Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Ni Bingyan was no lovesick fool. She would never do something like neglect her career for a relationship.

After returning from abroad from filming *Inheritor*, she had a very sweet date with Sang Yuan, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time. Yet, the very next day, she returned to work without a moment’s hesitation, heading to a meeting with the main creative team of a variety show as Sister Wei had arranged.

Sang Yuan felt a little dejected. He had been all ready to skip work to spend more time with his girlfriend, but she was already raring to go, determined to leave her peers in the dust.

’Since when is work more fun than a date?’

’You work so hard all the time, isn’t it all so you can enjoy your time off?’

”If our love is meant to be eternal, why must we be together day and night? This is the time for us to strive. If we don’t work hard now and make something of ourselves, how can we be good role models for our children later?”

Don’t tell me we’re already good enough. There’s always a higher mountain to climb. The proper attitude for young people like us is to stay humble and keep fighting.

Well, Mr. Sang was just that easy to placate. Hearing her words, he perked right back up in less than a second and headed off to work happily.

After seeing her boyfriend off, Ni Bingyan finished getting ready and headed out.

Her gray Volkswagen was covered in a thick layer of dust from not being driven for so long. She first took it out for a wash.

Wangcai’s fur had gotten a little long, so with time to spare before her appointment, she took him to get a trim.

Once that was done and it was nearly time for her meeting, she swung by Yuan Yan Venture Capital to bring her boyfriend some lunch, then headed directly to Xingdi Film and Television.

It was much more convenient to discuss a proper variety show like this at the company’s offices.

It was essential to hold a preliminary meeting to sort out the details before filming officially began.

Being in this line of work, Ni Bingyan was long used to this process.

She arrived at the conference room ten minutes early, only to find that everyone else was already there.

There were three people on the main creative team for *Ni Bingyan’s World Travel*.

One was Pei Jin, the son of a famous director, who looked tall, thin, and quite shy.

Another was a wealthy heiress named Song Fuling. She was dressed in a leather jacket and wore bold, Western-style makeup. When she heard the footsteps and turned toward the door, her oversized hoop earrings swayed back and forth.

The third was Wang Xi, the daughter of a TV station head. She was petite, looking both quiet and delicate, and she immediately broke into a small, demure smile upon seeing Ni Bingyan.

As Ni Bingyan walked through the door, her first instinct was to size up the trio. She was so nervous she almost forgot how to walk.

Interacting with fans online was one thing; meeting them in person was something else entirely.

For them to put in the money, effort, and an immense amount of time to organize a variety show just for her, one that would fulfill her fantasy of traveling the world... these three were definitely the most die-hard of her fans.

And it was precisely this understanding that made Ni Bingyan so nervous.

’She was so worried. What if they met her and discovered she wasn’t who they’d imagined? They would surely be disappointed.’

’When people become fans of a star, they’re often chasing an idealized version of a person.’

’That person is a perfect being built from their own subjective imagination. There was no way the real her could ever live up to that standard.’

’Would this first meeting shatter the illusion?’

’Once their fanaticism faded, would they still be committed to making the show a success?’

’Many people advise against working with friends. Once personal feelings get involved, things can easily go wrong.’

’She had so many reservations about collaborating with fans. She was afraid of not only the show running into problems but also losing those fans in the process.’

Ni Bingyan suppressed her anxieties, greeted everyone with a smile, and took a seat next to Sister Wei.

Meetings like this were usually dull and tedious, consisting of little more than reviewing the schedule, going over the budget, and confirming staffing for various departments.

The part Ni Bingyan needed to focus on most was the content of the show.

”Bingbing, the main focus of our show is immersive travel. We’ll be livestreaming the entire journey, then editing it down into a show for both television and online broadcast. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you want. Just act like the cameras behind you don’t exist. What do you think?”

Of the three, the cheerful, confident, and eldest of the group, Song Fuling, took the lead. The other two were less talkative, mostly just sitting and listening.

It wasn’t an attitude of indifference, though. Whenever the two of them did speak, their comments were substantive, clearly well-considered. Their reticence was purely a matter of personality.

