My hometown is far away in Moscow.

047 1 Gust

"That's good, that's good." Sixth Brother smiled and stared at Hu Yi. "Young people are hot-tempered, it's inevitable that they'll have minor conflicts from time to time. I was young once too, I completely understand. But everything has its limits. You're all classmates at Youda University, if you have conflicts, you can sit down and talk it out, but it's best not to involve people from outside the university, and you definitely shouldn't resort to violence. Otherwise, if the school gets involved, it won't do anyone any good. Don't you agree?"

Hu Yi felt a chill run down his spine, vaguely sensing that his sixth brother's words were gentle yet firm, highly targeted, but also reasonable. He could only smile wryly and nod, "Yes, I understand."

"Alright, get in the car, let's head out." Sixth Brother patted Hu Yi's shoulder with satisfaction, stepped aside to open the car door, and called into the car, "It's time, is everyone here?"

Wang Shen leaned out of the passenger window and replied, "Only the old house is missing—hey, it's here!"

Hu Yi and Li Baoqing turned their heads and saw a tall, strong, fair-skinned man walking briskly towards the minibus, carrying a large old-fashioned leather suitcase. From a distance, he complained in a crisp Hebei accent, "Hey, Xiao Liu, you guys are so leisurely! I got up early this morning and busied myself getting ready. This guy exhausted me, and even though I rushed, I was still two minutes late."

Sixth Brother laughed heartily: "Brother Fang, we're counting on you to make our university shine today. Even if you're an hour late, we'll still wait for you."

"That won't do. A person should be punctual and trustworthy, shouldn't they?" Brother Fang swayed his neck, tilted his head, and strode to the car door. He glanced at Hu Yi and Li Baoqing and said, "Oh, these two kids are new here, aren't they? I've never seen them before."

"We are in the preparatory course." Hu Yi nodded cautiously, carefully looking at Fang Ge. He was tall and burly, with delicate features, broad shoulders and a thick waist, fair skin and tender flesh, and a long ponytail tied behind his head, which made him look a little awkward.

Li Baoqing smiled憨厚ly: "My name is Li Baoqing, and his name is... Hu Yi."

"My name is Fang Qing, you can just call me Brother Fang. But let me make this clear, don't let my youthful appearance fool you, it's just that I take good care of myself. Actually, we're from different generations, I'm not much younger than your father." Fang Qing carried his suitcase into the car, turned back and smiled at Hu Yi: "Look at this kid, how energetic he is! And that one, how... how... how adorable he is. Two big guys, each one is very likable."

Hu Yi and the other two followed Sixth Brother into the car and sat down in the empty seats at the back. As the car started moving, Li Baoqing asked in a low voice, "This Brother Fang's tone is really... really... you know, listening to him make me feel uncomfortable."

Zhou Dali chuckled softly: "Brother Fang sings Peking Opera, I think he plays a female role. Maybe it's just a professional habit. Look at those masters, they're all pretty much like that."

"Oh!" Hu Yi glanced thoughtfully at the suitcase next to Fang Qing. "He said he's packing his things. Could it be that he's going to sing a song at the party?"

"Of course, whenever there's an opportunity to perform, Brother Fang will definitely be there," Zhou Dali said. "I heard he used to be a pastry chef at a high-end hotel, but for some reason he quit his job and came to study. He's quite old now, it's really not easy for him."

The party was held in an auditorium of the embassy, ​​where Chinese student representatives from various universities in Moscow gathered together. The embassy provided everyone with cold dishes, snacks and drinks. The leaders gave a string of polite remarks in a cheerful manner, and the students who could sing and dance took turns performing on stage. The others sat below, eating and drinking, and the format was not much different from the class parties in high school.

Hu Yi wasn't very enthusiastic about this kind of group activity. He listlessly ate sunflower seeds and looked around, looking completely uninterested. Li Baoqing, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of the party. He watched each performance with great focus and occasionally chatted a few words with strangers nearby, displaying the demeanor of an enthusiastic and energetic progressive young man.

