I Really Didn't Intend to Pick Up the Black Lotus Omega - Chapter 29

The wind rustled through the trees lining the sidewalk behind Jiang Nianyu, causing their branches to sway gently.

 

The dense, interwoven greenery hung like upside-down reeds, forming a soft backdrop that billowed her skirt and lifted her long hair.

 

Jiang Nianyu stood silently, neither speaking nor showing any irritation.

 

She remained motionless in the wind, ethereal as a wisp of blue smoke, as if separated from the surrounding crowd waiting for the red light by an invisible layer.

 

Yu Qing watched from afar through the glass, her heart stirred.

 

She couldn’t tear her gaze away, feeling as if she were glued to Jiang Nianyu. She had never imagined that the most ordinary, inexpensive dress in her wardrobe could shine so brilliantly on Jiang Nianyu.

 

She wanted to see her.

 

Regardless of what her colleagues might gossip about or how her superiors might disapprove, she wanted to get up and see her.

 

Just as this thought sparked in Yu Qing’s mind, the green light across the street lit up.

 

The prohibition against crossing lifted, and people on both sides of the road began to move.

 

Converging, separating.

 

The crowd surged.

 

A moment ago, Yu Qing’s eyes had been fixed on Jiang Nianyu. In the blink of an eye, the dimly lit spot beneath the streetlamp was now empty.

 

The Jiang Nianyu she had just seen had vanished.

 

Unable to grasp that pristine white figure, Yu Qing could only watch as Jiang Nianyu disappeared into the dimly lit crowd.

 

Yu Qing could hardly believe her eyes.

 

Did Jiang Nianyu run off on her own?

 

Or was she just seeing things?

 

Could she miss Jiang Nianyu so much that she was hallucinating?

 

“Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu.”

 

Just as Yu Qing was questioning her sanity, a voice calling her name snapped her back to reality.

 

As if realizing something, she jolted back to awareness.

 

She saw Gong Ning tugging at her pant leg, several pairs of eyes turned toward her, and Siqing was subtly gesturing toward Sister Zhou.

 

“Xiao Yu, what were you staring at? You didn’t even hear Sister Zhou calling you,” the Alpha sitting next to Sister Zhou teased.

 

Sister Zhou chimed in, “She must have been lost in thought.”

 

Yu Qing watched the two women banter back and forth, forcing an awkward smile. She quickly fabricated a lie: “Sorry, Sister Zhou. I saw a bug outside the window and was worried it might come in.”

 

Sister Zhou stared at Yu Qing, her smile strained. “You’re a grown woman. Still afraid of little bugs?”

 

“I’ve always been terrified of them,” Yu Qing lied, knowing she couldn’t get away with it unless she took a drink. “I’m sorry, Sister Zhou. I’ll make it up to you with a drink.”

 

Grilled meat was usually paired with beer or soju, neither of which had a high alcohol content.

 

Sister Zhou watched Yu Qing drink until only a small sip of soju remained in her glass. Then she waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, you’re such a serious one! Don’t drink anymore. We’re here to have fun, not to be so tense.”

 

Yu Qing smiled politely, but her guard was raised to the max. “Thank you, Sister Zhou.”

 

“What are you thanking me for?” Sister Zhou waved her hand again and proactively filled Yu Qing in on what she had missed while distracted. “I was just telling Director Chen that the Planning Team wants to add another dungeon. We need to get the framework in place soon. I think you’d be a good fit to work with Liaoliao on it.”

 

Just as I suspected, Yu Qing thought. If Sister Zhou is offering me something proactively, it can’t be good.

 

Around the table, the others wore varying expressions of relief mixed with schadenfreude.

 

The “Liaoliao” Sister Zhou mentioned was the chief programmer of their project team, the Alpha who had praised Yu Qing at yesterday’s meeting.

 

This man was a genius with maxed-out talent stats, headhunted by Director Chen with a hefty salary. His arrogance and lack of empathy made him a difficult colleague.

 

According to Gong Ning, no one assigned to assist him had ever escaped his criticism and abuse, leaving them under immense pressure.

