“Even if you have a residence permit, where would you get the money to buy a house? If you don’t have a house and car, will your mother-in-law look favorably upon you?”
“Of course, if you don’t have any academic qualifications, the Paranormal Bureau can not pay you any wages.”
Mu Sheng: “……”
“If you want to earn money, you have to find a job, and if you want to find a job, you have to look at your education. What can you do if you only know the Pythagorean theorem?”
“You have to make up for it, starting from elementary school, right? Even if you are amazing and have a high learning efficiency, you’ll still have to study for around three to five years and then take an adult college entrance examination in the future……”
Xiao Qin put his lips together and smiled: “0306’s appearance seems young, he could enter a high school and take this year’s exam.”
Director Xu: “Tsk, look, let’s take high school for example. The young lady will graduate college soon. However, you’ll still be studying at the primary school level, tsk, tsk. Perhaps, she’ll get married after graduation. You’ll still be preparing for the college entrance exam, tsk, tsk. So forget about it, continue staying here and working.”
Mu Sheng：！！！
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
Dkys Ckd oyp xsdkvsakdt vbl shlayzz pkvwyvksd yde pyo vbyv kv oyp dsv tsse. Tl iwknjzu pvasel qsaoyae yde tayccle bkp pbswzela vs pvsr y aksv qasx snnwakdt: “Gbb! Tso ycswv usw qkzz swv vbl yrrzknyvksd qsax qkapv……”
Yw Fbldt zsolale bkp blye; Pkalnvsa Dw’p elpj oyp qwzz sq czydj qsaxp.&dcpr;
Mbl keldvkvu sq vbl Vyaydsaxyz Jwalyw oyp prlnkyz, nsdnladkdt pvyvl plnalvp, yde kd saela vs ralhldv pupvlx bynjkdt, vbl xspv rakxkvkhl ryrla qkzlp yde rasnlewalp olal pvkzz wple wdvkz vseyu.
Mbl uswdt xyd’p zkrp olal pzktbvzu rwaple.
……Gzz bkp zkql, bl byvle vblpl pdsoqzyjlp, cwv dso vblal olal ldezlpp yrrzknyvksd qsaxp vs qkzz swv.
Swddkdt yaswde ypkel, cwv qsa vbl pyjl sq y zyatl ale plyz, bl bye vs nsdpvydvzu vyjl sd lmvay xkppksdp vs kdnalypl fsc cldlqkvp.
Jwv…… blal oyp clvvla vbyd clqsal.
Gv zlypv, vblal kp bsrl kq usw osaj byae, vblal kp y oyu vs ypj qsa blzr.
No need to fight bloody battles, no need to part forever.
And, here, he was neither rejected by demons, nor shunned by humans. Even if there was only a 0306 codename, he finally had an identity. There was a position that really needed him.
Mu Sheng’s anger was doused at a speed visible to the naked eye. The appearance of him lying on the table to fill out the form, seemed to look a little cute.
The director of Xu smiled at his figure: “Xiao Mu, this look of yours isn’t too good, your mother-in-law definitely won’t like it.”
Mu Sheng: ！！！！
Xiao Qin gave looks until his eyelids cramped up and was vigorously rubbing his eyes.
Director Xu smiled and held his shoulders: “Your height isn’t likely to be 1.8 meters, at most it’s 1.7 meters. To top it off, you’re so skinny. However, your figure is pretty good. But why is your hair so long, it’s so irksome. Your dressing style must also be changed, it’s black. Why do you have the same problem as the god of death next door?”
“……”
Xiao Qin’s mouth dropped open and he felt like crying.
In the late afternoon, the Paranormal Bureau building shook heavily, and then returned to silence.
The interns in the lounge area, including the gum-chewing curly-haired one, lay down orderly on the sofa and looked out: “Wow, it’s snowing documents!”
5.
Ling Miaomiao was in the library, and once again, she was nodding off after failing to stay awake due to staying up too late.
After spending nearly twenty years in that parallel world, studying books was so strange that it felt like a lifetime ago.
In the mathematics department, where girls were at a disadvantage, Ling Miaomiao was a mid-ranking student, but in the recent midterm exams, three of her major course exam results were found lacking.
So sleepy……
I’m really worried.
How about submitting a time travel explanation?
While her thoughts drifted around in her dazed mind, a gentle cool breeze blew across the room, very comfortable on her face.
Ay, I can’t…… can’t be so bad.
She shook her head and tenaciously raised her head. The desk on the opposite side had the trigonometric function spread out. She looked at it with sleepy eyes for a while before wondering if she had entered the wrong library.
