thefictionvixens 043 Li Baoqing's Plan
043 Li Baoqing's Plan
Moscow is a city without autumn; the season for wearing short sleeves had just passed when sporadic snowflakes began to fall. After several heavy snowfalls, it was already mid-December. Hu Yi was buying lunch at a restaurant when Li Baoqing excitedly ran up and lined up behind him: "Old Hu! Dali said that the Chinese Embassy is organizing a party for international students on New Year's Day, and each school has a limited number of spots. He signed all three of us up!"
"The embassy is organizing a get-together? What's the point?" Hu Yi moved his tray forward and said to the plump woman behind the table, "Chicken cutlet, mashed potatoes, buckwheat rice, bread, beet soup, um... and a piece of fish, please."
"Please give me the same one." Li Baoqing waved to the middle-aged woman with a beaming smile, then turned and said, "Anyway, he's already registered us, so let's go take a look. There's a car to pick us up, lunch is provided, why not go? Maybe we can even meet some embassy leaders, which will be convenient if we need to get anything done in the future, what do you say?"
"You're overthinking it. Why suffer in this freezing weather?" Hu Yi rolled his eyes, seeing the expectant look on Li Baoqing's face, and asked, "Are there any beauties?"
"Of course there are! With so many Chinese students in Moscow, how could there not be a few pretty girls?"
"Alright, I'll accompany you two on this trip."
The two finished their meal with a casual chat. As they got up to leave, a Russian girl chased after them. She had long, wavy blonde hair, crescent-shaped eyes, and heavy eyeliner and lipstick, giving her a rather alluring look.
"Baoqing!"
"Hi!" Li Baoqing raised his hand in greeting, looking slightly reserved.
"Come with me to the movies after class!" Her wavy smile was incredibly sweet.
"A movie? Hmm... um... where to?"
"Of course it's the movie theater. It's not too far from here, and there's a Chinese movie playing right now."
Li Baoqing scratched his face hesitantly, seemingly unsure of what to do. Hu Yi asked curiously, "Chinese films?"
"Yes." The wavy-haired man smiled at Hu Yi. "You're Chinese too, right? I'll invite another friend, and the four of us can go together, okay?"
"Great!" Hu Yixing excitedly nudged Li Baoqing. "What movie is it? It's showing in Russia! Let's go see it together!"
"Well, then... let's go see it." Li Baoqing nodded.
"Okay, see you at the door after class." The wavy-haired girl winked and turned to leave. Hu Yi watched her walk away, then turned to look at the blushing Li Baoqing: "Your girlfriend?"
"No, no, I'm a first-year journalism student. We met while taking PE class together and learning to ski in the woods."
"Are you interested in me?"
Li Baoqing chuckled to himself, "It seems...it seems like there's some truth to it. I'm not sure, but anyway, she's always trying to tease me."
"I didn't realize you were so popular with Russian girls! Last year it was Maserati, and now there's this big-waisted one." Hu Yi put his arm around his shoulder. "No wonder you're always hanging around Building 11, you're always going to see her, aren't you?"
"No, no, no, how could that be?" Li Baoqing said in a panic, "I always go to Feifei... to learn, really!"
We met at the school gate after class. The Russian girl who came with Big Wave was very short, with her cheeks covered in light brown freckles, as if she had accidentally smeared millet porridge on her face. She was small and thin, looking malnourished, and was completely unlike the Slavic women we usually saw. Instead, she resembled Dongzi's younger sister, Xiang Nan.
The four took the subway to the movie theater. Big Wave chatted and laughed with Hu and Li the whole way, while Millet Porridge followed behind coldly without saying a word. When they entered the empty screening room, Big Wave sat down next to Li Baoqing in a generous manner, while Hu Yi hesitated for a moment, then tactfully sat down next to Millet Porridge.
The film is called *Suzhou River*, with original Chinese audio and Russian subtitles. Zhou Xun, then a relatively unknown actress, plays two roles, sometimes simple and innocent, sometimes cold and bewildered. The film's interwoven narrative and oppressive atmosphere left Hu Yi feeling somewhat confused and saddened.
But the young man ultimately didn't quite like this kind of obscure romantic drama, and soon he was yawning non-stop. Stealing a glance to the side, he saw the wavy-haired woman twisting her body and striking poses, while Li Baoqing stared intently at the screen, like a clay figure in a temple.
"Fool." Hu Yi chuckled inwardly, then glanced at the expressionless Xiao Mi Zhou beside him. Sensing the awkward atmosphere, he tried to make conversation, asking, "Can you understand it?"
"There are subtitles." Xiaomizhou stared straight ahead, her voice as cold as ice.
"Oh, right." Hu Yi paused for a moment, "But the subtitles aren't very clear, and they're a bit shaky."
"I can see clearly." Xiao Mi Zhou gave me a polite smile with a hint of sympathy: "Don't bother talking to me, I just came with her."
Hu Yi was taken aback, then chuckled awkwardly, "Thank goodness. Actually, I'm the same; I'm here to keep him company."
After finally managing to hold on until the movie ended and seeing off Big Wave and Millet Porridge, Hu Yi looked at the exhausted Li Baoqing and said with disdain, "It's just accompanying a girl to a movie, why are you so tired? What were you so nervous about?"