During a break in the program, the leader who had just spoken was surrounded by a group of students asking him all sorts of questions. The leader appeared kind and chatted with everyone in a relaxed manner. Li Baoqing also eagerly joined in, finally managing to get a chance to say a few words to the leader, but this only drew laughter from the others around him.

Li Baoqing returned dejectedly and sat down, grabbing a few raisins and popping them into his mouth with a disgruntled expression. Hu Yi and Zhou Dali asked in unison, "What's wrong?"

Li Baoqing sullenly crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair: "Damn it, judging people by their appearance."

Hu Yi spat out a sunflower seed shell with a "pop" and laughed, "Who told you to be so ugly? There are so many beautiful women around him, what else would he choose if not his looks? If it were me, I wouldn't even bother with you."

Li Baoqing said angrily, "It's fine if we ignore him, the problem is that the old man doesn't speak like a human being."

Zhou Dali blinked curiously: "What were you guys talking about?"

Li Baoqing looked at Hu Yi: "Old Hu, do you still remember what kind of job I want to do in the future?"

"How would I know?"

"Have you forgotten? I want to work at the embassy to help my fellow Chinese citizens. I told you that on the train." Li Baoqing said, "I just asked him what preparations he needs to make if he wants to work at the embassy after graduation."

"What did he say?"

"The old man gave me a sarcastic look and laughed, saying that diplomatic work concerns the image and reputation of the country, and is not suitable for me. He told me to find a way to remove the scars on my face!"

"How do you remove scars?" Zhou Dali frowned. "That's a bit much. How can you talk like that?"

"Of course!" Li Baoqing spat, "You son of a bitch!"

Hu Yi was also secretly angry. He wanted to join in the cursing, but seeing that Li Baoqing was still unable to calm down, he comforted him, "Don't listen to his nonsense. That old guy is probably just a nobody in the embassy. Does he have any say? Let me tell you, the higher the rank, the more cultured people are. Those who speak rudely are just lowly pawns, just bullies relying on their master's power."

"That makes sense." Li Baoqing felt a little relieved, and sighed as he turned his anger into a smile. "But what he said isn't entirely wrong either; my face does indeed damage our country's image."

Hu Yi and Zhou Dali burst into laughter. Just then, the host walked onto the stage with a smile: "The next program is a performance by Fang Qing from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, who will present a selection from the Peking Opera 'The Universe's Edge'."

The room was somewhat noisy, the host's voice wasn't loud enough, and the three of them knew very little about Peking Opera repertoire. They looked at each other blankly and asked, "What kind of selection is this?"

"It should be some kind of wind." Hu Yi was very confident about the last word.

"It sounds like some kind of stroke, a fish stroke?" Zhou Dali hesitated. "Is this a Peking Opera excerpt? The name is so strange."

"How could a fish have a stroke?" Li Baoqing closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. "It's 'A Gust of Wind,' that's right, it's definitely not some fish having a stroke."

Hu Yi and Zhou Dali suddenly realized. At this moment, Fang Qing slowly walked onto the stage. From a distance, his makeup and costume looked very professional. However, he just stood there shaking his head, waving his hands and flicking his sleeves, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound could be heard.

The theater quieted down a bit, and the three of them listened intently. They could faintly hear intermittent gurgling sounds, like the humming of mosquitoes, slowly lulling them to sleep, without any of the swiftness and lightness of a "gust of wind".

Fang Qing hummed for over ten minutes straight, then bowed and stepped off the stage, eliciting sparse applause from the crowd. Hu Yi frowned: "This Brother Fang looks tall and strong, and speaks with a powerful voice, so why is his singing so lacking? Is he an amateur?"

"I don't know, this is the first time I've heard it too," Zhou Dali said with an awkward smile. "Anyway, he said he's a professional, and he often practices his singing in dormitory building number 10 when he has nothing to do, disturbing the neighbors."

"He's probably an amateur, a Peking Opera enthusiast." Li Baoqing exclaimed with admiration, "In any case, his courage to perform on stage is admirable. He's promoting Chinese culture, so at least his courage is commendable."

