Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The Ying family no longer had close relatives in their hometown.

Mother Ying's family ties were distant; she only cared if her married Omega daughter sent money home. As for Ying Zhiyu's paternal grandparents, his grandfather, who suffered from Alzheimer's, had passed away many years ago, and his grandmother died last year.

Therefore, the Ying family stayed in the capital for the New Year this year.

Coincidentally, due to running a breakfast diner, Ying's parents were accustomed to an early bedtime. Their New Year's Eve dinner was unlike others; it was more accurately a "New Year's lunch."

On New Year's Eve, Ying Zhiyu brought Li Xi home for lunch.

They had agreed in advance to keep Li Xi’s pregnancy a secret for the time being. After all, they had only recently announced their marriage, and announcing a pregnancy so soon might make Ying’s family suspect they had a shotgun wedding.

After lunch at the Ying family home, Li Xi then took Ying Zhiyu to the Li family in the evening for the real "New Year's Eve dinner" main event.

This year, the Li family hosted their family banquet at the Half-Mountain Manor in the capital.

The Li family’s New Year’s Eve dinner was lavish, with an abundance of dishes and, of course, fine wine.

At the dining table, the first toast was naturally led by the patriarch, Li Songqian.

The Li family’s heirs and their descendants—Li Qin, Li Lv, Li Yue, and even Li Qin’s three children—all stood up and raised their glasses, including the 16-year-old third daughter, Li Zhiyin, with the exception of the infant son still in his cradle.

However, in such a setting, Li Xi and his Alpha, Ying Zhiyu, chose to drink juice instead of alcohol.

Li Lv, sharp-eyed, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why is Third Prince Li drinking juice?"

Thanks to Third Prince Li’s deep devotion to his Alpha, Ying Zhiyu’s reputation for having a low alcohol tolerance had been firmly established, from their wedding banquet to the recent LI Group annual meeting.

As a result, when Ying Zhiyu held a glass of juice, Li Lv didn’t even bother questioning him and simply moved on.

Li Xi remained unfazed and replied, "We’re trying for a baby."

The fact that Third Prince Li and his young Alpha were preparing for pregnancy was not a secret, so Li Xi’s answer was perfectly reasonable.

However, Li Lv pressed further, "But it’s New Year’s Eve. Just one drink at the family banquet—the Krug has such a low alcohol content. For someone with Third Prince Li’s alcohol tolerance, it should be no problem, right?"

Yet Li Xi completely ignored the remark and simply drank his first "toast" of the evening with his juice.

Li Songqian glanced at his second son, then subtly observed his third son after setting down his glass.

He didn’t particularly care whether the younger generation drank this pre-dinner drink or not.

But why was Li Lv so persistent? Was he suspecting something?

Could it be that his third son...

Li Xi was well aware of his father’s subtle glances at the table, but he remained composed, eating and drinking his juice as usual.

Li Yue sat to Li Xi’s left.

After the second toast, led by the Li family’s eldest daughter, Li Qin, concluded, Li Yue deliberately leaned closer to her brother and asked, "Brother, are you sure you don’t want to try a little? This bottle of Petrus is quite exceptional tonight."

The wine served at the Li family’s New Year’s Eve dinner was a 2000 Petrus, professionally decanted by a sommelier team. It would be a shame not to taste it after such careful preparation.

Li Xi glanced at his sister.

Li Yue boldly encouraged him, "Come on, have a drink. It’s not every day we get such fine wine."

Li Xi still didn’t respond.

Instead, the young Alpha seated to Li Xi’s right shrugged and raised his own glass, saying, "Such excellent wine—even I’m tempted. Why not give it a try?"

Li Xi seemed unable to resist his alcohol-enthusiast Alpha’s persistent urging and and finally raised his glass.

Throughout the entire exchange, both maintained natural expressions, showing no signs of reluctance.

It appeared flawless.

After Li Xi and Ying Zhiyu "drank," the subtle attention focused on them gradually dissipated, and everyone returned to enjoying the dinner.

No one noticed the almost imperceptible glance exchanged between Li Yue and her brother after Li Xi "drank."

In fact, this had been pre-arranged by Li Xi and Li Yue.

On an occasion like this, if Li Xi refused to drink, no matter the reason, it would inevitably raise suspicions of pregnancy.

Rather than that, it was better for Li Xi to "drink" in front of everyone.

Before the dinner began, Li Yue had already arranged with the butler, Zhou Shen, to prepare a mocktail for her brother that looked indistinguishable from the real thing.

