Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 474 Exotic Tango
The two took a taxi back to the hotel, and when they saw interesting handicrafts from street vendors, Liu Yifei excitedly asked to get off and walk.

After eating half a sinful fried dough stick in the morning, she set herself a plan to go on a long walk, determined to burn off all the shameful calories that had failed to satisfy her cravings.

As dusk settles, the Albeil Palace Hotel, where I'm staying, stands quietly on the street corner. This neoclassical building, originally constructed in 1932, was once home to Argentine aristocratic salons.

All the formalities had been completed by the staff. Xiao Liu went back to his room to use the restroom, then went out onto the terrace to enjoy the evening breeze. The early spring air in Buenos Aires was still chilly.

The terrace faces July 9th Avenue, the world's widest street named after Argentina's Independence Day, which runs through the city like a silver ribbon.

The silhouette of the obelisk in the distance pierces the sky, like a colonial-era sword that will never be drawn.

"The road is wide, and I'm hungry."

Mr. Lu sat on the sofa reading an English magazine: "What would you like to eat?"

Liu Yifei suddenly had a brilliant idea: "How about a barbecue? Just like those small courtyards we saw during the day, where we can DIY and grill and eat it ourselves."

Lu Kuan hesitated: "It's quite chaotic at night, so don't go too far from the hotel. The area here is safe."

"How about this, I'll ask to go to the kitchen later and have one baked just for you, okay?"

"It feels like you're trying to cultivate a virtuous wife and loving mother image for yourself. The receptionist even recognized us just now."

Xiao Liu laughed and said, "I don't dare to eat much tonight, so I might as well enjoy the process."

Argentine barbecue, which is world-renowned, is not particularly special in terms of preparation; the most important thing is to preserve the original flavor.

The beef is made from naturally grass-fed Angus cattle, and there's no need for marinating; it's simply sprinkled with sea salt and placed on a charcoal fire.

The grill is tilted at a 45-degree angle to allow the oil to drip naturally, and the charcoal is made from local eucalyptus wood, which has a faint woody fragrance.

Liu Xiaolv used his interesting personality and social skills to get permission from the hotel to experience the Argentine barbecue process in the work area.

In other words, in the open and vibrant South America, if it were a European country like Germany, where the kitchen is a crucial area, things might not be so easy to talk to.

"How about it?"

"Delicious! But it's just that their meat is good, what does it have to do with you?" Lu Kuan cut off a piece of bone-in ribeye, the outer layer was crispy like amber, and the inside was still tinged with an enticing pink.

Liu Yifei ate her salad, then forked a piece of beef from her boyfriend's plate and put it in her mouth. The meat was so tender that it hardly required any chewing.

The rich aroma of meat, mixed with the smoky flavor of charcoal, exploded on her tongue, making her squint her eyes and shake her head as she ate.

"It's delicious! After filming 'Under the Hawthorn Tree' is finished, I'm going to indulge myself for a few days and satisfy my cravings!"

Mr. Lu laughed and said, "It's mainly because the subject matter is special. The characters of that era couldn't be anything but thin and somewhat unhealthy. You wouldn't have to be so harsh on yourself for other movies."

Whenever Chen Bailu or Jingqiu is mentioned, Xiao Liu's body image anxiety intensifies, and she insists on dragging her boyfriend for a walk after dinner.

The latter looked reluctant; he just wanted to exercise and get a good night's sleep: "We've had a satisfying meal, shouldn't we go back to our room and enjoy some time alone together?"

Liu Xiaolv feigned ignorance: "A world for two? Haven't we been a world for two all day?"

The washing machine hinted, "I want to hear you sing an hour of arias, like an opera singer at the Cologne Theatre this afternoon, with a melodious, high-pitched voice."

Xiao Liu smiled and shook his head: "I don't understand what you're talking about."

The washing machine was subtly hinting: "You know how to recite ancient poems, right? I want to hear you recite 'Ode to the Goose,' like the very first line."

"I'm a female literary youth and an illiterate woman, I can't!"

"So what do you intend to do?" Boss Lu squinted.

