My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 258 Thoughts on the Day

The room was quiet. Natasha sensed the tense atmosphere and heard Hu Yi's unfriendly tone, so she gently took his hand under the table: "Anton, don't be angry. Don't turn back into the person in the photo."

Hu Yi originally wanted to make a few more sarcastic remarks to vent the anger he had been holding in, but Natasha's slight squeeze on his hand calmed him down immediately.

He glanced at his bewildered parents and Mr. Wang, who looked constipated, and chuckled, "Mr. Wang, please don't take offense. I'm not targeting you or your company. It's just... hehe, I've heard that of the five Central Asian countries, only Uzbekistan is somewhat better off. The others, like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and even Turkmenistan, are dirt poor. Living in a place like that must be boring, so I'm not very interested."

Although anyone at the table who could speak Chinese could tell he was just giving a perfunctory answer, his few words at least eased the awkward atmosphere in the room and gave Mr. Wang a way out.

The parents breathed a sigh of relief and said with a forced smile, "Please forgive us, Mr. Wang. Our son has been spoiled since he was a child. He values ​​material living conditions too much and has no spirit of hard work or perseverance. We are truly ashamed."

"Not at all. It's a good thing that young people have high aspirations, and pursuing a comfortable life is perfectly understandable." General Manager Wang readily agreed, smiling and pointing at Hu Yi: "In my opinion, this young man is very opinionated and doesn't blindly follow his parents' arrangements. Very good, very good! To be honest, being stationed there is indeed quite tough. Although the company provides decent living conditions, colleagues who have been there say those places are very poor; the capital is like a small county town. It's understandable that someone like Hu Yi, who has seen the world in Moscow, wouldn't be impressed!"

"Oh, I see! You should have said so sooner!" The father's friend pretended to suddenly understand and took over the conversation to smooth things over. "If that's the case, I think it's better if our nephew doesn't go! We work ourselves to the bone our whole lives just so the next generation can live a happier life, right? The country is developing so well now, why make them go to some godforsaken place to suffer? Don't you all agree?"

Everyone laughed and then changed the subject to discuss current events at home and abroad, ending dinner in a peaceful and pleasant atmosphere.

On the way home, the father remained silent, the mother looked worried, while Hu Yi, seemingly indifferent, pondered his own thoughts, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones with the uneasy Natasha.

Only after entering the house did the father sigh with disappointment: "Do you know why we invited them to dinner tonight?"

"I know, it's to help me find a job."

"You know that much," the father said, turning and going into the bedroom without looking back.

Hu Yi pursed his lips as he watched his father's retreating figure. His mother leaned closer and scolded him playfully, "You child, you just can't stand to be outdone. Such a good job, and you managed to snatch it away with just a few words."

"I can't stand keeping this to myself." Hu Yi changed into slippers, turned on the air conditioner, and muttered as he took off his shirt, "Look at that damn vice president's attitude. He acts like we all have to beg him. If we don't give him a piece of our mind, he'll be all high and mighty."

"Isn't this just asking for favors?" the mother said unhappily. "You need to change your personality as soon as possible. You're not suited to the environment in China at all. You'll regret it sooner or later."

"What are you begging for? You can't find a job without his help?" Hu Yi draped his shirt over his shoulder. "No need to wait for the future, I regret it now. If I had known that I would have to beg and plead to find a job back in China, I would have been better off staying in Moscow."

"You child...sigh, I just can't talk to you." His mother murmured a complaint and went into the bedroom. Hu Yi stood there blankly in the living room for a while, then took a shower in the bathroom before returning to his room.

Natasha was frowning as she studied a beginner's Chinese textbook under the lamp. After several weeks of intermittent study, she could now read some simple Chinese characters and occasionally utter a few words.

Seeing Hu Yi enter the room, Natasha pushed her books and notebooks forward and stammered out a broken sentence in Chinese: "Anton, are your father and mother angry?"

"No." Hu Yi picked up the notebook on the table, glanced at it, and chuckled lazily, "Your handwriting has improved. How is it? Is Chinese easy to learn?"

"It's too difficult!" Natasha shook her head sadly. "I probably will never be able to learn it."

"Haha, take it slow." Hu Yi sat down on the bed and yawned. "It's always difficult at first. I was like that when I was learning Russian."

"Hmm," Natasha replied, looking somewhat listless.

"Natasha."

"Um?"

Hu Yi leaned against the headboard, pondered for a moment, and said, "Tell me, how have you been feeling these days?"

"I think...it's good." Natasha smiled. "Your parents are very good to me. Although we can't communicate for the time being, they are very thoughtful and considerate, especially your mother."

"What about other aspects? Do you like your current life?"

"Otherwise... it's quite nice too." Natasha thought for a moment and slowly replied, "Life here is great. There are mountains and the sea, and the goods are plentiful and inexpensive. Moreover, the people here are very kind; everyone smiles when they see me."

Hu Yi stared at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought: "So... is there anything that makes you feel uncomfortable?"

"A little... I guess, not much." Natasha's smile sounded slightly weary. "The summers here are just too hot, and the air doesn't seem very fresh. Also... besides you, there's no one I can talk to, and it's difficult to go out shopping, so it's a bit..."

"I understand." Hu Yi closed his eyes. "Everything will be alright..."

Natasha seemed to say something again, but Hu Yi didn't hear it clearly. Just as he was feeling drowsy, the door suddenly opened, and a person with bandages wrapped around their upper body rushed in.

"Baoqing? What's wrong?!" Hu Yi jumped out of bed. "When did you get back?"

Li Baoqing was dazed, with bloodstains still on his bandages. He slumped against the wall and slumped to the floor as soon as he entered the room, muttering incoherently, "You son of a bitch, you left me in Moscow and went back to China to live a carefree life."

"What's there to be happy about! I haven't even found a job yet." Hu Yi walked up to him with a look of surprise and doubt: "What's wrong with you? Your injury hasn't healed after all these days?"

Before Li Baoqing could answer, the door opened again, and Fu Jiahui strode in with a grin: "Haha! You idiot! You gave up making money in the market and insisted on coming back to China to cause trouble. Now you're feeling good, aren't you?"

"You? You two came back together? What happened to Baoqing...?" Hu Yi looked down, but Li Baoqing had already disappeared.

(End of this chapter)