My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 141 Fellow Strangers

"It's really nothing." Hu Yi was secretly delighted, but pretended to be nonchalant as he got up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "It's just a small matter, nothing to worry about."

"But it's too cold outside, you'll catch a cold." Natasha looked at him with some concern, and ran her hand through her hair. "Look, my hair, which I just washed, is already starting to freeze, and your head looks sweaty too."

"It's frozen?!" Hu Yi exclaimed in surprise, completely missing the second half of Natasha's sentence. He frantically pulled his own woolen hat from his coat pocket and handed it to her, saying, "Here, put this on quickly!"

"No." Natasha shook her head, refusing to listen. "Listen to me, Anton, you need to wear a hat more."

Without saying a word, Hu Yi stepped over and put the hat on her head: "You're a woman, so you're more afraid of the cold."

Natasha smiled sweetly, pursing her lips: "Don't men feel the cold?"

"No, not at all, but I'm quite warm right now." Hu Yi had been carrying her for a while and was sweating a lot, so he was indeed a bit cold, but he still pretended to tug at his sweater collar: "Let me tell you, actually Chinese people are more resistant to the cold than Russians."

"Oh? Is that so?" Natasha blinked her beautiful eyes. "Why?"

"Look, Russian winters are very cold, but your houses are very warm." Hu Yi sniffed and explained with great enthusiasm, "My hometown isn't as cold as here, but it still snows in winter. And our houses aren't very well insulated, so we have to wear thick clothes indoors in winter. That's why we're more used to cold environments."

"I understand." Natasha smiled and stared at him. "But you seem quite cold right now, don't you?"

"Cold? No, this temperature is nothing to me... no... Achoo!" Hu Yi suddenly sneezed, his voice still nasal as he continued to brace himself, "It's nothing!"

"Oh dear!" Natasha quickly picked up his cotton coat. "Put it on! My feet are much warmer now."

Hu Yi quickly dressed, hesitated for a moment, and then gently sat down next to her. Suddenly, a wave of intense tension washed over him; his heart pounded wildly, he felt both cold and sweaty, and he was so dizzy that he didn't know what to say.

Natasha put on her boots, put her hands behind her back, and turned to look at Hu Yi: "How are you? Feeling better?"

"No problem!" Hu Yi said nonchalantly, rubbing his nose. "I already said, I'm more resistant to the cold than you Russians."

Natasha smiled slightly: "I'm not Russian."

Hu Yi was taken aback: "Oh? Where are you from?" Natasha's Russian pronunciation was pure and authentic, and her appearance was very similar to that of a typical Slavic woman, so he naturally assumed she was a local when they first met yesterday.

"My home is in Minsk." Natasha looked up at the moon in the sky, a hint of melancholy in her melodious voice.

Minsk? Belarus?

"Yes."

"I see." Hu Yi nodded to himself, then realized he knew almost nothing about her, so he tentatively asked, "You said you're not a student, so why are you living in the dormitory?"

"Hmm..." Natasha seemed to find the question difficult to answer, and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Because I have nowhere else to go right now, I'm staying here for the time being."

"Temporarily?" Hu Yi was slightly disappointed, but unwilling to give up, he pressed on, "What are you doing in Moscow? Working?"

"I just lost my job." Natasha paused for a moment. "I'm planning to find another one, but I haven't found one yet."

"Hmm!" Hu Yi's spirits lifted slightly. "If you find a new job, you'll stay in Moscow, right?"

"Probably." Natasha tilted her head slightly. "Why do you ask?"

"Because...because...cough." Hu Yi brazenly stared intently into Natasha's eyes: "I really hope...every day...or often...of course, preferably every day. I hope to see you every day."

"Thank you." Natasha noticed the undisguised admiration in his eyes, leaned forward, rested one elbow on her thigh, and gently smiled at him while supporting her chin with the back of her hand. "Anton, I've seen your passport. You're three years younger than me."

"That's great!" Hu Yi was so captivated by her beautiful and charming appearance that he blurted out, "There's a Chinese saying that if a woman is three years older than a man, the man is like a brick made of gold..."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Natasha asked curiously, "What does that refer to?"

"I mean...I mean...hehe." Hu Yi felt that explaining it would be too abrupt, so he awkwardly changed his words: "Anyway, I just hope you can stay in Moscow. It would be best...it would be best if you could always be my neighbor."

"Still neighbors? I wouldn't dare say that." Natasha suppressed a laugh. "But I probably won't be going back to Minsk, so I'll likely stay in Moscow in the future."

"Really?! That's good, that's good too." Hu Yi asked casually, his voice a mixture of joy and worry, "Why not go back to Minsk? Isn't it good there?"

“Minsk is fine.” Natasha didn’t seem annoyed by his probing questions, but her expression dimmed slightly. “But my mother passed away a few years ago, and my father married another woman, moved elsewhere, and started a new family. I no longer have a home of my own in Minsk.”

"Oh, I...I'm sorry." Hu Yi sighed. "So—you came to Moscow?"

"Yes," Natasha's tone brightened slightly. "Later, my boyfriend brought me to Moscow and helped me find a new job at his father's company."

Hu Yi's face stiffened: "Your...boyfriend?"

"That's right. Why?" Natasha's eyes sparkled as she stared intently at Hu Yi. Seeing the extremely awkward expression on his face, she shrugged slightly. "We broke up not long ago, so I quit my job."

"Oh! I see." Hu Yi relaxed, then a thought struck her as she remembered how nervous Little Ma had been towards her earlier, and she couldn't help but blurt out, "Your ex-boyfriend is... Maxim?"

"Maxim? Which Maxim?"

"Is he the dormitory manager for Building 10?"

"What did you say?" Natasha giggled. "Maxim is my uncle! After I broke up with my boyfriend, I lost my job and had nowhere to live, so he arranged for me to stay in the room next to yours temporarily."

"Uncle?! Oh! It's your uncle!" Hu Yi's mood brightened instantly. He let out a long sigh of relief, scratched his head, and grinned foolishly. "He's Russian, and you're from Belarus. I never imagined you two were family."

Natasha suddenly paused, a complex emotion flashing across her face that was difficult for Hu Yi to discern: "Yes, my maternal grandfather lived in Kiev before he passed away. Later, my mother married and moved to Minsk, and my uncle came to Moscow. At that time... we were still in the same country."

(End of this chapter)