Kyoto Night Kiss

The intermittent sobbing in the bathroom gradually subsided.

Lu Junhe pressed his fingertips against the cold door panel, but ultimately chose not to push it open and silently went downstairs.

Qu Yun hastily wiped away her tears, looked at her mother whose eyes were red, took a half step forward, and supported her trembling shoulders. "Mom, don't cry."

"I'm afraid of you doing this, so I've never dared to speak up."

She made this family so unhappy.

Several times, Qu's mother raised her hand, but she didn't have the strength to touch her daughter's cheek.

Qu Yun tilted her head and pressed her cheek against her mother's palm. She smiled, tears still clinging to her curved eyelashes.

"You silly child," Qu's mother said, leaning against the sink, her voice choked with sobs, "It's because of you that I want to live."

"It's about surviving, not just existing, do you understand?"

Qu Yun was stunned. The dampness of her tears lingered between the white tiles on all sides. In the mirror, her and her mother's figures were blurry and unsteady.

Her mother wiped her eye with her thumb and continued, "The miscarriage was because of my poor health, it has nothing to do with you."

"Yunyun, you've always been outstanding. You're the only one in the whole village... no, the whole town, who got into such a prestigious university. How can you possibly hate yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Qu Yun's lips trembled, and she looked like she was about to cry again.

She has no doubt about the love of her adoptive parents; they love her even more than her biological parents who abandoned her.

That's why she tries everything she can to give back to her family.

But what about Lu Junhe?

She owes him so much.

She can't make up for it, nor can she repay it.

If she could, she really hoped that Lu Junhe wouldn't fall in love with someone like her.

Qu Yun was embraced by her mother, her cheeks sliding down to her mother's chest, where she could hear the slow yet warm heartbeat.

The mother said, "As for Xiao Lu, your father and I have always been very grateful to him."

Qu Yun blinked in confusion.

How could this be...?

"He broadened your horizons and protected you very well." Qu's mother lowered her eyes and gently smoothed her daughter's beautiful long hair with her calloused hands.

"As you grow up and become more and more beautiful, your father and I are actually quite afraid," said Qu's mother. "Even when you were still in school, you were always being harassed."

"What if you encounter even more dangerous bad people after entering society? Or what if the village matchmakers keep knocking on your door, introducing you to men from the neighborhood so you can get married early?"

Qu Yun shook her head, wanting to say that she would never do that.

Qu's mother understood, "I know you have your own opinions and strong will, but you are too sensible. Once you feel that your marriage can repay your father and me, you will definitely agree."

"That's why I told your father that even if we have to sell everything we own, we will still support you to go to university."

Qu Yun looked at her tightly clenched hand; every word her mother said felt like it was hitting her heart.

"If you truly blame yourself for falling in love with a man who is not your social class, then you should blame me and your father more."

"It's because we're incompetent, living mediocre lives. We tried our best but couldn't pave a smooth road for you, making you anxious and insecure in relationships, and even afraid to love."

Qu Yun's voice trembled with anxiety as she cried out, "Mom!"

The guilt on Qu's mother's face hadn't disappeared, but her tone had softened a bit: "So don't always take all the blame on yourself. Mom hopes you can be happier than anyone else."

She squeezed toothpaste back onto Qu Yun's toothpaste and then left the bathroom.

In the cramped space, only the soft dripping of the faucet could be heard.

Qu Yun braced her hands on the edge of the sink, raised her eyes, and looked at herself in the mirror.

Is she really going to refuse to even begin the process because she's afraid of the ending?

Life will come to an end, does that mean we don't have to live anymore?

Qu Yun closed her eyes. How could she compare such a thing to life?

The wound on my palm was wet and throbbed slightly.

After truly realizing what she was thinking, Qu Yun opened her eyes and let out an incredulous sneer.

She loved Lu Junhe more than she loved her own life.

How could she be so fragile...?

Breakfast is ready downstairs.