Liu Yifei, now somewhat unrestrained in the magical realism of South America, blinked her big eyes and said seductively, "I'm full but haven't had enough to drink. Have a couple of drinks with me first, then dance with me..."

"And then..." she deliberately dragged out the last syllable, her collarbone, hidden in the neckline of her cardigan, appearing and disappearing with each breath, "I'll let you... be my third companion."

She suddenly remembered something: "That's it! How about we go to that bar in 'Happy Together'?"

Boss Lu frowned: "That bar later became a pilgrimage site for many men and women. Wouldn't it be a bit awkward for normal couples like us, who follow the natural order of Yin and Yang, to go there?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaolv became even more interested: "Then we must go! We must use the power of love to inspire them and bring those who have gone astray back to the right path."

Looking at his girlfriend's dashing demeanor in his suit jacket, Lu Kuan teased, "Look at you now, I'm afraid you'll turn a lot of normal women gay, adding to your sins."

Xiao Liu licked her lower lip and raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend: "Right? I've brought them all back for you to deal with after you've turned them gay. You can then turn them back, okay?"

"What are you saying! What are you saying!" Boss Lu said righteously, "I can do some ideological work with them, but physical work is out of the question!"

"Humph."

The night was getting cooler, so the two went back to their room to put on more clothes before taking a taxi out.

In Wong Kar-wai's film, the "emotional battlefield" between Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung takes place in a bar in the old town of St. Temo called "Bar sur". Initially, business was not very good, and it only became somewhat famous because of the film.

When China reached its peak in exporting tourists in later generations, almost everyone who visited the Argentine capital would come here.

A young couple cuddled in front of the bar; because it wasn't peak tourist season, there weren't many tourists.

Xiao Liu is an artsy young woman who is familiar with the plot of "Happy Together": "It is said that Wong Kar-wai searched all over Buenos Aires for this bar, and only this one met his requirements."

Boss Lu nodded: "It does have a retro feel that hasn't been eroded by time."

The feeling intensified as the two slowly entered.

The carved wooden doors, the faded photo wall, the sound of the accordion and the aroma of red wine intertwine, perfectly embodying the loneliness and desires of Hong Kong people in a foreign land in the film.

Liu Yifei looked around; the bar still looked exactly as she had seen it in the movie when she was 15.
Retaining the style of the 1970s, with black and white floor tiles, 12 old wooden round tables, and an old-fashioned bar cabinet, the walls are adorned with stills from the movie "Happy Together," depicting Lai Yiu-fai and Ho Po-wing dancing together.

The couple, Lu and Liu, were tall and handsome, and the bar space was quite limited, so the two of them stood out from the other guests.

Moreover, with a dignified-looking young man trailing behind him, they were recognized by Asian tourists as soon as they entered the bar.

Two Korean girls cautiously approached, and one of them, with a high ponytail, mustered up her courage and asked in English, "Are you Yi Fei and Mr. Lu Kuan?"

Despite their accents, Xiao Liu responded with unwavering friendliness: "Hello, are you Korean?"

“Yes! We are exchange students from the Spanish Department of Seoul National University!” Another girl wearing round-framed glasses said excitedly, her voice trembling as she switched to accented Chinese: “My name is Kim Min-ah, and her name is Park Soo-hyun. We are here at the University of Buenos Aires for a year of cultural exchange.”

Lu Kuan smiled: "You guys speak Chinese too?"

"Oppa! We're your fans! We've known you ever since you came to Korea for the promotional tour for 'A Home Away' four years ago! The Olympic opening ceremony was amazing too!"

With her hair in a high ponytail, Park Soo-hyun pulled out her phone: "We've seen all your movies! Director Roh looked so handsome as a young man in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'!"

She suddenly covered her mouth and turned to her companion: "Oh my god! I actually said that in front of his girlfriend..."

This was said in Korean, but Liu Yifei had already noticed the subtle, tea-like quality in it.

The female celebrity naturally had no time to argue with her fans. She smiled and signed autographs for the two of them, then sat down with her boyfriend at an empty table with a serene demeanor.