After looking up again, there was a short-haired teenager in a white T-shirt and a denim jacket, looking at her with unblinking black eyes.
His soft hair was limply stuck to his forehead, with a slight curl to it. He looked so well behaved that she didn’t recognize him for a while.
She looked at him blankly for a while, then felt her hairs stand up on end
“…… you, youyouyou ……”
“Shh……” his face was a little red. After a short while, he stood up and took off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders, and in a soft voice, he told her, “Don’t sleep here.”
6.
What does a diploma mean to you?
For 0306, a diploma determined how soon he could get married.
Director Xu calculated that it would take a total of seven years if he went through the usual process and it would be too late by then.
But it would be different at the Paranormal Bureau. At the time, the director promised: “I won’t ask for much, as long as you score well enough to get into a top-tier university, I can solve your degree and residence permit problems. You’ll be able to go out and shine. At the same time, I guarantee your mother-in-law will be satisfied.”
“I will hire you directly in the name of the office director of the Paranormal Bureau, and give you the position of an official Paranormal Bureau staff, which is equivalent to saving seven years of your time and getting a beautiful woman early.”
“After seven years—— I reckon the application for human evolution should be finalized by then—— Is it a good deal?”
After their discussion, Director Xu and Xiao Qin even gave each other a delighted high five, happy for some unknown reason.
In short, in this year, 0306 swept through with a startlingly high work efficiency, his reputation rising a great deal.
Later, the mission agents he assisted discovered that the handsome looking NPC who came out of nowhere was a bit odd.
He would throw out the demon restraining circlet, then stare off into space while muttering. At first, everyone mistook it for him reciting spells, but only when they got closer did they hear him reciting: “……The clouds tinged with sunset hues take wing with the lone bird, and the autumn river water converged with the limitless sky, amalgamating into one color…….”
Sometimes, he would also solve a problem after settling an issue, quietly sitting with the mission agent by the campfire, a stick in his hand, quietly dipping it in blood before scratching something on the ground.
Once, a female mission agent looked at his scribbles and shouted out in disbelief, “Oh my God! Isn’t this the acid-base neutralization equation?”
She grabbed the NPC’s collar and cried out: “Brother, you…… you are from our world, right? When can I go home?”
0306 broke away from her hold and coldly withdrew to the side: “I am not.”
“……Then,” she rubbed her eyes, “Then what were you doing?”
“Sorry.” The young man perfunctorily performed a bowing salute of a staff member of the Paranormal Bureau, “I’m working part-time while studying.”
7.
Ling Miaomiao’s sleepiness was all gone.
She couldn’t bear to see this person mess around and took out the barrier order, urging him to return.
“I’m not going back” The other party retorted righteously. “I asked for a day off, just……”.
Just to be with you.
He hesitated: “Just to learn.”
“……” Ling Miaomiao went silent for a few seconds, then looked askance at the high school elective textbook. “Are you going to take the college entrance exam??”
“Yes.”
The black lotus was going to take the college entrance exam, was there anything else that was impossible?
The world had become too ridiculous.
“Then…… what do you want to do after that?”
“I’m…… going to settle down in the capital first.”
“Settle down in the capital?”
“And then…… look for a job.”
“Look for a job?”
“And then…… procure a house.”
The word “procure” was new to him, and he was a little unsure of the pronunciation.
“Buying a house?! And then what?!” Ling Miaomiao was shocked, “Heavens, who told you about this?! What else do you plan to do after buying the house?!”
Mu Sheng answered with a question, “……Can you not get married as soon as you graduate?”
“Am I sick, why should I get married as soon as I graduate?” She was both angry and amused, and patted a thick reference book on the table, “I’m going to take the graduate program exam.”
After thinking about it, she was still in disbelief. “You haven’t finished telling me yet, what are you going to do after you buy a house?”
“Then……” he paused.
“Marry you.”
“……”
Ling Miaomiao’s heart stopped for a moment then pounded nervously: “……I’m really scared that you’ re not the type my mother likes.
“I…… wait for me a few years, I will have a house and a car in the future.”
“That’s not what I meant……”
“Isn’t it just because I’m not 1.8 meters?” The young man was a little annoyed, “I’ll…… reach that height when I put on my shoes.
“…… Not that…..”
“Then, from now on,…… I won’t wear black.”
“Not that……”
“The hair was also cut with the permission of Director Xu, who said it was a mother-in-law’s favorite hairstyle.”
“What ……” Ling Miaomiao laughed, so hard that she was hitting the table.
Her voice was a little loud and the students nearby all looked at her strangely.
“Being a married couple, have you not had enough of it yet?” She looked up, palms sweating, heart pounding, and both amused yet saddened.
