Even Li Xi could see that Ying Zhiyu had been feeding balls, and naturally, the players on the court sensed it too.
Playing with Ying Zhiyu was effortless.
The young Alpha had stamina, solid technique, and a gentlemanly manner.
Li Yue tossed her racket to Li Xi. “Brother, your turn.”
Li Xi took it but merely set it aside, stepping forward to hand the sweat-drenched Alpha a towel.
“Dinner’s about to start. Go shower and rest a bit.”
Ying Zhiyu wiped the sweat from his face and nodded. “Okay.”
Once the tall, upright Alpha walked away, Li Yue crossed her arms beside Li Xi and offered an objective comment:
“Obedient and sensible, trained well, but you’ll need to keep an eye on him.”
Li Yue knew of “Ying Zhiyu,” but she had no idea how he and her brother had arrived at the point of getting a marriage license.
Naturally, she assumed the Alpha’s current obedient and sensible demeanor had been personally cultivated by her brother.
Previously, after hearing about Ying Zhiyu, Li Yue had held a slight prejudice against this “Phoenix Alpha” origin.
But after meeting him today, she found him measured and gracious, entirely free of the petty pride or awkwardness of a struggling young Alpha she had worried about.
After Ying Zhiyu showered and changed, Li Xi’s two older Alpha siblings had returned home.
The Li family servants guided Ying Zhiyu into the dining room.
As he entered, he first heard a voice before seeing anyone:
“I hear the youngest brother’s fiancé has arrived. Dad called us all back urgently. I have to see what kind of multi-talented Alpha could catch our youngest brother’s eye.”
The speaker was Li Lü, Li Songqian’s second son.
Li Songqian’s first marriage was a business union. His Alpha daughter, Li Qin, and second son, Li Lü, were from his first marriage.
Li Songqian’s second wife—mother of Li Xi and Li Yue—had died of postpartum depression over twenty years ago.
Li Xi, Li Yue, and these two older siblings did not share the same mother, and with inheritance competition, they weren’t close.
Yet the longer a prominent family’s legacy lasted, the more they emphasized outward harmony. Even in the previous life, though the siblings had fought for power, the family never tore each other down publicly.
Ying Zhiyu did wonder—could his death last life have been connected to these two?
Though suspicious, he didn’t pay special attention to Li Xi’s older siblings at the table.
Among Alphas, eye contact could easily be mistaken for provocation.
Li Qin was shrewd, Li Lü appeared carefree but was cunning—both extremely smart. Ying Zhiyu had no reason to draw unnecessary attention now.
The Li family’s dining etiquette was impeccable; no one spoke during the meal.
After dinner, Li Lü seemed to relax, encouraging Li Songqian to join the card table:
“Since tonight the youngest brother brought his Alpha home, you ought to loosen your purse strings a bit.”
The youngest siblings, Li Xi and Li Yue, were already twenty-eight, and Li Qin and Li Lü had long moved out.
Tonight, all were summoned back, and Li Songqian agreed.
The Li family had four siblings. Li Songqian, the patriarch, naturally had to participate.
Li Qin’s driver had also brought her Omega and youngest daughter, but since Ying Zhiyu was an unfamiliar and unmarried Alpha, they dined elsewhere to avoid awkwardness.
So now, only Li Lü, Li Xi, Li Yue, and Ying Zhiyu remained.
Li Xi first asked Ying Zhiyu, “Want to play?”
Ying Zhiyu blinked and gave a neutral answer: “Anything is fine. I’ll follow your lead.”
In front of Li Xi’s family, he avoided the formal “Mr. Li,” choosing a respectful, measured term, which could even be read as slightly flirtatious.
Li Xi looked into the young Alpha’s eyes again. “Which game?”
“Texas Hold’em, Baccarat, Blackjack, Bridge, Omaha, or Chinese Poker?”
Ying Zhiyu felt Li Xi studying him intently.
For ordinary civilians, casual poker didn’t involve complex roles like dealer, banker, or betting strategies.
Although he knew all the games Li Xi mentioned, Ying Zhiyu gave the conservative answer, “Bridge.”
Here, it wasn’t about casual play. The choice tested him; a partnered, competitive game like bridge was safe.
Bridge requires four players, two versus two.
Li Yue stepped aside. Ying Zhiyu partnered with Li Xi against Li Songqian and Li Lü.
