"Mom, why are you even jumping so hard to the girl's defense? Are you sure you even know her that well?" Even though Sylvia had thought about approaching this ordeal with a lighter hand, she saw how that was not working in their favor. Furthermore, her Auntie Xiu Ling was handling that department just fine. They did not need two people to walk on eggshells around her mother.
It was her mother who taught Sylvia the importance of tough love. Now if her mother was in a need of a rude awakening, then she was going to deliver. Sometimes, when dealing with headstrong people, you just have to whack them with the truth hard enough that it eventually registered in their head. Considering the state of indignation Sylvia was in due to her mother's reluctance to accept the truth, she was more than glad to be of service.
In response to Sylvia's question, Joann replied with confidence, "Of course!" Internally, she was struggling with the shame of being yelled at by her daughter and at the same time, she was appreciative of her daughter's willingness to be tough with her when the situation called for it.
Therefore, even though Joann did not have full confidence, she was that good of an actor that she could make it sound like she was 100 percent confident. She would have easily tricked other person but she was dealing with her best friend of many years and the daughter that she birthed. They caught the barely discernible quiver of uncertainty in her affirmation.
Joann's persistence of blinding herself to the truth rubbed her daughter the wrong way. Sylvia slammed the piece of picture she had been holding in her pocket on the table with a force larger than was necessary. She added, "Then, mom, this proves that you don't really know her that well!"
Joann leaned in to take a better look at the piece of evidence. It was a picture that she had seen before and she frowned because she did not understand the relevance. 'Wait, isn't this a picture of Qing Qing outside of Lee Mu's apartment? I remember thinking she was there to... Wait a minute...'
Both Xiu Ling and Sylvia could see the realization dawn on Joann's face. Hopefully, this time the evidence was enough to convince her of the truth.
"Mom, I'm sure you remember this picture," Sylvia began. "I took it when I was watching your friend, Lee Mu. At the time, you told me to hold this piece from releasing to the press because you did not want to disturb the burgeoning relationship between him and Qing Qing.
"However, we now know that such a relationship did not even exist in the first place. It couldn't have existed because Lee Mu has been in a stable relationship with his agent. Mom, she has been leading you by the nose. Can't you see it?"
Sylvia tried to convince her mother and she failed to understand why it was so hard to make her accept this truth. Both her Auntie Xiu Ling and herself had accepted this reality practically the moment they were handed the evidence, so why was it so difficult for her mom?
Other than the reasons mentioned before, there was another factor that stood in the way. It was the ego. A strong sense of self prevented Joann from admitting defeat, from admitting the fact that she had been completely swindled by someone younger and more cunning than her. That was an exceptionally hard pill to swallow.
While Xiu Ling was appreciative of the fact that Sylvia took another approach to breaking the news to her mother, she also thought the young woman's method could be quite brash and direct. This was especially true when she heard the last sentence in her statement, 'Can't you see it?'
The question placed the burden and fault on Joann's shoulders and Xiu Ling was sensitive enough to her friend's personality to know that it would not sit well with her. It put her on blast by highlighting her supposed gullibility. Therefore, Xiu Ling tried to soften the blow by adding, "All of us have been made fools for a long time. We have underestimated this young woman."
Hopefully, that would help disperse the otherwise concentrated sense of guilt. The mistake was shared among everyone.
Sylvia noticed the deep frown between her mother's brows. This was a sign that Joann was contemplating their perspective but it was still not yet enough. They needed to fully convince Joann of Qing Qing's guilt before moving onto the next expose. After all, if her mother did not believe this, she would have a harder time believing the other.
"Mother, do you still remember my colleague that you mistook as my boyfriend?" Sylvia suddenly said. This made not only Joann turn to her with a frown but Xiu Ling as well. This was news to Xiu Ling because Sylvia did not share this part of her private history with her. She did tell her about Ming Tian but she did not reveal to her they had shared such a history before.
After all, this was within the Xu family so Sylvia did not see the point of sharing that with Xiu Ling... not that it would have mattered anyway.
In any case, Joann nodded wordlessly, the confusion plain on her face. She was wondering where Sylvia was leading with this.
"Remember all those slanderous articles written on you several months ago? Those were all penned by him. He has already confessed everything to me. The one who ordered him to do so is also this girl. She offered him insider news and in return, made him release those articles that were damaging to your name," Sylvia explained plainly. "Mother, this is not something new. The girl has been trying to do this from day one. Mom, you have got to stop seeing the wolf as sheep."
Sylvia looked at her mother expectantly like she was hoping she would be able to convince her with the sincerity in her gaze.