She constantly felt like a trafficker who had abducted a young girl into the mountains, changing the trajectory of the person’s life, “A man and a woman together for a lifetime, isn’t that all there is to it?”
“I haven’t had enough.” His face sank, a storm swirling in his dark eyes, “And you can’t be bored of it either.”
“Or I’ll……”
“I’ll blow up the library right now.”
Translator Note:
Echo/ZZZZ:
What, what?! That’s it? I wanted to see a wedding TT_TT How is this the end, but really, can you believe it’s the end? I can’t. Here I was reading the second to last line and thinking that there was more to come but then being hit with THE LAST LINE O.O ? ? ? Can someone explain what just happened?
Anyways, what a line to end on. I don’t know if I should be surprised or not. Also, that sneaky director! He’s a scammer! A scammer, I tell you! ARGHH!!!! How dare you bully our Ziqi!!! Fight me! Ziqi is getting scammed for free labor, for SEVEN YEARS! If this isn’t unfair, I don’t know what is. Miaomiao, where are you? Come save your husband! Poor Ziqi, he’s so eager to marry Miaomiao in this world as well, but he doesn’t know she’s planning to go to graduate school. But her reaction to him declaring his willingness to be married in this world as well… squeal
Thank you to all you readers, I wouldn’t have made it without you. I’m too lazy sometimes. Lol
And thank you to Entropy. Honestly, I think Entropy, our main translator, has done such a good job that it’s cut down a lot of the terminology work and made the novel so much easier to understand in those vague and difficult to understand parts which never come out right in the unedited mtl. Overall, I’m eternally grateful to him for bringing this novel to us. He’s been the best mentor (of sorts) and I’m happy to have the chance to get to know him and work with him. He’s been a great motivator to me, getting me to lug my lazy butt over to translating, albeit slowly. Every time, I have at least one moment where I mentally chant to myself, “Fighting! Add oil! We can do anything we put our minds to!”
I also want to say that he’s a champ for pushing through this whole novel, it’s mentally back-breaking work. It’s been pretty crazy, a wild journey that’s definitely made it’s mark on me, and I hope you! Let’s cheer Entropy on his way to military service. Jia You!!!!
Entropy:
Hey everyone, it’s Entropy. Haven’t heard from me in a hot minute, yea? I’ve been through a lot and quite a number of things have happened in the past couple of months, so I haven’t contributed to Black Lotus in the slightest. Please, give Z all the support she deserves. Give her lots of loving, capiche? Also, I’m about to head off to military service in less than a week. So I’ve been preparing for that I guess. Gonna be completely MIA for 4 months or more. Thankfully it’s pretty short. Anyways, back to the important topic: Black Lotus. Honestly, I’m really relieved and happy regarding Black Lotus. I never really expected to finish Black Lotus if I’m being honest. I really felt like giving up the project many times over the past 2.5 years. In fact, every other past translation project of mine was dropped after I lost the motivation to continue. But Black Lotus was a particularly nail-biter of a zombie. Honestly, I feel like all the credit goes to Liltato and Z for getting me through to the end. I dropped the ball a lot during the journey and I definitely did not translate as well as I wish I did, but hindsight 20/20.
Regarding the story itself, I feel rather bittersweet about it all. Miaomiao is a kind-hearted soul who is suddenly dropped into a villainess role. There’s a lot to discuss and pick apart regarding Miaomiao’s personality but I personally think that this story is really all about a young kid who was always treated like an outsider, like a tool, struggling through those traumas using his own methods, and finally coming out a decent human being. I was initially hesitant about the novel because… I heard it had a yandere male lead. I’ve read yandere male leads before and they were all brainless, static characters. Color me surprised when I see that Mu Sheng actually grows throughout the story. Personally, I find that the best characters are the ones that grow and change throughout the course of a story because they are the ones that most closely resemble real life. People change and grow when they encounter… extenuating circumstances. In other words, growth is found when forced out of your comfort zone. Don’t tell conservatives that though, they probably won’t appreciate such advice 🙂 There’s a lot to say about the other characters. Perhaps I may just be overanalyzing the characters but I feel like Mu Yao was actually the mother role of the story. Yes, this story is actually a double date about a young couple trying to teach their secretly goth teenage son with an Oedipus Complex (aka mommy complex) whilst a cute bunny attempts to seduce their son with her cuteness and innocence.