"How can I not be nervous?" Li Baoqing wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "She keeps flirting with me."
"Haha, then you might as well just go for it!" Hu Yi glanced in the direction the big-wave girl had left. "I think that girl's pretty wild, she'd definitely suit you."
"It's not appropriate...no way." Li Baoqing scratched his head, hesitating to speak, "I can't...I can't be sorry..."
"What? Who are you sorry to?" Hu Yi pressed, "Tell me!"
Li Baoqing hesitated for a moment before softly uttering two words: "Feifei."
"Feifei? Yu Feifei?!" Hu Yi stopped in his tracks. He and Zhou Dali had long noticed that Li Baoqing had been acting strangely lately. Every night when he returned from Building 11, his face was filled with a blissful expression, and sometimes he would unconsciously hum a few lines of a sweet, slightly cheesy love song. The two secretly guessed that he must have some improper thoughts about Yu Feifei, so they weren't too surprised to hear him mention Feifei's name.
But Hu Yi paused for two seconds, then looked at him in surprise and laughed, "You and her? Oh my? When did you get together?"
"No, no, don't talk nonsense." Li Baoqing hurriedly shook his head: "Not yet, I'm just about to find an opportunity to tell her."
"Really?" Hu Yi blinked twice. "Doesn't Feifei have a boyfriend in China?"
"We broke up during the summer vacation," Li Baoqing said with a smug smile. "I only found out last month."
"Wow, looks like you've been planning this for a while! So, are you confident? What's her attitude?"
"I feel... she probably has a little bit of a crush on me too. Of course, it's just my feeling."
"Hey, you're doing well! When are you planning to make your move?"
"We had dinner together on Christmas Eve, right? I planned to personally walk her back to Building 11 after dinner. There wouldn't be many people outside then, and it would be pitch black, so she wouldn't be nervous." Li Baoqing looked up slightly at the sky, lost in his own plan to propose: "I've thought about it so many times. That night, Feifei and I will walk side by side on a path, the bright moonlight shining on the snow—or maybe it will be snowing heavily—I'll suddenly call her name softly, and when she turns around, I'll hold her hands tightly and confess my love to her face to face—hey, Lao Hu, don't you think that's incredibly romantic?"
"So flirtatious, so incredibly flirtatious."
"That should be enough to win her over, right?"
"It can be hit, it definitely can be hit." Hu Yi stared at Li Baoqing with a sly smile: "I'll freeze you to death, you little brat."
Most Russians are Orthodox Christians, and Christmas is celebrated on January 7th according to the Orthodox calendar. However, major cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg have a large foreign population, including many Catholics and Protestants, so the traditional Christmas atmosphere is also very strong.
The vast majority of Chinese students are not religious, but young people are lively and, being in a foreign country, they are happy to adapt to local customs and enjoy participating in various festivals.
Previously, the Chinese students at Maji were mainly from Shandong, with more than twenty living in one building. They saw each other frequently and became quite familiar with one another. The number of Chinese students at the ANU (African University of International Business and Economics) was in the hundreds, mostly from various provinces in Northeast, North, and Central China. Their dormitories were also more scattered, naturally leading to the formation of various small cliques.
Hu Yi and Li Baoqing hadn't yet integrated into any of the groups. They couldn't find any seniors or fellow countrymen here, and their acquaintances with the other Chinese in Building 6 were merely nodding acquaintances, making their Christmas Eve dinner rather quiet. Fortunately, Yu Feifei brought along her Thai roommate, and Peng Song, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, also made a special trip from Maji to join everyone, which brought some liveliness to the room.
Pengsong was a little thinner than a few months ago, and his appearance had improved somewhat; he was no longer as slovenly as before, but he didn't seem to be in a good mood. Maji's classmates were still intentionally or unintentionally ignoring him, and the newly enrolled preparatory students, after hearing about his story, also kept their distance from him. So Pengsong now had almost no friends, spending his days sitting idly with his Ugandan roommate. He was naturally very happy to have the opportunity to come to the Friendship University to visit his old friend.
Li Baoqing, who was cooking in the kitchen, looked rather dejected. As he poured soy sauce into the stew pot, he muttered with a bitter face, "Old Hu, it looks like my plan is going to fall through."
Why?
"Didn't you see that Feifei brought her Thai roommate? I didn't have a chance to take her home alone!"
"What are you afraid of? She doesn't understand Chinese anyway."
"That won't do, I'll definitely get nervous if someone's around."
"Can't you send her away? Or find a chance to leave Feifei alone?"
"Wouldn't doing this seem too deliberate? Feifei is so smart, she'll definitely sense something before I even open my mouth. What if she's prepared in advance... No, I'll still get nervous!"
"Ugh, you're so useless!" Hu Yi scolded, hands on his hips. "Then just tell her during dinner, find some excuse to call her out to a secluded place—use your brain! Opportunities are created by yourself, you know?"
"Okay, I'll do it your way." Li Baoqing nodded mechanically, pointing to the potatoes on the cutting board: "I'll find a quiet place to work on my brain first. You peel the potatoes for me."