Kyoto Night Kiss

The car window rolled down.

Standing outside the car was a gentle and kind face. She had aged considerably, with silver streaks at her temples, but her hair was neatly combed. When she smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes would smooth out.

"Aunt Qiuhong," Qu Yun called softly.

The woman was taken aback, then her cheerful voice rang out: "Yunyun, it really is you! When did you come back to China?"

"No wonder I saw a strange car parked here first thing this morning. Never mind, you come down and have breakfast!"

Qu Yun smiled and nodded, her gaze falling on the renovated self-built house behind her.

She returned to her hometown.

Before getting off the bus, Qu Yun called Cheng Tongzhou back, who had been calling her all night.

Cheng Tongzhou answered the call immediately and asked anxiously, "Are you alright?"

"No..." Qu Yun's voice sounded a little tired. "I'm sorry, I forgot to pick you up from the airport last night."

"What's there to apologize for? Where are you now?"

"I've gone back to my hometown."

Cheng Tongzhou was somewhat surprised, but quickly said he would come over.

Qu Yun quickly refused, "No need, I'll be back this evening. Please help me explain to Chongchong."

The house was very clean, and even the flowers in the vase were fresh.

As soon as Qu Yun entered the house, Aunt Qiu Hong was setting out the dishes. She quickly went to help, saying, "Let me do it. You've really taken care of my mother all these years."

"What are you talking about!" Qiu Hong waved her hand, turned around and scooped up three bowls of porridge. "You pay me such a high salary every month, and I don't even have any children."

"Sometimes I really have to thank your mother for not wanting to go to a nursing home!"

After breakfast was laid out, it was time to wake up Mrs. Qu.

In the bedroom, the woman had already woken up and was sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, her fingertips stroking the photo album in her hand.

Upon seeing her mother, whom she hadn't seen for many years, Qu Yun almost burst into tears.

She walked slowly forward and said softly, "Mom."

Upon hearing the sound, Mrs. Qu raised her eyes, a gentle and serene smile spreading across her face.

She pointed to a little girl with pigtails in the photo album, her voice full of doting joy: "Look, this is my daughter, isn't she adorable?"

Qu Yun's throat tightened slightly, and she was about to nod when...

Aunt Qiuhong, who was standing nearby, snatched the photo album away and sighed, "You... you were sober for a while yesterday, but today you can't even recognize your own daughter?"

"Isn't this Yunyun? The very real Yunyun!"

Qu's mother looked at her with gentle eyes, shook her head, and said, "I don't know any Yunyun..."

Qu Yun turned around and wiped away the tears that were about to fall from the corners of her eyes.

My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a year after my father passed away.

At that time, she was already in Vancouver and had thought about bringing her mother to live with her to take care of her, but her mother was like a child and refused to leave the home she had lived in all her life.

She knew that she might have fewer and fewer conscious moments in the future.

At the very least, when you are sober, you should be in the warmest place, the place with the most memories.

And she was the most unfilial daughter in the world.

She tried to escape everything.

Then God unleashed the most painful punishment upon her.

She should be punished for leaving her hometown to study in the first place.

There were always side dishes in Qu Yun's bowl when she ate breakfast.

After Aunt Qiu Hong finished serving her food, she served her mother food.

She asked curiously, "Yunyun, why did you suddenly come back? Didn't your boyfriend come with you?"

"Boy friend?"

"That's the man who helped bury your father back then!"

Qu Yun realized what was going on and replied, "You mean Zhao Yao? He's not my boyfriend; we're just friends."

"Really?" Qiu Hong frowned.

Why did she vaguely remember that the man's surname wasn't Zhao?

Looks like I'll have to go home and look through my business cards.

The midday sun was shining brightly. Qu Yun, who rarely comes back, didn't intend to be idle and prepared to personally give her mother a bath.

After adjusting the water temperature to the optimal level, she carefully helped her mother sit on the bath stool.

Just like when her mother helped her take a bath when she was little.

With gentle movements, she held a bath sponge and patiently and meticulously wiped her mother's limbs and back.

In a daze, her mother suddenly tugged at her sleeve, her face showing a gentle and polite expression, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, you've really gone to so much trouble, thank you."

Each word of thanks brought tears to my eyes.

Qu Yun paused in her work, looked at her bewildered mother, and softly replied, "You're welcome."

"I am your daughter, don't you remember me?"

Mrs. Qu blinked, seemingly apologetic, and replied, "Yes, I know you... You're my daughter, how could I not recognize my own daughter?"

Although her mother said this, Qu Yun still saw the confusion that her mother couldn't hide in her eyes.

In that instant, Qu Yun could no longer hold back the grievances and heartache she had been holding back for so long.

Warm tears rolled down her cheeks without warning.

She knelt down and gently took her mother's slightly cool hand, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. She pleaded again and again, her voice choked with sobs, "Mom, please, don't forget me."

"Please..."

Taking a long shower can easily lead to catching a cold.

Qu Yun quickly composed herself, helped her mother rinse off the soap, wrapped a thick bath towel around her, and helped her to the bedroom to get dressed.

"Let me do it, let me do it." Aunt Qiuhong, who happened to be coming from home, took Qu's mother from Qu Yun's hands.

She skillfully took out a set of clean pajamas from the closet and helped Qu's mother put them on, saying, "In this life, after all the ups and downs, it's good to turn back into a childlike heart when you get old."

"And you, don't be too sad. After all, you have your own life to live, right?"

Qu Yun sniffed; Aunt Qiu Hong must have noticed her reddened eyes.

She reached out to grab a dry towel to help her mother dry her hair.

Aunt Qiuhong snatched it away, scolding, "Why do you always take my work? Let me do it."

Suddenly remembering something, Aunt Qiuhong said, "Yunyun, go outside and look at the business card I left on the table. That person is the one who helped bury your father back then. He also said that if I have any difficulties taking care of your mother, I can contact him."

"Anyway... it's not that Zhao Yao you're talking about."

Qu Yun was full of doubts.

She walked outside the bedroom and picked up a slightly yellowed business card from the corner of the table.

As my gaze slowly swept over the names on the list, I froze.

—Lu Junhe.

The person who personally came here after she went abroad to settle her father's funeral was actually Lu Junhe?

How could that be?

How could that be...?

Qu Yun gripped the edge of the business card tightly with her fingertips. Her legs suddenly went weak, and she collapsed heavily onto the bench behind her.