Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Li Xi, born on Christmas Eve—wishing Xi Xi peace and safety.

This was Ying Zhiyu’s heartfelt blessing for Li Xi.

Having decided to have a child, Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi made the most of every day during the last heat cycle of the year.

The two also began working out together, hoping to conceive a healthy baby.

However, during their workouts, things often took a passionate turn. Ying Zhiyu noticed that Li Xi seemed particularly fond of the sound of his breathing. Sometimes, even when he wasn’t doing anything special, just grunting and puffing during workouts could suddenly lead to the Omega dragging him away.

Apart from sleeping and working out, Li Xi’s frequency of regular medical check-ups also increased significantly.

He was almost going for check-ups at the hospital every month. Ying Zhiyu even had a meal with Li Xi’s private doctor, Qin Baoyan.

Qin Baoyan’s comment after the meal was, "Consider this an early congratulation on the arrival of your precious child."

An Omega’s passionate moments are the best catalyst for conception.

Li Xi’s affection for Ying Zhiyu was never concealed or held back in front of those close to them.

In their social circle, Li Xi’s attitude toward his Alpha influenced how others treated Ying Zhiyu.

Li Xi did not want to see anyone look down on Ying Zhiyu, so he never deliberately concealed his feelings.

In contrast, Ying Zhiyu still had some concerns: "Will the LI board of directors think…"

"Whatever they think doesn't matter. I can’t keep pretending for them forever."

Before Ying Zhiyu could finish, Li Xi cut him off.

"Whether they accept it or not, they have no choice but to accept it."

Not only did they have to accept it, but they also had to show Ying Zhiyu respect.

Since Li Xi intended to take over as chairman of the LI Group in the future and was determined to have heirs with Ying Zhiyu, even if Ying Zhiyu wasn’t involved in LI’s affairs, he would inevitably become the public face of LI.

Li Xi was confident about handling the board—no one in LI had the capability or influence to replace him.

The more challenging issue, however, was the extreme Omega rights groups online.

Li Xi and Ying Zhiyu had been married for half a year, and their wedding had taken place over four months ago. Additionally, the couple had moved to the university district. These actions were significant enough that rumors of Li Xi’s secret marriage had already begun circulating online.

Yet, the extreme Omega rights groups were still vehemently denying the news of Li Xi’s marriage.

In fact, ever since the scandal involving the so-called "socialite" Alpha, the extreme Omega rights groups had blindly defended Li Xi, leading to widespread comments online such as:

"What’s wrong with an Omega having a little fun?"

"Did the Alpha get upset about being used?"

"He’ll still produce an Alpha heir in the future!"

Amid the flood of such remarks, Li Xi had publicly responded that he did not harbor hostility toward any law-abiding, normal Alpha and had never portrayed himself as single, unmarried, or child-free.

However, the extremist factions seemed to live in their own world. No matter what Li Xi said, they twisted his words to fit their ideology.

And now…

Li Xi had gradually begun releasing news of his marriage to the media, letting it seep out bit by bit. During this period, protective measures to safeguard Ying Zhiyu’s safety had to be significantly strengthened.

As the Lunar New Year approached, it was the busiest time for the LI Group, while Ying Zhiyu had the most free time.

The Biomedical University had already started its winter break. Although Ying Zhiyu occasionally needed to return to the lab during the holiday, his pace of work and study had slowed down considerably compared to before.

During this time, they moved back to Li Xi’s penthouse in the downtown Capital City.

Originally, with the year-end rush at the group, Li Songqian had proposed that Li Xi and Ying Zhiyu stay at the family home for a while, especially since the Li family’s garden villa was located right below the LI Group headquarters.

However, Li Xi declined the arrangement.

Ying Zhiyu wasn’t sure how Li Xi had turned down Li Songqian, but he knew the main reason Li Xi didn’t want to stay at the family home was out of consideration for him.

Li Xi understood that Ying Zhiyu would feel uncomfortable living in the Li residence.

On the night of the LI Group’s annual gala, Li Xi would formally introduce Ying Zhiyu to everyone as his Alpha partner.