 

Moreover, this task involved building something from scratch. Not only would it be challenging, but it might also prove thankless.

 

“Can you handle it, Xiao Yu? Liaoliao praised you, and he rarely compliments anyone,” Director Chen said, turning to Yu Qing.

 

Yu Qing met their expectant gazes and realized that while she had been looking out the window, she had been cornered. There was no graceful way to refuse.

 

“Yes, I won’t let you down,” Yu Qing replied with a smile, nodding firmly.

 

Hearing this, the others visibly relaxed.

 

Only Gong Ning let out a soft “Aish,” frowning at Yu Qing as if to ask, Why didn’t you refuse?

 

Yu Qing quietly patted Gong Ning’s arm, offering her a reassuring look.

 

Though the sudden assignment had initially overwhelmed Yu Qing, she quickly weighed the pros and cons and decided not to view it as a disaster.

 

Liaoliao disliked working with fools. Collaborating with Yu Qing meant less infighting and a chance to hone his skills.

 

Maybe once this framework is done, I can ride her coattails to success too, he thought.

 

As team leader, collaborating with others wouldn’t be difficult.

 

Besides, things had already reached this point. Wallowing in internal conflict and regret would only waste time.

 

Just get it done.

 

“Sister, Sister Gong Ning!”

 

The two women were exchanging glances when Yu Qing called out from across the table.

 

Having just resolved their biggest headache, everyone was now digging into the food with gusto.

 

No one noticed how much meat Siqing had grilled, nor did they care.

 

The sizzling, oily grilled meat was pushed between Gong Ning and Yu Qing. The savory aroma was especially tempting, making it even harder for their already hungry stomachs to resist.

 

Yu Qing swallowed hard, first thanking Siqing, “Thank you, Xiao Qing!”

 

Then she placed the two largest pieces, which seemed to form a distorted heart shape, onto Gong Ning’s plate. “Sister Gong Ning, this one’s the biggest. It’s for you.”

 

Gong Ning shook her head helplessly at Yu Qing’s cheerful demeanor but accepted the meat. “I won’t stand on ceremony then.”

 

“Don’t mention it, don’t mention it!” Yu Qing waved her hand and happily began eating.

 

Amid clinking glasses and lively chatter, everyone was enjoying the meal.

 

Though there were still plenty of flattering voices around, Yu Qing ignored them all, focusing solely on eating her fill.

 

The company assigned me this tough job. Today, I’m going to eat my money’s worth, no matter what!

 

“Want to come to the restroom with me?” Gong Ning nudged Yu Qing just as she finished another plate of grilled meat.

 

Yu Qing took a sip of wine, swallowed the meat, and nodded without hesitation. “Sure!”

 

The two squeezed past their colleagues, struggling for a while before finally exiting the private room.

 

The moment they stepped out, Yu Qing felt the world suddenly fall silent.

 

Stepping onto the soft, sound-absorbing carpet, Gong Ning turned to Yu Qing. “Do you think you can handle this?”

 

“Probably,” Yu Qing replied with a smile. “It’s a rare opportunity. Even if I have to force myself, I’ll make it work. I still want that promotion and raise, you know.”

 

“I don’t think I can help you with the technical stuff, but…” Gong Ning lowered her hand and pointed toward the group inside. “I can keep an eye on them for you.”

 

After all, in the workplace, if you excel and achieve results, there will always be someone trying to trip you up.

 

Listening to Gong Ning’s words, Yu Qing grew even more fond of her colleague. A warm feeling spread through her chest. “Thank you, Sister Gong Ning.”

 

Gong Ning looked at Yu Qing, feeling like she was about to cry.

 

Disliking the sudden seriousness of the moment, she half-joked, “Saying ‘thank you’ is too formal. Just remember to give me extra perks when you get promoted to management.”

 

Yu Qing burst out laughing. “When that happens, I’ll stock the break room with all your favorite snacks!”

 

“And that awful coffee machine!” Gong Ning complained indignantly. “Someone brought in cheap beans, and the coffee has been terrible ever since.”

