Extra 2: Director’s Observation Diary

My name is Lu Yu, I am 28 years old and currently serve as the special assistant to the Director of Su Group.

I joined the Su Group right after I graduated from college. Many people thought this was extremely lucky, and it was indeed true. At first, I was not the special assistant to the Director, but just a small assistant in the human resources department. After working for a year, one day, the Director’s secretary suddenly asked me to go to the top office, saying that the Director wanted to see me. To be honest, I was a little flattered and a little trembling at the time.

Because I was just a junior assistant in the HR department, even though I had been working there for a year, I had only seen the Director a few times. There was only one office on the top floor, and even though it was my first time there, I would definitely not find the wrong one. The Director was sitting alone in the spacious office, flipping through a document at hand.

Hearing the noise, the Director looked up at me. Perhaps he saw my nervousness, so he gave me a soothing smile, raised the document in his hand, and asked directly, “Did you make this report?”

I only took a glance at it and nodded to confirm it. I am used to putting my own special mark on all the reports I make, just like a famous craftsman would sign his work. This is a habit left over from my middle school years, and I think it is very cool.

“Well done.” The Director nodded approvingly.

Afterwards, the Director asked me a few more questions, I answered them one by one, and then the Director asked me to leave.

It took only ten minutes from entering to exiting, and I felt like I was having a wonderful dream.

This was my first time talking to the Director alone. Before that, I could only hear the Director speak at meetings I occasionally attended or at year-end employee gatherings. The Director’s voice was very pleasant. Even someone like me who is not sensitive to voices found it a pleasure to listen to the Director speak. Talking to the Director was even more pleasant. It was not just the excitement of an employee being able to talk to the boss, it was a feeling that I couldn’t quite put into words. Anyway, it was great.

I quickly put this conversation behind me and returned to work. I am not bragging, being serious and responsible in my work has always been my strength and my principle.

A week later, a personnel notice was issued, and I was transferred to the top level as the assistant to the Director. When my supervisor personally handed me the transfer letter, I could see the envy in his eyes, and I was moved to the top level amid the envy of my colleagues in the entire office.

At first, I was not a special assistant, and I was the only assistant to the Director. However, I became better and better under the guidance of the Director, and I could basically handle all the things that the assistants needed to do. The company’s employment principle is not to keep idle people, so the Director later transferred several other assistants and promoted me to a special assistant. I still remember the resentful look of those assistants before they left. But so what, I was just doing my job, and it was their business if they relaxed their requirements on themselves. Until now, I am the only special assistant to the Director, and no one looks at me like that anymore.

In the past few years of following the Director, I have learned much more than the material value I have gained. In the beginning, I had to ask the Director for instructions before I knew what to do. Now I know what I should do and how far I need to go without the Director saying a word. The Director’s trust in me is reflected in the fact that he never deliberately hides anything from me, whether it is business or personal matters, and sometimes he even lets me handle some very important matters independently.

I have never been a person with many facial expressions. It is still a problem left over from my middle school years. I always think that showing everything on my face is very silly, and being expressionless no matter what happens is very cool. Gradually, my facial expressions became less and less, and my medical friends jokingly called me Stockholm facial expression deficiency syndrome, or in short, facial paralysis. This is particularly advantageous in my work. Every time the Director takes me to various meetings and negotiations, the other party will never see my emotions from my face. Of course, the Director is always better than me in hiding emotions, and he is not paralyzed, which is very rare.

Since I developed the Stockholm facial expression deficiency syndrome, I found that my relationships with the opposite sex have been getting better and better. I sighed and wondered if all women nowadays have a tendency to be masochistic, but I gladly accepted this result. Especially after I became the special assistant to the Director, don’t think I didn’t know that the female employees in the company secretly called me a male god, and even some male employees. Anyway, as a rather conceited man, I was often secretly happy in my heart to be called the a male god of the company together with the cool Director in all aspects, although I still had no expression on my face.

In the eyes of many people, the Director is a very cool, arrogant, and handsome person. After all, he is a legend in the business circle at such a young age that it is hard for people not to make up many cool experiences about him. I also thought so at the beginning, but after following him for a long time, I realized that although the Director is not easy to get along with, he is definitely not difficult to get along with.

