I Really Didn't Intend to Pick Up the Black Lotus Omega - Chapter 7

What is home?

Yu Qing was an orphan, abandoned at birth beside a trash can outside the orphanage.

The children at the orphanage often fantasized about having parents, and Yu Qing was no exception.

She imagined her home would have a soft bed, and her parents would love her dearly.

Perhaps fate would finally smile upon her.

When she turned ten, Yu Qing’s dream came true. A teacher couple visiting the orphanage took an immediate liking to her.

Yu Qing received her own name and her own bedroom.

Full of excitement, she declared her adoptive parents’ fourth-floor staff housing unit as her home, even after they had their own child and she was forced out of her bedroom.

On her eighteenth birthday, Yu Qing sat across from her adoptive parents and opened the notebook they handed her.

Inside, every penny she had spent was meticulously recorded, down to the soiled diapers she had accidentally dirtied for her younger sister.

Looking at her once-gentle adoptive parents, Yu Qing suddenly felt like they were strangers.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to hate them.

She simply realized that this place had never truly been her home.

Move out, repay the debts, escape them.

Yu Qing’s summer plans with her friends, once brimming with excitement, were abruptly silenced by her adoptive parents’ sudden demand for repayment.

Back then, shared rooms in the old neighborhood rented for just two hundred yuan a month. The landlord had crammed a creaky double bed into the cramped space, which groaned with every movement.

Could this even be considered a home?

Yu Qing shook her head, forcing herself to fall asleep quickly, knowing she had to wake up early for work the next day.

Later, Yu Qing lived in many places: university dorms, shared apartments, and rented apartments. She could confidently laugh and chat with any group of people, fitting in seamlessly. Everyone said she was sociable.

But only she knew the truth.

She never felt a sense of belonging in any of those places.

Until that day, on her way home from work, Yu Qing encountered Lianlian.

The sickly puppy, abandoned by a trash can just like she had been as a child.

When Yu Qing rescued Lianlian, the dog’s fur was matted and ragged, barely resembling a Border Collie. She brushed her fur, took her to the vet, and coaxed her to take her medicine every day. When her monthly salary wasn’t enough, she emptied her entire savings.

Two months later, Yu Qing, fighting tooth and nail, finally snatched Lianlian back from the clutches of King Yama.

The ground floor of the old house was damp, its walls covered in moss. While barely habitable for humans, it was no place for a small dog recovering from a serious illness.

Yu Qing squatted in a corner, shovel in hand, and worked tirelessly all day, scrubbing the house spotless.

Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing Lianlian’s soft, long fur in a golden glow. As she ran, she seemed to move through a soft-focus filter.

Watching the little dog’s unrestrained joy, Yu Qing felt a renewed sense of purpose in life.

I think I’ve finally found my home, she thought.

But this home lasted less than two years.

Just as Yu Qing was working tirelessly to save enough money to confidently move Lianlian into a 60-square-meter loft apartment in the city center, Lianlian passed away.

A sudden flare-up of her congenital heart disease.

When Yu Qing returned from work, she found Lianlian curled up in her little bed, her favorite green dinosaur toy clutched in her mouth.

Yu Qing chuckled at her laziness, teasing her for not even coming to greet her.

But what greeted her instead was the little dog’s limp head drooping against her arm.

The puppy’s head was so light, yet so heavy, that when it struck Yu Qing, she staggered, tears streaming uncontrollably from the pain.

This little dog, who had kept Yu Qing company through countless difficult days and nights, never got to spend a single day in the carefully chosen new home. She never got to bask in the sunlight on the balcony, watching Yu Qing leave for work.

After moving, Yu Qing placed Lianlian’s photo in the most prominent spot by the front door of her new home.

She knew that if the stinky little dog were still alive, she would have waited by the entrance every day, wagging her tail to greet Yu Qing when she came home from work.

Yu Qing wasn’t sure if this house could truly be called her second home.

Perhaps from the day Lianlian left, she had become a child without a home once again.

Originally, Yu Qing had planned to live in this house for another four or five years, saving up to buy a larger place where Lianlian could run around freely.

But after falling asleep one night, she woke up in this world.

Yu Qing didn’t know how many homes the original owner of this body had lived in, just as she wasn’t entirely clear on what this house even looked like.

The setting sun bathed the girl’s slender figure, dyeing every strand of Yu Qing’s hair a golden hue—a color that seemed to carry both hope and destruction.

She crouched before Jiang Nianyu, holding her hand.

The invitation Yu Qing extended was to join her in an unknown future.

It would be a lie to say Jiang Nianyu wasn’t apprehensive.

Fortunately, Jiang Nianyu didn’t reject Yu Qing’s invitation.

The moment Yu Qing extended this olive branch, Jiang Nianyu nodded.

“Yes,” she said.

It was exactly what she had been hoping for.

The hospital’s procedures were clear and efficient. Jiang Nianyu was quickly discharged and her lodging arrangements finalized. All parties signed the necessary documents, which were then filed in the hospital’s archives.

