167. Dossey And His Uncle
Wei Sama, Let's Stuff Them With Dog Food[1]
The theater group was off in the morning, and Qi Leâan was there to meet the group at noon.
It was only a few hours before the performance. Qi Leâan was a little nervous, but the others were so calm.
It was normal. The others had performed many times and only Qi Leâan was a rookie.
Dossey came over with a bottle of orange juice and said to Qi Leâan with bright eyes, âLeâan! You look so great today!â
Qi Leâan smiled and took the orange juice, saying, âReally?â
Dossey nodded seriously, his green eyes full of appreciation.
âBy the way, I want to treat you and your uncle to Chinese food when the performance is over today,â Qi Leâan said.
Dossey looked so surprised and said, âReally?! Do you want to invite me and my uncle to dinner?â
Qi Leâan said, âYes, youâve helped me so much.â
Before he could finish, Dossey hugged Qi Leâan and said, âThatâs great! I love Chinese food the most!â
Qi Leâan was a little uncomfortable, but Dossey let him go soon and said with his phone, âIâm going to tell my uncle!â
Qi Leâan nodded and let Dossey go first.
The audience was allowed to come into the hall an hour ahead of the performance. Qi Leâan changed his clothes and looked out from backstage. He remembered that he and Wei Changfeng had come here to watch the show last week. However, within a week only, he became the one to perform on the stage.
The specially reserved position was empty and Qi Leâan had no idea whether the one who should be sitting on it would come or not.
Soon, the auditorium was filled with people. And the performance was about to start. Qi Leâan looked calm on the surface and in his heart, he kept cheering himself up.
With the sound of music, Qi Leâan knew that it was time to go on stage.
âYouâre great. Just act as usual. Youâve got this!â
Qi Leâan said so as he went on stage.
â¦â¦
Wei Changfeng looked at his phone every few minutes at the airport, his face full of anxiety.
Holding a cup of coffee in his hand, Professor John told him, âThe flights of the United Airlines are often late. Donât worry!â
Wei Changfeng sighed, âI want to pick up Leâan.â
Professor John pretended not to hear him.
Over ten minutes later, the notification of the airport came and Professor John finally straightened up.
People gradually came out of the exit. Professor John waved his hands and shouted, âSpear! This way!â
An old man in sunglasses wearing a hip-hop outfit came out and hugged John. âOh! Old John! â
Professor John slapped Director Spear on the shoulder and said, âIâm not old! You are!â
The two of them burst out laughing.
âThis is Fynn! I guess you know him.â Professor John introduced his student to his old friend proudly, âMy best student!â
Spear took off the sunglasses and said to Wei Changfeng, âFynn, hello!â
Wei Changfeng shook hands with Director Spear politely, âHello, sir.â
Director Spear nodded and said, âIâve seen the movie âThe Yangtze Riverâ starred by you. Itâs great!â
âThe Yangtze Riverâ was a literary film, which was the first movie Wei Changfeng starred in after returning to China. He didnât expect Director Spear to watch it before. He said with a little surprise, âThank you, Sir.â
Spear patted Wei Changfeng on the shoulder and said, âI heard you want a transition to directing? Then you should follow me!â
The three of them walked towards the parking lot while chatting. Director John echoed, âFynn is great! He finished all the courses in a year and a half, and he is also a straight-A student!â
Director Spear was also an alumnus of Tisch. Hearing this, he was surprised, âA year and a half? A straight-A student?â
âHmm.â Professor John looked proud.
Director Spear looked at Wei Changfeng with more admiration. Wei Changfeng had something on his mind, so he only smiled reservedly.
Did Leâanâs performance go well?
Qi Leâanâs performance went smoothly. Two hours later, a round of applause burst out.
Dossey excitedly pulled Qi Leâanâs hand to the front stage to express his thanks. When the audience clapped their hands, Qi Leâan harvested a kind of happiness. It was a happiness that he had never gotten when he acted in movies or TV dramas.
Dossey whispered to Qi Leâan, âIs this feeling great?â
Qi Leâan was noncommittal.
The two of them went backstage grinningly, and everyone wanted to have a party later. It seemed that partying out after the performance had become a regular program after the public performance. However, this time, Dossey said to everyone, âNo, Iâll have dinner with Leâan later!â
Everyone immediately started to make fun of them and Dossey just accepted it with a smile.
Qi Leâan was quite embarrassed aside but when he saw Dossey was so happy, he decided not to interrupt them.
It took them about half an hour to remove their makeup and change their clothes. Qi Leâan went to Dossey after packing up his things. Surprisingly, he saw a strange man in Dosseyâs room.
The man was in his thirties. Although his eyes were green, they werenât as green as Dosseyâs.
Qi Leâan almost immediately knew who this person was. He asked, âYou are Dosseyâs uncle?â
Dosseyâs uncle also looked at Qi Leâan, his eyes full of amazement, âDossey said that he would introduce a great friend to me. I saw your performance today. That was so awesome!â
Qi Leâan smiled and scratched his head bashfully, âIâm so flattered.â
Dosseyâs uncle hurriedly shook his head and said, âNo, no, youâre great and your performance makes me feel a bit different⦠Have you ever acted in a movie before?â
Qi Leâan was a little surprised and then admitted, âI used to be a movie actor when I was in my homeland.â
âThen why are you here?â Dosseyâs uncle was quite surprised.
