Chapter 138: Liu Yifei Rejects the Award

The female host ignored the restless audience and the boos; seeing that Liu Yifei had no reaction, she continued to urge her.

"The 39th Golden Horse Awards, Best Newcomer, USA, Liu Yifei!"

This was blatantly putting her on the spot, highlighting her identity issue, and trying to frame *Whiplash* so that it would be wrong no matter what.

In the backstage control room, a bunch of people were also watching the joke with cold eyes.

Lu Kuan, aren't you full of righteous indignation and sincerity?

You spent so much effort to promote her, and we can destroy her without any effort!

Let the audience see how Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei are inconsistent in their words and actions!

Talking about principles, but in their hearts, it's all business!

They knew how to create conflict and opposition.

This award was a giant bomb!

Lu Kuan's face was as dark as water in front of the TV in the lounge.

Liu Yifei's nationality issue would sooner or later become the center of a storm; it was better to plan ahead.

The huge expatriation tax that was widely rumored in later generations was something that only appeared in 2008.

Now, Liu Yifei didn't even need to consider this money for expatriation.

Seeing that this matter was about to ferment rapidly, he immediately called Zhuang Xu and Wang Xing, demanding that they closely monitor the public opinion dynamics on Blog. com and intervene to control the narrative when necessary.

At the very least, restore the true face of the incident and don't let Liu Yifei become the target of public criticism.

Inside the venue, Liu Yifei instinctively wanted to find Lu Kuan, but at this moment, she was the only one facing the surging giant waves.

She was like a small boat that had lost its helmsman, drifting with the tide in the vast ocean, and fine sweat seeped from her palms in an instant.

Now she had to face the thousands of troops alone!

Liu Xiaoqiang gently squeezed her daughter's small hand; she instinctively felt that this was a great disaster.

The young girl steadied her mind, thinking of what Lu Kuan had taught her to say in the lounge.

She pursed her lips and firmly stood up to walk onto the stage.

The female host from Taiwan Province cast a playful look at her; to cling to a Golden Lion Award director at such a young age, let's see how you end this!

She declined the Golden Horse trophy handed over by the presenter, took the microphone, stood straight, and looked around at the friendly or hostile eyes.

"Thank you for the support of the fans."

"But I cannot accept this award."

There was an uproar below; although everyone had expected that awarding Best Newcomer to such an excessively young girl was a conspiracy against *Whiplash*.

But in the face of the live broadcast and so many domestic filmmakers, it still took a lot of courage to reject the award directly.

The relevant people backstage at the Golden Horse Awards were furious!

How dare she! Isn't she afraid of being banned by us!

"Quick, send Cai Cai Kangyong to take over the hosting, and get her off quickly."

"Yes! Sir!"

Liu Yifei was so nervous she could barely hold the microphone, but her eyes became more focused and firm.

"I am a new actor. Logically speaking, participating in the Golden Horse Awards today is an opportunity for me to learn from all the seniors, but since I have the opportunity to stand on this stage, I still want to say some of my own feelings."

"I only entered the acting industry last year. My first film was Director Lu Kuan's *Whiplash*. Most of our crew are mainland creators, and there are people from Taiwan Province like Brother Jielun, while the distribution in the Asian region was handed over to Edko Films in Xiangjiang."

"When the crew was off-set, I could often hear the director chatting with filmmakers from both sides of the strait and the three regions who came to visit, as well as the main creators of the crew."

"He said that Chinese-language film has reached its most dangerous time. Whether it is Xiangjiang, Taiwan Province, or the mainland, or even the film markets in Southeast Asia and the world, they are all facing a huge impact from Hollywood."

"But Hollywood films are like hungry wolves, like nomads; they chase after lush water and grass to harvest our market, but they won't leave a single bit of gift for the film industry."

"Just like the composition of our *Whiplash* crew, if filmmakers from both sides of the strait and the three regions can put aside their prejudices, break through the obstacles and influences of politics, unite together, push our national culture to the world, and tell moving Chinese stories, we will definitely be able to witness the brilliance of Chinese-language film again!"

Without waiting for the thunderous applause below, Liu Yifei changed the subject.

"In addition, I noticed that the committee added the words 'USA nationality' after my name. I would like to take one minute of everyone's time to explain."

"I moved abroad when I was 10 years old due to family reasons and got a green card for the convenience of life and study. I was still young then and couldn't make my own decisions."

"But I am a pure Chinese born and raised here. Now I have returned to the embrace of the motherland. No matter how many difficulties there are, I will definitely restore my nationality as soon as possible. Thank you."

"Notify Cai Cai Kangyong via headset; all the awards below will be handled by him. No more awards are allowed to be given to them!"

There was impotent rage in the control room; this was undoubtedly a failed sniper attack.

They picked the softest persimmon in the *Whiplash* crew to pinch, not expecting that this young girl would have such adaptability at only fifteen years old!

Thunderous applause broke out below; all the mainland and neutral people were full of admiration for Liu Yifei's speech.