With the Li family’s dining table being so spacious, as long as no one smelled the drink, who would know Li Xi wasn’t drinking alcohol?

Refusing to drink during the first toast was a strategic move—a way to inform everyone in advance that they were "avoiding alcohol while trying for a baby."

In future occasions, if Li Xi declined alcohol again, it wouldn’t seem out of place.

The second "persuasion" from Li Yue was meant to quell any lingering doubts.

Having Li Yue encourage him to drink was the best approach—not only did it facilitate the secret switch of his drink, but it also indirectly suggested that Li Yue certainly didn’t believe her brother was "pregnant."

At this point, Li Xi was less than a month pregnant, with no signs of morning sickness or other pregnancy-related symptoms.

This made it easier for him to eat and drink freely at the table without hiding discomfort or putting on an act.

After dinner, the Li family members went their separate ways.

Ying Zhiyu again started playing games with Li Qin’s third daughter, Li Zhiyin.

This time, perhaps to avoid neglecting his Omega, Li Xi joined them as well.

Li Lv stood by the third-floor staircase railing, curiously asking, "Do you think Third Prince Li is really pregnant? He’s been going to the hospital quite frequently lately."

Li Qin didn’t glance at the trio playing games downstairs. Instead, she stood by the corridor window, gazing outside.

She only said seven words: "Stay away from the child."

Though her tone was calm, the warning in her words was unmistakable.

Li Lv shrugged with a feigned innocent expression. "I’m not targeting the child. At most, it’s just concern for our brother."

Li Qin ignored his insincere remark.

After a pause, she asked, "Did you have anything to do with what happened in the underground garage?"

Li Lv’s expression went blank for half a second before he retorted, "What underground garage?"

Li Qin turned around, her eyes fixed as she looked at Li Lv.

Li Lv: "..."

After a considerable pause, Li Lv reluctantly replied, "It wasn’t me."

Li Lv wouldn’t lie to Li Qin, but his answer came too slowly.

Li Qin frowned, a thought suddenly occurring to him: "Was it..."

Li Lv's lips twitched. "Your inheritance rights—some people care about them more than you do."

Although both are heirs of the Li family, Li Qin and Li Lv’s situation is entirely different from that of siblings Li Xi and Li Yue.

Though their Omega mother, Wen Xinrui, divorced Li Songqian, the Wen family remains in the capital. Their clan undoubtedly hopes that Li Qin and Li Lv will eventually inherit LI.

After speaking, Li Lv lowered his gaze again to the group playing games on the sofa in the first-floor living room.

He chuckled cryptically. "This Alpha... I underestimated him. He doesn’t seem frightened at all?"

-

After becoming pregnant, an Omega’s need for an Alpha’s pheromones surges.

Li Xi has started nesting behavior at night, and the core "anchor" in this nest is naturally the source of Alpha pheromones—Comrade Ying Zhiyu.

Since it’s not convenient to engage in any strenuous activities before bed, they can only chat under the covers.

Now that both have confessed their feelings, Ying Zhiyu didn’t hide his suspicions about the previous underground garage attack.

Coincidentally, the progress of the "AO differentiation" research at their school’s lab hasn’t yet reached the level it had before his death in his previous life.

So, Ying Zhiyu wasn’t worried about sharing his thoughts with Li Xi, as it wouldn’t constitute a leak.

Ying Zhiyu said, "Suppose that originally, there were only two genders in this world—Alpha and Omega—and that AO unions would only produce AO offspring. The emergence of Betas was actually an accident caused by a lack of pheromones during gestation."

The origin of the ABO world has always been a mystery.

Known biological research concludes that the necessary condition for producing AO offspring is the union of AO parents.

If either parent is a Beta, the offspring will inevitably be Beta.

Under this premise, Ying Zhiyu continued, "The accidental emergence of pheromone-less Betas gradually increased in number over time. The original 'AO' world eventually formed a new structure, transforming into the 'ABO' world."

Ying Zhiyu’s hypothesis about the origin of the ABO world wasn’t entirely new.

But in previous versions of this theory, the reason for Betas’ emergence was vague, often attributed to genetic mutation.

However, in his explanation, Ying Zhiyu straightforwardly used "lack of pheromones during gestation" to explain the cause of Betas’ emergence.

Li Xi agreed but pointed out, "But even with sufficient pheromones now, it’s still possible for AO parents to produce Beta offspring."

Ying Zhiyu hummed in agreement and explained, "My initial hypothesis is that Betas are formed due to underdeveloped glands caused by insufficient pheromone supply in the maternal reproductive cavity."

