Xiu Ling knew this fear of hers suffered from a serious case of slippery slope fallacy but she could not stop herself. She cared about this sisterhood with Joann and she did not want to lose it. However, it was also due to this care that she had for Joann that Xiu Ling knew she should not push it when her friend was at such a vulnerable place.
"Oh, sorry. I was just trying to process what you just said. I suppose if you feel so strongly about pushing the meeting to the next session, I'm fine with it. Joann, I understand where you're coming from…" was what his wife had said.
Lin Kang did not know anything about the Three Months Club between Xiu Ling and Joann, that was not something Xiu Ling would inform her husband about. After all, it had practically nothing to do with the man and they weren't that close to have Xiu Ling involved Lin Kang in every aspect of her life.
However, Lin Kang did recognize Joann's name since she was a popular celebrity and he knew his wife was close friend with her. Based on verbal clues taken from the women's conversation, Lin Kang understood Xiu Ling wanted to invite Joann out for a meeting but something on Joann's end was stopping her from agreeing to Xiu Ling's invitation.
Lin Kang frowned as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He googled Joann's name. The search result came back in the matters of seconds.
Lin Kang skipped the Wikipedia and Imdb entries. As he scrolled down, he saw an online article that he felt was relevant to what he was searching for.
He clicked on it and the picture that appeared on screen made his eyes twitch from discomfort. If this was the normal Lin Kang, his eyes might have lingered on the screen for a few seconds but for some reason, knowing his wife was in close proximity, Lin Kang panicked and closed his phone immediately. It was as if the man did not want his wife to discover he had the picture of a naked woman on his phone.
After Lin Kang calmed down, he slowly connected the dots. Even though he did not have the time to read the entire article, he understood the kind of impact a scandal like this would have on a celebrity. He figured out why Joann was so reluctant to leave the comfort and safety of her own home.
Lin Kang thought about it and he soon came up with a solution that would be acceptable by both Xiu Ling and Joann.
He opened his phone and logged into a travelling agency's website. He tapped a few buttons on his phone and the plan he had in mind was set into motion.
With a satisfied smile, Lin Kang waved to get Xiu Ling's attention. Xiu Ling caught his movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned around to face Lin Kang.
Lin Kang made a hand signal to Xiu Ling, saying he wish for her to temporarily put the phone down because he wanted to talk to her.
To be honest, Xiu Ling was quite miffed that Lin Kang chose such an inopportune moment to have a chat. 'Couldn't he see I am on the phone? How rude!'
However, to not anger the man, Xiu Ling breathed into the phone, "Wait a minute, Joann. Lin Kang looks like he want to talk to me. Do you mind holding for a moment? I am so sorry but I'm sure this'll be quick."
Then, she put a hand over the speaker and faced Lin Kang.
"There's a Japanese client whom the company is currently doing business with. He has invited me to go to Japan with the plane ticket and accommodation paid. It is a trip for two and as you know, I am unable to tear myself away from work so do you want them and do you have anyone that you would like to bring with you?"
Afraid that the hint was not clear enough, Lin Kang added, "Lin Xi is still too young to take the plane, so the friend better be an adult, perhaps a girlfriend of yours?"
Xiu Ling was so dazed by this sudden revelation that it did not cross her mind to wonder why things were happening in such a coincidental timing. Lin Kang had two extra plane tickets to leave the country just when Xiu Ling and Joann were about to have their Three Month Club's meeting and Joann had a reason to either stay at home or go to a place where people would not recognize her so easily?
Furthermore, why would a client give away plane tickets? If the supposed client really wanted to endear himself to Lin Kang, he would have offered a better terms in the business negotiation instead of giving the man plane tickets to his home country. That was such an out-of-place gift to offer, especially in a business setting.
Thankfully, Xiu Ling was not so privy with the business world to see through the giant plot holes in Lin Kang's lies. She really thought Lin Kang was pushing upon her this gift simply out of pure convenience. She assumed Lin Kang was re-gifting her something that he had no use for.
Instead of answering Lin Kang, Xiu Ling almost shrieked into the phone, "Joann, would you like to go to Japan with me?"
"Huh?!" Joann, on the other end of the phone, was baffled. She certainly did not expect this when Xiu Ling said she needed a break to talk to her husband.
Hearing the confusion in her best friend's voice, Xiu Ling proceeded to explain the situation to her and how she ended up with two extra plane tickets to Japan. In essence, she was filling Joann in on the conversation between herself and Lin Kang that Joann did not hear.
When she was done, Joann found the whole arrangement incredibly suspicious. She had half a mind to question Lin Kang's motives.