Of course, Qi Leâan didnât mention he was blacklisted in his homeland. He only said, âIâve been dreaming about studying in Tisch for a long time.â
Dosseyâs uncle took a tumble.
Dossey came out from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, âAn? You are so quick. What are you talking about?â
Dosseyâs uncle smiled and said, âIâve been chatting with An. He is as awesome as you said!â
With a proud face, Dossey just took off his towel and started putting on clothes.
Qi Leâan was a little embarrassed and looked aside. Dosseyâs uncle looked at Qi Leâan with a mischievous expression and Qi Leâan blushed even more.
Dossey, on the other hand, was unconscious. Humming a song, Dossey finished putting on his clothes and said to the two of them, âLeâan is going to treat us to Chinese food!â
Dosseyâs uncle bowed and made a gentlemanly gesture, saying, âLetâs go.â
Dossey and Qi Leâan walked behind. Qi Leâan whispered, âWhy didnât you tell me your uncle was so young!â
Dossey looked innocent, saying, âHe is my fatherâs little brother! He grew up with me together!â
Qi Leâan, ââ¦â Little brother? It sounded so weird!
Dosseyâs uncle came here by car. As soon as he got in the car, he said to Qi Leâan, âDo you have the location of the restaurant? Dossey is not good at driving. Iâll drive!â
Dossey said in depression, âSince when I was not good at driving?â
Qi Leâan had seen Dossey drive and he found the latter quite good, but obviously, Dossey and his uncle were sparring for fun, so he told the uncle about the location with a smile. The uncle nodded his head and entered the location to the GPS. Then he put on some light music before they set off.
On the way, to prove himself, Dossey kept speaking ill of his uncle and even talked about the funny incident that his uncle went lost during the shooting of a movie and then got rescued by the rescue team.
Qi Leâan felt so amused and then asked curiously, âIs your uncle a director?â
It suddenly became deadly silent in the car. Even the driver couldnât help looking back at Qi Leâan. A moment later, Dossey burst into laughter. âHahaha! Oh my! Amco! I canât believe he doesnât know you!â
Dosseyâs uncle turned to look at Qi Leâan and exclaimed, âAn! You are so cute!â
Qi Leâan still didnât know what was wrong with him. He looked at Dossey in confusion and Dossey laughed so heavily that he almost shed tears.
Amco⦠Amco⦠Wait! Amco!
Qi Leâan suddenly opened his mouth wide.
As Dosseyâs uncle drove, he said, âI should have introduced myself⦠Hello, my name is Amco. If I remember correctly, Tisch is using a textbook written by me.â
Heavens! It was Amco! But wasnât Amco an old man?
He had written a textbook for the first-class movie academy in the world! He hadnât shot movies for several years! All these experiences just made Amco sound like an old man!
Qi Leâan felt so confused and shocked.
âHelâ¦Hello,â he stuttered, âSorry, I donât knowâ¦â
âNext time, I should ask them to put my photo in the book.â
Dossey finally stopped laughing and said, âDo you think that my uncle should be an old man?â
Qi Leâan nodded. Look. He was not the only one who thought this way!
The manâs persona and his age were too inconsistent!
As Qi Leâan was still in shock, the car finally reached its destination, a Chongqing food restaurant.
Chongqing food was also part of Sichuan food. The owner of this restaurant was a Chongqing local. The Sichuan pepper and the chili were all purchased by the owner from Bashu every year. It was fair enough to say that the food here was the most authentic spicy food in New York.
Upon entering the restaurant, Dossey immediately sneezed due to the smell of chili!
Qi Leâan had eaten here with Wei Changfeng a lot before. The people in the restaurant were familiar with them. Qi Leâan greeted them and then led Dossey and Amco into a private room with a distinctive Chinese feature. Amco just couldnât move his gaze away from the beautiful cheongsams and traditional Chinese paintings. He exclaimed, âThese are so beautiful!â
After coming to New York, Qi Leâan often met with many American people who would be amazed at items featuring traditional Chinese culture. So, he just smiled reservedly and said as usual, âIf you come to China, Iâll show you something more beautiful.â
Amcoâs eyes lit up and Dossey said with a sad face, âAn! What about me?â
Qi Leâan chuckled, saying, âOf course, I will accompany you all the time when you come to China.â
Dossey was happy, and he looked at Amco with a smug look.
Qi Leâan ordered a few specialty dishes on the menu and then considering the stomach of Dossey and his uncle, he also ordered some dishes that were not spicy.
He raised the curtain and called for the waitress in a cheongsam to place the order. The waitress casually threw a pack of spicy gluten at Qi Leâan and said, âI brought it back from the homeland! Is Wei Sama not coming today?â
Qi Leâan shook his head and the waitress left quickly. She said as she walked, âOnly one pack. Do enjoy it!â
Dossey and Amco stared at the thing that Qi Leâan was holding. Qi Leâan rolled his eyes and then waved the spicy gluten, saying, âThis is a very delicious Chinese snack! You must try it!â