The Rules (1)

Due to the many events, Joann stood at the centre of the attention and even more rarely, it was due to a positive reinforcement to her reputation. It was little wonder that big brand names could not wait to cooperate with her.

In other words, the blackmailer's plan completely backfired. Due to the intervention by Xiu Ling and her friends, the blackmailer's intention of ruining Joann's name had led to an opposite effect. Instead, it was truly a blessing in disguise.

The point was, Joann was not in need of money, whereas the same could not be said for Xu Jing. The man was by no means poor but compared to his wife, he was definitely the poorer party.

In any case, Joann was never one to abide by the social rules where the man had to pay for the woman every time, so instead of passing the bill to Xu Jing, she took out her own credit card and gave it to the maitre 'd. If she could afford to pay for herself and then some, why would she took the extra step to observe the social cues, to purposely brush up on the man's ego?

After all, we have been championing for gender equality so everything should be equal, right?

At least Xu Jing did not think so because he did not agree fully with his wife's decision. Even though she did not mean to, Joann had inadvertently committed a face-threatening act.

She had made Xu Jing lose face especially in front of the maitre 'd who eyed Xu Jing a certain way before he left to deal with the payment. The man already had a low opinion of Xu Jing and now it had sunk even lower.

Like usual, Xu Jing just shrugged it off as another one of his wife's quirks. Instead of mentioning anything to Joann, he took the blame as his own, telling himself he needed to be less sensitive to these things.

All in all, the night was enjoyable. Admittedly things could have gone better but Xu Jing was satisfied to have been given the chance to spend a romantic night with his wife. On the other hand, by the end of the night, Joann had met so many fans that she could barely remember any details of her interaction with Xu Jing. She had a rough idea that she had fun but she couldn't really tell that was because of Xu Jing or because of the words of support and love showered upon her by her fans. She told herself probably it was a combination of both.

On the way home, Joann told Xu Jing, "Thank you for a fun night."

Xu Jing decided it would have to be good enough. At least his wife had fun, yes, that was good enough.

...

It soon came time for Joann and Xiu Ling's tri-monthly meeting. The last time they gathered for that purpose was during the meeting to resolve the issue related to Lee Mu and his blackmailer. That was 3 months ago.

That couldn't technically be called a formal 3 Months Club's meeting because it involved more than Xiu Ling and Joann. However, at the time, it would have to do.

When the two women talked on the phone to schedule a meeting, both of them realized this was going to be the first meeting in a long time where they did not have an emergency to talk about. It was just two women meeting up and chatting, the real reason the club existed in the real place.

Looking back, things had certainly been rocky for both Xiu Ling and Joann for the past few months. It was as if the world was rising up against them, throwing them one hurdle after another.

Finally, things were going well for both of them. Both of the women honestly could say they were meeting up solely for the purpose of meeting up. There was no problem to solve, no schemes to plot, no enemy in sight... well, except that pesky business of Xu Jing's infidelity.

However, listening to how Joann talk about she had just enjoyed a fabulous romantic dinner with Xu Jing at a fancy restaurant, Xiu Ling did not think it was wise to bring up that particular news. It would only ruin a good thing.

Because of this, Xiu Ling started to believe perhaps the best idea was to pretend that she did not know anything and let the past be buried in the past. After all, the exposure was only going to harm and Xiu Ling could see no reason to even bring it up.

Joann's husband did not seem like he was a repeat-offender and did look like he was devoted to Joann. 'Perhaps it was a simple slip up?!' thought Xiu Ling.

In the end, Xiu Ling decided to hold the secret for now. At least until things changed, she was going to help the man keep his secret. Xiu Ling told herself it was for the sake of her friend. She hoped she had made the right choice.

Xiu Ling and Joann decided to meet up at Joann's place. The final choice was either Joann's place or Xiu Ling's place. Joann did not mind either but ultimately Xiu Ling opted for her friend's home because she wished to talk to Joann about Lin Kang and she did not want to do it in the presence of his family.

What if her mother-in-law or worse, the man himself overheard their conversation?!

Of course, this was not because Xiu Ling planned to mock the man behind his back but certain things were meant to be between women only. Things like relationship and love.

After Xiu Ling met up with Joann, she quickly brought her up to speed on what had been going on in her life. She talked about her improving relationship with her mother-in-law, the antics of her son as he continued to grow up and most importantly, the confession from Lin Kang.