 

“Then I’ll let you use the one in my office!” Yu Qing declared, pounding her chest.

 

“Ugh, I wish you’d get promoted already!” Gong Ning said, throwing her arm around Yu Qing’s shoulder.

 

Yu Qing didn’t mind the intimacy at all. She raised her arm and shouted, “Make money! Make money! Work hard to make money!”

 

Seeing this, Gong Ning quickly pulled Yu Qing’s arm down.

 

She had sensed something was off with Yu Qing earlier, and as Yu Qing’s voice grew louder, she realized Yu Qing was getting drunk. “Xiao Yu, you should get some fresh air. Here, take this mint. You’re starting to get tipsy. I need to go to the bathroom now.”

 

“Oh, I’m fine,” Yu Qing said, accepting the mint candy and touching her face. She didn’t feel any heat.

 

Still, she nodded to Gong Ning, waved, and obediently pushed open the door to the main hall.

 

After pushing through two doors, the noise faded into silence, and the greasy air gave way to a refreshing breeze.

 

A cool wind blew across the street, instantly sweeping away the smoky smell of the barbecue restaurant.

 

A cool wind at night?

 

Yu Qing popped a candy into her mouth and looked up at the pitch-black sky, facing the wind.

 

There were no stars, and the sky looked like it was about to storm.

 

“Tsk.”

 

Yu Qing frowned. She hadn’t brought an umbrella. If it started raining, she’d be trapped here with these annoying people, forced to listen to their fawning and excuses as the umbrella passed from hand to hand, inevitably ending up with Director Chen.

 

“…?”

 

Slowly, Yu Qing’s frown relaxed.

 

She suddenly felt eyes on her back—that same sense of being watched she’d felt at the subway exit.

 

But this time, some of her lingering doubts seemed to find an answer.

 

Yu Qing suddenly realized who was watching her. Her heart began to race uncontrollably as she turned around to look behind her.

 

The night was pitch-black, with the dim yellow light from the shops lining the street casting a faint glow along the path.

 

Beside a tree untouched by the light, a girl in a white dress stood silently, her gaze fixed on Yu Qing.

 

Their eyes met, their gazes as calm as two pools of water slowly merging.

 

Yu Qing wasn’t surprised.

 

Just as she’d expected.

 

Her feet moved before her brain could issue the command, propelling her swiftly toward Jiang Nianyu.

 

Noticing the obvious mosquito bites on Jiang Nianyu’s arm, Yu Qing couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing here?”

 

“I was afraid you’d avoid me,” Jiang Nianyu replied softly, her eyes locked intently on Yu Qing.

 

Yu Qing found this logic puzzling.

 

If she was afraid, shouldn’t she be the one hiding?

 

Then it dawned on her: Jiang Nianyu was afraid Yu Qing would avoid her, so she had come to find her instead.

 

During their time together, Jiang Nianyu had always been sparing with words, often reducing sentences to just a few terse syllables.

 

Except, perhaps, during their kisses, when her words would flow a little more freely.

 

The thought made Yu Qing’s eyes freeze for a moment.

 

Her face felt warm, as if all the heat the evening had failed to dissipate had settled around this tree.

 

“I wasn’t trying to avoid you,” Yu Qing said, watching Jiang Nianyu’s slightly lowered gaze. A strange tightness gripped her chest, and she felt compelled to explain. “It was a work dinner. If I’d refused, people would have said I was antisocial, and it would have caused trouble for me.”

 

“Why do you need to fit in?”

 

Jiang Nianyu tilted her head, genuinely confused, and asked Yu Qing to explain.

 

The swaying tree shadows scattered dappled light across Jiang Nianyu’s face.

 

Her baby-blue eyes held the same direct, innocent curiosity that Yu Qing remembered from when she first came to live with them, asking, “What is ‘good night’?”

 

Whether it was due to her amnesia or not, Jiang Nianyu’s questions always cut through appearances to reveal the underlying truth.

 

Her cool voice, barely touching her tongue, effortlessly exposed the vulnerability of those who simply followed the crowd.