On Ying Zhiyu’s previous visits to the LI Group, aside from the board members and senior executives, most employees had assumed Ying Zhiyu was just a young boyfriend Li Xi was dating.

In fact, due to Ying Zhiyu’s striking looks, many even mistakenly believed he was a young Alpha celebrity being kept by the wealthy and influential Young Master Li.

The vast majority of LI Group employees still firmly believed in Li Xi’s "single persona."

Ying Zhiyu didn’t particularly care whether his identity was revealed early or late.

In his previous life, his relationship with Li Xi had been exposed under duress.

In the fourth year of their marriage, during an attack while they were together, Li Xi had been hospitalized while protecting Ying Zhiyu.

With incidents like a multi-vehicle accident and hospitalization, the news was too big for the Li family to suppress, forcing Ying Zhiyu’s identity into the public eye.

This time, with a different approach, Ying Zhiyu took it all in stride.

In the afternoon, Ying Zhiyu returned to their home near the university district to get some books. He planned to head straight to the LI Group to meet Li Xi after finding the books and attend the annual gala together in the evening.

When he stepped out, the university district felt unusually deserted due to the winter break and the approaching Spring Festival.

Most students had returned home, and many surrounding shops had closed, with only a few still open.

As Ying Zhiyu stepped out of the elevator into the underground parking garage, before he could reach his car, a delivery person wearing a baseball cap and a red uniform vest approached him.

"Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where Unit 4 is…"

Before the delivery person could finish speaking, a dark figure lunged from the side, and Ying Zhiyu was abruptly tackled to the ground.

The person who tackled him was one of his bodyguards. At the same time, the "delivery person" pulled a brown-yellow glass bottle from a delivery box and hurled it.

With the sharp sound of shattering glass, a strange, piercing sizzling noise—like food dropped into hot oil—echoed abruptly. Shortly after, Ying Zhiyu caught a whiff of a scorched, acrid smell.

After being tackled, Ying Zhiyu hit his head on the ground, leaving him dazed for a few seconds.

But that pungent smell jolted him back to awareness—

It was sulfuric acid!

The person disguised as a courier was quickly subdued by another bodyguard. Ying Zhiyu had no time to concern himself with anything else; he scrambled to his feet and immediately began pulling off the clothes of the bodyguard who had tackled him.

The good news was that the bodyguard was formally dressed, with at least a suit jacket on his back to block the liquid.

The bad news was that, even in winter, for ease of movement, the injured bodyguard wore only two layers: an outer jacket and a shirt.

When Ying Zhiyu removed the jacket, he discovered that within just a few seconds, the high-concentration sulfuric acid had already soaked through the suit jacket.

Ying Zhiyu frowned deeply. Given the large affected area, he didn't dare directly tear off the innermost shirt clinging to the bodyguard's skin.

He glanced around to assess their location. Without hesitation, he helped the bodyguard, who was gritting his teeth in pain, up and headed in a certain direction.

The underground parking lot’s janitor's closet—a storage space for cleaning supplies like brooms, mops, rags, and buckets.

The door was locked. Ying Zhiyu didn’t hesitate; he kicked it open.

Janitor's closets typically have running water. The moment Ying Zhiyu saw the faucet after forcing the door open, he let out a sigh of relief.

Aside from the bodyguard who had subdued the "courier," Li Xi had recently increased the number of bodyguards around Ying Zhiyu. Even after leaving the scene of the incident, other bodyguards were still following him.

One bodyguard, seeing that Ying Zhiyu seemed intent on rinsing his companion’s wounds with water, stepped forward to stop him.

"Master Ying, that seemed like strong sulfuric acid? You shouldn’t use water on sulfuric acid…"

Ying Zhiyu looked up, his usual gentle and casual demeanor gone, replaced by a sharp, resolute gaze.

"Should we leave him to 'dry burn' without rinsing? The heat release upon contact with water only happens when there’s insufficient water!"

With no time for further explanation, Ying Zhiyu turned on the faucet.

