Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The moment the Alpha's words fell, Li Xi's fingers tightened abruptly around Ying Zhiyu's hand.

His eyes, dark and profound, lifted to meet Ying Zhiyu's gaze.

Ying Zhiyu knew Li Xi was waiting for an explanation.

"It's not the right time yet," Ying Zhiyu stated directly.

In his past life, Ying Zhiyu had discovered that an Omega's reproductive cavity was, in essence, an emotional organ. It constantly absorbed emotions from its host's body, nourished by them, yet also susceptible to their destructive power.

After Li Xi and Ying Zhiyu completed their lifelong bond in their previous existence, their lukewarm relationship, even after misunderstandings were resolved, meant Li Xi's emotions inevitably remained in a state of prolonged suppression.

That was why, for so many years, they never had a child.

Or perhaps… Ying Zhiyu's gaze briefly dropped.

They might have conceived once, only for it to miscarry naturally.

Back then, Ying Zhiyu mistakenly believed Li Xi had terminated it himself… so he remained silent, feigning ignorance.

But in this life, Ying Zhiyu already knew Li Xi harbored feelings for him.

Their relationship was no longer as cold and distant as it had been.

Ying Zhiyu forced himself to let go of the past and patiently explained, "You've just joined the board, and you must have your own plans ahead, right? I haven't graduated yet either. If a child were born now, neither of us would have the time to care for it."

At this, Ying Zhiyu felt a pang of regret.

Last night, he hadn't exercised enough restraint.

Ying Zhiyu continued, "This time, it's my fault for not explaining clearly beforehand, allowing you to complete the lifelong bond under these circumstances. From now on, we'll use protection. In a couple more years, when conditions are more favorable, for a child to come then, it would be better for both of us and for them."

Li Xi simply gazed at the young Alpha.

Ying Zhiyu could always conjure up plausible, high-minded reasons to achieve his objectives.

He believed the Alpha's assertion that he had no hidden family connections, that he wasn't an agent sent by anyone.

Yet, it was equally true that Ying Zhiyu harbored secrets.

Someone as intelligent as him, upon seeing the uniform line of young, prime Alphas registering at the LI Pheromone Laboratory, could have inferred the underlying implications of that "winning draw."

He likely also surmised that he couldn't escape his fate.

There are no Alphas truly oblivious to their own attractiveness or intellect.

Only those who feign ignorance despite knowing full well.

That's why, during their first encounter at the Biomedical University library, when Ying Zhiyu analyzed his suitability in the elevator, he spoke with such conviction and logic.

Better to take the initiative than be passive…

Li Xi gazed at the Alpha beside him for a long time, meticulously weighing something in his mind.

Ying Zhiyu seemed to grasp the meaning in Li Xi's eyes. He had always been adept at reading people and accepted this scrutiny with composure.

"We're still young. You hadn't planned to get pregnant now anyway, had you?"

Li Xi had initially married to expedite his entry onto the LI Group's board.

Marriage was meant to be an asset to his career, not a hindrance.

So, there was no need to rush the lifelong bond or a pregnancy. Focus on your own goals; don't let him disrupt your pace.

Ying Zhiyu looked back gently and calmly, with just the right touch of reassurance.

After a moment, Li Xi was the first to avert his gaze.

“…The contraceptives are in the suitcase lining.”

Ying Zhiyu smiled.

He knew it.

LI had never publicly sold contraceptive pills because the nation prioritized birth rates, and contraceptive drugs were consistently portrayed as detrimental to Omega health.

However, Ying Zhiyu was well aware that LI maintained laboratories dedicated to researching such medications.

Their technological advancements had successfully minimized the drugs' side effects.

Ying Zhiyu rose to retrieve the pills. Upon his return, he also prepared a glass of warm water.

Li Xi took the pill without hesitation and swallowed it.

Ying Zhiyu praised, "Xi Xi is so well-behaved."

"You'd better not be lying to me."

Li Xi turned his head away, refusing to look at the Alpha's smiling, handsome face.

Rationally, Li Xi knew the timing wasn't right.

Had Ying Zhiyu not brought it up, Li Xi would have considered delaying pregnancy anyway.

His allies had also advised him that it wasn't the opportune moment.

Even Omegas online had mixed reactions to the news of his marriage. If he were to get pregnant and have a child now, extreme Omega factions might backlash.

However, Li Xi was indifferent to the opinions of any extremist groups.