They played until eleven PM.
Li Songqian’s plan to “open his wallet” wasn’t successful.
Ying Zhiyu and Li Xi lost, leaving Li Songqian and Li Lü triumphant.
Li Songqian stood, glancing at Ying Zhiyu deeply.
Li Lü followed, passing Ying Zhiyu with a light “tsk,” ambiguous in expression.
Li Xi escorted Ying Zhiyu out of the Li residence.
On the way, Li Xi asked, “Did you throw the game on purpose?”
The twenty-one-year-old doctoral Alpha was undoubtedly smart.
Li Xi could see that Ying Zhiyu seemed to calculate cards, controlling the table perfectly—but his goal wasn’t to win with Li Xi. Instead, he deliberately lost to send money to the opposing team.
Ying Zhiyu quietly asked, “Was it obvious?”
Not especially, but Li Xi, as his partner, would notice.
As for the others, no one at the table that night was naive—hiding it was hard. Li Lü’s “tsk” at the end was likely mocking Ying Zhiyu’s obsequiousness.
Looking at the young Alpha’s handsome face, Li Xi merely responded, “Hm.”
Unexpectedly, Ying Zhiyu laughed. “Good. That works.”
Li Xi paused.
Under the streetlights, the light in Ying Zhiyu’s eyes flickered brilliantly. Li Xi realized that Ying Zhiyu had deliberately lost and let others notice.
Sure enough, Ying Zhiyu said, “I made Mr. Li ‘bleed’ all night; it should have some effect.”
A competent “son-in-law Alpha” wouldn’t flatter the father-in-law half-heartedly.
Before the game, Li Xi had said: if we win, it’s Ying Zhiyu’s; if we lose, it’s mine.
Ying Zhiyu used Li Xi’s money to curry favor with Li Songqian—if no one noticed and took him for a fool, it would be wasted effort.
Realizing this, Li Xi felt momentarily distracted.
Like in his school days, Ying Zhiyu hid his abilities to lower his profile among the powerful children of the international school.
In college, he strategically ceded a few patents to mentors or privileged peers to safeguard his own interests.
If in the past he “hid his sharpness,” tonight, on the tennis court feeding balls openly and deliberately revealing hints at the card table, Ying Zhiyu was similarly “playing dumb” to reduce perceived threat and protect himself.
As Li Xi’s Alpha, he didn’t need to be overly clever—but he couldn’t be too dull either.
From tonight’s performance, it was clear that Ying Zhiyu had already figured that out…
But why did Ying Zhiyu choose to trust him?
Why, after saying “Good,” did he openly admit that he had been deliberate all along?
Li Xi watched as Ying Zhiyu’s car pulled away from the Li residence.
He lingered by the ornamental pond in the front courtyard, long enough that the tail lights of the car carrying the Alpha had vanished completely, yet he still hadn’t turned away.
At 12:01 a.m., Li Xi’s phone chimed with a message.
He had just showered, a soft towel draped over his neck, and walked over to check the screen.
[Ying Zhiyu: Made it home safely. Thanks for dinner.]
[X: Home?]
[Ying Zhiyu: The dorm’s curfew passed, so I went back to my own place.]
[X: Got it.]
[X: Things aren’t very safe right now. I’ll arrange two bodyguards for you. Next time for the marriage license, it’s up to you—weekends or after work, I’ll pick you up.]
Though the civil affairs office only worked weekdays, when a Li heir went to get a marriage license, it was open around the clock.
After sending the messages, Ying Zhiyu didn’t reply immediately.
Ten minutes later:
[Ying Zhiyu: No problem.]
[Ying Zhiyu: Sorry, my mom just woke up and talked with me for a bit.]
[Ying Zhiyu: Good night.]
They had only added each other on WeChat tonight, just before the helicopter returned to the Li residence.
Li Xi stood on the bedroom terrace, head bowed over his phone. Droplets of water clung precariously to the tips of his hair, each one small yet reflecting the Li family’s centuries-old, unending brilliance.
For a long time, he read Ying Zhiyu’s final three messages over and over.
Then he slowly typed two words into the chat: [Good night.]
He remembered that just before getting into the car, the Alpha had joked:
“Meeting my parents suddenly made me a bit nervous—how did I do?”
Li Xi quietly replied in his heart: Very good.
Good—in a way that was unexpectedly astonishing.