Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 147 "A Family of Four"

Our country does not recognize dual citizenship.

For a case like Liu Yifei's, the first thing to do is to renounce her American citizenship, and then she must consider whether she can obtain Chinese citizenship after renunciation.

The admission criteria include whether one is a close relative of a citizen, whether one has settled in the country and other reasons.

The following mainly considers the issue of denaturalization in the United States.

Before this, she had applied to the American Embassy in Peking to renounce her American citizenship, which is also required by American law.

It's a bit confusing to say.

In short, she must first declare her renunciation to the consulate outside the United States, and then go to the United States to handle it. She will be considered successful after obtaining the certificate of relinquishment.

But the biggest problem here is still timeliness.

Before 2008, there was no need to pay denaturalization tax when denaturalizing, but the review and issuance of the denaturalization certificate was very slow. According to later statistics, it could take as long as more than ten months.

Therefore, with the help of Ankang, the biological father of Concubine Liu Yi, the entire process was expedited through diplomatic channels, and this was accomplished within a few months.

January 2003, 1, American time, Douglaston, New York.

This is the small town where Liu Xiaoli and her daughter previously lived, located on the border of northern Queens and Long Island.

This is also a back garden near Queens that combines the sea and sky style, beautiful environment and ancient cultural relics, and it complements the Great Neck of Long Island across the water.

"Look at that green space. When I first came to the United States, I was so isolated that my mom took me there to fly kites."

"And this post office. I would write down all the unhappy things on a piece of paper and address it to my dad. I knew it wouldn't be sent because there was no stamp."

Concubine Liu Yi seemed to have returned to when she was ten years old, strolling with Lu Kuan in the small town near her old home.

Although it is called a small town, it is actually a wealthy area with sparse population and beautiful scenery.

Boss Lu said with a smile: "When you were a kid, it was only 6 years ago. You were only under 16 years old."

Concubine Liu Yi was stunned when she heard this. Yes, this happened 5 or 6 years ago.

Why does it feel like a century has passed?
The concept of time is just a paradox; there is no such thing as time in the world.

The reason why Concubine Liu Yi felt that it happened a long time ago was simply because she had experienced so many things in the year since she returned to China.

I first met Lu Kuan in a villa in Peking;
Learning acting from him on the set of "The Golden Age";

He scolded me and made me cry during the filming of Whiplash;

Took me to Hong Kong to meet Anita Mui, record songs, and follow the crew on roadshows;
There are also a series of controversial anecdotes about participating in the Golden Horse Awards.

Unconsciously, the year she returned to China seemed to be related to the man beside her.

The evening breeze was noisy. Concubine Liu Yi tucked her flowing long hair into her scarf and walked on the wide shadows of the street lights. She felt extremely peaceful and tranquil in her heart.

The two of them walked for a long time, and only returned when it was getting dark.

Liu Xiaoli, Ankang, A Fei and Yang Siwei drove to the Asian supermarket in the city and are probably back. Today is another special day in a foreign country.

Today is January 1th, Beijing time, which is also New Year's Eve.

In the villa, Ankang and Liu Xiaoli were cleaning the kitchen.

"Why hasn't Sissi come back yet?"

Liu Xiaoli didn't even raise her eyelids: "Nothing, I went for a stroll with Xiaolu."

Ankang was a taciturn person. He was adjusting the oven and suddenly seemed to remember something, and he hesitated to speak.

"Say!"

Liu Xiaoli glanced at him and knew her ex-husband's character very well.

"He and Sissi..."

"That's not true! Don't listen to the nonsense online. It's all just unscrupulous media trying to stir up trouble."

When Liu Xiaoli got excited, she started to speak in Wuhan dialect. She said, "Daily talk" was just nonsense, and "making a fuss" was just a show to attract attention.

Ankang didn't say anything more when he heard her unfriendly tone, but he was worried about his daughter. After thinking for a while, he gave her a few more instructions.

"The entertainment industry is too chaotic. If she doesn't want to be an actress anymore, she can come to France to study."

"I'm going to be transferred there to work this year."

The organizational transfer order has been issued, and this is no secret.

Liu Xiaoli seemed unusually manic today: "I've told you so many times, I will protect her, just leave her alone!"

She was annoyed by the rumors on the Internet.

What about the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry, and the American girl putting on a show at the Golden Horse Awards...

Liu Yifei is a rough-headed and reckless person, but Liu Xiaoli has already begun to feel the horror of cyberbullying.

Ah Fei and Yang Siwei looked at each other at the dining table in the hall, and then lowered their heads like two quails to pick vegetables.

"Sister Siwei, we are here... isn't it a little awkward?"

Seeing that even the cold-faced Ah Fei, who always realized things slowly, had realized that something was wrong, Yang Siwei could only sigh silently in his heart.

The family of four is celebrating the New Year together, what are these two doing here?

"We're back!"

Liu Yifei came in excitedly, and looked through the purchased ingredients with an exaggerated expression before entering the kitchen.

Mom is cooking and Dad is chopping.

She felt both relieved and sad.

"Why did you walk around for so long? Look at your face, it's frozen."

Ankang rarely had the opportunity to interact with his daughter, so he quickly put aside the trivial things in his hands, came over with a smile and covered his daughter's face.

"Where's Xiaolu?"

"I'm on the phone outside."

Ankang glanced at the sulking Liu Xiaoli, winked at Liu Yifei, and the two walked to the corner of the stairs.

