The Picture (3)

Xu Jing turned back and headed for the door. When his hand was on the doorknob, he heard his mother say, "Xu Jing, wait."

Xu Jing turned obediently around. "Yes, mother?"

Mrs. Xu breathed out a long sigh before continuing, "I hope you won't get the impression that I am specifically targeting your wife. I know there is a chance of this being completely fake but no matter what, I am just looking out for you, I do not want you to get hurt.

"I know… you are a trusting person but unfortunately, that also means you can be easily persuaded or manipulated. Xu Jing, you have to learn to recognize who to trust and who not to trust."

What Mrs. Xu really wanted to say was that Xu Jing was completely henpecked but of course she would not insult her son, therefore, she came up with a roundabout way to voice her concern. She hoped her son would get the hint.

However, in reality, Mrs. Xu's edited advice was more valuable than she could possibly imagine. Xu Jing was indeed easily manipulated… Just not by the woman Mrs. Xu had in her mind.

"I will, mother. Thank you for your advice."

After Xu Jing left the study, Mrs. Xu sighed to herself, worried about this son of hers.

…

"Before you asked, no, I am not cheating on Xu Jing, never have, never will," Joann breathed into the phone.

Xiu Ling thought her best friend sounded quite tired on the phone. Then, she realized Joann must have answered that question many times already that day. No wonder she was getting tired of it.

Xiu Ling wanted to hang up to give her friend some time to rest but when she brought that up, Joann said, "Xiu Ling, wait. Talk to me. If you hang up, god knows who might call me to ask for more statements. I'd rather talk to you. Plus, if I am talking to you, the line will be busy and I have a valid reason to avoid their calls."

"Sure, I would love to talk to you." Xiu Ling then decided to address the elephant in the room, "Joann, I believe you are not cheating on Xu Jing, you would not do something like that… but in that case, how do you explain that picture? You have to know how incriminating it looks, especially to the general public who does not know better.

"Also, what about Xu Jing and your mother-in-law? Have you explained the situation to them?"

"No, I have not. I have been bombarded by all these calls since morning that I have not had the time to talk to them yet… but I will," Joann explained before adding, "And about that picture. It is taken out of context.

"That was shot at a party for the film crew. Lee Mu and I were not on a date, if anything, it was a work-related occasion."

"But where are the crew in the picture?" Xiu Ling asked the obvious question.

In the picture, the seating arrangement was thus: The wall, Lee Mu, Joann and the empty chair. It was due to the empty chair that it created a false impression that the two were on a one on one date. It created that false sense of intimacy.

Joann also found it difficult to explain, "The chair was originally occupied by my junior, Qing Qing but when the picture was taken, she happened to leave the seat to use the bathroom. Her stomach was not feeling well that night."

At the back of her head, Joann wondered whether Qing Qing had gotten better already or not.

"Such a coincidence?" Xiu Ling asked while Joann heard the bedroom door open.

Seeing it was Xu Jing who walked in, Joann moved the phone slightly away from her ear and mouthed silently to her husband, "Xiu Ling" before continuing the conversation, "I do not know what to tell you. Things are indeed that coincidental."

Xu Jing nodded understandingly as he moved to find a spot to sit down on the bed. He did not disturb Joann because as he listened to the phone conversation, he realized it could be used to answer the question that was on his mind.

There was a paper rustle on the other end of the phone. Xiu Ling was probably flipping through the papers to find the picture in question. "The picture feels like it was taken from outside the window. It looks like the work of the paparazzi. The Joann I know is more cautious and will not fall for cheap tricks like this. What happened that night?"

Joann was silent as she thought back to that night. Then she told Xiu Ling the only explanation that she could think of, "If you ask me, this is probably a set-up by my movie director. He is responsible for booking the restaurant so he has plenty of time to arrange the paparazzi.

"Admittedly what he has done is quite unethical but it is common industry practice to create fake scandal to garner publicity. 'Bringing the Nation's Husband Home' is releasing soon so the ticket pressure might cause him to do something like this. After all, with the serialization of the sequel, the pressure on his shoulders has gotten even heavier. He has many parties to answer to."

That sounded like a valid explanation to both Xiu Ling and Xu Jing, the latter sighed in relief. 'Of course Joann would not betray me. I was wrong to have ever suspected her.'

"That sounds horrible…" Xiu Ling paused before continuing with a sincere tone, "Joann, I am sorry to have doubted you."

Joann smiled. "Don't be silly. You were just concerned about me and the picture, I have to admit is framed masterfully. I would have fallen for it myself if I am not actually featured in the story."

Xiu Ling sighed with some degree of disappointment, "The mass media industry these days have become less and less like journalism but more and more like manufacturing. They manufacture news more than report them."

Joann laughed. "Xiu Ling, you could not have been more right!"