Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

”Sweetheart, what have you done now? I haven’t even finished my dinner, and I’ve already gotten three calls. I hear you’re planning to emigrate?”

Ni Bingyan had expected a scolding for causing trouble on her day off by randomly starting a live stream or something, so she was stunned when this was the first thing Sister Wei brought up.

This wasn’t like the old days when everyone thought the grass was greener on the other side. Nowadays, uncritically worshipping everything foreign would get you flamed to death online!

She wasn’t that kind of person and didn’t want to be saddled with that reputation.

Ni Bingyan finally understood why Sister Wei was calling.

Just doing a live stream to unbox some packages wasn’t a big deal. Sister Wei might have even praised her for being diligent and working on her day off.

The reason Sister Wei would call even knowing she was live was that she must have sensed a potential crisis and wanted to nip it in the bud.

The issue was far too sensitive. Rather than wait for the gossip accounts to start spreading rumors, it was better to put on a little show and clarify things first.

Ni Bingyan first looked shocked, then raised an eyebrow and feigned anger:

”Who said that? Isn’t that just a baseless rumor? When did I ever say I was going to emigrate? I’m perfectly happy being a citizen of China—where would I even go? This is absurd!”

”Don’t worry about who. Just tell me, if you’re not emigrating, why are you taking the IELTS? Are you planning to study abroad or work for a foreign company? People are suspecting you want to emigrate, and they’re saying some really nasty things! I nearly had a heart attack from anger!”

After getting home from work, Wei Shuojie had been busy making braised fish for her son. She never expected her artist, on a single day off and with a ”Guardian Divine Beast” watching over her, could still manage to stir up trouble.

Bingyan was happily live-streaming her unboxing, completely oblivious to the potential consequences.

Seeing his mom staring intently at the muted tablet screen, spinning a story completely off the cuff, Li Zhi’s eyes darted around, and he decided to add his own line to the act:

”Mom! The braised fish is getting cold! Get off the phone already. You’ve taken more calls during this one meal than there are bones in the fish!”

Wei Shuojie gave him an amused glance and a thumbs-up.

When the viewers in the live stream heard Li Zhi speak, no one suspected she had been watching the stream. They just assumed she’d been eating dinner the whole time and had only called Ni Bingyan to ask what was going on after someone called her to complain.

”Oh! So that’s what this is all about! You gave me a huge scare!”

Ni Bingyan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly explained:

”This evening, didn’t you have me go to the office and haul back a pile of packages?

”I figured since I received gifts from people, I should at least thank them!

”But they didn’t leave any contact information, so I just started a live stream. I thought maybe they’d be in the audience!”

”So this business about you taking the IELTS is fake?”

Even over the phone, everyone could hear Wei Shuojie’s sigh of relief.

The fans, never expecting this was how their idol and her agent interacted in private, listened with great interest, treating it like a mid-show intermission.

”Well, it’s not exactly fake...”

Ni Bingyan then recounted what had happened earlier.

”You’re really something else! How could you agree to something like that!

”If you do poorly, you’ll be a laughingstock!

”You’re going to make me hit menopause early! You actually announced the test date on the live stream, in front of all those people?!

”Oh my god! Now everyone’s going to be watching for your results. What are you going to do then!

”You can’t just pretend to be sick on that day, can you? I feel suffocated just thinking about it!

”Sigh, what’s done is done. Since you promised, you have to follow through! Otherwise, if your career goes down in flames, I’ll be finished too. I’m not getting any younger, you know. Have a little pity on me!”

Wei Shuojie’s exasperation was so palpable you could almost smell it from thousands of miles away, and the audience erupted in another round of ”Hahaha.”

Tonight’s live stream was just too funny!

Wei Shuojie was a master of controlling her tone and details. With her deliberate misdirection, everyone on the other side of the screen held their breath, feeling as if they were eavesdropping.

”Um... Sister Wei... I’m still live...”

Ni Bingyan kept trying to interrupt her, hoping to stop her from saying all that.

But Sister Wei just didn’t seem to get the hint.

”You have a flight to catch tomorrow. Speed it up, finish unboxing, and get to bed early! Go on, go on, don’t keep people waiting!”

”Um... Sister Wei... It’s possible... the live stream wasn’t off...”

”You big dummy! Don’t you know to step away to take a call? If your place is small, then lower your voice!”

Figuring she might as well face the music, Ni Bingyan announced the truth with the grim resolve of a martyr:

”I was using my phone for the live stream, and I... only have one phone...”

”What?! You little brat, you’re going to be the death of me! Don’t you know you can buy a set of streaming equipment? Just how poor are you?!”

”I was just...”

Ni Bingyan tried to explain, but the person on the other end had already hung up.

The act was a roaring success. Everyone thought Wei Shuojie had no idea her phone call had been broadcast live.

What a drama they had just witnessed!

When the live stream resumed, Ni Bingyan wore an embarrassed expression, a conflicted look that screamed, ’I’m done for, I’ve messed up again,’ and, ’I really want to end the stream, but there are still so many packages to unbox.’

It had to be said, when it came to getting a topic to trend, Ni Bingyan was truly a professional.

The live stream that night was full of juicy material. Any little detail could be spun into an article. It was enough to feed countless editors at entertainment tabloids!

With her agent’s reminder and her flight abroad scheduled for the next day,

Ni Bingyan logically picked up the pace of her unboxing.

Most viewers just wanted to see what was in the packages; they didn’t really care about the stories of the people who sent them.

It was like how people who enjoy eating eggs don’t care what the chicken that laid them looks like.

Next, Ni Bingyan unboxed a handmade wallet, a castle figurine personally crafted by a pottery shop owner, the first Jianzhan tea bowl made by an apprentice...

By the time she had unboxed everything, the table was completely covered with all sorts of gifts.

Every single gift was heartfelt, and many were completely unexpected!

She ended the stream and went off to get her beauty sleep, but the heated discussions sparked by the broadcast would take a long time to die down.

All sorts of topics started trending, so many that it was dizzying. Just as people were about to accuse her of drumming up publicity, they saw *Demon Suppression Tower* using the opportunity to promote itself.

Sigh. From a different perspective, what some called ”creating hype,” others called ”professional dedication.”

As for the fans, those who had sent gifts this time were all too excited to sleep.

Meanwhile, those who hadn’t sent gifts were now all gathered under Ni Bingyan’s latest Weibo post, thoughtfully brainstorming themes for their letters.

They hoped their own ideas would be chosen, but when they saw a brilliant idea that made them want to applaud, they couldn’t help but give it a like.

[Why can’t she hold more events like this? Once a year is too few! There are so many golden ideas, I don’t even know which one to choose.]

[Come on, how many days off does she get a year? How can you even ask for something like that? You guys should stop. Let me ask instead, I’m more thick-skinned.]

...

The fans, buzzing with excitement, lingered for a long time, unwilling to leave as they continued their passionate discussions.