Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 493 Italy Trip

The Trevi Fountain, also known as the Wishing Fountain in Rome, is located at the intersection of three streets in Rome. "Trevi" means three-way intersection, so the fountain literally translates to "fountain at the crossroads."

Doesn't it lack any aesthetic appeal?
To make matters worse, this lousy pool was under repair and not open to tourists!

The fountain was enclosed by Fendi with railings and a plastic sheet.

The two of them looked around in vain.

"Don't you know the fountain is under maintenance?" Li Qiutang questioned tour guide Xiao Liu.

"I didn't know. I read online that you must come to the Trevi Fountain to make a wish in Rome, but no one told me it was under maintenance." Liu Yifei also felt unlucky.

He chuckled and said, "Our camera was stolen upon landing, and we haven't even seen the first tourist attraction yet. Our honeymoon is certainly unique."

"Are you out of your mind?" Li Qiutang laughed and scolded. "Where are we going next? I don't know Rome at all."

"Don't worry, I've got you covered. I've done a thorough research." He took out his notebook and flipped through it. "Go to the Colosseum, the number one tourist attraction in Rome."

The rest of the trip was generally satisfactory; the two were deeply in love and had a great time in Italy.

On the steps of the Spanish Steps, where his idol Audrey Hepburn once stood, Li Qiutang presented his princess with a bouquet of bright red roses. Strangers around him also joined in the celebration, applauding and cheering as they saw Li Qiutang present flowers to his wife.

Liu Yifei blushed and her heart pounded as she accepted the rose, saying softly, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't prepared at all, with so many people watching."

"I want them to see." He generously gave flowers to his wife, saying, "I need to let them know I have such a wonderful wife."

Liu Yifei then said, "Kiss me."

Li Qiutang did as he was told, cupped his wife's face in his hands, and kissed her tenderly on the steps of "Roman Holiday".

After their trip to Rome, the couple headed north to Perugia. Perugia's art galleries and museums were excellent, and the couple thoroughly enjoyed themselves there.

“Honey,” Liu Yifei called out to Li Qiutang as they strolled through the streets of Perugia, “Do you know the origin of Valentine’s Day on February 14th?”

This didn't stump Li Qiutang: "The origin is a priest named Valentine who secretly held weddings for newlyweds during wartime so that the husbands could escape the war. However, he offended the Roman government by doing so, and the king sent him to the guillotine. He was executed on February 14th. To commemorate him, people designated February 14th as Valentine's Day, which gradually evolved into Valentine's Day."

Liu Yifei countered, "Do you know where this Father Valentine is from?"

"I really don't know about that."

Liu Yifei smiled and said, "He's from Perugia. He held his wedding here, and Valentine's Day was born in this city."

"Hmm." Li Qiutang was waiting for something.

Liu Yifei hugged her husband's hand tightly and confessed, "I love you more than you think."

God knows how much courage Liu Yifei mustered to say those words.

But Li Qiutang said, "Impossible, I love you more than you love me."

"Would it kill you to go along with me?!" Liu Yifei wanted to punch this bastard to death.

"Okay, okay, I love you both. What's the point of distinguishing who's more loving and who's less loving between husband and wife?" Li Qiutang hugged Liu Yifei.

But Liu Yifei broke free, saying, "It's so hot, don't touch me," and strode forward.

"Hey, you..." Li Qiutang muttered, following his wife around like a little puppy.

Upon arriving in Venice, Liu Yifei changed into a beautiful swimsuit and took many photos on the beach.

Lying under a parasol, Liu Yifei suddenly said, "I wonder when I'll be able to go to the Venice Film Festival."

"Didn't we agree that we wouldn't talk about work this time we're out having fun?"

"I was just saying, we're already in Venice."

Li Qiutang himself didn't care much about winning awards, but he knew that Liu Yifei really wanted to win, really, really wanted to.

