My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 216 Unrequited Love

Several cows simultaneously mooed loudly, and Natasha exclaimed with glee, "Listen! They agreed! They all agree you're a fool!"

"Haha!" Hu Yi chuckled lazily, sounding as if he were a bit far away.

Natasha turned her head and saw him lying sprawled out on a bench by the roadside, his eyes closed, a serene and peaceful smile on his face as the light raindrops pattered on his skin.

Natasha slowly walked behind the chair and gently cupped Hu Yi's head in her hands: "Anton, are you tired?"

"No, how could I be tired being with you? I was just thinking," Hu Yi paused for a long time, without opening his eyes, "how carefree and comfortable these cows are."

Natasha couldn't help but look back at the cows in the distance: "Yes. Are you envious of their life?"

"A little. I like this place, it's so quiet." Hu Yi muttered incoherently, "I really don't want to go back to Moscow. These past two years, all I've done is go to class and work. To get to work, I have to take the subway, and it's always packed with people. The markets are also packed with people, noisy and chaotic every day, it's so annoying."

"Don't you like the market?" Natasha gently brushed the raindrops from his face. "Then quit your job and focus on your studies. After you graduate, we'll go to China, okay?"

"Actually, I quite like it too." Hu Yi grasped Natasha's hand and smiled wearily. "The job in the market pays very well, and I can't bear to quit. It's such a difficult choice."

Natasha looked down at him: "Darling, you're so conflicted."

"Isn't life just a series of contradictions?" Hu Yi slowly opened his eyes, propped himself up on the bench, and leaped to his feet. "Let's talk about that later! Let's seize this moment and enjoy this brief moment of peace."

Two days later, Hu Yi and Natasha ended their European trip.

After returning to Moscow and resting for a night, Hu Yi went to the market the next day and busied himself with work. After lunch, he called Li Baoqing: "Hey, what are you busy with?"

"I just finished eating and am resting." Li Baoqing hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Huh? Didn't you take your girl abroad for fun? You're back?"

"I came back yesterday and brought you some little trinkets. Come and get them."

"Hey? Well, you've got a conscience after all," Li Baoqing replied. "I actually had something I wanted to ask you. Wait here, I'll get ready and be there in a bit."

Half an hour later, Li Baoqing appeared at the door of the box with a beaming smile: "Old Hu! What good stuff did you bring me back?"

"It's nothing valuable." Hu Yi handed him a small plastic bag. "I had to bring you something back for your trip, right?"

"Indeed, a gift of a goose feather from afar carries great meaning." Li Baoqing stroked his small tuft of goatee. "I am very pleased that you have such filial piety."

"Get lost!" Hu Yi kicked him in the butt. "Don't try to talk back to me."

"I'm just trying to emulate you intellectuals!" Li Baoqing stumbled a few steps out of the box, laughing as he opened the plastic bag: "Chocolate? I think Russian chocolate is pretty good. What's this? Oh! A Swiss Army knife! Is it authentic?"

"Of course, I bought it in Switzerland."

Li Baoqing whistled as he took the Swiss Army knife out of the small cardboard box and fiddled with it for a moment. Disappointed, he muttered, "Why are there so few functions? All the Swiss Army knives I've seen before are so fancy, with all sorts of tools on them. Is this a low-end children's version?"

"Damn it, don't you understand? Those are all fakes, this is the real deal." Hu Yi was indignant. "This one sells for tens of francs! Those multi-functional ones cost two or three hundred, why would I buy one for you?"

"Sigh, alright." Li Baoqing put the knife back in the box, lowered his head and sighed, "Filial piety is ultimately limited, but it's better than nothing."

"Get lost!" Hu Yi reached out and slapped him hard on the back of the head. "Didn't you have something to ask me? What is it?"

"Yes, let's get down to business." Li Baoqing gasped after being hit: "I heard from Jia Hui that you found him a really cheap warehouse in the Black Hair District? Take me to see it."

"Okay, let's go." Hu Yi turned to lock his suitcase. "What have you been busy with lately? I haven't seen you since before I went abroad."

"I'm very busy; I can't sit still all day long."

"What's there to be busy with?" Hu Yi turned around and walked alongside him toward the Black Hair District.

"Busy making money, huh?" Li Baoqing replied casually, then suddenly winked at Hu Yi: "Hey, let me tell you, I think Feifei is starting to have feelings for me."

"Really?" Hu Yi chuckled, bewildered. "You manage to make money and pick up girls at the same time?"

"Of course." Li Baoqing proudly raised his head: "We often chat online at night now, and sometimes we call and text each other. I think she loves talking to me, and we can talk for quite a long time each time."

"That's it? You think this is what it means to be interested in you?" Hu Yi scoffed. "You've set your standards too low."

"Not only that, I've also asked her out to dinner a few times, I just didn't tell you before." Li Baoqing said mysteriously with a smile, "Hey, Feifei decided to stay in Moscow to pursue her master's degree, did you know?"

"What kind of news is this? I already knew that."

"She stayed because of me! You didn't expect that, did you?"

"Give me a break!" Hu Yi spat. "Can you please change your old habit of being delusional?"

Li Baoqing blushed slightly: "Who's being presumptuous? Anyway, I kept persuading her to stay, and she actually did."

"Don't get too cocky," Hu Yi snorted, tilting his head back for a moment to think. "Don't you think our conversation sounds a little familiar?"

"A familiar taste? What's that taste?"

"A few years ago, when we were in preparatory school at Yu-Nan University, the two of us went to see a movie with two girls. After the movie, you said you were planning to confess to Yu Feifei on Christmas Eve, and that you felt she might like you." Hu Yi looked at him with a smile: "Remember?"

"That...that thing...of course I remember." Li Baoqing scratched his face awkwardly. "That's different. How do I put it...times have changed, right? Back then I was still...still young. Now, cough...I'm more mature. And Feifei and I have known each other for five years now, and our relationship is much stronger than it was back then."

"No, no, don't get me wrong." Hu Yi shook his head seriously and said, "The length of time you've known each other can only determine the relationship between two people. The feelings between a man and a woman are... a different thing. Feelings can't be determined by how long you've known each other. Otherwise, wouldn't all your elementary school and kindergarten classmates be couples? You'd still have to find a way to win her over."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Li Baoqing frowned. "But... how do I win her over?"

"I don't know about that. These things depend on a person's understanding. You can figure it out yourself later." Hu Yi chuckled and pointed ahead: "Look, we've arrived."

(End of this chapter)