Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Ni Bingyan was no longer the novice she once was. Although she still didn’t have a deep understanding of tea culture, she at least knew you weren’t supposed to down your cup in one go and then grab the teapot to pour yourself more.

She was imitating Producer Zhao, holding her teacup and appreciating its aroma, when someone else arrived.

The newcomer was the director, Mou Sanyang.

Mou Sanyang was a rather wizened little old man, as if all the collagen in his face had been converted into the genius in his brain.

He entered the pavilion, said, ”Morning!” and upon seeing Yin Jing and Ni Bingyan stand to greet him, walked straight past them and sat down in the innermost part of the pavilion.

He then picked up a cup of tea and immediately entered a state of deep thought. Forget chatting—there wasn’t even a single pleasantry.

Talented people are always special. He had always been like this, and the whole world knew it.

When he was younger, however, people treated him like an oddball. Not only would they refuse to talk to him, but they would also speak ill of him behind his back. Once he became famous, everyone just started calling it his personality.

Yin Jing was delighted that no one was trying to make conversation. He contentedly petted a cat while watching Zhao Fulun fuss back and forth with his collection of tea implements.

Ni Bingyan wasn’t one to misread the room. Seeing that no one was in the mood for small talk, she simply began to sip her tea.

’She had to admit, the tea was wonderfully fragrant!’

There was a reason it was so precious; it truly was different from other teas.

Wangcai was lying by her feet, his head resting on her instep, dozing leisurely when he suddenly lifted his head.

Ni Bingyan followed his gaze and lifted her head. At some point, a girl with long, straight black hair had entered the area outside the pavilion, wearing a bulky black cotton-padded jacket and a large Lei Feng hat.

She was called a ”girl” because she had an incredibly youthful baby face and dewy, well-maintained skin, making it impossible to guess her age.

”Hi, everyone. I’m Wu Shinan.”

”Hello, Scriptwriter Wu!”

Ni Bingyan had been waiting for another woman to arrive and immediately greeted her. But Wu Shinan just scurried into the pavilion, sat down next to her with a blush, and then went completely still.

The intense aura of social anxiety radiating from the person beside her left Ni Bingyan almost stunned.

’That greeting seemed so normal, though! Could it have been a special move she’d been charging up for a long time?’

’An ultimate move might not be powerful, but its cooldown is definitely long.’

’How does such an introverted scriptwriter communicate normally with her colleagues at work?’

Just as she was wondering whether she should try to strike up another conversation, she saw Wu Shinan pull a hedgehog out of her wide sleeve.

Yes, her pet was a cute little hedgehog.

The little hedgehog sat in her palm, not much bigger than her hand.

It was timid, pulling its head in, with little eyes like black beans that looked shyly about.

’They say pets take after their owners. This little guy probably has a bit of social anxiety too.’

Ni Bingyan watched, wide-eyed, as Wu Shinan magically produced a few nuts, gently offered them to the little hedgehog, and then became completely engrossed in watching it eat, ignoring everyone else.

’Oh, for God’s sake! Does anyone understand what this feels like?’

Two such people had arrived in a row, and with Yin Jing treating conversation like a chore, Ni Bingyan felt it would be inappropriate to be too pushy.

She glanced at Zhao Fulun, thinking that the host should at least step in to liven up the atmosphere. Instead, he was cradling his teacup with a look of sheer bliss, lost in the tea’s aroma and saying nothing.

Ni Bingyan was about to lose her mind!

’Come on!’

’We know you broke out the finest tea to entertain your guests today!’

’But not all the guests have even arrived, and you’re already eagerly drinking it?’

’Fine, go ahead and drink! But could you at least entertain your guests?’

’I’m a guest too, you know? Why am I the one worrying about the host’s duties?’

’Producer Zhao isn’t embarrassed, so why the hell should I be?’

Being with these four titans of the industry, Ni Bingyan felt that even a group activity could sometimes be hard to integrate into.

Just as she was starting to feel uncomfortable, her phone rang.

Ni Bingyan felt a wave of relief.

Since she had her dog with her and was seated in a spot that was difficult to get out of, she murmured an apology and answered the call.