Relieved to have resolved a thorny issue, the police officers proactively ordered stir-fried dishes for everyone, a farewell meal for Yu Qing and Jiang Nianyu.

While reminding the two of post-discharge precautions, the Head Nurse presented Jiang Nianyu with a beautiful white dress to celebrate her release.

The breeze from the hallway billowed the girl’s light skirt, making it resemble a thin cloud drifting outside the window.

Her baby-blue eyes reflected the numbered doors of the rooms as she walked, her expression calm yet curious. Finally, she stopped before a door marked 2406.

“We’re home,” Yu Qing said, deftly entering the passcode and pushing the door open.

Natural sunlight instantly flooded the room, leaping out from the hallway’s cold artificial light to envelop Jiang Nianyu in its warmth.

The apartment had been unoccupied for three days. The owner’s scent lingered—neither strong nor faint—but unmistakable to an Omega’s keen nose.

Initially, Jiang Nianyu followed Yu Qing into the apartment without suspicion, watching as she set down her belongings and found slippers.

Suddenly, Jiang Nianyu felt countless miniature versions of Yu Qing erupt from the house, chattering and carrying her familiar scent as they swarmed toward her one after another.

Jiang Nianyu’s pupils constricted sharply, a sense of foreboding washing over her.

Only then did she belatedly realize something both exhilarating and terrifying:

This was Yu Qing’s home.

Here, there was no need for pretense—the air was saturated with Yu Qing’s unmistakable scent.

The glands at the back of her neck throbbed with excitement, seizing control of Jiang Nianyu’s rationality.

She greedily embraced the scent-sprites that swarmed her, nearly drowning in their blissful embrace.

Meanwhile, a draft swept through the entrance hall, causing her naturally relaxed fingers to twitch slightly before clenching into a tight fist.

Jiang Nianyu inhaled deeply, drawing in the fresh air from the corridor outside as she struggled to regain her composure.

No. Not yet.

“Tap.”

“These slippers haven’t been worn before. They’re yours now.”

At that moment, a pair of white rabbit slippers hopped into Jiang Nianyu’s line of sight.

Yu Qing stood before her, leaning forward slightly, her head tilted and her eyes bright and radiant. Combined with her sun-like scent, she seemed like the sun itself.

Jiang Nianyu’s pupils flickered, a hint of unease crossing her face.

It was as if someone long accustomed to darkness instinctively recoiled from the sun, feeling unworthy of touching something so pure.

How strange.

Jiang Nianyu lowered her gaze, silently realizing that in her forgotten past, she might not have been someone who lived in the sunlight.

“Don’t you like it?” Yu Qing asked, noticing Jiang Nianyu’s prolonged silence.

“Of course I do,” Jiang Nianyu replied smoothly, concealing her turbulent thoughts. She buried her shame, greed, transgressions, darkness, and dampness beneath a facade of cool composure and obedient charm.

She didn’t care whether she could adapt to the sunlight. Now that she was with Yu Qing, the sun was hers.

The rabbit slippers nestled against Yu Qing’s slender ankles, swaying gently.

They clung tightly to the puppy tail ahead, barely leaving its side.

“This is the kitchen. You can close the door when cooking dishes that produce a lot of smoke.”

“The bar is perfect for a nightcap. We can move the TV across and watch movies comfortably.”

“The washing machine is on the balcony, along with the vacuum cleaner and other cleaning supplies.”

“The bathroom has a wet-dry separation. The shower is inside.”

Yu Qing led Jiang Nianyu into her home, introducing her to the house and familiarizing her with the layout.

Perhaps the body still retained a residual familiarity with the house, as Yu Qing explained everything smoothly, barely betraying any inconsistencies.

However, when they reached the study, she nearly gave herself away.

“This is the study, and the bedrooms are upstairs,” Yu Qing said, pushing open the door beneath the staircase.

Yu Qing sensed that the original owner must have been a book-loving girl, as the study’s entire wall was lined with overflowing bookshelves.

Staggered by the sheer volume of books, she, like Jiang Nianyu, tilted her head back to admire the original owner’s literary kingdom.

“You can come here to read anytime. There’s enough to keep you busy for ages,” Yu Qing said, remembering Jiang Nianyu’s request for books at the hospital, sensing she would appreciate this.

As she spoke, Yu Qing casually opened the nearest bookshelf, intending to grab a book for Jiang Nianyu.

But as her eyes scanned the shelves, she spotted several familiar titles that shouldn’t have been there:

Reincarnated into Another World: Stripped of My Alpha Status, I Became a Vampire’s Captive Bird

Transmigrated to a World Without ABO: Can Our Yuri Love Still Blossom?

As the One Who Betrayed an S-Class Alpha, How Can I Atone?

“Help! What is all this?!”

The original owner of this body actually enjoyed reading this kind of stuff.

…Though, to be fair, Yu Qing liked it too.

