My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 205 Hu Andong?

"Well..." Hu Yi was a little embarrassed in front of his parents, "Maybe next holiday, or we can just bring it back after graduation. Anyway, there's still a year and a half left, you can look at it however you want then."

"So, you plan to go back to China after graduation?" her father asked. "What kind of job are you planning to look for? Have you thought it through?"

"This..." Hu Yi paused for a moment, "I haven't thought about it yet."

"It's time to start thinking about it." His father looked at him earnestly. "A year and a half may seem like a long time, but it will pass in the blink of an eye. Although you can't be sure about a specific job right now, you should at least decide on a general career path in mind."

"Hmm... okay." Hu Yi frowned. The topic of employment had always seemed rather distant to him, so he had never seriously considered it.

"Alright, Hu Yi has finally come back for a visit, it's only been a little over half a month, don't make the atmosphere so serious." The mother held Natasha's photo to her chest and said to her son gently, "Relax when you're home, have a good New Year, you can think about the future after you start school."

The winter vacation of more than ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Xiang Nan was worried about missing classes, so she hurriedly left home on the first day of the Lunar New Year and returned to Moscow.

Before leaving, she called Hu Yi and said that Xiang Dong's condition had improved a lot since their last meeting. In the past few days, he would occasionally come out of his bedroom to have a normal conversation with his family, and he even had a smile on his face during the New Year's Eve dinner. However, he was still very depressed and had a rather negative attitude. She felt that she couldn't comfort her brother and hoped that Hu Yi could find an opportunity to talk to him again.

Hu Yi's anger from a few days ago had long since subsided, and he was naturally very happy to hear about Xiang Dong's changes. He booked a plane ticket for the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and made a special trip to the Xiang family again before leaving.

Xiang Dong has gained a little weight since more than half a month ago. Although he is still unkempt and disheveled, he no longer looks too haggard.

"Brother Yi." Seeing Hu Yi arrive at his home, Xiang Dong looked very awkward: "That day... about that day... I'm sorry."

"Do we really need to talk about this, brother?" Hu Yichong raised his chin. "I'm going back now, but I'll stop by to see you one last time before I leave. How are you? Nannan said you've been doing well lately?"

"What else can we do? It's just like that."

"That sounds like you're giving up entirely," Hu Yi frowned. "It's been so long. You should pull yourself together."

"Cheer up?" Xiang Dong chuckled, sat on the edge of the bed and shook his head: "Brother Yi, I want to... ask you for a favor."

"Speak."

"I want to entrust Nannan to you."

"Shut up, are you going to spout nonsense again?" Hu Yi pointed at him: "Let me tell you, don't do anything like this again, or we're officially over."

"No, Nan Nan secretly told me that she likes the guy from Henan who shares your room." Xiang Dong looked slightly flustered: "I was just talking nonsense that day, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Okay, as long as you stop farting, everything will be fine." Hu Yi breathed a sigh of relief: "What are you talking about?"

"I want you to... treat Nan Nan like your own sister."

"Do you even need to tell me? I've always done it this way."

"I mean... a real, biological sister. I want to ask you to take good care of her for me from now on, to make sure she doesn't suffer any injustice, and to make sure no one else bullies her." Xiang Dong's voice suddenly trembled: "These things should have been done by me, but... I can't do it, I don't deserve to be her brother."

"What do you mean?" Hu Yi asked in surprise, "You're so young, why are you so pessimistic?"

"I'm finished, there's no hope." Xiang Dong smiled sadly. "I can't pull myself together. Really, Brother Yi, the world is gray to me. I guess this is how my life will be, so I can only leave Nan Nan."

"You're talking nonsense!" Hu Yi roared angrily. Xiang Dong's parents, thinking something had happened to their son again, rushed into the bedroom one after the other: "What's wrong? What happened?"

Xiang Dong lowered his head and remained silent. Ignoring the astonished looks of the old couple, Hu Yi pointed at Xiang Dong and cursed, "Xiang Dong! You good-for-nothing! If you're a man, then fucking live a decent life! Marry a beautiful woman you can actually see and touch and show us! Don't fucking try to kill yourself over some female swindler you've never even met, and spend all day lying in your kennel like a stray dog!"

Xiang Dong trembled slightly but remained silent. After Hu Yi finished speaking, he turned and left. Xiang's parents chased after him to the door, saying, "Child, child! Don't get angry with him. You're all brothers, and you'll have a long time to get along. Don't take a few words to heart."

"I know, Uncle and Aunt." Hu Yi breathed a sigh of relief: "Actually, it's nothing, it's just that seeing him like this...sigh, it makes me feel bad."

"We understand, you're Dongdong's good friend, a true friend." Xiang's mother held his hand. "This child is stubborn; we'll try to persuade him slowly later. After all, he's right here, so it's easier to talk to him. But Nannan is too far away from us, and your uncle and I are really worried about her. If she encounters any difficulties in the future, we'd appreciate it if you, as her brother, could take extra care of her, okay?"

"Auntie, you can rest assured." Hu Yi puffed out his chest: "To say something you may not like to hear, even if Nan Nan can't rely on her brother Dongzi in the future, as long as I'm here, I will absolutely not let her suffer the slightest loss!" After saying that, he raised his head and went out, turning back to Xiang's father and mother and gesturing: "Please wait here, you two."

Although Hu Yi was quite angry when he saw Xiang Dong, he felt somewhat better after scolding him. After returning home and having a farewell dinner prepared by his parents, Hu Yi packed his bags and set off, arriving at the Capital International Airport at noon the next day.

With ample time allotted for the journey, Hu Yi collected his boarding pass, went through customs and border control, and then browsed the duty-free shop for a bit. There was still more than half an hour before boarding.

He was getting impatient waiting, so he went to the smoking room for a smoke, then sat down next to the boarding gate, took out his MP3 player, put on his headphones, and closed his eyes to listen to music.

After listening to a few songs in a daze, more and more people gradually appeared nearby. Bored, Hu Yi turned his head and glanced around, noticing a short man sitting diagonally opposite him, his face turned in their direction, seemingly scrutinizing him.

The short man sat upright with a straight back and short hair parted to the side. He wore large sunglasses on his nose, and Hu Yi couldn't tell if he was looking at him or what his expression was.

A few years ago, Hu Yi would have stared back at the other man with a straight face. But now he wasn't so impulsive; his gaze only lingered briefly on the short man's sunglasses before moving elsewhere.

The short man clearly noticed their eye contact. He tilted his head slightly, then slowly stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and walked to a meter in front of Hu Yi. He leaned down and carefully examined him, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.

Hu Yi could no longer pretend to be nonchalant. He tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrows, about to ask a question, when the short man spoke first: "Aren't you Hu Yi? Hu-An-Dong?"

(End of this chapter)