After watching Fang Ge's show, and having made a fool of himself in front of the embassy staff, the three of them lost interest and sat quietly for a while watching the song and dance performance before deciding to leave early.

Just as Zhou Dali stepped out of the auditorium's small door, he saw Fang Qing, who had removed his makeup, hurrying out from backstage. Zhou Dali quickly greeted him, "Brother Fang, are you leaving too?"

"Let's go!" Fang Qing said with a sullen expression. "I'm too ashamed to stay here any longer."

Zhou Dali was taken aback: "What happened?"

"Oh, don't even mention it. This auditorium isn't a professional theater; the backstage area is too small. With so many actors crammed together, it was so chaotic! I was drenched in sweat, and changing clothes and putting on makeup was such a hassle. There simply wasn't enough time." Fang Qing sighed, her face clouded with worry. "This guy exhausted me. I was rushing around getting everything ready, and now my chest is so tight! I couldn't even sing on stage. It's infuriating! Did any of you three even see my performance? Could you even hear me from down there?"

"It's too messy in the room, I can't hear very well," Hu Yi replied honestly. "It would be great if we had a microphone."

"That won't do! A good voice is a fundamental skill for actors. Who sings Peking Opera with a microphone? It's too embarrassing!" Fang Qing said dejectedly. "Normally, even performing at the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia, I can be heard perfectly clearly by the entire audience. Today was a complete lapse in performance, all because of the backstage setup. It was a failure, a total failure!"

Li Baoqing kindly comforted her, saying, "I think you sang quite well. Although none of us have heard of this song... 'A Gust of Wind,' but..."

"What's so good about it? What's so good about it? What do you kids know? This is a national treasure, profound and extensive!" Fang Qing didn't even notice that Li Baoqing had mispronounced the song title. He sighed deeply, "I, Fang Qing, started learning this art at the age of six and practiced diligently for twelve years, never once making a mistake on stage. I never expected to make such a fool of myself today. Isn't this going to kill me?"

Li Baoqing didn't dare say anything more, and the four of them took a taxi back to their dormitory. Fang Qing was sullen the whole way, and only after getting out of the car did she suddenly ask, "How do you three usually eat? Can you cook?"

"I know a little, but I don't cook often, it's too much trouble," Li Baoqing said with a simple smile. "It's more convenient to buy it."

"Young people just like to take the easy way out," Fang Qing said kindly, looking at him. "Do you like the food sold outside?"

"Just make do with whatever's available. It's the same few things over and over again, I'm so tired of them."

"Of course! What's so good about that Russian stuff? We Chinese still prefer Chinese food." Fang Qing regained his confident smile. "Let me tell you, I'm a senior pastry chef at a big hotel. I can make all kinds of noodles, and my skills are top-notch! You can buy whatever you want from me. I have meat buns, dumplings, fried dough sticks, and sugar triangles—all handmade by myself. They're affordable and delicious, and all the students at our school love them!"

"Meat buns?!" "Fried dough sticks?!" Hu Yi and Li Baoqing swallowed hard. "Great! Are they served every day?"

"I make it whenever I have time. I basically have one or two dishes every day, and lots of people buy it." Fang Qing was satisfied with their reaction. "But it's a bit late today, so I don't have time to make anything. Next time you want something to eat, just come find me at Building 10, I guarantee you'll love it!"

After saying goodbye to Fang Qing, the three of them returned to their dormitory, laughing and joking. Li Baoqing took off his coat and carefully shook it out: "Damn it, I specially wore a new coat, hoping to make a good impression on the embassy leaders." He then opened the closet door to hang it up: "But I didn't expect that what they cared about was...wait, wait?! Where's my...my suitcase?!"

Hu Yi and Zhou Dali jumped out of bed, only to find Li Baoqing's closet completely empty; the large suitcase was gone. Zhou Dali hurriedly opened the other two closet doors, exclaiming, "Damn it! Mine's gone too! Lao Hu! Yours's gone too!"