Kyoto Night Kiss

Qu Yun felt a little uneasy.

She knew that Lu Jinxing was a very well-behaved child and wouldn't run away for no reason, so after looking around and not seeing the little guy, she realized that he was a good boy.

Qu Yun immediately asked the housekeeper, who was about to leave, "Could you please go to my room and check? My child might have gone back to his room to get something. If you see him, please bring him down."

The butler nodded.

Qu Yun stood up and limped around the hotel lobby looking for her son, calling out, "Lu Jinxing? Lu Jinxing?"

However, no one responded.

Lu Jinxing had already arrived at the room. He squatted down in front of the open suitcase, burying his head and carefully searching for his mother's coat.

The moonlight outside was hazy, and a layer of swaying tree shadows covered the carpet.

Lu Jinxing found his coat and was about to take it out when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a tall, unfamiliar figure on the floor beside him.

The shadow was slowly approaching him, bit by bit.

Dad went out to buy medicine to reduce Mom's swelling.

My mother was in the lobby. If she were the one coming up, her right foot was injured, and she wouldn't be able to walk so steadily.

So, who is this shadow?

Lu Jinxing froze, his small body instantly tensing up.

With a hint of wariness, he got up and immediately prepared to run towards the exit.

Behind her, Tang Bingqing, who had already changed into a hotel cleaning uniform, flashed a ruthless glint in her eyes. She had been waiting here all day and was not about to let the fish that was about to take the bait go back into the water.

Tang Bingqing grabbed a chair from beside her and, with all her might, slammed it down on the child's thin back.

A dull thud resounded.

Lu Jinxing's slender body couldn't withstand the sudden heavy blow and he fell straight onto the cold wooden floor. His arm also accidentally hit the edge of the suitcase, and excruciating pain spread throughout his body.

But he knew he had encountered bad people, and now was not the time to cry.

Lu Jinxing held back his tears and slowly crawled forward.

He wanted to stand up; he wanted to find his mother!

Just as Lu Jinxing was about to get up, Tang Bingqing swiftly stepped forward and pressed down on the child's struggling legs with one knee.

With her other hand, she pulled out a wet wipe that had been soaked in a potent sedative and tightly covered Lu Jinxing's mouth and nose.

The pungent, dizzying smell assaulted his nostrils, and Lu Jinxing's desperate twisting and turning was to no avail.

In just a few seconds, his eyelids drooped limply, his consciousness completely blurred, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Tang Bingqing put away the wet wipes without expression.

She carried Lu Jinxing into the garbage truck, covering him with a black garbage bag. Seeing that the brat was unconscious and still clutching a woman's coat, she felt even more disgusted.

She stuffed the coat under the trash bag, quickly tidied up the scene, moved the chair that had been thrown away back, and then pushed the trash cart into the employee passage.

The next second, the butler walked in.

He searched the bedroom, swimming pool, bathroom, wardrobe, and even under the bed thoroughly, but couldn't find a single child.

The room was empty, with only a few clothes scattered around the rummaged suitcase.

The butler didn't linger and returned to Qu Yun, saying with difficulty, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've searched the entire guest room carefully, and there's no one inside."

"What?" Qu Yun felt a chill run through her limbs and staggered backward.

For some reason, my swollen right foot felt particularly numb at that moment.

She glanced around and saw nothing unusual. Even the cleaning staff had gone off duty and were pushing their garbage carts out to empty the trash.

In an instant, Qu Yun forcibly suppressed the panic in her heart and calmly said, "It's impossible. My child wouldn't leave on his own for no reason."

"Please take me to the hotel's security room immediately. I must find him."

Hotel staff immediately learned of the situation, but just like in China at the time, they said that individuals could not access the surveillance footage and that it was necessary to call the police first and follow the law enforcement procedures.

Qu Yun did not argue. She immediately called the police to report that her child was missing. At the same time, she gave a lot of tips to all the foreigners in front of her, asking them to help look after the child.

Even a second or two ahead can be meaningful.

Lu Junhe received Qu Yun's call and immediately rushed back to the hotel.

He asked, "Where's my son's phone watch? Is there a place on it?"

Qu Yun shook her head, her lips already pale: "I checked... the watch ran out of battery and shut down."

About twenty minutes later, several local police officers rushed into the hotel lobby, accompanied by two consulate staff members who had been notified by Lu Junhe.

The police first asked Qu Yun about the situation and asked her to describe in as much detail as possible what her child was wearing when he went missing, his distinctive features, and so on.

Qu Yun answered in detail.

Police were already reviewing the surveillance footage. Lu Jinxing didn't come out after entering the room. Next to him came out were the cleaning staff who were collecting the trash, followed by his personal butler.

So they immediately targeted the cleaning staff member.

The hotel provided a duty roster, and the police found the woman listed on the roster locked in the last stall of the staff restroom, her head covered in blood from being hit.

"Sir, Madam, we have confirmed that your child has been kidnapped," the police officer said. "However, the kidnapper's face is not clearly visible in the surveillance footage, and it will take some time to trace him."

"Have you considered whether you've recently made enemies with anyone?"

Qu Yun shook her head.

Even Lu Junhe's second uncle is currently detained in China and cannot come over.

