Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Hearing this, Papa Ying also frowned.

A young and strong Alpha, saved by an Omega—instead of feeling ashamed, he seemed proud of it!

Ying Zhiyu had never viewed Li Xi as just a typical Omega.

Li Xi was not some fragile, delicate Omega. Or perhaps, with society having progressed so much, Omegas had already broken free from the constraints of their heat cycles and should no longer be confined to the role of those who need protection.

He wasn't too hung up on the "who saved whom" aspect in the story he had fabricated.

Mother Ying was still somewhat worried. "So it's only been a little over two months?"

It had only been a little over two months since the last sensational attack news that shook the capital. In just over two months, her son had already entered a relationship with that young master?

Ying Zhiyu let out a casual "Ah" and said, "Your son has great charm."

Mother Ying: "…"

Of course, she thought her son was excellent—perfect, top to bottom. Even before her son brought someone home, Mother Ying believed her son was more than a match for anyone, and she had never been worried.

But… the one sitting outside now was the heir of a world-class pheromone corporation!

That was a family with a literal throne to inherit…

Not wanting to leave Li Xi alone in the living room for too long, Ying Zhiyu was about to step out of the kitchen after explaining.

Before he could open the door, Mother Ying pulled her son back and whispered, "Have you two… already marked him?"

An Alpha's temporary mark on an Omega usually only lasts a week, metabolizing quickly.

Ying Zhiyu had last marked Li Xi on the second day after their marriage.

By now, it should have mostly worn off.

But Mother Ying was, after all, Ying Zhiyu’s biological mother and was very familiar with her son’s pheromones. The moment Li Xi entered the relatively enclosed living room, she'd immediately picked up on the trace of her son's scent on Li Xi.

They were married anyway, so Ying Zhiyu saw no point in hiding it.

He nodded. "Yeah, I marked him."

Papa Ying, who had been silent until now, scowled, his face unusually severe. "How can marking be done so casually!"

In the older generation’s mindset, for an Alpha and Omega in a relationship, even being alone in the same room was considered crossing boundaries. Marking was something that should only happen after marriage.

Ying Zhiyu shrugged and said airily, "Then we'll get married in the future."

(Not that they weren't already.)

In the living room, Li Xi was still sitting right where he'd left him.

When Ying Zhiyu came out of the kitchen, he was carrying a plate of steaming beef buns and a glass of plain water, placing them on the coffee table in front of Li Xi.

"It’s not good to drink tea at night. If you’re hungry, have something to tide you over."

Ying Zhiyu sat on the sofa next to Li Xi.

He was surprised; he'd assumed Li Xi wouldn’t touch the food, but instead, Li Xi didn't hesitate to pick up a bun with his chopsticks and took a bite.

Ying Zhiyu was surprised. "Are you really hungry?"

He remembered Li Xi had eaten a little something in the cafeteria earlier.

Li Xi shook his head and said honestly, "Not hungry."

But after saying that, he took another bite, swallowed, and then added, "It'd be rude not to eat."

At that, Ying Zhiyu's eyes crinkled into a smile.

Watching him sitting there so calmly on the sofa, eating the bun without any sign of discomfort, he thought, Third Prince Li really was different from ordinary Omegas.

As Li Xi ate the bun, he watched the busy figures of Ying Zhiyu’s parents in the kitchen.

The beef buns from the Ying family’s baozi shop were generously sized and well-stuffed. Typically, an Omega could make do with one beef bun for the entire morning.

Ying Zhiyu had originally intended for Li Xi to just take a couple of polite bites and then set it aside, but Li Xi kept going, finishing the whole thing.

Ying Zhiyu's eyes flicked instinctively to Li Xi's stomach.

Li Xi had just finished the beef bun and looked up.

"What is it?"

Ying Zhiyu shook his head. "Nothing."

He was just reminded of Li Xi’s well-defined eight-pack abs. Did the guy not have to watch what he ate?

Li Xi let it go and turned his attention back to the Ying family’s kitchen.

"Should we go help out?" he asked.

Ying Zhiyu smiled and said, "No need. They won’t let you lift a finger."

"I don’t know how to help anyway—I’d probably just get in the way."

Li Xi was very self-aware. He was much more accepting of his inability to cook than his inability to ride a bicycle.

He asked instead, "Aren’t you going in to help?"

From what he knew of Ying Zhiyu's habits, he would return home every week, wake up in the middle of the night to help his parents make buns, and then sell them together. Clearly, he was a very filial Alpha.

Ying Zhiyu also glanced toward the kitchen.

In his previous life, it had been the same. The difference in their status was just too big. His parents worried they wouldn’t have a good life together—concerned that their family wasn't good enough for Li Xi, and also worried that their son would be looked down on in such a powerful family and suffer in ways they couldn’t see.

