Who Needs a CEO? I Choose Stardom

Chapter 46: Chapter 42: Sang Yuan

’Holy shit! Where did this random hottie come from! How can he be so good-looking! He looks like my celebrity crush, Jin Chengwu!!’

No one would ever guess that beneath the goddess-like exterior lived the soul of a tomboy, one who cursed like a sailor.

And when no one was looking, she’d even find herself shamelessly fawning over attractive men.

The moment their eyes met, it was as if a colony of screaming marmots had erupted in Ni Bingyan’s heart!

Those chiseled features!

That reserved, steady, yet slightly melancholic expression!

That slightly wavy hair!

That tall, upright build!

And those eyes, seemingly deep yet actually so pure~~~

It had to be said, good-looking people always got special treatment.

Especially when he looked just like the celebrity you’d been crushing on for over a decade.

For a single woman in her thirties, it was only natural to want to stare a little longer when she met someone who looked like the celebrity she’d idolized for over a decade. Even if they weren’t identical, it was just human nature.

Just moments ago, Ni Bingyan’s imagination had been running wild, worried that she might run into a criminal looking to commit a crime after the rain in this slightly remote area. Now, she wasn’t worried at all.

How could someone that good-looking possibly be a bad guy?

Besides, the community’s security was so tight. How could an outsider possibly sneak in?

’Probably just one of the neighbors’ kids, back for a visit,’ she mused.

"Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there. Your hat might have gotten snagged. I can buy you a new one as compensation."

It had to be said, Ni Bingyan was feeling a little shy at that moment.

Oh my!

What a rare feeling!

Her girlish heart, that prodigal son, had run away from home so many years ago she’d lost count. She never expected it to suddenly return. It was only natural for this old mother’s heart to be a little thrilled~

But the man just stared intently at her face as if he hadn’t heard a word she said. Then he abruptly snapped out of it, his pupils constricting in shock. Like a startled rabbit, he spun around and bolted!

The advantages of being tall and long-legged were on full display.

In the blink of an eye, the guy vanished into the small grove of trees!

Ni Bingyan: "..."

She cringed so hard her toes curled.

Her girlish heart lay shattered in pieces.

The rose-tinted filter her celebrity crush had provided shattered right along with it.

In a situation like this, she wasn’t expecting him to ask for her number or anything, but was it really so hard to come over, introduce himself, exchange a few pleasantries, and maintain a basic level of adult decorum?

She wasn’t a monster!

As a girl, an experience like this was just too damaging to one’s self-esteem!

It wasn’t like she had any ulterior motives.

She had been in the entertainment industry in her past life and had seen more handsome men than she could count. If she had wanted to date or get married, she would have done so long ago instead of dying single.

She had simply been struck by his handsome face and wanted to say a few words, apologize, and figure out what to do about the hat.

After all, the hat clearly wasn’t cheap, and nobody’s money grew on trees. If she owed him compensation, she had to pay it.

But she’d said just one sentence and scared the guy off?

Who would even believe that?

Ni Bingyan packed up her things in a huff and went home. Seeing that she had a lot of crucian carp, she put them in a bucket, loaded it onto her small cart, and planned to give some away to the neighbors she knew well.

And while she was at it, she was going to find out exactly whose son that was!

She would march right up to his door and ask him to his face why he’d run away in terror the moment he saw her!

She had a persistent nature, and this was the first time in two lifetimes she’d encountered something like this. If she didn’t get to the bottom of it, the thought would eat away at her!

Yayuan only had fifty households in total, and only forty-two were currently occupied. The other homeowners had either emigrated or were elderly people who had passed away, leaving their homes vacant. There were no rental properties in the entire community.

Having lived here for so long and attended one or two homeowner events, Ni Bingyan knew almost everyone.

She was especially close with the "uncles" and "grannies" of the fishing squad. They often exchanged homemade snacks, so no one thought it was strange for her to drop by like this.

"Aiya! You must have had a great time fishing in such heavy rain, huh? Look at that huge haul! How satisfying! My grandson keeps calling me, telling me not to go out on rainy days. Goodness, it’s so annoying! He says the seasons are changing and I need to be careful not to catch a cold. I’m almost seventy! You think I don’t know to be careful about catching a cold?! If you ask me, this kind of weather is perfect for a happy fishing trip by the lake!"

After bragging about his grandson, Uncle Wang used a skimmer to take two of her fish and, in return, handed her two large pomegranates.

"They’re from my own yard. I’ve told you time and again not to be a stranger! If you want pomegranates, just come to Uncle’s place and pick them. But you never do!"

Seeing she had no free hands, Uncle Wang rambled on as he found a plastic bag, put the pomegranates inside, and tied it to the handle of her cart.

"When the weather clears up, Xiao Ni, you come help me pick the pomegranates. This tree in my yard is thirty years old! It bore a lot of fruit this year. If we don’t pick them soon, they’ll burst open after the rain and sun!"

Ni Bingyan agreed. As she was leaving, Uncle Wang walked her to the courtyard gate, chattering as they went.

"Back when my wife was still around, she would gather pomegranate flowers in May to cook with. Only people from her region liked to eat them. They’re so bitter and astringent, I don’t know what’s so great about them!

"When they were little, they were all a bunch of rascals, always climbing the courtyard wall to peek, trying to steal the fruit before it was even ripe. Now they’re all grown up. The ones studying abroad are studying, the ones busy with work are busy. All this fruit on the tree... I can’t just let it fall to the ground and rot."

