Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Although the penthouse elevator was always private, exclusively for the top-floor residents and not monitored by outsiders, Ying Zhiyu still instinctively turned his back to the camera, shielding Li Xi with his body.

They shared a long kiss in the elevator until the doors repeatedly opened and closed, triggering a voice alert because no one exited.

Li Xi pulled Ying Zhiyu out of the elevator.

But instead of going home, they went straight up to the rooftop.

Strictly speaking, Li Xi’s property was located at the true center of the capital.

The city center could no longer be described merely as "worth its weight in gold"—it was dominated by towering headquarters of major corporations, multinational banks, luxury hotels, and top-tier office buildings.

Residential buildings were nearly absent in this area.

Yet, Li Xi’s home stood right in the middle of these commercial skyscrapers—a 77-story skyscraper with a private helipad, an outdoor swimming pool, and a glass greenhouse on the rooftop.

When Ying Zhiyu followed Li Xi up to the rooftop, he saw not only the greenhouse and the pool but also drones neatly arranged across the ground, a white grand piano, and even a black music stand left behind by a careless musician.

Ying Zhiyu instantly understood.

This place had likely been meticulously planned for a grand birthday celebration, but since the host had returned late, the guests had left, leaving behind only a few remnants for others to piece together what might have been.

"What were the drones for?" Ying Zhiyu asked.

"Fireworks," Li Xi replied tersely.

Ying Zhiyu: "But isn’t there a fireworks ban in the capital?"

Had the capital’s indulgence toward the Li family reached the point where even fireworks restrictions didn’t apply to them?

Li Xi said, exasperated, "It was a drone show simulating fireworks. What does that have to do with the ban?"

Oh, Ying Zhiyu understood now.

So it was "cyber fireworks."

"Did the band leave already?" Ying Zhiyu asked, glancing at the abandoned music stand.

Li Xi replied with a noncommittal "Mhm."

It was almost midnight—would the musicians have stayed on the rooftop overnight?

Ying Zhiyu walked over to the white grand piano and asked, turning back, "Can you play?"

He already knew Li Xi could play. In their eleven years of marriage in his past life, Li Xi had never played specifically for him, but almost all of Li Xi’s homes had a piano.

Sure enough, Li Xi stepped forward and sat down at the white piano.

"What would you like to hear?"

Ying Zhiyu said, "Anything is fine."

Without further question, Li Xi placed his slender fingers lightly on the keys, and notes flowed effortlessly.

Ying Zhiyu wasn’t deeply versed in music, but he had a sharp memory and remembered everything he heard.

Li Xi played Chopin’s "Waltz in D-flat Major," also known as the "Minute Waltz."

It was a cheerful and lively piece, uncharacteristically cheerful for Li Xi.

The waltz was short, and when Li Xi finished, he turned to look at Ying Zhiyu.

Ying Zhiyu applauded and praised, "Your Majesty is peerless."

Fans online often referred to Li Xi this way, and Ying Zhiyu now teasingly used the nickname.

Li Xi scoffed softly, clearly unimpressed by the flattery.

Ying Zhiyu moved to sit beside Li Xi on the piano bench.

"I can play a piece too," he said.

Li Xi’s eyebrow twitched slightly—another skill not in *Alpha*'s records but somehow mastered by Ying Zhiyu?

However, the next moment—

Under *Alpha*'s well-defined, model-worthy fingers, the notes that emerged were:

Do Re Mi Do, Do Re Mi Do, Mi Fa Sol…

Li Xi: "…"

It sounded less like playing the piano and more like simply tapping the keys.

Ying Zhiyu even used only his right index finger to "play" the world-famous nursery rhyme "Two Tigers."

After finishing, Ying Zhiyu turned to Li Xi expectantly, as if waiting for "praise."

Li Xi paused, took a deep breath, and said two words: "Not bad."

Hearing this, Ying Zhiyu laughed.

He didn’t seem embarrassed at all and offered, "Don’t like it? I can also play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,' 'The Little Painter,' or 'Baby Shark,' and…"

Before Ying Zhiyu could finish listing his repertoire of children’s tunes, Li Xi said with closed eyes, "Very impressive."

Ying Zhiyu chuckled again.

"Will you teach me a new one?" he asked, eyes smiling as he looked at Li Xi and called out, "Gege."

Li Xi’s Adam’s apple bobbed: "…"

"Will you teach me? I learn quickly," Ying Zhiyu pressed, watching him.

