My hometown is far away in Moscow.

039 Eager to return home

Hu Yi felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Recalling how he had hardly given Peng Song a kind look in the past six months, he felt a pang of guilt and stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Peng Song, we've had some unpleasantness in the past, but that's all in the past. We'll still be good friends from now on. Here, you can keep all the dried goods and seasonings in the kitchen. Also, our quilts and winter clothes are too heavy to take back. Please keep them for us and we'll come back to you to pick them up when we return to Moscow."

Peng Song bit his lip and nodded. Li Baoqing patted him on the shoulder and said, "Old Hu is right. We're all good friends. Come visit us at Youda University whenever you have time. Let me tell you, Youda University is a huge school, definitely more fun than Maji."

"Okay, I'll definitely go." Peng Song sniffed twice, grasped Li Baoqing's hand and said, "Baoqing, here you and Brother Hu are the only ones who treat me the best. Everyone else ignores me. If you leave, I... I'll have no friends left." As he spoke, he choked up and started to tremble.

Peng Song wasn't a bad person, but he was extremely stingy and slovenly. He had also abandoned Lu Tao and Li Baoqing to escape alone when they encountered the Skinheads, making him very unpopular with his fellow countrymen. His bad reputation was mainly spread by Hu Yi and Li Baoqing. As neighbors, they felt sorry for him as they were about to part ways and didn't know how to comfort him.

Fortunately, Yu Feifei knocked and came in just then. Peng Song quickly stopped sobbing and dabbed his eyes with his sleeve. Yu Feifei glanced at the luggage in the room and asked softly, "Are you leaving? Do you need any help packing?"

"No need, no need," Li Baoqing quickly waved his hand. "We're not leaving for a few days, we can pack up ourselves at our own pace."

"Oh." Yu Feifei chatted with them for a few minutes, then glanced at the two oversized suitcases by the wall. She stared blankly for a moment, then said softly, "Time flies. It feels like we just arrived in Moscow by train, and now you're leaving."

Just as Peng Song calmed down, Yu Feifei became sad again. Hu Yi, at a loss, said, "Feifei, don't be sad. We really can't graduate, so we have to change schools."

Yu Feifei sighed softly and smiled, "It's nothing. I just saw you packing your bags to go back to China, and suddenly I felt a little homesick too."

"Just hang in there a little longer! After the exams, come back to China right away. We'll be waiting for you at home, and we'll have dinner together then!" Li Baoqing grinned foolishly, touching his face. The wound from being cut by the wine bottle had long since healed, but it left a noticeable scar, adding to his fierce appearance.

Yu Feifei pouted: "Sigh, my dad told me to stay here and focus on choosing a school and completing the enrollment procedures, and also to solidify my language foundation, before going back for the Spring Festival."

"Choosing a school? You're not planning to stay in Maji?"

"I want to go to Moscow State University, but I need to discuss it with my family again." Yu Feifei looked a little downcast, as if her family was worried about the high tuition fees at Moscow State University.

"Why don't you come with us to the Friendship University!" Hu Yi blurted out. The Maji Preparatory Education Center is accredited by the Russian Federation, and graduates can directly enroll in their corresponding major at any university.

Yu Feifei forced a smile and shook her head, saying, "I haven't decided yet. I heard that some universities will be holding recruitment fairs during the summer. I'll choose carefully then."

"Oh, right, choosing a school definitely requires careful consideration." Hu Yi touched his ear and chuckled to himself, "Just stay here and relax. There's no point in going back to China anyway. I wouldn't have gone back if it weren't for the visa."

"Really?" Yu Feifei stared at Hu Yi, her eyes wide. "Don't you miss home?"

"Why would I miss home?" Hu Yi smiled dismissively. "I've never thought about it."

Why?

"I..." Hu Yi paused slightly, "I guess... I'm not a homebody."

Hu Yi was telling the truth; since arriving in Moscow, he hadn't felt homesick at all. However, now that he had his plane ticket, his mindset had subtly changed. Every night before bed, Hu Yi lay in bed, eagerly imagining his plans for returning home, a truly agonizing experience.

The night before he left, Hu Yi vaguely dreamt that he was sitting on a train home, and in the distance he saw a large orchard by the railway. He shouted excitedly, opened the window, jumped off the train, and ran towards it, leaping up the tree like a monkey in a few bounds. The tree was tall and thick, growing exceptionally kindly, laden with all kinds of fruit: bananas, grapes, peaches, watermelons—and even handfuls of roasted lamb skewers, weighing down every branch.

Hu Yi sat on a tree branch, picking and eating fruit, laughing as he ate. He woke up suddenly, turning his head to find his pillowcase soaked with drool. He swallowed hard, remembering that he hadn't bought any fruit since that ridiculously expensive watermelon, and chuckled to himself that he must have been craving it terribly.

The day and night lengths were the opposite of those in January. It was only four in the morning, but the sky was already bright, and birds were chirping incessantly on the branches outside the window. Hu Yi tossed and turned in bed for a long time before finally falling into a deep sleep.

He woke up at noon. Most of his classmates had gone to class. He and Li Baoqing had a quick lunch, rested for a bit, and then headed straight for the airport, eager to get home.

