I Really Didn't Intend to Pick Up the Black Lotus Omega - Chapter 15

The air outside the office building was thick with heat, and the lingering drone of cicadas seeped through the soundproof glass, creating a heavy, oppressive atmosphere that made the daily grind feel particularly suffocating.

Only one person seemed immune to this gloom.

Yu Qing’s fingers danced across the keyboard, typing furiously with a rhythmic clatter. Her hands moved in a blur, and a palpable sense of joy radiated from every line of code.

Gong Ning found the scene bizarre. She leaned in close to Yu Qing’s ear and whispered, “You’re coding with such enthusiasm… no bugs yet?”

“Spit, spit, spit!” Yu Qing recoiled at the words, jumping up from her chair.

Gong Ning chuckled, leaning closer to peer at Yu Qing’s screen. A small, white dog with pink trim popped up on the display. “Are you…?”

Yu Qing cut her off, “Making efficient use of company resources.”

As she spoke, Yu Qing moved the mouse, lifting the virtual dog by its scruff.

The moment the dog was lifted, its fluffy tail immediately swished down to cover its exposed parts, swaying back and forth with the cursor’s movements.

Gong Ning’s eyes lit up as she studied the dog. “Wow, this is really well-made! Where did you learn to do this?”

“It’s simple! There’s tons of open-source code like this online,” Yu Qing replied, generously sharing her approach. “Just tweak a few things here, add a little something there, and you’re good to go.”

Gong Ning listened intently, her eyes growing deeper. “You’ve really improved in just two days! I never would have thought to handle this area like that. Impressive, truly impressive.”

“Just dumb luck,” Yu Qing said, touching her nose, feeling a little guilty.

It wasn’t luck at all. She had been doing this kind of work effortlessly in her previous world. Now, she was simply recreating something from memory, for Jiang Nianyu.

Yu Qing thought Jiang Nianyu must be terribly bored alone at home. Even an electronic dog could bring her some joy. Otherwise, if she kept falling asleep on the floor, she’d really get sick.

“Don’t be so modest,” Gong Ning said, patting Yu Qing’s shoulder. “You barely left your workstation all day. I saw it all.” She pulled out a strawberry cookie as encouragement. “Here, replenish your brainpower.”

“Thank you, Sister Gong Ning,” Yu Qing said cheerfully, reaching for the cookie.

But Gong Ning suddenly withdrew her hand.

Yu Qing thought Gong Ning was about to tease her, but then she saw the woman’s serious expression. Gong Ning’s nose twitched as if she were trying to catch something in the air.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Qing asked, confused.

Gong Ning’s gaze fixed on a girl slowly making her way to the break room in the distance. “I can smell Omega pheromones on that child.”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Yu Qing asked, surprised.

Releasing pheromones in public places could lead to arrest, and doing so at the company could result in dismissal.

“I’m certain,” Gong Ning said firmly, her breathing growing slightly heavier.

“She just started working here on Monday,” Gong Ning explained, her hands moving swiftly through the drawer to find an inhibitor. “I suspect that after you refused Alan and her group’s assignments, they targeted her instead.”

“She looks like she’s been working all day and didn’t have time to change her inhibitor patch. And just her luck, her heat cycle started.”

Unable to go herself, Gong Ning pressed the inhibitor into Yu Qing’s hand. “I think her name is Siqing… She just graduated this year. If her pheromones go into full bloom, the company will definitely fire her.”

The inhibitor felt cool against Yu Qing’s palm, but Gong Ning’s hand was unusually damp, stiflingly hot like the summer heat rejected outside the window.

Gong Ning, an Alpha highly sensitive to Omega pheromones, was already being affected.

Yu Qing didn’t dare waste time. Though she had no idea how to administer an inhibitor to an Omega, she clutched the device and hurried toward the break room.

The grapes ripened silently under the scorching summer sun, as if deliberately forced to mature, their tartness lingering.

When Siqing emerged from the team leader’s office, she felt dizzy and lightheaded. Her heart raced, and her limbs trembled.

She initially attributed it to her inner tirade against the team leader, forcing herself toward the break room. “Damn it! They didn’t even let me finish my meal! Those capitalist bastards can all rot in hell!”

The young woman’s sharp tongue continued to lash out as she walked.

Unexpectedly, an Alpha colleague stood in the break room, his gaze locking onto her the moment she entered.

“What are you doing? Never seen someone cursing before?” Siqing retorted, her lips pale but her defiance unwavering.

The Alpha chuckled, a predatory glint in his eyes. He stepped closer, violating the safe distance between Alphas and Omegas. “Never seen someone in heat with the energy to curse.”

“What did you say?” Siqing stumbled backward, cornered by the Alpha’s advance.

“I said, your scent is… unique.” The Alpha, completely captivated by the tart yet sweet aroma, lost all control and lunged toward Siqing’s neck.

Dark clouds obscured the window, casting a heavy, oppressive gloom over the August day.

The Alpha’s natural dominance over Omegas left Siqing with no chance of escape. She desperately grabbed a glass, determined to take them both down.

Thud!

But before she could act, a heavy object landed with a dull thud, its impact reverberating in her ears.

She didn’t even have time to scream before the Alpha’s menacing presence at her neck vanished.

In a daze, Siqing saw a white figure burst through the dark clouds outside the window.

Like a divine warrior descending from the heavens, the figure materialized before her. With a swift over-the-shoulder throw, she slammed the Alpha who had tried to mark her to the ground.

“Are you sober now?” Yu Qing demanded, her cold gaze fixed on the Alpha writhing on the floor.