The caller was Song Fuling—whose name, incidentally, sounded quite similar to Producer Zhao’s.

”Bingbao, that necklace you fished out of the lake in London Park has been repaired. We just had a meeting. The first episode airs tomorrow, so we can start posting the ’lost and found’ notices on Weibo and other platforms.”

They had initially thought it belonged to the deceased person, but later confirmed that it did not.

After the relevant procedures were completed, the London police returned the necklace.

Song Fuling had it restored according to their plan and was now notifying Ni Bingyan to coordinate with the show’s promotion.

This had been discussed and agreed upon long ago, so she didn’t refuse.

”Sister Wei manages the official Weibo and our international accounts. I only have a secondary account. Have you contacted her? Send me a copy of the photo and the text; I’ll post it from my alt account later.”

Although it was her secondary account, it actually had more followers than the official one, so posting it there wouldn’t hurt.

’Fishing up such a beautiful necklace... if the cameras hadn’t been rolling the whole time, who would have believed it?’

A moment later, Song Fuling sent the photos over.

Just as Ni Bingyan was looking at the pictures on her phone, the art advisor, Yu Danqing, arrived.

Yu Danqing was an artist. She started as a painter, but as she got older, her talents expanded to so many areas that the word ”painter” alone could no longer define her.

She was tall and thin, and even a thick, Song Dynasty-style Hanfu didn’t make her look bulky.

She wore a ginger-yellow pleated skirt and a tangerine top, covered by a thick, peacock-blue outer robe with a fur-trimmed collar.

But that wasn’t all.

Her hair was done up in an intricate style, yet adorned with only a single, casually placed pearl hairpin.

It wasn’t snowing, nor was the sun particularly bright, yet she wore a pair of oversized sunglasses.

She strode in as if her leather shoes were mythical Wind and Fire Wheels, giving off the distinct vibe of a Song Dynasty street tough. Her entire being screamed, ’I’m this cool. Mind your own business.’

Without waiting for a greeting, she entered the pavilion.

Perhaps because she’d never pulled all-nighters studying for STEM subjects, her eyesight was exceptionally good. The angle at which Ni Bingyan was holding her phone was just right, and as soon as Yu Danqing walked in, she spotted the necklace.

”Eh?”

Ni Bingyan looked up to see the ”court lady” in historical attire slowly take off her sunglasses, her eyes fixated on her phone.

Slender eyebrows, a powdered face, thin lips, and phoenix eyes—an appearance that immediately brought Wang Xifeng to mind.

The fashionable sunglasses on her face created a strong visual impact—clashing, yet somehow harmonious.

To Ni Bingyan, this kind of illogical beauty was absolutely stunning, and she couldn’t help but stare for a moment longer.

When she snapped back to her senses a moment later, she realized the woman had been staring at her phone for quite some time.

”Hello?”

Guessing she was most likely Yu Danqing, Ni Bingyan still felt a little uncomfortable.

Leaning in to stare at her phone without so much as a greeting didn’t make for a good first impression.

”Ah! Oh! I’m sorry, forgive my rudeness, but where did you see that photo you were just looking at?”

’To forgive others is to forgive yourself. Don’t be a slave to emotions; just try to live each day with a bit of grace.’

The woman had properly started a conversation and even apologized for her earlier behavior. There was no need to hold a grudge.

So, Ni Bingyan explained how she had been fishing in a park in London and had pulled up this very necklace.

After hearing the story, Yu Danqing got so excited that she slapped the sunglasses in her right hand against her left palm.

”Oh! So it all connects!”

”What connects? Don’t tell me you’ve seen this necklace before?”

Yu Danqing plopped down on the other side of Ni Bingyan, squeezing in between her and Yin Jing. Ignoring everyone else’s reactions, she said gleefully:

”Wait, let me show you a picture of my grandmother when she was young. Then you’ll understand!”

With that, she logged into her cloud storage and pulled up a black-and-white photograph.

A young man and woman were nestled together, standing in a lush courtyard, their smiles exceptionally bright.

And around the woman’s neck was that very same necklace.