Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Back at the complex, Ni Bingyan first went with Sang Yuan to his place.

The thing was, her dad had prepared way too many gifts for the elderly couple!

She wanted to drop them off first to save herself the trouble later.

Besides, she hadn’t seen Wangcai in a long time and really missed him. After dropping off the gifts, she could conveniently bring him home.

Sang Yuan’s parents happily accepted the gifts, then led Wangcai out with an awkward look on their faces.

Wangcai hadn’t seen her in a long time and immediately pounced on her the moment he appeared.

Ni Bingyan took a closer look, only to see that the long fur on Wangcai’s tail and both his ears had been dyed pink.

The dye was one thing, but the fur had also been meticulously trimmed and exquisitely styled.

The fur on the edges of his ears was trimmed into heart shapes, and his tail was styled into a silky, streamlined plume.

Wangcai’s coat was a light golden color. The fur on his head was short, but the fur on his tail and body was quite long.

Ni Bingyan was a neat freak and regularly took him to the groomer. Under her meticulous care, Wangcai’s coat was kept soft, shiny, and smooth, making him look quite the ”Little Fairy.”

Although the sudden dye job wasn’t ugly—in fact, you could even call it very fashionable, as if done by a top stylist—Ni Bingyan was still a little bothered by it.

How could she describe this feeling?

It felt like asking someone to babysit your child for a while, only to return and find they’d bleached their hair blond and gotten a fancy perm.

’Dyeing his fur wasn’t a huge deal, but still... they should have at least told me, right?’

’No wonder they say the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been tricky.’

’In this kind of situation, should I say something? How can I say it without hurting anyone’s feelings?’

Ni Bingyan froze for a moment before forcing a smile and scooping Wangcai into her arms.

”Oh my~ look at this Little Fairy! How has our Wangcai become so pretty after just a few days?”

”WHIMPER WHIMPER WHIMPER~”

Golden Retrievers are very intelligent dogs. The moment Ni Bingyan heard that sound, she knew he was upset.

His owner had been off having fun for so long, leaving him at someone else’s house. Even though the house and yard here were huge, he ate and drank well every day, and a helper was assigned to care for him... it still wasn’t home!

”Oh! You missed me, didn’t you!”

Seeing her expression, Shui Sulan knew what was bothering her.

She came over to play with the dog alongside her and started to explain:

”I took him for a bath yesterday, and we ran into a Pomeranian getting its fur dyed. When I wasn’t looking, he ran over and knocked over the dye cream. He’s a clever one, so he knew to jump back. His body was spared, but his tail swept right through the dye. It was a complete mess, so we had no choice but to try and fix it.”

So that’s what happened. Ni Bingyan instantly felt a little embarrassed.

She knew that, if not for an accident, a couple like Shui Sulan and her husband would never have dyed Wangcai’s fur without telling her first.

After all, even the best dye can still harm a dog’s skin and coat.

”Don’t worry, we used a high-quality dye, and it only got on the fur, not his skin.”

Shui Sulan continued, apologizing, ”I’m so sorry, Bingbing. I can’t even watch a dog properly. I was going to call and tell you, but then I remembered you were coming back today, and I thought it would be better to explain in person.”

’Many conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law arise from disagreements over raising children. Helping her with the dog now is just like a practice run.’

Shui Sulan was taking it all in stride.

”Auntie, please don’t say that! It was all because Wangcai was too curious. Besides, it’s just a little fur dye, it’s not a big deal.”

It wasn’t a matter of principle, and any lingering discomfort she felt vanished thanks to Shui Sulan’s wonderful attitude.

After chatting with them for a while, Ni Bingyan left the gifts and headed out with her dog.

The moment she left, Shui Sulan immediately picked up her phone to consult her brain trust:

”[So, when you’re watching the grandkids and do something that makes your daughter-in-law unhappy, what’s the best way to handle it?]”

Whether in her personal life or at work, President Shui was accustomed to preparing for a rainy day.

Soon, her group of old friends from the complex began to share their mother-in-law wisdom:

”[You need to have a clear sense of boundaries. Figure out what things will make her unhappy and just don’t do them. Nip it in the bud! For example, kids love candy and ice cream. Even if they throw a tantrum, you can’t secretly give it to them. Otherwise, if your daughter-in-law finds out, she’ll flip out in a second!]”