As it turned out, pain proved far more effective at suppressing the Alpha than pheromones.

The impact instantly cleared the Alpha’s eyes. Realizing what he had done, he panicked, stammering apologies to Siqing before fleeing in terror, leaving a trail of urine in his wake.

In mere minutes, the entire situation had been completely reversed.

Siqing stared blankly at the person before her, forgetting to discern whether they were friend or foe. A wave of relief washed over her, her legs buckled, and she was about to collapse.

“Careful,” Yu Qing said, just as Siqing had anticipated.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Yu Qing caught her.

Yu Qing’s hand was warm and slightly damp, yet Siqing felt no aversion as it pressed against her arm.

Siqing’s pupils flickered slightly. In her vision, a hand holding an inhibitor was extended toward her, more open and honest than any Alpha’s.

“Can you inject it yourself?” Yu Qing asked, having no experience with inhibitors.

But Siqing interpreted this gesture as Yu Qing’s respect for her autonomy.

She gazed at the offered inhibitor, then reached out, her fingers brushing lightly against Yu Qing’s palm. “Thank you.”

In the rush of the moment, Yu Qing hadn’t had time to examine the inhibitor closely.

The slender glass tube resembled an insulin pen. Siqing pressed it against her forearm, and the injection was complete in an instant.

Was it working?

The break room remained as silent as before, as if nothing had happened.

As a Beta, Yu Qing couldn’t smell anything. She only noticed Siqing biting her lip.

The person had beautifully shaped lips, which she gently bit, the subtle redness hinting at stubbornness.

As if possessed, Yu Qing suddenly remembered Miss Omega back home.

Jiang Nianyu had worn a similar expression before.

Her crimson lips pressed against Yu Qing’s neck, her pupils trembling slightly.

Warm, rhythmic breaths brushed Yu Qing’s shoulder, gradually rising upward.

“!”

Yu Qing suddenly felt this sensation was too real, too intense. She turned her head and saw Siqing had somehow moved right next to her.

The young girl had fully recovered, her breathing now slow and steady.

Her chestnut eyes sparkled with an innocent, non-threatening gaze, her nose barely touching Yu Qing’s neck.

Yu Qing froze, momentarily mistaking Siqing for Jiang Nianyu.

Yet instinctively, she firmly pulled Siqing back half a step, creating distance between herself and this Omega who wasn’t Jiang Nianyu. “What’s wrong?”

Siqing casually clasped her hands behind her back, a faint smile curving her lips. “Sister, your scent feels so familiar to me.”

“Really?” Yu Qing asked, skeptical, sniffing her own clothes.

But all she could smell was the sticky, stifling sweat of the summer heat.

“Maybe it’s the laundry detergent,” Yu Qing replied casually, not giving it much thought. “I’m just a Beta. What kind of scent could I possibly have?”

Siqing lowered her gaze. “An Omega’s scent, of course.”

Her voice was soft, barely audible above the chatter in the break room, making it impossible to discern her mood.

Yu Qing looked bewildered. “What?”

“Nothing,” Siqing said with a smile, shaking her head as she gathered the documents she had dropped. “I just remembered I need to make copies for Director Chen. I should get going.”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Siqing stopped halfway out the door and turned back to Yu Qing, smiling. “I’m really glad I ran into you here today, Sis.”

Siqing’s voice carried a crisp, candy-like sweetness. The word “Sis” seemed to linger on her tongue, making it sound particularly heart-stirring.

Yu Qing stood rooted to the spot, blinking in confusion. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what felt so strange about this Omega girl.

As the saying goes, “If you’re not eager to leave work, there’s something wrong with your thinking.”

Yu Qing finished creating Jiang Nianyu’s desktop pet just before quitting time and rushed home in a flurry.

As the door unlocked, the entryway light immediately flickered on.

Yu Qing returned home as usual, but as she called out, “I’m back,” the aroma of food wafted into her nostrils.

The kitchen door stood ajar, and Jiang Nianyu emerged, carrying a bowl of vibrant sour soup with fatty pork. Her pink apron cinched Yu Qing’s oversized shirt at the waist, creating a casual yet undeniably efficient look.

Yu Qing froze in the doorway, momentarily stunned.

Should she ask Jiang Nianyu how she managed to cook, considering the wound on her left hand hadn’t fully healed yet?

Or should she ask why she was wearing Yu Qing’s shirt again…

And why she wasn’t wearing pants.

Those long, pale legs swayed before Yu Qing’s eyes, abruptly ending beneath the white shirt’s hem, blending into the incandescent glow of the overhead light.

“Welcome home,” Jiang Nianyu said, responding to Yu Qing’s “I’m back” before Yu Qing could even react.

It had been a long time since Yu Qing had heard anyone reply to that phrase.

Jiang Nianyu’s voice was cool yet gentle, like someone draping a coat over you in the damp, chilly rain.

Yu Qing’s heart stirred slightly, and the puppy slippers she had just put on swayed gently.

In an instant, her solitary shadow merged with another, their shoulders aligned against the wall, casting a strikingly harmonious silhouette.

“Let me take that,” Yu Qing offered, concerned about Jiang Nianyu’s injured arm, and reached for the groceries.

Jiang Nianyu gladly accepted Yu Qing’s help and didn’t refuse.

But as Yu Qing leaned closer, Jiang Nianyu caught a faint, unfamiliar scent in her hair—a scent that was familiar, yet filled with hostility.

“Why does another Omega’s scent linger on you?” Jiang Nianyu asked, her eyes downcast, her voice unable to conceal its darkening mood.