Chương 86: The Review (4)
Joann stood before the door to her daughter's room, holding the article in her hand. When she saw the byline was Sylvia Xu earlier, her heart filled with a mixture of joy, pride and satisfaction.
Without thinking about it, she jumped off her bed, raced out of the room and went in search of her daughter to share in her pride. However, as she came closer to Sylvia's room, her footsteps slowed until she stopped fully at the door.
Standing there, she realized she did not know what to say to Sylvia. Was she going to thank her? Support her? Forgive her? Cheer for her? Joann honestly didn't know.
Furthermore, it hit her that there was a more immediate question that she had not considered, was Sylvia even home?
To find out, Joann leaned closer towards the door, and she could hear the sound of someone typing on the keyboard coming from behind it. That was how Joann confirmed Sylvia was home.
As mentioned earlier, Joann had been trying to talk to her daughter and, other than this, she knew no other better opportunity was going to present itself.
After some back and forth, Joann finally knocked on the wooden door.
"Come in." Her daughter's familiar voice called from within.
When she entered, Sylvia was sitting before her computer, typing something that looked like an article draft.
Sylvia's room was like the young woman herself, simplistic and with a utilitarian touch. Everything in the room served its purpose and things were arranged neatly according to a system that was familiar to Sylvia only. The room was painted in shades of white and black to enhance its uncluttered nature. There was no items of sentimentality in the room other than a picture of the whole family which sat on Sylvia's working table.
Every member of the Xu family was smiling brightly at the camera and Sylvia kept the picture by her computer to remind herself where she came from and what she was working for.
Joann planted herself on Sylvia's bed but did not say anything, she wanted to wait for Sylvia to finish her work first.
Sensing her mother's presence in the room, Sylvia found it very difficult to concentrate. She stopped after finishing a paragraph, saved the document and turned to see what her mother was up to.
Everything clicked with she saw the familiar article in Joann's grasp. It belonged to the paper that she was affiliated to.
Sylvia began by way of explanation, "I called a favour from a colleague."
Joann was familiar with her daughter's way of conversing so she understood what she was referring to. However, she had other questions in mind, starting with, "But how did you find out about this?"
Sylvia chuckled good-naturedly. "How can I not? Father has practically filled the entire house with this thing."
Sylvia opened the desk drawer and reached in to pull out a tabloid that featured the unflattering article on Joann. Joann noticed there were notes sticking out from the page where her article should be. Sylvia probably used this to do the homework necessary to write her review.
Sylvia placed the tabloid on the table and explained, "I got a copy from the library downstairs."
The library Sylvia mentioned referred to the sea of tabloid that still swamped the Xu family living room. Xu Jing did not explain what he was planning to do with them and Joann was a bit afraid to ask what that devious mind of his planned to do with so many copies of the same tabloid.
"That father of yours sure likes to over-react," Joann commented with good humour.
"Well, mom, you got that right." Sylvia laughed alongside her mother. This felt nice, it felt like old times because the pair of mother and daughter used to share a laugh over Xu Jing's oftentimes ridiculous antics.
"But, mom, that's only because he loves you." Sylvia suddenly commented in the break of their laughter. The laughs died away as both women thought about this observation.
A sweet sensation flowed through Joann. It was nice to be reminded that she was cherished and loved by her husband. She felt like a pearl enclosed within a clam, treasured and protected.
Sylvia though had a more complicated profile of feelings that surged through her heart. After the words left her lips, Sylvia was reminded of the secret that she was clued into by her Auntie Xiu Ling. It soured her heart and left a bad taste in her mouth.
On one hand, she was glad that her father still love her mother so but on the other, she questioned why her father would betray her mother if he love her that much. She failed to understand her father's reasoning, she failed to see it from his perspective.
On top of all that, she wondered whether this was an opportune time to reveal everything to her mother and what her mother's reaction would be when she found out everything.
Sylvia could see many things hanging in the balance, and her revelation might cause a domino effect that would last for a long time to come. Sylvia was unsure whether she could have that pressure on her shoulder. What if this was the wrong decision? Would it be better if she just pretended that she did not know anything and let things run its natural course?
While Sylvia was caught in this internal conflict, Joann suddenly opened her lips to say, "Sylvia, thank you."
Sylvia was pulled back into reality and she replied, "Mom, there's no need for words of thanks between us but you're more than welcome."
Joann then pulled back her smile and she said in a tone that was more serious than before, "But this doesn't change my stance. I still do not approve of what you're doing, I think it is morally unjust and is a horrible career choice for a young woman as bright as yourself. You should be able to do better and this is my honest opinion."
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