This was all in the contract, so Ni Bingyan nodded. ”I think that’s great. I have no problem with that arrangement.”

She wasn’t the type of person to have a lot of secrets or hide things, and she felt her moral compass was sound, so being livestreamed 24/7 didn’t put any pressure on her at all.

”So, for our first stop, what country do you want to go to? I’ll need to start preparations.”

Song Fuling was in charge of the finances, Pei Jin was responsible for filming, and Wang Xi handled logistics.

After Fuling finished speaking, Wang Xi couldn’t help but blush and lower her head. A moment later, she offered a gentle but firm explanation:

”I’ll just be preparing the things we need for our journey, not arranging things at the destination ahead of time. Our show is all about authenticity.”

The three of them had a clear division of labor, and each had absolute authority over their own area of responsibility. Hearing Wang Xi’s words, Ni Bingyan began to seriously consider the question.

”Actually, there are many places I’d love to go, but... what I’d like most is to go back and visit Panxi City in Ning Province.”

Ni Bingyan looked a little sheepish.

”For a long time, I’ve wanted to go see how the people in Wutong County are doing now. I just never have a long enough break. Since you said I can go anywhere I want... I assume that includes places within the country, right?”

Everyone was surprised. They hadn’t expected her first choice of destination to be Wutong County.

”We can... but...”

’If we start with a domestic trip, won’t that lower the show’s prestige?’

Song Fuling was a little concerned.

”The footage might not turn out very well, and people might accuse me of doing it for publicity. How about... I just draw lots? You can give me a few options, and I’ll pick one.”

Seeing their expressions, Ni Bingyan immediately started to backpedal.

’It was a bit greedy of me, trying to satisfy a personal wish on company time.’

’I was taking their kindness for granted.’

’I shouldn’t have even mentioned it.’

’From now on, I need to treat them as colleagues, not fans.’

As Ni Bingyan silently chastised herself, she heard Pei Jin speak up slowly:

”I think we can do it. Last year, Sister Bingbing did that livestream selling agricultural products for Wutong County, showing them a path out of poverty. It’s perfectly normal to want to see if they seized that opportunity and managed to develop. Revisiting a meaningful place from your past is a great idea.

”Besides, like Wang Xi just said, the whole point of this show is for you to go wherever you want. If you can go abroad, you can certainly go somewhere domestic.

”And you mentioned being afraid of people calling it a publicity stunt... so we’ll just go quietly. We won’t alert the locals. It’s winter, so you can bundle up. We’ll use a smaller camera crew when we film and keep a low profile. There shouldn’t be any problems.”

His words made the other two come to their senses.

’That’s right,’ they thought. ’This show is supposed to be for her, to make her happy. If Wutong County is where she wants to go most right now, then that’s where the first stop should be.’

For years, Song Fuling’s family had been pressuring her to get married, preventing her from wholeheartedly pursuing her own career. A major reason she invested in this show for Ni Bingyan was that she wanted to see someone live freely and happily.

Once she had it all figured out, she made a swift decision. ”Alright, first stop, Wutong County. A domestic trip will be cheaper, we’ll be on our home turf, and it’ll be a good opportunity for the team to find its rhythm. Come to think of it, there are a lot of upsides.”

Wang Xi immediately opened a document and started reworking the plan.

”This is much better. Let’s settle it then!”

Watching them hash it out in just a few sentences and immediately start putting her idea into action, Ni Bingyan felt a bit overwhelmed.

’So this is what a show planned by fans is like?’

’No bickering, no passing the buck. As long as it was what she wanted, they would make it happen.’

The show really was completely unscripted. All she had to do was go on a trip and follow her own whims.

”Will anyone really watch a show like this?”

Ni Bingyan started to worry about her fans’ investment.

’If they couldn’t even make back their initial investment, she’d feel awful.’

’Besides, if the show wasn’t the least bit entertaining, how would they answer to the TV station?’

’That was all riding on Wang Xi’s connections.’

’Sigh. What a wonderful problem to have.’