The South Americans around them were whispering amongst themselves, and few paid them any attention.

Xiao Liu glanced around, her bright eyes gesturing towards a pair of men not far from her boyfriend. She then whispered in his ear, "Look at those two, they're giving me goosebumps..."

"I'm not going to look at it. I'd rather see what drinks we have." Boss Lu opened the wine list, but the Spanish text without English labels left him somewhat helpless.

Bar sur, a traditional Argentine tango bar, largely blends European café culture with Latin American social customs. Its ordering rules differ from typical European and American bars, and it generally focuses on "table service."

Unlike the former, where guests pay and pick up their drinks directly at the table, here guests are seated in advance and wait to order.

After some difficult communication, the two ordered Malbec, a national treasure of Argentina, which was also loved by Eva Perón. However, this kind of small shop could only sell some cost-effective varieties.

Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei are now considered drinking buddies in a romantic relationship, and they like to have a drink at home whenever they have free time.

Xiao Liu gently swirled the glass with her fingertips, the crimson liquid shimmering like garnet under the dim light. She first lowered her head to sniff, her nose almost touching the rim of the glass, her raven-feather eyelashes drooping down, casting a small shadow under her eyes.

"The fruit aromas are very exuberant, but the tannins are much coarser than those of a Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux." The young woman took a small sip, pressing her tongue against her palate to spread the wine, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"To exaggerate a bit, it's almost like the coarse salt grains used when frying steak."

Boss Lu also took a sip: "This bottle is at most a second-tier quality, it can't compare to what you drink at home."

"However, it is already a terroir miracle that Malbec can grow like this in the Andean foothills of Mendoza."

"What do you mean?"

“The Malbec grape variety was brought from Cahors in France, and there are climatic differences between the two countries,” Lu Kuan explained. “However, the good thing is that Argentina has a large production volume, so red wine can be an affordable consumer product.”

"Otherwise, how could Eva Perón, who was so destitute back then that she had to sell herself, have afforded a drink?"

Liu Yifei smiled and said, "The temperament of South Americans and things is really magical. This kind of red wine tastes like it should be paired with the grilled beef offal we just had."

The beauty, whose palate had become accustomed to the fine wine, put down her glass, took only a small sip, and then stopped, instead appreciating the atmosphere of the bar in this foreign land.

Pointing to the tango photos of Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung on the wall, with the director's name "WONG KAR-WAI" below, Liu Yifei remarked with emotion:
"If it weren't for this movie, I believe that few Chinese people in the 90s would have known about Buenos Aires or Ushuaia, the end of the world."

“Yes, that’s the power of cultural products.” Lu Kuan nodded: “If we don’t make ‘Sky,’ and we don’t talk about foreigners, perhaps even our own people don’t have a clear understanding of this period of history.”

"But from the perspective of cultural export, universal values ​​and family-friendly themes are still the most popular. Disasters and suffering can only serve as historical coordinates, and audiences from other ethnic groups will not buy into them."

Music started playing in the bar, and several couples had already begun dancing, including the "man on top of man" couple that Xiao Liu had just seen.

"Wang Jiawei's 'Happy Together,' Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'The Wedding Banquet,' as well as Zhang Yuan's 'East Palace West Palace,' a film by the sixth generation of Chinese filmmakers, are all films with homosexual themes, but it seems you don't have much interest in these kinds of in-depth explorations of sex and love?"

The artsy young woman enjoyed discussing these art topics with him, mostly from the perspective of a film fan and actor.

Lu Kuan gave his girlfriend a meaningful look: "Freud famously said that repressed sexual instincts can be transferred and sublimated through artistic creation."

"A director is a creator, and his work inevitably carries his true feelings, which cannot be hidden."

"There is repression, and that's why there is exploration."

“Ang Lee grew up in the gap between a traditional family in the Bay Area and the free culture of the United States. This is a double shackle caused by differences in family background and cultural context.”

“In the early stages of his career, Ang Lee relied on his wife for both financial and personal support. This departure from the traditional patriarchal society made him exceptionally sensitive to repressive mechanisms.”