This was a necessary path. Li Xi didn't live to become someone in the eyes of any Omega.

He did need a child.

It's just that he hadn't been in a hurry before.

Ying Zhiyu gently stroked Li Xi’s stiff back. "Don’t doubt it. You’re right. In this life, there will be no one else but you."

Seeing that Li Xi remained unmoved, the Alpha tilted his head and kissed Li Xi’s tense cheek.

He continued to lavish praise without restraint: "Xi Xi is the smartest, most understanding, and most reasonable Omega in the world!"

-

Li Xi had just met with his grandparents, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.

Ying Zhiyu discussed with Li Xi about making handmade mooncakes themselves to give to Li Xi's grandparents.

Ying Zhiyu had already purchased the ingredients and molds for making mooncakes online in advance.

"I bought ingredients for both snow-skin mooncakes and Cantonese-style mooncakes. One is a safe option, the other is a challenge. Which one would Director Li like to try first?"

Ying Zhiyu himself knew how to make mooncakes, but since they were meant for Li Xi's grandparents, it was only right that they be made by Li Xi's own hands.

Thus, Ying Zhiyu first chose the simplest and easiest snow-skin mooncakes.

As for the Cantonese-style mooncakes, he considered that the elderly might be more accustomed to and fond of traditional-style mooncakes.

For Li Xi, who was always brave in facing challenges and never backed down, Ying Zhiyu pointed out which one was more difficult, and Li Xi, true to form, was sure to choose that one.

So, unsurprisingly, Li Xi replied, "The difficult one."

Third Prince Li didn't even know which type of mooncake was easier to make and which was more complicated—he simply tackled the challenge head-on.

Cantonese-style mooncakes required flour and later needed to be baked in an oven. Even the oven was bought temporarily by Pan Da from an electronics store in Yao City.

Ying Zhiyu handed an apron to Li Xi and put one on himself.

After putting on his apron, he looked up and saw Li Xi still holding the apron without moving.

Ying Zhiyu asked, "Do you need help putting it on?"

Li Xi was not the kind of Omega who would wait for an Alpha to tie the apron for him. Staring at the gray apron on Ying Zhiyu, he frowned, asking, "Why is your apron normal, while mine is like this?"

At first glance, the white apron in Li Xi’s hands seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, one could see that it was edged with a delicate lace trim.

Ying Zhiyu blinked and asked, "Isn’t it pretty?"

He had bought a matching pair of aprons online, and perhaps the seller imagined a male Alpha and female Omega cooking together at home, so they added a delicate lace trim to the white apron.

"Want to swap? I’ll wear this one?"

The "straight guy" Ying Zhiyu actually thought the lace-trimmed apron was quite pretty.

He quickly took off his gray apron, tied the white one for Li Xi, and then put on the lace-trimmed apron himself.

In fact, after changing, he even went into the room and checked his reflection in front of the old-fashioned wardrobe’s mirror, as if admiring how he looked in the "princess-style" lace apron.

Li Xi: "..."

Watching the Alpha happily and confidently striding back into the living room, Li Xi suddenly felt that his earlier aversion to the lace apron seemed quite ridiculous.

Ying Zhiyu’s hands were something Li Xi had been drawn to at first sight.

When he first saw the Alpha through the one-way glass wall, the first thing Li Xi noticed was Ying Zhiyu’s eyes.

The second thing was his hands.

Height, build, and physique could be adjusted with clothing, shoe lifts, or fitness training, but a person’s hands don't lie.

Ying Zhiyu’s fingers were long and perfectly proportioned, with each knuckle perfectly shaped.

Elegant.

Sensual.

Whenever Ying Zhiyu touched Li Xi with these hands, even in ways, games or positions Li Xi would never have agreed to before, he simply couldn’t refuse such hands.

And now, the Alpha was using these hands to gently knead and press the soft dough mixed with syrup, lye water, and peanut oil...

Ying Zhiyu noticed Li Xi staring at him motionless and thought he had worked too fast, leaving the other unable to keep up.

"Want to see it again?" he asked.

Li Xi snapped out of it, his eyes shifting guiltily for a moment before he looked away.

Ying Zhiyu: ?

Before Ying Zhiyu could react, Li Xi suddenly walked around the living room dining table, which was temporarily used as a work surface, and stepped right up to Ying Zhiyu.

Stopping in front of him, Li Xi raised his hands, cradled the Alpha’s handsome face, and leaned in to kiss him directly.

