Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Chapter 32: Chapter 29: Shivered

The tea just dropped this morning.

Their agency’s top actress was a mistress, and she’d even had a baby. So the man’s wife sent a squad of slick bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses to their company building to unfurl a banner.

The banner was pink—a nice touch—and the content was incredibly specific:

"Triple Crown Best Actress of the Sun Family, for her meritorious service in propagating my husband’s family line, I, the original wife, have come to formally accept her as his concubine!"

The mistress gave birth to the family’s child, and as the official wife, she was generously arranging for her husband to take a concubine. In ancient times, she would have even brought the illegitimate child home to raise as her own. What a virtuous woman! A model for all wives, truly!

As for the mistress, she got to marry into a wealthy family on the back of her son, her long-held wish finally fulfilled. Wouldn’t you be thrilled?

Granny Sun probably wanted to die, but everyone else who wasn’t involved was having a great time.

This kind of thing was rare not just in the entertainment industry, but in the entire country!

Who didn’t know the famous Granny Sun?

It happened to be morning rush hour, and their company was located in a CBD on Beijing’s East Third Ring Road. Within minutes, a crowd of onlookers had gathered.

People were taking photos, recording videos, and calling or texting their friends and family to come watch the spectacle...

It was a real scene!

More chaotic than New Year’s!

If the wife hadn’t been so thorough and sent so many bodyguards to maintain order beforehand, there might have been a stampede!

The banner didn’t mention any names, a clear sign she’d consulted a lawyer. But how many Triple Crown Best Actresses with the surname Sun did their company have?

As soon as the news broke, it skyrocketed to the top of the trending charts.

Her fans were weeping. They cursed her out while announcing they were done with her, desperately asked "Why?!", and then furiously started trashing her. Granny Sun’s Weibo account crashed three times in less than half a day.

Bystanders were chiming in with, "My mind is blown, I’m dying of laughter!", "The number one tea of the year!", and "That scumbag’s got some luck with the ladies. Get out here and take your beating"...

The calm, intellectual types also came to join the fun.

Asking lawyers: "So the question is, does the wife’s action constitute a crime?"

Asking psychologists: "When a mistress is exposed by the wife, what mental preparations should she make to maintain the will to live?"

Asking finance experts: "When an illegitimate child is involved, what can be done to minimize financial losses?"

And even asking researchers of ancient culture: "Is there any significance to using pink for a concubine? Which dynasty did that start in? I’m so curious~"

Weibo crashed again and again. While the programmers were crying and trying to fix it, all sorts of people got a shot of adrenaline!

People drawing comics, making memes, writing fanfiction, spreading baseless rumors...

This generation of netizens is just too talented!

Swarm after swarm of internet gossip hounds came out in force, nearly bursting from wave after wave of tea!

Someone leaked that the wife was in an arranged marriage for family alliances. The top actress and the man had been together for many years, and the wife had tolerated it for the sake of her children.

Someone else said the wife finally snapped because Granny Sun insisted on having a baby.

These days, illegitimate children have inheritance rights. It’s no wonder the wife snapped when a perfectly good family fortune had to be split with some bastard from the outside!

An arranged marriage isn’t about love, it’s about money. Now that someone was coming for her money, how could she possibly stand for it?

Once the leaks had pretty much dried up, all the other ghouls and goblins came out to pull their own stunts.

Their agency’s top actress was definitely not recovering from this. Wouldn’t the rival A-listers from other companies seize the opportunity to ride the wave of popularity?

One of them, who liked to practice calligraphy and maintained a scholarly woman persona, directly posted a piece of her work: "Better to die holding fast to the branch’s fragrance than be blown down by the north wind."

A brilliant move deserving of applause!

Compared to someone so morally upright, Granny Sun was just trash!

Praising their own idol while trampling on the fallen rival—these fans were as ecstatic as if they’d won five million, and it all came down to one word: "Sweet!"

Another one, who had a Qing dynasty drama currently airing, immediately posted a clip from the show. In it, the A-lister, with her exquisite makeup and cheongsam, sat sideways with her head lowered, a handkerchief subtly covering her mouth.

"I say, sister, if you walk by the river long enough, your shoes are bound to get wet. The most important thing in life is to have some principles. Hehe~"

Look at that! Now that’s what you call awareness!

