Chapter 97：The Japan Trip (9)

The end of the trip soon arrived. Xiu Ling and Joann packed up their bags as they prepared to leave for home.

Other than the bags of souvenirs they bought for their family and friends, Xiu Ling and Joann walked away from this trip with many other rewards as well.

For example, Xiu Ling left with a burning question on her mind. She had many things that she now needed to evaluate in life. If the whole trip was, as Joann said, a gift from Lin Kang to her, where did that put their relationship? How was she going to face Lin Kang in the future?

A small part of her hoped that her best friend was right, this whole affair was her husband's way of pampering her without exposing himself. However, Xiu Ling, at the same time, hard a big difficulty conciliating this image of a doting husband with the monster that forced himself on her. The mental dissonance was hard to get over.

In comparison, Joann walked away from this trip with a bigger reward than Xiu Ling. Initially, she was hesitant to come on this trip but if she knew how wonderful the trip would be to relax her soul and improve her confidence, Joann would have agreed without a second thought.

Joann might not have realized this but the attack piece in the tabloid affected her more than she was willing to admit to herself and the world. One's work in the entertainment business had its expiration date. It might be hard to admit but nothing killed a star's career faster than old age. There were few notable exceptions but after reaching a certain age, most stars faded from the front of the camera into the background.

As cruel as that might be, that was simply how the business operated, people wanted to see youth because that was what the general public yearn for. If not, why did you think plastic surgery is so rampant within the business? It was to keep one's youth around as long as possible and to keep one's career alive.

Therefore, when the piece on the tabloid came out, subconsciously, Joann wondered, 'Perhaps it is time for me to retire. My time's up.' That was the reason why Joann had been moping about. There had not been a shortage of unflattering news on her in the past but this one had affected her so much because it focused on that one thing that she could not control, the passing of time. She could improve if the reviews critique her acting skills but what was she going to do about the natural process of aging?

She was no miracle worker, she could not turn back time. This overwhelmed Joann with a sense of hopelessness and that translated into a loss of confidence.

During this trip to Japan however, she managed to pick up the confidence that she had lost. Since the tabloid was extremely local, even with an online website, the piece did not have the power to take up traction overseas.

Many fans recognized Joann on the trip and she gave away many signatures and took many photos with her adoring fans. They still knew her as the superstar actress and the scandal was not there to tarnish their impression of her.

Feeling their love, Joann regained the confidence that she had lost. Essentially, she returned to the country a different woman from the Joann that had left. She felt more assured and confident in herself and that added a brilliant, superstar-like dazzle to her presence.

When they landed in their home country, Xiu Ling's ride was already waiting. Lin Kang had sent the Lin family driver ahead of time to the airport to wait for Xiu Ling. Joann did not call for any one from her family to come fetch her because both Xu Jing and Sylvia had work to attend to and so she did not want to trouble them.

Her plan was to catch a taxi at the airport but when Xiu Ling noticed her walk towards the taxi line, she immediately called after her best friend. After Xiu Ling familiarized herself with Joann's situation, like a good friend, she offered to drop her home.

Joann accepted her friend's kind offer. The driver helped the two women get their luggage into the car and off they went. Xiu Ling and Joann had a good chat on the way home, reminiscing about the trip that they had just returned from.

They arrived at Joann's place first. Joann gave Xiu Ling a parting hug and thanked her once more for the fabulous trip to Japan. Xiu Ling similarly replied with, "Don't mention it" as she did many times before that.

The driver helped Joann get her luggage from the trunk and the two friends parted.

When Joann dragged her luggage through the front door, she was shocked to find her daughter sitting in the living room.

"Sylvia," she called out happily before asking, "Why aren't you at work today?"

Sylvia turned and answered, "I called for a day-off from work but, mom, that is not important now." The young woman's face was carved with a heavy frown.

Joann was too busy rummaging through her stuff to notice the expression on her daughter's face. "Why? What's wrong?" She asked perfunctorily. Before Sylvia could answer, Joann found the thing she was looking for.

She handed it over to Sylvia. "Here, a pack of tea leaves from Japan. I picked them myself," Joann added proudly but the smile on her face frozen when she lifted her head and saw the solemn expression on her daughter's face.

Sylvia accepted the gift weakly and she told Joann, "Mom, grandma is home and she told me to tell you to go see her when you return. She has something important she wanted to discuss with you."

"You mean now?!" Joann questioned and she slowly came down from the high that she had maintained throughout the holiday.

"Yes."