Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The formal wedding ceremony was set for sunset.

The Li family’s hillside estate, south of the capital, boasted the most breathtaking sunset views in the entire city.

However, despite the evening banquet being the main event, the newlyweds, Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi, had been kept busy since early morning.

The lavishly hired top-tier planning team even dictated every minute detail—from bathing before makeup to brushing teeth and shaving—demanding strict adherence to standardized procedures!

They called it "ritual cleansing with incense to welcome a new life."

Fortunately, having experienced this once in his previous life, Ying Zhiyu took it all in stride.

By the time he emerged fully styled and impeccably dressed from the dressing room, Li Xi happened to step out from another door.

From the look in Li Xi's eyes as he gazed at his face, Ying Zhiyu detected a hint of hidden "satisfaction."

Half sighing, half amused, Ying Zhiyu remarked, "I’ve used three face masks this morning—my skin must be softer than a peeled egg now."

As if taking Ying Zhiyu’s words as an invitation, Li Xi raised his hand and brushed his thumb across Ying Zhiyu’s cheek.

Ying Zhiyu was taken aback.

Li Xi also seemed to realize what he had just done.

He withdrew his hand and cleared his throat softly. "Cameras are rolling everywhere. We should show more affection."

There was full video coverage in the previous life too, but I don’t recall you pinching my cheek back then.

Ying Zhiyu kept the thought to himself, simply nodding and responding seriously with an "Okay."

Later, when the public relations team asked them to take some couple photos for future use, he casually wrapped his arm around Li Xi’s waist.

Li Xi’s body stiffened.

Ying Zhiyu held him, tilting his head with a smile. "Let’s be more intimate, Boss Li."

Li Xi: "…"

Not to be outdone, he then cupped the back of Ying Zhiyu’s head.

Well, from a distance, it looked as though they were sharing a kiss.

Fifteen minutes later, under the resentful glares of the styling team, Ying Zhiyu hurried to the hairstylist for emergency fixes—his hair now tousled into a rat’s nest.

At exactly 2 p.m., invited guests were permitted to enter the venue gradually.

The paramount concern in organizing the Li family’s wedding was security.

The entire hillside estate had been under strict control for a week, restricting access to unauthorized personnel, and anti-drone systems were activated even before the banquet setup began.

All attendees completed identity verification through facial recognition systems on the wedding day and signed strict confidentiality agreements.

Over a thousand security personnel patrolled inside and outside the estate, with complete signal jamming coverage throughout the venue.

At 5:17 p.m., the vows ceremony began.

Under the golden glow of the setting sun, Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi exchanged dazzling wedding rings.

In terms of physical appearance, Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi were undoubtedly a perfectly matched pair.

Ying Zhiyu stood precisely at 188.8 cm, while Li Xi was 185.5 cm—even their height difference seemed perfectly harmonious.

Seated at the edge of the seventh row in the guest section, Xu Suxiao had a complicated look on his face.

Two months ago, the tall and handsome young Alpha on the stage could only stand slightly bent behind his mentor, offering a respectful toast without even the right to speak.

Two months later, he couldn’t even secure a mid-to-front row seat at this wedding to clearly see the triumphant expression on the other’s face.

Of course, this was merely Xu Suxiao measuring others by his own narrow standards.

Ying Zhiyu remained composed and dignified throughout the entire ceremony.

Including the kiss on Li Xi’s cheek after the ring exchange.

This wedding was merely Li Xi’s stepping stone into the boardroom of the LI Group.

Although the sedative project had sparked significant public outcry, LI’s stock price had also soared to unprecedented heights.

Li Xi’s status as heir was undeniable; his next step was to gain actual control in LI.

A powerless Alpha partner and a marriage without complications would serve as the final reassurance for the group’s board.

As a supporting player in Li Xi’s performance, Ying Zhiyu naturally remained poised and detached.

-

At 6:18 p.m., the wedding banquet commenced.

Given the Li family’s standing, Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi were not required to toast at every table.

The newlyweds only raised their glasses at the center of the stage, while all guests stood facing them and raised their own glasses in response.

After Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi drank the ceremonial crossed-arm toast, the guests emptied their glasses.

After stepping off the stage, Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi changed out of their white ceremonial attire into matching black evening wear.

Each was surrounded by seven or eight staff members—some touching up makeup and hairstyles, others doing up buttons and belts, and still others coordinating bow ties, brooches, cufflinks, watches, and more.

Ying Zhiyu spread his arms comfortably, allowing the staff to adjust his outfit.

