Chapter 225：The Apology (23)

Things at the Xu household did not return to normal instantly but things were slowly getting back on track after the conversation between Xu Jing and Joann.

Even though they did not announce to the world their decision, people who were close to them like Mrs. Xu and Sylvia managed to notice the difference. For example, Joann no longer consciously or subconsciously avoid Xu Jing's presence and they could remain in the same room for more than five minute even when the camera wasn't rolling. Other than that, Mrs. Xu and Sylvia also noticed the new element of respect that was previously absent in Xu Jing and Joann's relationship.

Perhaps because Joann was an actor, the change was not that obvious with her but the same could not be said of Xu Jing. The man felt brighter in person as if the dark cloud that had been hanging over his head for the past few weeks had finally been lifted off. There was a touch more sincerity in his smile.

Both Sylvia and Mrs. Xu were glad to see this change. Even though they did not know what kind of contract had been reached between Xu Jing and Joann, since things had been moving back to the right path, they decided without discussing it among themselves to just let bygones be bygones and did not ask for details. They accepted the positive result and moved forward.

It was slightly more complicated for Joann because she still needed to deal with the director and her responsibility to the Call of Joy. The real reason she volunteered to do such a thing was to use an instrument to evaluate her marriage and how she really felt about it. Now that the purpose had been achieved, there was technically no reason to continue the series anymore.

However, Joann wasn't that unprofessional to call the project off while in the middle of shooting and when the series had such high popularity. Furthermore, this was not a shot that she could call.

Instead of forcing her way to the result that she wanted, Joann decided to have a little chat with the director. First, Joann intercepted the audio recording of the conversation between her and her husband. Despite what she told Xu Jing, Joann did not have the intention to share their marriage problem with the rest of the crew. After all, they had no reason to be up in their business.

The only exception was the director because as the director, he had the right to know everything about the subject that he was shooting so he could decide the best direction to move forward with the series. Other than that, Joann needed the director to know about the truth with regards to her marriage so she could use it for a better negotiation.

Joann played the recording for the director unfiltered and unedited. The director was shocked by what he had heard. He offered his apology to Joann and the latter assured him everything was going well. There was nothing he should worry about and it would not affect the shooting for Call of Joy.

The director was impressed by Joann's professionalism and her ability to keep up a straight face with everything that was going on in the background. Now the many nuances that he noticed when they shot the series had a justification to it. The director was already in great admiration of Joann's work and her professionalism to begin with but after being clued into the truth, that admiration only continued to grow.

Therefore, when Joann brought up her request for a favor, the director very gladly obliged. It would have been very unfair for both the crew and the station to end the project right there and then so Joann sought a compromise. "Is it possible to shorten the series?" Joann asked.

The director was initially hesitant but after knowing all the issues that were going on in the background, his stance greatly softened. "I will try to persuade the officers at the station about your request, but you'll have to talk to the people at the contract department on your own." The director told Joann. Basically, he was saying, he was okay with her demand on the condition that she would be able to convince the station to release both herself and her husband from the contracts that they had signed.

Joann thought about it and she realized this was the biggest compromise she was going to get from the director. She accepted it and thanked the director. She left the audio recording with the director and the director promised he would use the material available to edit out a suitable story line for the upcoming episodes without revealing the issue of Xu Jing's cheating. Joann thanked him once more.

Not all directors would be so moral to not include things that were considered private lives of the stars. Granted Joann's star power had plenty to do with it but honestly, Joann herself wasn't sure the director would leave those juicy parts out after considering the amount of drama it would garner from the audience. It would have made the viewership skyrocket. For the sake of viewership, many directors in the business would have sold out their stars so Joann was thankful that she had found the one that still had his sense of morality intact even after rolling for years in the business.

With the bridge mending between Joann and Xu Jing, the rest of the shooting went smoothly. The director managed to cut out a "sincere" apology from Joann with the use of the bedroom conversation and other splices of footage. That combined with the general sense of good cheer for the rest of the series, managed to turn the audience's impression on Joann back around by the time the Call of Joy came to an end.