Ni Bingyan truly envied the children who were talked about so fondly, which was why she always had a bit more patience for the elderly.

These elderly folks, who could afford to live in villas decades ago, were all sharp as tacks. They could naturally see her true character, and so over time, they had come to get along very well.

After leaving Uncle Wang’s house, she went to Granny Liao’s.

Granny Liao was a very active person. Not only was she a member of the fishing squad, but she was also the leader of the square dancing team.

She had just returned from outside and was still wearing a bright red dance costume.

It had to be said, if those young starlets had even half of Granny Liao’s dedication, the entertainment industry wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.

Seeing Ni Bingyan at her door, she did a little twirl at the courtyard gate. "Do you like this outfit? During the National Day holiday, our team is going to represent the community at the district gala. Xiao Ni, you have to remember to come and watch!"

Her National Day schedule was already set. Ni Bingyan explained that she had to go on a business trip and asked them to post a video in the group chat afterward.

She sincerely complimented Granny Liao’s taste and praised her successful weight loss, remarking that the waist of her costume could be taken in another inch.

Granny Liao’s eyes filled with pleasant surprise, and she was about to pull Ni Bingyan inside, but Ni Bingyan quickly declined.

She had too many fish to keep at home; she still had to visit several other houses to give them all away!

Granny Liao wasn’t as old as Uncle Wang, so there was no need to bring the fish all the way inside for her.

"Being able to represent the community at the gala, Aunt Liao, you all are amazing!"

This group of well-off, leisurely ladies stood out from the struggling poor in terms of both their bearing and their attire. Most of them had held respectable positions before retirement, so it was perfectly normal for them to be chosen to make an appearance at the gala.

But a true master of social etiquette would never say that out loud.

"Oh, heavens no, not at all! I’m just showing off my clumsy skills in front of a real expert! You’re the professional here!"

Ni Bingyan just smiled, neither being modest nor boastful. "The most professional part of me is my eyes! I’ve personally seen many real professional dancers perform, and you ladies have already captured some of their spirit. That’s truly incredible!"

Phrased that way, her praise sounded exceptionally sincere.

Granny Liao was talkative, but only with people who had high emotional intelligence. When she encountered a blockhead, she wouldn’t waste her breath.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a long while before Ni Bingyan mentioned the purpose of her visit. Seeing the lively, jumping crucian carp, Granny Liao was delighted. She quickly had her housekeeper bring out a bucket and personally scooped out several fish.

"My little granddaughter loves fish soup! She’s coming back this weekend, and I was just wondering who I could get a couple of fish from! You’re a real lifesaver!!"

Even though the lake was right on their doorstep, experts like Ni Bingyan who could catch whatever they wanted were rare in the community.

"You all raised these fish anyway; I’m just the delivery person. This is just returning them to their rightful owners. Here, take a few more to keep alive. That way you won’t run out if you have a lot of people over. I’m going to be busy again starting tomorrow, so I won’t be able to help even if I want to."

Granny Liao was naturally thrilled and thanked her profusely.

While Granny Liao was in a good mood, Ni Bingyan quickly recounted her encounter with the man from earlier.

"I wanted to return his hat, but I don’t even know him! Augh, I’m so mad! He saw me and ran away in fright! Aunt Liao, you take a look at me, a good, close look. Do I look like a monster?"

Granny Liao laughed so hard her eyes narrowed into slits. It was a long while before she wiped away tears of mirth.

"From your description, I just know it! That must be the Sang Family’s Sang Yuan!"

"Sang Yuan?"

Ni Bingyan was surprised. So this was the Sang Yuan everyone was always talking about.

He was practically a local celebrity in Yayuan!

The legendary Sang Yuan—the one who was getting on in years but couldn’t even get a girlfriend, worrying his family sick. The same Sang Yuan who was a genius investor, already worth a fortune at a young age, and who supposedly never made a bad investment.

She never would have guessed he was also that handsome. No wonder everyone found it so unbelievable that he was still single.

If he were ugly, he could probably stay single until fifty and no one would bat an eye.

"That’s him, all right! His grades were always fantastic back in school, and then he went abroad to study. He started investing back in high school, you know. Among the young people in our community, he’s considered the most successful of them all! But he has this one quirk—he’s already twenty-nine and has never even had a girlfriend. His mother used to wonder if he didn’t like girls, but then she never saw him show interest in any boys either! After a while, everyone just started saying he has a strange personality."

See? As soon as the topic came up, Granny Liao launched into the story all over again.

’That explains it, then.’

Ni Bingyan thought to herself, ’The guy probably has gynophobia.’

’I shouldn’t hold it against him.’

But just as she had that thought, Granny Liao looked utterly baffled. "What’s gotten into him? He’s not usually so impolite. I’ve never heard anything about him being afraid of girls. He used to hang out with the other kids his age in the neighborhood all the time. And he has plenty of female colleagues at his company, doesn’t he? Could it be because he’s never seen you before? But that’s no reason to be scared!"

Granny Liao looked Ni Bingyan up and down, probably adding another piece of evidence in her mind to the theory that "that Sang Yuan kid is just plain weird."

Ni Bingyan: "..."

’So I’m the one being singled out?’

’We don’t even know each other. What’s his deal?’

This was their first meeting, and Ni Bingyan’s impression of Sang Yuan was already at rock bottom.