 

Yu Qing chuckled softly at the thought.

 

Lowering her gaze, she told Jiang Nianyu, “Maybe it’s because I still can’t get used to being alone forever.”

 

“A-Qing isn’t a proper adult.”

 

The flickering streetlights cast an uncertain glow, like a white haze obscuring Yu Qing’s vision.

 

In this deserted alleyway, Yu Qing laid bare a sliver of her true self, dispassionately observing herself.

 

Perhaps, she thought, this sounds too melodramatic. She abruptly grounded herself in reality, bringing herself back down to earth: “Besides, as a working-class person, I often have to make unavoidable decisions. I don’t have a choice.”

 

Jiang Nianyu listened intently, as if deep in thought.

 

She seemed to understand the latter half of Yu Qing’s statement. In her fragmented memories, she recalled having made many choices she hadn’t wanted to make.

 

But she firmly rejected the first part of Yu Qing’s words. With unwavering conviction, she declared to the person before her, “A-Qing is a proper adult.”

 

A motorcycle roared past, its exhaust pipe deafening.

 

Hearing Jiang Nianyu’s words, Yu Qing’s downcast gaze suddenly lifted.

 

Her silently exposed insecurities had been caught.

 

Warm, solid, cradled in the hands of the person before her.

 

As the previous sentence hung in the air, Jiang Nianyu added with even greater sincerity, “You’ll never be alone forever.”

 

The person spoke with increasing conviction, as if trying to convey immense strength to Yu Qing through these simple sentences.

 

But Yu Qing possessed such a small frame, having been repeatedly crushed by life’s pressures over the years. The look in her eyes as she gazed at Jiang Nianyu was inexplicably obscure.

 

A sudden gust of wind rustled the leaves, creating a whoosh sound.

 

It was the evening breeze that carried people home at dusk.

 

Yet Yu Qing knew with stark clarity that the person before her would not belong to her forever, and their home would not exist eternally.

 

“Ah, nothing lasts forever,” Yu Qing murmured to herself, unsure whether she was agreeing with Jiang Nianyu’s earlier words.

 

But Jiang Nianyu took it as agreement.

 

She then posed another question to Yu Qing: “Are you with that ‘her’?”

 

The person’s eyes burned with even greater intensity than before, causing Yu Qing to freeze for a moment.

 

She suddenly remembered: it seemed she had drunkenly mumbled about her “original self” to Jiang Nianyu the previous night.

 

Help me.

 

I only had a few drinks, why am I acting like a lunatic?

 

Before Yu Qing could even begin to panic, Jiang Nianyu pressed on: “The person who came out of the private room with you just now—is that the ‘her’ you mentioned yesterday?”

 

Yu Qing immediately realized that the person Jiang Nianyu was referring to was Gong Ning.

 

She quickly waved her hands in denial. “No, no! Sister Gong Ning is my senior. There’s no ‘her’ here.”

 

Jiang Nianyu frowned and tilted her head, clearly doubting her earlier observations.

 

“But you gave her grilled meat just now.”

 

“And she hugged you.”

 

“You didn’t reject her. You even smiled at her.”

 

Her cold voice was frighteningly low, carrying an inexplicable magnetic undertone as she succinctly described the events.

 

If Yu Qing hadn’t known what had really happened, if she hadn’t been certain of her friendship with Gong Ning, she might have actually believed there was something special between them.

 

“No, no! It’s perfectly normal for female friends to do that!” Yu Qing waved her hands more frantically.

 

She tried to explain, but Jiang Nianyu interrupted again. “She’s an Alpha.”

 

This reminder left Yu Qing speechless.

 

She had forgotten that this was an ABO world, where primary genders weren’t simply male and female.

 

The “female” in her explanation referred to the Alpha, Beta, and Omega attributes, not biological s3x.

 

Jiang Nianyu’s unprecedented persistence, combined with her wavering gaze, made Yu Qing feel a pang of sympathy.

 

Yu Qing, eager to clear up the misunderstanding, quickly clarified, “Actually, I’m not very sensitive to these attributes. You know I’m a Beta, so I can’t smell your scents…”

 

Before Yu Qing could finish, she felt a gust of wind brush against her face.