The consulate staff also asked, "Mr. Lu, have you received any calls or text messages from unknown numbers demanding ransom?"

Lu Junhe gripped his phone tightly with his fingertips, not letting the screen go dark for even a second.

but.

There were no text messages asking for money or anything else.

He was willing to give anything for his son's safety.

The police asked Qu Yun for Lu Jinxing's photo and then began asking around the hotel if anyone knew anything about the child.

A woman at the front desk who was responsible for registering check-in information gasped when she saw the photo.

In the morning... a Chinese woman came and asked which room the child was staying in.

"What's wrong? Do you know something?" the policeman asked.

Lu Junhe put his arm around Qu Yun, and the two of them looked up together.

The woman pursed her lips and replied, "No... I don't know anything..."

This matter has been exposed; it was her dereliction of duty.

She'll lose this job!

It was a remote, desolate beach, rarely visited by people.

The reservoir's waters flowed swiftly and rapidly, making a deafening roar.

Lu Jinxing slowly opened his eyelids, the pungent smell of the drug still lingering in his nostrils.

As soon as he moved, the rough hemp rope on his wrist cut painfully into his skin. He looked down and realized that he was tied to a rusty iron frame, and no matter how much he twisted and struggled, he could not break free.

The metal door creaked open.

Tang Bingqing walked in slowly, holding a fruit knife that gleamed coldly in her hand.

Seeing that Lu Jinxing was awake, she squatted down, a twisted and hypocritical gentleness on her face, and whispered, "Jinxing, it's been a long time. Do you still remember me as your Aunt Tang?"

"Aunt Tang is going to take you to a really fun place in a little while. Anyway, your parents don't love you at all. They only care about each other and never really consider other people's feelings."

"I'm not going," Lu Jinxing said firmly.

He was not swayed in the slightest by what Tang Bingqing said; his small face was full of composure beyond his years.

Looking directly at Tang Bingqing, Lu Jinxing's voice was childish but clear enough: "Aunt Tang, please stop lying. My mom and dad love me very much."

His mother had confirmed this fact with him during the day in the rainforest.

Lu Jinxing said, "Besides, kidnapping me like this is illegal. My parents will find this place soon. What you're doing will completely ruin your life."

Tang Bingqing was taken aback, probably not expecting a first-grader to say so much.

In that brief moment, she actually saw both Lu Junhe and Qu Yun in that brat.

"Ruin my own life?" Tang Bingqing sneered, then suddenly raised her voice and roared, "My wonderful life was already completely ruined by your parents!"

"If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be in this situation today!"

Seeing the woman in front of him with tears welling up in her eyes and a hint of loss of control, Lu Jinxing softened his tone and said earnestly, "Aunt Tang, how can life be ruined? Even a tree killed by a strangler fig can be put to good use again."

"Besides, Aunt Tang, you're beautiful and capable; you could have had a much better life."

This praise was pure and without any hidden meaning.

It sounds like something a naive first-grader would say.

Tang Bingqing's tense back stiffened slightly, but she still hardened her heart and scolded, "Stop trying to flatter me with your smooth talk, you little brat! It won't work!"

"I'm going to make your parents pay!"

After saying that, Tang Bingqing threw down the knife in her hand and walked out of the abandoned hut.

The wind was strong by the reservoir, relentlessly blowing against her face.

Tang Bingqing was startled when she looked down at the blood still on her hands and the sanitation worker's head.

—What on earth is she doing?

Is she really going to ruin her whole life because she hates two people?

worth it.

But then again... it doesn't seem really worth it...

Inside the house, while Tang Bingqing went outside.

Lu Jinxing cleverly used his toe to hook the fruit knife on the ground aside.

Perhaps he can use this to cut the rope binding his hands.

As his parents had told him, if he encountered danger, he could first run to a safe place to hide.

No matter how long it takes, Mom and Dad will find him.

Yes! He believes his parents will find him!

Lu Junhe quoted an outrageous amount at the hotel.

He would transfer money without hesitation to anyone who could provide any useful information about his child's kidnapping.

Unfortunately, there are still very few clues, and not a single piece of information is related to the kidnappers.

The woman at the front desk was conflicted once again.

As a police officer walked past her, she finally spoke up: "Officer, I...I remember, this morning a Chinese lady came specifically to ask for the room number of this family of three."

"She said the missing little boy's birthday was coming up soon, and she was planning to secretly give him a gift. I only told her the room number after I saw her take out a photo of herself with the child..."

Qu Yun shuddered, enduring the pain in her foot as she took a step forward, her voice filled with astonishment and doubt: "Who is that woman? She must be the kidnapper!"

"My son...my son's birthday is still a long way off, that woman lied!"

The receptionist described the facial features from her memory in a trembling voice.

A chilling aura settled in Lu Junhe's eyes.

He and Qu Yun said in unison, "It's Tang Bingqing."

The police immediately went to track down the location.

Qu Yun bit her fingertip as she watched Lu Junhe add a string of blocked numbers back to the whitelist and then dial it.

She prayed in her heart with everything she cherished.

—I hope nothing happens to my son.

I beg fate to have mercy on her this once more.

begging.

*

What else could she possibly lose?