My hometown is far away in Moscow.

018 Bayin, bleeding from a head wound

"Oh dear! What happened?! What's going on?" Li Baoqing hurried forward and saw two people at the door covered in blood. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were Bayin and Shibinglian.

Hu Yi hurriedly went over and asked, "Bayin, what happened?" In the dim light, he saw that Persimmon Face had been beaten so badly that his skin was torn and bleeding. His already fierce, flat face was covered with congealed blood, making him look quite terrifying.

Bayin appeared to be slightly less injured, but he was still bruised and swollen, with a large gash near his eye and dried blood around his nose and mouth. His already high and prominent cheekbones made his injured face appear even more swollen, and his small eyes were almost completely hidden by the wounds and bloodstains.

"Skinhead, at the basketball court on the street," Bayin replied in a hoarse voice, straightening his back as if unwilling to lose face for Mongolians in front of his foreign friends. Unfortunately, his bruised and swollen face was too much of a blow to his pride, so he could only look down at the floor.

Hu Yi asked, bewildered, "Why...why?"

Bayin shook his head and didn't speak. The man with the persimmon-shaped face replied coldly, "For no reason."

Students hurrying in and out of the gate cast curious and sympathetic glances at the two Mongolians. Security guards and shop owners huddled together, watching from a distance, whispering and shaking their heads in disapproval. Li Baoqing clicked his tongue repeatedly, frowning as he turned to Hu Yi and whispered, "He just said 'tear...tear what?'"

"Skinhead, that's the skinheads," Hu Yi explained in a low voice. He felt a little panicked. In his early days in Moscow, he often heard people talk about the skinheads' various atrocities, but he had never actually encountered them. As time went on, he gradually stopped taking it seriously.

The encounter of these two Mongolians reminded him that there was such a dangerous group on the street, and he should be more careful when going out in the future.

Bayin and the man with the persimmon-shaped face refused to linger downstairs. Stubbornly straightening their backs, they walked towards the elevator, their eyes coldly fixed ahead, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Li Baoqing watched their retreating figures and muttered to himself, "How...how could they do this? It's utterly lawless."

Back in the dormitory, Li Baoqing rushed into the kitchen to cook instant noodles, while Hu Yi rummaged through a box and found a small bottle of Yunnan Baiyao. He then went to Bayin's room and knocked on the door.

Bayin had just washed the blood off his face and was covering the wound at the corner of his eye with a towel, his expression as cold and resolute as ever.

"Medicine." Hu Yi pointed to his face and gestured to explain how to use it.

"Thank you." Bayin looked at Hu Yi gratefully, then lowered his head and bit his lip hard, seemingly trying his best to suppress his emotions. Suddenly, he covered his mouth with his hand, and his body began to tremble slightly uncontrollably.

He cried? Hu Yi was slightly taken aback, feeling a pang of unease. This Mongolian lad had always given the impression of a tough, resolute man, yet today he was weeping in front of him, a foreigner. It was clear that his recent ordeal must have been incredibly humiliating.

Thinking of this, Hu Yi couldn't help but empathize with him, and quickly patted his shoulder gently to comfort him, "It's okay, don't be like this. There are many skinheads. There are few Mongolians. Don't be sad, get some rest and sleep."

Bayin raised his head, but there were no tears in his eyes; instead, he was smiling with his lips pursed. His face was covered in bruises and swelling, and his smile was both happy and restrained, making his distorted appearance almost eerie.

Hu Yi felt uneasy and asked in a low voice, "What...what are you laughing at?"

Perhaps the grimacing aggravated his wound, for Bayin winced in pain, trying to suppress a laugh as he asked, "Anton, what happened to your hair?"

Hu Yi's face turned green, but he forced a smile and said, "What? You think... it looks good?"

"Not happy at all, not happy at all." Bayin casually threw the blood-stained towel on the table, put his hands on his hips and said, "Honestly, seeing your hair makes my face stop hurting."

Damn it, he actually had the nerve to fuss over my hair. Looks like he didn't get a good beating. Hu Yi chuckled and cursed, giving Bayin a light punch in the chest. He turned and went out, standing in the corridor for a moment to think before walking straight to Yu Feifei's room and knocking on the door.

Dam opened the door. She looked up at Hu Yi, her large eyes gleaming with an unusual light: "Oh? Your hair..."

"I understand, I understand." Hu Yi smiled irritably. "Is Feifei home?"

"She's taking a shower," Dam shouted into the bathroom. "Fifi, Anton's here!"

The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped, and Yu Feifei opened the door a crack, revealing half her face, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." Hu Yi turned away somewhat awkwardly. "Where are your long scissors? Can I borrow them? I want to... cut my hair."

"How are you going to cut it yourself?" Yu Feifei chuckled a few times from behind the door. "You go back first, I'll come help you later."

Hu Yi was delighted: "Great. You can cut hair?"

"I guess I know a little bit," Yu Feifei blinked. "I used to shave our dog a lot."

Back inside, Li Baoqing had already devoured a large bowl of instant noodles and was now hunched over the table, doing his homework with a distressed expression. Hu Yi finished the bowl Li Baoqing had left for him, cleaned up the dishes, and then picked up a mirror, carefully considering how to fix his messy hairstyle.

Just as I was worrying, Yu Feifei knocked on the door and came in with scissors and a raincoat. Her long, wet, black hair was casually draped behind her head, and a high-necked, fitted beige sweater perfectly hugged her body curves, making her waist look slender and shapely. She exuded an irresistible youthful charm like a girl next door.

Hu Yi and Li Baoqing both felt their cheeks burning and couldn't help but stare at her a few more times. Yu Feifei, oblivious to their strange behavior, handed the raincoat to Hu Yi: "Sit down and put this on."

Hu Yi obediently put on the raincoat and sat quietly on the chair in the middle of the room. Yu Feifei walked around him, then gestured a few times on his head as if she knew what she was doing, staring at Hu Yi and hesitatingly said, "Actually, I'm not very confident either. What if... what if I don't cut it well? Don't blame me."

Hu Yi closed his eyes and said, "It's okay, I just need to get rid of these few tufts of hair on my forehead." He usually acted very carefree in front of his classmates, but now he seemed to be melted by the femininity emanating from Yu Feifei. He encouraged her softly, "Just think of it as shaving your dog. Anyway, whatever you cut it will be better than how it looks now."

Yu Feifei smiled and bent down to begin. Hu Yi smelled a faint fragrance, unable to tell whether it came from her hair or her body. He only felt a soft, boneless hand sliding over his head, and he couldn't help but feel his heart flutter.

In this situation, Yu Feifei's skills seemed less important. Since there was no mirror in front of him, Hu Yi stopped worrying about how his hair would be cut and simply let her do as she pleased.

Yu Feifei's expression was solemn as she carefully trimmed the hair bit by bit. Sometimes she would gasp in surprise and stick out her tongue, sometimes she would stare at Hu Yi in silence, and sometimes she would nod in satisfaction. Li Baoqing would occasionally chuckle slyly behind her, making Hu Yi feel uneasy.

After fiddling with it for a good half hour, Yu Feifei finally stopped. She circled around Hu Yi, carefully examining him from all angles, and hesitantly held up a small mirror in front of him: "Take a look, is this okay?"