Chapter 15 The Real World
"Olga has known that you live here for a long time," Julia continued, "and it was she who originally suggested that we rent the 11th floor. The purpose was naturally to have a chance to get closer to you."
"No, that's impossible. It doesn't make sense," Yuri argued distractedly. "If she wanted to get close to me, why didn't Olga look for me in the past month?"
"Because she is so confident that I believe that as long as you have seen her, you will definitely take the initiative to find her," Qiao Liya answered casually, "She has had this confidence since she was a child. No, I should say, since she realized how beautiful she is."
"But why did she do this?" Yuri asked again, "As you all know, I have nothing, I..."
"You do," Julia said before he could finish his words, "Of course you do, and what you have, or what Olga can get from you, is exactly what people like us have been pursuing."
"Olga and I are both from Nosyak, a small town in Upper Vilyusk," Julia said. "Haha, it's called a small town, but it was actually a concentration camp. Every household in the town was an exiled rich peasant. Do you know what kind of life we led since we were young? There, we had no freedom at all. We even needed the permission of the guards to leave the town. Our food, clothing, and daily necessities were all restricted and had to be distributed. We didn't even have the right to make a stool or weave a pair of straw sandals by ourselves. The guards would confiscate everything that could be defined as 'private property'."
"Those things are all in the past, aren't they?" Yuri couldn't help but say when he saw her stop.
"It's over? Is that true?" Julia said disapprovingly. "Yes, on the surface, everything in the past is over. We have joined the collective farm, we can also enter the factory and join the army, but what is the reality? The reality is that in the collective farm, members with political backgrounds like us do the heaviest work, but are allocated the least necessities. In the factory, we do the work that others are unwilling to do, but we get the lowest salary. Not only that, we can't complain, otherwise we are against the Soviets and are criminal saboteurs. In the army, it's the same. We are looked down upon and excluded. We are a completely isolated group. You can see all this."
Yuri remained silent. After all, the things he had seen in history books were not as realistic and specific as what he encountered in reality.
"I know what Olga is thinking," Julia drank very quickly. After only three or four sips, she finished a bottle of vodka. Shaking the empty bottle, she continued, "She wants to learn from Sister Olena... Oh, you probably don't know that Olga has a sister, um, a biological sister named Olena. It was this sister Olena who married a captain four years ago. Although the captain died in the Battle of Nomonhan, Sister Olena still managed to get rid of her past life. She moved to Moscow and now works at the Skolakh Candy Factory. She has become a cadre and joined the party. Now no one will say that she is a rich peasant lamb, but only that she is the widow of a martyr. That's right, this is the only way for us to get rid of the past, to find a good man to marry and completely break away from our former family. Olga wants to take this path, and her current target is obviously you."
Yuri was speechless. Qiao Liya's words made him believe it. If he were asked to describe his current feelings, he really couldn't say. Disappointed? Not really; sad? Not to that extent yet; angry? It didn't seem like there was anything to be angry about. He just felt uncomfortable.
Everyone has the right to pursue a happy life, which Yuri can understand. In the process of pursuing this, using certain means seems to be nothing wrong. However, if the target of these means becomes oneself, no one would feel happy.
"Why, don't you still believe me?" Julia couldn't help but say when she saw him remain silent.
"I believe it," Yuri asked with a wry smile, "But why are you telling me this? Is it just because you are jealous?"
"I also have the right to pursue my own life," Julia stood up, holding the collar of her coat with both hands, and gently spread it to both sides, saying, "Why do you have to focus all your attention on Olga? I am also a woman, and I am also very beautiful. Moreover, my figure is better than Olga's, isn't it?"
Just as Yuri guessed, Qiao Liya was indeed wearing only underwear under her coat, but it was military-style women's underwear. To put it bluntly, it was a round-necked white shirt with a rope on the collar that could be tightened by pulling it. As for her lower body, it was the kind of tight, thick-threaded pants that looked ugly. There was also no aesthetic appeal, and it was not even close to being sexy. However, wearing only this kind of underwear could still show off her figure. Compared with wearing a bulky cotton coat, it could still show off her figure well.
"What's the difference between you and Olga?" Yuri tried his best to look away from Julia's plump breasts and said calmly, "You both have the same idea. Why should I choose you instead of her?"
"Because I am more proactive, and my requirements are far less than Olga's." Julia took another step forward, put her arms on Yuri's shoulders, and said in a charming voice, "Olga is too confident, so she won't take the initiative like me. Besides, she wants to be your wife, but I am not. You just need to give me a little help, and I can be your lover."
"What help?" Yuri swallowed and asked subconsciously.
"The song called 'Hawthorn Tree' and the story behind the song," Julia took another step forward, pressed her body against Yuri, and said.
"What do you mean?" Yuri asked in surprise.
"Don't you understand what I mean?" Qiao Liya raised her head, as if she was smelling something, and buried her whole face in Yuri's neck. "The hero of this song, your comrade, has died on the battlefield, and I will be the heroine in the story."
Now Yuri understood what she meant. It turned out that she wanted to be the woman pursued by the so-called "comrade-in-arms".
"Isn't this a very touching story?" Julia pecked Yuri's chin lightly and said, "A young lieutenant died on the battlefield. He left nothing behind but a beautiful song and a love affair that had no ending. Later, his former comrade-in-arms accidentally met the lover he had been pursuing, and the song was continued to be sung by his lover."
"Lieutenant?" Yuri said with a wry smile, "I don't even know the name of that comrade, and this is a lie after all. Aren't you afraid of being exposed?"
"Only lies that someone cares about will be exposed. And who do you think will care about this lie? The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs?" Qiao Liya said disdainfully, "Besides, how many people have died in this war in the north? One hundred thousand or two hundred thousand? Who would care about an ordinary lieutenant?"
"But what about the name? We can always find it with the name." Yuri said.
"You can say you don't know his name," Julia said without hesitation. "I believe that as long as you can make this story more complete and give it more distinctive representative significance, there will always be someone to help you fill in the gaps."
The corners of Yuri's mouth twitched. Julia's words made him think of Colonel Dmitry involuntarily.
"How about it?" Qiao Liya seemed to see his heartbeat and continued to seduce him, "Think about it, you can also benefit from this story. And as a comrade, you have the obligation to take care of a sad woman like me, right? In this way, you can interact with me openly, and I will be your lover forever."
"But what about your friends? For example, Olga, they know the truth." Yuri expressed another concern.
"Why should we worry about them?" Qiao Liya said with disdain, "They are just a bunch of rich peasants. As long as this is done, not to mention that they dare not say anything publicly, even if they do, who will believe it? What's more, I will give them some benefits to appease them. No one knows better than me how inferior they are. As long as you grasp their weaknesses, not to mention asking them to keep the secret, they will even accept it even if they are asked to sleep with you."
Yuri looked at the woman in front of him in astonishment. He could never have imagined that this woman would describe her friends in this way. However, while he was astonished, some obscene images flashed through Yuri's mind, which made him react.
"You are moved," Qiao Liya, who was clinging to him, immediately felt his impulse. The woman smiled seductively, and the hand on Yuri's shoulder dropped down and directly touched the bulge between his legs. "Yes, you have reason to be moved, because in this deal, you don't need to pay anything, just come up with a good story. As for the rest, you just need to enjoy the fruits."
Yes, why should I care so much? It’s just a made-up story. There are so many things in this world, who would care about the truth or falsehood of a small story?
After letting go of his worries, Yuri's breathing began to become heavy. Julia felt his impulse, giggled, and took his hand and walked towards the bedroom.