Ying Zhiyu instinctively wrapped his arms around the other’s waist.

After a long kiss, Ying Zhiyu narrowed his eyes with satisfaction, but the next second, he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the other’s dark eyes.

Ying Zhiyu: "..."

Was the young master deliberately smearing flour all over his face just to tease and mess with him?

Li Xi also came to realize what he had done.

He tried to wipe the flour off the Alpha’s face, but the result was that Ying Zhiyu’s face became even messier, ending up looking like a flour-covered face.

Ying Zhiyu pretended to be serious: "Xixi did it on purpose!"

Li Xi had a faint smile, but at the Alpha’s words, the smile instantly faded from his lips.

"Don’t call me Xixi," he said softly. "I’m older than you."

Li Xi was nearly seven years older than Ying Zhiyu. Being called by a childish nickname by an Alpha so much younger gave him an indescribable sense of self-consciousness.

It felt as if he were purposely acting youthful in front of his Alpha.

But Ying Zhiyu didn’t mind: "It’s just a cute nickname. If you like it, you can use it."

"Or you can call me something similar?"

Ying Zhiyu thought for a moment and suggested: "If you’re Xixi, then I can be Zhizhi? Or Yuyu? Hey, our names combined would be Yuyu Xixi—like 'Yuxi,' a jade seal, priceless..."

The young Alpha was still lost in thought when he suddenly heard a soft call: "Zaizai."

"Huh?" Ying Zhiyu was stunned.

"Yuyu Zaizai."

Li Xi continued softly.

Ying Zhiyu paused: "What’s this?"

Li Xi lowered his eyes and explained: "During Li Yue’s and my first-month banquet, before she met our father’s friend, there was a video recording of us."

At that time, both Li Xi and Li Yue were still lying in their cribs. Apart from drinking milk, soiling themselves, and crying loudly, all they did was sleep soundly.

Gan Ruyuan gazed at them with tender eyes, gently playing with them with her fair, slender fingers as she softly called them "little ones."

It was as if she truly loved them.

Ying Zhiyu immediately understood.

Li Xi wanted to tell him that he cherished and valued him deeply.

Ying Zhiyu’s throat tightened. For a moment, even his high-IQ brain couldn’t come up with a suitable response.

"Alright, then call me 'little one'," Ying Zhiyu said softly, pulling Li Xi into a light embrace. "I am Xixi’s little one, and also Yu Yu’s little one."

Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi didn’t stay in Yaocheng for their planned full honeymoon.

Because on the evening of their fifth day in Yaocheng, the chief attendant of the Li family, Zhou Shen, called.

He informed them that Li Qin’s Omega, Han Qiyu, had given birth.

On such an important day, the Li family would certainly arrange for press coverage and official announcements.

As a prominent member of the Li family’s core generation, if Li Xi were to be photographed absent by reporters, it would undoubtedly become a major issue.

Five days wasn’t a long honeymoon, but it seemed Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi had already achieved everything they needed to during their time together.

It was also time to return and face what lay ahead.

Heading south from the capital’s southern district, at the foot of the Li family’s hillside estate stood the large private general hospital built by the Lis in the capital.

During Han Qiyu’s final stages of pregnancy, he had mostly been resting at the Li family’s hillside estate. So when he showed signs of labor, he was quickly transferred to the family’s hospital.

Han Qiyu’s room was located on a private floor with heightened security.

Even Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi had to go through multiple identity checks before they could enter to visit.

However, since the Omega had just given birth, it wasn’t appropriate for outsiders to visit, especially since the pheromones of an unfamiliar Alpha could disturb the new father.

So while Li Xi went into the bedroom to see his brother-in-law Han Qiyu, Ying Zhiyu waited in the outer living room and then went to the adjacent nursery to see the newborn.

Looking through the glass at the tiny baby in the nursery, Ying Zhiyu was reminded of his previous life.

The differentiation period for adolescent Alphas and Omegas usually occurs between ages 12 and 16.

In his previous life, Ying Zhiyu had also seen this fourth son of Li Qin and Han Qiyu.

But since he had died in the eleventh year, he never found out whether this child, whom Han Qiyu risked having at an advanced age, eventually presented as Alpha/Omega or not.

After seeing the newborn, Ying Zhiyu encountered Li Qin and Han Qiyu’s third daughter, Li Zhiyin, in the outer room and gave her a small gift.