Liu Yifei nodded: "He even appeared in 'The Wedding Banquet' himself and said that line—"

"You are witnessing the result of five thousand years of sexual repression."

The young woman rested her chin on her hand, looking at her artist boyfriend: "What about Wang Jiawei?"

"If the core of Ang Lee's films is cultural conflict and ethical dilemmas, then the core of Wong Kar-wai's films is existentialism and postmodernism's wandering."

"This is actually related to his childhood experiences. When Wang Jiawei was 5 years old, he moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong with his parents and lived in Kowloon, a place where all sorts of people lived together. His father, a seaman, was often absent from the scene."

"He carries the heavy trauma of immigrants and experienced colonial scars in Hong Kong, which is why he made 'Happy Together' a postmodern urban island of desire and emotional isolation. The sense of displacement in Buenos Aires in 'Happy Together' is actually a metaphor for the anxiety of postcolonial identity in Hong Kong."

Boss Lu took a sip of his drink and laughed, "It still comes down to this: the creators of all works of art cannot escape the emotional boundaries they have not yet experienced and expanded."

"Or rather, how could one present something to the audience without experiencing the same kind of reflection and exploration of human nature, love, and society as those two directors?"

"Actors need experience, but directors need it even more."

Xiao Liu was taken aback, then thought about the man's past experiences, or perhaps his filmography—

Love is rarely depicted, but familial love is everywhere.

However, his film "Shoplifters" is not based on the warmth of family ties. In "Tangshan", there is Zhou Xun's love for the orphaned baby in the ruins. In "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Li Ming and his adoptive mother, and Li Ming and his biological father, all talk about family affection.

However, when it comes to sex, there's so much more to it than just repression.

Therefore, in his films, as the editor-in-chief of Sight & Sound said, the focus is on the loneliness of "love and being loved," with almost no sexuality shown.

Liu Yifei rested her chin on her hand, her slender wrist peeking out from the cuff of her knitted sweater, like a jade-carved support holding her delicate face.

She deliberately squeezed her cheeks slightly, making her already delicate jawline even more charmingly chubby.

"Then you're in trouble. You taught me this method, so from now on I'll be able to read your mind through your movies."

Boss Lu smiled: "Absolutely no problem, but I still hope you can take a closer look at my body."

Xiao Liu waved his hand with a smile: "No, no, you don't have any sexual repression at all. In order to give you more creative inspiration, I think it's necessary to suppress it a little."

"You make me sexually repressed, so I'll make you love to be repressed and give you the silent treatment at home every day."

Liu Yifei's smile remained gentle, but her words were chilling: "You dare! Then I'll make you completely impotent, and cure you permanently!" She then covered her mouth and laughed, reaching out to him: "The music's been playing for ages, aren't you going to ask me to do a tango?"

The gramophone in the corner of the bar suddenly changed tune, the bandoneon's tearing glissando ripped through the ambiguous air, followed by the resounding syncopated rhythm of the live piano.

As Piazzolla's "Libertango" began to play, several couples glided onto the dance floor, including this Eastern couple who had come from the other side of the topological point.

The drinkers didn't seem to be very good at dancing, and everyone was embracing Lu and Liu intimately, whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Liu Yifei whispered in her lover's ear, "We seem to be the worst couple. Those two guys are much more alluring than us..."

"When men get sexy, women don't stand a chance. That's normal."

"How about we get a little more passionate?"

Lu Kuan glanced at him in surprise and asked, "Can you jump?"

Liu Xiaolv, with his quirky spirit, was eager to try: "No, but isn't that scene in 'Scent of a Woman' quite simple, without any complicated movements?"

"So you mean I have to imitate Al Pacino and play someone who's blind? Last time in Italy you were mute and I was lame, and now you've changed projects again?"

Liu Yifei leaned on his shoulder and giggled, rubbing her smooth cheek affectionately against her boyfriend. He received her coquettish message and began to imitate Lieutenant Colonel Slanfa in a very convincing manner.

