U.S.A-Anthony weighed 120kg when he met Hai Yen. Knowing his girlfriend likes “six-pack” men, he dieted and practiced for 4 months to lose 35 kg before boarding a plane to Vietnam.
In the kitchenette in Los Angeles, husband and wife Nguyen Hai Yen and Anthony J. Madrigal together learn to make shrimp filtered flour cakes. The American boy proved to be quite excited and positive but the finished product that he launched is two plates of cake “chewed for an hour still can not swallow”. “No matter how hard you try, you don’t cook as well as your mother-in-law,” Anthony concludes before finishing the video introducing the family’s life.
Since the beginning of the year, like many Other American families who have been “locked in the house” because of Covid-19, the young couple discussed making Vietnamese food, filmed videos and posted them on YouTube, sending them to their grandmothers in Vietnam with peace of mind. The work is divided, the husband follows the recipe and the wife stands next to the direction. The two of them all day together working and playing and “practicing” Vietnamese cuisine.
With Hai Yen, this is the dream life and love that she almost “lost”. Three years ago, she once received a message of acquaintance of an American boy named Anthony with curly hair, fat body, less than 4 years old on a dating app. Receiving the message, Yen was stunned to glance. But the “curly-haired guy” texts every day even though there is no reply. “Are we just friends?” – the last message makes Vietnamese girls feel a little poor so answer a very short sentence: Hello!
From that day on, the two began “enlisting” and short-lived conversations by deviing from the time zone. Exactly a month later, Yen received a message: “I may not believe it, but to you, I’m a very special person. Can we go on a date?”. Suddenly, Yen was silent for a long time and refused, because her boyfriend is older and has a “six-pack body”.
Failing for the first time, Anthony changed tactics, switching to talking directly via video call to increase his girlfriend’s trust. The second time american boys confessed: “I have never felt all the family affection because my parents divorced from a young age. But ever since I met you, I’ve wanted to follow you my whole life.” Hai Yen is touched but still does not believe in the existence of a “virtual love” online so an appointment “when to meet in person will answer”.
That is just a saying to “postpone” yen but Anthony did not think so, he immediately booked a ticket to Vietnam, but chose the time four months later, coincided with the 2/9 holiday to yen have more time. Taking photos of tickets for his girlfriend, the “curly-haired guy” also vowed to lose weight to resemble her favorite model of men.
From that day on, Anthony started the fight of dieting and training frantically even though he was previously an addict of eating, craving all kinds of things and having a habit of eating clean without leaving anything. The first month, he dropped from 120 kg to 110 kg. Anthony sends electronic logs of the menu and weights updated every day for his girlfriend to follow.
Recognizing Anthony’s true feelings and the act of trying to change himself for himself, Yen gradually accepted the American guy. The day she accepted her love, in a “duckling” voice, Anthony sang for Hai Yen Bruno Mars song Marry You but edited the lyrics to “Hey baby, I know I’m going to marry you.”
Anthony also expected to stay in Vietnam for a long time so he actively attended a pedagogical class, obtaining a certificate in English teaching. In August 2017, the day Anthony set foot on a plane leaving the United States, weighing 85kg after four months of determination but he still did not fit the shirt that Yen bought. “You bought the biggest size,” she says awkwardly, while Anthony laughs. They dare not look each other in the eye all the way back from the airport.
Knowing that her daughter loves a foreign boy, although not forbidden, Yen’s mother is concerned that she will “lose her child”. She asked to take Anthony home for “self-assessment”. On the first day of launch, Yen’s mother gave her lover a hearty Vietnamese rice plate. Thought Anthony would let go of chopsticks before the strange dish, but every dish he praised all the words. The meal ended, instead of “up here sitting drinking water” at the call of Yen’s father, Anthony came down to help his lover clean the tray. “Men should help women with houseming. I’ll do it with you,” he said.
Time at yen play, every day boys and lovers wash dishes after meals, always know what people want to “wait for the wrong job”. “I don’t think I’m looking at the wrong person,” Yen’s mother told her daughter when she saw Anthony was not doing anything.
Having been in Vietnam for two months, Anthony has a viral fever and is hospitalized. In the morning, yen went to work when her mother cooked food to bring her father to Anthony. She slept at the hospital to take care of her boyfriend. One night waking up from the fever, seeing Yen lying asleep next to him, Anthony said to himself: “I have to take responsibility and take care of this girl for the rest of my life”.
Knowing that his son came to Vietnam, Anthony’s father also flew from the U.S. to visit his son, staying in a 23rd floor apartment of a high-end apartment in District 2. On the day of his father’s departure to the airport, Anthony invited Yen to his room to see the city at night. When Yen just stepped out to the balcony, the lights around him went out. At that moment, Anthony appeared, holding the ring, kneeling at the feet of his lover: “Although our time together is not long but I appreciate every moment with you. I want this life to see you every day. Can I be your wife?”.
The two young men planned to marry six months later to wait for Anthony’s parents to arrange time to attend. At the wedding, seeing his father and mother step on stage despite the two having been divorced for many years, Anthony’s eyes straw. He whispered in his wife’s ear to say thank you because there is a new brother who understands how important family is.
After two weeks of marriage, Yen’s grandfather died. In the days when the house had a job, Anthony ran back and forth, lit tea, poured water, washed dishes, who asked for what to do. Staying away for the first time to meet foreign grandchildren are full of praise: “Western groom is so hard”.
The couple stayed in Vietnam for two years, Yen worked as a marketing officer at his former company, while Anthony taught English to children. In early 2020, the couple decided to settle in the U.S. They had just arrived in Los Angeles when the Covid-19 outbreak broke out.
It’s been three years together but anthony has never forgotten the habit of sending in Yen’s inbox a message that is “dotted” with a heart shape and the words “I love you so much!”.
Source:Hai hien/vnexpress