”[Yes, yes, Old Chen is right. I secretly gave my grandson ice cream once, and he got diarrhea. Oh, my daughter-in-law didn’t yell at me, but she gave me the longest silent treatment. I felt guilty for two months straight and still haven’t gotten over it.]”

”[You have to be humble about it afterward. Apologize when you need to, don’t be stubborn! Things are different now with ’scientific parenting’ and all that. Sigh. Anyway, a lot of our old experience is useless now. When the time comes, hire a few qualified nannies. Remember this! It’s very important!]”

”[Speaking of hiring nannies, my granddaughter’s nanny is fantastic. She has a master’s degree, speaks three foreign languages, plays the piano, handles the daily tutoring center runs, and even supervises her homework.]”

”[Which foreign languages does your nanny speak? My grandson’s nanny has an American English accent. My daughter-in-law wants to take advantage of him being young and switch to a nanny with a London accent.]”

...

And so, the group started swapping stories about their experiences hiring nannies.

As the conversation went on, it turned into a competition.

Shui Sulan frowned as she read.

’Entrusting a perfectly good child to a paid nanny—what kind of great character could that possibly foster?’

’The family’s elders should be the ones finding ways to spend more time with them.’

She and her husband, Sang Jingwen, had been incredibly busy, but they had raised both their children themselves.

The fact that they hadn’t raised Sang Mu and Sang Yuan to be typical, sophisticated egoists was the couple’s proudest accomplishment in life.

They had love in their hearts, light in their eyes, warmth in their lives, and a mature perspective on problems. They weren’t any less capable than the so-called ”Western elites” from other families.

After coming to this realization, Shui Sulan began to view this so-called ”mother-in-law wisdom” with a more critical eye.

Ni Bingyan had no idea her future mother-in-law was secretly cramming for her ”exam.” The moment she got home, she received a call from Wei Shuojie.

”I have a job offer here that’s a little unusual. I wanted to discuss it with you.”

”Oh? What kind of job?”

These days, Wei Shuojie could accept most jobs on her behalf directly. The fact that she was so formally consulting her now immediately caught Ni Bingyan’s interest.

’If Sister Wei is being this cautious, it must be a great gig!’

”Here’s the thing. Your fans have planned a laid-back travel variety show for you called *Ni Bingyan’s World Travel*.”

”What? Planned by my fans?”

’Planned by fans... can something like that actually happen?’

’Making a show isn’t that simple.’

’First, you need to assemble a professional team. Without one, it would be a total joke.’

’Second, you have to secure a broadcast platform. A show that never airs would negatively impact her commercial value.’

’And finally, how could she possibly ask her fans for a performance fee?’

’Even if she agreed to do it purely out of passion, her company would never approve.’

After all, her time was very valuable now, and her agency took a cut of every penny she earned.

”Sigh, I never would have thought your fans were this incredible.”

As Wei Shuojie continued, Ni Bingyan felt like she must be dreaming or hallucinating.

In a nutshell, this was the situation.

She had a few powerhouse fans: one was the child of a famous director, another was a wealthy heiress, and the third was the daughter of a TV station director. The three of them had formed an ”Iron Triangle” fan club.

The station director’s daughter was in charge of pulling strings and securing a broadcast slot. The wealthy heiress was in charge of funding. And the director’s kid was in charge of assembling a crew.

Driven by some shared conviction, they had come together and actually managed to create a highly feasible proposal for the show.

”The reason I’m hesitating is the funding. Besides the wealthy heiress putting up the lion’s share, a lot of die-hard fans also crowdfunded. They’ve formed a proper limited liability company based on investment ratios, but I’m still worried about the potential legal risks.”

After getting the gist of the situation, Ni Bingyan said she needed to think about it.

Her schedule was packed right now anyway, so she wouldn’t have time to film even if she did agree.

She remained exceptionally calm on the phone, but the moment she hung up, she couldn’t resist grabbing her phone, logging into her private account, and excitedly gushing:

”[Oh my god! What genius came up with this idea! I’m so excited!]”

Afraid of blowing her cover, Ni Bingyan didn’t dare say what she was talking about, but that didn’t stop the lurking Sherlock Holmeses among her followers from figuring it out.

They had just sent the offer and already got feedback.

Wow~ this kind of fan experience was truly unprecedented!

Seeing that she was clearly interested, the Iron Triangle quickly got together to polish the show’s proposal one more time.

They’d even come up with a tagline: ”Passionately produced by the fans! Ni Bingyan’s laid-back travel show! Follow Bingbing and see the world!”