The news of the acquisition of Ouya had finally been announced, becoming the focus of discussion among BYD employees, who could be heard talking about it anytime and anywhere.
"Boss, boss?"
Xu Zhuo looked up, put down the half-eaten fried fish, and looked at Luo Yuanshan sitting opposite him, "What's up?"
The few of them in the group were sitting around a table, eating lunch in the restaurant.
Luo Yuanshan looked at him suspiciously, "You seem absent-minded. What are you thinking about?"
The nearby Ji Wenfei chimed in, "Yeah, we were talking about Ouya. Xu, you're not interested at all?"
Xu Zhuo sighed deeply at this, a despondent look causing the others around him to exchange glances.
How could he express his frustration?
Returning home from the banquet, his mind was occupied by Du Ziyu. Unfortunately, he couldn't see or hear him for the time being. He simply wanted to hear his voice and talk to him.
So, he took out his phone, only to discover a painful reality - he had forgotten Du Ziyu's contact information.
Unable to see him, touch him, or even hear his voice, he felt as if he was living through an eternity in agony.
Finally enduring until the next day of work, as expected, he didn't run into the person he longed for. He didn't dare to go upstairs to find him, fearing that others might gossip and cause trouble for him.
Throughout the morning, he couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for work, instead yearning to visit the big boss in the top-floor office during break time.
"No, I think I'll go to his house directly after work," he thought. "If I'm lucky, maybe I can even join him for dinner."
His nearby group of colleagues saw him furrow his brows, ponder, and ultimately smile mysteriously, which left them staring in horror with widened eyes.
"Boss!" Luo Yuanshan shivered. "Don't scare me. Did you work too much overtime recently and tire yourself out?"
Xu Zhuo restrained his smile, waved his hand, and said, "I'm fine. What were you all just talking about?"
"It's about the celebration party," Ji Wenfei's eyes shone with anticipation. "All the outstanding and Ouya employees can attend, and it's a formal dress occasion!"
"It's probably going to be scheduled for next week, at a five-star hotel that was booked at great expense," Luo Yuanshan was also very excited. "I'm planning to get my hair done and buy a dress this weekend. Feifei, do you want to come along?"
"Can family members come?" Fei Bozhou asked beside Luo Yuanshan. He was the oldest in the group and a married man.
Ji Wenfei was uncertain, "I think they should be able to..."
"We'll know when the official notification comes out, right?" Luo Yuanshan said. "I heard that some celebrities will attend. It would be great if my little brother could come too. We can take lots of beautiful photos then, hehe."
A certain corner of Xu Zhuo's memory was touched by her words, and when he finished his meal and went upstairs, he finally found the opportunity to talk to her alone.
He hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly made a request.
Luo Yuanshan exclaimed in surprise, "Of course! Welcome, welcome!"
Then Xu Zhuo was pulled into a WeChat group with the name "[Du Zong's Fans Are Unrivaled]", and there were surprisingly many people in it.
As soon as he entered, he received a warm welcome. Luo Yuanshan said, "Boss, we have strict management. Absolutely no sharing of photos, and no high-definition photos of your face."
He nodded at his phone, and immediately someone sent a new message: "Daily infatuation, Du Zong's back today."
It was followed by a picture, a distant shot, deliberately made unclear, showing Du Ziyu just coming out of the office, donning a well-ironed suit, tall and straight-backed.
Xu Zhuo's heart thumped, and he hurried back to his office, kissing the screen of his phone excitedly.
It was as if he had finally found relief after a long drought, and the restlessness in his heart was calmed by a blurry photo of Du Ziyu's back. Finally, he could focus on work.
In the afternoon, there was a discussion meeting for a new project, promoting the seasonal new products of a large fast-food chain.
This chain was a long-standing client of Outstanding, and the pattern for launching new products every season was basically the same - inviting the most popular celebrities as endorsers, giving away posters and other merchandise with purchases. So, the promotional plan was quickly set. The current discussion revolved around the choice of a celebrity.