"The pheromone supply in the reproductive cavity isn’t directly proportional to what the mother receives; there’s a conversion rate involved."

Delving deeper would touch upon Ying Zhiyu’s recent research on the "sense of security" in the maternal reproductive cavity.

But since this is still an unverified direction, Ying Zhiyu didn’t elaborate further and returned to the topic of ABO society’s formation.

"Now, Betas are the largest gender group in our society, and their proportion is rapidly increasing."

Yet, despite being the majority, Betas are often overshadowed by Alphas and Omegas in various fields. Many believe this is a form of "genetic suppression."

After laying out the preliminary causes, Ying Zhiyu finally voiced his speculation.

"If extreme Beta groups were to learn about AO differentiation research, wouldn’t their first thought be about their own and their descendants’ future?"

In reality, AO differentiation research isn’t limited to just Alpha and Omega genders.

To truly stabilize the gender ratio in ABO society, the ideal scenario would be for not only AO unions to produce AO offspring but also for AB, BO, or even BB unions to have the chance to produce AO offspring.

But the public wouldn’t know these details—they would only think:

If AO differentiation rates increase, wouldn’t current Beta populations be perpetually subjected to "genetic suppression" in future generations?

Li Xi quickly grasped the idea and frowned at the young Alpha.

"You suspect someone intentionally leaked this research project to provoke extreme Beta groups?"

Ying Zhiyu had the same suspicion but remained cautious verbally.

"That possibility can’t be ruled out."

After a pause, Li Xi suddenly said, "Actually, the new drug development direction at LI Laboratory is synthetic pheromones."

Li Xi’s reluctance to announce his pregnancy now is also related to this research project.

He hopes to continue advancing the project. If he reveals his pregnancy now, the project might be handed over to someone else, or worse, halted entirely.

And once halted, restarting it would almost mean starting from scratch.

Ying Zhiyu was stunned: "..."

Synthetic pheromones—wasn’t that the project he withdrew from the National Institute of Biological Sciences in his previous life?

Li Xi continued, "Synthetic pheromones aren’t just for Alphas and Omegas. The goal is to develop pheromones that glandless Betas can also sense and use."

In his previous life, while researching "increasing AO differentiation rates," Ying Zhiyu had considered the possibility of "whether Betas could produce AO offspring" and had thought about this very idea.

But at the time, technological support was still lacking.

So, had they been on the same path all along, even tracing back to his previous life?

Ying Zhiyu couldn’t help but lower his head and smile. "Director Li has really worked hard."

Since many aspects of the research are still in the conceptual stage, their discussion—which started with "speculating on the reasons for the extreme Beta attack"—came to a temporary end.

It was getting late. Ying Zhiyu patted the pregnant man’s stomach. "Get some rest. We can think more tomorrow."

About ten minutes later.

While Ying Zhiyu’s mind was still buzzing with concepts like "reproductive cavity security" and "Beta-type synthetic pheromones," he suddenly heard a sharp gasp.

Before he could react, a figure pinned him down.

Li Xi, breathing unevenly amidst the Alpha pheromone-scented bedding, glared fiercely at the bewildered Alpha.

"Ying... Zhi... Yu, are you trying to start a fire?"

Ying Zhiyu: "..."

Since Li Xi became pregnant, they had avoided any strenuous activities for the sake of the future baby’s safety.

However, pregnant Omegas have a strong need for Alpha pheromones.

And high-compatibility Alpha pheromones, to some extent, inherently act like a stimulant that heightens an Omega's physical senses.

While Ying Zhiyu was distracted, his hand was wandering mischievously and slowly over Li Xi's abdomen, essentially...

Ying Zhiyu blinked innocently, he thought.

Well, perhaps he just unconsciously wanted to feel the abdominal muscles?

After all, someone whose genetics just weren't cut out for it would never have the chance for an eight-pack in this lifetime, and the well-defined abs on Li Xi's body would soon be gone for a while, which was a bit of a pity.

He sheepishly withdrew the "sinful hand" that had stirred up desire.

After a pause, Ying Zhiyu chose to carefully soothe Li Xi's tense back: "Even a temporary mark can easily lead to overexcitement, and it might become even harder to take..." he murmured.

Before he could finish the last word "take," Li Xi said nothing and suddenly bit Ying Zhiyu's collarbone.

Ying Zhiyu was speechless for a moment.

He could so clearly feel the arousal of the person on top of him.

Li Xi actually got aroused while he was soothing his back...

Ying Zhiyu came to a conclusion: from now on, he must never let his hands wander and provoke his pregnant big brother again (T_T).