Yu Qing was intimately familiar with these books. She didn’t even need to pull them out to know their covers featured images so explicit they’d need to be censored the moment they were revealed.

Hesitating even a second longer would be disrespectful to her years of voracious reading. Yu Qing slammed the bookcase shut, overwhelmed by a sense of misplaced shame. “There’s nothing interesting in this cabinet… Ha, ha, ha.”

Her laughter sounded forced and dry. Jiang Nianyu tilted her head in confusion.

Yu Qing couldn’t bear to taint those excessively pure eyes. “If you want to read something… just, just start with those cabinets over there. The content is lighter.”

Jiang Nianyu nodded obediently, secretly making a mental note:

The contents of this cabinet are Yu Qing’s treasures. I can browse the other cabinets freely, but I must be careful and cherish the books in this one.

After introducing Jiang Nianyu to the study, it was getting late.

Yu Qing noticed Jiang Nianyu’s drooping eyelids were already fighting to stay open.

“Yes, they’ve been going to bed before ten at the hospital these past few days. It’s clearly Jiang Nianyu’s bedtime now.”

But Jiang Nianyu was being unusually well-behaved at home, barely touching anything and speaking even less.

She was like a newly adopted pet, needing gentle guidance from her owner.

So Yu Qing, acting as the owner, suggested to her little pet, “Let’s go see the upstairs bedroom. We can rest right after. I don’t have work tomorrow, so we can finish everything else then.”

Jiang Nianyu lifted her drowsy eyes and nodded in agreement. “Okay.”

“This is our bedroom,” Yu Qing said, stepping onto the final stair and showing Jiang Nianyu the second-floor bedroom.

The original owner’s apartment suffered from a common flaw: a large, protruding beam above the bedroom formed a rectangular recess with the walls.

But the designer had cleverly used this space to create a raised walk-in closet.

Yu Qing peered inside through the side entrance and saw a small tatami bed perfectly fitted within.

Separated from the main bedroom by a single wall, it seemed to be the original owner’s secret hideaway.

Yu Qing gazed at the soft quilt snugly wedged between the walls, instantly feeling a surge of security.

While Yu Qing loved this little space, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

If the original owner wasn’t afraid of her collection being discovered, why would she need a place to hide herself?

The clues were too few.

She couldn’t figure it out.

And now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

Yu Qing turned to look at Jiang Nianyu outside, who was lying on the floor, wagging her tail enthusiastically. “You can sleep here, and I’ll keep watch outside. How does that sound?”

Perfect. Excellent.

The completely private environment was incredibly tempting for Jiang Nianyu, who lacked a sense of security.

Yet Jiang Nianyu still felt it wasn’t quite right.

Her gaze drifted slowly, finally settling on Yu Qing’s solid wood bed outside the closet.

It was a sturdy, substantial bed, more than large enough for two people.

A pink fitted sheet covered the mattress, ensuring it wouldn’t wrinkle no matter how much they moved.

“Pajamas.”

As Jiang Nianyu thought this, a set of pink short-sleeved pajamas was pressed into her hand.

Yu Qing had just pulled them from the closet.

She hadn’t realized her habits were so similar to the original owner’s—brand-new, unworn sets were tucked away at the bottom of the wardrobe.

“Brand new, never worn, I promise,” Yu Qing said, patting the pajamas in Jiang Nianyu’s hand.

Indeed, both sets of clothes were folded neatly into perfect squares, and smelled only of laundry detergent.

Yu Qing held them up, but the faint scent clinging to the fabric vanished before Jiang Nianyu could even take a proper sniff.

How is this supposed to reassure me?

Jiang Nianyu squeezed the clothes in her hands, then watched as Yu Qing, clutching a blanket, crawled into the closet where Jiang Nianyu would be sleeping later. She meticulously made the bed for her.

Although the Head Nurse had assured Jiang Nianyu that there was nothing seriously wrong with her and discharged her with a pile of topical and oral medications, Yu Qing remained concerned about Jiang Nianyu’s memory loss. She fussed over her, making the bed, changing the pillows, and even preparing several stuffed animals to keep her company, all in an effort to make her feel completely at home.

Just as Yu Qing was trying to plug in a small nightlight, she shifted her position and bumped into something.

“Ugh,” a pained whimper escaped from the object, its faint, cool voice eerily familiar.

Yu Qing whirled around to find Jiang Nianyu had squeezed into the closet unnoticed, clutching the stuffed rabbit Yu Qing had given her.

The once-spacious closet suddenly felt cramped, the sound of their breathing hanging palpably in the confined space.

Yu Qing’s calf pressed against Jiang Nianyu’s waist, her bare foot feeling the warmth and smoothness of her skin without any barrier.

The space suddenly felt cramped, and Yu Qing’s heart began to race.

But Jiang Nianyu seemed oblivious, shifting closer to Yu Qing. “Yu Qing, can I sleep with you tonight?”