Li Xi didn’t think long and selected Beethoven’s "Für Elise."

He played only the first phrase with one hand—the easiest part.

Ying Zhiyu raised his hand as if to mimic it, but as his fingers hovered over the keys, he hesitated and asked a rather abrupt question:

"Will this disturb the neighbors?"

Now he’s worried about disturbing the neighbors?

Li Xi let out a soft scoff. "You're quite public-spirited."

Ying Zhiyu also smiled. "Isn't that exactly why Prince Xi took a liking to my public-spiritedness?"

If he weren't public-spirited, the Alpha wouldn’t have donated blood for free. Without that blood donation, Ying Zhiyu might never have made it onto Prince Li Xi's suitors’ list.

"Stop calling me that," Li Xi chided lightly.

He added, "The four lower floors are all ours. Who could we possibly disturb?"

Ying Zhiyu blinked: *Ours?*

Not missing the flicker of surprise in the Alpha's eyes, Li Xi said calmly, "My father gave us this apartment to celebrate our marriage. Of course, you have a share."

Right, this was genuine matrimonial property.

Ying Zhiyu suddenly grew curious. "This place must be expensive, right?"

He only knew that properties in this area cost hundreds of millions of yuan, but he hadn't looked into the exact prices.

Li Xi said, "The one I bought, with the rooftop terrace, sold for 990 million yuan three years ago. Without the terrace, it would be 880 million yuan."

"As for the three units below, they’re probably around 600 to 700 million yuan each."

Ying Zhiyu: "."

If he hadn’t married into the Li family, hearing such numbers would have made him curse under his breath: *Screw you, rich people!*

Even with his current status as the "number one live-in son-in-law" in the capital's upper circles, his annual "salary" would only be enough to buy one-tenth of Li Xi’s property.

And that’s without factoring in taxes, renovations, and other additional costs.

Distracted, Ying Zhiyu unconsciously reproduced the piece of *Für Elise* that Li Xi had just played on the piano.

He even began to question how his past self could have been so ungrateful.

Just one week into the marriage, he’d gained over a billion yuan. He should have obediently fallen in line in the first year—why wait three years to be introduced to his parents and family?!

A beautiful melody flowed naturally from his nimble fingers.

By the time Ying Zhiyu came to, he had already played two-thirds of *Für Elise*.

He instinctively turned to look at Li Xi beside him.

Li Xi was also looking at him.

Ying Zhiyu: "..."

Li Xi: "..."

They stared at each other, speechless.

To spontaneously "learn" an entire piano piece after hearing just the opening notes, and play it so smoothly and beautifully—even with an IQ of 140, no, even 410, it would be impossible.

The Alpha was clearly pretending not to know how.

Ying Zhiyu knew how to play the piano all along!

Li Xi narrowed his eyes at the Alpha. Just how many secrets was Ying Zhiyu still hiding?

Facing Li Xi’s sharp, scrutinizing gaze, Ying Zhiyu remained unflinching and utterly shameless.

He cleared his throat and even had the nerve to ask, "Did I learn it correctly?"

Li Xi stared at Ying Zhiyu for a long moment before curling his lips into a cold, mocking smile. "A real prodigy."

Ying Zhiyu smiled brazenly. "Thank you for the praise."

Li Xi: "..."

When only one minute remained until midnight on September 9th, Ying Zhiyu politely reminded Li Xi, "Your scent is escaping."

Li Xi’s heat hadn’t completely ended. The kiss in the elevator had easily triggered his pheromones.

After a week of stability, the nearing end of his heat seemed to have reached its peak, returning in waves with overwhelming force.

Li Xi leaned back between the piano keys and the piano bench. Perhaps worried that Li Xi might be uncomfortable, Ying Zhiyu’s fingers soothed him while his arm cleverly cushioned the space between Li Xi’s back and the keys.

In a daze, the Alpha’s elbow brushed against the keys, producing a clear, chiming sequence of notes.

It didn’t sound bad at all.

His forelock was still damp with sweat in the night breeze. Li Xi held his breath, gripping Ying Zhiyu’s mischievous hand. He wanted to bite down hard on this ill-intentioned hand, but then he heard the Alpha’s voice, tinged with laughter.

Deep, calm, and innocent.

"What’s wrong, brother?"

Li Xi froze, closed his eyes, and released his grip.

He had finally become a puppet on the Alpha’s strings.

A slave to pheromones.