Li Qiutang has won a Golden Globe and a Golden Rooster, but Liu Yifei doesn't have a single trophy with any real value.

She wasn't even nominated. The first of the post-85 actresses to be nominated for the three major Chinese music awards was Shu Chang.

Don't listen to actors saying they're "happy to be nominated," "honored to participate," or "have a normal attitude." These are just polite words. In reality, they all want to win awards, but they're just too embarrassed to say it directly.

Li Qiutang said, "You're still young, there's no rush."

Apart from genius actors like Gong Li and Zhou Xun, most actors mature after the age of 30 or even 40.

Unfortunately, Liu Yifei is the kind of actress who lacks natural talent.

"Is the Venice Film Festival about to start?" Liu Yifei remembered that the Venice Film Festival is held every August.

“Next month on the 2nd, a bit later this year,” Li Qiutang said. He didn’t want to talk about the movie anymore, so he pulled Liu Yifei up and said, “Come on, let’s go for another swim.”

After leaving Venice, the two went to Verona.

It was truly a honeymoon, as sweet as honey. Leaving the birthplace of Valentine's Day, we arrived in the hometown of Romeo and Juliet.

The courtyard at 27 Via Capello in downtown Verona is Juliet's former home. Inside the courtyard stands a life-sized bronze statue of Juliet, graceful and affectionate yet with a touch of melancholy.

Legend has it that touching the right breast of the statue can bring good love, so Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei didn't hesitate to put their hands on it.

The two arrived at the perfect time, as Verona hosts the world’s largest opera festival every year from June to August.

Opera is certainly a semi-profession of performing and directing, and the two of them were completely absorbed in watching classic operas here.

Liu Yifei even suggested to her husband, "If you have time, you should also put on a play or an opera or something."

"You want to act?" Li Qiutang saw through her thoughts immediately.

"It's not that I can't invite you."

"You haven't acted in any plays since you left school, have you?"

"No."

Li Qiutang didn't require her to keep performing on stage; she didn't have that much free time. Besides, Liu Yifei wasn't very interested in theatrical performances either; she liked watching them, but she wouldn't want to act in them.

Opera and ballet enthusiasts from all over the world have been in Verona for the past two months. Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei are watching shows here, making them easily recognizable to domestic audiences.

Even if they aren't fans, recognizing Liu Yifei is still quite easy.

"I bumped into Liu Yifei at the Verona Opera Festival, how can someone be so beautiful?" A Chinese netizen in Verona posted a photo of himself with Liu Yifei at the opera festival on Weibo.

Why wasn't Li Qiutang in the photo? He was the one who took the photos of the two of them.

“I ran into her yesterday too. She was watching a play with Director Li at the Verona Arena. I didn’t dare to go up and talk to her, but I took a picture of her secretly.”

Fans were very excited, as they hadn't seen the young lady for a long time and didn't expect her to go to Italy.

The two spent two days watching plays in Verona before heading straight to Lake Como, an Italian summer resort.

The two rented a rowboat and went boating on the lake. Li Qiutang suddenly said, "If I had proposed to you on the lake back then, the scene would have been quite beautiful."

But Liu Yifei thought differently from others. She said, "What, are you going to push me down if I don't agree?"

Li Qiutang was on the verge of death, and he could never have imagined such a sentence even in three lifetimes, so he said, "It's not impossible. If I can't have it, no one else can either."

"You need to put in some effort; it's not worth it for me to do it alone."

"I can't row a boat," Liu Yifei said, wanting to quit. "You'll have to work hard, and I'll treat you to a nice meal tonight." She raised an eyebrow and gave a knowing smile.

"How many times have you used this trick? You're just trying to fool some idiot."

"A woman's tricks for dealing with men don't have to be new, as long as they work." Liu Yifei knows that her husband still loves her dearly, so this trick has never failed her. "Row faster, overtake that boat in front."

The simple-minded Li Qiutang had no choice but to paddle forward with all his might.

(End of this chapter)