"Xixi, is there anything you want to say to your dad?"

Liu Yifei was confused: "No." The old father glanced at Lu Kuan who was smoking outside the house with an unfriendly look, and spoke earnestly.

"Xixi, you are still young. If you want to act, then work hard. If you don't want to act, then continue studying. As for your relationship..."

Liu Yifei looked silly and cute: "What do you mean, Dad? What's wrong with your relationship?"

The old father took a closer look at his daughter's expression and saw that it didn't seem fake. He thought he was overthinking it, so he stopped talking.

"It's okay, I'm just jealous of your relationship with your mother, hehe."

The father and daughter exchanged a few sweet words before separating. Liu Yifei turned around and looked at the figure outside the house and stuck out her tongue guiltily.

Fortunately, my acting skills have improved!
Lu Kuan was directing Emil's editing remotely over the phone, not knowing that he had turned yellow-haired.

Dinner was ready. With everyone's joint efforts, the ingredients simply purchased from the Asian supermarket became a delicious dish, which had a sense of the Chinese New Year.

"Come on, raise your glass!"

"cheers!"

"happy New Year!"

Ankang and Lukuan drank wine, while the others drank beverages.

At present, only Wuliangye is available for purchase abroad, and Moutai is still the second largest brand and has not yet gone abroad.

Ah Fei doesn't drink because he has security duties, especially in free America, where shootings happen every day.

Ankang smiled and said, "Xiaolu, come and try your aunt's cooking."

"A Fei, Xiao Yang, move your chopsticks, don't be restrained."

Liu Xiaoli also smiled and served lotus root and pork ribs soup to everyone, temporarily putting aside her worries about her daughter.

After all, no matter how you look at it, you can't blame others for having such a wide road. The fault lies with the unscrupulous entertainment reporters.

Boss Lu smiled and said, "You can even buy lotus root here. Isn't that considered a Wuhan dish?"

"That's right. The must-eats during Chinese New Year in Wuhan, lotus root soup with pork ribs, and Huangpi's "Three Fresh Delicacies"—fish balls, meat balls, and meat cakes—are not available in America, haha."

"Haha, there's no feast without a circle."

Liu Xiaoli said regretfully, "We're just too rushed to make dumplings today. I'll make two bags of frozen dumplings later."

Concubine Liu Yi was eating so much that her mouth was full of oil and she was too lazy to even talk.

She enjoyed this kind of atmosphere very much and was willing to change the location to a cramped rental house.

No matter how you look at it, it's much warmer than a cold big villa.

Lu Kuan raised his glass: "Come on, Uncle An, I toast you."

"Great! Director Lu is truly young and promising. He has brought honor to our country!"

"No, no, that's too much praise."

Wuhan people are accustomed to drinking early in the morning, and Ankang can drink quite a lot.

There was no need to say much about Boss Lu. They toasted each other and the atmosphere quickly became familiar.

Liu Yifei frowned and said, "Dad, you and Lu Kuan should drink less. Alcohol is not a good thing."

She knew Lu Kuan's alcohol tolerance and was worried that her father was not a good drinker.

Liu Xiaoli also chimed in: "That's right, eat more vegetables, and it's worth putting the leftovers in the refrigerator."

Boss Lu smiled but said nothing, but Ankang's heart was on high alert!

Are you feeling sorry for your old father or for someone else?
His face was stern, and he assumed the air of a university professor: "I'm an academic, and Xiaolu is an artist. Both require dedicated research."

"Research is all about smoking and drinking. How can a man not drink?"

"Come on, Xiaolu, today we won't go home until we're drunk!"

Boss Lu had no objection, but he was worried that if he got him drunk, it would cause trouble.

He glanced at Liu Xiaoli and a plan came to his mind.

"Aunt Liu, since we don't have anything to do today, why don't you have a drink too?"

"I always hear that Wuhan people, regardless of gender or age, like to drink early in the morning, and they have a strong drinking style!"

Liu Xiaoli was stunned: "Okay, kid, I'll drink as much as I want today."

The people of Wuhan are tough and full of jokes.

People joked about "everyone is from Hubei" and that "you don't need to look at the traffic lights, just get three people together to cross the road" and so on.

Soon everyone realized the value of “all Hubei people” from Liu Xiaoli.

Liu Yifei and the other two watched in amazement as they drank two bottles of Wuliangye and opened another one.

The gentle couple had already started rolling up their sleeves and banging the table.

Liu Xiaoli's face flushed: "Old An! I'm telling you, you can rest assured leaving your daughter to me!"

"I'll definitely train her to be a big star! You'll have to make an appointment if you want to see her then!"

"And you, Xiaolu, you're good in other aspects, except..."

"That's it... Hey!"

"Forget it, Auntie can't say it either, just do it!"

"Ankang! Are you raising fish? Drink quickly!"

Liu Yifei had never seen her mother like this before, so she took out her cell phone and secretly took a photo of Liu Xiaoli.

The most frightening thing is not blacking out from drinking, but having someone help you recall the memory the next day.

Ankang and Lu Kuan both became her drinking partners.

I had to listen to her lectures, drink with her, and be responsible for clearing the leftovers on the table.

Are you full? You're full after just a few bites? Are you dissatisfied with Aunt Liu's cooking?

If you don’t eat it, feed it to the dog!
Both the host and the guests were delighted and there was no conversation all night.

(End of this chapter)