But what the middle-aged waitress hadn't expected was that the customer, who appeared calm and composed, had caught her momentary daze.

He simply said, "I'm taking this photo for my sister. If photography isn't allowed inside the restaurant, please allow me to apologize."

"Ah... there's no such rule." The middle-aged waitress waved her hand awkwardly, "Please feel free to take pictures."

This time, the customer didn't respond. He just subtly nodded his head up and down and then picked up his chopsticks to start eating.

For a while, all that could be heard in the little restaurant were the faint sounds of chewing and the clinking of chopsticks and porcelain bowls.

The atmosphere... felt a bit awkward.

It all seemed quite inappropriate.

She might even drive away a potential returning customer because of her behavior.

This made the middle-aged waitress pause in her actions and attempt to enliven the atmosphere, "I'm sorry, but does your sister particularly like wild vegetables? That's why you're taking photos..."

To the middle-aged waitress, this seemed like a pointless attempt to lighten the mood.

If his sister didn't even like wild vegetables, why would he bother taking pictures of them?

But things turned out to be beyond the waitress's expectations.

Beichuan Si shook his head, swallowing a mouthful of wild vegetables before saying, "She doesn't like eating wild vegetables."

Huh?!

Then why take a photo...?

If she had merely been trying to make light conversation earlier, the waitress now truly felt the impulse to ask him more.

But to directly inquire about someone's sister's personal matters was certainly not appropriate, so the middle-aged waitress just chuckled dryly and didn't respond.

Although she didn't ask, it didn't mean Beichuan Si wouldn't answer.

After Beichuan Si took a simple bite of his meal, he spoke in an indifferent voice:

"She always says wild vegetables taste bitter, but I want her to eat them, so I took a photo to show her."

"That's really..." The waitress opened her mouth, a trace of nostalgia flashing unconsciously in her eyes, "Just like a child... no, like a child I know."

"Is that so? I wonder what kind of child that could be?"

Beichuan Si asked just in time.

The waitress's movement of wiping the table halted for a moment but quickly returned to normal. She sighed softly while cleaning.

"That was a very strong child. Even though she didn't like wild vegetables, she would always finish them whenever I cooked for her. Afterward... she would tell me the taste of the wild vegetables was too bitter, but she managed to eat them every time."

Beichuan Si put down his chopsticks and gave her his full attention.

With such a gesture from Beichuan Si, the middle-aged waitress spoke with a troubled look, "I'm sorry to that child. I really am sorry."

She sighed deeply.

"I see."

Beichuan Si nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh dear, my apologies for suddenly saying strange things to you, the customer."

The waitress forced a smile and then said, "Since you'd like to cook wild vegetable dishes for your family, how about this: We have some surplus wild vegetables that we can sell; I'll give you a portion at market price."

"Alright," Beichuan Si replied after putting down his chopsticks.

"Please wait a moment then."

The waitress hurriedly tidied up the water pail before heading to the kitchen.

When she reappeared in Beichuan Si's view, she was holding a plastic bag filled with wild vegetables.

It seemed she had put thought into selecting a variety of them.

"Thank you," said Beichuan Si, who had virtually finished his meal, as he handed over the money for the meal and vegetables.

"No need to thank me, no need at all." The middle-aged waitress forced a customer-facing smile, "Have a good journey, and welcome to come again."

Beichuan Si, tone unchanged, responded:

"There will be a next time."

He quickly disappeared from the restaurant's entrance, carrying the bag of wild vegetables, leaving behind the waitress still forcing a smile.

The middle-aged waitress stood there for a good while before collapsing weakly onto a nearby dining chair.

Her expression was filled with remembrance and a trace of self-reproach, which ultimately turned into a deep sigh.

She raised her hand and pulled a pendant from her pocket.

With a click, the pendant opened revealing its contents in front of the middle-aged waitress.

Inside was a color photograph.

The photo had faded a bit with age, its edges even bearing marks of being forcefully torn off.

In the photo was a girl with a radiant smile... wearing a red and white cotton-padded jacket and braids.

She smiled towards the camera, as if living in a particularly happy family.

Looking at the girl with braids, the middle-aged waitress began to smile.

Unlike the forced smiles she showed to the customers earlier, this time her laughter was genuinely joyful, and her eyes were filled with reminiscence.

But as she laughed, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

Clutching the pendant tightly, her voice trembled,

"I'm sorry, Xiangli."

"Really... I'm sorry."

"I should have died six years ago."

But shamelessly, I survived and even found happiness.

Her tears flowed freely, and her hands clenched the pendant tightly.

The middle-aged waitress, originally named Shindai Kasumi, was in fact Xiangli's mother.

After turning Xiangli over to the Inagaki family for adoption six years ago, she had already harbored thoughts of death... No, more precisely, she had long before that considered suicide.

Suffering from endless domestic abuse, seeing absolutely no glimmer of hope ahead, every day she faced only pain and the man's angry curses—

At that time... Shindai Kasumi had already wanted to end her life.

However, the birth and growth of Shindai Xiangli unexpectedly dispelled the desire to commit suicide.

Watching her daughter's smile every day made her feel like she could keep going on.

But the man didn't spare even such a small child; the domestic abuse didn't subside and became even more severe.

Every few days, Shindai Kasumi was covered in bruises, and little Shindai Xiangli suffered as well.

But even so, Xiangli persisted in offering her mother the brightest smiles each day.

It was this kind of smile that saved Shindai Kasumi.

The decision to turn Xiangli over to the Inagaki family for adoption was made with this thought in mind.

She didn't want her daughter to continue suffering alongside her.

Similarly, Shindai Kasumi had made a decision long ago.

Six years ago... after leaving Xiangli, she would commit suicide.

But as she prepared to carry out this plan, an unexpected message reached her ears.

Xiangli had died in a car accident.

This dealt an infinite blow to the weary Shindai Kasumi, turning her into a living dead, as the man's daily beatings couldn't compare to the pain in her heart.

Under such circumstances, Shindai Kasumi, while working a part-time job, unexpectedly met the owner of this restaurant.

He was now her husband.

With her current husband's help, Shindai Kasumi escaped from her abusive ex-husband and started a new family with this man.

For her, this was undoubtedly a happy ending.

But what about Xiangli?

Shindai Kasumi looked at the pendant in her hand and sobbed quietly in an especially helpless manner.

The door chime rang again.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?" A worker who had just finished his shift stood at the door and called out with a look of confusion.

"Ah—sorry, I'm here! What would you like to order?" Shindai Kasumi hastily wiped away her tears, stood up, and waved to the worker.

"Um..." The worker scratched his head apologetically and said, "Someone just gave this to me a moment ago, asking me to pass it on to the owner of this restaurant."

Saying so, he pulled out a card from his pocket.

The card was tattered and seemed like something bought from a street stall at random.

But it was this very card that left Shindai Kasumi completely astonished.

Hyakunin Isshu... this was Xiangli's favorite Hyakunin Isshu card game.

This was also the gift Shindai Kasumi had given Xiangli for her fifth birthday.

"Excuse me, do you know who gave you this card?"

"Ah, there was a young man outside carrying a plastic bag..."

Before the man could finish speaking, Shindai Kasumi had already run outside.

Clutching the card in her hand, her eyes searched in every direction.

Under the indigo veil of night, no one could be seen.

"... Xiangli."

Shindai Kasumi gripped the card firmly.

Above her head,

A bright star was suspended high,

Twinkling with a brilliant light.

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