Table for Two

Furthermore, they received objection from the actor that they already had. For Lee Mu, this commercial was essentially his way of coming clean, he did not want to preface it with a lie. In other words, he wanted Zao Ming to play himself in the commercial.

Nevertheless, while this might add to the authenticity, Zao Ming was not a professional actor. Xiu Ling expressed her worry that Lee Mu's agent might be hesitant to appear before the camera.

Lee Mu winked at her during the draft of their commercial and said cunningly, "Leave that to me."

Lee Mu leaned over to the commercial director and asked him to add a kiss scene.

When he returned home that night, Lee Mu handed the script over to Zao Ming and even before Lee Mu said anything, his boyfriend jumped up from the seat to ask urgently, "Who is going to play your on-screen boyfriend? Has it been decided? Do you think they'll accept it if I volunteer myself?"

With an innocent face, Lee Mu encouraged Zao Ming to contact Xiu Ling and that was how they managed to "persuade" Zao Ming to take on the role of boyfriend in the commercial.

Lee Mu chuckled to himself, knowing he could always count on his boyfriend's jealousy.

...

On top of that, making such a commercial actually ran the risk of offending the related government body. However, that was a risk that mostly had to be bore by Lin Kang's company. While some of the shareholders voiced their concern over this, Lin Kang silenced them with a look.

If this was any other company, they probably needed to worry about their own skin should they ever release such a commercial but since Lin Kang had the nation's economy under his pulse, he was certain he could get away scot-free, or at most with a warning from the relevant department.

He even had the excuse ready if asked, his company was trying to venture into an untapped market.

Of course, the effect of the commercial alone might not be enough. Some of those consumers no longer utilized the television and even if Lin Kang applied for online ads, which he did, technologically savvy users knew how to use adblock.

This was where Sylvia came in.

When Joann approached her daughter for a favour, Sylvia agreed readily.

Joann wished for Sylvia to release an article on Lee Mu's sexual orientation, an expose so to speak. When Sylvia heard her mother's request, she was shocked before frowning. Shocked because of the revelation of Lee Mu being gay, despite the rumours, was still a startling news. Joann confirmed that she was not kidding, this was real news. Then Sylvia frowned because she could not understand why her mother would want her to release a news that could be harmful to her friend's reputation. Was it a kind of retaliation because he slandered her mother's name at the press conference?

Sylvia said she was more than willing to help but she needed to clear it with her paper's main editor first. This process went smoothly. Joann and Lee Mu were giving their paper an exclusive so naturally the editor could not wait to say yes.

Sylvia was assigned to the job.

To prevent the article from sounding too much like a gossip piece, Sylvia suggested to attach it with an exclusive interview with Lee Mu, a request the star graciously accepted.

Here was an excerpt from said article:

Q: Why did you decide to make this announcement?

A: Because my fans deserve the truth. I respect them that much.

Q: But why now? Is there a trigger of some sorts? Someone who inspired you to do this?

A: Actually, this is related to a close friend of mine. Her name is Joann Fong. You might have heard about her [laugh]. She has been in the news lately because of me. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to issue her a sincere apology. It was her who challenged me to be truthful and honest with myself.

Initially, my reaction was to shrug her off until one day, it just exploded. That was the reason behind why I have overreacted at the press conference that day. It has nothing to do with her work ethics. I just wanted her to stop but now I realize she only has my best interest in her heart.

As a close friend, she saw how depressed I was, putting on a mask every morning to face the world. It pained her heart to see me act this way and I am very appreciative of her concern. I would have not been able to find the courage to do this if not for her.

Joann Fong is a wonderful human being and a dear friend. I could not have asked for a better colleague, confidant and friend. [chuckle] Right, I'm so sorry for rambling. Next question, please...

Q: It's alright. I'm glad to know that you have cleared the misunderstanding and patched things up with Miss Joann Fong. You and your partner make a very cute couple, would you like to tell us a little about him?