"The popularity and image of these four artists are similar," a colleague from the creative department cut to a PPT, "and their schedules are also not a problem. Let's share our thoughts."
The creative department was subordinate to various departments, including art, copywriting, IT, planning, and so on. Every project group meeting brought together colleagues from various departments, and the client department also participated, mainly playing a coordinating role.
Luo Yuanshan was in charge of this project, and Xu Zhuo, as her superior, needed to be well-versed in all the projects and therefore attended the meeting.
They sat on the side, listening to everyone discuss, not providing much input. But today, Luo Yuanshan was eager to participate, saying, "Lin Gaohan recently participated in a food variety show and did well. His foodie persona has become very popular. I think he is the most suitable."
Xu Zhuo smiled helplessly. Lin Gaohan was one of the top four celebrities in the PPT. Luo Yuanshan was so obsessed with him that if he came to Outstanding for a shoot, she would be ecstatic.
In the end, her wish was granted - Lin Gaohan was chosen as the spokesperson for the new product, with a special artist liaison department handling it.
After the meeting, Xu Zhuo checked the time. It was 4:30.
Perhaps he was more focused, or maybe he wanted to leave work early, but his work efficiency was exceptionally high today, and all the tasks for the day had been completed. He could leave directly.
However, he hesitated. Du Ziyu was a workaholic and surely wouldn't be home this early.
If he knew he was waiting at his house at 4 o'clock, would he think that he wasn't taking work seriously?
People in love are sometimes impassioned, reckless, and sometimes cautious and fearful.
He thought, "Maybe I should just wait for him downstairs in the office," but quickly dismissed the thought because Du Ziyu might not be in the office at the moment, so waiting wouldn't help.
As he was struggling with these thoughts, Luo Yuanshan, who came out with him, was elated and pulled him over. "Hurry, hurry, the elevator is here!"
They reached the elevator, precisely as it opened. Xu Zhuo, who was feeling low, immediately perked up upon seeing the people inside, almost doing something inappropriate out of sheer excitement.
However, the previously beaming Luo Yuanshan suddenly wilted and awkwardly greeted, "Hello, President Du."
Although she was a senior fan of Du Ziyu, it was only from a distance; upon seeing him up close, she would be thoroughly terrified.
By now, they were already in the elevator and couldn't exit, not to mention that Xu Zhuo's gaze was firmly fixed on Du Ziyu. Even if a gun was held to his head, he wouldn't back down.
Du Ziyu casually glanced at him and, as their eyes met, quickly averted his gaze, his face flushing with a faint blush as he looked at the elevator wall.
"Duzong is good." Xu Zhuo also greeted him, but Duziyou didn't look at him and just nodded casually.
Perhaps his gaze was too intense, the person accompanying Duziyou looked at him strangely, so Xu Zhuo had to retract his gaze and stand facing the door as the elevator doors closed.
In the same space as Duziyou, even the air felt hot and dry, and Xu Zhuo began to have random thoughts again.
Why would Duziyou use the employee elevator?
He speculated, Could it be... for me?
Thinking of this, he felt a bit bitter in his heart. They had almost no chance to interact in the company, and their only possible intersection was in the elevator, where they had met several times.
"Beep—" a mobile message alert sounded, it was from Luo Yuanshan, and immediately after the meeting, she turned on the sound.
She awkwardly picked up her phone to turn it off, and Xu Zhuo, intentionally trying to liven up the atmosphere, hoping to let others have normal interactions around Duziyou, asked, "Who is it?"
Luo Yuanshan had to swipe the group open, swallowed hard, and tried to speak in a casual tone, "It's nothing, just a notice for the company's party."
Xu Zhuo asked again, "What are the specifics?"
Luo Yuanshan nervously looked and recited the time and location of the party, then added, "Oh, you can bring family members," at this point she seemed much calmer and pretended to laugh, "Didn't your sister-in-law come to our company last time? Boss, you can bring her to the event."
Xu Zhuo's heart sank, thinking, this is not good!
The hot and dry air in the elevator dropped to minus thirty degrees.
---