law were notoriously difficult. If his future daughter-in-law felt they didn’t take her seriously, it could create a rift that would make life difficult down the road.’

Most importantly, Lu Zigang could see that this was trouble his brother-in-law had gotten into, and even he, a well-connected local, couldn’t resolve it. His going would be useless.

Shui Sulan and Sang Yuan, however, had social standing. They might actually be able to make a difference.

”Alright then,” Lu Zigang relented. ”Bingbing, make sure you let me know the moment you hear anything.”

Without any further hesitation, he and his wife said their goodbyes and left.

The remaining three found a route, booked their tickets, and after a frantic night of travel, arrived at Toutou Airport just as the first light of dawn was breaking.

Exhausted, they got off the plane and went straight to the airport police station. Before they could see Ni Guangli, they ran into his young apprentice, Hu Sheng.

The clean-cut Hu Sheng was dozing in the waiting room, sporting massive dark circles under his eyes. When he heard his junior martial sister call out to him, he thought he was dreaming.

”Senior Brother, Dad’s in trouble! Why didn’t you call me? I thought he was on that flight! I tried calling you, but you didn’t pick up!”

’How could something this huge happen, and he couldn’t even take a second to send me a message?’

Hu Sheng snapped awake. Seeing his junior martial sister was really there, he quickly stood up and offered her his seat.

”I took Master to the airport this morning. I was still on my way back when I heard about the crash on the radio. I rushed back to the airport to ask what was going on, and they brought me here. I wanted to notify you, but they wouldn’t let me, you know?”

His master had just been arrested for possession of a large quantity of narcotics, and right after, he had shown up at the airport in a panic. Of course the officers would find him suspicious.

Under the circumstances, the only reason they hadn’t locked him in an interrogation room was because of his good attitude and full cooperation. That, and the fact that he clearly wasn’t involved.

As for making or receiving phone calls? He knew too much. With the case still open, there was no way they would let him contact anyone.

This was a secret operation to apprehend drug traffickers! They couldn’t risk even the slightest chance of a tip-off.

As a citizen, it was his duty to stay and cooperate with the police investigation. Believing he was the only one who knew his master had come to the airport that day, he hadn’t protested.

How was he supposed to know his master and junior sister had gotten so close that he’d even tell her he was taking a flight?

The police hadn’t notified Ni Bingyan for the same reason: the case wasn’t closed.

Ni Bingyan sighed and started wiping away tears in front of the female officer who was assisting her.

”Can I please see my dad? I thought he was... SOB...”

She had only managed to sleep for a couple of hours on the plane. Now, the thought that her dad was right here and she couldn’t even see him brought fresh tears to her eyes.

Seeing her state, the young officer sighed and went to ask her superior.

By 4:00 AM, all targets had been apprehended and brought in. Interrogation experts were now working around the clock to question them.

The officers involved in the case had only just gotten their cell phones back.

As soon as they got service again, they learned about the plane crash. Realizing Ni Guangli was supposed to have been on that flight, they were just about to call Ni Bingyan when she arrived.

Whether they could let father and daughter meet depended on the criminals’ testimony. If any of them insisted Ni Guangli was an accomplice, this could drag on for a while.

Sang Yuan never relied on the kindness of others. He had contacted a lawyer the moment he stepped out of the airport. Now that the lawyer had arrived, he had his mother stay with Ni Bingyan while he and the lawyer went to find the person in charge to inquire about the case.

In this kind of situation, lawyers in the country couldn’t get too involved. They could only ensure that proper procedure was being followed. But even that was enough to give them some peace of mind.

As luck would have it, not long after they arrived, one of the low-level criminals they had caught confessed.

”I just wanted to create a diversion to help me get away, so I picked some random schmuck and planted the stuff in his backpack. It’s his own fault for cursing at me.”

A small-time crook with a background in petty theft was an old hand at this sort of thing.

With that testimony, plus the fact that Ni Guangli tested negative for drug use and his fingerprints weren’t on the contraband, the officers released him.

Ni Guangli, sleeping fitfully under a thin blanket, was woken by someone calling his name. He touched his forehead and cursed inwardly.

’After this whole ordeal, I’ve gone and caught a fever.’

When he learned he’d been used by a criminal, he slapped his thigh in fury. ”Damn it! I’m so pissed off!”

Then, when he saw his daughter, her eyes swollen from crying, he grew even more incensed, his face flushing red with rage.

Now, if he didn’t do something about this, he’d never be able to let it go.