A stream of cold water hit the bodyguard’s wounds. Whether from the cold shock or the pain of the water stinging the injuries, the bodyguard flinched.

But Ying Zhiyu firmly held the nearly 1.9-meter-tall Alpha bodyguard in place, not allowing him to move an inch.

The icy water splashed onto Ying Zhiyu’s clothes, body, and even his face, but he only frowned, continuously observing the condition of the shirt stuck to the bodyguard’s back.

He tentatively touched the shirt, eliciting a sharp hiss of pain from the bodyguard.

Ying Zhiyu paused, then turned to another bodyguard and ordered, "Find a pair of scissors."

Janitor's closets usually have scissors. By then, building security personnel had arrived on the scene but were held outside the closet by Ying Zhiyu’s bodyguards.

High-concentration sulfuric acid on the skin must be rinsed with copious amounts of water—not only to dilute and wash away the acid but also to cool and carry away the heat generated by the acid’s exothermic reaction with water, preventing deep burns.

After cutting away the back of the bodyguard’s shirt, and while continuing to rinse the injured bodyguard, Ying Zhiyu instructed another accompanying bodyguard to contact the hospital in advance.

They would drive there themselves but needed to avoid potential ambushes on the way and plan the fastest, safest path.

Once this was done, Ying Zhiyu estimated the rinsing time and helped the bodyguard into the car.

He was drenched in cold water, his body nearly frozen, but after settling into the car seat, he didn’t attend to his own clothes first. Instead, he instructed the bodyguard in the passenger seat:

"Don’t report this to Li Xi yet. Inform the other bodyguards as well. After the hospital check-up, I’ll go to the group and explain it to him myself."

Hearing this, the bodyguard in the passenger seat hesitated.

In such situations, protocol demanded immediate reporting to superiors.

Moreover, with potential threats not fully eliminated, they should await further instructions. During this time, even Ying Zhiyu should ideally stay put.

Ying Zhiyu seemed to read the bodyguard’s thoughts and said directly, "That person must have been staking me out here for a while. But such individuals are usually disorganized. If they were organized and capable, they would’ve used a gun instead of sulfuric acid."

There wouldn’t even have been a "drawing" motion—firing through the courier box would’ve been quicker.

He narrowed his eyes in thought. "If Li Xi comes now, it’ll only cause more commotion. Let me explain it to him myself."

Upon hearing about the attack, Li Xi would likely come looking for him.

But Ying Zhiyu suddenly recalled the highway attack in his previous life, which led to his and Li Xi’s temporary marking. He hadn’t paid attention to the investigation results back then.

At the time, he and Li Xi weren’t close, and Li Xi hadn’t introduced him to Uncle Pan, the chief security officer of the family office.

He had simply assumed it was a straightforward retaliatory attack targeting Li Xi—orchestrated by extreme Alpha rights factions.

But now it occurred to him: during such a sensitive period, was it necessarily an attack by extreme Alpha rights groups?

Back then, he and Li Xi had been secretly married for three years. With no wall completely airtight, rumors about Li Xi’s secret marriage were spreading.

Just like the "courier" Ying Zhiyu had encountered in the underground garage, during that timeframe, the likelihood of extreme Alpha rights groups hating him to such an extent was almost zero.

In contrast, extreme Omega rights groups, having just realized their "true god" was married, would likely harbor intense resentment toward Ying Zhiyu.

Suppose the attack Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi faced together in their previous life was also orchestrated by extreme Omega rights groups...

Extremist factions, simply put, are exclusivist groups with black-and-white, friend-or-foe mentalities, extremely self-centered.

Such groups are most prone to "love turning to hatred."

They wish life upon those they love, death upon those they despise.

In their previous life, they attacked both Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi.

He might not be their only target; Li Xi’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed either.

So, rather than having Li Xi come to him now, it was better for Ying Zhiyu to go and meet up with Li Xi himself.

Author's Note:

Note: "They wish life upon those they love, death upon those they despise." — *The Analects of Confucius - Yan Yuan*