Chapter 378: What a Commotion

The deportment training was no easier than the sword dance.

At the beginning of the movie, before her kingdom fell, the director wanted Princess Jiuli to exude an innate, deep-seated nobility. After its fall, he required her to conceal that nobility with the charm of a worldly woman—alluring but not vulgar, delicate but not garish.

On the day of the production meeting, Mou Sanyang described it as—”Like a white plum blossom after the snow, only its subtle fragrance perceived…”

The power of the Mou Style aesthetic had been proven time and time again.

Never mind his working style; even if Ni Bingyan had been allowed to voice her opinion, she would have remained silent.

Because she didn’t consider herself better than Mou Sanyang.

Now that Mou Sanyang had laid out his requirements, all she needed to do was strive to meet them, working to perfectly bring the image in his mind to life.

Achieving this goal was no easy feat.

Every word, every action, had to be practiced over and over again.

The process was dull, tedious, and utterly exhausting.

It was not just physically tiring, but mentally draining as well.

After a day of training at the company, Ni Bingyan would come home and collapse into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

She had another week of this to endure, and would only be able to catch her breath next Friday when she attended Weibo Night.

The next morning, she woke up early as usual and made herself a lavish breakfast.

Her recent workout regimen was so intense that she didn’t need to watch her diet. She cooked herself a large bowl of beef noodle soup, piling it high with a thick layer of beef chunks.

After finishing the numbing and spicy meal, she brushed her teeth, skipped makeup, and headed out wearing a soft gauze mask.

The weather was cold and dry, so wearing a soft, comfortable mask was perfect. It helped retain moisture while also warding off the cold.

She arrived at the dance studio as usual, warmed up, and began her practice.

By the time Duanmu Li arrived for work, Ni Bingyan had already been dancing for an hour and was gulping down water from a bottle.

For southerners, the biggest complaint about northern winters was probably the dryness.

If you didn’t moisturize after washing your face, you could feel your skin start to crack within twenty minutes. And no matter how much water you drank, you always felt like you could have another sip.

“Hey, things got pretty wild last night! Did you hear?”

The moment she walked in, Sister Li gleefully pulled Ni Bingyan aside to share the fun.

“Did another celebrity’s career just implode?”

‘Life is so dull. It’s nice to have some drama to watch.’

She avoided going online because it was too much of a time-sink. Sometimes she would only mean to take a quick peek, but a long time would pass before she knew it.

‘To her, it was simply a waste of life.’

So, no matter how many interesting things were happening online, she did her best to restrain herself.

“Celebrities’ careers don’t implode that often!”

Duanmu Li rolled her eyes at her, found a chair to sit on, and began to explain.

“Your variety show premiered yesterday! Didn’t you watch it?”

‘It’s one thing not to follow what people are saying online, but to not even watch your own show?’

‘The filming process and the final product are two completely different things.’

“I almost fell asleep in the living room. I barely managed to drag myself to bed, and I was out the moment I pulled up the covers. Where would I get the energy to watch a show?”

“Good point, haha!”

Duanmu Li was in a great mood today, and once she got started, she was like an open floodgate.

“Remember when you went to Wutong County and stayed at that B&B? The owner went off to cook some lamb and left you to watch the front desk, and you ended up doing a ton of stuff, right? Well, the guests who were staying there didn’t know who you were. They only realized after watching the show, and every single one of them was totally stunned!”

Without realizing it, they had spoken to a huge star on the phone, even had her deliver tea and order meals for them. The most cringeworthy incident involved a couple who called her that night to bring them a box of condoms because they had run out of their own, as well as the ones provided in the room…

“I heard it was so embarrassing that the couple almost broke up over it last night, hahaha!”

The guy, trying to look cool, decided to brag about it while the topic was trending. When his girlfriend found out, she was naturally humiliated.

Only an immature boy would treat something like that as a trophy to show off, wanting the whole world to know.

A truly mature man would have discreetly asked his girlfriend’s opinion and taken the secret to his grave, never telling a soul.

Sister Li was twenty-eight this year and had started actively going on blind dates arranged by her mother last year.