But there was no point talking about it. Only time would tell.

So Ying Zhiyu shook his head. "If I go in now, I'll just be in the way."

When Ying Zhiyan returned home, Li Xi had just gone into the Ying family’s bathroom.

Ying Zhiyu opened the door.

Ying Zhiyan was loaded down with shopping bags. The moment she saw her brother, she looked around and asked, "Where’s the pretty Omega? Didn’t Mom and Dad say you brought someone home tonight?"

It was Friday. Ying Zhiyan had gone shopping with colleagues after work.

But while she was still waiting in line at a restaurant in the mall, before their number was even called, her parents called and said her brother was bringing an Omega home!

Her brother was over twenty and had never brought a girlfriend home before—how could Ying Zhiyan miss out?

She remembered to be courteous, knowing her brother wasn’t a casual person. Since he brought someone home, he must be very satisfied with them, so she had bought gifts in advance at the mall to give to her "future sister-in-law" as a welcome gift.

Ying Zhiyu was well aware of Li Xi’s sacred status among the younger generation of Omegas.

He didn’t directly say Li Xi’s name, intending to let his sister see for herself.

Taking the items from his sister, Ying Zhiyu replied, "He’s in the bathroom."

Ying Zhiyan changed her shoes at the entrance and went into the kitchen to wash her hands.

Dad Ying and Mom Ying wanted to say something to their clueless daughter, but since the person was already in their home, anything they said now seemed unnecessary.

Ying Zhiyan was filled with excitement at the thought of meeting her "sister-in-law-to-be" and completely missed her parents’ hesitant expressions.

After washing her hands in the kitchen, she helped her dad dish out rice by carrying a few bowls out.

Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, the bathroom door in the living room clicked open.

Ying Zhiyan instinctively turned her head.

Li Xi’s cold, aloof, and handsome face seemed to materialize right out of a high-definition phone screen into reality.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

With a crash, the middle bowl among the three she was holding suddenly fell to the ground.

Ying Zhiyu immediately stood up in the living room.

Li Xi was closer to Ying Zhiyan and reached her before Ying Zhiyu could.

He recognized Ying Zhiyu’s sister and was about to crouch down to help clean up.

Ying Zhiyu arrived a step later.

"Back, back, back."

He pulled Li Xi by one arm and held his sister back with the other.

"Picking up broken glass always leads to bleeding—it’s a cardinal rule," Ying Zhiyu said, stepping around the shattered bowl and seriously shooing the two away. "Quick, leave this potential 'hazard zone'!"

Seeing that Ying Zhiyu also stopped their parents from helping, he calmly grabbed a broom and dustpan from the kitchen and swept up the broken pieces.

Li Xi: "..."

He must’ve watched too many dramas—he wasn’t that incapable of taking care of himself.

That evening, the atmosphere at the Ying family dinner was distinctly awkward.

-

Dad Ying and Mom Ying had already eaten dinner before Ying Zhiyu called home.

Ying Zhiyan, on the other hand, hadn’t had time to eat outside.

But she was too distracted to eat now. Her "idol" was sitting right across from her, and she didn’t even dare to lift her eyes, stiffly holding her bowl without touching her chopsticks for a long time.

Ying Zhiyu was the most at ease person at the table.

He first picked up some ginger and scallion chicken and put it in his sister’s bowl, then took a portion of Typhoon Shelter prawns for himself.

He took a casual bite of rice, eating the prawns along with it.

After swallowing, he turned to Li Xi and explained, "My sister used to love this Typhoon Shelter prawns. My dad learned how to make it just for her by studying at a restaurant. When I was little, I could never keep up with her and rarely got more than a few pieces."

The Alpha’s tone was light and calm, not so much complaining about unfairness as sharing a childhood memory with Li Xi.

Sure enough, Ying Zhiyu smiled. "Today, thanks to you, my dad made a huge portion."

Actually, Ying Zhiyu intentionally omitted a key detail of the story.

Ying Zhiyan was ten years older than Ying Zhiyu, so it was no surprise that he couldn’t compete with his sister as a child. But as he grew older, an Alpha shouldn’t have had trouble out-eating an Omega.

However, when Ying Zhiyu was twelve, twenty-two-year-old Ying Zhiyan suffered acute liver necrosis due to a drug interaction. Even though Father Ying donated part of his liver to save her, Ying Zhiyan was no longer allowed to eat high-fat fried foods like this after that.

Because of this, this Typhoon Shelter prawns was actually the first time it had made a comeback at the Ying family table in ten years.

Though Mom Ying was still worried, seeing her son casually help himself to a portion of prawns without any regard for the Omega he brought home, she grew concerned again.

"You silly child," Mom Ying said, giving her son a light smack. "Why aren’t you serving food to our guest?"

Li Xi watched as Mom Ying’s palm connected with the back of the Alpha’s head—the same head with a 140 IQ.