Although the Director often stays in the company at night, he does not ask employees to work overtime, as long as they can complete the day’s work within working hours. In addition, the Director has a good command over his subordinates and clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments. Basically, every employee in the company is very motivated and few are passive and lazy, which is really rare. Although I have only worked in this company after graduation, I always hear old classmates complaining about their company and boss when I occasionally have dinner parties with them. Every time I have to shut up, because after thinking about it, there is nothing to complain about the company and the boss. Every time I say this, my old classmates either say that I am generous or envy me for having a good boss.

As the Director of one of the largest companies in the country, he has to make important decisions for branches and subsidiaries. He has to deal with a lot of things every day. But he is very efficient. When dealing with things, he can almost read ten lines at a glance and quickly find the key points and make decisions. At first, I thought I could do it after working for a long time, and I secretly trained myself. Later, I had to admit that this is not something that can be achieved by hard work, but also requires talent. The Director is undoubtedly a very talented person.

So for a long time, I was very puzzled. Why did the Director, who was so efficient at work, usually finish his work in the morning and attend meetings or meet clients in the afternoon, often stay in the company at night? Later, I accidentally discovered that the Director stayed in the office at night to read. I began to understand why the Director’s conversations were always so profound, so I gradually developed the habit of staying in the office to read for a while.

Later, I found that the Director had almost no entertainment activities, except for those social activities for business purposes. In particular, I did not see the Director having any ambiguous relationship with any woman or man. I had a basic understanding of the Director’s schedule, and I knew that the Director had never been to places like nightclubs or higher-end places. For an adult man in his thirties, the Director was so pure that it was outrageous. Sometimes I would think that such a Director was a little lonely, but the Director himself did not seem to be dissatisfied with it.

Just when I thought the Director would continue like this, suddenly one day, the Director kept me after completing the work and asked me a few questions.

The Director lowered his head and tapped his fingers on the back of his other hand, as if he was thinking about how to start the conversation. Then he raised his head. Although his tone was calm, I seemed to feel that his heart was not at peace. “Lu Yu, have you ever been in love?”

I was a little surprised. This was the first time the Director had talked to me about his personal relationship problems in all the years I had worked there. I nodded and said, “Yes.”

The Director paused for a moment and then asked, “What does it feel like to like someone?”

I seemed to understand something vaguely, thought about it, and answered seriously, “Maybe I miss them when we’re not together, and feel relieved when we meet. I want to see them happy and blessed, and want to give them everything I think is good, hoping that they’ll like it too.”

The Director smiled and did not comment on the answer. He said calmly, “I think everyone has their own answer to this question. It turns out that Assistant Lu is such a gentle person, one can’t tell from his appearance.”

I also raised the corners of my mouth, not knowing whether I could smile or not. Suddenly, I felt a little bit ashamed, and at the same time a little bit embarrassed. The person who once deserved my treatment, now she is nowhere to be found.

There was silence for a while, and just when I thought the conversation was over, the Director suddenly asked, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

I was stunned for a moment, but I answered honestly, “I believe it. I just don’t think it will happen to me.”

The Director lowered his eyes slightly and said with a sigh, “I originally thought so too.”

The Director didn’t say anything after that, as if he was lost in his own thoughts. It took him a long time before he signaled that I could leave.

I lowered my head slightly, turned around and walked out. For some reason, I couldn’t help but look back. The Director was still sitting there thoughtfully, giving me an indescribable feeling, a feeling I had never felt from the Director before, called loneliness.

Suddenly I remembered a campus folk song that I liked a long time ago. One of the lyrics goes, “Loneliness is caused by missing someone.”

I guess this matter probably won’t end here.

Sure enough, one month later, the Director asked me to draft a contract. After I drafted the terms according to his wishes, I was very surprised. Simply put, this is a contract between a film and television agency and an artist. I know that the Starry Sky Entertainment Company across the street was founded by the Director, and now it is mainly managed by the Director’s younger brother Su Jue. The Director only controls the company’s direction and important decisions, and does not ask about basic affairs. So I was a little surprised that the Director asked me to draft this contract. What’s even stranger was that this contract was more beneficial to signing artists no matter how you look at it.

I am not a stupid person. Thinking about the questions that the Director suddenly asked me a month ago, I had a vague idea of ​​the answer in my mind.

Afterwards, the Director gave me a phone number and a name and asked me to make an appointment to meet in the Director’s office on the top floor of Starry Sky the next day.

