Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Having been away from home for a long time, Ni Bingyan only discovered that her rice container was empty the next morning while making porridge.

She was about to join the cast of *Inheritor*. The school scenes would be filmed at a private high school in a suburb of Beijing, the indoor scenes at a commercial building in Beijing, and only the scenes at the heroine’s grandfather’s luxurious manor required a trip to Cambodia in Southeast Asia.

Wealthy people in China didn’t tend to be ostentatious, and very few built lavish manors with great fanfare.

In the movie, the heroine’s grandfather was supposed to be a tycoon. If they just filmed in some random small villa, the audience would probably laugh them off the screen.

So, the production team used the investor’s personal connections to rent a private manor from a wealthy Chinese-Cambodian in Cambodia to shoot these scenes.

She still had over a month of work in Beijing, so she couldn’t go without rice at home.

Ni Bingyan had no choice. After breakfast, she had to take Wangcai out to buy rice.

Just a ten-minute drive from Yayuan was a large market that sold the freshest rice, flour, oil, and dry goods, as well as the freshest vegetables, seafood, and meat. The selection was comprehensive, and most importantly, the prices were low. Ni Bingyan loved to shop there.

This grain and oil shop, which also sold seasonings, was one she frequented.

To maintain her figure, she didn’t dare eat too many carbs on a daily basis. She mainly bought rice to make porridge in the morning, so she never bought too much at once.

When she arrived, she took out the rice bag she’d brought and asked the owner to weigh out the jade-green rice she liked.

The shop was filled with open sacks of rice and grains for customers to choose from, along with countless jars and bottles. Ni Bingyan was worried dog hair might get into the food, and she was also afraid Wangcai’s curiosity would get the better of him and he’d knock over the seasoning bottles. ’It’ll just take a moment to weigh the rice, and there’s a security camera at the entrance anyway,’ she thought, so she decided to tie Wangcai up by the door.

But when the rice was weighed and she was about to load it onto her cart, she turned around to find Wangcai gone. All that was left by the door was an empty leash.

Because she often took Wangcai to film sets, Ni Bingyan had bought a very sturdy leash that buckled onto his back. There was no way he could have wriggled free.

The buckle was fine, but the dog was gone. Someone had clearly unfastened it.

They had been so close, and he was stolen in the blink of an eye. Wangcai hadn’t even made a sound. This was clearly the work of a professional.

Ni Bingyan suppressed her anxiety and asked the owner to check the security footage.

’I can’t believe a dog thief would be this brazen!’

Radiating a murderous aura, Ni Bingyan held her phone in one hand, ready to record the surveillance footage for the police, and clutched the bag of rice in the other, her eyes glued to the screen.

Wangcai was a certified purebred Golden Retriever and had been quite expensive. The theft was serious enough to be considered a major crime, with a minimum sentence of three years.

’I’d like to see what kind of moron dares to steal something right under a security camera!’

Having a down-to-earth celebrity who regularly shopped at his store had been good for business, even though the laid-back owner never used it for publicity.

Seeing that her dog was missing, the owner seemed even more anxious than she was. He immediately pulled up the security footage to help her find the thief.

But as soon as the footage played, the owner looked embarrassed.

On the screen, a little tyke barely taller than the dog was giggling with his hand over his mouth as he unfastened the buckle. Next to him, a slightly taller girl of about four or five held a bag of crispy sweet potato jerky. Seeing the dog’s gentle gaze, she generously offered it a piece.

Wangcai, that sheltered, gluttonous dog, had never seen such a thing because Ni Bingyan never ate snacks. Lured by the sweet smell, he actually leaned in and took a bite!

Even through the screen, Ni Bingyan could feel Wangcai’s delight.

He was munching on the sweet potato jerky, CRUNCH CRUNCH, his eyes instantly lit up, and his tail started wagging furiously!

Then the two children’s eyes lit up as well!

The older one continued to feed him jerky, while the younger one reached out and blissfully petted his back.

Apparently, human children weren’t included in his ”stranger danger” training. The lessons about not taking food from strangers and not following them had always been effective, but they suddenly failed when faced with these cute little kids.

Watching the two kids and one dog walk out of the camera’s range, Ni Bingyan took one look at the owner’s expression and understood everything.