Of all the things I felt were out of place, the system was number one. Not only were the system notifications often the most annoying and abstruse lines to translate, but they also felt completely wrong to me. The system felt like it was merely a convenient tool for the author to force a plot and tell instead of show. Perhaps it is merely a result of the influence systems in web novels have inflicted. I think the story would’ve been much more interesting and would’ve had much more depth, intrigue, and suspense if the system didn’t exist. Before I end the message, I have to apologize. I have actively avoided reading all comments as best as I could because I always feel a surge of guilt when I do. I feel terrible when I see people thanking me for something that I did not put 100%+ of my effort into, for something that I feel undeserving of. So, thank you to everyone that commented and read. All in all, I rate Black Lotus a Mu-Sheng’s-beautiful-lashes over 100. The author definitely has an obsession with long lashes. PS. Don’t fan translate a novel that you’re not passionate about. I don’t read romance and getting through the majority of the novel was definitely like trying to run a marathon through a swamp. You’ll be lucky or stupid if you manage to gain any distance. ;0 PPS. Like with my previous tl notes, you’re always free to come into the discord channel to talk / ask for help if ya need it. Keeping it suppressed always, always leads to more hurt. Losing a part of your organs to cancer is preferable to losing your life while suffering from great pain for a long time. Most people know they have a problem and just won’t admit it due to any number of reasons. While I’m gone you can spam liltato. She’s basically a toothless T-rex. She acts and huffs tough but is very caring. Stay healthy peeps~
Yours truly,
Entropy
WHAT?! WHAT?! That’s it??? DANG IT! And here I thought we’d have a more satisfying ending in regards to his boss! ARGGGHHH! Oof…
–
Now I’m sad. The ending felt axed. But, thanks so much to you translators for bringing this to us! I truly enjoyed reading your translation of this novel, and, despite this mind-boggling ending, loved it so much.
–
Also, I, too, was expecting a wedding. *Cries*
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
That’s it? That’s the end?! O.OI need more! Author-sama! Well, You said most of things I wanted to say, so I only can thank You so much to bring us for such great journey! (´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩`) ♡ I really like our characters, especially little Ziqi, he is the character that developed the most in the whole story! (๑°꒵°๑) It was a pleasant reading time! (♡ >ω< ♡) One more time, thank You for wonderful translating! ♡(ŐωŐ人) Take care and wishing You the best ^^
Thank you, I wish you the best as well!
Thank you all translators and editors and all ppl bringing this cute story to us reader.
I started reading this exactly one year ago, and was so happy that it closed at exactly the one year mark for me. However, I agree that ending was very much … disappointing. No closure at all. Guess I’ll have to make up my own and assume Sheng goes Black Lotus mode and uses force to make the asshole director finally make things right, then he rushes off to sweep Miao Miao off her feet and they ride off into the sunset together for a life of love and happiness. The end. Lol. Wonder how the hell they will manage that ending on the tapas comic…
Thank you again for this translation and I am so grateful. Entropy may claim he didn’t give it 100% but god damned it, the project was finished right? It’s not gonna be a dropped story that haunts me like “Sword and Dress” which I’ll seemingly never get to see finished. As for Entropy’s health stuff… was it colon cancer?! If it was, I can empathize. I have Crohn’s disease and have had multiple emergency surgeries and organs lost, and part of my colon removed too. I feel ya. My diagnosis list grows by the month, even with stupidly weird ones like “hey so guess what? Your CT shows you were born with no spleen?! Fun! We’re referring you to hematology, now here’s some extra immunizations for ya…” 😂😅 I hope you all stay healthy too and hugs all around.
In any case, again, thank you so much again guys and thank you for the journey!
Wait! What?! Is it the end?! Like the real deal last chapter? 😨
Lol. What a wonderful ride. Oh, my. He’s still a yandere tethering on the edge of blackening. 🥲😓😅 I hope the drama adaptation would follow the wonderful-ness of the book. But, it would really need a strict restrictions because it’d only be suitable for a (mentally) healthy mature people. Definitely not for teenager and children. Among all the disturbing points, the protagonist’s habit of self-mutilating/harming and suicidal behavior are definitely dangerous.
@ TN/, as someone who listen to my mom’s “encouraging words” everyday about how she couldn’t spent any penny of her and my father money for themselves because they need to pay for their children’s school fees (which admittedly, would spend half of their total earnings), ugh… I can’t say that Ziqi was doing a “free labor”. I mean, the formal education can last for at least 16 years and the classes for working student are more expensive than the regular classes. So, 🤷♀️
Lastly, but not the least, thanks for the translation. Otsukaresama!
………That’s it? That’s all the ending of our main couple? Even Ziqi’s parents got a decent closure, but the main couple only has a half-assed ending?! The heck, author?!
I read a very interesting, fun, and heart-warming work of art. Thank you so much ( ≧Д≦)
December 7, 2023
9:15 PM
: A day before my exams ಠ∀ಠ