He slightly raised his chin, his right hand precisely gripping Liu Yifei's waist, his left hand interlocking with hers, and raised it to his chest.

"Are you ready, Donna?"

"Ok!"

Liu Yifei suppressed a laugh, and then he led her to take the first step.

The two of them had no method whatsoever, and the more they tried to imitate, the less they could do it. They just swayed awkwardly from side to side to the rhythm of the music, like two trees being blown about by the wind.

They tried to imitate the classic "head-shaking spin" from the movie, but Liu Yifei's long hair ended up covering Lu Kuan's face, and the scent of mint shampoo wafted into his nose.

The music suddenly sped up, and the bandoneon accordion tore out intense glissando. Lu Kuan, in a fit of desperation, grabbed her and spun her around three times. Liu Yifei screamed and grabbed his collar. Her rainbow-colored cardigan spun with the big waves, and she finally crashed solidly into her boyfriend's arms.

The old Argentinian man behind the counter whistled and shouted something in Spanish, and a few scattered applause broke out around him.

A blush crept onto Xiao Liu's ears as she and her boyfriend left the bar after the music ended.

The two stood outside waiting for the car, Liu Yifei still excitedly clinging to his arm.

"You're trying to imitate Al Pacino, but even if your eyesight isn't good enough to imitate him correctly, your dancing is far worse than his."

"Love makes people blind; he was pretending to be blind, but I was truly blind."

"Haha! If you're so good at talking, then talk more."

. . .

The tango from Bar Sur eventually made its way into the top suites of the Albial Palace Hotel.

The floor-to-ceiling windows reflected two intertwined figures, with the lights of Buenos Aires flickering between them.

Xiao Liu inevitably recalled the arias from the gilded boxes of the Cologne Theatre, and at this moment, the syllables overflowing from his throat were even more fragmented than those of a soprano.

As for the backbend she couldn't even manage in the bar, she mastered it at this moment. As the night boats on the Plata River outside the window sounded their horns, the two sounds blended together and shattered against the glass.

In the stillness of the night, the tango dancers slept in each other's arms.

Actually, Boss Lu was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. He hadn't slept much on the plane, just chatting with his girlfriend as usual: "Xixi, we've unlocked another location achievement, a new continent, the capital of a new country."

"Hehe? I'm still humming, what else do you want to unlock?"

"It's nothing more than time, place, people... forget about characters, characters can't be selected."

After taking a shower, Liu Yifei clung to him like an octopus: "If your mouth were any faster, my fists would be just as fast."

"Then I'll just go to sleep. Talking in your sleep is never a crime, right?"

Xiao Liu kicked off the blanket covering her calves: "I feel a bit hot."

"It's normal to feel hot from twisting your waist like that just now."

"No, it's not that feeling, it's just..." Liu Yifei hesitated for a moment, "I don't know how to describe it, it's just that my body feels very agitated, even though it's still a bit chilly outside."

Lu Kuan didn't take it seriously and reached out to hug her tightly: "You should still keep warm. We're going to Ushuaia tomorrow. The average daytime temperature is only 8 or 9 degrees Celsius, and it drops below zero at night. I don't know if it will snow."

"Mmm..." Liu Yifei's nasal voice gradually became long and even, her breath falling evenly on the man's neck.
-
It was early morning in Buenos Aires, which was afternoon in Beiping.

Time magazine published a transcript of its interview with Lu Kuan on its website a few days prior. In addition to the two-hour Q&A session, it also included an editor's note by Eliot:

Lu represents a new type of Chinese cultural elite who are well-versed in Western narrative rules but refuse to be defined by them.

In him, business ambition and cultural confidence form a delicate balance:

They are adept at navigating the Hollywood capital game while simultaneously translating Eastern aesthetics into a global language. This strategy is far from a simple compromise; it is a more sophisticated form of cultural maneuvering.

He may not become the "change-maker" the West expects, but he is destined to be the one who rewrites the rules.

Mr. Lu's cover photo and interview in Time magazine were quickly disseminated by domestic media, attracting attention and commentary.