Though it was clear the hit wasn’t hard and was more like a playful dynamic between mother and son, Li Xi still lowered his eyes slightly and slowly averted his gaze.

Ying Zhiyu actually estimated that Li Xi was pretty much full.

He had already eaten some at their school cafeteria and had a large beef bao after coming home with him.

Most importantly, Li Xi avoided scallions, ginger, and garlic entirely.

Ying Zhiyu had decided to bring Li Xi home last-minute and hadn’t had time to inform his family about Li Xi’s food restrictions.

However, just as Ying Zhiyu was about to explain for Li Xi, a hand moved quickly in the corner of his vision—

Li Xi picked up a prawn and put it in his mouth.

Ying Zhiyu: "..."

For someone with a light palate, Typhoon Shelter prawns practically contained a "lethal dose" of potent seasonings.

Ying Zhiyu turned his head, staring incredulously as Li Xi without flinching ate the entire prawn, heavily seasoned with garlic.

After swallowing the prawn, Li Xi calmly looked up. "What’s wrong?"

Ying Zhiyu: "..."

Mom Ying had no idea what her son was zoning out about. Seeing that Li Xi’s bowl was empty again, she urged Ying Zhiyu to serve him some chicken.

"This is organic chicken from the countryside—the meat is especially tender. Quick, serve Mr. Li some," Mom Ying insisted.

But when Ying Zhiyu turned his gaze to the classic Cantonese dish on the table, ginger and scallion chicken...

Great. Another "lethal dose" of scallions, ginger, and garlic.

He hesitated, not making a move. Mom Ying, being impatient, all but shoved the dish in front of him. "Come on!"

Ying Zhiyu looked at the food in front of him, then silently turned his head toward Li Xi.

He and Li Xi stared at each other.

The two of them exchanged a silent stare in front of Ying's large family for quite a while.

In the end, it was Li Xi who spoke first: "Aren't you going to serve me some?"

Ying Zhiyu hesitated: "Do you really want to eat that?"

Li Xi didn't say anything but nodded.

Ying Zhiyu was genuinely confused by Li Xi's behavior now.

Even though Ying Zhiyu had lived with Li Xi for over ten years in a previous life, he had never seen Li Xi eat scallions, ginger, or garlic.

He disliked strongly scented things—whether it was smoke, scallions, ginger, or garlic.

Ying Zhiyu hesitantly picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks. Before placing it into Li Xi's bowl, he hesitated again: "There are no serving chopsticks—is that all right?"

Hearing this, Mother Ying suddenly remembered that with a guest present, they really should have prepared serving chopsticks.

"Right, right, hold off on serving for now. Old Ying, go to the kitchen and get…"

Before Mother Ying could finish her sentence, Li Xi had already held up his bowl to accept the chicken from Ying Zhiyu's chopsticks and ate it directly.

He even abandoned table manners, speaking before swallowing the chicken: "It's fine, no need for serving chopsticks."

After that, the Ying family's dinner table finally quieted down.

Ying Zhiyu told Mother Ying not to bother and sat down again to eat something himself.

Perhaps seeing their "idol" so approachable, Ying Zhiyan also relaxed a bit. Although she still couldn't bring herself to look directly at the person across from her, at least she started eating normally.

When everyone was nearly done eating, Ying Zhiyu looked at Li Xi beside him, who had been eating slowly but hadn't put down his chopsticks.

He leaned closer and said in a low voice: "No need to force yourself if you're full. They won't mind."

Ying Zhiyu used the word "also" because when Li Xi ate that piece of ginger-scallion chicken, it suddenly dawned on him—another small detail he had overlooked earlier.

It turned out that even before sitting down at the table, Li Xi had already eaten "scallions, ginger, and garlic" right in front of him.

The Ying family's beef buns were famous. The buns used onion and minced ginger to cut the grease and neutralize any gaminess, making the beef tender and delicious, very popular among regular customers nearby.

But earlier, Ying Zhiyu had been focused on explaining to his parents how he and Li Xi met. When he brought out the beef buns, he'd completely forgotten that Li Xi actually avoided "scallions, ginger, and garlic."

Yet, Li Xi had said nothing.

He had even politely eaten the entire palm-sized bun.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhiyu finally understood the reason behind Li Xi's series of uncharacteristic behavior tonight.

He wanted to make a good impression on his parents.

He was trying hard to "please" his parents and family.

Li Xi's chopsticks paused.

Ying Zhiyu turned his head to look at Li Xi, his mouth still full, the corners of his eyes curving as he smiled: "If you can't finish the last bite, it's okay to spit it out."

Li Xi's eyes were dark and calm as he lifted his gaze to meet Ying Zhiyu's.

Ignoring what the other had said, he swallowed the last mouthful of food.