The Amnesiac Omega Who Reels Me In Every Day – Chapter 53
by Little PandaStay Safe
Very disappointed, very sad.
Soon it was the day before Jiang Youwan’s birthday. Jiang Jinyi had already booked her flight and prepared a gift, ready to fly over and surprise her.
Her flight was at seven in the evening. That morning, Jinyi had reported her plans to Youwan, lying that she was going to a seaside bed-and-breakfast with friends for two days. Youwan only replied with a flat “Stay safe” and said nothing more.
That was it—just “Stay safe.”
No “Xiao Jin,” no cute little words.
Replying with just that would be normal from anyone else, but Youwan rarely sent messages so brief. By comparison, it felt especially cold.
These past few days, Youwan hadn’t mentioned her birthday at all, and Jinyi deliberately didn’t bring it up either. But she knew—Youwan must be feeling sad right now, disappointed, unhappy, thinking Jinyi was heartless, thinking Jinyi didn’t care about her.
Jinyi stared blankly at her phone, a dull ache in her chest, seized by the urge to tell her the truth right this second.
Every second she let Youwan think she’d forgotten her birthday was torture.
She couldn’t wait—couldn’t wait to fly to Country A. She wanted to appear before her right now.
She was going to celebrate Youwan’s birthday. She wanted to see the look of surprise on her face, see how moved she’d be, hear her praise Jinyi for being so good, so wonderful.
She also wanted to…
Like tasting something especially delicious and not being able to finish it all—she’d think about it for a long, long time. Jinyi kept having dreams. In the dreams, everything was hazy. Through a misty blur, she’d see Youwan sitting with one leg crossed over the other, eyes brimming with seduction, beckoning her with a crooked finger. Then her body would drift toward her as if beyond her control, to be toyed with.
Every time she woke up, Jinyi felt ashamed that she’d have dreams like this. What was even more shameful was that, faintly, she looked forward to it—looked forward to Youwan toying with her.
She still remembered what Wen Ye had said to her before—she didn’t know whether Wen Ye was just sowing discord. She couldn’t remember what had happened over these past four years. If something bad really had happened, she didn’t want to recover those memories. She just wanted things to keep going like this, living this life with Youwan.
After sinking into it with her eyes wide open, they were no longer innocent sisters. Taboo and forbidden.
The flight would take several hours, and Jinyi hated airplane food, so before boarding she found a restaurant she liked and sat down to eat. She’d barely settled in when she heard someone call her name. She turned and met a pair of striking, flamboyant eyes.
Jinyi froze. With this person’s appearance, a flood of memories rushed into her mind. Those memories and this person made her smile unconsciously, genuinely surprised. “Huo Qi?”
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Huo Qi at all since losing her memory. She didn’t know where she’d gone—never expected to run into her here.
When had she come back? And she hadn’t even told her.
Huo Qi’s face was the same as in her memory, but she’d grown much more mature. Beautiful in a bold, vivid way—alluring without being cheap.
“What are you doing here? Where have you been?”
Huo Qi looked at Jinyi too, a smile in her eyes.
Jinyi’s tone reminded Huo Qi of four or five years ago, back in school. Because Huo Qi loved to have fun, she’d always skip class, and when she came back, Jinyi would frown and ask, “Where did you go this time?”
That familiar, nostalgic tone.
“You don’t know where I’ve been?” Huo Qi walked over and sat down across from her.
“How would I know? You never told me.” Jinyi said, “You didn’t even contact me.” A hint of complaint colored her voice as she said it.
Anyone hearing it would think Huo Qi had gone off to play without bringing her along.
Huo Qi looked at her in silence for a long moment, then parted her lips to ask tentatively, “Have you forgotten something?”
At the mention of this, Jinyi sighed. Completely unguarded around Huo Qi, she said with some frustration, “I lost my memory.”
“Lost your memory?”
“Seriously? Then how do you still remember me?”
“Not completely. I just forgot everything after I turned eighteen.”
A glint flashed through Huo Qi’s eyes—surprised, then teasing her, joking like she used to.
They chatted for a while. Then Huo Qi suggested, “This restaurant is just okay. A friend recommended one to me recently—really good, I think you’d love it. Want to go there and eat while we talk?”
Jinyi hadn’t ordered yet anyway, though she had some reservations. “Where? I have a flight to catch later.”
A flight to catch? Huo Qi smiled. “It’s not far—ten minutes by car.”
Jinyi thought for a moment. She had plenty of time anyway. “Fine. If it’s not good, I’ll hit you.”
Huo Qi couldn’t help but laugh softly. The feeling was strange—having a conversation with Jinyi again, yet in the same pattern as four years ago.
Four years had passed. She’d assumed everything would be different now, that Jinyi would be polite and cold to her. She never expected Jinyi to have reverted to how she was four years ago.
How familiar.
“You know what? I feel like I’m talking to a high school kid right now,” Huo Qi teased.
Jinyi: “…”
Jinyi was stung by that remark, her cheeks puffing up like a blowfish. She wanted to argue back but couldn’t think of how.
Just—very annoyed.
Huo Qi had driven. Jinyi got into her car and they headed to the restaurant she’d mentioned. On the way, Huo Qi made a call to reserve a private room. When they arrived at the parking lot, a server was already there to receive them—the service was indeed more attentive than the previous restaurant.
They ordered a few dishes, and the food came quickly. The server poured wine into Jinyi’s stemmed glass. Huo Qi said it was a non-alcoholic fruit wine. Jinyi didn’t question it and took a sip.