Dai Jinhua, director of the Center for Film and Cultural Studies at Yenching University, believes that:
Lu Kuan dispelled the ideological trap set by Western media through "dialogue among civilizations," and his performance in the interview demonstrated the international dialogue capabilities of China's new generation of cultural elites.

He neither shied away from political issues nor fell into the trap of binary oppositions. Instead, he used universal symbols such as food, art, and business cooperation to transform the "Cold War-style questioning" of Western journalists into an opportunity for cultural exchange.

The irony using Schindler's List and NATO's eastward expansion is particularly brilliant; this strategy deconstructs the other party's presuppositions using their own logic.

Yin Hong, professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, and film critic, commented on social media:

Lu Kuan's interview answers accurately grasped the key to breaking into international communication circles. He avoided the political statements that Western media were most looking forward to, and instead emphasized film industry cooperation and the universal value of art. He even used the dietary differences of "steamed grouper" to transform ideological disputes into an interesting discussion of life and culture.

As a professor of communication studies, he believes:
This "depoliticized" narrative is precisely the most effective strategy in current international communication.

Hollywood has done this for decades: using entertainment products to convey values, rather than directly preaching.

Lu Kuan understands this well; his collaboration with Hollywood may be more effective in changing Western perceptions of China than a hundred official propaganda films.

Hu Xijin believes that:
In the interview, Lu Kuan emphasized that "art does not defend politics, but only serves as evidence of civilization," a statement that resonated deeply with me.

Chinese artists have long been held hostage by two extremes: either required to become "voices for the state" or labeled "dissidents" by the West. But Lu Kuan has proven that creators can stand on a higher level and let their works speak for themselves.

Lao Hu was the last to post.

Because he wasn't used to it.

Previously, it was always Zhu Dake, the venomous snake, who would jump out first, and then he would appear within five steps as the antidote.

But the excrement had already perished, which made him feel somewhat sentimental:
What night is without a moon? What place is without bamboo and cypress? But few are the idle men like the two of us.

However, many editors and commentators from Nanfang Group still made strange remarks.

"A director with access to top-tier resources turns a blind eye to certain sharp contradictions."

"Lu Kuan's smoothness in the interview is less a sign of wisdom and more a sign of complete submission to Western rules."

"Lu Kuan's 'global citizen' persona is nothing more than a standard mask for globalized capitalist elites. He may win applause from the West, but he has made no contribution to the profound transformation of the culture of Dongda University."

Such comments are now commonplace among netizens.

Even though some newcomers are brainwashed or attracted by Nanfang's other legitimate content and choose to believe it, there are many more "Chaoyang masses" who use pig manure to make sarcastic remarks.

It seems that with Zhu Dake's downfall, the credibility of these vehemently opposed parties is also declining.

The ancient Chinese pantheon and the sycophants who fawn over foreigners are truly despicable.

On the other side of the world, Xiao Liu, who had gotten up early to pee, was wide awake. Seeing that the scoundrel was still fast asleep, she couldn't bear to wake him. Instead, she took out her laptop from her bag and started playing by herself.

She naturally also saw the Time magazine cover and interview, commentary, and the heated discussion across the internet that had been going on all afternoon.

Liu Yifei, a self-proclaimed "looks-obsessed" woman, couldn't resist sharing her boyfriend's cover photo and generously added three hearts.

Shortly after the status was posted, comments from fans of the actress appeared one after another.

"Caught red-handed! The washing machine is like Sisi's human satellite launcher. Whenever the washing machine has big news, Sisi will show up, and the rest of the time she plays dead."

"I feel that Sisi shouldn't have changed her nationality. If she had kept her American citizenship, she wouldn't have been threatened by the washing machine. Otherwise, how could she have ended up in such a predicament?"

"She's showing off her husband again. Sisi is getting more and more shameless."

Until one thing caught her attention:

"No, have you read the interview carefully? The washing machine said you have a big appetite."

Xiao Liu replied with a smile: That's true! But that was during the off-season. I've been starving for three days straight.

