Joann only had a cameo in this upcoming movie that was having its premier, her role wasn't that big and she was mostly doing it as a favor for a friend. However, it was due to that cameo that she was invited to the premier.
Initially, it was her intention to skip the premier but knowing they needed a drama moment for the series, Joann did to attend it after all. The hustle and bustle around the preparation for a public appearance especially for an event that was as glamorous as a movie premier was a good reality tv fodder. It would allow the viewers a selected and framed view into the life of a superstar.
Cameras were set up around the house on the morning of the premier. It kinda reminded Xu Jing of the special date that they had not a long time ago, even though it felt like that was a lifetime ago. So many things had changed since then.
However, as Joann took the steps down the stairs, Xu Jing realized certain had remained unchanged. His breath still caught in his throat, when he saw Joann in that cream-colored dress that hit her knees. It was a complete opposite from the red dress that she wore that night. On the night of the date, Joann was going for sexy but on the day of the premier, she went for elegant and proper. The dress wasn't too fitted but it still highlighted the woman's perfect proportions.
In spite of herself, Joann found herself smiling when she saw the dumb expression on her husband's face. No woman would not appreciate having that effect on a man. Xu Jing was still in his casual clothes because it was still quite early. Joann was dressed ahead of time because she still needed to have her hair and make-up done. Furthermore, the ensemble of her outfit hadn't completely yet. The stylist still needed to pick out the accessories to go with it.
She would need a longer preparation time compared to Xu Jing.
"You look so beautiful." Xu Jing said breathlessly when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Joann merely smiled at the compliment. She did not even reply with a perfunctory, "thank you". Before the awkwardness was allowed to spread between them, the film crew came to save the day. The group of stylists pulled them apart, it was time for Xu Jing to get ready as well.
When everyone was ready, it was already afternoon. The director requested Joann to go up to the second floor so she could have her dramatic entrance walking down the stairs. He wanted to capture that dramatic moment on camera. Joann obliged.
She could hear shuffling downstairs as they moved Xu Jing into place. She had not seen him since he was pulled away by the stylists. They had been working on him in a separate room from where she was earlier.
"Action!" The director shouted as the film crew moved out of the camera. This was to create the illusion that Joann and Xu Jing were at home alone, even though extra crew members and stylists were brought into the set that day to prepare for the movie premier.
As Joann walked down the stairs, she was pleasantly surprised by how handsome Xu Jing looked. Since he was supposed to accompany her to the premier, the stylists were tasked to make him look presentable. Joann believed the group of stylists had outdone themselves.
However, to be fair, the stylists did have a good model to work with. Xu Jing was not the typical muscular man with six-packs but at least he was of average build and moderate good looks. The stylists put him in a pair of slimming and toning undershirt so his posture would be straighter and the man filled up the fitted tuxedo nicely.
Of course this was not the first time Joann saw her husband in a tuxedo but, other than their wedding, Joann could not remember the last time Xu Jing had professional help, fashion-wise. The last time they went on their date, Xu Jing was even wearing a rental tux. Joann knew her husband was a handsome man but that fact could not have been more on display that night.
Joann walked down the stairs and took the hand that was offered by Xu Jing. She then moved to stand beside him like a pair of bride and groom. She did this on purpose because that was the shot that was requested by the director. After a few moment of standing in place, the director shouted, "Cut! That was a very good job! Well done, Joann and Xu Jing. I can see the love in your eyes, Xu Jing when you look up at Joann, wonderful! Joann, you're lucky to have a husband as devoted as this guy right here." The director was too busy following up on other things to realize the awkwardness he had caused by his comment.
Thankfully, the director quickly came back with more orders before the awkwardness was given the chance to fester, "Now, Joann and Xu Jing, I want you to move around the room. Just act as natural as you can. We need to take some footage that we can cut into the preview or just to smooth the flow out for other scenes."
This was a common practice for reality tv or just television shows in general. Viewers might think the episode was shot in one single cut, but of course, the reality wasn't like that. Footage from different time frame could be moved around to form a narrative that the production wished to tell. The ending could be shot before everything else or in Joann and Xu Jing's case, the reaction reels or filler reels could be shot in isolation and then spliced in during editing.
Xu Jing turned to Joann for her to take the lead. He was inexperienced in these production stuff and so he always turned to her for help.