The results had been less than ideal, and she had since evolved into a seasoned single. Now, whenever she saw a couple’s public display of affection backfire, she would mock them mercilessly.

Ni Bingyan found it amusing too, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on. She picked up her small, round fan and fanned herself lightly.

“Are there any other amusing tales? Pray, do tell.”

Even though Ni Bingyan’s eyes were clear, the way she looked at Duanmu Li sent a strange tingle down her spine. Duanmu Li quickly covered her face with her hands.

“Don’t look at me like that! What if you turn me gay? It’ll be even harder to find a boyfriend then!”

Ni Bingyan broke character instantly. “Don’t say things like that! Are you trying to kill me with laughter? I’m just chatting with you while I practice my posture, what’s wrong with that?”

Duanmu Li couldn’t help but laugh too. “Haha! There’s something even funnier! Here, take a look at this.”

Seeing her offer the phone, Ni Bingyan took it.

It was a Weibo post featuring a set of nine sticker memes.

The subject of the memes was a cartoon character wearing a dark green winter coat, a gray scarf, and a gray hat.

First: The character is bundled up tightly with only its smiling eyes showing, next to the cute text, “Hiya~”

Second: The character waves its hands frantically, with the text, “I really don’t like lamb!”

Third: Five clean-picked bones lie beside the character. The text reads, “BURP… So good!”

Fourth: The character looks sneaky, with the text, “You’re being so dramatic.”

Fifth: The character has messy bedhead and teary eyes, with the text, “Don’t be so mean~”

Sixth: The character is on the phone, with the text, “Okay! Got it.”

Seventh: The character is slouched in a chair, giving up, with the text, “Might as well let it all go to hell!”

Eighth: The character has taken off its coat, revealing cute, rosy cheeks. The text says, “Yeah, everything will be okay~”

Ninth: The character is bent over with a finger to its lips in a “shushing” motion, with the matching text, “Shhh! Don’t tell anyone!”

Ni Bingyan looked through them one by one, and a laugh escaped her before she knew it.

“Who made these? They’re so talented!”

She took a closer look and saw it was a retweet of a post by Lu Yao.

“Huh? My cousin! When did she learn how to make sticker memes?”

She silently took out her phone, saved the stickers, and then sent her cousin the “Hiya~” one.

Lu Yao replied almost instantly: “Hehehe, Sis, Sis! What do you think? Aren’t they good?”

Ni Bingyan had messaged her because she saw a great opportunity. She typed back:

“Make some more for me later, but don’t post them online. I’ll ask Sister Wei if the company can officially place an order with you. Or we could upload them to WeChat, QQ, and those platforms, see if we can sell them.”

Lu Yao had only made them for fun. She never expected her cousin to be so aggressive, figuring out how to monetize them in the blink of an eye!

Lu Yao was stunned!

“Sis! It’s not enough that you ate the lamb, now you want to fleece it for its wool too! You make plenty of money, don’t you? How are you so good at cashing in on every little thing?”

‘It makes no sense!’

‘When has my cousin ever known hardship?’

‘She’s way too calculating!’

Hearing “It’s not enough that you ate the lamb, now you want to fleece it for its wool too,” Duanmu Li nearly collapsed with laughter.

Ni Bingyan felt a little embarrassed, but she stubbornly lectured her younger cousin anyway.

“What’s wrong with making money? There’s nothing sweeter than money you’ve earned with your own skills, right? If you don’t want to do it, then forget it! I’m busy!”

How could Lu Yao dare to object?

She just kept sending voice messages, insisting that she was more than willing.

Ni Bingyan put down her phone, feeling deeply satisfied.

‘Now *this* is the right way to live life.’

‘What’s the point of spending all day watching other people’s drama?’

‘It’s a complete waste of life.’

‘One’s limited time on earth should be spent in the pursuit of limitless cash~’

Seeing her put down her phone, pick up her sword, and focus on her dance practice, Duanmu Li had a realization and, without thinking, put her own phone down as well.

‘The internet might be as lively as a festival, but what did that have to do with her?’

‘Getting a bit of emotional satisfaction from the internet like Ni Bingyan did was fine every once in a while. But constantly being immersed in it, past a certain point, just wasn’t worth it.’