It was a name that was extremely unfamiliar to me: Lu Yan.

I could have guessed that it was a new artist. After all, if the Director could say “love at first sight”, he must have never seen him before. But I didn’t expect that the other party was a man. I don’t discriminate against homosexuality, I was just a little surprised. But thinking about the Director’s pure heart for so many years, there must be something special about the one who caught his eye, so I became curious about this Lu Yan.

I called and briefly explained that I would meet him tomorrow, and he readily agreed. Although the call was short, I was impressed by him. He was considerate and polite, and his voice was nice.

The next day I stayed at the head office to handle the matters that the Director had asked me to do. It was my chief secretary Daisy who accompanied the Director to the starry sky. After returning, I quietly asked Daisy about this matter. Daisy was soon tricked into telling me something. She praised Lu Yan for his handsome appearance, good manners, and the fact that he could get the Director to sign the contract in person. He must be a rising star. It seemed that Daisy had not noticed anything yet, which also showed that Lu Yan’s appearance was definitely good. After being around the Director for a long time, few people would not have a high aesthetic taste, and Daisy was no exception.

I am becoming more and more curious about Lu Yan, but unfortunately there is no report about him out there yet.

Not long after, someone sent a copy of the disc to the company. The Director asked me to buy a projector and send it to the lounge in his top-floor office. The copy was played during the test because there were no other discs that could be used for the test. It was a movie that had not yet been post-produced, but it had been preliminarily edited. I just watched a few clips and understood it. In these unpost-produced movie clips, there was a person in all the scenes. It was a young actor I had never seen before, at least not yet. After watching it, I came to the conclusion that he was indeed good-looking and his acting skills were quite good. At least for an outsider like me who knew nothing about movies, there was no sense of incongruity. He was indeed a very charming man, the kind that could make people of the same sex envious and jealous. It’s just that I have absolutely no interest in men, so that’s all.

I could probably guess that in the next few days, after finishing his work, the Director would stay alone in the lounge and quietly look at these copies. As for what kind of mood and attitude the Director would have when he was looking at them, I had no idea.

A week later, the Director gave me another task, asking me to report Lu Yan’s daily schedule to him. When he gave me the task, the Director smiled and said, “This is my personal matter and has nothing to do with the company’s business. So, if you don’t want to, you can refuse.”

I didn’t refuse, and I didn’t want to refuse.

This was actually very easy. I quickly found the phone number of Lu Yan’s assistant, a young man named Song Hui. I called him directly and asked him to send me a copy of Lu Yan’s daily schedule. He was reluctant at first, but after a few words of persuasion, he agreed. Although we are both assistants, my eloquence is honed from following the Director in various business battles. How can I compare with a celebrity assistant who has just debuted?

So I had one more task every day, which was to organize actor Lu Yan’s schedule and put it on the Director’s desk. Even on weekends when I didn’t have to work, I would send the schedule to the Director via email.

After that, the Director did not mention the relevant topic for a long time, but I knew that things were not over yet. There were several times when the Director temporarily adjusted the scheduled schedule and disappeared, and I could roughly guess where he went. However, things did not seem to progress smoothly. Every time the Director disappeared and came back, his mood did not change. The Director was not a person who showed his emotions, and he would never let his emotions affect his work, but there were several times when I accidentally saw the Director standing alone in front of the large French window in the office, looking into the distance. There was an indescribable sense of desolation and loneliness in his back.

I wasn’t too surprised.

Because of the Director, I also paid more attention to Lu Yan. On the surface, he looked elegant and gentle, as if he was always polite and graceful, but I had a feeling that he was actually arrogant and difficult to tame. Although my vision was not as good as the Director’s, my intuition was always quite accurate.

There aren’t many men and women in this world who can say no to a Director, but if there are, Lu Yan would be one.

I didn’t think there’s anything wrong with Lu Yan’s rejection. Love is the most unfair thing in the world. It doesn’t mean that if you give, the other person will respond. It doesn’t mean that if you are good enough, the other person will be attracted.

However, having seen the lonely Director so many times, one couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

It’s just a matter of emotions, and ultimately it’s impossible for the uninvolved person to truly understand it.

The Director is not a man who gives up easily, and his strategy will never be aimless. I believed the Director had his own plan.

