My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 213 A Passing By

Liu's mother frowned and sighed, wanting to offer a few more words of advice, but her husband nudged her, saying, "Alright, that's enough. We're not familiar with this place, don't give bad advice that will only make things worse. Our son understands better than we do, let him figure it out himself." With that, she raised her wine glass and extended it forward, saying, "Come on, Brother Hu, let's drink."

Hu Yi's heart skipped a beat. He picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and turned to ask Da Liu, "Brother Liu, you've been in the market for many years, right?"

"Yes. I came to Moscow before you, back when the New Sun District didn't exist yet."

"You used to have your own suitcase, so you must be quite familiar with all sorts of things in the market, right?"

"You could say that," Liu said, his face slightly flushed. "Over the years, I've gotten to know quite a few old buddies. When we meet, we often chat about all sorts of random things, so I'm fairly well-informed."

"I thought so too." Hu Yi sat up straight. "I'll have to learn from you more often in the future."

"What can I ask you?" Da Liu chuckled awkwardly. "You've been working here for over a year now, haven't you? You're practically an old hand at this place. It's the same old stuff all year round, you must know it all by now."

"That's far from the truth." Hu Yi frowned and clicked his tongue. "I've been thinking about something lately, and I thought I'd ask you about it."

"What is it?"

"The warehouse rent at Aste is starting to go up. My boss has four crates there, and he thinks the rent is too high and wants to move. But he's looked at several places and hasn't found a suitable warehouse, so he's still undecided." Hu Yi pondered, "Brother Liu, what do you think? Should he stay at Aste, or should he move?"

"Well..." Liu hesitated for a moment, "Whether the rent is high or low, it's the boss who pays. Whether we move or not is entirely his decision. Do you really need to worry about it for him?"

"It's not really about worrying about him," Hu Yi said, scratching his head. "My boss is the same age as me, and he's only been in Moscow for less than two years. He doesn't know the market as well as you do. I'm just doing this to gather some information for him and give him some ideas for reference."

"You're a rare find, buddy." Big Liu chuckled and cleared his throat. "Speaking of which, the safest place in the entire market is definitely Aste, so naturally the boxes there are more expensive. Whether it's a stall or a warehouse, the prices are the highest."

"Yes, that's right."

"Although the other districts are not as stable as Aste, there have actually been very few incidents in the past two years. It's just that people still prefer to store their goods in Aste due to habit, so the rental prices there have remained high."

"Absolutely, it's all because these bosses spoil them."

"After all, moving warehouses is quite troublesome, and it's normal for bosses to hesitate if the rent is similar." Da Liu paused for a long time: "Unless you can find a particularly cheap place, it's not worth moving out."

"Indeed." Hu Yi turned to look at him. "Are there any particularly cheap places in the market?"

"Yes, but they're not that easy to find. However," Liu smiled slightly, "I actually overheard you guys discussing warehouse price increases the day New Sun exploded, so I kept an eye on it. Just a few days ago, a friend in the Black Hair District rented a small section of new warehouse space and is looking for tenants; the price should be lower than other places. If your boss is interested, I can make some contact for him."

"Great! Brother Liu is so thoughtful!" Hu Yi said happily, "Then I'll trouble you to ask around for me!"

"My Russian isn't good, so I can't explain it clearly." Da Liu took out his phone and held it in his hand: "I've arranged a time with him, you two go and talk."

Hu Yi immediately called Fu Jiahui to inform him of the matter, and Fu Jiahui readily agreed. After hanging up, he went out to the market. Da Liu contacted the other party, quickly finished lunch with Hu Yi, and then took Fu Jiahui to the warehouse in the Black Hair District.

The negotiations went smoothly. The warehouse that the other party had leased was in a slightly remote location, and not many landlords were interested in it, so it had been difficult to rent out. Hu Yi casually bargained and managed to get four boxes for Fu Jia Hui at a very favorable price, which came out to be a full $700 cheaper per box than the original rental price at Aste.

"Save two thousand eight hundred a month! That's a great deal!" Fu Jiahui was very satisfied and casually took out three hundred US dollars and stuffed it into Da Liu's hand: "It's just a small token of my appreciation, thank you for your hard work."

"Not at all, it was nothing, boss, you're too kind." Big Liu clutched the money in his hand, smiling as he cautioned, "The rent here is cheap, and security shouldn't be a problem, but it can't compare to Aste. If anything happens in the future, you'll have to be extra vigilant."

"Understood, thank you." Fu Jiahui watched Da Liu limp away, then tiptoed and hooked his arm around Hu Yi's neck: "Old Hu, you handled this brilliantly! Tell me, how do you want me to thank you? Give you a raise?"

"No, no need to raise it. I go to class several days every month, and you're already being very kind by paying me the full amount." Hu Yi chuckled. "Exams are in a little over a month, so give me a few extra days off during this time and don't deduct any pay. Consider it a way of thanking me!"

"That's it? Your standards are so low, it's pathetic." Fu Jiahui stretched lazily. "Fine then. I'm leaving. Hurry up and find someone to move the goods over here."

Two months later, the semester at Friendship University officially ended, and Hu Yi once again passed the final exams by the red line of attendance.

Yu Feifei successfully completed her undergraduate studies and, together with her father, persuaded her mother to allow her to continue her studies at Yu-Nan University to pursue a master's degree.

Fang Qing finally completed his postgraduate thesis defense and decided to end his long life of wandering in a foreign land and return to China to start a new life. Before graduation, he transferred the rental contract of the internet cafe to Caihua and Zhou Dali, and left Anna with all the valuables he couldn't take with him from the dormitory.

Anna had been rarely on duty at the internet cafe these past few days. She had taken Fang Qing sightseeing around Moscow, buying all sorts of gifts and souvenirs that filled two suitcases. She was still all smiles in front of Fang Qing as usual, but Hu Yi could occasionally see a hint of loneliness and dejection on her face.

Everyone held a lively farewell dinner for Fang Qing. Hu Yi and everyone else took turns raising their glasses to offer their blessings. The next day, Hu Yi, Natasha, Xiang Nan, and Anna saw him off at the airport.

Anna bid farewell to Fang Qingyi at the airport, embracing each other tenderly and wishing each other well. Then she watched him walk towards customs, smiling as she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Natasha handed her a pack of tissues. Hu Yi moved closer to Anna, waving to Fang Qing from afar, and asked in a low voice, "Are you sad?"

"How could I not be sad?" Anna sniffled softly.

"Sigh, isn't it too late to be sad now?" Hu Yi couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Why didn't you leave him in Moscow? Or—go to China with him?"

"No, there's no need for that," Anna replied decisively. "We were just passersby in each other's lives, an experience. Now it's all over, and the past has become a beautiful memory. But sadness is inevitable, and I think he must feel the same way."

Hu Yi nodded blankly, unsure of what to say to comfort Anna, when Natasha snuggled up to him, took his arm, and smiled faintly, looking up at him: "Anton, do you think we'll both just be passing through each other's lives?"

(End of this chapter)