"Mom, why are you even jumping so hard to the girl's defense? Are you sure you even know her that well?" Even though Sylvia had thought about approaching this ordeal with a lighter hand, she saw how that was not working in their favor. Furthermore, her Auntie Xiu Ling was handling that department just fine. They did not need two people to walk on eggshells around her mother.
It was her mother who taught Sylvia the importance of tough love. Now if her mother was in a need of a rude awakening, then she was going to deliver. Sometimes, when dealing with headstrong people, you just have to whack them with the truth hard enough that it eventually registered in their head. Considering the state of indignation Sylvia was in due to her mother's reluctance to accept the truth, she was more than glad to be of service.
In response to Sylvia's question, Joann replied with confidence, "Of course!" Internally, she was struggling with the shame of being yelled at by her daughter and at the same time, she was appreciative of her daughter's willingness to be tough with her when the situation called for it.
Therefore, even though Joann did not have full confidence, she was that good of an actor that she could make it sound like she was 100 percent confident. She would have easily tricked other person but she was dealing with her best friend of many years and the daughter that she birthed. They caught the barely discernible quiver of uncertainty in her affirmation.
Joann's persistence of blinding herself to the truth rubbed her daughter the wrong way. Sylvia slammed the piece of picture she had been holding in her pocket on the table with a force larger than was necessary. She added, "Then, mom, this proves that you don't really know her that well!"
Joann leaned in to take a better look at the piece of evidence. It was a picture that she had seen before and she frowned because she did not understand the relevance. 'Wait, isn't this a picture of Qing Qing outside of Lee Mu's apartment? I remember thinking she was there to... Wait a minute...'
Both Xiu Ling and Sylvia could see the realization dawn on Joann's face. Hopefully, this time the evidence was enough to convince her of the truth.
"Mom, I'm sure you remember this picture," Sylvia began. "I took it when I was watching your friend, Lee Mu. At the time, you told me to hold this piece from releasing to the press because you did not want to disturb the burgeoning relationship between him and Qing Qing.
"However, we now know that such a relationship did not even exist in the first place. It couldn't have existed because Lee Mu has been in a stable relationship with his agent. Mom, she has been leading you by the nose. Can't you see it?"
Sylvia tried to convince her mother and she failed to understand why it was so hard to make her accept this truth. Both her Auntie Xiu Ling and herself had accepted this reality practically the moment they were handed the evidence, so why was it so difficult for her mom?
Other than the reasons mentioned before, there was another factor that stood in the way. It was the ego. A strong sense of self prevented Joann from admitting defeat, from admitting the fact that she had been completely swindled by someone younger and more cunning than her. That was an exceptionally hard pill to swallow.
While Xiu Ling was appreciative of the fact that Sylvia took another approach to breaking the news to her mother, she also thought the young woman's method could be quite brash and direct. This was especially true when she heard the last sentence in her statement, 'Can't you see it?'
The question placed the burden and fault on Joann's shoulders and Xiu Ling was sensitive enough to her friend's personality to know that it would not sit well with her. It put her on blast by highlighting her supposed gullibility. Therefore, Xiu Ling tried to soften the blow by adding, "All of us have been made fools for a long time. We have underestimated this young woman."
Hopefully, that would help disperse the otherwise concentrated sense of guilt. The mistake was shared among everyone.
Sylvia noticed the deep frown between her mother's brows. This was a sign that Joann was contemplating their perspective but it was still not yet enough. They needed to fully convince Joann of Qing Qing's guilt before moving onto the next expose. After all, if her mother did not believe this, she would have a harder time believing the other.
"Mother, do you still remember my colleague that you mistook as my boyfriend?" Sylvia suddenly said. This made not only Joann turn to her with a frown but Xiu Ling as well. This was news to Xiu Ling because Sylvia did not share this part of her private history with her. She did tell her about Ming Tian but she did not reveal to her they had shared such a history before.
After all, this was within the Xu family so Sylvia did not see the point of sharing that with Xiu Ling... not that it would have mattered anyway.
In any case, Joann nodded wordlessly, the confusion plain on her face. She was wondering where Sylvia was leading with this.
"Remember all those slanderous articles written on you several months ago? Those were all penned by him. He has already confessed everything to me. The one who ordered him to do so is also this girl. She offered him insider news and in return, made him release those articles that were damaging to your name," Sylvia explained plainly. "Mother, this is not something new. The girl has been trying to do this from day one. Mom, you have got to stop seeing the wolf as sheep."
Sylvia looked at her mother expectantly like she was hoping she would be able to convince her with the sincerity in her gaze.
