Please Call Me the CEO

“Please Call Me the Director” is adapted from the original novel 《请叫我总监》 by Hong Jiu (红九). The story belongs to the genres of modern romance, urban fiction, workplace drama, investment and finance, strong female lead, and career growth.

In December 2017, Ning Meng was thirty years old. Five years had passed since the day she resigned from JIMING Capital and transformed from Secretary Ning into Director Ning.

Over those five years, Lu Jiming had changed from a hot-tempered CEO who knew little about the ways of the world, suffered from an extreme case of “boss syndrome,” and constantly scolded people, into a warm and considerate man who had learned how to endure adversity, remain strong yet compassionate, and care for others.

Now thirty-two and a half years old, he said to the thirty-year-old Ning Meng:

“You have to marry me. Because you need to know that I will love you until the day I die, and that will never change. Without you, I might really die.”

Ning Meng smiled at him, her expression sweet and filled with happiness.

“Fine. Call me Director Ning, and I’ll say yes.”

At the age of thirty, Ning Meng looked back at the person she had been five years earlier, when she was nothing more than an insignificant young secretary whom no one paid much attention to.

But now, she had her own investment company, her own cinema chain, and access to a wide range of resources spanning livestreaming, film and television, fashion, real estate, advertising, e-commerce, gaming, animation, and merchandise.

She integrated these resources into a comprehensive entertainment ecosystem, allowing them to cooperate with, support, and benefit one another. Her career flourished rapidly, and she became an exceptionally successful and influential investor.

Through the rises and falls of the capital market, she experienced love as well as resentment. She was deeply moved, yet also painfully betrayed. She had once been bitterly disappointed by human nature, but she had also been warmed by justice that arrived late.

She built a brilliant career and, at the same time, gained a love she would never forget.

If she could say one thing to herself from five years ago, it would be:

“No matter what you are going through, never give up on the dream you first held in your heart. Love with all your strength, persevere with all your strength, and pursue your dreams with all your strength. Your love and perseverance will shape you. Five years from now, you will finally emerge from your cocoon and become a butterfly, a completely transformed version of yourself.”

This work is dedicated to everyone who dares to carry a dream in their heart.

May love and perseverance become your wings.

One day, in the future, you too will see yourself break free from your cocoon and become a butterfly.