Li Xi glanced at Ying Zhiyu from across the room, then lowered his gaze to Ying Zhiyu’s left wrist.

Since both grooms were similar in build and there were no traditional bridal pickup customs, Li Xi and Ying Zhiyu’s wedding attire options were relatively simple: one set for receiving guests, one for the ceremony, and one for the evening banquet.

Three outfits paired with three sets of accessories—among which, only the pair of watches for the evening wear had been personally vetted by Li Xi amidst his busy schedule.

Once dressed in his dress shirt, a Patek Philippe meteorite dial watch was placed over Ying Zhiyu’s prominent wrist bone.

The watch dial was crafted from a slice of lunar meteorite, symbolizing eternity.

As Li Xi’s gaze rested motionless on the Alpha’s wrist, Ying Zhiyu seemed to sense it and turned to look at him.

The next moment, Li Xi averted his eyes.

Ying Zhiyu blinked, watching Third Prince Li who was now conspicuously looking elsewhere.

Once dressed in their evening wear, although they didn’t need to toast at every table, they still had to make the rounds at the VIP tables as a formality.

When the sommelier in pure white gloves was pouring wine for Ying Zhiyu, Ying Zhiyu suddenly raised his left wrist and brushed against Li Xi’s wrist.

Li Xi looked up at him.

Ying Zhiyu smiled teasingly and asked, "Is this the surprise Mr. Li prepared for tonight? This doesn’t look like the one we tried on earlier?"

Li Xi paused for a moment, lowered his gaze, and said, "It hadn’t arrived yet at the time."

The exclusive Patek Philippe moon meteorite watches—when the dials of the two watches on Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi’s wrists were pressed together, they revealed connected and continuous meteorite patterns—

They were crafted from the same meteorite slice, a one-of-a-kind matching pair.

The remaining meteorite material from the watch dials was also meticulously crafted into two pairs of matching cufflinks, which now subtly adorned the cuffs of Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi’s black evening suits.

The materials were rare, the craftsmanship complex, and the timeline was tight.

During the fitting for the evening suit accessories, they were said to not have arrived yet—they had indeed been rushed day and night and delivered to the Li residence just a few days ago.

But it was indeed a surprise, as Li Xi had intentionally kept it hidden from his fiancé during the wedding preparations.

Li Xi knew Ying Zhiyu liked watches.

As Ying Zhiyu looked at the watch on his wrist, he couldn’t help but recall his previous life.

In his past life, during his wedding with Li Xi, Li Xi was too preoccupied to oversee the preparations, and Ying Zhiyu, unfamiliar with the rules of high society, wasn’t in a position to contribute.

Back then, they didn’t have these watches or cufflinks.

Yet in that past life, Ying Zhiyu had actually received such a meteorite watch.

It was on their tenth wedding anniversary when Li Xi’s personal bodyguard, Pan Da, handed Ying Zhiyu a gift box.

Inside the box were a watch and a ring with a meteorite inlay.

By then, Ying Zhiyu was already working at the National Institute of Biological Sciences, and anything too ostentatious was inconvenient to wear.

So after receiving the gift, he never once wore them in public.

He had always thought the watch and ring were merely a set meant to flaunt wealth and dominance, at most a rare luxury set.

But tonight, just moments ago.

Ying Zhiyu suddenly realized that watch, and even that ring, were likely one half of a matching couple’s set.

Only because Ying Zhiyu never wore them did he not know their counterparts had remained with his spouse all along...

"I really like this surprise," Ying Zhiyu said, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

Alphas were never stingy with their smiles.

It was just that Ying Zhiyu, with his naturally sharp eyebrows and bright, piercing eyes and well-defined features, always gave off an unapproachable distance when he wasn’t smiling.

Ying Zhiyu leaned forward and, without warning, planted a soft kiss to Li Xi’s cheek.

His lips had been coated with some lip balm by the makeup artist, and after kissing him, he chuckled to himself and wiped Li Xi’s cheek with his hand.

Li Xi froze, as if momentarily frozen in place.

He held his breath, his body stiff.

This wasn’t the first time Ying Zhiyu had kissed Li Xi—he had also kissed him during the vows ceremony that afternoon.

But... the feeling was completely different.

Li Xi hesitated for a split second, and before he could react and say anything, the Alpha had already pulled back.

"My alcohol tolerance is mediocre, Mr. Li. You’ll have to have my back later."

Li Xi: "..."

Unbelievable.

A strong, healthy Alpha asking his newlywed Omega to cover for him during the toasts!