The netizens who received the reply never expected to be mentioned by their idol. They were just browsing aimlessly when they suddenly perked up!
He proudly posted a screenshot of his reply to the QQ group, and then eagerly added another reply:
Where is Xixi? Has she joined the cast of "Under the Hawthorn Tree"?
[Liu Yifei VIP]: No, I'm on vacation in the Southern Hemisphere, haha, it's my pre-wedding honeymoon!

Instantly, a bunch of fans flocked to the thread and started posting.

"Where? Where? Hoping to bump into you!"

"Looks like he flew straight from the US interview. It's good to be rich! A trip you can take whenever you want."

"The news about 'Under the Hawthorn Tree' has already been released, and the set is being set up in Hubei Province. Looking at your schedule, you have a performance at the Beijing People's Art Theatre on the 24th. It feels like you'll have to join the production team right after that. You still have time to play now? Washing Machine is truly a master of time management."

Xiao Liu, who got up early, interacted with netizens with great interest and chose the reply that asked for the location.

[Liu Yifei VIP]: We've arrived at the end of the world, and I'm really looking forward to the feeling of snuggling together at the end of the world this afternoon!
After thinking for a moment, she shared the original Japanese version of WANDS' "Until the End of the World" on her homepage, hoping to share her anticipation and joy with her fans.

Her intentions were good, but she didn't realize that she was abusing dogs, cruelly abusing them.

Suddenly, a fan's repeated copying of the same message caught her attention.

A Korean woman posted a video of you dancing on Twitter overseas. Is that you? Is that you?
In this life, there is still a Great Firewall between China and Twitter. Because of the existence of Weibo in China, Lu Kuan just lets it go. However, this Twitter video went viral quickly after being reposted.

In the not-so-clear footage, an Asian couple staggers and sways to the melody of "Libertango".

The man was impeccably dressed in a suit, but his movements were stiff, like Al Pacino in slow motion. The girl's cardigan tassels swirled, her long hair smearing her boyfriend's face. She almost tripped in her high heels as she turned around, but was caught by the waist to prevent her from falling into the next table.

Accompanied by South American-style dance music and the excited screams of the girl filming, the camera zooms in—

The onlookers were then surprised to realize that it was none other than the "national couple".

Liu Yifei opened the video, watched it for a while, and couldn't help but laugh. She then reposted it.

[Liu Yifei VIP]: First of all, let me clarify that although it looks like we're really fighting, we're not actually in a fight!

This repost is tantamount to acknowledging the identity of the person involved, while also leaving ample room for online gossip and fans to enjoy the drama.

Entertainment reporters also began to unravel the mystery, and according to Lu Kuan's previous interview, the "national couple" will be getting married this month.

Paparazzi have already begun scouting locations in front of the civil affairs bureaus in various districts of Beiping.

Without a doubt, this will be the biggest entertainment news story of September. Whoever can uncover more details will see their fan base grow faster and their print media sales rise higher!
The "human satellite launcher" on the bed suddenly woke up. Xiao Liu heard the noise, turned around, jumped onto the bed, and lay on top of her boyfriend.

"Now you're not bragging anymore! Look how tired you are!"

"Oh, you slept for more than ten hours on the plane yesterday, while I drew storyboards for more than ten hours, and then you dragged me around Buenos Aires for a whole day."

Boss Lu ripped off his girlfriend's bra strap in a thuggish manner: "You're not happy, are you? Open the door! Free trade!"

"Pah! Get up, I can't wait to go to Ushuaia." Liu Yifei pinched his cheek: "Those two Korean girls filmed our dance video, it looks so funny."

"Go ahead and take the picture. This isn't the first time I've embarrassed myself with you. Luckily, I didn't get caught pretending to be a cripple last time, or I almost got caught by Section Chief Jia."

"Ah ha ha!"

While it wasn't too late in China, Xiao Liu called his elderly mother to ask when his maternal grandmother's family would be arriving in Beijing.

At 9:00 a.m. Buenos Aires time, the two departed from Jorge Neuberger Airport and arrived at their actual vacation destination three and a half hours later.

Ushuaia, the end of the world.

(End of this chapter)