 

Jiang Nianyu had moved without warning, suddenly leaning in close.

 

Their shadows on the ground showed their noses nearly touching, separated by a mere millimeter.

 

In the sweltering summer heat, even the slightest proximity felt stifling.

 

Jiang Nianyu’s breath drifted leisurely across Yu Qing’s nose. She was too close, her persistence bordering on obsession, pressing against Yu Qing with reckless abandon.

 

Yu Qing’s breathing slowed. Memories of the previous night replayed frame by frame in her mind, reflected in Jiang Nianyu’s eyes.

 

But unlike the chaotic, intoxicating haze of the previous night, Jiang Nianyu’s eyes now held a faint, misty grayness.

 

Jiang Nianyu couldn’t understand why she could smell Yu Qing’s scent, even though Yu Qing was a Beta.

 

Yu Qing kept repeating that she couldn’t smell her.

 

This unique scent was Jiang Nianyu’s secret, yet it also isolated her.

 

Anxiety lurked constantly at her side, ready to devour her at the slightest misstep.

 

Perhaps she had never truly possessed anything. Jiang Nianyu suddenly felt a surge of fear, realizing that Yu Qing’s unique affection for her might just be a fleeting dream.

 

Yu Qing had many friends, and Jiang Nianyu still hadn’t managed to claim “her” for herself. Instead, she had merely gained a senior colleague who allowed her to hug Yu Qing whenever she pleased.

 

I really want to lock her up, Jiang Nianyu thought, in a cage, in my bed, where only I can touch her.

 

These morbidly possessive thoughts, stained crimson, swirled through Jiang Nianyu’s mind like a fever dream. Her gaze toward Yu Qing concealed an unspeakable darkness.

 

“You look a little unwell,” Yu Qing said, her voice cutting through the turmoil in Jiang Nianyu’s mind.

 

Under the dim yellow light, Yu Qing’s ordinary yet bright, dark eyes studied Jiang Nianyu intently, as if trying to decipher the hazy emotions hidden within her silent gaze.

 

Jiang Nianyu froze, panic rising within her. She feared Yu Qing might uncover the darker parts of her nature, the parts she knew had existed before her amnesia.

 

I know I wasn’t a good person before I lost my memories, she thought.

 

“Are you hungry? Have you not eaten all day?”

 

Two questions in quick succession. Jiang Nianyu’s heart suddenly slowed.

 

Jiang Nianyu saw Yu Qing smiling at her—a pure, genuine smile, untainted by any ulterior motives.

 

Jiang Nianyu had never imagined that Yu Qing, the Omega she had taken home, would ever think poorly of her.

 

“Let’s go get something to eat,” Yu Qing said, already moving to lead Jiang Nianyu away. As she spoke, she reached out and took Jiang Nianyu’s hand, which had been hanging at her side.

 

But Jiang Nianyu hesitated, her gaze drifting to the lively scene inside the barbecue restaurant’s private room in the distance. She asked Yu Qing, “Aren’t you worried they’ll think you’re being antisocial?”

 

Yu Qing replied with unwavering certainty, “No.”

 

In the pitch-black night, her eyes shone with a bright smile, like a Beta about to elope with their lover before a storm: “A-Qing is a responsible adult.”

 

“Then let’s go,” Jiang Nianyu said with a smile.

 

Her anxiety seemed to vanish in an instant.

 

Her insecurities… Yu Qing always managed to dispel them so effortlessly.

 

Jiang Nianyu watched as their hands, which had been intertwined the night before, clasped together once more. She realized that this person always found the simplest ways to bring her peace of mind.

 

But Jiang Nianyu had forgotten that behind this sense of security lay an increasingly hollow anxiety, stemming from its singular source.

 

If one day she were to lose the only source of her peace of mind, her world would face its end.

 

“Sister?”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

The voice that existed only in Jiang Nianyu’s memory suddenly sounded behind her.

 

Just a moment before she was about to run away with Yu Qing.