Just as Li Xi was coming out of the bedroom, he happened to see Ying Zhiyu handing the gift to Li Zhiyin.

After leaving Han Qiyu’s room, Li Xi began shooting glances at a certain Alpha.

Ying Zhiyu, now quite self-aware, volunteered an explanation: "I bought it at the airport when you were in the restroom."

He smiled lightly and said, "When parents have a new baby, the older child might feel a bit neglected, so I got her a little something. It’s just a small gesture, I suppose."

Li Xi immediately thought of Ying Zhiyu’s sister, Ying Zhiyan.

Ying Zhiyu nodded. "My sister once told me in secret that she was worried I would take our parents’ love away from her. But later she realized she was just overthinking it."

Not wanting Li Xi to misunderstand, Ying Zhiyu added, "My sister has always been good to me. When we were back in our hometown, if other kids bullied me, she would stick up for me. When she started university and earned money from part-time jobs, she would secretly send me pocket money."

Ying Zhiyu only spoke about how his sister treated him, but didn’t mention how he treated her.

Yet even without saying it, it was clear that their affection was mutual.

Li Xi hadn’t forgotten that when he first checked the Alpha’s profile, the relationship history section was noted to have a possible Omega girlfriend. Ying Zhiyu’s shopping history showed numerous entries of gifts purchased, likely for an Omega.

Clearly, the close bond between the Ying siblings was because they both worked hard to care for each other.

Taking the elevator down from the maternity floor, Ying Zhiyu didn’t press the button for the underground parking lot directly. Instead, he pressed the button for the seventh floor.

Li Xi glanced up.

Ying Zhiyu said naturally, "Since we’re already here, we might as well get checked out."

The seventh floor was where Li Xi’s personal physician, Qin Baoyan, had her clinic.

Li Xi wasn’t surprised that the Alpha, on his first visit, could accurately find this floor.

He didn’t refuse either, silently acquiescing to the Alpha’s arrangement.

Li Xi went into the examination room. Qin Baoyan stayed inside only briefly before stepping out first.

When Li Xi came out, Ying Zhiyu voluntarily waited in the hallway, as the discussion might involve private matters unsuitable for an Alpha to overhear.

Qin Baoyan was leaning against her desk, halfway through reviewing the examination report, when her eyes lit up and she suddenly leaned toward Li Xi.

Li Xi calmly met her gaze. "What is it?"

Qin Baoyan raised an eyebrow. "Why didn’t you tell me your Alpha is so handsome!"

Li Xi showed no particular reaction and replied flatly, "The Alpha I chose wouldn’t be unattractive."

Qin Baoyan blinked. "Well, that’s true."

After all, he was the *young master* of an ultra-wealthy family—how could he show up with an Alpha who wasn’t good-looking?

Her eyes darting, Qin Baoyan added, "Are you really not emotionally involved? He seems very caring toward you!"

Li Xi paused.

"What exactly did you tell him?"

"What could I possibly tell him?" Qin Baoyan leaned back against her desk. "If anything, he’s the one who told me things."

Earlier, when Li Xi was in the examination room, Ying Zhiyu—who already knew Qin Baoyan from his previous life—was aware that she wasn’t just Li Xi’s personal physician but also a long-time friend.

So, he took the opportunity to ask her carefully about some of Li Xi’s conditions and things he wasn’t sure about.

"He asked if the contraceptive pills you took after the permanent marking would affect your hormones or if there’s anything to be cautious about."

"He also asked in detail about how often sexual activity should occur during an Omega’s dependency phase after a permanent marking, and what frequency is appropriate."

"Oh, and he also asked if frequent marking when the Omega isn’t in heat but the Alpha is in rut would harm the Omega."

Qin Baoyan counted off several questions on her fingers, then summed up earnestly.

"No wonder you said during your heat cycle he held back from giving you a permanent mark. You're a really good little Alpha!"

And after hearing Qin Baoyan's words, Li Xi felt it was unexpected, yet made perfect sense.

It wasn't just during his heat cycle that Ying Zhiyu held back from giving a permanent mark; even during his rut, when most Alphas can't control themselves, he kept himself under control.

He defied his Alpha instincts, always prioritizing the Omega's wishes.

Because Ying Zhiyu was just that kind of person.

An Alpha like him had respect and gentleness ingrained into his very bones.

Even now, if paired with another Omega, Li Xi still believed Ying Zhiyu would ask those seemingly "deeply caring" and "attentive" questions.