Sure enough, things gradually took a turn for the better. Although the Director never mentioned it, I could still sense it from his emotions.

It wasn’t until the Spring Festival of that year that I came back from vacation and saw a completely different Director.

A few months ago, Lu Yan was accidentally injured on the set, and I was the first to inform the Director of the news. Sure enough, people are always more easily moved when they are vulnerable. The Director is indeed the one who is best at seizing opportunities.

I was also very happy for the Director and couldn’t help but say, “Congratulations, Director.”

We are all smart people and we all know what I meant without having to explain it.

The Director didn’t ask me why I was congratulating him, but smiled faintly and asked, “You saw it. Is it so obvious?”

I answered honestly, “Maybe because I’m an insider.”

Later, I had the opportunity to see the Director and Lu Yan several times. Seeing the way Lu Yan looked at the Director, I seemed to understand the Director’s emotions and persistence. For such a person, you either don’t love or you love with all your heart. If you can get such a sincere response, it is worth it.

One time, I accompanied the Director to another city to attend a large conference that lasted for several days. In the middle of the meeting, the Director suddenly said that he had to go back. It was already very late, and he had a meeting the next day. The Director told me to attend the meeting on the second day in his place, and he would rush back in the evening to attend the most important meeting on the third day.

I knew that the Director had to go back and forth so hard at such a critical moment because of something related to Lu Yan. Fortunately, we had made full preparations beforehand, and I still completed the task well in the absence of the Director the next day.

That night, the Director rushed back in the middle of the night again.

The next morning when I knocked on the Director’s door, he was already dressed and washed.

When he saw me coming, the Director nodded slightly, said “Let’s go” and walked over first. I followed him two steps behind out of habit. The Director happened to lower his head, and I suddenly saw something amazing, and couldn’t help but shout, “Director!”

The Director turned around and looked at me inquiringly. I couldn’t explain it clearly, so I pointed at the back of his neck. The Director subconsciously touched it, and suddenly seemed to think of something, and rushed into the bathroom with a red face.

I sighed inwardly, it looked like it was really intense.

It was a very obvious hickey, but it was located relatively low, so it was not visible when he raised his head, but it was visible when he lowered his head. In this season, in that location, it was difficult to claim that it was a mosquito bite.

There was no time to deal with more, so the whole day, when there were people around, the Director held his head high and never lowered it. That look made him look even more aloof and mysterious, which frightened the partners from the cooperative companies at the meeting table. They thought something had happened to make Director Su unhappy, and they were trembling with fear all day.

The Director did not deliberately conceal the fact, so Daisy soon found out that the Director had a lover, and even secretly asked me who the other person was. I did not give a direct answer, but said mysteriously that we would know when the time came.

The time arrived quite quickly.

When Daisy first found out that the Director’s lover was the famous star Lu Yan, she was really shocked. After that, she began to be blinded by all kinds of things. Every time Daisy was provoked, she admired my calmness. I think it was probably because I had seen through everything from the beginning, so I was mentally prepared.

I thought I was used to it and would not be startled by any unexpected events. But I never expected that there is always someone better.

The great actor Lu suddenly came to the company to experience the life of a special assistant for seven days. Almost all the female employees in the company were excited about this. Unfortunately, they didn’t know that Lu’s behavior of showing off his affection in the name of experience was simply outrageous. Daisy and I, the only two people in the company who knew the truth, were blinded by the high-intensity flash every day.

At first I was able to remain calm as a bystander, but later I couldn’t take it anymore.

On the last day, Mr. Lu hinted that Daisy and I could leave work early. At first, I naively thought that he wanted to leave the company early with the Director to have some time for the two of them. But since I had already completed my work for the day, I decided to be a good person and help the couple be together.

As soon as I left the company, I remembered that there was a document I was going to take back with me that I left in the office, so I turned the car around and went back to get it.

It took less than half an hour to get back to the company. When I reached the door of the office and was about to go in, I heard some noises, noises that adults could understand.

I stood at the door in silence for a while, and finally left quietly.

When I was leaving the company again, I happened to see the Director’s brother walking towards the company. I thought he was going to see the Director. The green light at the intersection came on, and I didn’t have time to call him to say anything. As for what he would or would not run into later, it was not within my responsibility.

My name is Lu Yu and I am 28 years old.

I never expected that I would be blinded by the light in the end.