She tasted the food, but she wasn’t sure if it was because she was too desperate to see Youwan—her mind was entirely elsewhere, and everything she ate tasted the same.
Huo Qi noticed her zoning out and asked, “Where are you flying to later? We just reunited—do you really have to go?”
Jinyi certainly wasn’t about to tell her she was going to surprise Youwan. She said mysteriously, “Secret.”
“What secret can’t you tell me?” Huo Qi was rather intrigued.
“It’s just a secret—I don’t want to tell you yet.” Jinyi held grudges—she didn’t want to explain, and turned it around to complain: “It’s your fault for not contacting me this whole time.”
“Because I’ve been busy—so many things to do abroad.” Huo Qi said, half-joking, “Even if I don’t contact you, you’re always number one in my heart.”
Huo Qi would say something like that to anyone. Jinyi knew her far too well. “You’re so fake.”
“How am I fake?”
“You’d say that to anyone.” Jinyi figured that in the past four years, who knew how many romantic entanglements Huo Qi had gotten herself into. She was a female sea king1—the type who specialized in breaking male Alphas’ hearts.
Huo Qi raised an eyebrow. “Then from now on, I’ll only say it to you?”
Jinyi grimaced. “…Then keep saying it to other people.”
This was exactly how they’d interacted four years ago—Huo Qi loved to talk big, and Jinyi made no effort to hide her disdain. Catching up over the meal, before they knew it, it was almost time to head to the airport. Jinyi gradually realized something was wrong. She pushed herself up from her chair but suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and sank back down. She pressed a hand to her forehead, frowning at Huo Qi, and asked weakly, “Didn’t you say this wine had no alcohol?”
Huo Qi held the wine glass in her hand, glanced at it. “Tsk, looks like the server brought the wrong one—not the kind I ordered.”
“Ugh… dizzy…” Jinyi hung her head, trying to shake herself alert, but she couldn’t snap out of it. Dizziness washed over her, her limbs going soft.
Huo Qi’s gaze shifted from the deep red wine to Jinyi’s face. Seeing her flushed, frowning, barely conscious—the desire in her eyes was no longer concealed.
She was like a hunter watching prey that had long since escaped her grasp—prey she had caught again.
The thrill made her heart boil.
“I thought Xiao Jin would have built up more tolerance by now. Didn’t expect she’d still get drunk so easily.” Huo Qi circled the table, walked up to Jinyi, braced one hand on the armrest of her chair, and leaned down, smiling at her from above. A voice inside her said:
Finally caught you.
Huo Qi had returned to the country about half a month ago, hiding in the shadows, observing Jinyi. She discovered that Jinyi had moved back to the Jiang family home, was living with Youwan, and their interactions were intimate, her posture dependent.
That was when Huo Qi began to suspect Jinyi had lost her memory. Today she finally caught the chance to approach her—and it turned out she really had.
The eighteen-year-old Eldest Miss Jiang.
Still the same pure, adorable Eldest Miss Jiang.
So enticing.
“Let me take you home.” Huo Qi helped Jinyi up, but Jinyi shook her head. Her consciousness was scattered, but some things she remembered with absolute clarity. She was on the verge of tears. “No, I don’t want to go home. I need to get to the airport—I still have to celebrate Youwan’s birthday!”
Celebrate Youwan’s birthday?
Oh, so that was the secret she’d mentioned.
The pretended composure in Huo Qi’s eyes shattered—jealousy curdling into a fury ready to burst forth. She gritted her teeth gently. “Xiao Jin, you can’t get on a plane when you’re drunk.”
“I’m… I’m not drunk!” Jinyi squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, struggling to focus on Huo Qi’s face. She grabbed her sleeve. “Your car is a convertible, right? The wind will sober me up. Take me… take me to the airport first…”
Jinyi clenched her teeth and pinched her own hand hard, trying to use the pain to jolt herself awake.
The pain nearly brought tears to her eyes, and the rims of her eyes turned red.
But right now she couldn’t care less about the pain. She clutched her bag in a death grip—Youwan’s birthday gift was inside. She had to give it to her personally. She had to wish her happy birthday to her face. She had to be there to celebrate with her.
If she didn’t go, Youwan would be so, so sad.
Just imagining it made Jinyi’s heart ache unbearably. She was frantic.
“Okay, I’ll take you to the airport.” Huo Qi didn’t fight her. She went along with it and agreed.
Jinyi’s head was swimming. Other than knowing she had to get to the airport and celebrate Youwan’s birthday, she’d lost all ability to think. She was guided out of the restaurant by Huo Qi and helped into the car.
There were other people in the parking lot, and Huo Qi didn’t plan to linger. She buckled Jinyi’s seatbelt and got into the driver’s seat. “You can close your eyes and rest for a bit. I’ll take you to the airport right now.”
Jinyi’s eyes were unfocused. She forced herself to stay conscious and said, “It’s the airport on the north side of the city. Don’t… don’t go the wrong way…”
Through the rearview mirror, Huo Qi watched Jinyi struggling against unconsciousness in the back seat. Jealousy filled her heart—jealousy to the point of death—and then came the excitement. Tremendous excitement. Her heart was working in overdrive, a psychological thrill unlike anything before.
“Don’t worry. I won’t go the wrong way.”
The palm of Jinyi’s hand was already stained red where she’d pinched herself. She tried so, so hard to stay conscious, but it was no use. The dizziness grew stronger and stronger. The car started, and she passed out.
The last thing in her mind before she blacked out was that she had to go celebrate Youwan’s birthday.
But the car was driving in the opposite direction of the airport.
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