Xiu Ling knew this fear of hers suffered from a serious case of slippery slope fallacy but she could not stop herself. She cared about this sisterhood with Joann and she did not want to lose it. However, it was also due to this care that she had for Joann that Xiu Ling knew she should not push it when her friend was at such a vulnerable place.
"Oh, sorry. I was just trying to process what you just said. I suppose if you feel so strongly about pushing the meeting to the next session, I'm fine with it. Joann, I understand where you're coming from…" was what his wife had said.
Lin Kang did not know anything about the Three Months Club between Xiu Ling and Joann, that was not something Xiu Ling would inform her husband about. After all, it had practically nothing to do with the man and they weren't that close to have Xiu Ling involved Lin Kang in every aspect of her life.
However, Lin Kang did recognize Joann's name since she was a popular celebrity and he knew his wife was close friend with her. Based on verbal clues taken from the women's conversation, Lin Kang understood Xiu Ling wanted to invite Joann out for a meeting but something on Joann's end was stopping her from agreeing to Xiu Ling's invitation.
Lin Kang frowned as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He googled Joann's name. The search result came back in the matters of seconds.
Lin Kang skipped the Wikipedia and Imdb entries. As he scrolled down, he saw an online article that he felt was relevant to what he was searching for.
He clicked on it and the picture that appeared on screen made his eyes twitch from discomfort. If this was the normal Lin Kang, his eyes might have lingered on the screen for a few seconds but for some reason, knowing his wife was in close proximity, Lin Kang panicked and closed his phone immediately. It was as if the man did not want his wife to discover he had the picture of a naked woman on his phone.
After Lin Kang calmed down, he slowly connected the dots. Even though he did not have the time to read the entire article, he understood the kind of impact a scandal like this would have on a celebrity. He figured out why Joann was so reluctant to leave the comfort and safety of her own home.
Lin Kang thought about it and he soon came up with a solution that would be acceptable by both Xiu Ling and Joann.
He opened his phone and logged into a travelling agency's website. He tapped a few buttons on his phone and the plan he had in mind was set into motion.
With a satisfied smile, Lin Kang waved to get Xiu Ling's attention. Xiu Ling caught his movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned around to face Lin Kang.
Lin Kang made a hand signal to Xiu Ling, saying he wish for her to temporarily put the phone down because he wanted to talk to her.
To be honest, Xiu Ling was quite miffed that Lin Kang chose such an inopportune moment to have a chat. 'Couldn't he see I am on the phone? How rude!'
However, to not anger the man, Xiu Ling breathed into the phone, "Wait a minute, Joann. Lin Kang looks like he want to talk to me. Do you mind holding for a moment? I am so sorry but I'm sure this'll be quick."
Then, she put a hand over the speaker and faced Lin Kang.
"There's a Japanese client whom the company is currently doing business with. He has invited me to go to Japan with the plane ticket and accommodation paid. It is a trip for two and as you know, I am unable to tear myself away from work so do you want them and do you have anyone that you would like to bring with you?"
Afraid that the hint was not clear enough, Lin Kang added, "Lin Xi is still too young to take the plane, so the friend better be an adult, perhaps a girlfriend of yours?"
Xiu Ling was so dazed by this sudden revelation that it did not cross her mind to wonder why things were happening in such a coincidental timing. Lin Kang had two extra plane tickets to leave the country just when Xiu Ling and Joann were about to have their Three Month Club's meeting and Joann had a reason to either stay at home or go to a place where people would not recognize her so easily?
Furthermore, why would a client give away plane tickets? If the supposed client really wanted to endear himself to Lin Kang, he would have offered a better terms in the business negotiation instead of giving the man plane tickets to his home country. That was such an out-of-place gift to offer, especially in a business setting.
Thankfully, Xiu Ling was not so privy with the business world to see through the giant plot holes in Lin Kang's lies. She really thought Lin Kang was pushing upon her this gift simply out of pure convenience. She assumed Lin Kang was re-gifting her something that he had no use for.
Instead of answering Lin Kang, Xiu Ling almost shrieked into the phone, "Joann, would you like to go to Japan with me?"
"Huh?!" Joann, on the other end of the phone, was baffled. She certainly did not expect this when Xiu Ling said she needed a break to talk to her husband.
Hearing the confusion in her best friend's voice, Xiu Ling proceeded to explain the situation to her and how she ended up with two extra plane tickets to Japan. In essence, she was filling Joann in on the conversation between herself and Lin Kang that Joann did not hear.
When she was done, Joann found the whole arrangement incredibly suspicious. She had half a mind to question Lin Kang's motives.