They were all A-list actresses with massive fanbases, who, as usual, praised them to death!

One with a "strong, independent woman" persona simply posted a single line: "Love may not be first come, first served, but it does require propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor. A thought to share with you all."

Open the comments, and it was a flood of "likes"!

Our idol’s values are so upright!

We have to blow up the likes!

The A-listers were riding the hype train, and of course, other celebrities wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity!

By the end, even some D-list actress who had just transitioned from being an internet celebrity was getting in on it. She posted a video of herself in heavy armor, skillfully brandishing a long spear, with a caption forced to fit the trend: "Righteousness in the heart! This is how a good woman should be!"

In the afternoon, even official state media weighed in. While promoting "positive energy," they harshly condemned infidelity, earning yet another flood of likes!

Ni Bingyan watched and pondered.

’Granny Sun really handled this foolishly. If you want to be in a relationship, aren’t there plenty of single young men to date?’

’Why did she have to get involved with someone else’s husband?’

’Passion may arise, but it must be restrained by propriety.’

’There’s a reason the ancients said that.’

’When you realize it’s not right, you should pull out immediately. How could she just keep going down that dark path?’

’With the top actress’s income, she could have lived comfortably for the rest of her life without working. It couldn’t have been for money that she stayed with him, without a title, in secret, and even insisted on having a child.’

’She’s almost forty. I suppose she just wanted a child of her own...’

’And after being in love for so many years, how could she not want some kind of resolution?’

’If she clung desperately to Jiang Sheng, perhaps this would be her future.’

Even in the middle of summer, Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but shiver.

’This isn’t the life I want!’

’I absolutely, absolutely will not let myself fall into such a miserable situation!’

’I absolutely, absolutely will not lose myself just because I love a man!’

After the wife fired the first shot, the top actress’s scandal stayed on the trending charts for at least a month.

She hadn’t misjudged him; the man actually divorced his wife and married her!

Everything was completed with surprising speed. Who knows what territories he had to cede and indemnities he had to pay to his ex-wife.

But for Granny Sun, whose reputation had hit rock bottom, this was the last straw she could cling to for survival.

It was for love, right? There’s no shame in that.

She was just a poor soul who had fallen for love.

Regardless of whether she would be happy in the future, she would have to grit her teeth and insist she had no regrets for the rest of her life.

But then someone leaked that the ex-wife was ruthless. She had already transferred all the family assets, leaving behind only a mountain of debt. Granny Sun, enduring the public’s scorn, married the man, only to find she wouldn’t get a single penny. Worse, she would have to use her own money to support her now-bankrupt husband and their wailing infant son.

To make matters worse, she had numerous endorsement deals, and because of the scandal, all of them were suing her.

It was said that to cover the deficit, she had already sold off several properties at a low price.

After struggling in the entertainment industry for nearly twenty years, it had all come to this.

With her career ruined, her wealth was like a river without a source. And being used to a lavish lifestyle, when she would end up destitute simply depended on how much of a nest egg she had saved.

Unless she could wait for that man to make a comeback, her life was pretty much screwed!

She had destroyed a business alliance between two families. Her husband’s family elders probably wanted to fry her in oil. When she finally couldn’t make ends meet, why would they ever lend her a hand?

As for a second-generation heir with no backing, just how capable he really was remained to be seen.

He was willing to disregard his family’s business foundation and turn against his wife, all for an actress. His family elders probably wished he’d never been born. How could they appease their own anger without making him suffer?

The once-famous star completely vanished after this incident. Some sources said she had gone abroad; others said she had only temporarily retired from the industry and would be back soon...

All sorts of gossip made the rounds, but besides the gossip squad led by Hu Zhenning, most people lost interest and even grew a little annoyed.

"That stupid little affair is in the news all day. It’s so annoying! Why can’t they report on scientists more?"

Ni Bingyan heard similar complaints more than once.

She just quietly paid attention, never voicing an opinion.

There are so many lovesick fools and resentful women in this world.

No matter how big the scandal, it was just one among a crowd.

As a bystander, it was enough to watch calmly, learn the lesson, and warn herself not to repeat the same mistakes.