After Qu Yun went downstairs, only her mother and Aunt Qiu Hong were sitting at the table; Lu Junhe was nowhere to be seen.

"That's strange." Aunt Qiuhong frowned. "I clearly told Xiao He to go upstairs and call you two down for breakfast, but isn't he upstairs?"

"Did he go upstairs?"

Qu Yun's face turned deathly pale in an instant. Before she could calm her chaotic mind, Lu Junhe slowly walked in from outside.

His expression was calm, showing no sign of anything unusual.

Qu Yun quietly drank a few mouthfuls of porridge.

During breakfast, Aunt Qiuhong mostly chatted with her mother. She absentmindedly fiddled with the pickled vegetables in her bowl, and when she looked up, she secretly glanced at Lu Junhe sitting opposite her several times.

Did he go upstairs or not? Did he hear anything?

After gently putting down his chopsticks, Lu Junhe said in a low voice, "I'll be leaving now."

Before the two elders could say anything to stop her, Qu Yun felt a pang of emptiness in her heart and blurted out, "Wait a minute, could you please not leave yet?"

Qu's mother smiled and understood.

Qu Yun pulled Lu Junhe outside directly.

She lowered her head, deliberately avoiding the man's overly intense gaze.

The two remained silent for a long time before Lu Junhe finally spoke, lowering his gaze and saying, "Tell me about it."

"There must be a reason why you've been trying to persuade me to stay these past few days."

Qu Yun felt a pang of panic, wondering how this man had figured it out.

She remembered Yan Suling's phone call, saying that he... was being looked for by the police.

But none of that matters now.

She wanted to keep Lu Junhe, not because of anyone else, but because of her own heart.

Lifting her bare face, Qu Yun smiled brightly, "Could you accompany me to walk on the cement platform we walked on last night again?"

Lu Junhe frowned, but did not refuse.

He stood aside, and Qu Yun stepped onto it herself. Afraid of losing her balance, she could only move forward slowly like a little snail.

"Actually, when I was little, I used to walk here alone. One night it was particularly dark, and I fell hard on this path, and I was too scared to walk here again."

Qu Yun's fingertips curled slightly. "I only dared to walk on this again when my father was holding my hand or waiting for me at the other end."

Lu Junhe's Adam's apple bobbed, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Qu Yun turned around, her gaze gently falling on him. "There are some roads that, once you've fallen on them, you really won't dare to walk them again."

"But if someone is willing to go with me, I think I can try to go through it again."

Just like last night.

Let it be a tragic fate.

Besides cutting ties, isn't enjoying the happiness that this relationship brings also a choice?

Qu Yun turned around and opened her arms to the man standing below the cement platform.

What she believed in was not love.

Rather, it's because the other side of fate is Lu Junhe.

She felt that happiness always outweighed suffering.

A faint tenderness flashed across Lu Junhe's eyes as he picked up Qu Yun, who had asked him to hold her, and placed her on the ground.

Instead of letting go immediately, she hugged him even tighter.

Qu Yun didn't resist this time, but asked in a muffled voice, "So you're still planning to leave now?"

"Walk."

This answer angered her.

Just as Qu Yun was about to raise her head, Lu Junhe rested his chin on the top of her head and said in a hoarse voice, "Take me for another walk around here."

I'd also like to hear about your childhood.

Qu Yun smiled, took Lu Junhe's hand, and walked forward side by side.

The wind in the fields flowed slowly through their fingertips.

Qu Yun felt inexplicably shy. She planned to take Lu Junhe to see a locust tree that was born on the same day, month, and year as her.

After walking a few steps, a large group of villagers gathered around the riverbank not far away.

"Something seems to have happened there," Qu Yun said curiously.

Before Lu Junhe could speak...

The voices of two villagers hurrying towards them reached their ears: "How pitiful! How could this person have drowned in the river!"

Qu Yun froze, and the face of her mother flashed into her mind.