Kyoto Night Kiss

Qu Yun walked back from the bathroom, her fingertips still slightly damp from washing her hands.

She stood at the door of the private room and saw Tang Bingqing standing intimately next to Lu Junhe, leaning slightly towards him, and casually brushing her hand against the man's neck.

Lu Junhe's profile was cold and hard, but he didn't push away the person next to him.

The warm yellow light fell on the two of them, and Qu Yun felt a sudden heaviness in her heart, a pang of sadness rising within her.

Tang Bingqing saw her and greeted her with a smile: "Manager Qu, what a coincidence, we meet again."

Lu Junhe also looked up and noticed that even though Qu Yun had applied powder, there was still a mark on one side of her cheek.

He quickly figured it out and squinted at Tang Bingqing.

Tang Bingqing smiled and tried to pull Lu Junhe up to go eat next door. When she couldn't budge him after a couple of tries, she leaned close to his ear and said, "If things get this ugly, who do you think will be the most affected and gossiped about?"

Lu Junhe suddenly stood up, brushed past Tang Bingqing's shoulder, and walked outside.

Tang Bingqing was bumped, but she simply turned to the side and followed him out.

Qu Yun didn't want to drink, and no one dared to force her to.

When she said she wanted to leave, several senior executives rushed to call a taxi for her.

Lu Junhe's face was grim. Tang Bingqing walked over and ran her slender fingers across his chest.

"Don't touch me!" Lu Junhe shouted immediately in disgust.

Tang Bingqing chuckled: "Are you feeling sorry for that woman?"

"But what can you do to me?" Tang Bingqing was not afraid of the man's gaze at all. She thought of the kiss at the villa entrance that day, and her eyes were firm.

"Having tasted what it's like to have something, I won't give it up so easily again."

Lu Junhe sneered and lifted his eyelids: "When did you ever possess it?"

Even if the agreement really does give you the position of the young mistress of the Lu family, I will not love you.

Tang Bingqing's deliberately maintained smile froze.

"It's good that you still remember our agreement. You can't get rid of me until the agreement is over."

"The Lu family is not as prosperous as it used to be, Lu Junhe. If you don't want to go downhill, you will definitely need my parents' support."

This is Tang Bingqing's most valuable trump card.

No matter how outstanding or hardworking Qu Yun is, she can't be reincarnated.

Lu Junhe gave the woman in front of him a deep look.

He chose not to eat this so-called home-cooked meal.

Tang Bingqing lowered her eyelashes, a faint, self-deprecating smile appearing on her lips.

She quickly composed herself and made a phone call before going into the private room for dinner: "Get me something; I'll need it on the island in a few days."

"Are you sure? Bingqing, are you ready to offer yourself to him?"

"Already."

The night was so dark that the streetlights stood alone, and a slight chill wafted in the evening breeze.

Qu Yun walked forward with her head down, her slender figure seemingly already blending into the city.

Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps behind her, approaching from afar and finally stopping steadily beside her.

Lu Junhe grabbed her arm, his voice tinged with anger: "Why didn't you tell me you were hit? Why didn't you dodge that slap? Did you just let her bully you like that?"

Qu Yun felt her eyelids were very heavy. She struggled to push away the hand on her arm, feeling no resentment, but instead a mocking smile appeared on her lips.

"What good would it do if I dodged it?"

"If you're so capable, then avenge me! Go slap Tang Bingqing and try protecting me this once."

Qu Yun paused, staring intently at the silent man before her, her eyes cold and resolute: "Lu Junhe, what you couldn't do seven years ago, you still can't do now."

She knew all too well how to touch the deepest, most guilty spot in this man's heart.

But what good is it to make him feel guilty?

Qu Yun felt that she was not sober because of the glass of liquor she had drunk. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Lu Junhe froze, a pang of pain spreading through his heart.

He watched Qu Yun's retreating figure, and for the first time, he didn't dare to chase after her.

It's because of him.

That's why Qu Yun got slapped.

In the days that followed, Qu Yun neither saw Lu Junhe nor Tang Bingqing again.

Even on the days that were listed in the remarks section as the two people who regularly checked in, they didn't come.

Zhao Yao's wedding is getting closer every day.

Qu Yun originally planned to bring Cheng Chongchong with her to the wedding, but the day after the wedding she received a call from Cheng Tongzhou, who said that his parents were returning to China for medical treatment and that he wanted to spend a few days with Chongchong.

The elderly couple adored their chubby grandson, but due to health problems, they had difficulty even taking care of themselves, so they couldn't keep the child with them.

When Qu Yun saw Cheng's mother, she felt a mix of self-reproach and fear.

She didn't take good care of Cheng Chongchong, which resulted in the six-year-old child having to undergo such a terrible surgery.

However, the moment Cheng's mother saw her, she took her hand, her eyes filled with tears, and said, "You've worked so hard."

"You must have felt so helpless, all alone at the time?"

Qu Yun's nose suddenly stung with tears.

Before taking Cheng Chongchong away, Cheng's mother gave Qu Yun a jade ring. It was of medium quality and not particularly luxurious or valuable, but it carried a warm and gentle charm that had stood the test of time.

Mother Cheng: "This is a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation to daughters-in-law. I don't know if I'll be able to fly again in this condition, so I'm entrusting it to you for safekeeping for now."

Qu Yun refused to accept it.

After considering for a moment, Cheng's mother asked, "You...do you not have any feelings for Tongzhou?"

In the end, the jade ring ended up in Qu Yun's hands.

During the video call that evening, Cheng Tongzhou said, "Just accept it, don't feel too burdened."

"And you'd better wear it for the next few days. That kid Cheng Chongchong is too shrewd. If he misses you and wants to video chat with you, and he doesn't see the ring on your hand, he'll definitely tell my mother."

Qu Yun pursed her lips.

She really liked Cheng Tongzhou's mother. The old lady was kind-hearted and treated her like her own daughter when they were abroad.

She didn't want to upset someone like that.

"Alright, one last thing." Cheng Tongzhou laughed, deliberately moving closer to the camera, and said mysteriously, "The date for my return to China has finally been set; it'll be next month."

"Yunyun, I won't let you suffer like this anymore."

The moment the video call ended, the screen went dark, but Cheng Tongzhou's fingertips remained on the screen, his gaze lingering for a long time.

Outside the window were the lights of a foreign country in the dead of night. The corridor of the clinic had quieted down. He had just finished several back-to-back surgeries, and his brows and eyes were full of fatigue. But when he thought of Qu Yun's smiling face in the video just now, all the angles on his face softened.

He gently stroked the earpiece of the phone, as if the warmth of his conversation with Qu Yun still lingered there.

A nurse pushed the IV cart past and, seeing Cheng Tongzhou's expression, smiled and asked, "Dr. Cheng, you look so happy. Did you talk to your wife again?"

Cheng Tongzhou politely replied, "She is not yet my wife."

"But I miss her very much, and I will definitely become the husband who loves her the most."