She habitually uploaded the video to two different cloud drives, then put away her phone and looked at the shop owner.

”Those two kids, are they yours?”

The owner, both awkward and apologetic, replied, ”Yeah. The older one is my sister’s daughter, and the little one is my son. I’m so sorry, Miss Ni. I’ll go find your dog for you right now.”

The owner thought, ’We’re on my home turf. It’s not like the dog just grew wings and flew away, right?’

A few minutes later, however, the owner found his son throwing a tantrum on the floor of his uncle’s dry goods store, and his niece crying, her nose red.

”Waaaah, I want the doggy!”

When the owner asked what happened, he learned that his son, with his meddlesome hands, had seen how beautiful Wangcai’s golden fur was and couldn’t resist pulling a tuft of it. The dog yelped in pain and bolted in a panic, disappearing from sight!

The market was crowded, filled with complex scents, and had many exits. Even for a highly intelligent dog like Wangcai, once he ran too far, he would most likely be unable to find his way back.

Ni Bingyan saw that a circle of shopkeepers—all relatives of the owner—had gathered around them, and she felt the hair on her arms stand on end!

’Oh no. What if I can’t find the dog, and I end up in danger myself!’

The owner, who had started working at his parents’ shop as a teenager, could tell from her expression that she was overthinking things. He quickly called out to his assorted aunts and relatives:

”Quick, quick, help Miss Ni find her dog!”

The owner was well-prepared. He had taken a picture of the surveillance screen earlier.

Ni Bingyan was suddenly very grateful that Aunt Shui had groomed Wangcai, making him look different from other dogs. He looked so distinguished and clearly expensive.

That way, even if someone caught him, they wouldn’t butcher him for meat. They would most likely either resell him or keep him as a pet.

That meant there was still hope of getting him back.

After seeing the photo, the owner’s relatives really did go off to help search. Only then did the owner sheepishly call out to Ni Bingyan, ”I’m so sorry, Miss Ni. Please don’t worry. If we can’t find him, I’ll definitely compensate you for double his value!”

Afraid she wouldn’t believe him, he added awkwardly, ”I’m from Jiang Village, so you can rest assured.”

Pretty much everyone in the country knew that the people of Jiang Village had become millionaires overnight from demolition and relocation compensation. It was unexpected to find a group of them still running an honest business in a market.

’Perhaps in their eyes, a life with only money and no hard work is an imperfect one!’

Hearing this, Ni Bingyan could only sigh. ”I’m going to look for my dog. I’ll leave the rice here for now.”

She had already paid for it. Once she found her dog, she would definitely be back to get it.

After asking which way the dog had run, Ni Bingyan chased after him, asking the surrounding shopkeepers along the way if they had seen a Golden Retriever with dyed ears and tail.

At first, a few people had seen him, but once she left the market, the streets were full of pedestrians, and no one she asked had seen him.

She couldn’t access the street surveillance cameras herself. Since it wasn’t a case of dog theft but a dog running away on its own, she couldn’t file a police report, so relying on the police to find him was unrealistic.

Ni Bingyan had no choice but to go to the parking lot, get her recently repaired Volkswagen, and drive slowly along the road, searching.

After searching for a while, she suddenly smacked her forehead. ’I’m such an idiot! Why don’t I post on Weibo and ask for help from netizens?’

No sooner said than done. Ni Bingyan quickly logged into her official Weibo account and posted a message with photos:

[LOST DOG: Wangcai, a Golden Retriever, went missing on X date of X month, X year, at 10:30 AM in the XXX Market in Beijing. He was groomed as shown in the pictures. He responds to his name. If seen, please leave a comment. A generous reward will be given for any information or for his safe return! (4 images attached)]

She used to hate trending on the hot search, but right now, she wished those marketing accounts would hurry up and swarm her post.

Sigh!

’That glutton! When I get him back, he’s going straight back to doggy school to learn some manners. Taking food from strangers and following them... it’s infuriating!’

’And I shouldn’t have brought him out today.’

Needless to say, Ni Bingyan was fuming with anger and regret. Meanwhile, Wangcai was just beginning his own wild and magical day.