Lu Kuan also nodded secretly in front of the screen in the lounge; her acting skills were a bit lacking, but her brain was good after all.

The key was that her mind was clear and her character was sincere; her speech and statement were easy to resonate with passersby.

When it came to interviews, she might really be a professional.

This defensive counterattack, plus the momentum of Blog. com, could foreseeably attract a large number of fans again.

In later generations, she was crazily attacked because of this issue.

But objectively speaking, the older generation like Jet Li, Gong Li, Zhang Tielin, Siqin Gaowa, etc., had all immigrated, not to mention the younger generation, especially Hong Kong actors.

Entering the internet traffic era, even a Canadian electric eel could run rampant in the domestic entertainment industry and have countless supporters; where could one go to reason with that?

And according to the tax laws of China and the United States, without establishing a studio to avoid taxes, she basically paid taxes domestically.

Although the United States taxed globally, it did not double-tax.

This point should be no problem.

Otherwise, with the posture of being besieged by various black materials in the domestic entertainment industry, she would have been dug out and hammered to death in previous tax audits.

But no matter what, she still had to restore her nationality; this was also to plan ahead for the future.

The awards at the Golden Horse Awards continued, but everyone's focus was no longer on the event itself.

Liu Yifei's resounding speech and statement sounded like a bomb, causing a huge uproar on the scene and among off-site media and social networks.

Watching her walk off the stage and return, Liu Xiaoqiang hurriedly pulled her daughter's arm to comfort her.

She also said in a low voice, not without blame: "Xixi, who told you to say you would restore your nationality yourself? You will have to enter Hollywood in the future..."

"Mom! I'm almost an adult; let me make my own decisions!"

Liu Yifei didn't refute or explain, but the confident and sunny look on her face infected Liu Xiaoqiang, who sighed and said no more.

Anita Mui was sitting in the row in front of her, with her good friend Liang Liang Jiahui Ka-fai beside her.

"Little girl, that was really well said!"

"Thank you, Mr. Leung!"

Liang Liang Jiahui Ka-fai laughed: "Little girl, don't be afraid; they can't ban you, not to mention you know Sister Mei and that genius director, even if they ban you."

When it came to who was most disdainful of the ban, this thousand-faced movie king was one of them.

During that period, Taiwan Province was a dumping ground for Xiangjiang films; Liang Liang Jiahui Ka-fai's films could not enter the Taiwan Province market, and the Xiangjiang film circle stopped asking him to film.

At his most difficult time, Liang Liang Jiahui Ka-fai even had to rely on setting up a stall in Causeway Bay to make a living.

Anita Mui also laughed: "That's right, Xiaoqiang, you and Xixi don't have to worry, it's a small matter, just a piece of cake~"

The big sister's relaxation and ease infected the mother and daughter, but Liu Yifei hadn't been too worried in the first place.

She was thick-skinned; she just said what she wanted to say, what Lu Kuan had instructed her to say, and what she had learned from being around him, never thinking about the issue of being banned.

The ceremony ended hastily, and the *Whiplash* crew didn't attend the subsequent cold meal, leaving the awards scene collectively.

"How was it, Lu Kuan, was I cool on stage just now?"

Lu Kuan didn't hit her this time: "Good performance, neither humble nor pushy, like a diplomat, quite like your father!"

"Haha! I'll count it as you knowing how to talk this time!"

Liu Xiaoqiang's expression was a bit unnatural when she heard him mention An Kang, but her daughter's excellent performance made her feel honored.

Boss Lu naturally didn't say it casually; he gave Liu Xiaoqiang and her daughter a wink and went to the side to whisper.

"Auntie Liu, I think Little Liu's expatriation can be put on the agenda."

Liu Xiaoqiang hesitated: "This..."

"China has joined the WTO and is hosting the Olympic Games. Now the whole country is in a period of rising nationalism and national sentiment. Her identity could be taken out by people with ulterior motives at any time."

"According to the expatriation regulations of the United States, now is the best time; you can ask Uncle An for help."

Liu Xiaoqiang frowned: "Little Lu, actually, according to our plan, we want Xixi to develop in Hollywood in the future. This nationality..."

Hollywood and the Oscars recognized nationality; this was unquestionable. Liu Xiaoqiang's plan was good.

But relying solely on their family-workshop-like brokerage ability and the excessive use of Liu Yifei, that was a daydream.

"You don't have to worry about this; as long as she can hone her acting skills well, filming Hollywood movies is not a problem."

"I said it!"

"If she can't film, I will invest, I will write the script, and I will push her into Hollywood even if I have to!"

Liu Yifei was about to speak when she saw her mother's hesitation, but now hearing Lu Kuan's guarantee, she felt sweet inside.

This wasn't about whether she could film or not; this was...

Oh my, anyway, she couldn't explain what kind of feeling it was now; she just felt her pretty face burning, and her heart felt as comfortable as if she had eaten honey.

(End of chapter)