The flight from Moscow to Beijing takes more than seven hours, and the K-train journey from Beijing back home takes more than five hours. By the time Hu Yi stepped into his home, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

The parents were overjoyed to see their son, who had traveled a long distance to return to their side. They held Hu Yi close, admiring him closely: "He's gotten fairer and has gained weight, unlike how thin and pale he was in high school. It seems he didn't suffer in Moscow." The elderly couple were filled with happiness. A mother's heart is always with her son, no matter how well he did in school; as long as they saw their son healthy and safe, they were content.

His parents had prepared a large, sumptuous meal, and their faces were always smiling as they listened to their son talk about his experiences abroad. The conversation quickly turned to the University of Ayutthaya, and Hu Yi felt uneasy: although he had reached a consensus with his parents on the phone to repeat the preparatory course, it would still be a waste of a year and tens of thousands of yuan, so he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Unexpectedly, her father simply smiled and said, "It's an objective fact that your foundation is weak. The fact that you thought of transferring to a school to study a relatively simple humanities major shows that you have a fairly accurate understanding and positioning of yourself, which is a realistic consideration for the future. This is something you would have found difficult to do in high school. Taking this step means that you have the initial ability to recognize your own direction, and your future studies will definitely be smoother."

The mother smiled encouragingly: "Your father is right. Now that you've made a new choice, work twice as hard to make up for the lost time. I believe you can achieve even better results at Yu-Nan University. Don't worry about the money; we've prepared everything for you. In a few days, when the exchange rate is favorable, we'll find someone to help you exchange it for US dollars."

Faced with his parents' earnest gaze and listening to their hopeful words, Hu Yi knew he had no reason to consider staying in China any longer. He had to return to Moscow no matter what and get that degree.

However, the new semester wasn't starting for another two months, and since it was a rare holiday, he should go see his old friends. He slept soundly and the next day began his holiday life of calling on friends.

Although it wasn't a triumphant return, the friends, having been separated for so long, always had endless topics to talk about. Everyone lined up to welcome him back, and Hu Yi went to drinking parties every day, drinking until he was completely drunk every night, making up for all the delicious food he had been craving in Moscow for the past six months.

It was another bright and sunny morning when Hu Yi was awakened by the chirping of cicadas outside his window. He dawdled out of bed and stretched. His parents had gone to work. After washing up, he took his bicycle from the basement, carefully cleaned it, inflated the tires, and slowly pedaled towards Dongshan.

Many parents and their teenage children fall into a vicious cycle: they miss each other after being apart for a long time, but get tired of each other after spending too much time together. Hu Yi's family was no exception. When he first returned to China, his parents doted on him and indulged him in everything. But after a few days, they started to find fault with everything he did and kept nagging him to tidy his room, go to bed early, and spend less time on the computer.

Hu Yi had been used to being free for the past six months, but now he suddenly felt like he was back in high school, where he was under constant control. He felt extremely frustrated and had no choice but to go out every day to visit friends to pass the time. He preferred to wander around the streets rather than stay at home.

After circling around the foot of Dongshan Mountain and riding along the moat all the way to Xiaonan Lake, Hu Yi was covered in sweat, but he was in an exceptionally good mood: the scenery of his hometown was still the best. Moscow was so big and silly, and although the natural scenery was not bad, it just didn't seem to have the same charm as the mountains and rivers of his hometown.

After lingering briefly by Xiaonan Lake, Hu Yi rode his bicycle through the old alleys along the lake, winding his way to the back wall of his alma mater, No. 1 Middle School. Looking up, he saw that the wall he used to skip classes to jump over was now covered with barbed wire, and he couldn't help but chuckle. After a moment of reflection, he followed the wall to the school gate.

The little street near the school gate hadn't changed much, and the Good Mood store sign still hung outside. Hu Yi glanced inside and called out, "Dongzi!"

"Hey!" Dongzi rushed out of the shop and couldn't help but grin when he saw Hu Yi. "Brother Yi! You're here! Hey, you look like you've gained some weight!"

Dongzi's real name is Xiang Dong. He was Hu Yi's good friend in high school, and also a notorious underachiever. Dongzi was very introverted, didn't smoke or drink, didn't gamble or fight, and had almost no close friends besides Hu Yi. His only hobby was playing computer games. However, he wasn't very bright, so his grades were about the same as Hu Yi's. Otherwise, he seemed like a well-behaved kid.

"You haven't changed much, you're as skinny as a dried-up chicken." Hu Yi locked his bicycle to the cable next to the utility pole, put his arm around Dongzi's shoulder, and said, "What? Did you arrange to meet here to play a few games? Looking for a beating, huh?"

"Hehe, don't brag yet, you're definitely no match for me right now." Dongzi's face was as honest as ever: "Wait a minute, there are no spare machines right now."

"Let's go eat first, it's almost 11:30." Hu Yi twirled his keychain twice with his finger. "I've been riding my bike all morning, I'm really hungry."

"No rush, wait a little longer." Dongzi pointed into the house: "I'm minding the shop now."

"Watching the shop? Where did the boss go?"